davidadeoluwa:
A significant number of them were below average in their early education ( 4 out of 6 in primary school and 2 out of six in secondary school)
I might write a book on my findings one day sha

That's not true, I was already intelligent in my secondary and primary school

psychologist:
I am honestly just beginning to understand..

They find genuine love in what they are studying, this love raises curiosity in them, this curiosity in turn makes them to go extra miles making relevant research on that course of study, that's why you will constantly find them in libraries or anywhere they will gain more insight.

Furthermore, they develop this attitude of not seeing class tests, exams as what they are in actual sense, rather they see them as practical real life problems that bothers in that field.

Good!

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Two factors people forget are determination and perseverance. That extra discipline and grit to put in your very best in whatever you do and whenever is a dealbreaker. Going the extra mile.


cc: Admitwithschola

He no epp anybody. Most of them live boring lives and they end up with regrets of spending most of their time reading while in school.

They put all their talents into their work

Dey look for job

light099:

Well son, you don't have to be a genius to have First-class in a Nigerian university, in fact, most products of First-class are not geniuses.
The most brilliant student in a class most times doesn't end up being the best student.
Going a bit further, it also depends on the department and what it entails, school and some other factors (such as underground runs).
But then, going by your moniker @OP, since you're an introvert raised to the power of 2 (introvert2), you should be able to lock yourself inside the four walls of your room, for hours in reading your books. That's one of the cheat codes to have a first class, and it works all the time, except your villagers are shadowing you on 4D screen.



You're almost very right but still, you don't have to be smart to have a First-class.
Having a first-class is more of hard work than intelligence or smartness.

Hard work in reading comes before any other thing. Intelligence and smartness are there to complement your hard work.
Reading and memorizing ability are prerequisites to scoring high in Nigeria.
No matter how smart you're, if you're too lazy in reading and memorizing, you'd be singing farewell to first class.
Ask medical students, no matter how brilliant you're, if you can't burry your head in your Keith Moore textbook for hours each day, just put your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
Reading and memorizing (a.k.a la cram la pour) is one of the pillars of having a good grade in a NIGERIAN UNIVERSITY.

This man speaks great truth.

for me it's creativity & Ability to utilize your Gifts like this one �

You can be good in one aspect of profession and when you try to go educational, it will be really bad... so Evey one is gifted in one area or the other...

This is personal advice. Hv a vision & a SMART Plan.
E. G. Vision: I want to come off with First-class/Distinction {also write it perhaps on every book u hv}
Hv & Follow a functional reading timetable {be consistent & make up for lost grounds if there are disruptions}
Invest in resources: books, data
Ask questions in class or seek clarification from lecturers & mentors
Review past questions/mistakes/errors & personally hv exams scenarios
Watch, pray & serve God
In summary: Diligence, Discipline, SMART Plan, Fear of God.
Once again, this is personal...

most of them end up working all their lives for savvy businessmen.

My view on this is dichotomous:
1.Hardworking
2.Naturally endowed

Based on non-fictious view, Hard work tends to override every other approach to success. First Class students study more than those with lower grades academically. Even the ones you think they don't read much and yet graduate with first class have a well schedule for all their activities.

Some people are naturally more intelligent than other and will take lesser time to understand, but Hardwork cannot be compromised here.

FIRST CLASS STUDENTS HAVE MORE TO OFFER THAN OTHERS IN THEIR FIELD OF STUDY; PRACTICALLY OR THEORITICALLY, CETERIS PARIBUS!!!

chatinent:
They believe they are in competition with themselves. It motivates them to beat the odds.

That's a big lie

Maj196:
He no epp anybody. Most of them live boring lives and they end up with regrets of spending most of their time reading while in school.

gosh!!!
you will still jam same kind with no first class...
no generalization...

dukeprince50:
I'm just gonna use myself as an example, I didn't graduate with first class but I graduated with 4.44.

So first thing first, some people are gifted upstairs, yes they are gifted cos I easily understood a topic far much more than most of my colleagues and I end up conducting tutorial classes for my coursemates.

But being gifted is just one part of the story, these guys read a lot, personally I always make sure I finish any course five times before any exam, yes I wasn't exaggerating, I will always finish a particular course five times before the exam date, which means if I have 10courses in the semester, I'll finish my courses 50times, though I can't read all five times each but at least I do finish the least course twice of thrice, and after exam, I end up having a G.P.A of 4.7, 4.6 or even 4.8.
Most people don't really know how to read, just like in my 100level first semester, I attended night class almost everyday but got a C.G.P.A of 3.57 cos i didnt know how to read then in my second semester I decided to set a target of 4.4 but ended up with 4.17 and since then, I have never gotten anything less than 4.0, my least GPA was 4.10 in my 200level.
in conclusion, first class students are either gifted or have a good background already before they got admission and after that, they set a target and try to achieve it.
So whatever u do in life.
1.set a goal
2. get to work
3. stick to it
4. achieve ur goals, very simple

best comment

dukeprince50:
That's not true, I was already intelligent in my secondary and primary school

not at alllllll

ZIINI:
Not that their more brilliant or intelligent than other students but they already know what we call WAY
Brief story back then in uni days there's this girl she's very brilliant if i go any further to explain how brilliant she is I'll exaggerate but she's too brilliant.
So one afternoon I went to one lecture's office the lecturer is a very jovial individual students go to his office and some even buy him something
So on entering his office I saw this brilliant girl she was the one crosschecking and marking the paper we did about some minutes ago.on seeing this I just smiled
So guy's put yourself in her shoe if you happen to be marking your own exam script in one of the highest grade subjects how will you score yourself?
And back then she mark for 2 to 3 other lecturers
Mind you she's brilliant so adding the two together one won't be too surprise if she come out with a 1st class

What if she was asked to mark all minus her own?

There are three major areas to focus in learning for assessment.

1. Knowledge: where you absorb concepts and ideas relevant to area of study; The first class(FC) will not only get an understanding of what’s required but go an extra length to see what’s outside the learning material. Also, memory techniques help here. When tested on knowledge, you might have to define, explain, describe, etc. a FC will go extra here for additional marks well above the median.

2. Assimilation: here, it’s not enough one understands the concepts but you can appreciate the interrelationships between concepts and how they form part of the whole. A FC will demonstrate how chapter 1 relates to chapter 4 to answer a question from chapter 7. This is where the bulk is.

Lastly, 3. Application: after the first two, one has to show how what’s learnt is applied to real life situations. And here is where the bulk lies. A FC will show the potential impacts of one factor on a series of other factors, whilst keeping answers and responses relevant to the issue on hand.

Other soft areas are style of communication particularly, choice of words (industry speak), confidence, the lucidity of thought and how one arranges arguments( intro-body-conclusion), etc.
It’s also a plus if you know what you assessor likes to see.

Here are some of my thoughts.

Sunnycliff:
Nothing ọ, just the brain and ability to recall in the exam hall.

It's not only by hours of reading, because I know of some mates who don't read much, at most three hrs a day and they hit 4.5.
Theres nothing like genius in the world. Just mastery of key essentials in a relevant field, either by luck, privileged information or repetitive processes especially reading past questions.

Go and master those essentials and graduate with first class

davidadeoluwa:
I'm currently researching on this issue. I conducted an online survey with about 50 respondents, out of which less than 10 ( about 6) were 1st class. The distinct features about them was against popular views; 1. They're smart (they identify and utilize opportunities than the average student) 2. They're not necessarily 'intelligent' but are hardworking. The whole thing is that they don't always have the good cards (i.e intelligence) but are good players (they're smart and hardworking) NB: My findings are not concluded yet and i'm still working on getting more respondents

Errors detected!

First, what are dis opportunities u're talking abt per se? To be objective & emperical in ur research findings u will hv 2 exclude all shades of ambiguity, personal prejudice & dogmatism, at least 2 d very minimal extent!

Second, it's as if u actually don't do ur semantic analysis well on what exactly INTELLIGENCE connotes!

Dis is because somebody can't be a smart hard worker & not be intelligent at d same time!

Or, on what basis is d smart work resting? On mediocrity or dullness?

In my opinion, ur 2nd point cld be apt & incontrovertible if u had put it dis way:

"The 1st Class graduands are not necessarily GENIUSES, bt are INTELLIGENT HARD WORKERS"

Yap, dis is factually so because somebody can be intelligent & not be a genius!

According 2 d world's distinguished frontliners psychologists, one of whom is dis German psychologist, L. Wilhelm Stern, who was d 1st 2 coin d term Intelligence Quotient (IQ) :

GENIUSES are pple wit VERY HIGH INTELLIGENCE denoted wit 140-150% IQ level!

SUPER GENIUSES are pple wit SUPERIOR INTELLIGENCE denoted wit 151-200% IQ level!

Exceptional pple wit OVER 200% IQ level are referred 2 as UNIVERSAL GENIUSES!

Whereas, INTELLIGENT pple are denoted wit 100-120% IQ level!

BRILLIANT pple are denoted wit 121-139% IQ level!

And pple wit AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE are denoted 100% IQ level!

DULLARDS are denoted wit 50-99% IQ level!

MORONS wich are d lowest in d IQ levels are denoted wit 1-49% IQ level!

Meanwhile, IQ level is calculated frm d ratio of Mental Age to Chronological Age in percentage!

Frm d foregoing, u find dt it's scientifically & analytically impossible 4 someone 2 be a SMART HARD WORKER & NOT BE INTELLIGENT simultaneously!

PunchLine:

D 1st Class Graduands are necessarily INTELLIGENT, bt may not necessarily be GENIUSES!

Remember, u both contradictorily & controvertibly said they are SMART, bt are NOT NECESSARILY INTELLIGENT wich is misguidedly false!

Find d meaning of being SMART below:

Most schools abroad give you certificate after every year. In my first year, I had a distinction (which is better than first class). How did I do it? I stayed focused, used a memory improvement technique, and read ahead.

The second year, I started clubbing a lot and going to parties. I wasn't focused because I realized school was a scam and didn't care about grades anymore and I fell from distinction to second class upper and I didn't care.

The things I learned when I was going to parties and socializing had made me millions today, but those prestigious certificates haven't fetched me even 1 Kobo. Maybe, I should blame myself for being too lazy in searching for jobs. I hate searching for jobs, so I never searched for jobs more than 2 times since I graduated.

In summary, it's not about certificate, distinction, or first class, but what you can offer the world. Get the degree if you want (for the sake of respect in the society) but don't put all your hopes in it. Period.

So, having a distinction or a first class doesn't necessarily mean you're a genius, but you're focused.

I would rather want the people I love to be focused on their skills and talents than in "certificate."

I would have preferred if the first-class graduates speak for themselves. When many people who did not finish with a first-class start talking about these things, it dilutes and defeats the purpose of the thread. I believe many want to learn.

I had a first-class semester GPA (4.72 out of 5.00). So I think I am slightly qualified to contribute here.

An important aspect is to study the lesson notes (and understand them) as quickly as the lecturer teaches them. Don't wait until exams. Understand, then memorize. Don't memorize before understanding. Also, even importantly, if you are confronted with an exam, understand the question and don't just jump to answer. The only edge I had was that I went beyond what was taught in class. In subjects where I understood the topic presented, getting an A was easy. In subjects where I didn't particularly understand, I struggled to get a B or C.

Abroad (I also studied in Germany), the professors are super-strict and getting a first-class (distinction) is not as easy as many would like to think. What you need to make a distinction is thorough understanding of the subject. Also a significant aspect of training abroad is oral presentations. I got a distinction in all my orals because I did what other students did not do: I used humour in my presentations even when discussing important scientific matters (I wouldn't advise anyone to do it, I am just sharing an experience).

And an aspect that can help anyone is humility and strong relationships. Be quiet. Listen, listen and listen. Don't let your mind wander. Have a good relationship with your supervisor. I saw a guy make a distinction because his supervisor was the dean of the faculty and even though three persons needed to vote to award the distinction in the thesis (which determined if he got a distinction overall), no one dared challenge the grade awarded by the dean.

It most times take grace.

falcon01:
They have nothing better to do they put their whole life in education and only few become successful.

God bless you for this

It's 50% hard work and 50% Good's grace

Kaxmytex:
A lecturer comes to lecture hall and spent like 2hrs, he does that for the rest of the semester
Let's say he went through all the course content in 10 lectures for that semester, which means he spent like 20hrs for the whole content..

On the exam day, u saw the questions, it cut across all the whole course outline, and time allowed to answer it is 2-3hrs

Course content wey lecturer use 20hrs cover, dem give u 2-3hrs to cover am...

How first class student come dey do am, e dey simple..
This set of stüpid guyz for the first 2 sessions no dey miss class, they use this period to get familiar with their lecturers, how he set questions, how he answers question, the textbooks and materials he made use of, is he the type that loves essay answers or straight forward answers, how deep does he goes on an outline,etc
For the first two sessions, they know the lecturer very well even though they are not close to him.
The rest of the sessions, na the lecturer dey familiarize with them, they get close to them, the student sef dey do chores for some coz dem don turn padi, this student use this closeness to psyche some daft lecturers up to spill what they are not suppose to say which include some question and answers..
This period even if they write rubbish in the exam hall and submit it, the lecturer go respect am because they have paid their dues in the first 2 sessions...

I think the scenario you gave up there fits Public secondary schools more than universities.

falcon01:
Intelligent yes but smart? not necessarily they are just book smart and some lack the ability to logically analyse things.

90.9% true. You can out smart em in life situations but books nay thats why most of dull when they come to the real world in this our 9ja.

Just over studying... nothing much
as a scientist back then in school...
I can definitely say I'm a first class student in my Dept by practical....
other are by theory...first class that can't write a single pieces of code...
not everyone is a qualified computer Scientist...

chatinent:
They believe they are in competition with themselves. It motivates them to beat the odds.

Some people have a picturesque memory,they make their own notes
So they can read a whole textbook few hours to the exam
They read it word for word,recite it out and in their head,cram through each page of the notes they made
Shorten a textbook of 500 pages into like 40 pages,some even 30,this is like a skill though,cause leaving only the relevant stuff s
Now on the day of the exam,their picturesque mind opens those pages one after the other and it's like they can see their notes,but this causes migraine when it's more than 2 crammed textbooks in a day and it can cause juxtapositions if it is more than 2 textbooks,like a complete wipe off,you see each question,you know the answer,you try to turn the pages in your head but you just can't grasp it.
This is only for read to pass,it stays in for few weeks,if you don't go back to read your notes after few weeks,those pages in your head fades away.
A picturesque memory can be trained

Olaskybab:



I think the scenario you gave up there fits Public secondary schools more than universities.

Yeah, u are right bro because majority of this so called universities are glorified secondary schools..

Osagyefo98:
Many of them are jobless..

Is this what dey asked you... It's inferiority complex that will kill you... They asked what first class students do differently, you are saying most of them are jobless... People like you are the problem of this country, always on the defensive side... Very anyhow some body

It’s a lot of hard work, but those who earn first class easily are mostly gifted by God. Many of them may not study so hard before full assimilation like their mates, and they don’t necessarily need to spend hours on one course, yet they top the class. It is a gift from God Almighty, and we are all gifted but in different ways. You might find yourself struggling to do better than the guy or lady who tops the class every session, don’t waste your time...just find what your strength is as well.