1. Cappex

Cappex was the website I always found myself using when searching and applying for scholarships, and this was due mainly to the site’s ease of use and the way that it looked. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from a scholarship website in that it generates lists of scholarships based on information you choose to input. What made this my go-to site was the simple fact that I liked using it and that, when I first began searching for scholarships, I was also searching for and evaluating colleges. Cappex, though it is primarily a scholarship search engine, houses information on all U.S. colleges and universities, including where they rank in various categories like financial aid and housing compared to other schools. Other Cappex users can also leave reviews of colleges (and leaving reviews allows them to enter a scholarship given by Cappex), so if someone visits a college or even attends that school, you’ll be able to see what they have to say about it.

Both the college and scholarship search features are enhanced and really only made possible if you create an account with a profile that is as accurate as possible. The site will ask you to include information in your profile that is meant to help it “match” you to scholarships and schools. For example, when matching you to scholarships, your home town will be used to determine whether you’re eligible for scholarships that are only available to people in a certain location. Your profile will also help you narrow down your school search by using information about how far you want to be from home when you go to school, how much of your tuition you hope to have covered, what type of housing you’d prefer, and so on. Once you fill in your profile, you can use the site for both evaluating and comparing schools, and applying for the scholarships that “match” your profile.
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2. Fastweb

I began using this site at the same time that I began using Cappex, and I quickly found that they are very similar. If you use either Cappex or Fastweb to search for scholarships, you probably won’t have any reason to look for scholarships on the other, as the results you’ll get from building a profile on one will be the same as the results you get from the other. I ended up not using Fastweb after I realized this because I’d have the exact same scholarship matches on both sites, and that was really the only use I had for Fastweb at the time. However, Fastweb does offer some resources for career planning as well as articles to help you learn about aspects of college or even professional life with which you might not be familiar. I’ve seen articles, for example, about making smart decisions when creating a monthly personal budget, how to finance your college education, and tips for interviews. So if your college search is over and you’re interested in learning more about where you’re headed, Fastweb is a great alternative to Cappex and will serve you even better.

3. College Board

Rather than building a profile, College Board asks you to fill out a fairly short questionnaire that will ask you much of the same information that Fastweb and Cappex ask to compile a list of scholarships for which users are eligible. College Board might be a good place to start if only because it’s the site you’ll be using to sign up, possibly practice for, and pretty much do anything related to the SAT. It’s a way to cut down on the number of sites with which you need to get acquainted, as you’ll be using it anyway, and it’s a pretty large database, offering over 2,000 award opportunities and giving away about $3 billion every year. If you’re thinking about signing up, you can always browse the scholarships alphabetically to get a feel for what the site will look like and the types of scholarships you might see, which isn’t as easy to do on other scholarship sites like Fastweb or Cappex.

4. Unigo

Unigo, which merged with Scholarship Experts, is probably the easiest site to use when just taking a quick look at the scholarships or even types of scholarships available. They are broken down by category and the broken down even further from there. There are “merit-based scholarships,” for instance, which are further broken down into “leadership” and “first-generation” scholarships. The categories are easy to locate and browse through, so, just like with College Board, if you’re unsure if this site is for you, look through it first. It’s another site that will ask you to build a profile, though a less in-depth one than on Cappex, as it is only for Scholarships, and you’ll be matched to scholarships to save you time. I’ve never used this site to search for scholarships myself, as the two companies just recently merged and created the site, but it seems to be very easy to use.

5. Scholarships.com

I used this site heavily at first but then drifted away from it, as other sites seemed more worth using. It’s a site that could use an update because a lot of its pages are very text-heavy and filled with lists of information, but it’s still extremely useful despite being a little overwhelming. Just like Cappex, Scholarships.com matches you to both scholarships and schools. However, it doesn’t operate in quite the same way. The site offers a “college matchmaker” that asks several questions to understand the characteristics of a school you might be interested in attending. This isn’t as personalized or detailed as Cappex’s system, so I always preferred to use Cappex for this part of my search. The Scholarship matches are still useful though, and although the matching system is not as in-depth as any of the others I’ve mentioned so far, I did find some scholarships to apply to that were different than what I was able to find on other sites, so it’s worth taking a look at what’s available. Like with Unigo, you can browse through scholarships by category before creating an account to get a feel for what’s available.

6. Scholarship Points

This is the most unique scholarship site on this list, as it operates in a completely different way. Rather than matching you to scholarships or asking you to build a profile of any kind, the site is built around the idea of earning points. Rather than completing applications for scholarships, the points you earn on the site are used to enter drawings to become a scholarship winner. There are only a few scholarships offered each month, but you can enter using your points as many times as you’d like, increasing your chances of winning the more points you spend. It’s definitely a site for those of you who have hours to spend on the computer, but if you’re someone who needs to spend more time offline, then I wouldn’t suggest this site.
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It’s pretty much luck-of-the-draw scholarships, but because there is a way to increase your chances, it can be almost like gambling. Instead of paying money to play, though, you’re paying with time. The site asks you to earn points by using other websites to complete surveys, play games, and even apply for scholarships, and you’re promised hundreds of points for each task you complete. You then spend your points on whatever scholarships you think you’d like to try to win, and the idea is that there is less competition for the lower amounts, so if you have fewer points, you should aim small. I only used it for about two weeks because in order to earn points, I’d often have to create accounts on several other sites that would then be sending me emails every day, and I eventually got fed up with the number of sites that had access to my information and deleted them all. Had I gone on for more than two weeks, though, I’m sure the email storm would have been so much worse. So if you’re thinking this site is for you, just be sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.

-Hope Swedeen

What scholarship search engines do you use, and what types of scholarships do you tend to pursue? What is some advice you might have for applying for scholarships?

If you’re preparing to take the SAT this year, or if you’ve already taken it, you’ll know that, as of March, 2016, the test changed rather dramatically. Students and teachers must now adjust to the new test, and if your school offer test prep for the SAT, they’re probably trying to implement and understand the changes as well as they can. If you haven’t been exposed to these changes yet, or if you’re confused about what they’ll mean for you as a test-taker, I’ve listed six changes that I feel are most important and that sum up the basics of what you’ll need to know about the SAT before you take it.

The information can be found on several sites, including the Princeton Review, College Board, and Veritas Prep, but I’ve consolidated and combined that information so that, hopefully, you’ll be able to understand the changes without having to flip between sources, as I did. College Board also provides a page that explains why changes were made and what exactly they will entail, so if you’re looking for some information on that, visit the “Key Content Changes” page.

1. No penalty for wrong answers 

In my opinion, this is one of the most important changes to the SAT. On the old SAT, test-takers were penalized 1/4 of a point for every answer they got wrong. This never sat quite right with me because it not only penalized those who didn’t have the knowledge base to figure out the right answer, it penalized those who are serial second-guessers. I know so many people who, myself included, sometimes, second-guess themselves on every answer because there’s so much at stake. On the SAT, it’s easy to view the test as a gateway to college or financial aid, so it’s already stressful enough. But when you’re also told that you’ll do worse if you guess than if you don’t, it makes it so much more difficult to be confident when you aren’t guessing. Now, though, the test is made to be much easier for second-guessers or even just guessers, taking off no points for wrong answers.
 
2. Each question offers 4 multiple-choice answers rather than 5 

This isn’t a huge change, but, hopefully, this will mean that it will make it easier to find the correct answer and you’ll have an easier time guessing if you need to.
 
3. Total score range: 400-1600 for 2 scored sections 

The total score possible used to range from 600-2400, which included a 200-to 800-point score in each of the three sections. Now, however, there are only two sections, but they are still scored between 200 and 800 points.
 
4. Two sections: Evidence-based reading & writing, and math with new standards 

Whereas the SAT used to be composed of three scored sections: Math, reading, and writing, plus a required essay, it is now only two sections. However, these two are broken down into two subsections each.
 
The evidence-based reading and writing section is broken down into one reading test and one writing and language test. With this change comes several changes to the theory behind what types of questions should be asked and what test-takers are expected to know.

• There will be no questions that ask test-takers to complete sentences using “SAT words.” Instead of the test focusing on whether you know what one word means, it will expect you to have a grasp on a more widely-used “professional” or “collegiate” vocabulary (much more basic than the SAT words that no one actually uses) and the ability to understand words with multiple meanings that can be applied to different sentences depending on those meanings.
• Reading passages will draw from “founding documents,” or significant historical, literary, or scientific documents that test-takers are expected to understand whether they have studied them extensively or not (The United States Constitution, for example, is not something that everyone has studied super closely, but it is something that everyone is expected to be able to understand if they ever need to). This means that reading passages will not only be less arbitrary, they might even be texts that you’ve read before.
• The SAT now includes some questions that will be prompted using graphs, tables, and infographics, whereas, before, there were zero graphs throughout the entire reading and writing sections. This is a spectacular change for me because, as a visual learner, graphs make everything so much easier to understand. While they will likely be complex graphs, I would still prefer to look at data rather than read it in paragraphs and try to lay it out in my head to give it context. If you’re a visual learner like me, I have no doubt that this change will be beneficial for you.
• You might have to “show your work” on some reading and writing questions, and this is where the idea of “critical thinking” comes into play. While before you could answer questions without sharing how you reached your answer, when you’re completing the reading section, you might face some questions that ask you how you found the answer to previous questions. This will ask you to either choose the logical reason that would have led to a previous conclusion or will ask you to specify which part of the passage you used in determining your answer. While this won’t be complicated if you know how you got your answer, if you were a little fuzzy on what the right answer was to the first question, the second might be nearly impossible. Luckily, you won’t be penalized for guessing, so just try to connect the dots as best as you can.

 
The math section is broken down into one subsection that can be taken using a calculator and one that cannot. The math section will be more difficult than before, in all likelihood, because the level of high school math that is expected to be understood by test-takers is higher than before.

• The section focuses on algebra, geometry, and some fundamental and advanced math like trigonometry, so be prepared to meet some difficult questions that you might struggle with. Trigonometry was difficult for me in high school, but I know several people to whom it came easy. Just make sure that you spend extra time studying for the elements of the test that you know will be most difficult for you.
• The math section has never been easy, but now most, if not all, questions will require you to go through several steps to solve them. This means that you’ll need to be able to find the right answer after going through several steps that you might mess up, and these questions will likely take more time because there are multiple steps.
• Fundamental or foundational math skills are more important than having extensive knowledge in one type of math or another. If you have a deep understanding of basic concepts that are seen throughout or used as the basis for a specific type of math (like angles in geometry), then you are in decent shape for a large portion of the test, but there will still be questions that ask about harder concepts that are specifically designed to differentiate students who have a higher level of understanding of mathematics and those with a more basic understanding.

 
5. The test is now 3 hours long rather and 3 hours and 45 minutes – with more questions per section and more time to complete each section 

This does come with a few caveats, as the test writers didn’t simply decide that the test was too long for students to handle. Now, there will be a break between the reading and writing subsections and again between the two math subsections (with and without calculators). There will be no break between the end of the evidence-based reading and writing section and the math section, which may prove difficult for some test-takers when trying to switch gears from English to math. The test might also be longer if students choose to stay for the essay section of the test, which lasts 50 minutes. The SAT will provide varied amounts of time for each section, and each will include a set number of questions to be answered. Overall, test-takers will have 180 minutes (3 hours) to answer 154 questions. I’ll lay out the time limits for each section, but if you want a comparison to the old SAT, go to collegeboard.org and check out an article in the Time Magazine.

Reading: 65 minutes for 52 questions
Short break
Writing and language: 35 minutes for 44 questions
No break
Math (without calculator): 25 minutes for 20 questions
Short break
Math (with calculator for higher-level problems): 55 minutes for 38 questions
Short break 
Essay: 50 minutes for one essay question

6. Optional Essay (scored separately) – 50 minutes instead of 25 

The new SAT offers an optional essay at the end of the test (while the previous test's essay was required), and test-takers have to pay an additional fee to take this portion of the test. You may be asking yourself “why in the world would I pay more money to write an optional essay?” Excellent question. You wouldn’t. Unless the colleges you’re applying to require it. Make sure that you know before signing up for the SAT whether the schools you’re applying to suggest or require that you write an essay on the SAT, and if they do, be sure to sign up for it or your application probably won’t be considered.
 
You can find a list of which colleges and their essay requirements on collegeboard.org. If your school isn’t on their list for some reason, contact the admissions office directly or look online. It might be a good idea to check anyway just in case the website’s list isn’t up to date for some reason. If you’re not sure which schools you’ll be applying to, spend the extra money on the essay portion just in case. If you end up not needing it, it’s about $10 wasted, but if you do end up needing it, you’ll save yourself from having to spend money to take the entire SAT again just to write an essay. You can also add the essay portion onto your account later if you don’t do it when you first register for the SAT, so if you’ll know whether you need the essay before your test date, feel free to leave the essay off until then.
 
The essay has changed in that it has become substantially more complex and thought-provoking. While there used to be a single, short prompt, which would ask you to agree or disagree with a particular quote or statement, now, the essay asks test-takers to read a 600-to 700-word passage and evaluate how an argument is organized and built, essentially analyzing what literary techniques make a passage persuasive. To learn more about the essay portion and what has changed, go to College Board’s “SAT Essay” website page.
 
If you’re looking for resources to help you prepare for the new SAT, there are the typical courses and tutor packages that you can purchase from any SAT prep website, but there are also some free online resources that you should take advantage of, especially if you’re not looking to spend hundreds of dollars on test prep. Khan Academy offers articles with tips for preparing for the SAT from time management to study habits to what to expect on the test day, and it also offers videos that demonstrate how to complete problems in each section. There are currently only four practice tests out for the new SAT, but because it is so new, they are all free and readily available to everyone on collegeboard.org along with several other resources for SAT prep.

-Hope Swedeen

What are some concerns you have about taking the SAT? How are you preparing?

In a previous post, I talked about several tips to help you study effectively. However, I never talked about how you should actually be studying. There are several studying methods that are widely used, and most of them require help from someone or something else, whether it be flashcards, someone to ask questions or list vocab words, or games to help with memorization. The best studying method will vary by subject, so what works for one class might not work for another. No matter what method you choose, be aware that there are countless resources available to help you online.
Websites designed to help students study all have different approaches and offer different forms of assistance, and some are more helpful than others. Below, I’ve listed five websites that I have found helpful in the past and that I prefer to other websites I’ve tried. Each offers different studying methods as well as unique features that can make them more helpful than others when studying for different subjects.
 
1.  GoConqr

GoConqr offers several different methods of studying, which is ideal if you have multiple subjects to study for. When you create a free account, you can create flashcards, mind maps, quizzes and slides, and share them with other users. The website hosts a huge database of information generated by users, so every set of flashcards, slideshow, quiz, etc. created by other users will be available to you to use as well. While this database of content hosts fairly general information that might not all apply to what you need to study, you can also create groups to share information more easily with students who are studying the exact same content as you. GoConqr is also a great website because it allows you to set goals and events and see your progress as you study.

2.  Quizlet

Like GoConqr, Quizlet allows you to create study tools like flashcards and practice tests, and with the information you input, the website creates study games for you. There is a large database of public study tools created by other users just like on GoConqr, but these are generally more specific and less helpful than on GoConqr because sets of information are typically created for specific chapters of a book covered in a class. Because of this, Quizlet is really only useful for inputting your own information or connecting with a group of people in your class to create and share information and study tools.

3.  Study Blue

This website’s main function is collaboration. Just like Quizlet, the information created by other users is very specific to classes and chapters, so creating content individually or in groups is really the best way to use the site. You can also chat in groups, save notes, and track your progress as you study. There is also an app available for Study Blue, so you can track your progress and send messages to groups more easily.

4.  Study Stack

Study Stack is primarily a website for creating flashcards. You input your information just as you would on all of the other sites, and it will generate flashcards that you can flip through and track which answers you know and which you don’t. The cards that you press the “don’t know” button for are set aside and will repeat once you get through the set so that you can spend more time on the ones you don’t know. This is my favorite site for flashcards for this reason because I like to review information more if it’s difficult for me to remember. The site also builds several games based on flashcard sets, including hangman, crosswords, matching games, and more. As with the other sites, you can use information provided by other users, but it’s most helpful for creating your own flashcards.

5.  Study Guide Zone

​Study Guide Zone is completely different from the other four websites. It’s not made for collaboration or inputting information or providing any flashcards, games, or other memorization tools. Instead, this website is simply a resource for taking practice standardized tests, including the PSATs, SATs, ACTs, LSATs, MCATs, and so many more. If you’re gearing up for a standardized test, this is the place to go. They break the tests down into parts so that you don’t have to do them all at once, which is super helpful, and they explain what each part of the test will entail and how much of the test it is worth. I’ve used this a few times to study for the SATs, and I’ve begun using it for the LSATs, and, if nothing else, it gives you a feel for the test’s format, which is crucial to know before you actually take the test so that you don’t waste any time and you know what to expect.
 
-Hope Swedeen
 
What websites or tools do you use to make studying easier and more effective for you?

As the calendar year comes to and end and schools prepare for winter break, teachers are throwing around that word that no student likes to hear; “test.” We all dread them, whether we think we’ll pass or not, but during the weeks before winter break, we are not only responsible for preparing for tests, we are also expected to keep up with every-day classwork. If you’re like me and countless other students all over, it can be challenging to balance study and homework time, especially when you try to factor in free time as well (which is important, by the way).

If you’re someone who never seems to have enough hours in a day to finish what needs to be done, consider evaluating how you manage your time. You might not manage your time at all, which isn’t uncommon, and this could mean that you simply need to work on planning ahead more often. If you’re someone who makes lists and tries to think ahead, you still might be struggling to follow through on your plans. Whatever the case, it’s always a good idea to evaluate your time management techniques once in a while to see how you can improve them or what you can do to make them more effective.

1.  Find out where you are wasting time

Everyone wastes time, but it’s important to be aware of when you’re doing it so that you can monitor the amount of time you spend distracted from getting things done. If you can figure out what your main distractions are or make a list of some things that you need to prioritize less when you have a lot of work to do, this will help you focus on what’s most important to accomplish.

2.  Create a daily and weekly schedule

If you have a syllabus for your class or you know when you have tests and assignments due, make up a schedule for each week, breaking down assignments by due dates or dates to be completed. If you have sports or clubs, factor those in too. You want to write down as much of your weekly schedule as possible so that you can get a good estimate of how much time you’ll have leftover for work, studying, free time, and anything else each day.

Calendars come in all shapes and sizes, and they’re made specifically for different types of software. If you’re looking for a free calendar for iOS devices, Sunrise Calendar can be used on an iPhone or iPad, and iStudiez can be used on an iOS device, including a computer. It can also be used on windows computers, but you’ll have to pay $9.99 for it. If you’re looking for something for a windows pc, you’ll probably get the best result by using a calendar in your email. Windows Live, for Microsoft Outlook, and Google mail offer calendars that are easy to use, and, as they’re linked to your email, you’ll be able to access them on your phone as well. If you don’t see yourself using any of the options I’ve listed, shop around online for other calendars. There are tons of platforms to use that aren’t listed here.

3.  Create a to-do list and add it to your schedule

In addition to any assignments you might have or anything happening routinely, keep a general to-do list of non-school-related things so that you don’t forget anything you’re supposed to be doing and so that you can factor everything you plan on doing into your weekly and daily schedules. A great platform for creating organized lists is Trello, which allows you to create lists and add or move around items. It can be used interactively with multiple people, so if you have a group project or a study group, you could easily make task lists, tag people on lists and list items, and communicate with comments on tasks. You can create any type of list you want, so if you have a “To-do” list and a “completed” list, you can move items around as you finish them. You’ll also need to sign up using an email, so if you have your calendar linked to the same email, you can get all of your notifications in the same place.

4.  Say “no” to time commitments that you can’t fit in

Unfortunately, there is seldom a time when we can do everything that we want in a given day. Particularly during tests time, you’ll probably find yourself pressed for time with more commitments and plans than you can keep. To avoid the stress of trying to come through on everything, say “no” to some things in advance. Having a schedule will help you with this, as you’ll be able to look at your to-do list for each day and figure out how much time you’ll actually have for extra things. If you find your day is filled, including the free time you’ve set aside, don’t add on more to your day. Just say “no,” and you won’t have to feel bad for either backing out or ignoring your work to do it later.

5.  Figure out what time of day you’re most productive

You’ll want to schedule homework and studying into your schedule at a time when you feel you can accomplish the most. If you work best at night, schedule a few hours spread out in the evenings. If you’re more of a morning person, set aside your morning hours for work instead.

6.  Know your work/study habits.

Just like understanding when in the day you’re most productive, you should get to know your study/work habits so that you can use them to your advantage rather than trying to work against them. If you’re someone who needs a week to work on a lengthy assignment, give yourself a week. If you work better under pressure, spend your week focusing on smaller assignments closer to their due dates and tackle bigger projects as they come. Think about what sort of atmosphere you work best in, and try to find a space like it. You might prefer somewhere quiet, which could lead you to work in your room, but that also might lead to easy distractions or even falling asleep (guilty).

7.  Set Time limits

If you leave yourself with four hours to do work one evening, don’t just add a block of time to your schedule that says “do work.” Make sure that you specify how much time you’ll be spending on each assignment you plan to work on. You could give yourself 30 minutes for math homework and then another 30 minutes to study for a math test, for example. Make sure that you follow your time limits fairly closely so that you don’t burn out doing one thing for too long or end up not having time to do everything that needs to get done.

8.  Be realistic – some things take longer than others

If you have to write a two-page English paper and do five simple math equations, the paper will most likely take you longer. Don’t leave yourself 30 minutes for each task, as you probably won’t be able to finish them both within the same amount of time, and the paper will probably take you about two hours. Instead, think about how long each assignment should reasonably take you, including how long you need to study for each subject you might have a test in, and plan your schedule accordingly.

9.  Set goals

Even if you’ve made a schedule, it helps to have goals in addition to deadlines. If you want to finish an assignment by a date earlier than when it’s due, that can be a goal to work toward. If you set aside a certain amount of time to complete tasks, aim to fit in one other task if you find you have the time. Anything that will help you feel more accomplished and positive will only help you keep working hard.

10.  Don’t think about your entire to-do list. Just focus on the task at hand.

Even though you might have 15 things to do in a week, don’t think of them as a bundled package. If you think of them as individual assignments rather than as clumps of homework each day, you’ll feel much less intimidated by it all. Focus on one thing at a time, slowly chipping away at the larger to-do list, and make sure you’re always thinking “one down!” rather than “14 to go.”

11.  Complete assignments in order of importance

While you have to finish everything at some point, it helps to give yourself some kind of order to begin with. Decide on an order of importance for assignments based on due dates/times, difficulty, or any other criteria, and complete work in that order. This way, you have a plan to stick to and can transition between assignments quickly without too much distraction. That being said…

12.  Give yourself a break between tasks

Switching from one thing to the next right away can be exhausting and easily make you fed up with doing work. Instead, take small breaks when you finish assignments, but don’t let yourself get so distracted that you realize you’re still on Facebook 30 minutes later. The length of time you spend on each task should impact the length of your break, so the longer something takes you, the longer you can justify taking some time to relax. If you’ve just finished 15 minutes’ worth of math homework, you probably don’t need to take a 30-minute break before moving on. As a rule, I allot 10 minutes of break time for every hour spent on an assignment. Try to avoid social media while you’re taking these breaks, though, as you’ll probably find yourself taking a longer break than you might have initially intended.

13.  Don’t procrastinate – start working immediately

It’s easy to get caught up in setting up your work, getting on a computer, or any other pre-homework rituals you might have. Instead of procrastinating, get started on your work as soon as you decide to begin, and don’t let yourself get distracted before you even accomplish anything.

14.  Always take some work with you

If you’re leaving home for a few hours, take some work with you to do if you find you’re not doing anything else. If you’re on a bus or train, you can easily pull out a book or flashcards.

15.  Make time to sleep

Although you need to finish your work, you should always make time to sleep well each night. If you’re tired at school or when you’re supposed to be doing work, you’ll likely be much less productive than if you’ve had a good night’s rest, so don’t forget to add sleeping to your daily schedule in ample supply.

-Hope Swedeen

Do you keep track of your daily and weekly tasks? What calendars or platforms do you use to stay organized and ensure that you're using your time efficiently?

When you have a break from school – whether it be a three-day weekend or a full week off – you have the opportunity to do anything that you want during those free days. You can catch up on some TV shows you’ve gotten behind on, spend time with friends, get a little extra sleep, and pretty much anything you find you don’t have time for in your average week. Consider, though, what it would benefit you to be doing in your free time. Yes, everyone needs a break, and I am all for making the most of whatever free time I have. This Thanksgiving break, I hope that everyone spent time with their loved ones and had much less stress to deal with (school-related stress, at least) than usual. At some point during Thanksgiving break, though, I hope that everyone made time to keep up with school work.

I know it’s an unpopular concept – doing work over break – but, whether we like it or not, the work will still be due at the end of break whether we get it done or not. Maybe you didn’t have assignments due the first few days after break, but if you did, and you found yourself struggling to make time to get it done during the holidays, consider using a different approach to finishing schoolwork when your next break rolls around. Following a few suggestions, you just might find that completing your work over break isn’t as much of a drag as you thought.

1.  Make a to-do list

I cannot stay organized without lists, and I have one for every type of “to-do.” I have homework lists; shopping lists; wish lists; books, movies, and songs lists; and pretty much every type of list you can think of. It might seem lame, but lists really do help to keep everything going on in your mind organized. I forget that I have to do entire projects all the time, and if I didn’t have them written down, I’d honestly just not finish them. While your memory might not be as bad as mine, it wouldn’t hurt to make a list of assignments that you need to finish over break so that you have an idea of how much time you’ll need to spend doing work.

2.  Create a homework schedule/plan

After you’ve made a list of assignments, think about when you should try to finish them. If you have something due the day you get back to school, work on that first. If you have a project or paper that you know will take you a few hours or days, start that earlier in your break so that you don’t have to work for hours on end the night before it’s due. You also might find that your family has part of your days off already planned for you, so you’ll need to fit your work schedule to fit their plans as well. That said, homework is always a great excuse if you don’t want to participate in any particular family activities, especially if you’ve already planned out your homework schedule and try to stick to it for the rest of break. This will also ensure that you have some time to spend on your own during your days off.

3.  Do a small amount of work each day

It’s tempting to spend your entire break doing whatever you want and ignoring all homework and responsibility, but don’t give into the temptation. If you’re stuck doing all of your work the night before classes start again, you’ll be burnt out before your break is even over. This makes going back to school that much harder because you’ll already be looking ahead to the next break. Instead, plan a feasible work schedule, and stick to it. Set aside two hours or so each day depending on your work load, and make sure that if you skip a day, you make up for it gradually rather than letting it pile on to your last day. I like to schedule my day before school begins again as a completely free day, if I can, so that I don’t have to worry about doing work on my last day of freedom. Even if I do end up having to finish some work, it shouldn’t be more than I can handle, as it’s only “leftover” work that I didn’t end up fitting into one of my other days.

4.  Stick to your sleep schedule

You might be someone who goes to sleep 4 hours later over break than you would on a school night, but consider cutting down on your night owl tendencies. It’s difficult to wake up at a normal hour when you’re sleeping at irregular times, and by waking up later, you’re cutting out part of your days. Even if you try to get your work done at night, you might not be as productive as you could be in the morning. Consider going to bed and waking up at or around your normal times, and try to get some work out of the way in the morning so that you can enjoy the rest of your day.

If you’re a high school student, there’s a good chance that if you haven’t already had to write a personal essay at least once, you’re going to be asked to write one soon. These essays are typically written for applications for membership in organizations, scholarships or awards, and colleges. Whether you’re applying for any of these now or not, you just might find yourself writing a personal essay one day and wondering just how to begin. What should you include? How do you write an essay that will show who you really are? As someone who has filled out several college, scholarship, and membership applications in the past few years, I can tell you that, like most things, it’s much easier to write a personal essay after you’ve done it once. It’s difficult to say what specifically you’ll need to say in your essay to achieve whatever you’re pursuing, but I can suggest some general tips that should help you no matter your topic.

1.     Follow directions and stay focused – Before you can even begin writing, you need to know the topic and word count for the essay. All personal essays are not the same, and while one might ask a general question about a significant experience, another might ask about how an experience provided a specific type of insight. A popular topic, for example, is how an experience has shown you the importance of diversity.

2.     Use the first person – This essay is all about who you are, what you’ve done, and what makes you “you.” The only way to write about yourself is to use “I,” “me,” and “my,” so disregard what your teachers have said about formal, objective essay-writing. This isn’t a research paper; it’s more of a story than anything.

3.     Open and end strong – Whoever is reading your essay will likely only spend a few seconds on it if they’re not immediately caught, and your conclusion will be what sticks with them once they’ve finished reading.

4.     Use an anecdote – Your essay will likely revolve around an anecdote, and this is generally the best technique. Using an anecdote, especially at the beginning of your essay, captures your reader quickly and has a better chance of showing your personality and history than just talking about your accomplishments.

5.     Don’t be afraid to get personal – It’s a personal essay; by definition, it has to be at least a little personal, and the more anecdotal it becomes, the more personal it will feel. If you’re not comfortable talking about the more private details of an experience, you can still stress its significance and how it has changed you without sharing everything.

6.     Choose an experience that matters to you – If you’re writing about something that is only slightly significant to you, whoever is reading your essay will be able to tell. Get creative, and stop trying to outdo everyone. Just be you. Don’t try to use an experience that affected you briefly and slightly like a week-long volunteer position or a summer job – these are obvious choices that everyone assumes can impress, but it’s what you gain from even the smallest experience that sets you apart, not the experience itself. That said, you don’t have to have saved someone’s life or had a traumatic experience to be a worthy applicant. As long as it’s important to you, the most ordinary experience can be the most significant.

7.     Balance humility with confidence – Whoever is reading your essay wants to know that you’re competent and have the qualities that they’re looking for, but that doesn’t mean that you should use your essay for bragging rights. Highlight your uniqueness and qualifications, but don’t try to assert your superiority over other applicants. In the same way, though, don’t undervalue your experiences and minimize the importance of what you’re saying. If you don’t appear to value your own experiences, why should someone else?

8.     Research your audience – Although your essay prompt might be specific enough to explain what people who read your essay will be looking for in your essay, it doesn’t hurt to do a little research to find out what specific qualities are important to them and their institution or organization. You should know what type of person will be reading your essay to know which aspects of yourself you should choose to highlight. For example, if an organization’s website lists a mission statement that values determination, teamwork, and hard work, then try to highlight those qualities.

9.     Show, don’t tell – Although you want to be clear about what you can offer your reader by explaining your qualifications in your essay, don’t outright tell them “I’m hard working and determined.” Show them examples of times when you possessed these qualities, and they can figure out how these examples apply to them on their own. This applies especially to when you’re working your research into your essay, as previously mentioned. Using anecdotes will help immensely with this, as stories natural “show” rather than “tell.”

10.  Start early – If you leave your essay for the last minute, you’ll find that it’s much more difficult to come up with anecdotes and draw out the most meaning possible from your experiences. Starting early will give you time to think about what you’ve written for a few days, go back and revise, and feel comfortable that you’ve said all that you want to say. You’ll also have ample time to fix any mistakes you might have made, which brings me to my final point.

11.  Check for errors! And then check again. And again – You get the idea. Make sure that your essay is as error-free as possible. Check punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and sentence structure over and over to be sure you catch any mistakes. If you’re not someone who excels at editing, or even just to get a fresh pair of eyes on your essay, ask you parent, teacher, or friend to read it for you. Having them read it out loud is even better, as you’ll be able to hear how someone other than you interprets what you’ve written, and you might change your mind about how you phrase something. At the end of the day, if you still have a few small mistakes in your essay, it’s not the end of the world. Putting in the extra effort just shows that you used your time wisely, and the big mistakes will have been discovered, so hopefully you’ll just have a few commas out of place, which isn’t at all unusual.

-Hope Swedeen

In what instances have you needed to write a personal essay? What are some tips you’d suggest for writing them? 

If you're like most students, the moment you leave school marks the beginning of your free time. It's your time to relax and forget about school until tomorrow, and nothing can stand between you and your daily reward for making it through the day. Except, maybe, school work. 
After spending hours doing nothing else, school work is probably the last thing that you want to think about, but if you want to be as successful as you can, your work won't end with last period. You'll need to make time for homework for sure, and when that's said and done, there's usually a quiz or test to study for.

It's easy to put off studying and just do your homework (or not do your homework). However, if you create a study system that works for you, you just might find that it's not as time-consuming as you might have thought, and your grades might become achievements rather than just numbers or letters on a paper. 
Here are ten tips to get you started on your studying path: 

1.     Focus on one task at a time

If you’re worrying about your math homework while studying for a science test, you’re never going to be able to fully concentrate on science. Try putting away all of your school work that you’re not working on in the moment.

You should also try to do your work or study without trying to multitask by listening to music, watching TV, etc. Studies have shown that multitasking, as we imagine it, is actually impossible. Instead of being able to focus on multiple things at once as you might believe, we are actually only able to quickly switch back and forth between multiple tasks, thereby drastically decreasing the amount of time you focus on each task.

2.     Create a schedule

Set aside specific times to study and do homework. For harder classes or classes that require more work, set aside more time. When you create your study and homework schedule, though, make sure that you also include plenty of time to relax or else you’ll burn out and start putting aside school responsibilities, social experiences, or both.

3.     Find a routine place to study

When you’re studying in the same place consistently, your ability to concentrate will improve, as there will be nothing new or novel about the space to distract you. Memorization of information is likely to be better as well. I’ve found that when trying to remember a certain phrase that a teacher uses, I can remember it better when I also remember how she said it or what she was doing at the time. In the same way, if you’re trying to memorize a vocabulary word while looking at, or doing, something in particular, you might be able to remember that moment during your test. The more specifically you can remember that moment, the more you’ll remember the vocab word.

4.     Reward yourself

If you accomplish a difficult task or finish studying a section of information that was particularly time-consuming, give yourself a break and do something that you enjoy or may have put off to do your work. This way, you’ll be more likely to put just as much effort into studying next time knowing that there can be a payoff (other than good grades).

5.     Study slow and steady

There’s no doubt that cramming for a test can work in a pinch, but it’s unlikely that you’ll retain any of that information beyond the time of the test, and you probably won’t remember everything that you need to for the test anyway. Instead of cramming, try studying a little bit at a time. Break notes or readings down into sections or chapters and go over one section a few times before moving onto the next. When you feel like you’re reading and not comprehending, or you’re thinking about other things, stop. Take a break and try again in a few minutes when you’re able to focus again.

6.     Study alone

It’s tempting to study with friends, and you might think that your friends will help motivate you to concentrate. This might be true for some, but, often times, your friends will just provide another distraction regardless of whether they’re making any sound. It’s difficult to stay focused when you have proof that you could be doing something else sitting right in front of you.

7.     Narrow your focus

If you try to remember every tiny detail that you’ve written down or that you see in a textbook, you’ll never remember what you’ll actually need to know. Try to identify the crucial information so that you don’t spend time studying for a test you aren’t taking. This might be the larger concepts of a chapter, usually found in the form of subheadings of a textbook, and the pertinent information related to them. It could even be vocab words or just topics that the teacher went over in class. Ask your teacher to make a study guide or give you some information about what type of information might be on the test. If you don’t have any luck there, start asking your classmates what they think is the most important information.

8.     Test yourself

Once you finish reading over your study materials, make sure that you remember what you’ve read. Try testing yourself, looking at concepts or questions to study and trying to remember their answers without looking. You should do this multiple times for each section or chapter that you’ve broken your notes, book, or other materials into.

9.     Study frequently

If you have weekly or biweekly quizzes for a class, it’s a must to study consistently, but if you only have one or two big tests all year for a class, it’s even more imperative that you don’t wait until the last minute to get ready. If you do, all of the material from the entire year or semester will be waiting for you to try to tackle, and you probably won’t be able to hack it. To avoid facing a wall of information that you can’t possibly learn in a day, or even a week, make sure that you study every few days to get a refresher on older topics.

10.  Skip grammatical correctness

When you’re writing your notes to study later, don’t worry about transcribing information word for word or getting every bit of punctuation where it should be. Paraphrasing, or writing notes in your own words, will help you retain information better than if you’re studying textbook definitions and answers, and using short-hand will work even better. Think of your notes as bullet points rather than sentences, and you’ll be much better off when it comes time to memorize.

-Hope Swedeen

What techniques do you use to stay focused while studying?

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