reach ur goals

Senior year!! So close to the finish line!! Whether you’re heading to a university, community college, or apprenticeship, hopefully this post will give you a hand and help you to juggle your stressful final year. 

College applications

Tips

Visit as many colleges as you can– even if they aren’t your top choice. It’ll give you a better idea of what kind of college you want to go to (in terms of size, location, etc.) and help you understand where you really want to apply. 

Keep your applications organized. A spreadsheet, printable calendar, planner, or even a bullet journal page will help you keep track of which essays you’ve written, who’s helped you proofread, and everything else!

Make a schedule and stick to it! If you stay on top of things, there will be far less rushing to write that last essay the night before the deadline. 

Write your common application essay early. If you have it done in the summer, it’s one less thing to worry about, and you’ll have plenty more time to edit it, have other people read it, and perfect it.

Keep and file absolutely everything. Pamphlets from college visits? Printed score reports? Drafts of essays? File them all away. You’ll be grateful when you come to make a decision and it’s all right there!

Links

Month-By-Month Applications Guide

Tips for Each Essay Types by @thisnerdsadventures​

College Essay Calendar

Applying to a UC by @markiveelle​

The 7 Best Tips For College Apps

The 5 Best Apps to Keep College Apps Organized

How to Stay Organized During College Apps

10 Tips for Completing your Applications

Apply for scholarships

Tips

Check out local options. It’s much easier to win a local scholarship since they’re usually relegated to just one school or county, so there a far fewer applicants than the national ones you can find online.

Keep track of ones you’ve applied for. You’ll find a spreadsheet noting the date you applied, the dollar value, the scholarship provider, and whether you won or not absolutely invaluable.

Beware of scholarship scams. Naturally, you’ll be trying to apply for as many as possible, but avoid any that promise money, ask you to pay an entrance fee to apply, or ask for your bank account information.

Use online resources. There are oodles of websites which will match you to scholarships, provide a way to track which ones you’ve applied for, and many even offer their own.

Links

How to Spot Scholarship Scams

Average American Scholarships by @wonderstudying​

Scholarship Advice and Databases

The 13 Best Tips for Winning Scholarships

List of Unusual Scholarships

How to Search for Scholarships by @adamparresh​

Scholarships 101 by @thisexpedition​

Get ready for college

Tips

Develop better study habits. Prepare yourself for your college workload by not letting yourself slack off and instead working on becoming better at studying, working hard, and planning.

Try not to get senioritis! Make sure your scores and college are your number one priority before you try and make it to every single football game this year. Do your homework first!

Do your FAFSA/financial aid homework. You don’t want to be worrying about how to pay for college, so plan it out senior year and get the student aid you need by filling out the FAFSA as soon as it’s available.

Start reading about what college is like. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with details of college life for your applications, too, so doing that reading really kills two birds with one stone!

For anyone heading to community college– try taking a class there this year! It’ll help familiarize you with what you’ll be doing next year, and also give you some weighted credit to boost your GPA. 

Links

12th Grade Financial Aid Checklist

How Seniors Can Get Ready for College

Taking Community College Classes in High School

28 College Prep Resources for Senior Year

Senior Year Checklist by @honeyedstudy

Enjoy your last year!

Tips

Spend plenty of time with friends. You won’t get much opportunity to see them beyond this year, so enjoying your time together with the people you know best is a great way to top off your year.

Try something new! Even if you’ve never been to a dance, try going to prom. Get to know your hometown even better before you go away next year, and discover somewhere completely new.

Go to school events. Attend a few football or basketball games, and just enjoy your school spirit to make some memories before you leave.

Enjoy yourself– don’t just focus on college. These are the only days you’ll have as a high school senior, so do your best to make them count. You’ll have years to enjoy college, but high school is running out!

Links

27 Things You Should Do Before Leaving High School

50 Items for Your High School Bucket List

30 Things to Expect in Your Senior Year of High School

20 Ideas for an Unforgettable Senior Year

Taking textbook notes is a chore. It’s tedious and boring and sometimes challenging, but hopefully these tips will help you improve your skill and shorten the time it takes you to do textbook notes!

Give yourself time: Realistically, you can’t knock out 30 pages of notes in 20 minutes. Take your time with textbook notes so they’re a good studying tool in the future. The general rule is to take how many pages you have to do and multiply it by 5: that’s how many minutes it’ll take you to do the notes.

Also, divide you notes up into manageable chunks to increase your productivity. I am personally a huge fan of using pomodoro timers, and I adjust the intervals for however long I need to.

Skim before you start taking notes: If time is an issue, don’t read your 40 page in depth before even picking up a pen, but make sure you know what you’re reading about by skimming a bit ahead of your notes. Read over section titles, and look at charts, maps, or graphs. Writing and highlighting as you read the chapter for the first time isn’t effective because you don’t know if a sentence will be important or not, so make sure you’re reading a paragraph or section in advance before writing.

Use the format they give you in the book to help take your notes: In a lot of textbooks, there will be a mini outline before the chapter itself that shows all the headings and subheadings. Those will be your guidelines! I find this super helpful because long chapters can be daunting to go into without any structure. If you don’t have one of those, use the headings and subheadings provided for you. If you haven’t already been doing this, it will help you so much.

Read actively: It’s so easy to “read” a textbook without digesting any information, but that is the last thing you want to do. Not only does it make taking notes a million times harder, but you’ll be lost in class discussions because you didn’t understand the reading. To keep from passively reading, highlight, underline, star any important information in the book itself.

Have a color coding system for highlighting or underlining and write down a key somewhere (here’s a few that you can adjust for your needs: x,x)

Use sticky notes or tabs to mark any questions or important points to come back to

Summarize important information and paraphrase: When taking the actual notes, don’t copy down full sentences word for word. Not only does writing full sentences waste a lot of time, it’s not an effective way to learn. If you can paraphrase the information, then you understand it. It’s also easier to study notes which are in your own words instead of textbook academia writing.

Be selective: You shouldn’t be writing down every fact that comes up in your textbook. If a fact ties into the bigger topic and provides evidence, then it’s probably something to keep, but you don’t need every piece of supplemental information (but do make sure you always write down the vocab). Learn your teacher’s testing style to help you decide what to write down. Could this be on the quiz/test? If the answer is yes, make sure you write it down.

Learn to abbreviate: Just like writing full sentences, writing out full words will waste time. Implement some shortenings (make sure to use ones that you’ll understand later!) into your notes. Some common ones are: b/c=because, gov=government, w/o=without, and here’s a great list of a ton of examples of abbreviations and shortenings.

Answer margin and review questions: A lot of textbooks have margin questions on every page or so that sum up what’s really important about that information. Make sure not to skip them because they’re really helpful for understanding. Write them down and answer them clearly in your notes. Most textbooks also have review questions after the chapter that check for reading comprehension, so make sure to answer those because they’ll show you if you really understood the chapter.

Don’t skip over visual sources: Maps, diagrams, illustrations, charts, and any other visuals in textbooks are so helpful. If you’re a visual learner, these things will be so essential to you and how you understand what you’re reading. Charts, tables, and diagrams sometimes also summarize information, so if you’re a visual learner it might benefit you to copy those down instead of writing it out.

Add visuals if it’ll help you: As said above, copying down charts, tables, illustrations, or diagrams can be super helpful for visual learners. They’re clear and concise, so pay attention to them.

Write your notes in a way that’s effective and makes sense to you: Mindmaps, Cornell notes, or plain outline notes are all really good forms of notetaking. Find which one works best for you to understand them and which one is most effective for your class, and use it (stuff on mindmaps and cornell notes).

Hi guys!! Thank you all so much for your support!!! Happy 250 (EDIT: I SPENT A DAY ON THIS AND NOW IM PAST 300) and hope you all have a great start to the month! The community is more welcoming with all of you - I haven’t faced negativity from anyone at all. None of these are my posts - but they’ve helped me out a lot. With that said - let’s get started:

For bujos/planners:

This is one of my side blogs, and has tons of inspiration for weekly and monthly spreads, as well as a few aesthetic ideas and how to start one. I update this constantly.

How to start a studyblr - Studyblrs with creative fields

Lighting (for photos)

Study spreads

Planning your month

Printables (the same as some used down there but in a different category):

Weekly printable

To - do printable

Cornell Notes printable

Back to school printables

Daily Planner  @theorganisedstudent

Weekly Planner II @theorganisedstudent

Essay Planner @theorganisedstudent

Assignment Planner @theorganisedstudent

Assignment Tracker

Novel Notes

Plot Diagrams

Correction Sheets

Grid & lined paper

Weekly schedule for studying

Printables masterpost

Exam printable & how to use it

2018 Calender set (by my QUEEN @emmastudies)

For students:

Exams & Studying:

Exam revision guide

How to beat different types of procrastination

How to deal with a crappy teacher (this has to do with studying ig)

Study tips!! (its a masterpost)

Exam Printable & How to Use it

Exam & Homework tips

Coping with hell i mean exams i mean hell

A cool studying outline to try

This is my favorite thing and it’s when to use certain remembering techniques

Correction Sheets

Memorization tips for different learners

Weekly study schedule

More sites to use in normal studying routines

How to study smarter and not harder

Study smarter II

Exam printable & how to use it

Self discipline 

Study methods

Hoe tips for school and studying

Studying masterpoint

Tips and tricks to studying

Study tip - so easy

How to stay organized to study

Note - Taking:

Lecture notes

How i set up flash cards (these are nice to study from but be determined to finish setting them up)

Nifty highlighting idea (this post is so old)

Highlighting idea that i actually use

How to take Cornell Notes

Cornell style notes printable (gridded)

Notebook paper (grid & lined)

Tips for pretty notes!!

How to take notes

Notes for different classes

Life, man & general school stuff:

Back - to -school guide

Things I learned as a college freshman

Get ORGANIZED

Textbooks are expensive so here’s some free ones…

Tips for working students that sound extra but may work for u ily don’t overwork urselves

Masterpost for motivation and stuff

Get ur life together again bc haha i stay organized for like a day anyway

School supplies that u should have just to stay minimal

Grad school tips

Organization masterpost

Productive afterschool routine

30 websites to kill boredom

Back to school masterpost

Get confident in presentations

Overcome procrastination

Succeeding in school masterpost

For bad days 

For bad days II

A GOOD MASTERPOST for getting ur life together 

General school tips 

Free online courses

GOOD POWERPOINT TIPS

Sites to learns stuff

More learning stuff sites

Dealing with a trashy class

Study resources masterpost

Summer Productivity

Summer life tips

PLEASE READ THIS THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT MASTERPOST 

Honest guide to college 

University tips

SCHOOL MINDSET

What to do on Sundays

Back to school masterpost

Useful things for going back to school

How to clean your house

Cute self care tips!

More self care tips

Plant care tips!

English:

A handy list of words to fit into ur essays

How to write an article like a journalist

Words to replace over-used words

ESSAY STRUCTURE IDEA this is in bold so u losers don’t miss this bc it’s not just for English u nerds

Get gucci while reading and be an active reader

Get gud reading them academic articles amigo

Words to replace “the author or whatever shows…” bc that is baby writing and i accidentally used that on an essay and i failed so

Novel notes

Plot Diagrams

Reading Lists

Literary techniques (what themes, personifications, metaphors are etc)

Discussing in English

How to top a literature class

Literature class masterpost

Strong/weak verbs

More essay tips!!

MLA format - a how to

ESSAY GRADER.

How to avoid essay cliches

Chemistry (I’m taking chem so i have a few resources aha)

Da terms on exam papers

Chemistry resources masterpost

Cute periodic tables

Study chapters

History/Social Studies

How to write a history paper

AP world history powerpoints masterpost

Math 

General tips

Resources

Understanding math masterpost

Test Prep

PSAT I

PSAT II

ACT tips!

100 words for the SATs (start studying early!!)

Biology is the coolest thing ever. If you wanna be as cool as Biology (and get good marks) here’s my advice.

Tips

Understand the concepts generally and then learn specific examples. Trying to learn all the small details at once is confusing.

Read the textbook! Before class, read the section you are learning that day. As your teacher discusses that section in class, use sticky notes to add in details that you missed or overlooked and stick them by that part in the the textbook.

Memorize vocab at the start of each unit.

Draw diagrams. Be sure that you are understanding the process as a whole and not just specific steps (everything is connected!) Biology is a visual subject so you will need to be able to visualize and make connections.

Test yourself! Use flashcards or 2 column notes.

When studying anatomy, draw or print off unlabeled images and try labeling the image. Afterwards, cover up the labels with sticky notes and quiz yourself again.

Get friend or relative and teach concepts to them. This will force you to explain concepts in your own words.

Taxonomy can be confusing so make charts to differentiate between the characteristics of each Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, etc. Understand the evolutionary processes that caused the organisms to evolve. For example, make a chart for the basic characteristics of each Phylum. Then, for, say, Phylum Cnidaria make a separate chart, separating it into each Class, comparing things like type of symmetry, nervous system, etc.

Study what you don’t know. There are so many things to know in Biology but, chances are, you know more than you think. Focus on concepts you struggle with (don’t avoid the difficult topics).

Know the basics. Make sure you have a solid understanding of biochemistry and transport across the cell membrane b/c these topics are connected to everything.

Review. Biology is a difficult class to cram for. I (try) to set aside at least 20 minutes each day to review what I’ve learned in class that day. Then on weekends, I spend some time reviewing past units to refresh my knowledge.

Get excited! There are so many different areas of Biology so find one you like! Look at all the life around you. It’s amazing!

Labs + Dissections

Getting over nerves (a.k.a fake it till you make it)

Everyone has different levels of squeamish when it comes to animal dissections. I am one of those people who gets excited for dissections but I know lots of people aren’t. My advice: just do it. As you go into class, tell yourself, “This dissection is going to be awesome. I’ll never get a chance like this again. Think about how cool it will be. I am so ready for this.” Alternatively, name the animal you are dissecting. Sounds morbid, I know, but sometimes humour helps.

Draw clear diagrams.

I am not artistically talented in any way so if I can manage to draw neat pictures so can you. Assuming you read through your lab before you start, make note of which structures you are looking at in particular. When actually sketching the specimen out, make the structures clear and identifiable. Use dotted lines to show structures layered over top one another (most Biology teachers prefer this rather than using different colours to differentiate).

Write a thorough write up.

Answer the questions to the point but don’t leave out any details. Think about the purpose of the lab/dissection and what you learned from it. If you have to make a graph, be sure to include a title, use the entire graph, use a line of best fit, etc.

Resources

Crash Course is a beautiful thing (Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Ecology)

Sparknotes has study guides (Cell Structure, Cell Respiration, Cell Reproduction, Molecular Biology, Plants, Microorganisms, Evolution, Animal Behavior)

Also Khan Academy

More helpful videos