....we try

amanda & rogue, trying to get our lives together [studyblr/booklr/miscellaneous]

[cyborgsmanifesto]

dealing with the worst case scenario

your condom breaks

you feel a lump on your breast

your friends are ignoring you

you’re stranded on an island 

you got rejected by a crush

you get into a car accident

you got stung by a bee/wasp

you got fired from your job

you’re in an earthquake

your tattoo gets infected

your house is on fire

you’re lost in the woods

you get arrested abroad

you get robbed

your partner cheated on you

you’re on a ship that’s sinking

you fall into ice

you’re stuck in an elevator

you hit a deer with your car

you have food poisoning

your pet passed away

you fall off of a horse

you or your friend has alcohol poisoning

you have toxic shock syndrome

your house has a gas leak

[4velitta4]

I feel like this could be useful in my future

[astrologypixies-deactivated2016]

REBLOG THIS. I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS GUIDES ARE, BOOST THIS SHIT

[getupoffyourcassbutt]

If I don’t reblog this one of these things is definitely going to happen to me

[espresso9-3-4patronum-deactivat]

Just in case

[feelingvellichor]

Just for shiggles

[lawyerd]

84 | The professor told us we could annotate our supplements for the exam and oh…I annotated the heck out of mine

[studypsy]

:o

[thearialligraphyproject]

bookboon // for accounting, business, economics & finance, engineering, IT & programming, languages, marketing & law, natural sciences, statistics & mathematics (+ career & study advice, strategy & management)

booksee // for arts & photography, biographies & memoirs, business & investing, computers & internet, cooking, entertainment, health, history, home, law, literature & fiction, medicine, references, religion, science, sports, travel, and other categories

boundless // for accounting, algebra, art history, biology, business, calculus, chemistry, communications, computer science, economics, education, finance, management, marketing, microbiology, music, physics, physiology, political science, psychology, sociology, statistics, U.S. history, world history, writing

california learning resource network // for mathematics, science, history

ck-12 // for elementary math, arithmetic, measurement, algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, trigonometry, analysis, calculus, earth science, life science, physical science, biology, chemistry, physics, sat exam prep, engineering, technology, astronomy, english, history

college open textbook // for anthropology & archeology, art, biology & genetics, business, chemistry, computer science, economics, engineering & electronics, english & composition, health & nursing, history, languages & communication, law, literature, math, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, science, sociology, statistics & probability

ebooklobby // for arts & photography, biographies & memoirs, business, computers & internet, cooking, entertainment, health, home & garden, law, literature & fiction, sports, travel

freemathbooks // for algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus, applied math, probability, analysis, statistics, and other sub-categories of mathematics

global text project // for business, computing, education, health, science, social sciences

openstax cnx // for arts, business, humanities, mathematics & statistics, science & technology, social sciences

open culture // for art history, biology, business & management, chemistry, classics, computer science & information systems, earth science, economics & finance, education, engineering, history, linguistics, law, mathematics, music, philosophy, physics, political science, psychology, sociology

open textbook library // for accounting and finance, business, management & marketing, computer science & information systems, economics, general education, humanities & language, law, mathematics & statistics, natural & physical sciences, social sciences

textbook revolution // for biology, business & management, chemistry, computer science & technology, earth sciences, economics, engineering, environment, ESL, health sciences & medical, mathematics, physics, society and social sciences, sociology, world history

+ bonus

bookstacks // popular classics

**If you know other helpful sites, please let me know so I can add it to the list!

[intellectys]

Interviews can be horribly intimidating, but if you prepare well enough, feel confident in yourself, and keep your cool, then you’ll do amazingly! Here are some tips on how to ace interviews in different situations, with some general tips thrown in for fun. Good luck, and hopefully something in here will help you out!

College Interviews

Tips

Know plenty about the college you’re applying to. Highlighting a particular attribute you love about the college as well as having a good general knowledge base shows the interviewer that you are sincerely interested and have done your homework.

Be able to describe why you are a good fit for the college. Interviewers want to ensure that you’re a good candidate both in paper and on person, so consider things you’ve done that show character.

Choose a favourite book and be able to talk about it. College interviewers love to ask, so think about the impression you want to give beforehand and consider it carefully. 

Have a question about the college that the website doesn’t answer. It shows your preparedness, and gives you a way to continue the conversation and demonstrate your interest in the interviewer’s perspective!

Bring a copy of your academic resume. Interviewers will see you as more prepared, have a concrete reference for their write-up, and have talking points during the interview for anything interesting that’s on there.

Resources

Collegeboard Big Future

Princeton Review Tips

CBS 13 College Interview Questions

Emma Willard Advice & Sample Questions

13 Tips for Skype Interviews

College Interviews: The Basics

Scholarship Interviews

Tips

Be able to tell the interviewer why you deserve the scholarship. Don’t simply rattle off your achievements, but rather present yourself as the student most aligned with the scholarship’s mission and the most ready to succeed.

Make sure to link your accomplishments to the scholarship’s mission statement. Scholarship providers often have pillars (like philanthropy, promoting the community, etc.) which you should uphold.

Don’t be afraid to take a moment to think about oddball questions. It’s better to give a well-developed and thought out response to which vegetable you’d be than bumble through it simply because it was unexpected!

Know your application essays well. I’ve been asked to elaborate on my community service plans and why I chose to do band because of my essays, so knowing the topics well will undoubtedly help you out and show passion.

Resources

BYU Sample Scholarship Questions

EIU Sample Questions & Tips

10 Common Scholarship Interview Questions

Vanderbilt Interview Tips

5 Tips for successful scholarship interviews

Job Interviews

Tips

Make it seem like the company needs you. When asked why you want the job, address how the company will benefit from employing you, and not how you will benefit as a person.

Bring materials. Have letters of recommendation, a resume, and your portfolio (if applicable) on hand. Make sure to have multiple copies in case there are multiple interviewers.

Research the employer. Know the company history, its mission, recent events, and the values/vision it advertises. Tailor your presentation of yourself to match those ideals. 

Determine your greatest strength and weakness. You will likely be asked this question, so be able to give an example, demonstrate how you have overcome your weakness, and how you have used your strength.

Resources

What to Wear to Your Interview

Interview Tips from @elkstudies​

Group Interview Tips

How to be Good at Interviews by @marias-studyblr​

Telephone Interview Tips

Jobs & Careers by @study-well​

[eintsein]

March 2017 + motivational desktop wallpapers

As many of you have requested, here are some wallpapers I’ve made for this month. March started last week, but it’s never too late to change your desktop wallpaper! Again, they’re only available in the resolutions 1920x1080 but fitting them to other screen resolutions shouldn’t be difficult. The calendar wallpaper is also available as a phone wallpaper. Hope you like them, and have a wonderful month!

Download them here: desktop // phone

Don’t forget to tag me (#eintsein) if you use these wallpapers on your gadgets/electronics :)

[obsidianstudy]

THIS IS SO LOVELY, JO

[staticsandstationery]

FINALS STUDY PLANNING

Hello so Finals are very quickly approaching (don’t panic – I repeat, don’t panic), and the time to start studying has come and gone. However, I know me, and I know college students, and just because we should have started studying probably 2-4 weeks ago, that doesn’t mean we did (or, at least I didn’t, so…).

With that, THERE IS STILL TIME TO STUDY. Do I need to repeat myself? Okay!

THERE. IS. STILL. TIME. TO. STUDY.

So, take a breath, and we’ll make a study schedule together. Here we go!

1. Make a list of things to study -

First thing’s first, without physically touching anything, pull up you list of assignments/resources/chapters, etc (or whatever it is good old prof provides). For me, this means pulling up our online classroom website. Now, put every pertinent item into a bulleted list, or write it out on a piece of paper. Whatever works best for you. I am a creature of habit and am really big on writing things out, so to my desk I went. Be sure to include the dates of your final exams. Also, now is not the time when you have to list each chapter individually and put a little check box next to it (because let’s be honest, that would be a metric shit ton of check boxes).  

Helpful tip: Break it all down by subject, and then by items such as lectures, homeworks, and exams. Visually breaking up your list will help quite a bit to make it seem a little less daunting.

2 Make a list of everything to be turned in -

Just because Finals are imminent, that does not mean the homeworks and projects stop (it just means no more can be assigned - ugh, whatever). Make sure you know exactly what is due and when and schedule in time to work on your remaining assignments.

3. Take a look at your weekly schedule -

Whether you keep your schedule in a planner, or in your phone, pull up your whole week. Make sure you have all of your classes visible, work shifts, extracurricular activities, whatever it is that you are up to.

4. Schedule meals, gym, etc -

If you don’t already have these things in your weekly schedule, pen them in now. Dead Week and Finals Week are very good at making your forget that eating 3 meals a day is necessary to functioning properly, so go ahead and put those in your calendar before you start planning your studying. The worst thing is getting to the end, looking at your beautiful schedule in all of its glory, only to realize that you now have to miss you Spin class to study for Calculus, or that there is absolutely no time for dinner on Tuesday because you managed to schedule back to back study sessions.

5. Now, start planning things -

I start with things to turn in, then fill in around them. These are your biggest priority (unless they’re bonus points and you don’t need them, but let’s be real, everyone wants bonus points), so you should schedule them in first. Prioritize by date due, and go from there.

What I do, since I’m limited with space in my planner itself, is list the session in each space (”H.T. session #1″ for example), then, using a sticky note, I expand on what I hope/need to accomplish in that session. Also, just be prepared, this is probably the most time consuming step, so…

I’m going to be honest: I am very aware that this looks ridiculous and crazy and so unbelievably busy. I am also aware that I probably should have started studying a week earlier, but it was just so weird with Thanksgiving being the week before my Dead Week this year.

But for me, the hardest and most stressful part about studying for finals week is not knowing what to study. So I broke it down into a chapter or two of material an hour, with scheduled breaks for meals, laundry, cleaning my room, and even an episode of This Is Us (because an entire day of Comp Flow sounds absolutely terrible).

Helpful tip: Try the Pomodoro Technique (I use MarinaTimer) to keep you sane, and keep healthy snacks on hand throughout the weeks to come. Also, remember to breathe (please don’t laugh at the fact that I wrote that into my planner, I promise I am a relatively sane human).

Other helpful tip: Prioritize by when your exams are. Since one of my exams isn’t until 2:00pm on Friday, and I have an entire two and a half days before the exams to study for it, I literally am not worrying about it until I get out of my other exam on Wednesday morning. While you should not do that with all exams (i.e. wait until one is over to focus on the next one), it can be a helpful tool to keep you from being overwhelmed.

Happy studying and good luck on your exams!!

[procollegeguide]

How to Create a Study Schedule for Your Exams

As we write this, semester end exams are right around the corner for most students… and here right now for others.

So in this post, we are going to talk about how to create an effective study schedule for exams. Hopefully by using these principles when creating your schedule, you’ll give yourself the best chance of meeting all your challenges while mitigating your knowledge gaps, time constraints, and other limitations. 

With that said, let’s go through all the essential steps.

1. Know When Your Tests Are

The first and most important step is to know when are your tests to make a proper study schedule and ace the exam. Showing up an hour late to an empty classroom might be the easiest way to fail that exam. 

Find out the schedule of the tests through the college website, notice board, emailing/contacting your professors or asking your friends.

2. Arm Yourself with as Much Knowledge as Possible

Before you create your schedule, know as much as possible about the test. Make sure you find out: - Format–  multiple-choice, fill in the blanks, essay or question and answer type etc - Syllabus–  What material will be covered – the number of chapters etc - Marks– How many marks is the exam for –  how much weightage does it carry to your final grade 

Also be aware of any projects and assignments you might need to finish and submit before the exam.

Next,

get your hands on all the materials you need for effective studying:

syllabi 

textbooks

study guides

class notes 

previous year question papers / sample papers

3. Prioritise Your Tests

After you gathered all the material and reviewed the test format and syllabus, it’s time to prioritise your tests so you’ll know how much to study each subject, and what order to study them in. Factors to keep in mind whilst prioritising:

The order of the exams.

Your situation in that particular class. For example, if you are acing Chemistry with lots of A grades and slightly slacking in Math, you might want to prioritise Math over the former. 

The gaps in between any two exams. 

and finally…

  4. Create Your Schedule

Before you even begin to think about the process of studying, you must develop a schedule. If you don’t have a schedule or plan for studying, then you will not have any way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected comes up.

Pay attention to your body’s energy levels throughout the day. Some people have high energy levels in the morning; if that’s you, try scheduling your hardest study session early. If your energy comes at night, though, study later on and don’t try to force yourself to wake up early.

Additionally, your brain’s ability to work effectively starts to diminish after 25-30 minutes (on average, and not always). Keeping these limitations in mind, you’ll study most effectively by planning to achieve something in a limited amount of time. Use a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.

Recreational activities are also important along with studies. So identify the gaps in your study schedule and include your meals, tasks, errands and other small activities. Don’t forget to live your life just because exams are around the corner.

[thelogicofthetrance]

27.01.17

This week I took all my exams and they all went super well, so the time has come to store this term’s books in my ‘philosophy’ section 😏

I don’t have much time to relax though as classes are starting next Monday. My schedule is quite disadvantageous for me (considering that I’m commuting) but I guess I’ll manage…

[notebooknerd]

5 Tips for your Study Schedule

1. Schedule THIS first.

Okay, so this one may or may not sound a little weird to you guys, but I watched an entire Ted Talk about it. Basically, when you make a study schedule, the first thing you should be scheduling into it is not actually studying. It’s the fun stuff/nothing (sometimes). Burnout is a real phenomenon, but it’s so much less likely to happen to you if you make time for activities besides studying that give you joy. It could be as simple as time to take a nap or as complicated as time set aside to play in a community band, but you need to make sure there’s something for you in your schedule. The purpose of your life is to live it, and you need to ensure that you’re doing just that!

2. Schedule GOOD time.

When you finally sit down to write down all the time you’re going to spend studying, try to make it fit in good times of study. A good time of study would be during one of your more productive times of day and away from anything that makes you feel less productive. Find out what makes you the most and least productive and use that knowledge to your advantage (work smarter, not harder; I’ll have a post about how I track all of this later). What good is study time when you literally stop caring about whether or not it gets down because you’re so incredibly out of touch? Hey, maybe you can’t fit your most productive time in your schedule; that’s okay. Just make an extra effort to take that time in a place or situation that helps you feel more productive like at the library or not on your bed.

3.Make it a routine.

Stick to it. Get in 21 days of solid grind. It’s difficult to stick with it through that start, but it gets easier after, so as Nike always reminds us, JUST DO IT.

4. Plan rewards.

If I follow my study schedule all week, I get to see a movie on Saturday or I get to go pet puppies at the Animal Shelter or I get to sleep in or anything else that seems rewarding enough to get you to stick with it.

5. Be flexible.

Okay, I know that I told you like two tips ago to just do it. Hear me out. Sometimes we make study schedules and we realize that something about it just won’t work. Half the time, we take this as a sign to get rid of the schedule entirely. DON’T DO THAT UNLESS YOU REALLY HAVE TO. If you know what the problem is, be flexible and adjust things a little. You’ll thank yourself later. Great example, I made a study schedule for AP exams this year that I’ve been following for a couple months now. As I started out, though, I realized that taking the time to do practice problems every single chapter of the prep book was going to make it take FOREVER to get through all the basic material I needed. This would leave me with like one full practice test at the end…no Bueno. So I adjusted. Take away the practice problems, more time for full practice tests later. That way, instead of knowing what types of problems I was supposed to be solving, I’d learn exactly how to solve them within the context of the test. Better? Much better.

:), Notebook Nerd

[examgradebooster]

I’ve had a few people asking me how they can put together the ultimate application for university, and in particular for Oxbridge. Much of the advice in this post is relevant for any university applications, but there is also some Oxbridge-specific advice!

1. Work hard and know your stuff

To be honest with you, the only way to have a killer application is to have worked hard and to know your stuff! The simple fact is that universities want to take people who are going to add value to their institutions, so if you aren’t willing to put in the hours preparing for exams, perfecting your personal statement and understanding what the courses you are applying for involve, they are unlikely to offer you a place.

2. Have the exam results to prove it

The simple fact is that exam results are the best indicator universities have of how hard you work and how smart you are. If you can have put together strong performances at GCSE and in your ASs, you are instantly in a pretty strong position.

At Cambridge especially, exam results really are key, so you need to have high marks across most of your papers in order to really stand a chance. Cambridge pretty much assumes that everyone they interview will have similarly good grades, so then it comes down to your personal statement, entrance exam marks and interviews to decide who they take.

3. Pitch-perfect personal statement

Your personal statement is important, regardless of where you are applying! It is your only opportunity to express your interest in the subject you are applying for and to tell the universities you are applying to exactly why you are worth their time and energy.

Focus on your subject!

When you write your personal statement, you need to really focus on your interest in the subject you are applying for, making sure that you point out areas of particular interest, where you have gone above and beyond what you are expected to do at school in order to really stretch your intellectual boundaries.

80%-20%

In general, Oxbridge (and most other universities) recommend that your personal statement is 80% about your subject, so you should really only have a brief final paragraph to outline any other extracurricular stuff you take part in. That said, it is definitely worthwhile including something on your extracurricular activities as this demonstrates an ability to excel academically while still handling the demands of other commitments.

Show an interest in the subject, not its potential future rewards!

When you’re writing your personal statement, definitely bear in mind that you are trying to convince someone that you will be worth their while teaching. As such, admissions will be looking for people who are genuinely interested in their subject! So, avoid writing study like: “I’m interested in studying economics at Cambridge because it provides a great pathway into a range of high-flying careers”… This will really, really annoy anyone who reads your personal statement!

4. Entrance Exam

This one only applies for certain subjects and certain universities. Personally, I didn’t have to take an entrance exam for my subject, but I’ve spoken to a lot of people who did. For example, a lot of my friends study law, and so had to take the LNAT, a UK exam that pretty much anyone wishing to study law has to take.

Practice!

Having spoken to people who did entrance exams, the single, universal piece of advice was to practice past papers, to spend time looking up tactics and to research the different styles of question you may be asked. These tests are said to be tests of your aptitude to study a certain subject. However, in reality, they are more a test of whether you have been bothered to spend time looking at what you need to do in order to succeed in them!

You may also find it helpful to speak to people you may know who have taken these tests for advice.

5. Interview

So, at some universities, and specifically Oxford and Cambridge, you will have to be interviewed in order to get an offer. If this is the case for you, please check out my blog post Interview like a Boss. 

Please check out my Exam Grade Booster blog and reblog this post if you found it helpful!

[genericstudyblr]

[studyingdaisies]

31/100 days of productivity. I love my desk so much.

[eintsein]

4.2.17 7:05 PM // this week’s bullet journal spread ft. my attempt at a rose-quartz x serenity color scheme. didn’t have access to a working printer so i drew instead (or at least tried to hehe) 📖

[etvdiant]

7.3.16 // online classes are the best because you don’t have to wear pants

[rosallindfranklin-blog]

got a couple anon asks about making flash cards so I made a quick picture set of the way I make flash cards based on the level of complexity of the flash cards.

note: this is just my way of making flash cards.  in order for flash cards to be truly effective, you should adapt the system so it works best for you and the subject you’re studying.

questions? requests? let me know!

[theglitterdonutclub]

Currently in the process of getting myself organized for 2017…

📷  from IG: ardaisy_

See more @theglitterdonutclub

[studeity]

9-05-2016 // 1:58pm Continuation of the notes that I posted yesterday but a different colour scheme inspired by the peach/pink 花樣年華 pt.2 album.