sammy studies

Textbooks are too expensive & the industry is a bit of a moneymaking scam. Here’s some sites, masterposts, and tips for free & cheap textbooks that might be able to help you out!

Cheap Books (Renting & Buying)

Big Words: compares lots of book prices!

Slug Books: buy, rent, and sell

Alibris: lots of cheap books & will send you coupons

Abe Books: fantastic website for searching tonnes of books

Biblio: has a lot of rare books

Thriftbooks: great for books other than textbooks, too

AddAll: the best search engine for books

GetTextbooks: sell and search for books

Chegg: very competitively priced

RentText: nice if you don’t want to buy!

Amazon: a tried and true classic

Textbook Rush: does buying, renting, selling, and ebooks

Campus Book Rentals: also has buyback which is niceee

Free eBooks & PDFs

Ebook Search Engine: google searches just for ebooks

OpenStax: legal & free!

TextbookNova: good but uses torrents

LibraryGenesis: great and a guide on using it

Project Gutenberg: a true classic!! great for classic books

FreeBookSpot: also has categories

Questia: mainly for classics online

Google Books: if you only need a quote

BookBoon: mainly for stem books

Ebook Lobby: categorised & more than textbooks

BookSee: nice layout & easy to navigate

Masterposts

Tips & Links for Textbooks

Tips for Freshmen

How to Find Textbooks Online for Free

Tracker with PDFs/E-Books of College Textbooks

How To Search & More Links

Alternatives to Buying Expensive Textbooks

Buying vs. Renting Books

Free, Specific, Renting Textbooks etc.

A Basic Guide to College Textbooks

Leak College Textbooks, Not Nudes

Sites Where You Can Get Free Textbooks

Tips

Consider buying a past edition of the book. If it’s a textbook, and not a workbook with required questions, you can often get the same information for just a fraction of the current edition’s price.

Try sharing with a friend (or more than one)! You can either take turns using the book, or scan the relevant pages and share them on google drive so you can all use the book for a much cheaper price.

Buy off another student. They’ll already have taken the class (so they might also have some tips!) and will usually give you a cheaper price.

Go to class first before buying the book. You might not need the same edition, it might just be a recommended reading and not required, or, if you’re super lucky, the instructor might send out PDFs of relevant chapters.

Make use of your school’s library. Get there first after class and borrow the relevant book, or scan/photocopy the reading so you can do it in your own time without having to pay for the book.

If you’re downloading from online, make sure your antivirus software is on. You don’t want to accidentally download a virus when all you wanted was a PDF (my antivirus has blocked textbook downloads before).

See me letter the headers in this video! 

You can change the color of the banners in Photoshop - these are editable PDFs. 

Rainbow pens anyone?

So I’m back with another masterpost! Don’t let the title confuse you, this masterpost also contains studying related links (because in summer we have plenty of free time and what we do in our free time? we study). Anyways, I hope that this will be helpful to all of you! Please send me a message if a link is broken! Have a cute summer♡

1. useful apps

SAMApp 

to-doist

clockwork tomato

online pomodoro timer

pocket

evernote 

fliqlo

momentum

wunderlist

TED for (iPhone and iPad) (android)

trello

chrome website blocker 

2. music & sounds

8tracks 

spotify

rainy mood 

train sound

jetliner night flight sound

coffivity

soundrown

3. recipes because food is life

make homemade pancakes

heaven of hot chocolate recipes

grilled nutella banan sandwich

cheap and yummy recipes

cookie in a mug

quick and easy snacks

make your own starbucks drinks (aka heaven)

4. do yourself a favor and be creative

cheap things to do this summer

learn how to bullet journal

art journal ideas

diy aluminium calligraphy pen

5. studying & inspiration & organisation & knowledge

improve your math skills

learn how to make/use a chronodex

tips on getting started

studying techiques

an alternative to wikipedia

many great resourses gathered in one page

21 inspiring movies

things top students do

great organisation advice

printables masterlist

how to study when you’re lazy

all-nighters

beat procrastination

sooooo many motivational quotes

why we do what we do

6. take care of yourself

doyouyoga.com

25 self care tips

90 seconds of relaxation

5 things to do to enjoy life

6 simple rituals

make yourself a comfort box

you deserve a better morning

make mornings better

get a good night’s sleep

buns’ masterpost

lovely advice

become an adult cheat list

20 things you should know before you’re 20

7. internet is such a cute place

watch anime for free

click here

nice places to visit on street view

create cool sand art

weave silk

challenge your brain

here’s a dog and it’s licking your screen

donate rise by answering questions

people pointing at your pointer

surround yourself with galaxies

organization

Productive: my favorite habit tracker!

Pocket Schedule: a scheduling app designed for students

Google Drive: access shared files from anywhere

studying

Pomodoro: a clean, minimalist pomodoro timer

Quizlet: a flash card app that’s a literal lifesaver

Tinycards: cute flash cards from the makers of Duolingo

Khan Academy: cram for organic chemistry (or anything else!) on the go

Noisli: create a soundscape to help you focus

Free Graphing Calculator: free and gets the job done

languages

Duolingo: perfect for starting a new language

Spanish Dict: my favorite Spanish dictionary

ConjuVerb: essential for anyone learning Spanish

Google Translate: good to have but use with several grains of salt

physical health

SWORKIT: for those who don’t have a gym membership

Clue: my favorite period tracker, minimalist and easy to use

Lark: a personal trainer on your phone

Sleep Time zZz: because sleep is actually important

mental health

Pacifica: mood tracker and meditation guide

Stop, Breathe & Think: helps me manage my anxiety

Viridi: destress with this zen cactus gardening app

other

TED: have ten minutes to spare? learn something new!

Flipboard: keep up with the news

Pushbullet: transfer things between your phone and computer

VSCO: the photo editor that I use for all my studyblr photos

MiniKeePass: securely organizes your passwords and important info

my printables

my masterposts

It’s been a while since I’ve made a post, and I figured that these tips might be extra helpful with exam season approaching. As someone who struggles a lot with procrastination, I do everything I can to fight the urge to put assignments off until the last minute (even though I’m not always successful). 

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.

3.9.2017

Starting a bullet journal - a tutorial

Tips for anyone who’d like to start a bullet journal but doesn’t know how/where to begin :)

MBTI types are a pretty accurate way to asses your personality, and it can be super useful to know yours. Ahead are a few tips to build a study style based on your personality. If you don’t know yours, you can find out here. 

e (extroverted)

Extroverts gain energy from being around people. Studying around other people can help energize and motivate them. Study with a study buddy when it makes sense (group projects or for an upcoming test), or taking work to a coffee shop or library to be around people but still study on alone. If a coffee shop isn’t close by, listening to coffee shop sounds can also help. 

i (introverted)

Introverts need lots of alone time to recharge, so making a study space into a retreat can help them to feel relaxed and motivated. Introverts benefit from surrounding themselves with calming sounds, favorite foods, and everything else they need to camp out in their room for a few hours and work in solitude. 

s (sensing)

Sensing personalities like to focus on, well, their senses. This means that they’re likely very hands-on learners! Doing something with the information will help it stick, try to find a hands-on activity that relates to the information or take active notes if reading. 

n (intuition)

Intuitive students don’t need to experience something hands-on to understand it, so they can focus on understanding the information in other ways. Mind maps can be very useful to understand the relationships and connections between things, and look at the (often forgotten) little details and facts.

t (thinking)

Thinkers are very analytical and likely big fans of math and science. Analyzing information and laying all the facts out clearly will help it to stick. 

f (feeling)

Feeling personalities are very caring and are more focused with people than with facts. Finding a way to relate to the information will help feeling personalities to understand it. 

j (judging)

Judging personalities are very organized and task-oriented. Keeping their study space clean and organized will prevent stress, and keeping a detailed planner will keep them on task. 

p (perceiving)

→ MINIMALIST 2017 DESKTOP WALLPAPERS / (insp.) a simple, practical desktop calender for each of the months. featuring: the words of other talented tumblr poets & authors. my sincerest gratitude for allowing me to use them—i hope i did them justice! i was so surprised at the amount of enthusiasm that was shown for something i thought of on a whim [ HOVER ]

thank you to: @cytaoplasm​ (01) / @techstudies (02+03) / @bookish-studyblr (04) / @fifteenyen (05) / @deehaan​ (06) / @illuminosity (07+11—originals here & here) / @daorclikespasta (08+10) / @bookmrk (09+12), guys please please go send them so much love, thank them, support their writing & posts ♥

Masterpost 2 out of 50: vision board printables

   sososo!! I had always been inspired by people who have pretty walls with amazing pictures (i.e adi’s <333 ) and i found some pictures on pinterest! so here i go~

6 typographic posters 

this cute watercolor bicycle

these vision board printables (kinda reminds me of kikki.k)

watercolor deer and fall printables !!!

17 free printables from brit and co.

these beautiful typographic prints whoo

a gorgeous harry potter printables !!!

20 gorgeous printables //scream

40+ free printables for your wall

free art prints >> gorgeous

100+ !!! motivational printables

this little succulent collection 

33 modern art prints! // omg the eyelashes are just. so. pretty.

vintage printables with blueprints 

wanderlust printables yay

HEY! Today I’ll be showing you how to print on Post-It notes. We all have Post-Its so I think this is a great way to use them. 

Here is step-by-step printing on Post-It notes

STEP ONE

Firstly, download and print this template. 

We’ll use this paper place our Post-It notes.

STEP TWO

Put Post-It notes on every square.

Now it’s time to use this paper again. Put the paper in the printer again but it’s direction should be true be careful with that.

STEP THREE

If you have your own design, you can use this Word page to print them.

If you don’t, you don’t have to print it. I’ll give the design template for every printable.

RESULT

Here is some Post-It notes I printed.