#colladv

college advice part 7/7 : how to get over a bad semester

→ this took me a while because i wanted to make sure it was valid advice and it wasn’t just thrown together. here are some things i’ve tried/noticed/whatever in my time at school and in dealing with these kinds of situations.

take a break. take a one-week break, a two-week break, even a month if you need it. take that time to relax and get your head back in the game. overworking and over-stressing are not the way to get back on track. 

get a job. doing some work and making some money can really make you realize that you wanna get a degree so that you can get a better job make more money. doing some work can also get you on a schedule and make you realize that you do have responsibilities!! and this is key to being able to remember that school is one of your major responsibilities!!

get an ESA (emotional support animal). my partner and i got a cat when he started having trouble and it has helped immensely in giving him the ability to be able to realize that he has a responsibility to another living being. we have to take our cat to vet appointments, etc. and it’s reaLLY helpful to have to allot time and build a schedule!! it has also helped him in maintaining a schedule since he knows the cat can’t be alone for days at a time, so it’s made his class time very valuable and even more important since it’s good to keep a schedule!!

see a therapist, and maybe get on some medication if you need to. there’s a certain stigma around seeing a therapist and being on medication for mental illnesses. there’s a certain stigma around mental illnesses in general. these stigmas need to stop. i firmly believe that everyone should have someone professional that they can talk to about anything and everything that causes them stress, anxiety, depression, etc.

let your professors know what’s going on. oftentimes, professors are completely underutilized. if you let them know what’s going on, they will likely be very willing to help in any way they can. especially if they see you putting forth extra effort like going to their office hours to understand things if you missed class, writing them emails letting them know what’s going on, talking to them before/after classes if you need to, etc.

establish a link between the Dean of Students (or the equivalent at your school), yourself, your advisor/counselor, your psychiatrist/psychologist, and your professors. this will be very helpful when you’re having some severe stress or anxiety that causes you to miss class. alternatively, find out if your school has a Disability Resource Center or something similar and see if you can get accommodation, still keeping everyone in the loop!

remind yourself that you are worth it. read happy things everyday. here are some.

it’s okay to not be okay all the time

step by step guide on how to become extremely beautiful

quotes by esteé lauder, anonymus, nathan w. morris and diane von furstenberg.

rainbow reminders

things i tell myself

relax

i needed this so badly

you belong among wildflowers

i think you need a break

hey if ur ever feelin shitty use this

also, suicide hotline. do not hesitate to call it or any of the number here if you need to.

college advice part 1/7 : what to do when you need to miss class

→ header inspired by @thestudypeach | i’ve gotten quite a few asks + messages about this, so i thought i’d make a short masterpost over how to handle this!

these are just tips from what i’ve learned from my time at uni!!

this is college, not high school. you have to take responsibility. the professors won’t be on your ass to get stuff done. you need to know what you’re missing. they won’t care what you miss or what excuse you have. they’ll still expect you to know it, and they should. this is college.

check the attendance policy for EACH class, and each component if it has labs or recitations also. you need to know how many classes you can miss without being penalized. for example, my chemistry class never took attendance, but they provided notes + extra credit if you showed up. my bio class didn’t care + they put their lectures online my physics class allowed only 3 absences, as attendance was taken every lecture. LABS however, do not usually allow absences. my chem lab allowed 1 absence, my bio lab didn’t allow any at all. you need to figure out the attendance policy!! these are in place in case you are sick, need to miss class for a wedding, are on a school trip, etc. further excused absences are usually given for extended hospital stays, grievance, etc. with paperwork (NOTE: this is for my university only, but i assume it’s relatively the same at other large public universities across the US??)!

make at least two friends in each class you have. other people might say to make one friend, but the reason i say two is because that one person isn’t always going to be in class either. the more people who have your back when it comes to filling you in, the better.

go over the lecture material + do it thoroughly!! if you miss material, go over it!!! go over it three times! do what you need to do to understand it. write notes, read the book, look at the lecture notes if you have them from a friend. listen to the lecture if that’s an option. but learning the material as thoroughly as you can will help you to be better prepared for the next class and seeing your professor for help if you need to do so! just because you can’t make it to lecture doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to material!

go to office hours and go over the material you missed with the professor. but make sure you already know the material. if you already know the material briefly, you can ask more specific questions about what you don’t understand. professors are there to help, and to be honest, i’ve noticed that they love to see students and answer questions!

college advice part 5/7 : buying textbooks

→ these are just tips based on what i’ve learned at uni!!

buy the books for classes you know you’ll not do well in. i didn’t know if i’d need my physics book for class or not, but i knew that i would struggle in it, so i got it anyways! it ended up that i needed it anyways, but i wanted it for supplemental reading material regardless of the requirement or not.

wait until you get the syllabus OR the professor tells you if you’ll need the textbook for classes that you are familiar with and have a history of doing well in. they’ll usually tell you during the first class if you’ll need the textbook or not! for my gen chem class, i didn’t use the textbook at all; my professor told us at the beginning that we wouldn’t need it unless we wanted it as supplemental material. same for my first bio class in college. but my physics class required the book, so i got it.

do not buy textbooks brand new, or at all, unless you know you’ll need them for you entire college career! rent your books!! it’s so much cheaper and odds are you won’t need them for longer than 1 semester. i have never outright bought a book for any class in uni until this semester where i bought my organic chemistry textbook, used, from eBay. i bought it because that’s what i want to study in grad school so it’s gonna be useful in the long run. but other than that one, i’ve never bought a textbook for math, physics, english, etc. i’ve always rented them because i get some pretty sweet deals from amazon as a purdue student!

find cheap places to get textbooks! some professors will tell you to get old versions because they’re cheaper, but try to find the cheapest copy possible if you can. most of the time, you can actually find old versions on the internet for free; if you’re okay with reading off a computer screen, then you might want to do this if you have to pay for textbooks. i’m lucky enough to have my parents help in paying for mine. check out these posts for some more information on where to get textbooks for cheap or free: 

sites where you can get free textbooks by @thearialligraphyproject

getting college textbooks for cheap by @sarahtaylorgibson and others

college advice part 2/7 : how to approach a competitive university

→ these are just tips based on what i’ve learned at uni!!

research ruthlessly. don’t just focus on the number of acceptances; look at the field you want to go into as well! look at what the environment is like, what the school does for it’s students, how many of those students go on to be successful in their careers. look at all of these things and more. the list is endless of things to consider depending on your field of study and interests: research opportunities, volunteering, clubs, sports, etc.

tell yourself that state schools are just a good as competitive and selective universities. this is important. because this is true. state schools are just as good as competitive and selective universities. you’ll get a wonderful education no matter where you go. my father has always told me that i should go to a state school for undergrad and a top notch university for grad school, so that’s what i’ve been doing.

ask yourself why you want to go to such a competitive university. is it because you just want it to look good on your resume or are you really looking to be challenged and pushed beyond your limits? state schools are also very challenging. i happen to go to a state school (purdue university in indiana) and i am challenged heavily here. even though it’s not an ivy league, i still feel as though i’m not getting a free pass through all my classes. i still have to work for my grades and i study so much and i still fail sometimes. i think this also relates to what my father has said; if you’re going to go to an ivy league for undergrad, where are you gonna go for grad school that’s gonna look better than your undergrad?

find something that makes you stick out from the rest of the people applying. find something unique about yourself! i am 9235% sure that the only reason that i was able to get into one of the most competitive fields of study at purdue university is because of what i shared during my application process. something that made me stick out. there are loADS of things that you can talk about to make yourself stick out! here are some ideas: talk about your study abroad if you had the opportunity to do so, any special events that you planned or coordinated for your clubs or extracurriculars, if you were the captain of any sports teams, any internships or volunteer opportunities you took, etc. there’s so many things!! there must be something that not everyone in your school has done!!

visit the university!! see some professors if you can, sit in on some classes if you wish. just do something to see exactly what it’s like. i ended up going to a state school (and i’m still here ofc), BUT i’m already in contact with some people at various universities for grad school. make!! connections!! connections are key to advancing your career!! i managed to get into a pretty sweet program over the summer for an internship that wouldn’t otherwise have been possible if i hadn’t had the connections i did!

push yourself. whether you’re in high school or a transfer student. push yourself in terms of academics, but please do not risk your health. get that 4.0 in high school. graduate at the top of your class, in the top 20, the top 10, the top 5. put all the effort you can and want to into your clubs + extracurriculars. break your own personal records in your sport. try to break everyone else’s. but keep in mind that your health is also SO important. do not lose your sanity over trying to get into the #1 university in the country. just be you and continue trying to improve. because that’s what colleges want to see: your improvement, your dedication and loyalty, your leadership. this is what colleges look for.

college advice part 4/7 : taking notes as a science student

→ these are just tips based on what i’ve learned at uni!!

laptop

you can type a lot faster than you write. i personally can’t write very fast. for biology first semester, i typed my notes since this was better for me. typing notes can be much easier if you have a professor who talks incredibly quickly and doesn’t write as they talk or have a powerpoint to go along with their lecture.

you have 24/7 access to all your notes. this is incredibly useful if you forget your laptop and need quick access to your notes during lecture, need to print something in lab for verification, or just want a quick reference when you’re out and about grabbing a coffee.

you can bring your notes with you everywhere. i know this might sound kind of repetitive, but you can bring your laptop with you wherever you go. carrying around textbooks and notebooks can get a little tedious and heavy. this is another reason to look into finding textbooks online!!

notebook

muscle memory. this is so important. when you write, you can remember what you wrote better if you physically write it. i personally prefer handwritten notes specifically for this reason!!

personally, i think it’s better for revision purposes. this is because it’s already written, and if you’re not super concerned with what you notes look like, you don’t need to rewrite anything in preparation for exams! not that you can’t do that, but i personally do no rewrite anything for exams; i usually just fill in the study guide and review my notes since they’re already organized how i prefer. 

discovering note-taking methods. when you use a laptop, the amount of methods of notes you can explore is numbered, but with a notebook, you can try out lots of different ways of note-taking. i personally use a modified Cornell method that i find difficult to organize on the computer.

college advice part 6/7 : extracurriculurs!!

→ these are just tips based on what i’ve learned at uni!!

join things that you’re interested in, but do not join too many. personally, i’m in one club/extracurricular thing. i’m in a professional fraternity and it takes up a lot of my time so i don’t think i would even have the time to participate and put effort into another one.

if you’re interested in greek life, explore it. don’t be afraid to go to greek life fairs and ask questions and go to events. this goes for professional fraternities + organizations too. i rushed my first year and then realized it wasn’t for me, but at least i tried it! 

do not be afraid to try out clubs! try out art clubs, gaming clubs, rock climbing clubs, etc. just try stuff out and find something you like!! it’ll get your mind off of school when you’re stressed and it’ll help you connect with people who share the same interests as you!

know your limits!!! how much you can manage to fit into your schedule before you over-stress? are you going to put your best effort into every extracurricular? is there a reason you’re in each club? do you have a good sleep schedule? do you have a good study schedule? time for exams? time for a social life? you gotta ask yourself if you can handle being in 3 clubs and still be a student, eat, sleep, and maintain a social life. i made this mistake freshmen year; i was a full-time student taking 19 credits, doing research 15 hours/week, volunteering twice a week, advocate for health in a club, exec member in a professional fraternity, working a job 15-20 hours/week, and i had a social life. and i was miserable. do not do what i did. 

things change!! you might lose interest in something and that’s okay!! this is exactly what it sounds like -- you might start out loving one club and it’s mission, but it might change. you might start to not like it as much; if it ever feels like a chore to go to something, stop doing it. it’s not worth it to do something that you don’t like anymore. 

college advice part 3/7 : overcoming jetlag

→ these are just tips based on what i’ve learned at uni!!

drink loTS of water. and i mean LOTS. drinking water keeps you awake. it boosts you energy. dehydration leads to fatigue so preventing that by drinking water will help you fight jet lag and sleepiness. a good way to help yourself to drink more water is to get a water bottle that you really like! another great way to spice up drinking water is to add some fruit to it for some really natural and good flavor. i personally like to add strawberries, lemons, + mint :)

try to go outside and do something active!! you might think that being in the sun will make you tired, but our circadian rhythm is affected by light and dark. here’s some more in-depth science about why the sun keeps you awake and why it’s harder to sleep when there’s lights on or the television is on. also, it’s good for you to get outside and do something active, even if it’s just walking around the block. 

make yourself stay up until you can sleep again. if you know you’re going to get to your destination in the evening, don’t sleep on the plane. when i lived overseas, i would make myself stay up when we got back to america until the evening so that i could get back on schedule easier. drinking lots of water and getting some sun can really help with this!

go!! to!! class!! even though you won’t feel like it, please go!! the first few days set the tone for the entire semester, so don’t start off wrong. i took calculus in high school and then when i got to uni there was only so much i was able to use my AP score for. so i had to take a calc class in which half of it was what i’d learned the year previous. so i didn’t go to the first lecture because it was syllabus week bUT then i never went and i regret it because i barely passed the class lmao. so GO TO CLASS even if you don’t want to!! you’ll think you’ll go the next time, but it just morphs into a habit of not going at all.