COLLEGE REFS

A blog for college advice.

[whenstudyblooms]

『01.17.18』

Well, just had a few days into my job, and it’s going to be a steep learning curve for me since there are all these unfamiliar engineering jargon. >.<“ I plan on watching some civil engineering videos on a college open courseware. 🌟

「Quick tip: Set yourself up for success. Preparation is key~🔑 Strengthen up and stick to your plans. 」

💎studygram💎

[tintedstudio]

Task Check List by Tinted Studios

[fkstudies]

Hello!

It’s officially midterms next week! It’s really tiring but I kept on motivating myself to study. UPCAT is coming on September-October (somewhere between those months) and that is my only chance to get into my preferred university and take my preferred course which is BA History or Library Science. So far, it’s the only school I know that offers those courses, so wish me luck! Happy studying! ☆ ～(‘▽^人)

[slow-and-study]

hurried through to do this february spread 🤗

[delphicoracle]

some almond milk goodness and way too many pages to read.

[collegerefs]

📚📚 i am a commuter student at my college and it's been hard trying to make friends. all the people who live on campus have tons of friends and are having a lot of fun, and here i am zipping from school to home and back again. time flies so fast. i have 0 friends outside of class. i'm not joking. i sit by myself every single day. in high school, i made friends in 2-3 days, but it's been over 4 months and i still don't have anyone. i don't know what to do. how can i make friends?

Apologies for the late response! Making friends in college can be quite hard, especially if you’re a commuter. I lived on campus as a freshman in college, but I still didn’t really make any close friends (aka, people I would hang out with or talk to outside of class) until maybe a year into my college career. Personally, I think the best way to make friends in college is to do things on campus-- especially getting a job on campus or joining clubs. By being on campus more you’ll have the opportunity to talk to other students and get to know them in a setting that isn’t in a classroom. This does require you to go out and talk to people, which can be challenging, but that’s just a requirement of making friends. Keep in mind that you’re not going to vibe well with everyone you meet-- even when you’re going out and deliberately trying to make friends, it still may be a while before you meet someone whom you’re compatible with. Try not to feel bad if the first person (or first few people) you meet don’t instantly become your new best friend. Good luck!

[jackiejapalture]

Hi, there! I have a big exam next month and decided to create an exam study kit to organize and increase my productivity. I hope this exam study pack help your final exam. Good luck with your exam, everyone! We can do it!

Exam Study Pack Including

Final Exam Schedule 

Final Exam Time Schedule (week)

Weekly Study planner

Monthly Style Study planner

Essay Planner

Glossary (definitions & terms)

Note

Click HERE to download the printable (PDF). Please save the file to your computer and open with Adobe Reader DC. Use Adobe Reader, otherwise, it will not work correctly and colors may display completely different. Please let me know if you are having trouble downloading the file.

* Important note: All files are Personal Use (non-commercial) ONLY! Please Do NOT Copy and Edit. Please Do No distribute and sell these files or upload them to other websites.

By the way, I decided to post a new printable item each week (every Saturday). Tomorrow I will post “Free Printable Thanksgiving 2018 Wine Labels” including using a Japanese pattern.  So please come back to my blog tomorrow!

[intellectys]

Here’s some weapons for your essay writing arsenal!

Hemingway Editor Calmly Writer  The Most Dangerous Writing App Purdue O.W.L. One Look Thesaurus JSTOR Google Scholar

Reply with your favourite or other great websites I didn’t include!

[collegecoward]

Do you have experience with grad school? If so - how do I go about starting a thesis? Should I ask a prof to chair my committee first?

I’m not in graduate school yet, but I am completing an undergraduate thesis. You should have a pretty cohesive idea (or a few related ideas) for a thesis, and then go about asking a faculty member to supervise you (if you haven’t been assigned someone already). Your supervisor (also called an “advisor”) is NOT the same thing as a committee chair, and you’ll need an advisor before you have a committee. Your advisor should guide you and help you figure out what to do next.

I went into my prospective faculty supervisor’s office basically knowing what I thought I wanted to do, so he knew what kind of project he was getting into and could comfortably say yes to supervising me. Right away he helped shape my focus, spit-balled ideas, and showed me some of his research methods.

Here are some additional resources, although I encourage you to use your university’s website as well.

Article about where to start with a thesis.

WikiHow on graduate theses.

Article on how to prepare to ask for committee members.

Grad students: feel free to correct me and/or pitch in!

Want more advice like this? Follow me at College Coward.

[eintsein]

August Wallpapers by Eintsein

Hey guys, it’s the 1st of August and I’ve made some wallpapers for y’all. 

Download them here! 

Hope you like ‘em, and don’t forget to tag me with #eintsein if you’re using them :)

[collegerefs]

I took the SAT twice and I got a 1260 with essay (the essay was pretty mediocre), and on my next one a 1200 but a perfect essay. Does the essay matter more when sending in SAT scores to colleges that require it? I dont know if I should send in the better overall score or the one with the best essay or if it even matters at all :/

This is going to depend on where you apply; some college admissions committees will take the essay into account, while others don’t care as much about the essay portion. I have read several things about how many colleges don’t give too much consideration to the written portions of standardized tests such as the ACT, SAT, or GRE, but again, it will matter based on where you apply. 

If a school you’re applying to does not require applicants to complete the written portion, I would recommend opting for sending the test scores with the lower writing score because they clearly don’t care as much about the essay. In addition, if a school requires you to submit any kind of essay or writing sample that shows of your writing, I think you could also send the scores with the lower writing score, as your application essay can demonstrate that your score on the SAT doesn’t necessarily reflect your actual writing ability. Another way to determine which scores you should send is by looking up the average SAT scores of admitted students-- that way you can see what kind of scores those students had in comparison to your own. Hope this helps!

[collegerefs]

Heyyyy there! :) So I've recently heard from my counselor that colleges try to accept people applying to smaller majors at their school instead of the more well-known ones to balance things out and I was wondering if it would be smart to apply as an English major to a school more focused on business and finance and see how it works out or later change majorsnbecause I get straight As in all my English classes but got a few Bs and Cs in all other subjects? Hope that made sense! Thank you c:

When schools accept students into their majors, there are a certain number of spots available in each department depending on how big the department is and how much funding the department has. What your counselor probably meant by the idea that they “accept people applying to smaller majors...instead of the more well-known ones” is that it’s a little easier to be accepted to the lesser known majors at any particular school just because the program isn’t as renowned and therefore isn’t as selective. 

I don’t think it’s a bad idea to apply as an English major and change your major later, but another option is to apply as an undeclared student and change your major later. I would definitely check out the average accepted GPA and ACT/SAT scores of English majors versus undeclared students to see which department you have a better shot at being accepted to. 

[surviveschool]

WHAT TO PACK

packing list by @mathmaticat

things i actually used by @productivecoffee

first aid kit by @wannabeavet

12 things nobody told you to pack for college by @happyjo 

packing list by @introvertstudyism​

things no one tells you to bring to college by @allieswonderland​

definite must haves by @collegerefs​

FIRST DAY

how to college by @danistudies-ir​

things i noticed my first day of college by @arasstudyblr​

picking courses by @the-physics-detective​

STUDYING

things i’ve learned while taking my 1st semester final exams by @studycris​

how to get straight a’s by @bookbearstudies​

study tips straight from my professor by @just-refuse-to-be-stopped​

how i study @ college by @shhhstudy​

tracking college courses in your bullet journal by @the-nerd-bird​

OFFICE HOURS

dear college students by @oldshrewsburyian​

office hours post by @historicalaesthete​

COLLEGE LIVING

working in college by @pawprintedpages

some uni tips for shy people (like me) by @goro-goro-studies

gbm/club season by @alevatross​

living off campus by @honeststudying​

TEXTBOOKS

where to buy college textbooks by @studybuddydotcom

how to save on textbooks by @sandersstudies

sites where you can get free textbooks by @thearialligraphyproject

how i only spent $34 to purchase $1000+ worth of school supplies for college by @dinktea-studymore

CHOOSING A MAJOR

in response to criticism that an english degree is useless by @warmhealer

choosing a major by @collegerefs

GENERAL TIPS FOR SUCCESS

some random uni tips by @goro-goro-studies​

mistakes college freshmen make by @bioluminescent-studier​

what i’ve learned from two semesters of university by @transcendstudy​

five tips by @paperdrop​

5 tips for first year by @highlighterhaven​

questions every college freshman should ask themselves by @studynadia​

a honest university guide by @prodessostudies​

tips for college by @anotherstudyblr17​

college tips by @physicallymath​

advice from a stressed, coffe-addict college student part i by @cafune-s​

things i’ve learned in college (so far) by @trying-to-become-a-good-student​

shitty advice of a college student by @stillstudies​

successful university tips by @candidlyjessica​

a guide to getting your life together by @the-sapphic-desk​

uni tips by @rubythescientist​

college tips from a real live college student by @socsciblr​

things i wish i’d known in my first year of university by @succulentstudy​

things i wish i had known before starting by @andmekb​

what i learned my first semester in college by @studygrl​

OTHER MASTERPOSTS

how to survive in college by @lilypotterr​

college survival masterlist by @college-campuses​

MISC.

double degree by @fuckstudy​

how to prepare for a new semester by @blissfulstudies​

what to expect from your uni experience by @honeststudying​

high school vs college by @collegerefs​

[collegerefs]

hey i sent a few asks but i'm not sure if you received them or not. are you pretty backed up? maybe it's taking a while to reply? thx

We’re a little backed up with questions at the moment! I’m working through them a little slower than I’d like because I know how annoying it can be when I clutter peoples dashboards with 20 answered questions in a row. But I promise I’ll get to your questions as soon as I can! :)

[collegerefs]

I will be attending college this fall, but over this summer I have become severely depressed and anxious about my college / the future. Is this normal? I know a lot of people have some general anxiety or sadness, but it doesn’t seem to be this profound and long-lasting. I’m seeking help so don’t worry, but I am hoping there is at least a partial reason for this spike.

I think this response is totally normal. When you’re in a transitional period of life (i.e., transitioning from high school life to college life) it can be very anxiety-inducing because you’ll soon be leaving the routine that you have been used to for the past four years. It also doesn’t help that there’s a lot of rhetoric in the media about how hard it is to find a job, the rising cost of college, etc., so feeling anxious about the future is totally normal in my opinion. I definitely was anxious about starting college after high school, and even now, after graduating college I feel a similar sense of anxiety about the future. But, I think it’s important to just be able to take a step back and remind yourself that things are going to work out eventually and that stressing about the future can be a very negative thing to do for your mental health. Hope this helps a little!

[collegerefs]

do you know if having a learning/mental health disability looks bad for colleges? ive adhd/ocd and want to apply for 504 but ill be a junior so will they think i Conveneiently applied before the hardest yr of hs? will they go "sure she has a 4.0 but so does he and he didnt get extended tkme"? thank u!

In general, I don’t think learning disabilities will look bad to a college, especially if you have maintained a high GPA despite adversity. My college (and I know my college isn’t representative of all colleges, but I think most schools are probably like this) offered a ton of resources for students who needed accommodations for learning/mental health disabilities. So I doubt that it will be viewed negatively by the schools you apply to. 

[collegerefs]

Hi, you've talked about Cappex. com and i tried to check it out. what do i do if i'm gonna transfer to a university after 2 years of community college? i'm a high school senior trying to become a nurse practitioner and i'm kinda lost. should i apply for scholarships to the community college or the university?

You can do either, although some scholarships are specifically for students attending 4-year universities so you may not be able to apply for those until you transfer to a traditional university. Some scholarships will hold funds for you until you plan to use them, so if you indicate that you plan to transfer, you may be able to apply to some scholarships with the intention of saving them for your 4-year university. It is tricky because some scholarships want to know what university you plan to transfer to, so my general advice is just to apply for as many as you can and be aware of what the scholarship provider is looking for.