watch me succeed.

Welcome to PYTHAGORAX, I'm 16 and an ISTJ-A. Incoming STEM student

[pythagorax]

HELLO, FILOS!

I do a little graphic designing and I do commissions!

I know some of y’all might have no time to do stuff but I can help you do creative powerpoints, posters, videos, etc for schoolwork! I do all these for a very cheap price.

If interested, kindly leave a message or email me through [email protected] for more info or samples from me !!

If not, please do reblog this that would help a lot. Thank you!

[mtphrclly-blog]

this morning i put far too much honey in my tea and questioned life

[xshayarsha]

Venice.

[eintsein]

College Note-Taking System

Having cohesive and effective notes is one of the key skills I think one should have, especially in an academic setting. When you’re receiving a ton of information each day, you want to be able to keep track of that and remember what you’ve learned. I’m constantly trying out ways to make my note-taking more effective and tailored to my needs. Here’s what my note-taking system looks like so far.

Quick note: click on the images for better quality!

Class Notes

Taking notes in class is an invaluable way to keep track of the new knowledge you’ve gained. However, depending on the mode in which the lecture material is conveyed, I take my notes differently. Here’s a summary of how I take my notes for each type of lecture, as well as some examples from the classes I’m taking now.

Slides (e.g. Macroeconomics)

Macroeconomics is a class in which you should be able to intuitively understand a lot of concepts but also remember a lot of things. Because of this, I’ve tailored my note-taking method and habits to achieve that goal.

I write my notes by hand because handwriting is more effective in committing things to memory.

As for what I actually do - and this is what I’ve done for other classes in which the professor/lecturer uses slides:

Read/skim over the slide.

Read each bullet point as the professor goes through them.

Copy it down if it’s straightforward or write it down in a structure and diction that I understand better (not necessarily in my own words - sometimes it’s just restructuring, e.g. splitting things up or joining different bullet points together).

Take note of any other important details the professor says about any particular point unless I think it’s intuitive or common sense.

Here’s an example from a Macroeconomics lecture.

Oral Presentation (e.g. Anthropology)

During classes in which the professor just speaks and doesn’t use much visual material, I listen before I write instead of attempting to write down every single detail mentioned.

Also, I type up my notes instead of handwriting them since the exams are all open-book so I don’t really have to commit things to memory.

Here’s what I do:

Listen for a cue that tells you what this particular part of the lecture will be about (and write it as a heading).

Write down main ideas and their supporting facts/details. If the facts/details come before the main ideas, then I’d usually draw an arrow.

Write down ideas and details from readings in their own section/subsection.

Sometimes, my professor also shows short clips in class, in which case I’d write down the message that I think the clip was meant to convey, as well as things that the professor points out that I didn’t think of on my own.

I’d also look up concepts/ideas/people/events (in real time) that are important to my understanding of the lecture material.

Here’s an example of a Google Docs document from an Anthropology lecture.

Demonstrations and Sample Problems (e.g. Computer Science)

Classes in which the lecture is mainly going through demos and problems are kind of tricky, because you want to know and understand what the professor is doing, but you also don’t want to be writing down every single step that’s being executed. Here’s what I’ve found to be the most effective so far:

If there are any, I import the slides/handout onto OneNote and annotate directly on the slide. If not, I just write down things like definitions, important concepts, and syntax-related things.

I focus on understanding what the professor’s doing with the demo or problem.

I then summarize the steps they took and

Write down comments and points they brought up, e.g. common errors, desirable habits/practices.

Also, these kinds of classes are usually classes in which you’d learn better when you actually do problems yourself, so I definitely learn more when I do assignments and labs than when I’m in class.

Here’s an example from a Web Programming lecture.

Here’s one from an Object Oriented Programming and Data Structures class. I often draw things to help me visualize the general points.

Rewritten Notes

My rewritten notes have definitely changed a lot since high school. Since most of my classes don’t require a lot of memorization, I organize my notes in such a way that they’d be easy to index or find information from. Here are some of the ways I do that:

Establishing a Visual Hierarchy

Having a well-defined hierarchy helps me flow through my notes really well as i read them. It helps me organize information like a mind map without actually making a mind map - I know the big topics and their subtopics and sub-subtopics and details … basically it’s easier to see how these ideas fit together.

But why don’t I just make mind-maps? See, the thing is, a lot of my notes require sequential or linear thinking, e.g. in macroeconomics it might be the sequence of events following a change in the economy, or in computer science it might be a general algorithm for solving a certain type of problem, or it might be proving or deriving a certain equation. These sorts of things just generally don’t work well with mind maps. Instead, establishing a visual hierarchy in my notes helps me organize different ideas while retaining the linear nature of the information.

Here’s what the hierarchy looks like.

Here is an example from my Web Programming class, which is a purely project-based class, so no prelims or exams. As you can see, I draw rectangles around important terminology so that I can easily find them while I’m working on a project. I also include examples from in-class activities as well as notes on syntax so I have an idea of how to implement certain things. These examples and notes are further grouped by terminology/concept.

Structuring Them for Easier Flow

My syllabi for my college courses are nowhere near as detailed as the syllabi for my high school courses - those of you who take/have taken Cambridge exams would know. In college, my syllabi are only lists of topics and not what you’re expected to know for each topic. Because of this, I have to find a way to arrange information so that I can achieve the most comprehensive and cohesive understanding of that topic, i.e. so that the flow of my notes is similar to the flow of my thinking.

For example, in my economics notebook, I like to have the details first (e.g. the separate markets: the goods market, the assets market, and the labor market) and then the big picture later (IS-LM-FE). Some people prefer the other way around - seeing the big picture and then going into the details - which I can understand and have done myself for certain topics.

Making Use of Proximity and Spacing

I very much dislike notes without good use of spacing and grouping things together. Keeping related ideas in visual proximity helps your brain (or at least mine) organize this information. It’s also a lot easier to find things and visualize your notes when they’re not just a huge chunk of text.

One thing I should probably mention is that I don’t use colored pens anymore because it just takes a lot of time to switch pens and think of a color palette. I also don’t have much use for it. In the past, I used color to help me memorize and group things in different categories, but now, I’ve found that there aren’t a whole lot of categories I need to keep track of, and when I do, I can do so with just one pen but changing the style of the text.

And that’s what my note-taking system currently looks like. It’s working well so far, but I still think there are other things I could try out that might be a better fit.

So yeah, hope this was helpful, and as always, feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, or even if you have any suggestions or would like to share your note-taking system. Have an awesome week!

[coffeesthetics]

Hiya everyone so AP self studying (i.e., taking an AP test without also taking a class on it) is a great way to earn more AP credit (which colleges love), and can be easier than you think. 

So in case you’re interested, or just curious, here’s a masterpost where I’ve compiled a bunch of self-study resources and tips. I hope you find it helpful !!

ESSENTIALS (all of these are gold)

which AP’s should I even attempt by myself? : vvvvv helpful article. Make sure you have read this before deciding which AP’s to go for; I highly highly recommend it.

choosing the right prep book : best pdf guide (from a guy who aced 22 ap’s!!) make sure the edition you buy is up to date !!

free textbooks masterpost : you need a competent, up-to-date, AP-level textbook for the subject[s] you plan to take. it will be the source all of your material, so you need to interact with it (more on that below). your textbook is like your teacher, only the difference is you get to choose whether it’s a good one or not! 

annotating from textbooks : this is a v helpful youtube video. It is a great way to take your own notes from your textbooks interactively without getting bored.

tutors and study groups : you don’t have to study alone! There is always the option to work with a tutor or study group, which can relieve a lot of your stress.  

plan with excel : time management is the most important part of self studying. No one’s giving you a test, no one’s assigning you homework, and no one is making you show up to class. Sooo it’s up to you to designate some regular time to study. Excel can be an extremely helpful tool for planning (more on how to study below)

chibird : always cheers me up!

masterpost of calming things 

advice on balancing 3+ AP’s

when you want to give up 

HOW TO GO ABOUT IT (in which I actually give advice)

You need to put in time and dedication, because the best way to self-study is to literally set up a mini class for yourself.

No, you do not have to take out 50 minutes of every single day! But you will need to designate regular time to read from a textbook, take notes, and even give yourself tests, if you’re up for that. 

Helpful time ideas: My cousin self-studying for AP Psychology this year and she takes out one hour of every Saturday and Sunday to read from her textbook and review! (the moral of this story is that weekends are v good times to self-study!) Find at least one time every week where you are free for at least one hour and use that hour to study! 

Divide your time into learning and reviewing. I like to use half of my designated study block for learning new material, and half for reviewing old material. 

Every so often, do a cumulative review. My rec = every 3 weeks. Cumulative reviews are extremely important because you don’t want all the information falling out of your head when you are working so hard to learn it !!

Use good review methods that work for you! Check out the Feynman method (I just discovered it, it’s neat). Do whatever you want for your review, just make sure it helps you :D +5 super secret study tips omg

GIVE YOURSELF TESTS!!! This is so important! Studies show that you learn material much better if you write a quiz or test on it. (This is a legit study I swear but I am just too lazy to look it up right now :DD) It’ll be just like real class! And ok if you don’t want to write your own, I would recommend your AP prep book.

Finally: please remember that there is a difference between losing your motivation, and realizing that you are too are too stressed or can’t handle your workload. Your metal health and your sleep are always more important than an extra AP. If self-studying is costing you sleep or happiness, it is not worth it.

I hope you guys found this masterpost helpful; please if you have some wisdom or insight to share, don’t hesitate to add it. And if you do plan to self study this year, I wish you the best luck !! 

[coffeemlk]

i studied so much today, productivity levels: 100%

instagram: @coffeemlk

[pythagorax]

HELLO I’M BROKE

Uhm hello I have nothing to do and I have no money so can you help a girl out??? 

I can do:

- Powerpoints

- Video presentations

- Invitations

- Pretty much anything that requires layout and design

w/ love :))))) I’ll do it for a reasonable price please help me

Message me for more info thanks!!

[puddlestudies]

Woah! Finally got around to making a studyblr! You can call me by any variation of my username (puds, pudd, pud), but I also answer to ging (based on my older username). I’ve wanted to make a studyblr for a while now so I could hold myself more accountable for my work ethic and meet new people. 

About me

14 years old

my birthday is on april 24th

im a freshman in the IB program

studying in NYC

i’m an african american female

i’m fluent in english and understand some of my family’s native african language. I want to learn spanish and japanese.

i’m a taurus, my mbti type is ISTJ, and my hogwarts house is hufflepuff (if that’s important to anyone).

i have a stutter, so i find it hard to talk sometimes.

Interests

video games: pokemon, smash ultimate, zelda, persona, etc.

anime, studio ghibli, anime films

movies

programming

alternative rock, indie music, video game music, lofi chillhop, kpop and jpop. i listen to all kinds of music though

My goals

create a note-taking system

find a studying method that works for me

get slightly better handwriting

memorize hiragana

finish my duolingo spanish tree

learn how to take better photos

buy more outfits that I really like

What I plan to post

Most of my original posts will feature my messy notes, planner, and just updates on my school-life

reblogged langblr posts on spanish and japanese

some pictures that I feel proud of

pictures of my room and desk when i actually clean up

aesthetics of rain, plants, drinks and more

reblogged motivational posts i like

Other cool studyblrs and langblrs!

@carlostudyblr @euceia @uni-venture @chaos-studiess @emmastudies @lilseasidestudies @adelinestudiess @aou @studywithyashu @sootudying @spanishsecondlanguage @emmastudies @jpnvocabulary @studyblr @learnjp

@langblrspanish @coffeelondonstudy @thestudyfeels @umdiaeuconsigo-studyblr @studytako @lilseasidestudies @studyblrmasterposts

i look foward to joining the studyblr community!!

[visual-learning]

by nissistudies.

[adelinestudiess]

Hey so, I decided to do another masterpost. This time on exams. Some tips for studying at the very last minute if you are like me, disclaimer: I am not in any way supporting cramming but this is just to help you through if you are left with no choice other than cramming.

Cramming

Cramming tips that actually work by @optomstudies

The night before the exam

What to do the night before an exam by @beautifullearning

The night before your exam by @tiny-personal-university-thing

The night before exam and I didn’t study guide by @renaistudying

The night before test and I haven’t started studying by @getstudyblr

Revision methods

Revision methods that actually work by @alimastudies

The 5 Best Revision Methods by @bstudies

Study tips

More unconventional study tips by @minimaliststudy

A stash of tiny study tips by @justestjarchives

College study tips that actually help by @samsstudygram

Five tips for study marathons by @booksavolonte

General study tips by @plantednotes

More study tips

My study tips by @anatomyandcappuccini

My study tips

Personal study tips

Quickfire study tips by @annabaestudying

Quick study tip by @studyspiratiom-coffee

Rare study tips by @studybllog

Scientifically proven study tips by @swankiegrades

Secret study tips I wish someone would have told me by @fearlessroadtomd

Some rare study tips by @organisedorgana

Top 5 study tips by @studyign

Weird study tip by @artemissstudies

101 study tips by @study-early

Study tips by @howtohighschool

Study tips from someone who has already been there by @haylstudies

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

Study tips that helped me get back on my feet by @sillydaisies

Study tips that aren’t bullshit by @thebitchwhomadeit

Tips for effective study by @kimtented

How I write revision summaries by @athenastudying

Ways to study for exams that are actually productive

10 mistakes when studying by @howtostudyquick

Memorising information

How to memorise information by @monetstudy

How to memorise information faster by @qxzu

Memorization tips by @aescademic

Memorization tips by @determinationandcaffeine

Memorization tips by @studyquill

Exam tips

How to cope with exams by @uk-studying

How to revise for exams by @a-pro-s-studyblr

Studying for exams by @orangeblossomstudies

Tips for doing well on your exams by @aboysstudyblr

Tips for doing well on your exams by @thepeachystudies

Exam tips by @studywithmaggie

Exam guides

Finals: study guide for the brave by @educatier

Pennyfynotes guide to exam season by @pennyfynotes

Quick guide to doing the finals by @inkskinned

Test taking tips

How I revise for exams + tests

How to study for a test by @tbhstudying

My test taking tips by @55studies

Test taking tips

Exam preparation

How to make a stress free exam plan by @marias-studyblr

How to mentally prep yourself for a test by @eruditicn

Procrastination

How to beat procrastination by @eintsein

Types of procrastination and how to deal with them by @emmastudies

Time management

Time management by @academiceve

Time management tips for busy students

Motivation

My motivation tag

Other masterposts by me

Notetaking masterpost

College advice masterpost

Apps for students masterpost

Icon credits to @rhubarbstudies

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

there is no final version of yourself. we never stop growing or changing, nor should we. stop beating yourself up for not being ‘there’ yet.

[mereljournals]

art journal sessions in brussels ⭐️

[hvmanitiess]

calligraphy? in MY notebook? more often than you think. follow our studygram!!

[snuh]

[galina]

She submitted her master’s thesis! 

[eintsein]

The College Application Process

A guide by Eintsein

College application season is just around the corner. As a survivor of the grueling task of completing the application process, I know exactly how daunting, overwhelming, and downright stressful it can be. I hope that by giving you a little ‘tour’ of the college application process, you’ll have a much easier time navigating it. and hopefully you’ll be able to craft a successful application.

Before I get right into it, I’d first like to tell you a bit about myself in the context of college applications. I just graduated high school (in 2018) and I’m going to attend Cornell University in the fall. I plan to major in Computer Science and Economics, but I remain open to other courses of study that I may find interesting as I progress through my college career. I applied to a total of 17 schools: I was accepted by 8 of them and waitlisted by 1.

Disclaimer: I am not a college admissions officer and thus I am not certain that everything I write in this post will work. This is just what I experienced with my college applications. Also, I will only be talking about college applications in the US, since that’s where I applied to, but perhaps some of the tips are adaptable to other countries’ college application processes.

Stage 1: Pre-application

Drafting a college list

(before summer break - start of senior year)

Doing college research

Before starting your application, it seems pretty obvious that you should have an idea of which schools to apply to. And in order for you to do that, you should do a little research to make sure that you’re applying to colleges that you actually want to attend.

One of the first things you should do is list different factors that you think will affect your decision. Do you want to go to a college in the city or in a small town? A large college or a small one? A chill school or an academically rigorous one?

You should also consider the major/area of study you’re interested in–it doesn’t even have to be super specific. Your potential major can then be used to choose your colleges. For example, if I wanted to study CS and Econ, I would choose colleges that are strong in both areas.

On a side note, I don’t think you should choose an area of study just because you’re good at a certain subject, e.g. just because you’re good at English, doesn’t necessarily mean you should study English or Literature. Instead, choose a potential major based on what you enjoy doing.

When doing your research about these different colleges, reading all of the information on their websites can be tedious and boring. As an alternative, I’d recommend watching youtube videos or talking to alumni instead. When I was applying, the most effective way for me to get to know a school is through those “A Day in the Life of…” videos as well as Q&A videos because you not only end up knowing more about the school but also about the student body and the student culture at that university.

What colleges?

I recommend that you apply to a good mix of safety schools, match schools, and dream schools.

Safety schools: you exceed their requirements and you’ll definitely get in.

Match schools: admits have similar academic credentials to yours. You have a good chance of admission, but there’s also a (relatively small) probability that you won’t.

Dream schools: your scores or credentials fall in the lower end of the school’s average range for the previous batch of admitted students.You’d be lucky to get in.

All the colleges you apply to should be colleges that you’d be happy to attend.

How many colleges?

You should start with 6 schools: 2 safety, 2 match, and 2 reach. Then you can adjust the numbers as you wish. If you’re applying to more schools, I’d say the optimum reach:match:safety ratio is around 3:5:2, so if you’re planning to apply to 10 colleges, that would be 3 reach, 5 match, and 2 safety.

How to classify colleges 

Generally, people categorize their colleges based on statistics, so things like test scores, GPA, and rank. Perhaps the easiest method is comparing standardized test scores. A good way to do this is to look at the 25th to 75th percentile range, which shows you the scores obtained by 50% of last year’s entering class. If your scores fall between the 25th and 75th percentile, you may have just found yourself a match school! But hold up, the lower percentiles may be reserved for special admits like athletes or donors, so in reality, a match school would be one where your scores lie closer to the 75th percentile.

Aside from standardized test scores, it might also help to figure out what kind of student the college is looking for–such as by reading accepted supplemental essays–and seeing whether or not you seem like the right fit.

Resources

Once you’ve compiled your list of colleges, it would help to have a table with information about them. This might include information like deadlines, median scores, availability of scholarships, interviews, etc. Here’s a link to (the blank version of) the spreadsheet I used for my college application. Feel free to modify it according to your needs, but make sure to make a copy before changing things!

Recommendation Letters

What are recommendation letters?

Recommendations letters are letters written by your mentors to provide insight into what you’re like as a student, e.g. your behavior, positive qualities, interests, achievements etc.

Whom should you ask for a recommendation letter? 

It’s good to ask teachers who know you very well, either someone who has taught you for a long time or someone who has a multifaceted view of you, such as a teacher who has also advised you in an extracurricular.

Some people would also suggest that you get recommendations from teachers of different subjects to show that you’re a well-rounded student. I think it’s better to ask teachers who can write about your different positive qualities, i.e. one teacher could highlight a part of your character that the other teacher would not be able to.

You might also want to ask teachers who can write well. In my experience, letters from teachers in the humanities and social science departments tend to be more convincing and well-written than those in the science and math departments (I know not all teachers are like this; this is just a generalization). But again, it’s definitely better to ask teachers who know you well and can write about your qualities.

The first recommendation letter I used was from my Economics teacher, who was also my MUN (Model United Nations) advisor - an extracurricular in which I was very active. My classmates and I also had a pretty good relationship with this teacher, especially since our class was only 3 students.

My second recommendation letter came from my Math teacher, who taught me for 6 years. Math is also my strongest subject, so that’s definitely a plus point (get it? :p).

Another letter that might be useful to submit is the additional recommendation. This is a recommendation from anyone other than your teacher, it could be your coach, another mentor, or even a friend. I think you should only consider submitting an additional recommendation if it highlights qualities that haven’t been covered in your other ones.

What do I have to do as an applicant? 

Be prepared to answer questions your teachers may have about you so that they can write a more valuable recommendation letter. Compiling a resume or list of achievements and activities might help, or you could simply sit down for a conversation.

When should I ask for these recommendation letters? 

Preferably before your senior year starts so your teachers have enough time to put some thought into what they’re going to write.

Standardized Testing

Do I really need to take standardized tests?

A lot of colleges recommend (read: require) you to take the SAT or ACT (and TOEFL if you’re an international student like myself), but remember that they are not your entire application. Just do your best in the standardized tests you take.

When should I take them? 

I say whenever you’re ready, but no later than the deadline specified by the college (usually October of your senior year would be the latest to take the general SAT). I did my SATs in October during my junior year, my younger sister took it at the end of her sophomore year, and a lot of my friends took in October during our senior year, so again, it really depends on when you feel you’re ready.

How many times should I take them?

I don’t think you should do each test more than once unless you’re sure your scores will improve. Your application won’t look very good if you sat for the SAT 3 times and your scores decreased each time, assuming the college looks at all your scores.

Which scores do I send colleges? 

Different colleges have different requirements for the submission of these test scores. Some only require the highest scores, while others would like to see all of your scores. On the CollegeBoard website, when you enter colleges to which you’ll send your scores, the site will also inform you of the requirements for those colleges.

How will colleges receive my standardized testing scores?

You’ll have to fill a form in the Common/Coalition App. In addition, some schools require you to send official score reports from the testing agency. I suggest that you send in your scores as soon as you know what colleges you’re applying to, just so that you don’t have to pay an extra amount to ‘rush’ your score sends (i.e. have it sent to colleges in 2-4 days as opposed to the regular 1-2 weeks).

The Rest of Senior Year

Take challenging classes and do well in them

Colleges look at the classes you take in high school and how well you did in them. You should consider taking classes that are both challenging and in the area of study you might want to pursue. Taking challenging courses allows college admissions officers to see that you’re taking initiative to further your education.

What if I catch senioritis? 

If you’re a senior, you’ll definitely go through a phase where you don’t care about anything and just feel like having coffee and talking to your friends in class. I know I did. Senioritis is totally normal, but you should still try to put effort into your studies. Colleges can rescind your admission if they see a drastic fall in your grades, so keep your grades up and don’t overwhelm yourself with too many unnecessary activities.

Join extracurriculars 

Extracurriculars show college admissions officers that you can manage your time well and that you have other interests aside from school. It also shows them that you are an active, contributing member of your community, and that you’re proactive in developing your passions and interests.

What type of activity counts as an extracurricular? 

Well, it can be anything you do in your free time. It could be a school club, a club outside of school, an online activity, etc. Maybe you programmed an app in your spare time. Maybe you had a part time job. Or maybe you ran a blog that helps students navigate their academic lives. You just have to find something that matters to you and is significant and meaningful. It would be even better if the activities in which you participate can demonstrate leadership and commitment.

If you’re having a hard time picturing what that could be, I’ll give you a couple of examples. One of my friends expanded his love of reading by starting a hip hop literature club that has branches in Japan and in multiple states in the US. A junior of mine established a website that brings together people from all around the world, who are experienced in the MUN community, to give newer members advice and guidance so that they may thrive in the MUN world.

Stage 2: Completing the Application

The Application Form

Different Application Platforms

The first thing you should do after you’ve compiled a college list is to find out where you should complete your application.

1. The Common App

The most common application platform is the Common App, which is used by more than 700 colleges in the US. It’s super convenient if you’re applying to a lot of colleges, but the site does limit you to 20 colleges.

2. The Coalition App

Another common platform is the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success, which is a fairly new platform that has 132 members. It does have a cool feature I like, though: it allows you to compile a kind of portfolio by uploading documents and files to your “locker” on the website. Furthermore, the Coalition App is specifically aimed to help lower-resourced and underrepresented students, so the colleges listed there have substantial financial aid and scholarship opportunities.

3. Other Applications

Some colleges also have their own applications, such as the UCs and MIT.

Parts of the Application

You’ll have to fill in your

Personal information (This is probably the easiest part of the application, so even if you don’t have anything else ready yet, I recommend you fill this out just to get it over with.)

Extracurricular activities

Essays (the Common/Coalition App essay and supplementary essays)

Honors and awards

Disciplinary information

Standardized test scores

Your counselor will submit

Your high school transcript

Your mid-year and final transcript

The school report

The counselor recommendation

Your teachers will submit

Their recommendation letters

Now, even though you aren’t submitting every single thing on the form, you are the person responsible for the punctuality of these documents. Your teachers are busy and they might forget, so it’s your job to remind them.

For real though, one of my teachers forgot to upload his recommendation onto one of the external application websites. Fortunately, the university gave me and others in my position an extra 22 days to send in any missing documents.

The Essay (and other essays)

Ah, yes. The much dreaded Essay™. Probably the most challenging part of the application, and the one that sucks the life outta ya. There’s a reason for that, though. The essay is an important part of the application because it humanizes the applicant instead of merely showing them as a collection of statistics and facts. You should aim to showcase something about yourself that can’t be found in other parts of the application.

Planning

When should I start?

Ideally, you should start thinking about potential essay ideas over the summer, maybe come up with a rough draft if you can. But it’s really no rush, though. Sometimes the best ideas come later. I wrote my first common app essay over the summer. Completely scrapped it. Wrote a second one in like September-ish and used that for Early Action. Scrapped it again. The final essay I sent in was first written on December 17th. Sometimes life works that way.

How do I start?

One method that helped me is making a mind map about myself (my counselor recommended this to me). You’d start by writing down the things that define you: your personality, qualities, and values. Then, you’d think of activities, events, or other things in your life where you exhibited those traits or exercised those values. Since all college essays pretty much boil down to “What good qualities do you have?”, mind mapping your good qualities will help you answer all sorts of essays.

One important thing you should know is that your essay topic doesn’t have to be super deep or anything, just that it says a lot about you. And just because your essay is really personal, you shouldn’t divert your focus away from writing it well. You also shouldn’t write about something everybody experiences unless you can find a way to make it unique.

What next?

As soon as you have several topics for your essay, you can create outlines for each of them, and see which one would give a greater contribution to your application. If you’re not the outline type of person, start writing away, and see which one turns out to be more effective.

Writing

Start writing as soon as you have an idea. You don’t have to perfect it yet, just see where and how far the idea goes. You can always edit it or scrap it later. Or, if you prefer a more structured approach, make outlines for all the ideas you have.

How should I structure my essay?

When writing your essay, I would recommend using a narrative structure since people generally respond better to stories. However, if you think your essay would read better without the narrative structure, then use a different one.

What writing techniques are important?

Imagery is your best friend. You want your readers (the admissions officers) to be able to picture what you’re telling them so that they could understand more clearly and comprehensively whatever it is about yourself that you’re trying to convey.

Using an extended metaphor is also an excellent way to compose a memorable essay. Be aware that they’re fairly difficult to pull off, but if you have an idea, you should try and write it out first and see how that works out.

What are some common mistakes applicants make?

Some applicants make the mistake of sounding too preachy, you know, something like “We should make the world a better place!!” You might think, “but aren’t these types of essays supposed to be like that?” That’s what I thought, too, when I first wrote my essay. The admissions officers, however, are only there to get to know you, not to be preached upon. Instead, you should tie in the message you want to convey with your personal experience.

Lastly, you shouldn’t summarize at the end of your essay. It really isn’t as useful as you might think. In other words, you should write your essay so that it doesn’t need to be summarized in order for the readers to understand what you’re trying to tell them.

Revising

You should be prepared to write and rewrite and, like I said before, completely scrap essays. Don’t let yourself get attached to a particular sentence or phrase or even essay topic. Rewrite as needed. Write something else if you must.

After you’ve written your first draft, leave your essay for a couple days before coming back to it to edit. This is because right after you’ve written your essay, the ideal image of the essay is still the one you have written down, so you likely won’t make any meaningful changes.

What if I exceed the word limit?

If your word count is waaay past it, I’d suggest you write it from scratch without referring to the original draft. This helps eliminate the less important details since you yourself don’t remember them.

If you think you can simply cut down on a few phrases, there are several things you can do: delete redundancies, shorten your introduction/conclusion, simplify phrases, rearrange sentences, and use contractions, for example.

Should I ask other people to read my essay?

Somewhere along the road, you’ll also want to ask other people to read over your essay. I wouldn’t recommend asking a friend to do this for you since they might give a biased opinion. Plus, they know you too well. Instead, ask a teacher, your counselor, or even an acquaintance with whom you’re comfortable letting them read your essay.

Supplemental Essays

Honestly just refer to your mind map if you made one, or make outlines for each of your supplemental essays. Don’t be afraid to reuse essays, just make sure to change the name of the college if mentioned.

Some colleges also require you to write about an extracurricular. A guide to the extracurricular essay will be covered in the Extracurriculars section of this post.

Helpful links

College Essay Masterpost by @genericappblrurl​

Prolly the most comprehensive guide to college essays bless u

Covers nearly all essay types

College Essay Masterpost (links) by @sootudying​, includes

General essay advice

Each of the common app essay prompts

“Why college X?” essay guides

Extracurricular essay guides

Contribution essay guides

Influence in life essay guides

“Why major X?” essay guides

College Essay Masterpost (links) by @sequoia-studies​, includes

General essay advice (articles + videos)

Ivy league essays

UC essays

Common app essays

Essay examples

How to Write a Bomb Ass Essay for College Applications by @education-tips​

Extracurriculars

Colleges love applicants who are contributing members of their communities as well as those who are actively developing their passions and skills. The extracurricular section of the college application allows the college to see just that. As I’ve said before, an extracurricular activity can be anything you do in your free time, but one in which you hold a leadership position will pique the interests of the admissions officers.

How many activities should I list? 

The Common App gives you 10 slots for extracurricular activities (the Coalition gives you 8). However, it’s completely fine if you don’t have 10 activities. For the most part, colleges prefer to see quality over quantity, so having a few activities you’re passionate about and to which you made significant contributions would be better than filling all 10 slots with activities that you don’t care about all that much. The best combination of activities would be 1 - 3 significant activities with a large number of hours and several others with a lower number of hours.

What if I have too many activities? 

Choose the activities that you invested the most time in and gained the most experience from. You can also combine multiple activities into one slot. For example, I organized quite a few events and fundraisers when I was in the Student Council, so instead of writing “Organized and volunteered for sports cup”, “Designed and produced school merchandise”, and “Organized a charity festival”, I wrote them all under “Student Council”.

Note: Extracurricular activities aren’t the same as Honors and Awards.

What activities should I include?

As I’ve stated previously, colleges prefer quality over quantity. However, you can aim to be either “pointy” or “well rounded”. Some students have activities that are only in one area of study (”pointy”). This shows colleges that you’re focused and have an intense desire to pursue a single passion.

Despite this, being more “well-rounded” and having a diverse range of activities can also be beneficial since it shows that you’ve gained a lot of experience, and that you aren’t afraid to try different things.

Your activities don’t even have to be conventional extracurricular activities either. Two of the extracurricular activities I listed were 1) this studyblr; and 2) my instagram poetry page. I mean, I am a Gen X kid; I’m bound to spend large amounts of time on social media. Fortunately, it turns out I made a pretty significant contribution, I would say, and also learned a lot from the experience, so they definitely count as extracurricular activities.

Describing the extracurricular activities

This blog post from College Vine is super comprehensive and helped me a lot when I was writing about my extracurriculars. I’ll sum up some key points below:

Select extracurriculars that will present the best image of yourself

Use action oriented verbs (e.g. “facilitated”, “managed”, “maintained”)

Quantify your accomplishments as much as possible

Certain activities will look better if you emphasize the valuable skills you learned instead of what you did

Be specific

Some colleges will require you to write an essay in which you reflect upon a particular activity you did: what you learned and how you grew. This post from College Essay Guy covers pretty much everything I have to say about the extracurricular essay. Main points:

Use active verbs

Write a good clear sentence about what the activity meant to you

Show a little, but not too much

Start with a problem to be solved

Focus on specific impact

Write it long first, then cut it

But which extracurricular activity should you write the essay about? Here’s a helpful link that tells you just that.

Honors and Awards

The honors and awards section is another component of the application that can help you stand out from other applicants. These are basically any achievement, award, or recognition you’ve received in high school.

The common app limits you to 5 honors/awards, and I would recommend that you choose your most impressive honors, e.g. an international competition would be more impressive than one within your school.

Sometimes awards are directly tied to an activity, such as winning Best Delegate in an MUN conference. In this case, you should mention your award in the activities section. Awards that aren’t tied to an activity should be listed in the Honors and Awards section. These might include scholarships, academic awards, etc.

If you have too many honors to fit into the form (lucky you!), you might want to consider sending in a resume. Some colleges provide this option, while some merely have a section for extra information.

Interviews

Interviews are another way the college can see you as a whole person. Some colleges might provide you with an option to take the interview or decline it, but if given the chance, go for it!

What is the interview, exactly?

For me, this was probably the most nerve-wracking part since you’re practically telling things about yourself to a stranger (can you tell I’m not into socializing?) and it’s like you’re being evaluated and you don’t really know what to expect.

But honestly they’re basically regular conversations where you talk about yourself and the things you love. They’ll ask about your school, your family, your aspirations, your hobbies, but the conversation can lead anywhere–food, human rights, pop culture.

It’ll probably start with an open ended question like tell me about yourself and then branch off from there.

There might also be another type of interview where it’s more like a Q&A about the school and you get to know the college through an alumni (Cornell’s “interview” was like this).

A bad interview really won’t hurt your application, unless of course you fail to answer why you want to go to that university.

It really just gives you an extra boost and another factor to consider when the university decides whether or not to admit you.

Plus, you get to elaborate on things that you didn’t on your application.

Interviews can be anywhere from 15 minutes to 1.5 hours, so don’t worry if you think it was too short or too long.

General Tips

Arrive early. It helps to take a few seconds to breathe and take in your location and surroundings before you start your interview.

Wear something comfortable. I wore a plaid shirt and trousers to most of my interviews. In my experience, Western people tend to be more lenient with clothing, so if you wear a t-shirt, it’s fine. Indonesians (and some other Asians) kinda want you to dress at least semi-formally, maybe a button up and formal pants or a skirt.

If your interviewer asks if you want to order anything, go ahead, they won’t mind, and you’ll get free food or a free beverage. I would usually order coffee or tea.

What should I prepare?

How to answer the question tell me about yourself.

How to answer the question why do you want to go to this school?

How to answer other common questions. Don’t script your answers though. Just think about them so you know what the focus of your answer will revolve around.

Your resume, in case they ask for one.

Research the college and prepare some questions to ask the interviewer.

Research the interviewer, e.g. what they studied, what their job is, anything you think would be important to bring up, like one of their research projects or theses.

After the Interview

Send the interviewer a thank you note/email

Thank them for interviewing you

Recall something memorable from the interview

Relax. Then relax some more.

Helpful links

15 Questions to Know for College Interviews by @solustudies​ 

The 14 College Interview Questions You Must Prepare For by PrepScholar

Other General Tips

Check and recheck! Everything! Like actually tho, I typed in my friend’s TOEFL score instead of my own on one application, and on one essay, I wrote the wrong name of the university. I fixed them, though. But yeah check, recheck, and have someone else check it for you too, if possible.

If you’re strong in the arts, send in an arts supplement! I sent in some poetry samples (although I don’t actually know if they’re good haha) to demonstrate my extracurricular interests.

Just be your honest self in all parts of the application. Don’t try to mold yourself to fit the university you’re applying to. I’m sure the admissions officers will be able to tell if you aren’t being genuine.

And some links…

A Masterpost for Applying to College by @science-is-golden​

College Application Timeline by @applicantmusings​

A College Student’s Masterpost by @eruditekid​

Uni Application Masterpost by @study-early​

Stage 3: Post-Application

Relax! You deserve it.

Enjoy your senior year, but again, keep up those grades. Don’t be consumed by senioritis.

Spend more time with your friends since it’s probably gonna be your last year together. Actually spend more time with everyone around you and join activities you normally wouldn’t. But again, don’t overwhelm yourself.

Even though you’re having fun, remember to check your email regularly. Colleges will update you about things, e.g. if you’re missing a component from your application.

Prepare to view your admission results.

Final Notes

College applications are tough, and you’re amazing for being able to put up with such a daunting task. It’s meant to be hard, so applaud yourself!

Also remember not to wear yourself out! Take breaks and revitalize because you’re going to craft a much better application if you have a clear mind and a healthy body.

And when announcement day arrives, be prepared for whatever result you’ll get. Congratulations if you get into your dream school! And if you don’t, that’s alright; maybe the school wasn’t a good fit for you after all.

That’s it for now. Hope you found this post helpful, and best of luck for your college applications!

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From VSCO