A project’s success is often influenced by who is in the group. The following tips can be useful for getting the right people in your group and getting a good grade on your project.

1. Find partners who live close to each other. The majority of the people in the group should live close to each other. This is important because if you want an A, you’re not just going to work on the project on the days that you have class. Thus, it’s important to live close to one another so you can complete certain tasks when you don’t have class or on the weekend.
2. Find partners with complimentary skills. You should pick people who can bring different skills and abilities to your project. You should have one person who’s an organization king/queen, and computer wizard, a good writer, etc. It’s just like a sports team. You don’t need everybody on the team to have the exact same skills (you’ll lose that way). You need people in the group that can contribute in different areas to the project can be a success.
3. Don’t just select friends. You shouldn’t typically be in a group with a lot of your friends. When you’re in a group with a lot of your friends, you tend to get less work done. That doesn’t mean form a group with all strangers. It just means that you need to cautiously pick your group and pick people that you know will contribute to getting the project done (not somebody who is not going to do any type of work). You can develop new friendships and study buddies this way.
4. Know the work ethic of your other group members. Make sure that you are not the only one buying the supplies and/or doing all of the work. Let your professor know if this happens.

Remember you’re not just selecting a group. They are also selecting you. You need to be a valuable contributor to a group to be in the position to select good group members..