Top 5 Tips for Boredom-Busting During Coronavirus

Studying alone can be difficult and boring, but having to study at home during the coronavirus outbreak is a whole new challenge for high school and college students. Here are five easy-to-follow study tips for managing the COVID-19 boredom, staying on task, and riding this out while achieving the academic goals.

1.    Carve Out Your Study Space

Set up a dedicated area at home where you can study. Make sure there is plenty of natural sunlight and you have ample desk space to work on. Also, don’t forget to relocate all of your study materials and tools once you’ve finished studying, so that space may go back to its original purpose. Use a portable container like a backpack or small box, so you can keep everything together and move between spaces easily when necessary.

2.    Follow the 5-Minute Rule

Select an assignment you want to work on, and you vow to work on it for 5 minutes, and 5 minutes only. If after this time you still don’t feel like it, you can stop with no strings attached. However, what most college students find out is that after 5 minutes of doing something, it’s easy to proceed until the task is done. Oftentimes, the hardest part is simply getting started. By thinking about the assignment as something that may take only 5 minutes, it feels much less overwhelming and a lot more achievable. 

3.    Study with Your Classmates Online

While you are doing your best to practice social distancing and minimize the spread of the coronavirus, safe social interaction is still helpful, especially for studying. Consider organizing virtual study groups with your classmates to not only get your dose of socializing during this critical period but also to hold each other accountable to your academic goals.

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5 Ways to Deal with a Difficult Professor

A good professor can make a college class worthwhile. And a bad one can easily ruin it. Whether they aren’t personable, are super strict, or just seem to dislike you for some reason, they can make a semester hell. To aid you to get through their lectures unscathed, here are five ways for you to deal with the difficult professor.

1.    Change Classes

If it is a course that is commonly taught by many professors, see if you can transfer to a different one. If you need the course to graduate, and it is a rare one, talk to your academic advisor as quickly as possible.

2.    Have Good Attendance

To avoid any unnecessary brushes with your professor, be punctual and arrive before your classes begin. Getting out of bed and going to class is not fun and easy. But if this professor that is so appalling sees that you are putting the effort in to come to their lectures, they will be more likely to aid you. Anyway, it is a good habit which you must cultivate within yourself in order to thrive at college.

3.    Find Someone Who Has Taken This Course Before

Ask your academic advisor if they can connect you with students who have previously taken the course to get help. They may have some useful tips and tricks to get on the professor’s good side.

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Top 5 Memory Techniques to Ace Your Exams

Many college students struggle with memorizing a large amount of information because they don’t train their brains on a regular basis. Instead of asking how to recall some facts or numbers faster, students should be learning how to use their memory more efficiently when they study.

Here are 5 scientifically proven memory techniques to help you nail your pre-exam preparation.

1.    Take an Imaginary Walk

Use the method of Loci. This well-known mnemonic technique involves thinking of images that associate the material you are trying to learn with a familiar location, such as your house. You have to take an imaginary walk and link different rooms with chunks of information. For example, pop into your kitchen to find a complicated algebraic formula. Take a close look at a crystal vase on the windowsill to detect the names of the 12 cranial nerves. Finally, in order to recollect each item, imagine yourself walking back through each room.

2.    Teach Someone Else

Teaching the material to someone else is one of the best ways to learn it yourself. If you don’t have an attentive listener like a classmate or roommate, you can teach your plush toy. Try to explain the core concepts in the simplest terms possible. This process alone helps you reinforce new knowledge in your mind.

3.    Create a Sticky Story

To help your mind absorb larger bits of information, another technique you can use is to break the material down and make up a story associating each piece of information together. If you need to memorize Newton’s First Law, you can turn it into a tale with its components being the main characters. Name the components with human names starting with the same letter and correlate their actions with human actions.

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5 Last-Minute Study Tips to Survive Final Exams

College students work hard all through the fall term to earn a much-needed Thanksgiving break, and afterward, time flies right into final exam time. It is not impracticable to swot up at the last minute, but cramming at midnight before the exam is clearly not recommendable and should not be made a habit. To offer some support, we have prepared a few last-minute study tips to help you survive the finals season and get to the upcoming holiday break in one piece.

1.    Find a New Study Spot

Where you choose to study has more of an effect on your memory ability than you may realize. If you are used to studying in the same location all the time, switch it up and try a new spot. Head to a place with a lack of distractions, like a campus library or your favorite cafe.

2.    Review Summaries Rather Than Full Notes

Preparing mind maps or one-page bullet point summaries of each topic can be a good way to review the topic and check your understanding. If there is any topic that you feel specifically unsure about, it may be helpful to review that in more detail.

3.    Chew Gum

Gum can do a lot more than just give you minty fresh breath — it might give you an A! According to a study, chewing gum increases blood flow to the brain and stimulates memory recall. College students who chew gum while studying and taking their final exams perform better than others.

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5 Ways to Get Your Homework Done Faster

1.    Record Classroom Lectures

Recording lectures is helpful for lots of college students, as it makes information more obtainable and easier to digest. Once a student has recorded a lecture with a smartphone or laptop, they can go over the material on their own time and at their own pace. By playing back a record on the way home they will be able to absorb information and complete their homework faster later on.

2.    Hard Start – Jump to Easy

When a student starts doing their homework, first, they have to focus on the hardest tasks. If after a minute they are still struggling, they have to switch to another task. This puts the question into the student’s mind and while they are working on other tasks, the tough question has entered into the diffused mode. This technique enhances students’ ability to unlock their potential and accomplish their assignments a lot quicker and significantly better.

3.    Do Homework at School

Here is something teachers don’t tell their students: homework is not actually supposed to be done at home. In fact, the best time to work on their assignment is when a college student has just come from their classroom and the material is still fresh in their head. By doing it straightway, they are able to work through their problems more efficiently.

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Top 5 Tips to Get Ready for College

Going to college may sound exciting, but the amount of preparation required to get there may seem daunting to many students. With so many things to accomplish, it can be useful to have some guidance on what needs to get done this summer before college. Check out these five tips that can help you to hit the ground running in the fall.

1.   Learn to Manage College Finances

Preparing your budget is one of the most important things of your summer preparation. Be sure you understand which expenses your parents are covering and which will be your responsibility. From textbooks to late-night pizza deliveries, college life can be expensive. If you have no experience following a budget, the Mint app can help you with it.

A summer job can provide you with a little cash reserve to get you through the next months. If you need a part-time job during school, start researching opportunities on your college’s job boards right now. Here are a few on-campus job ideas to get you started.

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5 On-the-Go Snacks For a Busy College Student

Being away at college means more independence and freedom, and for many students, that signifies mealtime becomes a matter of convenience versus health and nutrition. But just because you are busy with homework, friends, parties and more does not mean you have to live off of pizza and fast food every day. Here are some simple, healthy snacks college students should carry with them in order to stay healthy and keep from getting hungry.

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 1.    Avocado Toast

Avocado toast is one of the quickest and yummiest snacks that provides many health benefits. It is a great source of fiber, vitamins and the good kind of fat that your body needs. Keep it simple with some olive oil, salt and pepper or add some eggs, cheese or tomatoes to your avocado toast. In any case, it’s guaranteed to be delicious and will keep you full and ready for the long study day ahead.

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