#maverickstudent

Canva (free with paid options) Canva is a lifesaver for those of us who aren’t artists or graphic designers. It has hundreds of pre-formatted graphics for everything under the sun, from advertisements to Pinterest posts to magazine covers. You can edit them to your heart’s desire or start your own designs from scratch. I’ve made brochures, hand-outs, and posters with Canva, in addition to dozens of blog graphics (including the one on this post, which took me about 5 minutes)! My only caution is to avoid the collaborative functions, as they’re new and still don’t work well. You should be fine without the paid features.

Quizlet (free with paid options) Quizlet is my favorite online flashcard system. It lets you make unlimited flashcards, practice them multiple ways, and access them across platforms. There are paid options, but most people will do just fine with the free version. I could go on all day about how much I love Quizlet, honestly, and I pretty much credit my GPA to this site.

Library databases (and other resources) I didn’t realize until a month away from graduation that there are subject-specific databases available to you through your uni’s library. These make research vastly easier! Depending on the database, there are tools for copy-and-pasting citations, too, which makes bibliographies a breeze. (If you, like me, aren’t familiar with what your library has to offer besides books, my librarian friend suggests you head to the reference desk and ask what resources are available to you.)

Google’s collaboration tools I don’t know how I could have done group projects without this. Google docs are fantastic for working on papers together, and Google slides let you collaborate on presentations. Pretty much all of Google’s tools available through Drive can be shared with other users.

Themed background noise Ambient mixer is a personal favorite, but YouTube also has some good videos for background listening. Rainymood.com is a favorite fallback.

Cornell Notes Maybe you learned about these in high school, maybe not. I found the Cornell system super helpful for lecture-based classes. To study for tests I just turned all of my notes into flashcards on Quizlet and worked on them until I was confident. Here’s a quick guide to get you started.

Timers/Alarms Since I’ve got some ADHD tendencies, I frequently fall back on timers. You can use them to help you get out of the door on time, take meds, eat food in a timely manner, and crawl into bed before the crack of dawn.

Other things I found helpful:

Khan Academy - super helpful for math and science classes. In addition to videos they offer practice questions.

CrashCourse - I love using CrashCourse videos to review topics, especially between semesters. The can also be good for providing clarity on difficult topics.

Erasable highlighter pens - super useful in addition to being very #aesthetic (they’re available in pastel!)

ForestApp - it’s meant to help you leave your smartphone alone, but I like using it to time study sessions. (Pomodoro timers don’t work for me since I work best in 45 minute or longer blocks.)