ailurophile

Pain is temporary. Glory is everlasting.

I’m crying out, I’m breaking down I am fearing it all, stuck inside these walls Tell me there is hope for me Is anybody out there listening?

Can’t you hear my call? Are you coming to get me now? I’ve been waiting for you to come rescue me I need you to hold all of the sadness I can not, living inside of me 

I’m in here, can anybody see me? Can anybody help?

You’re buying stars to shut out the light We come alone and alone we die And no matter how hard you try I’ll always belong in the sky

- these are just a bunch of lil tips from one student to another!! nothing too serious tbh

- senior year was very stressful for me! where i live, each college has a different entrance exam and u take them on different days! i know other countries have SATs, ACTs, or other generalized tests. here (the philippines btw), we choose which universities we want to take the exam for. i personally applied for the top 3 universities in my country, took all 3 exams and (not to brag) passed all 3!!! i took one in august, another in september, and the last in january! 

- so here are a few tips for those who don’t know how to balance high school academics with college prep! hope these are helpful in some way!!

SENIOR YR ESSENTIALS !!

1. paper clips!! ok this might seem random, but BOYYY, when u start collecting all ur college application documents, these. will. save. ur. life. i remember my classmates asking to borrow paper clips (and then never returning them *rolls eyes*) when they were organizing their applications. the last thing u want is to accidentally send an essay to the wrong university. 

2. file folders!! kinda similar to #1 since it has something to do with organizing papers, but file folders are e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g! i had one of those expanding file folders (muji has really aesthetic & durable ones) and they honestly helped me so much!! i always kept important documents that needed to be submitted and/or assignments in the very front!! also, some of my teachers did this annoying thing where they would give us a hand-out to keep and then not mention it for a month, then suddenly in the middle of class they would say, “please get out ur handout that i gave to u a month ago!!” and guess who would always have theirs??? me!!!!! thanks to file folders!!

3. usb flash drive!! this might not apply to u, but our teachers always taught us with the aid of a powerpoint presentation! and sometimes, they scroll thru the slides too fast for u to take notes!! so before my teacher shuts down his/her laptop, i flash my flash drive in their face (ha ha) and ask for a copy!! 

4. whiteboard marker! for two reasons!! first, when u get asked to solve a problem on the board, teachers don’t normally lend u theirs so u either (a.) walk around the class asking your classmates for a whiteboard marker, or (b.) pull out ur own!!!!!!! and the second reason is: if ur teacher comes to class without a marker and goes, “does anybody have a whiteboard marker i can borrow?” you can pull urs out and get nice-guy points from ur teacher!! haha

5. hdmi cable!!! ok, this probably won’t apply to everyone, but when i had to present something in class, i would always have to go the tech office to borrow an hdmi cable. they rarely had one available, and even if they did, you had to leave your ID + it was a long walk D: hahah so i suggest bringing ur own!!! ur teacher would also be v impressed ;)

6. water + snacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg i can’t stress this enough!! the last thing u want is to have a dry mouth and/or a growling tummy during class!!! i always brought a water bottle and finger food (like crackers) to school hehe! i get that some teachers don’t let u eat in class, but drink!!! water!!!! it’s good for u!!! or pop a mint to get rid of that ugly dry mouth feeling!!!! and last but CERTAINLY not least,

7. A PLANNER!!! trust. me. ur planner will be one of the most important things in ur life during ur senior year. at the end of the class, my teachers would always write down assignments on the board, and i would copy it straight to my planner!! and as soon as i get home, my planner is the first thing i take out of my bag!! you can try a bullet journal (i wish i had, but i never had time to do layouts bc i sucked at time management D:) here’s a lil studytube vid on how to start ur own!! thanks to @studyign!! or u could purchase a planner!! ban.do has rly cute ones!! 

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS!!!

- if u study in the philippines, or in a country where the system is similar to ours, then these might be super helpful!! if u study somewhere else, i’ll include links to college apps masterposts!!

- oh oh btw, if ur a filipino student and u want a post of tips for the UPCAT, DCAT, and ACET then hit me up!!!!!!!!!! 

1. submit ur requirements on time!!!! not only does this save u stress in the future, but it could save u serious money!! late fees are not cool!!!! once u print out your app form, look thru it ASAP, see if they require anything that can’t be accomplished a week before the deadline! some schools require an essay, others require a recommendation form (here’s a helpful post for recommendation forms!!), or a photocopy of your birth certificate!! it would SUCK if you started doing ur app form a week before the submission date, and u realize ur gonna need 2 weeks for those recommendation forms!! be prepared, gorgeous! x

2. speaking of essays!! only one of the universities i applied to required an essay!! the question was something along the lines of, “how have your achievements/milestones shaped your present character?” with a question like that, it’s easy to stray away from the topic and just list down all your rewards and achievements and the obstacles you had to overcome, and the hardships you faced. but always remember to STAY. ON. TOPIC. here is a link to a masterpost on college essays!!! thanks to @studyfandom x (also, check this phrase bank out!)

3. test permits!!! do. not. lose. them. please dont!!!! i kept my test permits in a very safe place in my room that i knew people wouldn’t touch or move, and i only took them out on the day of the exam! also, i would recommend going to the location of the test before the actual test so u don’t get lost trying to find ur way to ur exam room!

4. here are a few links to more college app masterposts!! (1, 2, 3, 4)

STUDYING FOR THE TEST!!!!!!!!

- probably the most stressful thing in the world, because u have no idea where to start!! somehow u have to refresh ur mind of ur whole life’s education, like… how?!?!? but trust me, drowning urself in ur anxiety and overthinking will only make it worse!!

- i personally enrolled for review classes the summer before senior year where they basically did crash courses for each subject!!! yes, it helped, but would i have passed without it?? probably!! each university entrance exam covers different subjects, but here are a few tips from me!! hopefully, someone finds these helpful!!

1. MATH: honestly… how do you even study your whole life’s maths education? and in some cases, they even include topics u wouldn’t have even covered until AFTER ur senior yr! like, what’s that about??? what i recommend is planning out ur study sessions in advance, and assign a different subtopic for each day! like on sunday, i’ll study geometry, monday: algebra, tuesday: calculus, etc etc!! and remember!!! don’t go into too much detail!! they’ll only give u questions u can do mental math on! (for most cases!!! research about ur uni’s exam type first!!) they would never give u problems where u would defo need a calculator to solve it unless u were albert einstein or something!! study the basics, the formulas, the processes!! don’t focus on details!!

2. SCIENCE: oh my GOLLY, this was a pain in the butt to study. where do u even start? biology?? chemistry?? physics?? earth science? but, like in Math, remember not to focus on details!! study basics, familiarize urself with the terminology, study and understand why things do things (ex. why the sky is blue, why leaves are green, what causes earthquakes, etc etc) and assign different topics for each study sesh!! don’t try and learn biology and physics on the same day, it will only stress u out and possibly confuse u on the day of the exam! again, don’t focus on details!!!!

3. ENGLISH: grammar. grammar. grammar. grammar. know ur subject-verb agreements, know ur verb tenses, etc etc!! people think English is the easiest subject to study, but when you’re faced with questions like “When would you use ‘whom’ instead of ‘who’?”, u’ll change ur mind. study up on ur grammar babes!! don’t take english for granted, it could be the toughest part of the exam!! especially if there’s a surprise essay portion!!!!!!! (which happened!!!!!)

4. MISCELLANEOUS: some exams have abstract reasoning tests, which are soooo stressful, but take them seriously!! don’t just guess!! but at the same time, don’t spend too long on one item! eliminate the answers u know for sure arent correct, and if u realize ur spending 5 minutes on a 1-point item, make an educated guess after eliminating the 100% wrong answers!! you could also have a little personal survey portion, where it seems like there’s no wrong answer! they ask stuff like, “what do you do when you fail an exam?”, just be honest!! but don’t pick the obviously bad answers like “ask the teacher to give you extra points”!! haha

TAKING THE TEST!

- BREATHE BREATHE BREATHE BREATHE 

- if u know u studied as best as u could, then u’ll do great!!! worrying will only make you feel worse!! 

- bring ur test permit!! bring all the requirements!! bring at LEAST 2 pencils, an eraser, and a sharpener (preferably one with a lil pencil dust catcher so u don’t have to walk to the trash can in the middle of the exam)

- bring water!!! and a snack!! dark chocolate is actually proven to benefit ur brain!!! so munch on that if ur allowed to!! x

- when ur drinking/eating, make sure u don’t get any mess on ur exam paper!!!! be extra careful, love!!

- don’t spend more than 1 minute on a 1-point item!!! time! is! gold!! go back to it if u have extra time later!! 

- bring a jacket just in case the room is cold!!!! u want to be super comfy while taking ur exams!

- on tests with super short time limits, don’t fill in the entire circle on ur answer key, just put a little mark inside the bubble and fill them in later!! for one of my exams, there was a 25-item portion that we had to finish in 10 minutes!!! spending an extra 8 seconds filling in that bubble would waste my time!!! i put a little dash inside the bubble of my answer and with the remaining 2 minutes, i quickly filled in all the bubbles!! as fast as i could!! 

- pop a mint!!!!!! for me, mints wake me up in some weird way, so whenever i start to feel drowsy, i pop a mint and i feel much more refreshed and awake!!

- after ur exam, push away all ur anxious thoughts!! don’t worry about things u cant change!! don’t fuss!! just relax gorgeous!!!!!

AND FINALLY, BALANCING HIGH SCHOOL ACADS WITH COLLEGE PREPARATION!!!

- of course graduating high school is important, so u need to keep ur grades up!!! but at the same time, college prep is also very important!!!!!! this is ur future we’re talking about!! it might seem overwhelming, but hey!! i survived, and so will u!!

- this might be a bit unconventional, but i slightly prioritized college prep a bit more!! now, u don’t have to listen to me and/or follow my footsteps, but i’ll share my reasons!! there was a week during my senior year that went like this: tuesday to thursday = finals!!, and friday = college entrance exam!, so what do i do?? how do i choose which to study for?? i studied for my finals, don’t get me wrong!! i started studying for my college entrance exam a month before the actual date (not every day, obviously, but a little light revision 3-4 times a week), and the week before my finals, i would study for them!! heavy, heavy studying!! esp the night before (which i don’t recommend!!! studying the night before an exam actually increases the risk of mental blocks!!) so i did unhealthy studying for my finals, and healthy studying for my college entrance exam!! even tho i took my finals with much less confidence than i had when i took my college entrance exam, it was ok, because i chose to prioritize my college prep!! i had the whole year to make up for my finals, but i only had one chance at getting into that university!!! (and i got in!!! yay!) 

- please don’t take this the wrong way!!! high school acads are very very important!! you want to get ur diploma after all! and some universities even consider ur final report card before they decide to accept u! 

- i would recommend starting Entrance Exam revisions weeks (or maybe even months) ahead of the date! very light study sessions a couple times a week, just to refresh your knowledge!! that way, if your college prep & high school acads overlap (like my situation), then u would at least feel prepared for both!!! 

LIL RANDOM TIPS

- don’t ever forget to put urself and ur mental health first!! if ur feeling overwhelmed and can’t seem to focus because of mental health issues, please please please take a little break from studying and treat urself!! take a really relaxing bath, read a good book for leisure, take a nap even!! always put urself first!!! 

- keep a little toiletry bag in ur backpack containing ur sanitary napkins/tampons, medications, extra panties/bras/socks (!!), tissue (!!!!!), deodorant, makeup products for retouching etc etc!! trust me, u’ll thank me later!!

- declutter every 2 weeks!! go thru ur file folder, throw away things u 100% know u’ll never need again!! clean ur study area, change ur bedsheets, clean ur room!! u’ll feel much better about urself after decluttering x

- if u hate how water is so boring and bland (like i do), add a lemon wedge and some mint leaves!!! it’s actually really good for u too!!

- if u have time, make a little playlist every month containing new songs to listen to!!!! i love going thru 8tracks playlists and hand-picking certain tracks to add to my playlist! it’s super relaxing!!!! and of course, discovering new music is always a good thing!! 

- feel free to send me messages/questions!! 

- check out my #sos tag for more helpful posts!!