How The Top Students In The World Study

The best students do everything that you would expect them to do, including going to office hours, studying hard — whatever that means, keeping diligent notes, etc.

But the wisest students do something very different.

This is the system I used to graduate Milton Academy (feeder school for Harvard) cum Laude, then Brandeis University Phi Beta Kappa and Summa cum Laude with highest honors (and finish one semester early, with two majors), and then get into Columbia Business School:

1. Understand that school is a game. Like working in a corporation, there is a boss above you (professor or teacher). They’re subjective, and they make the call on your performance. That means you must deeply understand what they’re looking for, what they value, and what they expect out of you. Figure that out, and then do it.
2. Don’t waste any time on material you don’t need. For the most part, teachers and professors make it obvious what they’ll be testing. I’ve seen so many students focus on irrelevant stuff that they KNOW won’t be on the test, and yet they waste time on it anyway. Don’t do this, no matter how tempting it is. You’ll never retain all of that knowledge, anyway, so you’re better off going deep in the areas that the teacher/professor wants you to master.
3. Understand how you study best. More specifically, understand whether you’re a long-term memory person or a short-term memory person. If your long-term memory is good, study a little bit for a long time. I, on the other hand, work better if I study very intensely for a short amount of time (ironically, I retain more when I absorb information comprehensively and in one sitting). Mastering your own habit is essential; otherwise you’ll be fighting your natural instincts.
4. Take courses you actually enjoy. This is easier in college, but you’ll have an easier and more enjoyable time if you stick to what you like. And don’t think that what you like is at odds with what you need; that’s not true. In fact, if you’re honest about what you really love, you’ll more likely get into a career that you love, which we can agree is better all-around.

Finally, there’s one more important point that should be made here, because I’d hate to think people out there reading this are simply obsessed with grades.

Instead, consider this when in a school setting: Get the material you need to accomplish your next goals in life.

Now, if you’re trying to figure out how to do better in school, you must have an end-game in mind.

For instance, at Columbia, I don’t care one way or another what my grades are; they’re irrelevant for what I need, which is:

a) very specific knowledge that will help me grow my businesses, and

b) a broader network of brilliant people who can help my future endeavors.

So, keep your big picture end-game in mind. You won’t remember late-night study sessions, and probably will never be able to run a statistical regression on stock prices again unless you go into that field (do people really do that every day? Yuck).

But you WILL remember your experiences, the people with whom you form connections, and the few nuggets of learning that surprise and fascinate you.

So are you going to be the best or the wisest? The answer is entirely up to you.

Want to know how the best students in the world launch their personal brands and start companies? Click here to get the answer.