Many people encounter a rude awakening upon their entry into college.

This is because the leniency of high school makes some people think they deserve good grades without working for them. The teaching style in high school makes people believe that everything will be spoon-fed to them. And the easiness of the material in high school makes facing challenges and putting in an effort to understand a topic a foreign concept. There’s a secret tool to doing well in college and we all possess it.

Hint: it’s right between your ears. Use your brain.

It may sound like something that is more easily said than done. We all know the people that are able to absorb information and rarely have to study to get good grades. In addition, there are the people that have identified which study methods have worked for them and go through their usual routine, no matter how short or long, in order to understand and master material. Both types of people are completely fine.

Unlike the person next to you, you may not be able to understand something the first time you see it. That’s fine! The problem arises when you accept your lack of understanding as your new way of life. Yes, college is hard but that isn’t the universal excuse to give up when something is difficult.

Taking time to study, needing to ask the teacher for additional help, or seeking alternative explanations from your classmates are perfectly reasonable methods to learn something. What isn’t reasonable is accepting a lower grade due to laziness or blaming your low grade on anyone but yourself.

In college, you control your grades. Yes, there is a lot going on. You’re probably in lots of clubs and have many other obligations but balance is essential. Make a schedule to get in a good amount of study time or miss a meeting to write your paper. Saying that the teacher didn’t teach it well or that you’re just not “compatible” with that topic aren’t good reasons.

In high school, I struggled with physics. I acknowledged it and, when it came time for me to take the class again in college, my mindset wasn’t “I couldn’t do this before so I can’t do this now” it was “I couldn’t do this before so now I have to find additional resources early in the semester to help me before it’s too late.”

Going into organic chemistry, the notoriously scary subject for most STEM students, I didn’t walk in on the first day accepting that I wouldn’t understand it because it’s hard. I dedicated twice the amount of time I gave to other classes to make sure I understood it. If the teacher didn’t explain it well enough, I went to the textbook. If I had a question, I asked it. I formed study groups and, when they didn’t work, I spent more time working by myself.

The greatest disadvantage you can give yourself is buying into the fact that you are not smarter than college is hard. I am a firm believer that anyone can learn anything if they truly want to. Accepting a low grade or giving in to the hardness of a topic before facing it head-on is just giving you an excuse not to work as hard as you may have to. So, as finals week approaches, let’s all strive for greatness and apply ourselves rather than settling for minimal effort.