They always say that experience is the best teacher. While reading the A+ book may help you with getting A+ certified, strapping on an ESD and getting your hands dirty will help much more. But anyway, my mom's bitching on me to get As b/c she didn't put aside a college fund. I'll be damned if I got a car if I got straight 107s, but I still try. BTW I'm going for the dual seal (IT) w/ honors, and it really does't require much more work than regular seal, but you can get a better foot in your preferred college's door.