If you want to know not only how to get through a class you hate but how to pass a class you hate with flying colors, check out this article for tips you can implement immediately. You'll be able to stop thinking thoughts like "I hate studying for this class" and become a more motivated student.
If you want to know not only how to get through a class you hate but how to pass a class you hate with flying colors, check out this article for tips you can implement immediately. You'll be able to stop thinking thoughts like "I hate studying for this class" and become a more motivated student.

Do you have a class in college or high school that you absolutely hate? You have no motivation to study for it—in fact, you wish you could drop the class, if it weren’t for the required credit. Additionally, you’re earning unsatisfactory or even failing grades in the class, and it’s hurting your GPA.

Well, I have some good news for you.

In this article, you will find strategies that you can implement immediately to pass a class you hate. Whether you hate a subject because you think it’s boring or that you’re bad at it, you’ll find effective strategies to improve your grades and even start to enjoy a class you hate.

Spreads for planning, habit tracking, mood tracking, self-reflection, and more that you can use any month of the year.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that when you make a purchase through a link, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Personal Experience With a Class I Hated

Ok, so a little personal story before we begin. In high school, I took AP World History because the majority of my grade was taking it. However, the truth was that I had zero interest in history (I apologize in advance to all the history buffs out there).

If you want a guide on popular AP classes, check out Most Impressive AP Classes (+ Useful Tips to Succeed in Them)

Because I had never taken a rigorous history class before, I had no idea how to study for a history class effectively. I also had zero motivation to study because I had no interest in the course content.

When you're not interested in a class, studying for it is frustrating.

Unfortunately, my attitude of “I hate history class and I’m bad at it” was reflected in my first major test grade. When I got my score back, I was shocked to see a B- (because I had actually tried to study for the test—keyword there is “tried”).

It dropped my grade from an A to a B (although admittedly, the only grades before that were the signed syllabus and some small homework assignments). Consequently, I realized that I needed to change my approach to the class.

So I did—I ended up raising my overall grade in the class from a B to an A+, which I maintained throughout the rest of the year. I also received a 5 on my final AP exam.

And in this article, I’ll explain exactly how I accomplished this. By the end, you will understand not just how to get through a class you hate but how to pass a class you hate with flying colors.

Let’s jump in!

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Section #1: Attitude is Key

If you constantly have thoughts of “I hate this class” or “I hate studying for this class,” you’ll never be able to improve your grade. You need to find something about the class that excites you.

As difficult as this may sound, here are some strategies you can implement to achieve this:

First, ask yourself: “Why do I hate this class?”

Identifying what you hate about a class is very important. Only by digging out the root can you remove the harmful weeds that sprout from it.

Do you hate a class because you’re not interested in its content? Do you hate a class because you’re bad at the subject? Or do you hate a class because you don’t like the teacher or professor?

If you hate a class, ask yourself why you feel the way you do.

It’s important to understand your exact situation. That way, you can implement strategies specific to your case.

If you hate a class because you’re not interested, you need to find value in the subject.

If you hate a class because you think you’re bad at it, you need to develop more effective study strategies and potentially seek help.

If you hate a class because you don’t like the teacher or professor, you need to separate the value of the course content from the teacher.

Find value in the class

If you don’t like a class because it’s boring, you need to find value in the course content. This is difficult because we often have to take classes that don’t interest us for a required credit. However, it is possible, no matter your situation.

For example, as someone who was pursuing a STEM major, I took AP World History mostly for the history credit. I didn’t like the class because I couldn’t see the point in taking it. I felt that the information would never help me in my future career.

However, when I switched my mindset to focusing on the ways AP World History could be applicable instead of the ways it couldn’t be, I felt much more motivated to study.

I would spend time contemplating parallel trends between history and the modern-day. This gave me a greater awareness of current issues and patterns.

Identifying real-world applications for a subject you hate will make it more enjoyable.

Additionally, I focused on how writing essays and analyzing historical documents were making me a stronger critical thinker. These skills would be important for my future STEM career, as I would need to analyze research papers and critically ponder problems. I replaced thoughts like “I hate history class” with more productive thoughts like these.

This is just a personal example, but no matter what class you’re taking, it will expand your skills and knowledge in some way. It will indirectly help you in your future career.

And even if you don’t believe that a class will benefit your career goals now, expanding your knowledge will help you make more connections. You’ll be able to converse with people about diverse topics from a more knowledgeable standpoint.

Check out this FREE 12-page high school plan workbook, meant to guide you in choosing classes, extracurriculars, and more to get into your dream college.

Spend time with people who actually enjoy the subject

This is crucial for changing your attitude toward a subject you hate. If you want to get through a class you hate, spending time around students who also hate the class will only pull you farther from your goal.

I know this because I fell into this trap at the beginning of my AP World History class. I would often talk to classmates who also hated the class. We would bond over our mutual hate for history. As you can probably imagine, this was very counterproductive.

Talk to a friend who enjoys the subject.

So instead, I began talking to classmates who loved history. My best friend was a history nerd, so we would have conversations about history. Talking to her helped me understand how people find joy in learning history. Additionally, seeing her motivation to study for the class also motivated me to work harder.

Section #2: Paying Attention in Class

If you find a class to be boring or difficult, paying attention can be very hard. However, if you already have little motivation to study for a class, not paying attention will only leave you with more to self study.

In simpler terms, you need to pay attention.

Here are some tips to help you concentrate:

Actively take notes

Taking notes during class will help prevent your mind from straying. I personally prefer taking notes by hand because I love using colorful highlighters, drawing diagrams, and scribbling side notes in the margins.

Also, using a digital device introduces many distractions, such as the temptation to solve the daily Wordle (and then maybe a Quordle… and then an Octordle… you get the gist).

Engage and participate

If you have trouble with this, check out this little excerpt (with a few modifications) from my post “27 Foolproof Tips On How to Get Good Grades in Online Classes”:

To fix low participation, hold yourself accountable for participating at least once in each class session. You can ask questions, answer questions, or participate in discussions.

To hold yourself accountable, take out a slip of paper. On it, write down the name of the class and the days of the week. Each day, pull out the slip of paper and add a check if you participated.

At the end of the week, count all of your checks and divide them by the total class sessions you had. (You may only need to score yourself every two weeks or every month, depending on how often you have the class.)

Create a scoring system for yourself. Here’s one I created for myself.

You can use this weekly participation scoring guide to hold yourself accountable for participating in your online classes.

Try to treat participation as a game!

Section #3: How to Study a Subject You Hate Effectively

If you hate a class because you think it’s boring, the “Attitude is key” section should have explained how to stop having counterproductive thoughts like “I hate studying for this class”.

If you hate a class because think you’re bad at it, you need to make some changes to your study routine.

Here are some tips to help:

Download this list of 30+ daily habits to improve your life.

Identify your weaknesses

When you study, you need to spend most of your time targeting your weaknesses. A good way to identify what your weaknesses are is to reflect on why you received low marks on a test or assignment.

After receiving a B- on my first test in AP World History, I asked myself, “What mistakes did I make, and how can I avoid them in the future?”

I realized that when studying, I had focused too much time on nitty-gritty details—the exact dates of events, the exact names of people involved. In doing so, I had missed the larger historical trends, which was what the test had focused on.

Consequently, I targeted this weakness the next time I studied.

Use online resources

The good news is that you’re not alone when you study! Many people have already struggled with the concepts that you may be struggling with.

Do a quick Google Search, and you’ll likely find tons of in-depth tutorials. Choose a source that is reputable and suits your learning style.

Use online resources when you get stuck while studying.

For example, since I had trouble with identifying larger historical trends, I would watch Heimler’s History. He did a great job of explaining these trends and how individual events fit into them.

Seek one-on-one help

If you’re struggling with a subject, reach out to your teacher for an extra help session. Or, find a classmate or tutor who can help you understand a confusing topic.

The point is: if you don’t understand something, utilize the resources available to you. Don’t sit around waiting for it to make sense.

Don’t procrastinate studying

Especially for a subject you don’t like, you need to break up studying into chunks over a few days. It will make studying much more tolerable and manageable.

Don't procrastinate studying.

Estimate the amount of time you will need to spend on each topic. Write down which topics you will study each day in advance. When making your daily to-do list, reference this study plan and add the topics you need to study to your list.

Spreads for planning, habit tracking, mood tracking, self-reflection, and more that you can use any month of the year.

Reward yourself while studying

After studying a section, reward yourself with a quick break. Grab a snack. Go outside for a bit. Play with your pet. (Don’t scroll on your phone.)

Explain what you’ve learned to an invisible audience

This probably sounds like a funky tip, but it was super effective for me. After every section I studied for AP World History, I would explain it to an invisible audience.

Explain the concepts to an invisible audience.

I would describe the concepts as though I were explaining them to people who had no prior knowledge. This helped me be more engaged when studying.

It also tested my understanding of the information. If I could simplify the concepts for a beginner, then I truly comprehended them.

It also helped me retain the information better. In fact, according to a study done at the University of Waterloo, studying out loud helps information stick in your long-term memory.

Section #4: Associating the Class With Things You Enjoy

If you’re still having trouble getting excited about a class, try incorporating elements you like.

If you’re not sure what that means, check these tips out:

Buy some nice stationery

If you love taking handwritten notes like me, having aesthetic stationery can go a long way.

Buy nice highlighters, colorful gel pens, and a cute notebook or binder for the class. Just the desire to use those supplies will make you want to study for the class more.

Find fun ways to study

If you like using flashcards, make flashcards for each test.

If you like drawing, add some fun doodles to your notes.

You can add fun doodles to your notes.

If you enjoy studying with friends, form a study group. You can hold a round of jeopardy with your study group before an exam.

Incorporate your hobbies into assignments

This probably sounds difficult, but I’ll describe some ways I did this to make assignments more fun:

  1. Instead of using Google Slides templates for presentations, I used fun and creative (and 100% free!) templates from Slidesgo and SlidesCarnival. The added aesthetic motivated me to work on assignments. I also loved playing around with fun animations when making slideshows.
  2. This example applies to a course I enjoyed, but it shows how I incorporated a hobby into an assignment. In AP Biology, I had to make a 40-minute video on cell signaling. Since I love working on small artsy projects, I created stop-motion videos of cell-signaling pathways using cutouts and a hand-drawn cell diagram. Doing this motivated me to learn the material and finish the project faster.

This last one is a little silly but here it is anyway…

If I was having a really bad day with zero motivation to study for my AP World History class, I would pretend I was studying for History of Magic at Hogwarts (yes, I know, very silly).

I liked to envision myself a student at Hogwarts.

However, the point is that you should find any way you can to associate a subject you hate with things that you like.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve reached the end of the article, here’s a quick overview of the main steps for how to pass a class you hate:

  1. Attitude is key. Turn thoughts like “I hate this class” into thoughts like “This class is expanding my skills and knowledge.”
  2. Pay attention in class. Actively take notes and participate at least once each class. You can turn participation into a game.
  3. Develop effective study habits. Dismiss thoughts like “I don’t like studying for this class” or “I’m bad at this subject.” They are very counterproductive. If you want to improve your grades, you need to target your weaknesses, study in manageable chunks, seek help if necessary, and reward yourself for progress.
  4. Associate the class with things you enjoy. Find creative ways to incorporate things that bring you joy and excitement into mundane assignments.

Finally, if you’re interested in more tips on succeeding in different AP classes, make sure to check out this post. Or, if you’re interested in general study tips for all students, check out this post.

Which of the steps above will you be implementing to help you ace a class? What are some creative ways you’ll be incorporating hobbies into your assignments? Let me know in the comments below!

Spreads for planning, habit tracking, mood tracking, self-reflection, and more that you can use any month of the year.

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Learning With Angie is a place to share honest, unfiltered advice to promote student success. So if you’re a student (high school, college, or beyond) looking for tips on productivity, studying, personal growth, and more to reach your potential, this is the place! To read more about Learning with Angie, click here.

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