Who gets the best grades at top universities? An exploratory analysis of institution-wide interviews with the highest achievers at a top Korean University

This study explores what makes high achievement at a top university in order to gain insights into college learning. For this purpose, institution-wide in-depth interviews were conducted with the 45 highest achievers (GPA of 4.0/4.3 or higher) at a top Korean university, and the interview data were primarily analyzed qualitatively to investigate in-depth determinants. The results revealed that these highest achievers share the following specific cognitive, motivational, and self-regulation strategies: (1) they recorded all of the information provided in class; (2) used a motivational regulation strategy rather than motivation itself; and (3) were highly managerial in their cognition, emotions, physical condition, time management, and interpersonal relationships. These findings were verified by quantitative data obtained from online surveys of 1,111 students at the university. Critical implications and suggestions, such as institutional support, evaluation criteria, cultural differences, and other related issues, were discussed.