Do you usually ace in your tests/exams?

[lingg]

there is this top student in my class who is also an INTJ.
Intjs are supposed to be high achiever in academy, i know.
but but
I'm struggling whenever it comes to MATHEMATICS AND CHEMISTRY! i can just barely pass them.


for your info, my school's syllabus is not SAT but O' and A' level
(yea and btw, i find SAT super easy tho..)

[TheLastMohican]

Yes. I think I have never gotten a B, and I scored in the 99th percentile on standardized tests (in all subjects).

[Fissiongrid]

We are totally alike. I struggled in math and chemistry. Probably since I'm too intuitive to pay attention to the small details. I'm a senior in high school right now, and I'm not even taking a science or a math. (I am taking a lot of AP courses in the humanities, though) (and acing all of them ;) )

So bottom line, I think INTJ's that have more intuition usually suffer in maths and sciences.

[lingg]

We are totally alike. I struggled in math and chemistry. Probably since I'm too intuitive to pay attention to the small details. I'm a senior in high school right now, and I'm not even taking a science or a math. (I am taking a lot of AP courses in the humanities, though) (and acing all of them ;) )

So bottom line, I think INTJ's that have more intuition usually suffer in maths and sciences.

agree with you about the point of having more intuition.
i totally do not have the patient to follow the step-by-step of solving methods for maths! i will just normally copy all the solutions written on the board and go home to figure it out myself. and apparently i cant. I guess that's the reason for me not doing well in maths.

[Kotetsu]

I'm semi-strong in Chemistry (A-) and fairly weak in Maths (B+/A-). I ace everything else.

[lingg]

I'm semi-strong in Chemistry (A-) and fairly weak in Maths (B+/A-). I ace everything else.

that's pretty good huh. i completed the study of trigonomatry last few weeks and i got 55% for the test on that topic ):

[geonerd]

I have a math degree. Most of my math class grades were Cs. I think I got an occasional B-/B.

Once I understood the concept and how it could be applied/correlated to other fields, I was all set. I also had no patience for the tedious steps involved in solving the actual problems. This led to countless points taken off assignments and tests, and therefore bad grades. But hey, I still got my piece of paper and got into one of the best grad school programs for the research I want to do in my (new) field, so I'm happy.

Hang in there...git 'er done. There are very few employers that actually look at GPA when they interview you, anyway.

[Uytuun]

I aced everything that wasn't maths/physics/chemistry-related with ease. Maths, chemistry and physics I couldn't be bothered with and had a difficult time to grasp, so I barely passed. I'm convinced I could've done well in those subjects too had they taught me differently (i.e. not the S, but the N way) and had I been motivated. Higher-level maths, physics and chemistry seem to be very intriguing.

I'm very high N.

[Santana28]

i've never failed a test in my life. homework was another story... ;)

[BlackHawk]

I ace about every test.

And I definitely like to toy with teachers by getting over 100 % in their classes.
;D

[TheLastMohican]

And I definitely like to toy with teachers by getting over 100 % in their classes.
;D

Me too; that is so fun. ;D

[sriv]

I am good at all logical, scientific subjects like math, chemistry, and social studies because of the brute memorization, but I am horrible at English. It is my bane.

[Kotetsu]

What parts of English do you struggle with (critical essay writing, close reading etc.), because you obviously have a grasp of the language? How old are you?

[Bear Warp]

To answer the thread title question: yes. Except for math, I've always had trouble paying attention in math, and usually don't put in the time to remember things. But, in my defense, I've had some crappy math teachers in the past. I basically had to teach algebra to myself and last year's pre-calculus class was...horrifying. I think my class had an overall average of 50.

As for standardized tests...I'm above-average. Nothing more, nothing less. Scored a 1770 overall on the SAT (610 verbal, 550 math, 610 writing, 8 on the essay). I was pretty disappointed with my scores at first, but they were good enough to get me into my first choice college, so I can't complain.

[acyckowski]

Never really aced the tests until I started grad school. In HS and as an undergrad, did the least required to get a reasonably good grade. Don't try this at home, but I once skipped class for six straight weeks and ended up pulling C's. Now that I'm older and have learned what a wonderful scam it is to go to school full time, I take it more seriously and do better.

Math and Physics came naturally. Chem/Bio, too much memorizing. English, the vocabulary and short essays were enough to balance out my utter lack of interest in medieval European literature and the poetry of Walt Whitman. I also got an A in art, for whatever that's worth.

[AgentofGaming]

I only aced the high school tests. I got so used to it I'd make bets with my friends every semester to stash my notes and books in my locker.
The tests I had in computer engineering are obviously of higher difficulty. When the complexity is higher, its more difficult stash to stash it all in the mind without practice. Not to mention they only teach the basics and expect you to learn and apply the more advanced concepts yourself.

[notoppings]

Fortunate one here, Myself and five other classmates (4girls-2boys) never had a chance but to ace, you figure two teachers six kids from 1st grade to 12th we couldn't even forget a homework assignment and ditching class where would we go into the pasture with the cows.

[bubbles]

No, I don't usually ace tests. I would say that I usually ace about 1/4 of the tests I take now that I'm in college. In high school, I aced most tests, but I failed a few (history and math). I have received every single grade on exams before - from A+'s to F's. My grades and exam scores still vary a bit from week to week...

Maybe you're just used to not studying and still getting A's. For some subjects like math and chemistry, you can dedicate all the time you want on it and still get B's. You have to study effectively by not just memorizing but also understanding the subject completely and noticing what the instructor emphasizes in class (that will most likely be on the exam).

[True Rune]

Only when I'm interested, otherwise I do mediocre.

[lordrrr]

Yeah, I usually ace them, but I can also mess up occasionally.

[acyckowski]

Not to mention they only teach the basics and expect you to learn and apply the more advanced concepts yourself.

Ain't that the truth!

Anybody planning on going into science or engineering fields, this is your fair warning: professors expect you to figure out new concepts on the test.

[bubbles]

Ain't that the truth!

Anybody planning on going into science or engineering fields, this is your fair warning: professors expect you to figure out new concepts on the test.

That's very true. I had this professor who said, "If you're working a real job as an engineer or a scientist, the problems won't be from the book. Sometimes you don't even know whether the problem can be solved." That was his philosophy for exams, which resulted in very low exam averages, but I learned a lot.

[acyckowski]

I once got a "B" with a score of 29.

[Zirka]

I aced everything in high school. I'm currently in my first year of university, and everything has scattered absurdly, but out of the 5 courses I'm taking, I currently have A/A+ in two (biology and sociology), and a B+/A- in chemistry, and a B/B- in the final two (calculus, and anthropology).

[thegnat]

I aced *everything* in high school. My GPA was above 4.0 with the AP classes that I took - and I got As in everything else. Now that I'm a chemistry major that has changed dramatically...

I second what people have said about science and engineering fields. Being a science major in college is a different ball game. And as people have said, you can study your a** off and still get a B or C. If you don't study you're screwed. Unfortunately I tend to do worse in classes that should be grade boosters. Like 100 level economics classes than in my advanced science classes...

Oh, and professors are shocked when the average is an A in an advanced science class. That means they have to make things more difficult. In quantum chemistry that happened. Everyone got an A on the test so he was like, "I have to ramp things up." In the past, 50% has been an A in that class.

[Haphazard]

I don't ace everything, but then again I don't study.

I trust my reasoning and memory a bit too much. I get decent grades (A-B range), and I'm in a lot of AP classes, but I don't get perfect grades. I use it to account for error.

[Zilal]

Yes. I tend to study just as much as I think I need to to get 100, which I think is appropriate, heh. I don't see any reason why I shouldn't get 100 on an exam. The truth is, though, that I tend to get more like 92-98, and am horribly disappointed. It is impossible to predict just what will be on the test. But I actually got every question right on an exam this semester and was thrilled.

[Antares]

I should be getting an A in almost every subject because heck, I ace almost all of my tests and exams (I can't say the same for quizzes, but honestly, do they even matter?). As I said before, I can't be bothered with answering questions in English or History class. They ask 'why', and I answer 'why'. It never seems to be enough. Thus I get low grades because my finals don't count for a lot in my school, which is tragic for someone like me. In systems where the finals are what counts and almost *only* what counts, I'd do better. I should have been in the Chinese system after all, except I don't like to have my parents breathing down my neck to be the 'first' in class (they announce EVERY grade. You know precisely what position you are in your class, and for an Asian, anything below 10th place is disgraceful. And there're about 50 students in one class)

Ok. My grades aren't *horrible*, but with a more suitable system, I'd do better. Exam-oriented. Sounds good.

[Randomnity]

My best friend had the exact same experience you did, thegnat. He's also an INTJ who went from A+'s in high school to Cs in his chemistry undergrad. He's doing a lot better now though...he just needed to work harder (and smarter).

I didn't have that experience, for some reason. I've always studied until I feel I know the material somewhat well, although I'm one of the biggest slackers/procrastinators I know. My average has stayed at an A/A- consistently from early high school until now (fourth year in a biology undergrad).

[Jgib5328]

Yeah you aren't going to ace everything in college unless you are a social sciences or humanities major. Most engineers at my school have low 3s for gpas usually between 3.0 & 3.3, while the psych majors have like 3.7s.

[AgentofGaming]

They claim now to be teaching you to learn the material not teaching you the material itself now...
That's very true. I had this professor who said, "If you're working a real job as an engineer or a scientist, the problems won't be from the book. Sometimes you don't even know whether the problem can be solved." That was his philosophy for exams, which resulted in very low exam averages, but I learned a lot.
They should still teach the more advanced concepts, if I was just there for the basics I'd learn out of my textbook and forget paying tuition.
Places where what you've learnt isn't enough: exams, labs, and group projects (especially so when your project members are all incompetent).

As for low marks... bell curve. What can i say, they can't fail us all.
Shove loads math and science down us in a semester, we fail, bell curve, and send us to harder maths and sciences. Talk about bad foundations.

So most people have terrible marks, and didn't the better engineering jobs need masters degrees?
(they announce EVERY grade. You know precisely what position you are in your class, and for an Asian, anything below 10th place is disgraceful. And there're about 50 students in one class).
Then that would mean 80% of the student population is disgraced. :stunned:

[acyckowski]

Oh, and professors are shocked when the average is an A in an advanced science class. That means they have to make things more difficult. In quantum chemistry that happened. Everyone got an A on the test so he was like, "I have to ramp things up." In the past, 50% has been an A in that class.

Yeah, I had one bastard curve down on one test because the grades were "too high."

[bubbles]

They claim now to be teaching you to learn the material not teaching you the material itself now...

They should still teach the more advanced concepts, if I was just there for the basics I'd learn out of my textbook and forget paying tuition.
Places where what you've learnt isn't enough: exams, labs, and group projects (especially so when your project members are all incompetent).

As for low marks... bell curve. What can i say, they can't fail us all.
Shove loads math and science down us in a semester, we fail, bell curve, and send us to harder maths and sciences. Talk about bad foundations.

So most people have terrible marks, and didn't the better engineering jobs need masters degrees?

Most professors go buy the textbook or just teach the basics, but some teach more advanced stuff that are not in the textbook. The exams just consist of complicated and tricky questions that we really have to know the concepts (and formulas) well to solve. In some courses, particularly those traditionally taught in one semester, professors have a very nice way of bringing down the grades so there is a nice bell curve -- they try to fit everything and more, traditionally taught in one semester into one quarter (my school is on the quarter system). Though I have heard of engineering courses where no one got A's and the median grade was a C+...

[AgentofGaming]

Those professors who can explain the matter efficiently and provide something not in the textbook are the better ones.
I know I have a lousy professor when they begin by teaching verbatim right out of the textbook in a monotone voice... I'd rather read it myself in that case.

I'm pretty sure in each of my courses someone is getting 90%+, but its about right that most of our courses have a C average after bellcurve. Although I've seen them screw up and the grades chart looked like a rectangle.

Another thing I notice is that the system is terribly weak at catching cheaters. Lab prep copying, and exam whispering is so prevalent.

[INTJCanuck]

I don't consider myself smart as much as I consider myself a hard worker. I am attending the "top" Canadian university where the averages for most Computer Science courses are C's (65). With my usual solid effort I can score B's, and I'm quite happy with grades like that as I have too many other interests to devote all my time scoring top marks. However in non-CS courses, the same effort yields me A's.

I have a very upsetting habit of losing marks on easy tests, but doing well on hard ones.

AgentOfGaming, you have described one of the reasons why I dropped out of engineering a few years ago: how pointless is it to pile so much work on you that you can't handle it, curve your mark substantially, then deem you fit to take more advanced courses? It seemed so phony to me.

[Antares]

Then that would mean 80% of the student population is disgraced.

Why, are you surprised? This is the Chinese system... And I'm very glad I'm not in it.

[AgentofGaming]

AgentOfGaming, you have described one of the reasons why I dropped out of engineering a few years ago: how pointless is it to pile so much work on you that you can't handle it, curve your mark substantially, then deem you fit to take more advanced courses? It seemed so phony to me.
Yes phony, you bet. I told a classmate one of these days UofT will be famed for it's bellcurve quality engineers.
Also because the undergrads have low marks, most grad students don't come from UofT.

Why, are you surprised? This is the Chinese system... And I'm very glad I'm not in it.
I'm glad too as my public education system wasn't as competitive. Point remains that my parents threatened to sell my computer out if I wasn't above average.

[SeaCzar]

Regardless of the subject, I almost always got great grades, EXCEPT when I had a terrible teacher. Typical INTJ-no respect for the leader. This used to piss me off royally when it happened in a subject I really liked.

[OddFactor]

In everything but math or math related. I really dislike/suck at it/wasn't taught math in 4th and 5th grade so I ended up concentrating and devoting myself to other things. If I didn't suck at it I'd be going into astrophysics, I'm doing social psychology instead.

[Antares]

I'm glad too as my public education system wasn't as competitive. Point remains that my parents threatened to sell my computer out if I wasn't above average.

Typical 'Asian' parent, I gather. My mother promised me an iPhone if I promise her that I'd try to get at least 3.70.

[malefide]

I have gotten an A on every exam I've ever taken except one, on which I got a B. The teacher arbitrarily gave me 5/10 points on my answer to a conceptual question that was, as far as I could tell, thorough and correct. And since the total points for the test were 50, that was enough to bring my percentage down to 80%, which was a B. I still to this day have no clue why she did it!

[brainysmurf]

there is this top student in my class who is also an INTJ.
Intjs are supposed to be high achiever in academy, i know.
but but I'm struggling whenever it comes to MATHEMATICS AND CHEMISTRY! i can just barely pass them. for your info, my school's syllabus is not SAT but O' and A' level (yea and btw, i find SAT super easy tho..)

As strange as it may sound it probably is an advantage that you have some classes you enjoy/are good at and some that you really hate/are bad at. Even if your GPA will be affected by this, if will make it easier to pick a major in college/university. I went to a career counselor when I was about to finish high school and asked what he would recommend. He said it's hard to tell, because all my grades were equally excellent. You at least know what you won't pick as a major.

[enris]

Usually I don't ace exams on subjects that I'm not particular interested in. Majority courses are like that.

I value achievements a lot but only when they're true and actually have some effect on the world. Have never seen a school a place for doing that. I feel it mostly some arbitrage system that usually only rewards on guessing the teachers' "passwords", answers for a question, not actually understanding the concepts, finding things that work or creating something valuable.

Yet I still study but I'm not aiming for highest grades, because I don't see the value versus the effort and time(and I'm quite lazy when I see the importance).

[Fox]

Hello No!

In fact I sucked badly through most of school. I got D's & C's in the three R's. B's in the subjects that didn't really matter. Overall a C Average student. Plus I had to study hard to get there. Schools occasionally placed me in the slower paced classes. Hated those times. I was bright but just didn't do well in those traditional areas. In college majority of my grades turned around. Most of those classes had to do with theories and concepts. I tended to do well when a Professor looked at my Reasoning in an essay and did horrible when they looked at the grammar. There were plenty of dicks who had this "if I find 3 typos" you get an instant F policy.

[Tempest]

If I actually try, then yes. In high school, I slept through most of my classes and still pulled off A's and B's. During my freshman year in college, I had no clue what I wanted to do and really didn't care about my grades at all. Because of this, I got horrible grades. Now that I'm taking college seriously though, I never get below a 95% on any test. But I also study for hours and hours...and hours...

[auriga vega]

I ace exams most of the time. I do bad on writing though. I mean, I get satisfying grade on those, but they usually take me forever. The time I take on writing is not worth even the highest grade.

[Nomadofthehills]

It depends, are you actually preparing for these chemistry and math tests? These subjects generally require practice to achieve competence.

Other subjects are simply understanding concepts, like social studies, english, etc.

[clam]

i guess i'm usually in the top 5 students of the class.

[jerr]

I've been to an school with an International program (the best high school in QC, Canada actually) and I've always had average grades without much work. I was about to fail a course because I lacked motivation for the moronic system that has been education in my view, but then I studied the night before to get 92% and pass.

Maybe it's only because I didn't go to higher education yet, but I've been to college and it was still the same. Exams that only test memory. What's the point, seems like 75% of the people I know/saw at school don't remember half of what they learned. I remember more and I had worse grades then them!

Until I'm satisfied with the evaluation methods in school, I don't want to be part of this dellusion of grandeur. I've suffered enough in school, I've had bad grades knowing I was the most intelligent of the class. That led me to study by myself another subject enterely: web development. Now I'm a self-taught web developer and I'm pretty sure I am better than most graduates in that field.

I'm beginning a math baccalaureat in September and I expect this to be truly challenging for once.

I guess I'm a doomed gifted. Like it was highlighted in one of the links from the "Gifted IQ Links (To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.)" thread, signs that you are in the presence of a gifted in class:
- Boredom and impatience in class.
- Hates rote-learning. Gets called "Smart-Alec" or similar. Irritated by the level of presentation of school work.

[HackerX]

Hmmm, my final results from highschool were (6 subjects):
A+ (Maths B)
A+ (IT)
A (Maths C)
B+ (Chemistry)
B (SoR)
B- (English)

And was top, 97th? Percentile (I think, can't remember now) of all queensland students for my higher school cert.

School for me was maximum results for minimal effort. I did really well in your standard multichoice exams, mostly because I could do most of them in the 10 minute perusal.

But, exams like that? It's all about knowing how to answer them, not about being correct or knowing anything.

[Cannabis Cowboy]

I haven't studied for a test since spelling tests in second grade.
I figure that if i know it, i know it, studying has never helped me much.
Anyway, I usually don't get very good grades (mostly 70s and 80s), because I have never been fond of classwork or homework, I just test well.

[LaoTzu]

I was a bad student...because...well I was offended by it to be honest.

School.

Success? lol! Who's measure??

I always found it a test not of how well you learn, but more how well you can function in someone else's framework....

And for me that spelled 'OBEY' .... (yeah fuck them). I became the 'anti-student' instead. And it worked out very well for me.

I had a 64% average in highschool, without studying/doing homework/and skipping some major projects... I know I shot myself in the foot, but at the time I had no plans to go to University so my marks served no purpose. Looking back, I think I would have made an excellent lawyer... but then again, I could still be one, and have no inclination.... lol! (Just another system of 'rules')

I struggled a bit in College, but once I failed a course, and realized I had to pay again; I became the best 'B' student you ever saw :P

[Steel]

I should have scored an 'A' for efficiency... :)

[Karamazov]

I hardly study, but I always, at the very least, make a B on my exams. All I need to do is just pay attention and take notes.

[EminenceGrey]

Before university, I always aced. Having an 8 (scale 4-10) was a catastrophe, and anything less than 9½ a disappointment. In university (scale 1-5, 0 being unaccepted) I have had every grade possible, but mostly the better ones (my average now that I am almost finished is 4.18). In university one needs to study, too, to get good grades, even though I myself have had more economics-related than hard engineering courses (I study Industrial Engineering and Management). But sometimes we also have very badly made and stupid exams, like remembering some lists and so forth, and I seldom score highly in those. A "normal" exam with esseys etc. is much more my cup of tea.

[zibber]

I used to ace everything, everything, preferably faultless, but as soon as I realised that I could get by fine virtually without studying, I took the B road. I discovered that I'd been setting my standards way too high for each exam, basically preparing as if they'd be twice as hard than they'd always turn out to be in reality. I still go pretty hard for the occasional exam, but that's an exception now. (My pinnacle of laziness came last year, during an exam, when I had done 3/4th of the questions and decided that'd probably be more than enough. I got a 70% score :laugh:)

It depends, are you actually preparing for these chemistry and math tests? These subjects generally require practice to achieve competence.

Other subjects are simply understanding concepts, like social studies, english, etc.

My gradual shift from "hard" to "soft" sciences (for lack of a better term, as those terms are hardly satisfactory) must've helped, too.

[SiMey]

I used to score pretty high in tests at high school, without any major effort to study.

Then I figured out at uni that a degree is an entry to a job. After you get the job, no one will care how high you scored in a school test. I just got slack and was satisfied with a pass mark.

[davh04]

I generally did quite well in Humanities based subjects. When it came to Maths and Science however, despite trying to understand concepts, I almost always didn't do as well as I would've liked to.

Maths A (Average maths): B
English (Literature): B+
Geography: B+
Modern History: A
Legal Studies: A
Business: A

.. and with those results, I managed to be the top student in the cohort (Dux/ Valedictorian).

[Ace1337]

I aced everything except math and chemistry. And physics was sometimes a B because I was too lazy to do anything at home.
I had problems with math and chemistry for the same reason mentioned in this topic. I hated the approach of the teachers to teaching those subjects. It was all memorization of formulas and procedures and not even knowing why you were doing it. Most of the time you didn't even know what you've gotten as a solution although it was correct. The sensers excelled in that but they we're so lame in literature and philosophy.
The only time I got A's in math was when we were doing trigonometry and solving real life problems with equations. I knew why I was doing the calculations and that's what made it interesting.

[jonchan2003]

Ahh... i seem to fit in quite well with many of the people here, do well in all my sciences except chemistry, and though i normally do well in maths the last test was an epic failure. 'So bottom line, I think INTJ's that have more intuition usually suffer in maths and sciences.' However this part of the post is making me waver with subject choices. Hope to however to well in my major exams coming up now, possibly go into the sciences...hmmm... I don't know what to do in life...(sigh)

[endless]

I always ace exams, science in particular though I've never gotten less than 90% on any paper in any subject, however...I rarely if ever put anything into coursework...it was always so simple and boring...

[Ermisenda]

I pretty much ace everything. I get top of the year for Art, Drama, History, 2nd in English and 3 in Maths. Its pretty good since I barely study.

[Sere]

there is this top student in my class who is also an INTJ.
Intjs are supposed to be high achiever in academy, i know.
but but
I'm struggling whenever it comes to MATHEMATICS AND CHEMISTRY! i can just barely pass them.


for your info, my school's syllabus is not SAT but O' and A' level
(yea and btw, i find SAT super easy tho..)

I think you have to be able to understand the concepts properly in order to do well in Math and Chemistry. I believe you don't like fuzziness in your work?

My brother is also INTJ and done his A-levels in Math and Chemistry. He aced his GCSEs and did the same for A-levels albeit encountered difficulties from time to time. I think it just demands more effort on your part.

Generally I tend to ace my work.

[SmileyMan]

I ace every science subject (Physics, mathematics, chemistry), except biology - there's too much to memorize in that subject, and it is not interesting at all. I also ace every subject except Danish in the field of humanities.

[Thinker]

I went through university and only attended a few lectures and tutorials.
I couldn't stand the inane questions from other students which wasted everyone's time.

I was much more interested in learning what I wanted to learn...rather than concentrating on the set syllabus. The library was my domain.

I saw exams and assignments/essays etc as a hurdle to jump rather than a learning experience. I wouldn't say I "aced" exams - but I got my share of A's.

I was different to most students because I was a little older (23 when I went to Uni) and I was highly motivated.

[Hinun]

I actually did very badly in school when I was younger, I only had a high school GPA of 3.4 (though I ditched classes and did many many drugs).

I ace almost all of my tests in college now (A or above), I am supposedly in the 99th percentile for math and reading comprehension (placement tests).

[Deliberator]

I'm not amazing in math (struggled to get my 660 on the SAT's and recently upped it to a 690 to tutor them) and in classes would get A's if I studied, B's if I didn't. I'm capable, not brilliant.

I rock chemistry. My crowning achievement was getting the highest grade in our organic chemistry class for the second exam when the average was a failing grade. I got a 94.

[Hinun]

I'm not amazing in math (struggled to get my 660 on the SAT's and recently upped it to a 690 to tutor them) and in classes would get A's if I studied, B's if I didn't. I'm capable, not brilliant.

I rock chemistry. My crowning achievement was getting the highest grade in our organic chemistry class for the second exam when the average was a failing grade. I got a 94.

wanna trade brains for a year? lol! I have to take a year of chemistry (inorganic, assuming you're good at that as well), lol... I only got an A- last quarter with studying... I guess chem isn't my thing, I just score well in mathematics and physics :/.

[Deliberator]

wanna trade brains for a year? lol! I have to take a year of chemistry (inorganic, assuming you're good at that as well), lol... I only got an A- last quarter with studying... I guess chem isn't my thing, I just score well in mathematics and physics :/.

Only an A-? I don't really consider an A- that different from an A; even with all A minuses you still end up with a very nice GPA.

[Nomadofthehills]

I actually did very badly in school when I was younger, I only had a high school GPA of 3.4 (though I ditched classes and did many many drugs).

I love how to us INTJs a 3.4 is bad!

My S friends hope to get Bs after hours of studying.

[Sage]

I get As in pretty much all of my classes. The only classes that annoy me are the ones that require a tremendous amount of boring reading, aka humanities/history type classes. Though, I love attending lectures (including humanities/history). I go to an engineering school, so luckily most classes have a scientific / logical slant.





Sage added to this post, 2 minutes and 1 seconds later...

I'm not amazing in math (struggled to get my 660 on the SAT's and recently upped it to a 690 to tutor them) and in classes would get A's if I studied, B's if I didn't. I'm capable, not brilliant.

I rock chemistry. My crowning achievement was getting the highest grade in our organic chemistry class for the second exam when the average was a failing grade. I got a 94.

Haha, I had a 99 average in a physics class last semester. Highest grade out of several sections. I never took notes, just paid attention and attended all lectures. INTJs definitely are superior at academics, IMHO.

A large percentage of the students failed.

[Zer0]

Me = just like most people in this thread.

No effort at all in school before the university and still pass with good grades.
Back then on one of the subject I seems to have talent on, not just that I didn't spend even a single minute preparing for the exam, I actually had to deliberately wrongly answer a few questions as my classmates persuaded me that this will help most people when the teacher grades the score in relative manner. (oh yes it feels good to brag once in a while :P)

After reaching the university though, my great great laziness did me a great favor and I actually got retired once after the first year. I resubmitted for the same university with my old entrance exams score though.

[4sakentears]

In school I had no problems, rarely studied (maybe 1-2 hours a day before exams) and my lowest grade was 65/100 (and this was because I forgot to do an assignment).

A month ago, I did an entrance exam for a local university, where I had to answer 150 questions (15 of each subject: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Portuguese, English, Philosophy, Literature).

(putting it into context: this type of exam is the standard for university admission here in Brazil, though universities are free to chose which subjects they will cover)

Of the 150 questions, I got 125 right and 94/100 out of a written exam. That was with a year of light studies (i.e. no all-nighters, if I got tired I would go for a walk or listen to some music).

As for subjects, the ones which were most troublesome for me were History and Geography. With Mathematics and Physics, I had a few problems which were solved.

[probity]

I was straight A's in everything except Chemistry and Biology. My biology grade was the teachers fault. She'd occasionally put the wrong grade in her records but threw all our tests away instead of giving them back. This happened to me several times.

Chemistry is just something my brain will not absorb. I never had to study anything else but all the studying in the world could not bring my Chemistry grade up. I even dropped my Trig class to give me more time to study chemistry (big mistake). I slid by with a D.

[acyckowski]

I love how to us INTJs a 3.4 is bad!

My S friends hope to get Bs after hours of studying.

Hell, I got my BS with a 2.5 after 5 years. Because of my stubborn insistence on taking "challenging" classes, I kept taking elective classes because I thought I might learn something. Took me years to realize that "pass/fail" courses count towards your credit count, but not your GPA.

My ISTJ wife, on the other hand, figured out the game quickly, and took nothing outside of her core curriculum unless it featured multiple-choice exams. She graduated in four years with a 3.5.

All in all, though, grades don't matter much unless you're planning to go to grad school immediately following college. Once you're in the workforce for a few years, even the grad schools don't mind so much that you "lacked focus" as an undergrad.

[Antares]

I love how to us INTJs a 3.4 is bad!

My S friends hope to get Bs after hours of studying.

3.4 is bad! and I got that for last report card. I have to bounce back to my usual 3.6 at least. In tests, I aim for 100 most of the time.

Math: Above Average, but certainly not top
Science: Well, if it wasn't Greggie screwing me over, I daresay I do quite well
Music: I'm top dog in music. No questions.
PE: Epic fail.
Social Studies: Quite above average
English: My teacher appreciates my inputs in class; I'm usually the one who first grasps the connection between things (metaphors, motifs, main ideas etc.) before anyone else despite my boiling hatred for literature, but usually gives me average grades. I guess being an N helps.

[naughtysnail]

I used to be a good all-rounder. My only B was in music at GCSE. Did less well at A level, but I'd argue several mitigating circumstances, not least of which was that my Religion and Philosophy teacher thought that Descartes was pronounced the way it was spelled. Always shown high aptitudes in Maths and English, and some sciences, also later in languages (very good at French).

I think I'm getting stupider as I get older -- must have killed off some braincells somewhere along the way. In my degree classes I get 2.1s more often than I get firsts.

If you have trouble with maths and science, it's possible they're not being explained to you right. I've always enjoyed maths a) because my Dad was a maths teacher, and 'exposed' me to the Magic of Maths at a young age, and b) because I'm very good at logic, which I think is common to most INTJs. Science I'm good at because a lot of it is maths with explosions! Perhaps if you approach maths more as logic and less as puzzles or something, you will find it easier?

[sagewolf]

I don't study. Hell, some days I don't even bother going in to school, and I don't do a lot of my homework either. However, since the entire education system is geared toward us passing an exam in June, it doesn't matter: I just need to know my stuff for the three hours that I'm taking each individual subject and I'll do fine. And I have done fine with this strategy for five years at this point. So I see no reason to change it.

In everything but Irish and English I do damn well. Irish is just... hard. You're expected to write discursive essays (2-3 pages long) in it, and I came into the school system late, so I don't know the language as well as the rest of the people in my class. In English we have a lot of essays to write discussing, say, the prevalence of darkness in a text we study (Macbeth for our particular class). I tend to stay on the middle road when a clear stance is preferred, although I'm getting better at this and it's worst with the poetry.

In Math I own the classroom. That is ALL. I got 99% on the Christmas test and the first thing I thought was, "What the hell did I get wrong?" When it comes to Math, almost perfect is not good enough for me.

[Ender]

I usually screw up pretty badly on tests. And by screw up badly, I mean B's and C's on average (I think that's accurate). Frankly I'm fine if I have time to sit back and think without distraction, but the whole test-taking environment just totally screws with my brain (ie: can't think right because of time pressure, for instance).

I mean, I really have problems with focus and distractions. On the rare occasion that I can focus completely I process things really clearly; it's like fog lifting from a window. The problem is, complete concentration is not easy for me to achieve, when I rarely have an even semi-quiet environment.

[WyohKnott]

Yes, I do, in everything except math, which is the bane of my existence.

I'm convinced that the main reason I do so well is that my parents always taught me that anything under a B was essentially failing - anytime I get anything other than an A in something, it'll bug me for at least a week. Probably not terribly healthy... but there you go.

[Deliberator]

I don't study. Hell, some days I don't even bother going in to school, and I don't do a lot of my homework either. However, since the entire education system is geared toward us passing an exam in June, it doesn't matter: I just need to know my stuff for the three hours that I'm taking each individual subject and I'll do fine. And I have done fine with this strategy for five years at this point. So I see no reason to change it.

In everything but Irish and English I do damn well. Irish is just... hard. You're expected to write discursive essays (2-3 pages long) in it, and I came into the school system late, so I don't know the language as well as the rest of the people in my class. In English we have a lot of essays to write discussing, say, the prevalence of darkness in a text we study (Macbeth for our particular class). I tend to stay on the middle road when a clear stance is preferred, although I'm getting better at this and it's worst with the poetry.

In Math I own the classroom. That is ALL. I got 99% on the Christmas test and the first thing I thought was, "What the hell did I get wrong?" When it comes to Math, almost perfect is not good enough for me.

Irish IS hard, I picked up a book on it out of curiosity once and couldn't even get through the first page. I assume if you are forced to learn it in school you must be from... hm.... Ireland?

[nautilus]

used to do well (high 80s) in high school

currently have a shitty GPA in university. hate it!

[EternalThought]

I don't ace everything, but then again I don't study.

I trust my reasoning and memory a bit too much. I get decent grades (A-B range), and I'm in a lot of AP classes, but I don't get perfect grades. I use it to account for error.

Same here (in college), I'm too lazy to really study, might skip over problems 2 hours before the test. My lowest grade was B- in History, but that's when I was doing Philosophy major, now I'm doing Pre-Engineering, so time will tell... I;m still not studying enough :p

[Terian]

I don't usually study, especially if I find the teacher incompetent. I dislike homework as well, so my grades are suffering a bit. However, I do ace my exams. Tests are one thing I am very good at completing well.

Let's see, out of the recommended 16 hours of study time to get a B in my most recent Biology class, I studied maybe half an hour to an hour and got a 97% on the test.

[harrycallahan71]

I tend to ace Social Studies tests because it's my best subject. I usually do pretty well on English and Science tests although I have had bad ones. I usually do pretty dreadful on Math tests, but it's always been my least favorite subject. My study skills do need improvement since I'm starting college in the fall.

[Jonathan Brewer]

I always scored high. There were times when I did not score as high but I found it to be in areas I was not given to respect too much. I remember getting a C in typing during High School. The only C I ever got in my life. I look back on it now and laugh. I can distinctly remember thinking throughout the entire class "what a waste of time". You can not teach good typing, though you can develop it. Other areas that interested me, like mathematics I had literally perfect scores in.

I believe INTXs are prone to be obsessive with the subjects that fascinate them, often at the exclusion of all else. I also believe it is not necessarily done consciously but is more often as much a surprise to them as to their fellows. Furthermore, their lacking in a particular area does not translate to an inability but rather disdain for more organized methods of instruction. Experimentation and exploration is how most of the great minds discovered/uncovered.

Confidence is key.

[Lainy]

Not at all. Depending on the teacher I usually take pretty good grades. Mathematics, chemistry and physics usually takes a very good teacher to teach me, nowadays I'm pretty relaxed at those. I've always been pretty good with humanities but never wanted to follow that path for real, just for fun.

[einnelsate]

If I bothered to study, I would.

But I'm much too busy reading what I'm interested in, like books by Feynman, Michio Kaku, etc. Which don't help at all at school, but whatever.

[Gabrielle]

I guess I was a straight A student - to be honest, they ran out of classes right around year 11 so I ended up commuting to the nearby university for 2/3 of my classes. I did well in them (A's), I got almost straight A's on my AP's (A levels) - I had one 4 that marred my perfect score. So yes, I was a straight A student. My forte were Physics, maths and chemistry. I hated biology.

Unfortunately, medical school is different from high school, and I am struggling. I'd be lucky with a pass. I failed my midterm (which means I'm in the bottom quartile of my class). Since I did really well last year in university (straight As), this is rather shocking.

My performance varies with the professor and the teaching method. When I click, I do extremely well; when I don't, then I do abysmally.

My SAT scores were somewhere around 2200~2250. My ACT score was 36.

So I've generally done well in exams, I guess. By the way, my IQ was below 100.

[Hatsumomo1]

We are totally alike. I struggled in math and chemistry. Probably since I'm too intuitive to pay attention to the small details. I'm a senior in high school right now, and I'm not even taking a science or a math. (I am taking a lot of AP courses in the humanities, though) (and acing all of them ;) )

So bottom line, I think INTJ's that have more intuition usually suffer in maths and sciences.

I'm fully convinced that chemistry and math are such ISTJ subjects.

Anyway, I struggle with organic chemistry and calculus and of course, physics. They frustrate the hell out of me. I feel your pain.

Biology fascinates me, so I'm usually pretty good at it. Any subject where you can think abstractly and get into a good debate about I'm pretty good at as well. People have told me I should be a lawyer. Too bad American law doesn't interest me. I wanna be a doctor.

[Nomadofthehills]

used to do well (high 80s) in high school

currently have a shitty GPA in university. hate it!


High 80s are NOT good haha.

[Jonathan Brewer]

I guess I was a straight A student - to be honest, they ran out of classes right around year 11 so I ended up commuting to the nearby university for 2/3 of my classes. I did well in them (A's), I got almost straight A's on my AP's (A levels) - I had one 4 that marred my perfect score. So yes, I was a straight A student. My forte were Physics, maths and chemistry. I hated biology.

Unfortunately, medical school is different from high school, and I am struggling. I'd be lucky with a pass. I failed my midterm (which means I'm in the bottom quartile of my class). Since I did really well last year in university (straight As), this is rather shocking.

My performance varies with the professor and the teaching method. When I click, I do extremely well; when I don't, then I do abysmally.

My SAT scores were somewhere around 2200~2250. My ACT score was 36.

So I've generally done well in exams, I guess. By the way, my IQ was below 100.

Are you sure you want to be a doctor? You may be subconsciously fighting it. IQ scores are rather subjective. Mine is exceptionally high and I haven't been schooled beyond the seventh grade. Hard work and determination are key to success in anything. If this is what you really want than keep pushing. You can do it kid.

[Medicine Man]

I doubt it is your intelligence that is holding you back in medical school. The average IQ of a medical student in america is 127-132 according to the studies I have read. Your test scores indicate an IQ of around 145-155. Perhaps it is your study habits that need modification. Memorization of details is what took me from slightly above average to top of the class in medical school. I know it is unINTJ to learn this way, but it does give you a better understanding of some concepts.