This is not a beautiful studyblr.

My handwriting isn't beautiful and I don't always use fancy pens. Just out here trying my best.

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Tips for Presentations

I generally get pretty good feedback on presentations, so I thought I make this list of tips and things to pay attention to for people who struggle a little. I am in uni, but I think part of this is applicable for school presentations as well. I hope this helps some of you~

Preparation:

Start early. Do not start working on your presentation 2 days before. I start 2 weeks before the presentation. You don’t have to do everything yet, just look through the texts to get a grasp of the topic. But do something.

Make sure you know what’s expected: length of presentation, PowerPoint, handout, discussion question, …

Show your professor what you worked on before the presentation and ask for feedback. Send them your handout, show them your structure during their office hour - something like that.

Make sure, you actually understand everything you’re going to talk about. If you don’t understand something, ask someone for help. Don’t just put this info into your presentation and go ahead. People will notice whether you actually know what you’re talking about or not.

On that note, be able to explain technical terms and concepts that come up in your presentation.

Know more than what you’re telling. Think of it like an iceberg. The tip is what you talk about in the presentation, everything underneath the water is your background knowledge. This seems like quite a lot, but it isn’t. Believe me. And with this you’re making sure, you’re able to answer any kind of question that comes at you. 

Have less text in the PowerPoint than what you’re telling. Nobody likes having to read so much. 

Remember to put the name of your institution, course, professor, your name and date of the presentation in the page header of your handout.

Practice, practice, practice. If not in front of others, do it in front of the mirror. Also it’s good to stop the time to see if you’re in the expected time frame, if there is one.

Presenting:

Shortly before presenting, take a few deep breaths and drink some water to calm yourself down.

This is more important for uni/college: Introduce yourself real quick “Hello everybody, my name is…. and today I will talk about….”

Make eye contact with people. And not just one person, but various who sit at different spots in the room. If you have very big issues with looking people in the eyes, look at the spot right between the eyes. It’ll look like you’re making eye contact but will be less anxiety inducing for you. 

Try to speak as freely as possible. Don’t take notes with you that contain full sentences. Just get some flash cards with a few key points if necessary.

Have something in your hands. I either hold flash cards or a pen. This’ll keep your hands occupied and you won’t have this awkward “I don’t know what to do with my hands” feeling throughout the presentation.

Speaking properly is super important. Fortunately, I have been blessed with being able to speak well, despite hating presentations and being pretty introverted. If you’re not good at speaking in front of people, I would recommend taking a speaking class (some unis offers those for free). Or practice it at home. Try to pay attention to clear pronunciation, keeping your voice stable, speed, breathing,… There’s also youtube videos about this.

You don’t have to impress other students. Keep that in mind. Don’t feel nervous because of them. Lots of them don’t even know what you’re talking about (lots of people don’t do the readings) and some don’t even pay attention during the presentation. 

Remember to give people the opportunity to ask questions after you’ve finished presenting.

After presenting:

Ask your professor for a short feedback on the presentation once class is over or during office hours. Their criticism will help you improve.

[tittiestatties-deactivated20141]

[clittyslickers-deactivated20250]

very into charts about naps

[shrimpojess]

Nap charts guys.

[problemedic]

Naps are the best when studying for exams

[exmellivorinae]

OH MY GOD whyyyy did no one tell me you’re supposed to send thank-yous after interviews?? Why would I do that???

“Thank you for this incredibly stressful 30 minutes that I have had to re-structure my entire day around and which will give me anxiety poos for the next 24 hours.”

I HATE ETIQUETTE IT’S THE MOST IMPOSSIBLE THING FOR ME TO LEARN WITHOUT SOMEONE DIRECTLY TELLING ME THIS SHIT

[a-windsor]

NO ONE TOLD YOU???? WTF! I HAVE FAILED YOU. Also: Dear ______: Thank you so much for the opportunity to sit down with you (&________) to discuss the [insert job position]. I am grateful to be considered for the position. I think I will be a great fit at [company name], especially given my experience in __________. [insert possible reference to something you talked about, something that excited you.] I look forward to hearing from you [and if you are feeling super confident: and working together in the future]. Sincerely, @mellivorinae

[exmellivorinae]

THIS IS A LIFESAVING TEMPLATE

[a-windsor]

YOU ARE WELCOME

[emeraldboreas-deactivated201809]

My brother got a really great paid internship one summer. The guy who hired him said the deciding factor was the professional thank you letter my brother sent after the interview.

[suaimhneas-peace-deactivated202]

should it be an email? or like a physical letter?

[daminwayne]

email, you want to send it within a few hours at max after the interview if you can so it’s fresh in their mind who you are. 

[khirsahle]

Confirmed! I interviewed for a job right after arriving in NY. The interview went incredibly well, and I went home and immediately wrote a thank you letter and put it in the mail. I had a super good feeling about this interview.

I didn’t get the job.

However, a few weeks later, I was called in to interview with another editor in the same company, and I did get that job. I found out later from the initial editor (the one who didn’t hire me) that he had planned to offer me the job, but since I didn’t follow up with a thank you letter, he assumed I didn’t really want it. He offered the job to another contender–but when he got my letter in the mail shortly after the offer had already been made, he went to HR and gave me a glowing recommendation. It was based on that recommendation that I got called in for the second interview.

So: send an email thank you immediately (same day!) after the interview. If you’re feeling extra, go ahead and send a written one too. OR go immediately to a coffee shop, write the letter, and return to the office and give it to the secretary.

Either way, those letters are important.

[neurofancier-deactivated]

Pro tip: If you really want HR to develop a personal interest in your application, publicly thank them on linkedin. Just make a short post telling your network about how X recruiter really went above and beyond to make you feel welcome, or about how be accommodating and professional they were, or whatever. Make sure to use the mention feature so they’ll get a notification and see it. 

Flattery will get you everywhere… and public flattery that might make its way back to their manager, doubly so.

[oaky-dokey]

Obligatory plug for one of FreePrintable.net’s sites: ThankYouLetter.ws. They have a whole section with interview thank you letter templates, and a page with specific tips for interview thank you letters. (There are also tons of other letter templates if you browse around a bit.)

[lightspeedsound]

Also like for cover letters I always closed with “thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to hearing from your company, should my skills fit the needs of this position.” Which got me employed less than a year after law school in the field of my choice

[gabryellastudies-deactivated202]

10 big academic reminders

1. there is no shame in asking for help (academic, emotional, or mental) 

2. there is no shame in going to tutoring 

3. there is no shame in getting Bs, Cs, Ds, or Fs 

4. there is no shame in not knowing what you want to study 

5. there is no shame in having a job 

6. there is no shame in struggling in a so-called “easy course” 

7. there is no shame in withdrawing from a course you don’t feel comfortable in 

8. there is no shame in changing your major 

9. there is no shame in not taking a full load of classes in a semester 

10. there is no shame in realizing your school may not be for you

[emmastudies]

The 100 Days of Productivity Challenge with EmmaStudies!

Productivity challenges are a fun way to help boost your motivation to get things done! ‘100 days of productivity’ is one of the most popular challenges when it comes to Tumblr and Instagram. As I am planning to start the challenge, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get more people involved! So, where do we start?

What is ‘100 days of productivity’? To put it simply, the challenge is to do something productive for 100 days. It comes from the idea that each day, we can do at least 1 thing that pushes us forward. The challenge is meant to improve your sense of accomplishment and show that with a bit of motivation, you can get things done!

What classifies as productive? This is entirely up to you and what you feel is worth recognition. Whilst the majority of study blogs do something study related each day that isn’t a set rule. Some examples could be:

studying for an accumulative time of 2 hours a day

decluttering your desk and study space

finishing all your homework

drafting an assessment you’ve been procrastinating on

organising your files

sorting through your emails and implementing a filter system

backing up computer files and phone

organising your monthly plan

going to study or read at the library

finishing a book you’ve been meaning to read

setting up a file organisation structure on your computer

creating a resume and cover letter

applying for jobs, internships, work experience

spring cleaning your bedroom and study space

organising your bookshelf

unsubscribing from spam emails

collecting account emails and passwords

sorting out your expenses and budgets

deactivating unused social media/email/etc accounts

Obviously, this list has just a few options. You can do anything which you find achieves a positive and organised result! Even if you do something small, you can count that :-)

Does it have to be consecutive days? It can be, but there isn’t a rule. Most people attempt to do consecutive days but that isn’t always possible. Doing something productive one day after another is great for building your self-discipline, however, you can skip days if need be. If you do, don’t feel bad! Remember to bounce back and continue the next day.

Who can join? Do I need to have a studyblr/studygram? It is open to anyone! There are no requirements for joining. You don’t need to have a studyblr or studygram! If you’re looking for a fun way to motivate yourself with the backing of other people, this is a great challenge to be a part of. 

When do I start? Absolutely whenever you want. Could be the start of a month, the start of your school term or for the new year. For this which I’m setting up as a collective challenge, I am planning to start on Monday 9th October. For anyone who has seen this post before then, you are more than welcome to start the same day! But if you see this afterwards, you can still join and be a part of it - but you’ll just be a few days behind, but that is not a problem! :-)

How do I track document my productivity? Most people document their journey through Tumblr or Instagram by posting a photo each day (or every few days). I will be doing this! I will be tagging my posts with #emma100dop which you should too. This way I can see your photos and reblog them too!! As a challenge which I am hoping lots of people can get involved in, having a specific hashtag is great for motivation.

Similarly, it is worth tracking your days on paper. I have created a printable set which you can download for documenting each day’s work. *Download link here!*

Do I have to share pictures? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to share. For studyblr and studygram accounts this is a good idea because you’re uploading original content but if you don’t have a study account, you don’t need to upload any. You can still document your progress with photos and make a gallery on your phone if you want. As mentioned above, I have a printable which you can download for free to track your progress. If you don’t want to take pictures, you can just cross off or write down what you did that day! 

I am really excited to start this challenge with you guys! :-) I think doing it as a collective group is a fantastic idea in terms of boosting and maintaining motivation through the whole challenge. With lots of accountability partners, we should all hopefully manage 100 days! Best of luck! Remember to tag me in your pictures on Tumblr and Instagram!! x

Other posts | Printables | Instagram | Youtube | Pinterest | Etsy Shop

[moody-poet-deactivated20180227]

How I Got Straight A’s in My First Year of University

I was so proud of myself when I received firsts (that’s A’s for those not attending uni in the UK) on all of my assessments in my first year at university. Here are some tips for y’all to try at any point in university. They may be specific at times to my experience—my degree is in the social sciences and humanities, and I’m studying in the UK—but I did try to make them more generally applicable, and hopefully they should be helpful to someone out there.

Part One: Everyday Study Routine

Before the start of the academic year, try to get in a little bit of preparation. See if there are any syllabi or reading lists posted online. You don’t have to pour over them, of course, but do attempt to do something, and have a basic grasp on what will be covered in your classes.

Go to all your lectures and seminars. Unless you absolutely have to miss class because you are ill or have an important obligation to take care of, it’s really important to attend your lectures every day. (Note: if you are struggling with mental or chronic illness or a disability, don’t beat yourself up if you keep missing class. Please take care of yourself.) You may be tempted to just look at the PowerPoint presentation online, but it’s much more effective to be there in person. Often the lecturer may include information or extra explanations which are not included in the presentation. It will also allow you to process the information aurally as well as visually, and you will have the added benefit of taking notes too. You may also be able to ask questions.

Do all the pre-reading for lectures. I know it’s tempting to put it off, but try to work it into your daily routine (because you will have reading to do every day). Inevitably, there will be times where you slip up and don’t have time to finish. If this happens, make sure you catch up on it at some point, because it’s very important to solidifying the concepts you are learning about. Also, the more you read in general, the better you will become at reading (and also writing).

Take diligent notes (for both your lectures and pre-reading), and keep them organized. I prefer to handwrite in a notebook, as it helps me synthesize information rather than just typing it out verbatim—but it is totally up to you. If you do use a notebook, make a table of contents on the first page, where you write the date, topic, class, and page numbers of each set of notes you take. I think it’s a great idea to include your own thoughts and opinions in notes, or linking concepts you are learning to concepts you already know about.

If you have the time, make sure to be reading books/essays/articles and engaging with ideas outside of your regular syllabus. This is one of the most important techniques (in my experience, at least) when it comes to writing essays and answering exam questions. Evidence of wider reading around a topic is a great way to boost the credibility of your argument. It also does wonders to solidify and broaden your conceptualization of certain ideas you may have covered in your classes.

Where possible, try to contribute (as much as you feel comfortable) in seminars. If you are very quiet and reserved, that is totally okay too. I’m with you. But it has helped me tremendously in the past year to push myself to speak up more often in seminars. Talking in seminars allows you to clarify concepts and engage more deeply with the material being discussed (and it might impress your seminar tutor too, though this is secondary to the learning in my opinion).

If you have some nerdy-ass friends, talk with them about your ideas and what you’re both learning in your courses. I can’t tell you the number of essays I’ve written which actually have blossomed out of conversations I’ve had with friends, where they’ve exposed me to topics I’d never heard of before or broadened my view of a concept. Learning from each other in a casual and fun setting is amazing!

Part Two: Assessment Time

When you are given notice about big assignments coming up, such as essays or group projects, try to start working on them ASAP. Trust me, I know how hard it is. This is coming from someone who has dealt for years with chronic procrastination issues and nearly didn’t graduate from high school because of it. But you must start planning as soon as you possibly can, because the due date will come screaming up and before you know it, it’ll be the night before the deadline and you won’t have a clue what you’re writing about. Work it into your daily schedule if you have to. One great tip is to write down the deadline as being earlier (say, a week earlier) than what it actually is. This will prompt you to start earlier than you normally would have.

Do a shitload of reading, widely, from multiple sources. Read everything you can on the topic you are doing your assignment on. For a basic literature review, this means looking through at least 20+ sources. That doesn’t mean carefully perusing each one front to back; it means looking through all the relevant literature to find a few great sources which will really give you a coherent argument and a big picture of the topic at hand.

Keep your sources organized. I use Paperpile, which is a Chrome extension that allows you to save and organize academic sources. I make a folder for each assessment I am working on, and anything I find relevant to my topic, I save it to the folder. This will be a life saver for you when you actually go to plan your paper and also do the referencing.

Content is important, but perhaps even more important is your argument and structure. This mostly applies to essays, but you can apply it to other types of assessments too. Try not to structure your argument in terms of blocks of content—e.g. Paragraph 1 is about Topic A, Paragraph 2 is about Topic B—but rather in terms of how you are laying out your argument. Make sure each part of your essay flows into the next, so that you are, for example, setting up a kind of dialogue or narrative between the different sources you’re using. Also ensure that any point you are making clearly relates back to your main thesis.

If you’re a perfectionist like me: train yourself to remember that there is no such thing as perfect. Try to imagine what the perfect essay would be like. Can you imagine it? It’s probably pretty difficult, right? That’s because there is no such thing as a perfect assignment. Remind yourself of this, constantly. Tell yourself that you will be okay with just doing your very best. If you think about it logically: handing in something that is perhaps not your best ever, but handing it in on time and doing pretty well, is infinitely better than attempting to have a “perfect” essay but handing it in late and failing the assignment.

I hope this helped some of you! Best of luck and happy studying this year—go knock ‘em out! xo

[allydsgn]

ok I’m going on a follow spree because, as made obvious by the most recent ask game I did, I don’t follow enough people. Please send help.

REBLOG IF YOU POST:

studyblr

studioblr/artblr

illustration

graphic design

lettering

(if you have any recommendations you can also mention them in your reblogs! I’m really looking LOL)

[nerdybun]

nerdybun’s back to school printable set!

prepare your new school year with these printables that will aid you in your studies! this printable set includes —

daily planner

weekly planner

assignment planner

project planner

essay outline

grade tracker

download links and examples under the cut

– download daily planner

– download weekly planner

– download assignment planner

– download project planner

– download essay outline

– download grade tracker

sorry for the late post, loves! are you guys in school already? I procrastinated a little making these examples :T and was just finding a style I can stick to for more coherent looking posts in the future. I really hope you like them!

these printables are in Photoshop PDF files, so you may edit if you want to change some stuff a little. just please don’t repost them as your own! also, lemme know if you’re using any of them and tag me #bunnynichole if you post c: 

[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!

[vanesastudies]

How I Use OneNote for University

Hey, all! I thought I’d share how I use OneNote, for any students who might want to use it for school organization. I have used this since the beginning of my university career and have found a method that works for me, after nearly three years.

I provide templates for what I use as .one files that can be imported into OneNote, and you’re free to use & modify them however you wish. 

Semester Calendar Template: Download

Customized Syllabus Template: Download

Cornell Outline Template: Download + Outline inspired by How to Use Cornell Cornell Note-Taking Method on OneNote by @strive-for-da-best​

As a student with learning disabilities, I found that using a computer, rather than writing everything out, is the best method for me to learn. I type up notes in class so as to not worry about keeping up with a professor, handwriting, or neatness. OneNote is my favourite note-taking application for this, because it’s essentially an upgraded version of Word that’s free and syncs automatically across devices. When my computer crashed, I was still able to access my notes online.

OneNote isn’t all typing. You can use it on a tablet or use a drawing tablet, in my case, to handwrite notes for a more natural feel. A very efficient way of taking notes is to import the lectures slides in OneNote and to write directly on them. I found that very useful in math-heavy courses, such as statistics and chemistry. The equation tool, while nifty, isn’t efficient.

By no means whatsoever is this the only way to use OneNote! In fact, I’d recommend you find a way that works for you, because while this may be highly organized, it takes a bit of set-up time and is tailored specifically to my needs. You can use my example as inspiration, but play around with it! The beauty of OneNote is that it can be used in a variety of different ways.

Download OneNote for Windows | Download OneNote for Mac

[studyquill]

11/? days of summer study - july 7, 2017.

[academicheaux]

adapted from this response

1. Write your notes in a way where you can test your retention and understanding. 

Many people write notes that do a great job summarizing their materials but their notes are not designed to promote learning, retention or diagnosis of their weaknesses. But my notes can – and so can yours. Simply put my notes can be used like flashcards because I write them in a form where I separate a “stimulus” from a “response.”  The stimulus are cues or questions (think: front side of flashcard), while the response is the answer to the cue (think: back of flashcard).  But the stimuli are to the left of a margin, while the responses are to the right. The key advantage of this is that just by putting a sheet of paper on top of your notes, you can hide the responses, while leaving the stimuli visible. You can have multiple margins and multiple levels of stimuli and response for greater information density. When you get good at this you can write notes in this form in real-time. To get some idea of what I’m talking about google for “Cornell Notetaking method”. My notetaking method is a variant of this. I usually use completely blank paper to do this because regular lined paper has too small a margin. To give you an idea of how powerful this notetaking method can be, I learned several courses just hours before the exam and still got an “A” in all of them during a difficult semester where I had too many competing priorities to spend long hours studying. Had it not been for this notetaking method I don’t think that would be possible. 2. Develop the ability to become an active reader (this is the perhaps the most important advice I have to share). 

Don’t just passively read material you are given. But pose questions, develop hypotheses and actively test them as you read through the material. I think the hypotheses are part of what another poster referred to when he advised that you should develop a “mental model” of whatever concept they are teaching you.  But a mental model can be much more than simple hypotheses. Sometimes the model resembles a story. Other times it looks more like a diagram. But what they all have in common is that the explain what is going on. Having a mental model will give you the intuition and ability to answer a wider range of questions than would be otherwise possible if you lacked such a mental model. Where do you get this model? You creatively develop one as you are reading to try to explain the facts as they are presented to you.  It’s like guessing how the plot of a movie, before it unfolds. Sometimes you have to guess the model based on scarce evidence. Sometimes it is handed to you. If your model is a good one it should at least be able to explain what you are reading. Having a model also allows you to make predictions which can then be used to identify if your model is wrong.  This allows you to be hypersensitive to disconfirming evidence that can quickly identify if your model is wrong. Oftentimes you may have two or more models that can explain the evidence, so your task will be to quickly formulate questions that can prove one model while disconfirming the others. To save yourself time, I suggest focusing on raising questions that could confirm/disprove the mostly likely model while disproving the others  (think: differential diagnoses in medicine). But once you have such a model that (i) explains the evidence and (ii) passes all the disconfirming tests you can throw at it then you have something you can interpolate and extrapolate from to answer far more than was initially explained to you. Such models also make retention easier because you only need to remember the model as opposed to the endless array of facts it explains.  But perhaps more importantly, such models give you intuition. Of course, your model could be wrong, but that is why you actively test it as you are reading, and adjust as necessary. Think of this process as the scientific method being applied by you, to try to discover the truth as best you can. Sometimes you will still be left with contradictions that even your best models cannot explain. I often found speaking to the professor after class to be a time efficient of resolving these contradictions. I discovered mental modelling as a survival mechanism to pass my studies at the University of Waterloo – where their teaching philosophy is misnomer because their teaching philosophy is to not teach as well as they could. You can see this from their grading philosophy. Although they don’t use a bell curve or other statistical grade adjustment, they make their exams so hard that the class average is usually between 68 (C+) and 72 (B-) in spite of the fact that their minimum admission grades are among the highest in Canada (you need more than A+ to get into several of their engineering programs). The only way they can achieve such low test averages from otherwise high performing students is by holding back some of what they know, and then testing what they didn’t explain well in lecture on their exams; or by not teaching to the best of their ability.   This forces students to develop the ability to teach themselves, often from materials that do not explain things well, or lack the introductory background knowledge needed to understand the material. I realized I could defend against such tactics by reverse engineering the results into theories that would produce those same results; i.e. mental model induced from scarce facts.     Then when I got to MIT I found myself in a place with the opposite teaching philosophy. Unlike Waterloo, if the whole class got an “A” the MIT professors would be happy and proud (whereas at Waterloo an “A” class average would be the cause for a professor’s reprimand). The mental modelling skills I developed at Waterloo definitely came in handy at graduate school because they enabled me to learn rapidly with scarce information. 3. Be of service to your fellow classmates.

I’ve personally observed and heard anecdotal stories that many students in highly competitive programs are reluctant to share what they know with their peers; a good example being the vast number of students in a top ranked science programs competing for the very few coveted spots in med school. I’ve seen people in such situations be afraid to share what they know because the fear it could lead to the other students “getting ahead” while leaving them behind. I would actually recommend doing the opposite: share liberally. You can’t expect help from others if you are unwilling to help others yourself. I spent hours tutoring people in subjects I was strong in. But, conversely those same people were usually happy to help me with my weaknesses when I needed it. I also found it easier to get good teammates – which is essential to getting good grades in team-based classes. I found I learned a LOT from other people. And their questions helped me to prepare for questions I may not have thought of – some of which would appear on the exams. 4. Understand how the professor grades. 

Like the real world, the academic world is not always fair. You need to understand who is grading you and what they are looking for. Oddly, if you actually answer questions as written, you won’t get full marks from some teachers. Some professors expected more than the answer. Some only accepted the answers taught in class as opposed to other factually correct answers – which coincidentally can easily happen if you rely heavily on mental models. Some expected you to not even evaluate whether the answers to their multiple choice answers were true or not; only to notice which answer choices aligned or did not align with the theories taught in class.  Some highly value participation in which case you ought to have a mental model of what they are teaching based on their assigned readings. The sooner you know who you are dealing with, the sooner you can adjust to their way of grading. Thankfully I considered the vast majority of my professors to have graded in a fair manner. 5. Get involved in research while still in undergrad.

Academics is a means to an end. To me that end was “solving problems” and “building stuff” specifically systems and organizations.  Depending on the school you apply for, your research may be just as important, if not more important, than your grades. In fact if all you have are good grades your chances of getting into a top ranked CS program with a research component (e.g. MIT, CMU) are slim to nil; though you might still be able to get into a top-ranked courseware-based Masters (such as Stanford where there is no masters thesis). I did an Artificial Intelligence research project in undergrad and posted it on the internet. Not long after it was cited in three patents from IBM, AOL and another inventor. Then 40 other people cited my work. I feel this helped me get into MIT because they saw that I could come up with theories with practical applications. It also led to internships with top research teams whose work I am still in awe of. This research also helped my graduate application. None of this would have been possible if I didn’t do research in undergrad. 6. Attend classes.

I do not understand the students who claim they did well without attending class. Many professors will only say certain things in class. Many classes only present some of the material in class. If you don’t attend class you simply won’t get that material. You also won’t be able to ask immediate follow-up questions. I also found speaking to the professor after class was an efficient way to resolve contradictions I had found with my mental model. 7. Time management is key – especially in undergrad. 

In my competitive undergrad program I once learned that a friend who achieved top 5% status actually timed how long he ate. While I do not suggest going to such extremes I offer this modest advice. I suggest spending no more than 30 minutes trying to solve a problem you can’t solve by yourself before appealing to office hours or another knowledgeable student. I also suggest you ask questions of your professor during or after class as opposed to leaving the class confused. This reduces wasted time in an environment when time is a very precious commodity. 8. Going out and having fun is conducive to good grades. 

In my early undergrad years I studied as hard as I could. And I thought this meant putting in as many studying hours as possible. But I later realized that going out and having fun refreshed the mind and increased grades. Unfortunately it took at least 2 years for me to understand this lesson. 9. Learn how to do advanced Google searches.

This is an essential skill that enables you to answer your own questions, quickly. At a minimum I suggest you learn how to use the following Google search operators  ~, -,*, AND,OR, and numeric ranges via the double dot (“..”) operator.  The “site:” operator is also often helpful. I also found adding the word “tutorial” to a Google search often yields great introductory materials. 

10. Turn weaknesses into strengths.

While studying for standardized exams I learned the importance of addressing one’s weaknesses as opposed to ignoring them.  If you make a mistake on a question, it is because of a weakness within you. If you do not address that weakness it will follow you to the exam. I learned this lesson when studying for standardized exams. I was able to legally buy 30 old exams and thought the best approach to studying for the exam was to do as many old problems as possible. But as I completed each exam I kept getting the same score  (+/- 5%) over and over. I had plateaued! But then I made a tiny tweak and my scores kept going up. Specifically, after each old exam, I would identify my weaknesses that led to each wrong answer, prioritize the weaknesses according to the degree to which they affected my score, and would address them in that order.  When I did that, my scores increased steadily all the way to the highest possible percentile (99%). I later realized that such standardized tests are designed to provide consistent scores (if the student does not study in between the subsequent exams to address their weaknesses). In fact that is one of the statistical measures used to measure the quality  of a standardized exam and it’s called “Reliability”  (Google for “psychometric reliability” to see what I’m talking about).

[gogomrbrown]

https://openstaxcollege.org

FUCK CAPITALISM! This didn’t cost tax payers anything. You don’t need to be a governing body with a police force to do decent things.

[ohthekorean-deactivated20160205]

stanfordetc freedomofscreech

[hagiographically]

THANK

[kaciart]

Just going to pop this here for you guys.

[englishlit-chic]

Important ☝🏼️

[studyybri-deactivated20161220]

REBLOGGING THE FUCK OUTTA THIS

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HOW TO WIN AT FRESHMAN YEAR pt. 2 (SCHEDULING)

God knows scheduling is hard, especially if you go to one of those schools that have the academic orientation *after* the course registration begins. Like, good job man. 

Anhyhoo, here are a couple tips to help you schedule better!

Look at the course requirements. I know this is a repeat, but this is essentially what you should build your schedule around.

Look up course descriptions on the website. Sometimes, these have detailed information on the topics covered, assignment weightage, and even exam types.

Talk. To. Seniors. Whether it’s on Facebook groups or subreddits, post a couple questions and you will defintiely get at least a couple answers. Most senior students will be more than happy to pass down tips/tell you what they wished they knew.

Learn to correctly identify what the ‘easier’ courses are, so you can take them later as a GPA boosted if need be. To do this, do not go by what everyone else brands as a bird course, but look over the material you already covered in high school classes/you are interested in, and find a course that covers similar topics. You will get better grades with less work than if you took some basket-weaving course that everyone calls easy.

Even if you are a morning person, try to vary the timings of your classes and not have an 8 am everyday. Even if you wake up at 5 am at home with no alarms, observed behavior is a hell of a thing, so allow yourself some extra time in the mornings. 8 ams also tend to be a lot less in demand, so if you think you can handle the timing, you can always switch into it later.

Try to have no empty gaps between your classes. Unless you’re super focused, you probably won’t get too much done in these and will just end up dragging your day out.

Try to focus the bulk of your courseload into the first couple days of the week, because most people stars going out closer to the weekend, and you don’t want to be stuck in a lab while all your friends go out.

On that same note, try to have at least 2 days with 4 hours free at a stretch if you decide to work part-time. 

Apart from your class schedule, figure out a good homework schedule and stick to it. A good rule would be to spend an extra 2 hours on that subject for every lecture you attend. If you’re done with the homework, use this time to read ahead.

Part 3 (lifestyle) coming up!

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HOW TO WIN AT FRESHMAN YEAR IN COLLEGE Pt 1. (Academics)

Aight here we gooo

Don’t think about when it’s due, think about when you can get it done by. Always try to get work done as soon as you get it, because the information/motivation is a lot more likely to make you productive immediately after. Don’t backward plan and leave things to the last minute.

Research your course. Find out about the electives you have to take, the ideal course load and the progression requirements. Don’t graduate a semester late because you forgot to take one 1000 level English course.

 Make a nice schedule! You’re going to be stuck with this for a year, so definitely invest a couple hours into making a good one. (Separate post on drafting a schedule coming up.)

Try to live on campus, preferably in a traditional dorm set up. Not only does it improve the ‘college experience’ but also really helps with networking. 

Do not invest in a loooot of expensive stationery. I know, I know, ironic to say as a studyblr. But coming out of high school where we all took notes on paper, a huge stationery haul might be obvious. But definitely wait a couple weeks into school to see if you want to stick to paper notes or if you’re more comfortable with the laptop. 

Sit. At. The. Front. Beginning in the first week. Freshman year, it’s super tempting to abuse your freedom and just not show up to class. It is imperative that you put yourself in the field of vision with the teacher, not only to make a good impression but also to hold yourself accountable to actually show up to class, because the professor will probably notice your absence and might discount you a little bit. It also helps with the ‘halo effect’, where you stand out right in the beginning, and that’ll tide you over. 

Don’t just show up to office hours, take your notes/solve a mock paper, and get feedback. Doing this a couple times before the exam will help you put together the perfect rubric for answering just about any style of question. If it’s an essay course, the teacher will often make corrections and even send you helpful resources to improve. 

Create/join a Facebook group for your subject, and exchange notes with people over there. It’s reassuring to know you have a backup if you skip class.

Try to inform your professor before hand if you’re skipping class. This policy might be different for different schools, but telling your professor ahead of time that you won’t be attending, or even just shooting them an email at the time of class might help with making up for lost time, extra credit, and being able to skip with more ease in the future, since the prof thinks you’re serious about this class.

Spend the summer before college chilling, yes (I’ve written a post about it here). But also check this out to make it a little more productive, and learn a few handy day to day skills. 

Pt. 2 about college scheduling will be up tomorrow!

[parabrola]

[blackness-by-your-side]

Even the idea that there is a video where an American man rape a kid makes me sick. Ashton Kutcher is doing a great job by using his power and privilege to raise awareness about human trafficking. Every parent dreams of the bright, happy and SAFE future to his/her child. This guy tries to change this country, this world into a better one. This Hollywood celebrity woke up and tried to draw the government’s attention to this very crucial problem of child trafficking.