I always find it a bit frustrating when I get excited about a grade I worked my butt off for, and people just roll their eyes thinking "What's new?"

As much as I'd love for everyone to think I'm a natural born genius like Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, I'm really not.

Getting good grades in college is no easy feat. Everyone who has been or currently is a college student can relate to this. However, I only think it fair to share my secret of how I have managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA for the past five semesters.

The secret to getting grades that you can be proud of is actually not a secret at all. You've been hearing these things repeatedly your entire academic life. The real "secret" is that everything you've heard actually is the key to being successful.

First and foremost, you have to know how to prioritize.

No one is saying you can't have a social life, but you need to know how to prioritize what is important in a particular moment. Is it that six-page paper that's due tomorrow that you have yet to complete? Or is it the trip downtown that your friends want you to take with them? The ability to choose the work over the fun has to be a choice you're occasionally willing to make.

Planning ahead is EVERYTHING!

If you don't have a planner, you should probably get up and drive to your local Targeé (a.k.a. Target for those of you who missed that social media train) right now. No joke, writing down everything that is due on an organized calendar is the absolute best way to always have plenty of time to complete any assignment as well as never forget to turn one in. Your planner will be your magical little friend since they have this enchanting way of making you feel significantly less overwhelmed about what you have to do if you have it all written down in front of you.

If you put off your work, the procrastination puppy will bite, and it will bite HARD.

You might as well throw your little magical planner in the trash, set it on fire, spit on it, then burn it again if you decide to put off assignments. There is not enough magic in the world to help you once you've dug yourself into a deep hole of procrastinated despair. Putting off your work not only makes your life significantly harder than it needs to be, but the chances of you turning in quality work are as high as Kanye West becoming your professor. However, if you so choose to make the highly recommended decision of doing your work ahead of time, you will find yourself with much more free time in the long run, and you'll have better grades. Win, win.

Never be afraid to ask your professor for help. You're paying their bills after all.

When I started college it took me a while to woman up and go to my professors' office hours. It can be intimidating, but by building a good relationship with your professor you will be able to go a LONG way. Not only in the current course, but in the future as well when you may need a shining recommendation. Professors actually WANT their students to come in and see them, no matter how done with life they seem in the lecture hall. It shows them that you care about a subject they are passionate about. By communicating to them that the grade in their course is important to you, your professors will do everything they can to help you achieve the goal you have for their class.

Simply put, you have to want it.

Making honor worthy grades is not as simple as 1,2,3 A, B, C (cue the Jackson 5.) However, they are attainable. You will have to do work when you don't want to, and possibly longer than the little demon on your shoulder is saying is necessary. But if the grades are something you truly want, your effort will be paid off tenfold. Long, miserable days are a sure thing when it comes to getting a good amount of quality work finished, but you will feel like huge weights have been lifted from your shoulders.

College is difficult. But if you would like to see a 4.0 on your record for this semester, it's possible with just some determination, dedication, and the desire to do well. You are capable of much more than you think!