nerdy advice

here’s a compilation of college tips on tumblr! hope it’s helpful, and feel free to add your own.

a sister’s guide on how to college by @thatwasvesey (originally posted here)

actual good first-time college student advice by @lampurple​

advice for incoming college freshmen by @catsbooksandthoughts

advice for incoming college freshmen by @dearpanda​

college scheduling tips by @anxiousstudying​

college tips by @studysetgo

college tips from a real live college student by @socsciblr​

college/uni tips by @daenerystargaryn

how to survive your first week of college by @studypunks​

paying for college by @collegerefs​

things i learned during my first weekend at college by @hotmessacademics​

things i wish i knew before college by @thevolutionofnerdy

things is wish i knew my freshman year of uni by @studyswimsexsleep

things i wish someone had told me when i was entering university by @paddysnuffles​

thoughts from a senior in college by @thelittle-victories​

tips for college freshmen by @poshspicestyles​

tips for saving money on required books by @mertinawriting​

tips for surviving college (with a mental illness) by @annefreuds

tips for surviving university by @95noteu​

university survival tips by @lightninginthecolliednight​

5 tips for incoming freshmen by @passwithclassandaniceass​

10 angry college tips for incoming freshmen by @studycrack​

10 ways to make your dorm room (almost) instantly homier by @smithwithsophia​

11.23.2019

The ABCDE Method: Accomplish Tasks more Efficiently

Here’s another list, this time for memorization techniques!

mnemonic devices

flashcards (with pictures on one side)

loci technique

feynman technique (pst… post coming!)

peg method

rewrite a nursery song

write not type! (if possible)

chunking

storytelling

spaced repetition

mind maps 

There are so many other sites that have lots more information on memorization! Some of my favourites are the Art of Memory and Verywellmind. 

Work Smarter, Not Harder

During my last two years of my undergraduate, I came across this notion of working smarter, not harder (a.k.a. working more efficiently to maximize your grades). This is one of a few main concepts that raised my GPA by 1.0 whole point. Here are some tips that if you truly follow, you’ll see incredible results. 

Stay on top of the work 

Review lecture slides or textbook material before going to class 

Go to class (or if online, schedule a regular time to review the material)

Complete all practice problems because chances are it’ll be on the final

Own your note taking method; either on your laptop, on lecture slides, or a notebook (and don’t think of dramatically switching it up half way through the semester)

Summarize your notes at the top or bottom with a few quick bullets on what the lecture focused on to help you organize later on

Ask questions when you are uncertain or need clarification 

How Can I Work Smarter?

Go through the course syllabus for learning objectives and course description to see what areas are to be focused on

Create a daily, weekly, and monthly study plan and don’t be scared to adjust

Get enough sleep; this one is my number one tip, there’s nothing worse than hearing about people pull all-nighters before an exam (I’ve also know people who have accidentally slept through and missed it entirely)

Eat, eat, eat (and eat well); fuel your body and your brain with superfoods and plant goodness b/c everything is connected and it will pay off than eating artificial vending machine junk (trust me)

Use the 50/10 rule (50 minutes focus, 10 minute break), or whatever version you find most effective

Find your study place and rotate (i.e. use library for one course and a coffee shop for another)

Make school your 9-5pm job - the top people in my program go to the library at 9am to start their “job” and it’s so so important 

Study Plan

Focus on the course(s) you try to avoid them out (and try to focus on them at the beginning of the week when you feel more motivated)

Always start study sessions with what you reviewed last time

Plan sessions in 2-3 hour blocks throughout the day and spend time studying a different course in each session (or at least one different course in-between the same course to reduce boredom)

Create practice tests and quiz yourself on material by shifting memorization to true understanding

Use summary notes to help destress before exams 

Create study groups (if that’s your cup of tea) to quiz each other and explain concepts 

Love is everywhere, and I’m living and loveable.

I forgive you for not being the way I wanted you to be. I forgive you and this sets me free.

The people in my life are loving, supportive of and kind to me, themselves and others.

I fully and completely accept myself.

I trust this Universe to reveal what I need to know in the right time, space and sequence.

And lastly,

Spotify Playlists! Here is a master list of playlists I compiled together! They help me focus when reviewing for certain moods so I decided to share these lists on here! I update with new songs/ adding new tracks on a weekly basis and I will add other playlists on in the future to this list!!

(◕▿◕✿)  I hope you enjoy using these playlists as much as I do when studying for your exams or just doing your homework!!

Relaxing As You Study  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

These are soft soothing songs, no lyrics or anything like that, that bring calm tones to your ears as you listen. Compiled with hundreds of tracks, this is a great long playlist to play in the background while you work on your tasks!

Soothing Tunes  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Soothing Tunes is a playlist compiled of songs that are not harsh, but rather nice and soft. If anyone has requests for certain songs to be added to this list, feel free to send a message! These are primarily based off what I consider to be soothing sounds!

Anime Theme Songs  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Sometimes one does not need soothing sounds, but rather themes of animes to get you going! This playlist is compiled with multiple anime theme songs you can listen to as you study and complete your tasks!

Chill Beats  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Chill Beats is a playlist compiled with different chill beat, lofi tunes. This is a massive playlist updated daily as new chill beats are found. Another wonderful long study playlist you can listen to as you study!

Kpop Instrumentals  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Like listening to Kpop while you study, but are afraid you’ll get side tracked and sing along to the lyrics? Well here is another massive playlist, this is a playlist that consists of as many KPOP themed instrumentals one can find all put into this playlist for you to use!

Pop Instrumentals  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Here is another massive instrumental playlist filled with different typed of instruments playing American Pop Music! There are hundreds of tracks in this list to ensure a long endless play! I hope you will also enjoy yhis playlist to your liking!

Anime Themes Instrumentals  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Here is another large playlist of anime themes in the instrumental form! Listen to this as you bask away in your studies. Enjoy the elegance or the hard strike of anime themes in the instrumental form!

ASMR Noises  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

ASMR Noises is a playlist of numerous ASMR sounds from pop crackling to gift wrap sounds! This is a great playlist to listen to while you work if you enjoy ASMR sounds!

Nature Sounds  *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Like ASMR Noises, but filled with Nature themed sounds such as rain, wind, thunderstorms

the curve of forgetting describes how we retain or get of information we absorb.

day 1: you go into a lecture knowing 0% and come out knowing 100% of what you know (regardless of whether you know it extremely well or not)

day 2: you did not do any reviewing of your notes from day 1 therefore you have lost 50%-80%

and as the days progress we forget less and less

think about midterms! notice how around midterms when you’re trying to study for something (that you haven’t been reviewing for regularly) it feels like the material is VERY difficult and almost as if you’ve never learned it before

formula to reshape the curve

within 24 hours of your lecture spend 10 minutes reviewing the material

a week later: it will only take 5 minutes to REACTIVATE the same material

ultimately, you will reshape the curve  

day 30: by this day your brain will only need 2-4 minutes to recall

information on the curve of forgetting was taken from the university of waterloo (x)

my formula to reshape the curve using the information above

before class: spend 10 minutes PREVIEWING the material. 

after class: spend 10 minutes REVIEWING the material

do this regularly. this will be your preview/review system for each class.

a week later: try to review a week later. i know that school/life can get pretty hectic, but try to make sure you are reviewing regularly.

maybe record yourself saying some important details/concepts from your notes the night before and on your daily commute to school plug in those earphones and listen to it. i am an auditory learner and i find that listening to my notes before i go to bed and right when i wake up have truly helped me retain information. studies have shown that the best time to study is right before going to bed and right when you wake up.

a month later: after a month, review what you’ve learned so far in your class. trust me this will be a very very short review. everything will look very familiar to you and it won’t look as difficult as it used to.

basically your review schedule should be the following: 

1 hour before learning the material

1 hour after learning the material (or within 24 hours of learning it b/c i know we’re all very busy people)

1 day later

1 week later

1 month later

remember everyone learns, studies, and retains information differently!! my personal belief is that your technique is what matters most. it is not about your innate ability/talent. find a technique that works for you.

more suggestions:

active learning > passive learning

when taking notes use the Cornell method. it forces you to ask questions and summarize what you’ve learned.

set frequent, short, review sessions

test yourself constantly! there are so many resources online. 

people who are under stress have difficulty remembering things so CHILL OUT

don’t rush, take your time

repetition is key

practice MAKES PERFECT

group items together

fish, vitamin b12, and green tea can help w/ memory

[02.05.19] I might start making advice posts, I just really want to be able to help people on each platform that I upload on. I want people to follow and actually build a community of pickly babies instead of having people follow for my aesthetic posts lol. By the way, if you want to be friends feel free to say hi :)