'lit' as in literature.

j · she/her/hers · i vaguely remember this account exists sometimes · biochem · i follow as @probabilities

[alexistudies]

february 6

the view from my hotel room in TX was breathtaking. it reminded me a lot of high school, when i used to live in the desert and you just see the sprawling acres of land..all the houses spread out and pockets of neighborhoods.

met lots of great faculty, learned a lot about my potential future program, and even toured an apartment. i think i made the most of my couple days there. here's to the next trip: denver!

[10pm-studying]

Hello, long time no see! In chemistry today we did a virtual lab using molecular model kits, and I can't help but to share some of the molecules. Can you tell what each molecule's formula is?

[martaasnotes]

big chemistry studying day for me! .... also i'm not sure why my photos are uploading so blurry but its bothering me

[workbycandlelight-deactivated20]

if any of you have tips for personal statement writing please send me an ask!!!! im literally dying (plus im trying to get into cambridge which is hard)

[workbycandlelight-deactivated20]

Just specific info here:

• i’m applying for natural sciences/biology

• i take biology, maths and chem

• i’ve done a shit ton of extra reading and id consider myself fairly knowledgable, but i have no idea what to write about the things i’ve read!!! also structure is my arch nemesis

[bat-besties]

The structure one of my teachers gave me which I ended getting into the Russel Group with was:

- Why you want to do your subject

- Elaborate

- How your other subjects link to your subject

- Extra-curriculars (20% of the wordcount max. Cambridge doesn't care about extracurriculars but you should include it for the other places you're applying to)

- Final line on your subject 

Why you want to do it should be what interests you about it, and your reading should demonstrate intellectual curiosity! So the best structure you can use to introduce books is "After doing X in class, I pursued my question about it by reading X. [What you found out]" Or "in this book i found out X and then compared what I found to this talk [compare them]. This shows that you're an independent learner, which Oxbridge loves.

So a structure for biology (taking with a pinch of salt that I'm a Humanities student) could be something like-

- A line on why you want to pursue natural sciences/biology

- A paragraph on one area you like, referencing books and talks etc.

- Another paragraph on another area (I know for Humanities they like these to be different, eg. 20th century and 17th century history, I have no idea for STEM.)

- Achievements/interests in your other subjects, or how the subjects link to biology (it doesn't have to be direct, something as simple as "I developed an interest in logic")

- Extra-curriculars (don't spell them out too much! Recruiters will know that, for example, having a part-time job shows you're good at managing time)

- Final line just for neatness, I would recommend something like "I would love to pursue [what you like about your subject] at a university level"

Like any of the countless pieces of advice about UCAS, take this with a big pinch of salt, but I hope one example of a personal statement structure helps.

[workbycandlelight-deactivated20]

this makes so much sense!!! thank you!! all the resources ive gotten from school have felt really stilted and ive not quite gotten what they were asking me to do but this genuinely made it clearer so tysm!!

[bat-besties]

No worries! My school literally gave us no help with structure so it would "come from the heart" or whatever. Cue us complaining in a cover lesson, and the cover teacher telling us to get out paper and note down pretty much exactly that first list, which she taught in her old school. It helped so much and I was excited to pass it on! Good luck!

[thatfrenchacademic]

Two political scientist chaving a very academic discussion about methodology, 2022.

[nietxsche]

09/02/22

100 days of productivity: 40/100

let’s romanticise physics…?

[wik-likes-studying-and-books-de]

24-01-22

chemistry revision + mint scented candle

i've finally understood ionic and covalent bonding and i'm so happy! i also have a test on this next week, which i'm less happy about

[garadinervi]

Kathleen Lonsdale’s handwritten crystallography textbook [Royal Institution, London]

[bugblast]

santa deniers on science-mas eve hearing charles darwin evolving down the chimney

[tsukki-studies]

you don't need a cute planner. you don't need the fancy mildliners. you just need to scream.

[rosallindfranklin-blog]

hello, it’s me.  With a new printable.

download here! [ rxn table w/ numbers | rxn table w/o numbers | rxn chart ]

Organic chemistry is literally life, but it always often feels like death.  Every time you fall asleep, visions of cyclohexanes dance in your head and you find yourself drawing ethers and carboxylic acids on your desk.

The key to passing orgo is devoting time to study it from day one and not letting yourself fall behind.  The sheer volume of information you need to know and understand seems overwhelming, but once you organize it, it’ll look more manageable.  These printables are designed to help you lay out each reaction so you can start to see the bigger picture of organic chemistry and maybe the light at the end of the tunnel.

Understanding Orgo Reactions

Draw out the general pattern of the reaction [for example, an alkene reacts with a dihalide to form an alkyne]

Draw the flow of electrons.  This is the most important part.  Don’t just memorize each reaction.  Understand why it works the way it does.  Reactions in chemistry occur via the movement of electrons as bonds are broken and formed.  As you do this, you’ll begin to recognize certain patterns in orgo.  Here are some general things to consider for the reaction:

stereochemistry of the reactants and products

the behavior of different functional groups

resonance structures

placement of double bonds

stability of the product

Draw these reactions again and again.  Hide the end products and test yourself.  Do you understand why the products are reacting in such a way?

Orgo may be tough and you may end up regretting your life choices several times a day but it’ll be worth it in the end. If nothing else, you’ll know at least twenty ways to kill people and make it look like an accident.

If you want more specific tips, as someone who actually passed orgo and came out with at least 25% of my brain cells intact, I can help you out!

[janihernan]

I tried to make a christmas themed reaction mechanism in one of our experiments. It is a low quality photo, but I still got the hang of Christmas even it already passed so I figured to share what I was up to before the break.

[wewontdieunbloomed]

26.11.2021

Not the best few days, I've barely gotten an hour of working done for the past few days on average. I am quite screwed and I have no idea how I'm going to finish all my content by the end of the holidays. I barely have 6 weeks left, and I'm still crossing off things that should have been week 1's work. So. not going well.

This holidays are somehow the busiest I have ever been I have things on every week I can't even find time to go out with my friends like I usually do, which is really sad. I also haven't really written or read books which is very disappointing. I'm quite unhappy with how things are going right now and I want ro change it, so I am going to replan first thing tomorrow.

[tsukki-studies]

[legendofell]

Saturday //  February 6th, 2021.

Some notes from Chapter one of Johnson, W.C. (2014). Public Administration: Partnerships in Public Service (5th Edition)

[finelythreadedsky]

dark academia is just when the lightbulbs in the library haven’t been replaced in nine years

[terpsikeraunos]

dark academia is when your department is in the basement

[valtsv]

me when the new semester starts: at last i have structured time again and responsibilities and deadlines to motivate me to be productive and make plans for the future. this term is gonna be great, i just know it!

me literally 2 days later: