#ap exam practice questions for chapter 3

[study-diaries]

how to cram study for AP exams? 🥲

Hey dear Anon!

Thanks for the ask :)

How To Cram For Exams

Sleep. Hydration. Meals = Must

Snacking and hydration are a must. I recommend light snacking like nuts or fruits or some chocolates. I wouldn't go for heavy meals because they always make me feel sleepy.

Sleep is a must. Don't sacrifice your sleep for studying. During exams, 7–8 hours of sleep is a must. Don't stay awake after 12, you'll regret it. And sleep is different from breaks. You should not consider them the same.

Division Of Subjects

Every subject is learnt and graded differently. You can’t use the same study techniques for every subject you have. You have mostly 3 types of subjects:

Memorization based

Practical/Question based

Theory/Essay based

You use different study techniques for different subjects. Memorization based subjects require more revision. Practical/Question based subjects require more practice. Theory based subjects require you to learn how to format your information.

Read up more: Division Of Subjects

Note Skimming

First, take a topic. Try to remember 5 points, if you can't then just glance through it once. And then keep repeating the process until you know everything relevant for it. It works really well if you haven't picked up your textbooks in a while.

Practice Papers + Improvement Sheets

Create a fake exam environment. Sit on your desk with a timer, take a question paper and act as if you're actually writing the exam. Do this at least once and note everything. How much time you take to answer each question. What are your mistakes. Which section is your weakest. Note them down and most importantly, your overall improvements you should make.

For me, I did this for accounts, and it gave me so much clarity, especially the improvements. I used to go through this improvement sheet before my actual exam and I did not repeat even a single mistake again. The trick is to keep updating the sheet by adding improvements from your actual exams too.

Question Method

No matter how well you know your content, if you can't put it in words appropriately, then you won't get your grades.

Now, it's hard to remember every single thing, so here's a technique...

What? When? Who? Why? How? What's the use?

The basic information for any topic would be the answer to these questions. If you remember this and ca answer to it then you've prepared well enough.

If you want to read up more about it, check out: Question Method

Break It Down

Not your chapter. I mean the topic itself. Line by line if you have to. I did this exact thing for accounts whenever i had to do ratios. It was a pain. An unwanted pain. I couldn't understand anything. But i sat down one day and read every single line of the textbook for that topic. I made what i call "Line Visuals". This is simple.

You read a paragraph => You don't understand anything.

Read every line => Draw it

Understand the key terms used there

And then draw a single visual representation for that entire topic.

I'll guarantee you, you will understand it. Review it once a day for a week and then once a week.

Mnemonics + Story Method

Learn with these. It helps you to remember easily. Make catchy phrases and stories to remember points/facts. These are like the building blocks of studying anything. Stick small notes to your books writing the phrases beside the topic so the next time you want to revise it, it's easy.

If you want to read more about it, check out: How To Study Using The "Story Method"

Teach What You Learn

You learn the most when you teach. I had taken my friends for this. Study and teach it to them. This helps because you have to have a clear understanding of the material first rather to teach them and you may end up with some important feedback. Your friends might ask a specific question you didn't know the answer to and now all of you are trying to perfect yourself with the material.

Random Testing + Book Testing

Random testing is what you do as the final blow. You randomly answer questions that you're thinking about the topic. Book testing is basically when you open any page of the textbook, see the topic and literally say everything relevant to it. You can even write it down.

__________________

Hope This Helps :)

[smartmathtutoring]

Top Tips for Succeeding in AP Chemistry: Expert Tutoring Advice

Although AP Chemistry might be among the toughest classes, available to high school students, success is most certainly within grasp with the correct techniques and help. Expert AP Chemistry tutoring is a great tool if you want to master the fundamental ideas and ace your AP Chemistry test. The correct teacher, may enable you to understand challenging subjects, boost confidence, and be ready for the test. Supported by professional tutoring guidance, below are the best pointers for excelling in AP Chemistry.

1. Understand the Fundamental Concepts AP Chemistry teaches comprehension of how the ideas interact and how they apply rather than just memorizing reactions and formulae. Successful AP Chemistry requires initially a firm knowledge of the fundamental ideas like atomic structure, bonding, thermodynamics, and stoichiometry. A instructor may assist you to divide these difficult concepts into more doable bits. Emphasizing the "why" behind chemical reactions and processes can help you to get a deeper knowledge that will help you in addressing more complex subjects. Before advancing, AP Chemistry tutoring may provide tailored explanations and step-by-step direction, to ensure you really grasp each idea. 2. Practice Problem-Solving Regularly Mastering AP Chemistry requires utilizing what you have learned to tackle challenges. Development of the problem-solving abilities required for the test depends on consistent practice with a range of challenges. Tutors may provide focused comments, and practice questions tailored to your present degree of knowledge. Working through issues with a tutor can help you find typical errors, improve weak areas, and pick up the best techniques for addressing many kinds of inquiries. You will feel more secure, and competent on test day the more issues you solve. 3. Master Time Management and Study Techniques Managing your time well is one of the most critical components of excelling in AP Chemistry. While juggling other obligations with study time might be taxing, a tutor can assist you create a study plan fit for you. Your teacher may help you concentrate, and remember material by walking you through the process of dissecting big chapters into smaller, more palatable bits. Making flashcards, summarizing notes, and teaching the content to someone else are among the active study strategies that aid as well. By suggesting study techniques catered to your learning style, your instructor may help you to more effectively remember material. 4. Focus on the AP Chemistry Exam Format Success on the AP Chemistry test depends on your being familiar with its structure. Multiple-choice, and free-response questions covering both your theoretical knowledge and your capacity, to apply that understanding define the exam. One big benefit is knowing the kinds of questions you may encounter and practicing on prior tests. Mock tests and study sessions targeted on exam strategy abound in AP Chemistry tutoring sessions, so you will be completely ready for the schedule and structure of the examination. Conclusion: Personalized Support for AP Chemistry Success AP Chemistry succeeding need for commitment, repetition, and appropriate help. You will set yourself up for success by concentrating on knowledge of fundamental ideas, consistent problem practice, efficient time management, and especially test preparation. Professional AP Chemistry tutoring, may provide individualized help, guaranteed to keep you on the correct path, at every turn. Visit Smart Math Tutoring right now to find tutoring programs that will enable you to ace your AP Chemistry test and acquire the support required to shine.

[apcspexam]

This is for all the AP students out there

[eliteprepsat]

The concept of having a work-life balance refers to maintaining an equilibrium between one’s career and personal responsibilities. In a world focused just as much on our successes and upward mobility as it is on our mental health, achieving such a work-life balance has been the topic of much discussion in recent years. Companies have even gone to great lengths to create funded initiatives to ensure their employees have the best work-life balance possible. More balanced individuals are more productive employees, after all.

Unfortunately, though, when you’re in high school and college no such initiatives exist. Nonetheless, students share the same experience of competing pressures from both school and life. As a student today, one might even argue that a school-life balance is often more difficult to attain due to increasing demands placed on young people to achieve. But, the same holds true here as in the workplace: More balanced students are more productive students.

With this in mind, below are 8 tips for helping you reach a healthier school-life balance. If you practice these tips now, making them second nature, they will follow you into college and beyond into your career.

1. Set boundaries

With the amount of work that high school course schedules demand of us, it can become easy to give our entire lives over to them. While the hope is that such studiousness will eventually lead to great success, working so hard all of the time can actually be harmful.

Therefore, it’s important to establish boundaries when it comes to our school work.

Boundaries help to ensure that we don’t give all of our time to studying, but that we also leave room for other activities that we enjoy. This “down time” refreshes our bodies and minds, actually allowing us to be more productive when we do return to our school work.

To begin working within boundaries, study diligently throughout the week, but (if possible) take at least one day off from school work per week to do the things you especially enjoy. If you’re not in a position to take an entire day off from school work, try to leave at least a portion of one day free for enjoyable activities. During these designated “times off,” allow yourself the luxury of not even thinking about your school work at all.

On days that you do work, be sure to schedule in breaks. Rather than take work breaks at random, utilize the Pomodoro Method, which is a great approach for ensuring productivity without burnout. In this method, a series of timers are set to track periods of work followed by shorter periods of rest. There are many free Pomodoro Method timers online, but this one is especially handy (and cute!).

2. Focus on time management by establishing priorities and setting goals

You likely won’t be able to finish your entire research project today (at least not well!). But, you can plan to finish the last chapter of your chosen novel today, research the author’s life tomorrow, and begin writing your introductory paragraph the next day.

The point here is that when you procrastinate and then set out to complete an entire task in one sitting, that task is often overwhelming. But when you pace yourself by setting manageable tasks that you can complete incrementally, that same project doesn’t feel so insurmountable.

To help with time management, create a to-do list, placing tasks of highest priority at the top of the list and working your way down to tasks of lowest priority. If you’re a visual person, write these individual tasks out on stickie notes that you can crumple up and throw away once each one has been completed. Physicalizing your accomplishments in this way brings a sense of accomplishment that simply crossing items out on a list does not.

3. Then, reward yourself when you reach your goals

Beyond the implicit reward of simply accomplishing tasks, plan explicit rewards to accompany each of your set goals. Whether it’s with a break, a piece of chocolate, or an episode of your favorite show, treat yourself when you achieve a set goal on your to-do list.

Your goals needn’t be extravagant in every case in order to warrant a reward, either. Have you read 20 pages of your book? Put the finishing touches on your science project? Let the reward match the achievement. Whatever the case, it always helps to have something to look forward to!

4. Practice mindfulness by powering-down

The masses have long praised the idea of multitasking. Yet, we live in a time when this approach to productivity is being questioned. In fact, more recent research points to multitasking’s leading to negative effects, including increased stress and decreased cognitive functioning.

What’s recommended instead of multitasking is that you give your full attention to one task at a time. In other words, what’s recommended is that you practice mindfulness while at work.

In this article, Matt Tenney, author of The Mindfulness Edge, explains four ways that mindfulness improves productivity—including eliminating distractions and producing stronger work—by supporting his claims with evidence from an array of university studies.

One way to practice mindfulness while studying is to “unplug” by taking a break from technology. Reducing internet distractions—such as texting, social media, and even Google—can have real gains on your productivity.

5. Say goodbye to baggage

We are often reminded of the importance of extracurricular activities, especially when it comes to college admissions. Since this is the case, we tend to become involved in many extracurriculars, or we become so deeply invested in the few extracurriculars we’ve chosen that it seems they’ve taken precedence over our school work—and have even taken over our lives!

The important thing to remember is that extracurriculars are beneficial. But, they are only beneficial if they are enhancing and not draining your life.

So, do an inventory. If any of your extracurricular activities seem to be more of a drain on your time and energy than an enhancement to your current happiness and potential future success, drop them from your schedule. Place this saved time and energy into the activities you are benefiting from, and you will likely see an improvement in these areas.

6. Upgrade your study hour

Another way to improve your school-life balance is to simply find a way to enjoy the school part of the equation more. This may seem like wishful thinking; but, if you can think of your studies less as work and more as play, then you are sure to approach this time with more balance.

So, what helps you get through hours of reading or studying for exams? Listening to your favorite music? Having your favorite latte by your side? Working with a big group of your best friends? Taking your work outside to the park or to the beach? Whatever the case may be, do yourself a favor by making study hour more enjoyable for yourself. This way, you will be less hardwired to dread your time spent hitting the books.

And if a place like the park or beach isn’t easily accessible to you, check out our previous article on Creating a Great Study Space.

7. Lean on your support system

When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask for help—from friends, family, and teachers/other mentors. It can be helpful just to have friends and family who simply understand what you’re going through with the heavy workload of school. A shoulder to lean on and an ear to confide in can go a long way toward relieving stress. And a best buddy or an understanding parent can also be key to getting you out of the house (and out of your head!) after a particularly long and grueling study session.

Teachers/mentors, on the other hand, can provide more “practical” solutions for helping to alleviate the worry from school work. Whether by suggesting additional reading, offering personally-tailored study tips, or pointing you in the direction of helpful tutors like those at Elite, these trusted adults can be a great resource in your search for a better school-life balance.

8. Practice self-care by forgetting “perfection”

As modern students with such big workloads, it can become easy to neglect our own self-care. However, whatever this phrase (“self-care”) means to you—be it physical, mental, or emotional preservation—it’s important to maintain the practice even (and especially!) when a school-life balance seems the most difficult to achieve.

Forms of self-care are as numbered and unique as the people on Earth. You know what works best for you. But one thing is universal: To practice better self-care, try letting go of your belief in “perfection.”

In a time when social media has us constantly comparing ourselves to others, and life goals such as college admissions are increasingly competitive, it makes sense to dot every “i” and cross every t”—just maybe not 9 times.

Reaching for what you deem as “perfection” isn’t always beneficial. This is because reaching “perfection” isn’t always possible. Shoot for your best instead, and you are likely to feel more satisfied and balanced in the end.

Stacy G. is a writer and teacher who has taught composition, literature, and creative writing courses at a number of public and private universities across the U.S. She has also taught SAT, AP English, and Literature SAT Subject Test courses at Elite Prep. She likes poetry, dogs, and poetry about dogs.

[spine-buster]

Alone, Together | Chapter 11 | Morgan Rielly

A/N:  If you’d like to see a face claim for Briony, send me a message and I will send you a pic.   

Another thing people have started doing is asking questions about Morgan and Bee’s relationship - the stuff you don’t see in the chapters.  If you have questions about canon, please send me an ask and I’ll answer it.  There’s a tag for this: morgan and briony canon

Line breaks also mysteriously disappeared because Tumblr is Tumblr so I guess the stars will have to do to denote a change in scene.

For the first time in a while, Briony was happy.  

It wasn’t that she was ever depressed.  Most of the time, she was too busy and too driven to feel any other emotion besides determination.  The need to get shit done without giving it much thought.  She just didn’t have the luxury to feel anything else.  Classes still stressed her out, she still hated marking first year undergraduate essays, and she was still poor as fuck.  But she was happy.  Unapologetically happy.

It was a combination of things.  Morgan, obviously, played a pretty big role in it all.  She didn’t think she could be this happy in a relationship, judging by her past ones, but it was possible with Morgan.  She was doing well in her courses and maintaining a high GPA – she even aced that behavioural economics assignment – and her professors had agreed to be her references and put in a good word for her job applications to the “Big Five” banks.  Mason’s various funding grants had been accepted, which meant his PhD was going to continue to be fully funded.  Angie had gotten a promotion at Indigo head office, which meant she was pushing less paper and directing others to push the paper she was no longer pushing.  Angie also moved up a pay grade, which was always nice.  She’d finished watching Schitt’s Creek with Morgan and they had moved on to Kim’s Convenience.  The Leafs were playing really well.  Morgan had even set a new record for the best five game start by a defenseman in the modern era, passing Bobby Orr, and he was set to shatter all expectations this season.  They had celebrated accordingly.

Everything just seemed to be working out.  

Even tonight.  It was a Wednesday but Bee had done enough schoolwork to be able to attend the Leafs game against the San Jose Sharks.  She was glad she did, because the boys ended up winning 5-3, with John and Auston getting two goals each.  The team had played really well, and although at some points it looked like the Sharks were going to catch up, Fred put up his wall.  

After the final buzzer rang and the stars of the night were announced, fans began to file out of the arena.  It became a routine for Bee to file out with the wives and wait in the employee area, near the locker room, where they boys would meet them.  She followed Aryne and Christina as the continued to discuss her exam schedule, Christina making sure the Christmas party the Marleau family were hosting didn’t interfere with her schedule.  

As Morgan drove through the streets of Toronto, on his now familiar route to Briony’s apartment before he’d turn around and go back to his, he kept her hand clasped in his and in his lap.  He would look over to her at red lights, and she’d catch him and smile and laugh, embarrassed, but he’d just do it again at the next light.  The Leafs were going on a roadtrip for a week, to Minnesota and Buffalo, so he wanted to make sure he got a good look at her before he left.  Not that he didn’t look at her enough.

“Can you drop me off at the Metro at Spadina, actually?” she said as they passed College Street.  “I need to pick up some groceries I ran out of.”

“Can’t wait till tomorrow?” he asked.

She shook her head.  “I need milk for my coffee.  You know how I think coffee is too bitter without milk.”

He smiled.  He learned that early.  She made fun of him for how much sugar he put in his, whereas she had weaned off it in the past year.  “Okay, fine.  I can wait for you.”

“No no no, you go home and you go to bed,” she said.  “You need your rest.  Metro is like a three minute walk from my apartment.  I’ll be okay.”

“Briony.”

“I’ll be okay,” she repeated, squeezing his hand.  

When Morgan finally got to Metro, he pulled up to the curb and put his car in park.  Briony gathered her bag and made sure nothing fell out before looking at him.  He leaned over the centre console, giving her light kisses.  There were many, and only stopped when Briony began to giggle from all of them.  

“I’m gonna see you tomorrow right?  Before I leave for the road trip?”

“Of course,” she nodded her head, and Morgan leaned in for another kiss.  And another.  And another.

“I’m gonna go now,” Briony whispered in between one.

“No.”

She laughed, pulling away.  “Bye Morgan.”

“One more.”

She digressed.  She leaned in one more time and he kissed her, making sure his tongue grazed her bottom lip to leave her wanting more.  When she pulled away, she slapped his forearm playfully.  “Tease.”

“You’re one to talk.”

She gave him a look, opening the door before climbing out.  “Drive safe,” she called before slamming it shut.  He watched as she walked in, and watched until he couldn’t see her in the store anymore.  Licking his lips, he put his car in drive.

***

As Morgan settled into his bedroom, he rushed to take off his suit and change into an old t-shirt he was using as his pajamas.  He felt so lazy that he didn’t even hang his suit or fold his pants properly – he just left them flat on the chair before walking into his ensuite to brush his teeth lazily before bed.  Eventually, he plugged in his phone, climbed into bed, and wrapped the covers around him.

He checked his phone one more time.  His lock screen, a picture of Briony sitting on his lap as they both smiled at the camera, opened up to his background: a picture of him and Briony from the fall.  They had gone for a walk in Trinity Bellwoods and had stopped under a tree to lay down for a bit.  Her head was on his chest, her hair spread out on it, and his arm was around her tightly.  It was their sleeping position almost every time they were in the same bed together (besides the traditional spooning), so it was no wonder that they ended up taking a quick nap under the tree.  Sometimes he would catch himself staring at his phone just to look at the pictures.  

After clearing all his notifications, he set his phone down on his bedside table and closed his eyes.  With the hockey schedule in full swing, it didn’t take him long to fall asleep.  His mind was just as tired as his body these days, and he found his eyes falling heavier and heavier with each passing second.

Until his phone rang.  

He almost didn’t hear it; he almost thought it was a dream, but he eventually regained enough consciousness to realize it was blasting loudly.  He grumbled, turning over to his side and grabbing to answer it.  He didn’t bother looking at the caller ID because he knew the brightness of the screen would hurt his eyes.  If it were Auston or any of the guys, he’d murder them.

“Hello?” he grumbled into the phone.

“M-M-M-Mo…” he heard Briony’s voice shake on the other end.

His eyes immediately went wide at the sound of her voice.  Why was she calling so late at night?  “Briony?”

“M-Mo…”

“Briony, what’s wrong?”

She sounded like she was hyperventilating but trying to hide it.  “Mo, s-somebody broke into my ap-partment,” she hiccupped.  “Somebody b-b-broke in and took all my st-stuff-f.”

Morgan shot up from his bed and threw the covers off his body.  “Have you called the police?”

“M-M-Mo, they took my laptop.  They took my j-j-jewellery box.  T-T-They t-t-took --”

“Briony, did you call the police?” he asked more firmly.  His heart was running a mile a minute now.

“Y-Yes,” her voice continued to shake.  “M-Mo…they took everything.  Even my clothes.”

Holy shit.  Holy shit.  He rushed to throw on a hoodie he left on his chair and struggled to put on a pair of track pants without falling over.  “I’m on my way,” he said quickly.  “Are the cops coming?”

He heard her breath hitch in her throat a few times.  “M-Mo…”

“Did the cops say they were on their way?”

“Y-Y-Yeah, they’ve sent s-someone and he’s j-j-just out-tside now.”

“Okay, I’ll be there in five,” he said, grabbing his keys and slamming the door behind him.  “Do you want to stay on the phone with me?”

“M-M-Mo, what am I gonna do?” she cried.  “Th-They stole everything.  My front window is b-broken a-a-and I d-d-don’t know --”

“Briony it’s going to be okay,” he assured her.

“N-No it’s-s-s n-not.”

“Yes it is.  I’m on my way.”

***

Morgan was sure he sped through the streets, probably even ran a couple of red lights, because he made it up to the Annex in record time.  By the time he got to her apartment, there was already a cop car with its lights flashing outside.  He didn’t even attempt to park his car; he practically left it in the middle of street, behind the cop car, and rushed towards the front door.  He noticed the front bay window completely smashed, glass all over the front lawn.

 When he opened the door to her apartment, like he had so many times before, he saw her standing with the police officer.  She immediately turned her head the second she heard the door open and when she realized it was him, ran towards him.  “Morgan!”

She clung on to him for dear life.  She began crying again as she buried her head in his chest.  It was only then when he noticed the state of the apartment – broken glass near the window; all drawers open or literally taken out of the slot and thrown half way across the room; mud all over the floor from muddy boots; her kitchen cabinets open and her food thrown everywhere.  It looked like a tornado passed through.  There were two other people in the apartment that looked like they were dusting for prints.  “Are you hurt?” he asked.  She shook her head.  “Did you see them?”  Another head shake.  

He noticed the police officer approach him.  “My guess is you are the boyfriend.”

“Yes sir.”

“Ms. McTavish mentioned you stay over sometimes.  Do you keep any valuables at the apartment?”

Morgan shook his head.  “No sir.  I…what happened?”  Briony had pulled away and was wiping the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand.  “What happened?” he asked her directly.

“W-When I c-c-came back from the g-grocery store I noticed the w-w-window, and I ran inside and I s-saw th-th-this,” she stuttered out.  “I d-d-don’t…I d-don’t know…”

“We are assuming it happened during the period she was absent from the residence,” the police officer said.  “I’ll just need to finish writing Ms. McTavish’s statement and record a list of all her belongings that were stolen.”

“Yeah, of course,” Morgan said, grabbing at Briony’s hand.  He looked around again to see more mess.  Her covers thrown off her bed, even the mattress protector gone – clearly whoever did this was banking on the old ‘keep your money under the bed’ trick; her fridge door wide open, contents again spewed all over the floor.  He was feeling more and more sick the more he took in.  He couldn’t imagine how violated Briony must be feeling.

“My l-l-laptop is the b-biggest thing,” she began.  “A-And they t-t-took my c-clothes.  Almost all my c-clothes.”

“Were there any items of significant value?”

She shook her head vehemently.  “And then my j-jewellery box.”

“Again, any items of significant value?  Family heirlooms?”

“No.”

Morgan knew Briony didn’t have much, and he knew she didn’t spend much, but his heart broke when she had to give the officer an itemized list of all the clothes and pieces of jewellery that were stolen and how much she had paid for them.  He had $200 dollar shirts and custom suits hanging in his closet, and he didn’t think he’d ever heard Briony go above $30 for how much she spent on something.  The fact that she could even give the officer an itemized list of every piece of clothing and every little piece of jewellery she had meant something.  It meant she knew exactly what she owned – however little it was – and she kept tabs on it all.  He wasn’t even sure about that.  He didn’t really keep tabs on things like he should.  If the same thing ever happened to him, he wouldn’t be able to give an accurate number or descriptions.  He could remember some prices of significance, like his $8000 watch or the general ballpark he paid for all his pairs of Jordan shoes, but he could never be specific like she was doing.  

“Okay Ms. McTavish.  I’ve already made the call for the crew to come to board up the front window and I’m going to be putting a heavy padlock on your apartment door.  Do you have a place you can stay tonight?”

“Yes, absolutely,” Morgan answered for her quickly.

“Okay.  Once the boards are up I’ll file your report and statement.  I’m also going to ask your neighbours if they saw or heard any suspicious activity.  I suggest you take whatever belongings you can for now, anything of value or significance that perhaps the intruder didn’t take, and I will call you tomorrow to discuss your options,” the officer informed her.  

“W-What about my stuff?”

“Pardon me?”

“M-My belongings.  What’s gonna happen with finding my s-stuff?”

The officer gave her a concerned look.  He looked at Morgan briefly too before taking a deep breath.  “Ms. McTavish, there’s really nothing further we can do unless we find the culprit.  Usually in these situations the culprit keeps the items or sells them for any value, if they are even of any value.  We can look at local pawn businesses in the area, but…”

“So my stuff is just gone again.”

The officer nodded his head once, his face still concerned.  “I will try my hardest.  Maybe I’ll look in some of the electronic shops for your laptop, but I really can’t guarantee anything.”

The only things left to salvage were Briony’s books.  Because of course the thief didn’t take the fucking books.  The officer waited for them as she moved in a complete daze around her apartment – no more tears, but her face still stained with them, and with an aura of fear about her.  Morgan could see her hands trembling as she grabbed at her textbooks, the ones she was using this semester in particular, and handed them to Morgan.  She then looked at her small half bookshelf of only two rows, with all the fiction books she had accumulated from various book sales – the book sales she told Morgan about in one of their first conversations – and looked at him.  “Will this fit in your car?” her voice trembling as much as her hands.

“Of course.  What else do you want to grab?”

“That’s it.”

“Briony --”

“I want to go now.”

“B--”

“Please, Morgan.  I don’t want to be here anymore.  Please.”

“Come here.  Come here,” he outstretched his arms to her, and she began crying again as she nestled into his hug and buried her face in his chest.  “It’s gonna be okay baby.”

“Can we p-p-please just g-grab my b-b-books and g-go,” she mumbled into his chest.  “There’s nothing else, M-Morgan.  N-N-Nothing else is-s-s mine.  It all came with the apartment.”

He nodded his head, moving to give her the textbooks she had handed to him.  He bent at the knees and picked up the bookshelf easily, all the books still in it.  He looked at the officer.  “We’re done.  You can lock it up.”

The officer nodded his head.  “Alright then.  You stay safe.  I will call you tomorrow for further information.”  He locked up the door with a padlock as they left, and waited for the crew to arrive to put up the wood boards on the broken windows.

Morgan carried the bookshelf and placed it into the trunk of his car.  Briony, still clutching her textbooks, climbed into the front seat.  When he climbed in and started the car, he looked over at her.  Her cheeks were fresh with tears, her winter jacket haphazardly put on.  He reached over the centre console and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips and kissing it.  “It’s going to be okay, Briony.”

She tucked her knees into chest as he drove away from her apartment, her textbooks where her feet were supposed to be.  She looked out the window, tears still streaming down her face occasionally.  As the city streets passed by her, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of emptiness within her; an emptiness that felt all too familiar.  An emptiness that seemed to follow her for her entire life.  She came from nothing, and now she had nothing.  She could accumulate, she could amass, but she would always end up empty.  The emptiness was not a new feeling, but it didn’t hurt any less just because she had felt it before.  It hurt more now because she knew how it felt to be full.

Everything was a blur until she climbed into bed.  She knew at some point they arrived at his apartment, and they got out of the car and took the elevator to his place, but she didn’t remember.  She didn’t remember anything until she got into bed and practically wrapped her body around Morgan’s to feel any semblance of safety.  Despite the cold outside and the cold in her body, he felt so warm and so full, and she wanted desperately to feel that too.  She knew she wouldn’t – not anytime soon – but it was worth a try.  If she couldn’t have it, she could at least feel it.  

“Briony…” Morgan’s voice was soft as he wrapped his arms around her, placing light kisses on her forehead and the crown of her head.  “Briony, look at me.  Please.”  She pulled away only slightly, enough to get a look at his face.  Her eyes were red and puffy still from all the tears.  “I need to know what happened in your childhood now,” he said.  

She shook her head.  “No.”

“You said ‘So my stuff is just gone again’ to the police officer.”

“Morgan.”

“Briony, please.  Please.”

Tears welled up in her eyes again.  “I th-thought I was finally safe,” she hiccupped again, still shaking slightly as Morgan held on to her.

“What do you mean?”

“Th-Th-This happened all the time as a k-kid.  All the t-t-time,” she revealed finally, wiping a stray tear away.  “Esp-p-pecially when we were between places.  Or at the homeless sh-shelt-t-ters.  And they’d t-take all my mom’s s-s-stuff.  They’d take m-my st-stuff too.  Anything they thought was of value.  Th-That’s why I always ended up w-with n-n-nothing.  And that’s w-why we’d always end up with n-nothing.  I was always s-so s-s-scared.  We’d always have to st-start from s-s-scratch.”

In-between places.  Homeless shelters.  They’d take my stuff.  Starting from scratch.  Morgan felt sick to his stomach.  This had happened to her before.  Often.  As a fucking child.  As a child with an alcoholic mother who had no will to protect her.  With a mother who had no will to attempt to make their situation better.  How somebody could create that environment for a child; how someone could be complacent in making a child that scared; how someone could not care about their child to that degree, Morgan would never be able to understand.  

“You don’t have to be scared anymore,” Morgan said.  “You’re safe with me.  You don’t have to worry.”

“She’d never t-tell me everything was going to be okay because sh-she knew it was never going to be ok-kay,” Briony continued, and Morgan knew she was talking about her mother.  “And when I finally l-left I thought everything was going to be okay.”

“I’ve got you now.  I’m here for you now.  It’s going to be okay.”

“N-No it’s n-n-not,” she shook her head, unable to believe him.  “M-My laptop’s gone, I have no c-clothes, I didn’t even have m-m-much to begin with and now I have n-nothing again and-d- I --”

“Briony, no, no,” Morgan repeated, squeezing her tighter.  “You have me.  You have me.  You don’t have nothing, you have me.  I don’t want you going through this alone.  You can’t go through this alone.  Because you’re not alone anymore.”

She buried her face in his chest again, unable to cope with his words as tears streamed down her face.  There was too much emptiness, too much pain.  She could only cry herself to sleep, and Morgan, heartbroken, could only listen, his heart breaking with each passing sob, each passing tear he felt wash his skin, each passing tremble of her body.

[studystarss]

apush: a guide

hey y’all! school is just around the corner and I have decided to post a couple of tips for some of the classes i have taken in the past. this first one is going to be about apush because i did a lot to study for it and i also loved the subject!

general class tips

TAKE NOTES! TAKE NOTES! TAKE NOTES! Whether it’s on lectures or textbook readings, be sure you have a good system of note taking that is organized. The easier your notes are to read, the easier it is to study the material you learned in september for the may exam

PRACTICE WRITING! my apush course was very writing heavy, and that really helped me on the exam. make sure you take advantage of improving your essay writing skills and take criticism and improve upon it

IT IS NOT ONLY ABOUT THE TERMS! the apush exam is very analysis based. so while it is nice to know a lot of terms to throw into your DBQs, SAQs, and LEQs, make sure you can analyze them. a great way to focus on the analysis is to read HISTORIOGRAPHIES. essentially, these are nice long essays that show different perspectives of history and are a great way to improve your analysis skills.

resources i used

ap central (lots of FRQ practice)

gilder lehrman (lots of historiographies and review sheets)

chapter outlines

cram packet (made by yours truly!!!)

khan academy

practice questions (lots of chapter quizzes linked here)

dbq guide

review packet

a sweet quizlet

review guides from tumblr

exam day tips

i’ll probably post a whole separate thing closer to the exam next year (lol it is a bit early!) but here are just a few things to remember

BRING SNACKS AND A WATER BOTTLE! this test is 3+ hours. make sure you have eaten and slept before you go to the exam

ON THE MULTIPLE CHOICE: remember it is mainly analysis based. don’t overthink anything and derive your information from what is given. again, it may help to study terms, but ultimately the analysis is what helps on this section

ON THE SHORT ANSWER: you do not have to fill up the entire page! make sure that you answer each part of the question (you can divide it out by A. B. and C.) and remember to analyze what is given. this is the section where the terms you study will play in, so make sure to toss the ones you know in

ON THE DBQ: this is the hardest section for everyone. answer the question before you read the documents and then figure out where they play a role in your arguments (at least that helped me). don’t forget to include POV, it can be as simple as saying “this person was conservative” or “he started this thing during this time”. you got this!

ON THE LEQ: phew! the final section. don’t give up! answer the question you can easily form an argument with. often times the essays on earlier time periods are less specific and easier to answer (my teacher told me this). this is another section where it is essential you have terms and analysis.

best of luck to everyone taking apush next year! let me know if you need any advice. get that made in the usa bread!!

[pennyfynotes]

8.2.18 // 4:30pm // school subjects and AP exams oh my

so i recently (ok not so recently i’m sorry super busy rn) got an ask from an anon about subject specific tips and ap exams. this is the masterpost i told you to look out for ;). there are no ap exams in college, but some of the stuff is still applicable. i did my best to be as comprehensive as possible and dump everything in one place. hope this is helpful! xoxo, m ps. guess where the actual tips are?    if you said “under the cut” then you’re right bc i’m predicable af

tips by subject:

languages (i took spanish): 1. flashcards are your friend. i don’t care if they’re digital (would recommend quizlet or studyblue) or paper, but they help immensely with either vocab or things like remembering literature.

2. charts are also your friend. conjugations giving you a hard time? write out a chart of the different tenses and the conjugations for each subject. put down some of the irregulars too.

3. acronyms/pnemonics are also also your friend. a lot of these already exist, you just have to go find them. i’m pretty sure i still remember what “wedding” stands for for the spanish subjunctive.

4. it’s ok to start over. it’s easy to start a sentence based on what you’d say in english. you’re doing fine until *bam* you hit that word/phrase you really need but you have no clue how to say it. whether it’s an oral or written exam, take a few seconds to think about it and, if you can’t figure it out, just back track. restart the sentence and rework it. better to do that than to lose all your time thinking of one word you may or may not know.

5. skirt around things. if you can’t remember how to say fridge but you really need to say it for something, just say “machine that keeps food cold” or something. it might sound silly,  but it gets the point across and removes the road block.

6. make a list. no, not a to do list. if there’s phrases you find yourself reaching for all the time, but you can never remember, make a list of them and their translations. it might be because its a phrase/part of a sentence structure you use a lot in your native language or whatever. make that list and drill just those few phrases into your head. it’s helpful

english/language arts: 1. proofread. i guarantee you’ll find a mistake, a sentence that makes no sense, or one that just sounds cringy. thank me later.

2. have a damn thesis. its ok if you just need to write and spit words/ideas out for a while to figure it out. but figure it out.

3. conclusion ~= introduction. for those of you who didn’t get the tilde, it means not. yes, they both tie your points to your thesis but they are not to same. do not just reword the same information in the conclusion. push your ideas just a little further. i usually like the push them a little bit outside the realm of what i talked about in my paper. for example, if i focused on the first 5 chapters of the book in the rest of my paper, i’ll expand the ideas to the rest of the book. or if i’m talking about female characters and focus on just one or two, i’ll use the conclusion to potentially connect it to another.

4. have favorites. pick a few fav transitions, sentence structures, and fancy vocab words. basically build a toolbox. this way you won’t have to think as hard when you want to “spice up” your work.

5. summaries only go so far. once you get to higher level english classes, there will be a lot of analysis of specific imagery, or wording, or dialogue. reading cliff notes is only going to give you the plot and none of this. if you don’t have time to read and you’ve been assigned a pretty standard english novel/play/whatever, take the time to look up some famous quotes or symbols. they’ll probably come up in discussion and this will help you look less unprepared.

6. have on question/comment ready. if your teacher/prof is into discussions and grades on participation, it’s handy to write down one (or a few) things. it’s easy to forget what you were going to say while you follow the discussion and it sucks to get docked points for not saying anything. even if it’s just a thoughtful question, jot it down.

history: 1. lol prob my weakest subject, just go see the apush (ap us history) section bc i don’t have much more for you than that.

science: 1. back to basics. i say it all the time, i’ll say it again. really understand basic concepts. they will come back. i’m serious.

2. pattern recognition. science problems are often times about recognizing patterns. once you identify the type of problem it is, even if you’ve never seen the exact one/something similar before, solving it becomes way easier.

3. make a recipe book. tied to the last one, but once you recognize a type of problem, you need steps to solve it. go through any practice problems you’re given to determine all the “types” of problems. once you’ve categorized them, make yourself a step-by-step guide on how to solve.

4. flashcards. you’ll have to know polyatomic ions or random biology facts. see languages tip #1 for more.

5. note your errors in lab. if you do something wrong, don’t just try to brush it under the table and forget about it. not that it’s a big deal, because its not, so don’t freak out. they’re just great opportunities to note sources of error. i mean obviously dont write in your lab report that you weren’t paying attention and mixed the wrong chemicals, but something like “we may not have waited sufficient time for the product to dry” can explain why you got 800% yield.

6. have a toolkit. kinda like a recipe book, but just a collection of straight facts that come up often. knowing common molecular weights and chemical properties (is ammonia acidic or basic?) will make things go faster. like i said earlier, polyatomic ions are also great.

7. brush up on some simple arithmetic. similar to the tool kit, this will just make things go faster. being able to quickly add things and calculate easy percentages (ex: 30%) will make things like hw and exams go faster. i’m of the opinion it’s always good to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide w/o a calculator (on paper, not all in your head)

bonus: math #5 and #7

math: 1. see science #1

2. see science #2

3. see science #3

4. see science #4. see a pattern here? you might wonder why you need to flashcard math, but it’s good for learning equations or the names of certain techniques. if the prof asks you to solve something using X technique and you don’t know what that is, that’s gonna pose a problem. also good for the unit circle (don’t get me started)

5. figure out your speed. this is applicable to most everything, but i find it most relevant for math. is it better for you to speed through the whole exam and then do it all again/check it over 2x? or for you to take it slow so you know you got everything right the first time? personally i use the first approach, but i’m a fast taker and prefer to have time to process between repeating problems instead of staring at it forever once and never looking again.

6. science #7. a lot of teachers will expect you to be able to do this.

7. go over the material a couple times. also applicable to everything. i find it’s easier to remember things when i know that concepts are connected. you might have learned X 3 weeks before Y, but if you go back over, you might realize they’re closely related. this will help you if you’re not sure on a test because you can reason through things using the connections you’ve drawn

tips by ap course (obv look at the subject above bc i will be giving *really specific stuff* here that i’ve gathered from experience. they’re also ordered by when i took them, sorry it’s not super logical but i didn’t want to forget one)

general ap course/exam tips: 1. practice exams. you need to be familiar with what will/will not show up. you don’t always need to simulate and real testing situation, but i’d recommend doing at least 1-2 that way. also *know how many questions they’re are you so can pace yourself!!!!*

2. college board is pretty good about giving topic breakdowns. use those. go through and figure out what topics you’re solid on and which need more work. the above tip is to help decipher what the topics actually mean bc it can be confusing.

3. give the free response a quick flip through. do the ones you’re confident on first.

4. make sure you know the policies/what you can bring. don’t want to forget something. also once our test administrator tried to stop us 10 minutes early, but we were on top of our shit and all gave her a death glare bc we knew when we were supposed to finish.

ap chemistry: 1. polyatomic ions and molecular weights. know them

2. chapter/section reviews (in addition to class notes) and how-to guides. my teacher made us make them and let’s just say your girl did *really* well (and i’m damn proud of that one)

3. do a quick skim of the free response. applicable to most exams but, the year i took it, they’d just remade and re-curved the exam and put *way* too many free response. like no one finished them. if that’s still the case, make sure you do the one’s you’re confident on. also, i did not get to like 3 questions and still got a 5. they may have fixed this idk. (sorry this is redundant but i wanted to give this ap chem exam specific info)

ap environmental science: 1. there is a lot of damn information here. i would use chapter outlines and pick out key terms, policies, and events etc. treat this like a history class.

2. for the exam, use common sense. most of the time, the most environmentally friendly answer is the right one. if you just have a general gist of the course and its topics, but don’t know a lot of details, go with your intuition and you should be fine. i didn’t have a lot of time to study for this one and this method worked for me.

ap calc bc: 1. memorize standard derivatives. power rule, sin and cos, chain rule. that’s important.

2. similarly, memorize standard integrals.

3. don’t forget +c for indefinite integrals. just don’t.

4. similarly, if it’s definite, don’t forget to evaluate at the end! super easy thing to do, but also super easy way to lose points if you forget.

5. if the integral looks complicated, that probably means there’s a “trick” involved. u substitution, integration by parts, trig substitution. something like that.

6. memorize some standard series’, operations, and types (arithmetic, geometric etc)

7. if you’re looking at a word problem, understand what is dependent on your variable and what isn’t (in other words, what’s a constant). for example, if it says the water flows into the barrel at 50 mL/s and flows out at 1/5 times the volume, that translate to F = 50 - (1/5)V. don’t make things more complicated by trying to write everything in terms of V (in this example). also, your equation might just be a constant term or just a variable term doesn’t have to be both.

8. know what your derivative is with respect to/what it really means. aka if your problem is talking about flow and volume, how are they related to each other? flow is the change in volume *with respect to time*. so if i differentiate volume with respect to time, i get flow. if i integrate flow with respect to time, i get volume. this also helps you make sense of word problems.

*disclaimer*: it is been 5 years since i took this class and i have taken quite a few math classes after. i apologize if i introduce anything that is a little irrelevant.

ap spanish language: 1. flashcard. like seriously. there’s gonna be vocab involved.

2. understand what’s asked. for the persuasive email. *be persuasive*

3. toolkit. i mentioned this before but this was probably the most useful for this class. our teacher gave us a bunch of fancier words to use instead of causar (to cause) because that was a word we’d need a lot. the one that still sticks with me 4 years later is fomentar. have a few alternatives for these kinds of super common words, a good greeting and closing for your email, and a set of good transitions. *make sure you know how to use them properly*

4. write stuff down during listening. you can either answer questions during the first listen, then take notes the second to catch stuff you missed or vice versa.

5. it’s ok to backtrack in the speaking. don’t let yourself get stuck and just not say anything. it’ll freak you out for the rest of the exam and will rob you from showing off what you know. also take notes of things you want to mention based off cultural knowledge of the situation related to the dialogue.

6. don’t zone out. with everything going on and all the stress, it’s easy to zone out (esp during the conversation). don’t do it or you’ll have a hard time responding and freak yourself out (again)

7. don’t lose your place in the convo! they give you a sheet that shows you how many times the other “person” will talk. i lost track and said goodbye one segment early. it was bad ok. all these conversation tips are from personal experience.

ap statistics: 1. know the different kinds of tests inside and out. know the differences and the conditions. if you’ve got that, you’re like 75% the way there.

2. be familiar with sample vs population. it’s a bit confusing, but take the time to understand.

3. ok sorry i really don’t remember anything else. this exam really isn’t that difficult (in my opinion), you’ll be ok.

ap physics c: 1. free body diagrams. understand how to draw them *and draw them*. they will carry you through mechanics. draw gravitational force, normal if there’s a surface, and then any other given forces.

2. basic equations. you get an equation sheet, but knowing the equations means you know the concepts and the relations between them. big ones are f=ma and the equations relating position (x), velocity (v), and acceleration (a). also friction f=uN.

3. *normal isn’t always the opposite direction of gravity!!!!* gravity is straight down. normal is perpendicular to the surface.

4. vector components. please don’t just add vectors. break them down into components and then add or you are so fucked.

5. get familiar with triangles. this will help with the whole component thing.

6. kirchoffs rules are so helpful. know them.

7. understand the relations between voltage/potential and current in terms of the properties of circuit elements. that means the equations for resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

8. know how to add in parallel and series. it’s important. also! if the circuit is drawn “weird” a good way to know series vs parallel is that parallel elements share two nodes and that series circuits only share 1.

9. sorry i kinda blocked out E+M bc i didn’t know what i was doing (or so i thought). i still got a 4 tho so that curve is generous.

ap us history: 1. chapter outlines. pretty self explanatory.

2. make a timeline. put important events, sentiments, policies, and presidents. if you can associate these things together into time periods it will be easier. most of the time, any one question (esp long response or whatever they’re called) will only focus on 1 time period.

3. sentiments are important. if you know nothing else, know these bc they will help guide you through questions by reasoning even if you know nothing else.

4. gilder lehrman (or similar us history summaries). these are tailor specifically to apush bc they are organized by period (i think that’s what they were called?). i actually fell asleep listening to these bc i didn’t have time to study. they were mildly helpful, but every little bit helps right?

ap psychology: 1. chapter outlines/flashcards. this course is based heavily on key terms and less so on larger concepts.

2. ok sorry i took this online i remember literally nothing except how annoying my teacher was and that the exam was easy. if you know terminology i think you should do fine.

ap biology: 1. there is a lot. go through all the topics and make sure you’re solid. start with the big picture, then think about narrowing down.

2. know how charts work. things like pedigrees, punnet squares, and evolution trees (that’s def not the right term). some of the exam will just be interpretation of this.

3. i am so sorry i remember nothing else.

ap spanish literature: 1. flashcards. title, author, time period, short summary, key elements (a line, character, symbol). this is *so helpful*

2. think about the works in relation to each other. you might be asked to compare them. even if they ask you to compare something on the reading list with something new, you’ll be familiar with the points you might talk about.

3. know the lit terms. more flashcards. associate them with a particular work if you can/need to.

4. don’t freak on the listening. a lot of the recordings are old and shitty quality. take a deep breath and try your best. know that the rest of the test takers (excepting maybe natives) are experiencing the same thing.

5. use that tool box. see general spanish and ap spanish lang.

this is so freaking long and i think the moral of the story is that i blocked out my senior year ap exams. i hope this was helpful and, if you have more questions, or want more stuff like this, let me know!

[shikastudies]

AP EXAM SEASON

As the dreaded plague of AP Exams approaches us, there are a lot of different ways to study for each exam, and I am here to share some tips and tricks for everyone taking AP Exams. 

1.) PREPARE IN ADVANCE: that means when you take the class go through the ap prep book or textbook in unison so that you’re not cramming during these 3 or 4 weeks. 

2.) INVEST IN A PROPER PREP BOOK: I have tried CliffNotes, Barrons, Princeton, 5 Steps to a 5, etc. Depending on your exam, such as humanities many people recommend Princeton and for STEM courses, some recommend Princeton’s book.

3.) PRACTICE TESTS AND PROBLEM SETS: For AP Calc, all I do is practice exams, and sometimes I’ll print past AP exams and do them for fun, even in my busy schedule, I will do them on the way to practice or on the bus to my regattas. I will always be doing some type of preparation

4.) Look for the curve, because the test is curved. Such as for the 2019 AP Calculus AB exam, if I get at least 5 points on every Free Response and 23/45 questions correct on my test, that is already a 4! So just google, “ap ____ exam curve” and I bet that something useful will show up.

5.) REVIEW EVERYTHING: I have a user guide for Biology that has the main idea of everything as well as my notes from all of the different chapters that I annotated and took notes on. Listen to crash courses, go to the library and find downloadable crash courses or look them on youtube! I know that people will host like 2-day crash courses before the exam, and those are helpful.

6.) KNOW BEFOREHAND: Know what you’re getting in before the first time that you take the test because you need to know how the test is before you take it or else you’re going to freak out and it’s going to be very intense. Know the time that you have per section.

7.) NIGHT BEFORE: The night before there’s no point of reviewing anything that you haven’t already covered because if you haven’t learned it over the past 6 months, there’s nothing you can learn in the next hour or three. Review what you’ve covered, but also get plenty of sleep and drink water and have a hearty breakfast!

So for everyone who’s going into war with the Advanced Placement tests, I wish you the best of luck and the best of studying/cramming! It’s going to be the worst 2 weeks of our lives, but after I’m cruising and going to take a chill pill. So you should bust your butt these last few weeks so that you can get that 4 or 5! 

[labcoatsandcalculators]

AP Biology Grind

So the AP Biology Exam is coming very soon, and most people would want to use their time efficiently. Based off of what happened to me last year, I will try to give the best advice I can give in order for you to succeed.

1. By now, it is a little late to start reviewing prep books: you could obviously just spend a large amount of time reading your prep book, but considering how the AP exam is oriented on application, I believe that practicing is more important. Instead of reading every single chapter in your prep book, choose a few that you should focus on (the ones you struggle with). I also recommend to skip the chapter regarding chemistry (in barron’s, it was the first chapter) as it is not very useful for the Biology Exam.

2. If you are aiming for a 5, you should be consistent with your scores: in order to get a 5 on the Biology exam, you need to get around 75% of the whole test correct. Take both sections and see which one you like better. For most people, one section is able to ankor for any discrepancies in the other section, so it is good to be able to do a certain section very well.

3. Read up on topics that were not taught in school: not every student is taught all the material for the Biology exam in school. If you happen to be one of those people, open up your prep book and go over it (if the chapter is needed for the exam).

4. Practice: I think I say this on every post, but you need to practice. Although practicing takes a few hours, force yourself to do it. You will most likely never improve if you never look at previous tests and gain more exposure towards the exam itself. Familiarize yourself with the exam so that you are comfortable with the type of questions on the exam.

[acatex]

Hey Snarklings!

  Are you surprised that I’m still alive? I know I am (lols am I even relevant anymore?) Before I get into my whole MCAT prep strategy, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for leaving you guys in the dust. I have been very stressed lately and I just felt like I was letting you guys down which was why I made a really hard (but spontaneous) decision on my academic career. Of course I cannot comment right now on what I did/planning to do, but an upcoming blog post would be up in the next couple of days to explain the whole grey area that I was stuck in. Okay, it’s time to put away the tissue boxes and dive into every pre-meds worse nightmare: The Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)

Disclaimer: This is my method and it may or may not work for you, so please take it with a grain of salt because, the way that I learn may be different from you, but it is a good idea to see how others approach this scary test.

What is the MCAT?

In short, the MCAT is a standardized test taken on a computer program to measure a prospective medical student’s potential to succeed medical school. Think of it as foreshadow of one’s ability to do well on painstakingly long exams that are cut up into blocks: Since most of medical schools in the US and Canada require doctors in training to take many board exams that can be 8-9 hours long.

Another reason why the MCAT is administered is to see whether the applicant can use background knowledge of the subject (biochemistry, biology, chemistry, psychology/sociology, physics, critical reasoning skills, etc) and integrate with other sciences to synthesize and draw an objective answer to a novel/unknown situation. This makes the MCAT different from others standardized tests such as SAT or ACT since these tests are more on memory recall and regurgitation, while the MCAT is more on integration and application to unknown situations. Think of it like this, when a doctor walks into a patient’s room, they know some things (the knowledge they’ve been taught in med school) and there’s probably things that they don’t know about a patient’s health, but when a doctor integrates what he/she knows and connect it to the unknown they can solve problems.

  What is the MCAT tested on?

Since, one of the reasons why the MCAT is administered is to test your endurance on future medical school board exams such as: USMLE step 1, step 2 CK, step 2 CS, Step 3  if you are in the United States or the MCCEE, NAC, MCCQE part 1, MCCQE part 2 in (Canadian boards), and Comlex Level 1, Level 2CE, Level 2PE, Level 3 (Osteopathic med schools/DO). They do this by testing you on undergraduate courses and are broken down into 4 sections/blocks

Chemical and Physical Foundations of Biological Systems

Critical Analysis and Reasoning Skills (CARS)

Biological and Biochemical Foundations of Living Systems

Psychological, Social and Biological Foundations of Behaviour

  Prior to Taking the MCAT

I highly recommend taking the required courses before taking the MCAT. The AAMC recommends to take the following pre-med classes:

Introductory (first year) Biology (2 semesters/1 year)

Introductory/General Chemistry (2 semesters/1 year)

Organic chemistry (2 semesters/1 year)

Biochemistry (1 semester)

Introductory Physics (2 semesters/1 year)

Psychology (1 semester)

Sociology (1 semester)

Now I never took a sociology class and I am planning on taking physics in my upcoming (and last) school year of uni. But that doesn’t really matter since you can just self study for it.

  Resources?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

So MCAT prep cannot be MCAT prep without a good set of MCAT books for you to review on. Now, there are many MCAT companies out there and a lot of people are confused on which one they would get to the point that everyone keeps on asking the same question: What books are YOU using? Hey, are those books good? Listen, your success on the MCAT does not depend on what company that you choose to get your books from. Why? Because it is you and how well you reviewed and practice those questions on a DAILY BASIS. I know people who got into med school by using Kaplan, I know people who got rejected who used Kaplan, and the same goes for other prep companies such as The Princeton Review, Examkrackers, The Berkely Review, etc. It doesn’t matter. Just pick one and stick with one. Do not. I repeat. DO NOT BUY TWO BOOKS OF THE SAME SUBJECT BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT ONE COMPANY DOES A BETTER “JOB.’ Again, It is you who will determine your own success, not a book.

Now, for me, I was about to buy the Kaplan MCAT series but, my mother surpised me on my 21st birthday with the NextStep MCAT Content Review and Practice Passages. At first, I was bummed out but as I went along, I realized that the books are doing its job: Helping me review what I learned in undergrad (wipes tears away; literally every time I turn a page I get flashbacks). And the best part is: It was free since it was my birthday gift so I did not have to spend a dime.

When I found something that I did not fully understand or the book did not give me a detailed answer I usually used Khan Academy videos (There’s a whole section just for the MCAT with practice problems). Other videos/channels worth mentioning:

AK Lectures for biochemistry and general chemistry (his explanations for thermodynamics is so straight to the point, they’re super clutch)

The Organic Chemistry Tutor: MCAT Test Prep General Chemistry Review Study Guide Part 1 and MCAT General Chemistry Lectures Review Prep Part 2 – Equations & Practice Questions

Leah4SciMCAT for doing MCAT Math Without a Calculator and Amino Acids for MCAT/Biochem students. I also looked at Fischer Projections for MCAT Orgo and Biochemistry which helped so much since she sues fun mnemonics and straight to the point concepts that just makes the learning fun and easy.

Bozeman science for their anatomy and physiology sections for every organ system mentioned in the biology MCAT book. I also looked at a video or two from the AP chemistry, AP biology, and AP physics (which I remembered fondly back in high school and so I’m familiar with them thus, I didn’t look at every video but just ones that I had trouble with, ex: transcription vs translation.)

  My method for studying: I tend to study in rotations or two chapters of the same subject a day until completion. The image below is how that looks like in my mini day planner:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Since I do not have a job nor am I in school during the summer I was able to study for 8 hours a day and found myself going through rotations quicker than I expected. Before I go to bed I reviewed what I learned and anything that I do not finished I would have to finish in the morning before starting a new rotation.

  Active Learning

So when I start a new chapter I use my metacognitive abilities: What do I know vs what do I don’t know.

Let’s take the endocrine system as an example. I know that the endocrine is invovled in hormone secretion and regulation of the metabolic oathways that maintains homeostasis. I know an example of this would be aldosterone (a steroid hormone) and vasopressin (a peptide) hormone helps regulate homeostasis by repsonding to low fluid levels and by increasing fluid retention. But what I do not know is how exactly they achieve this: thus when I’m studying that’s my goal or my purpose. I am learning to apply and find answers to my questions.

Every time a paragraph says something about a hormone I would turn it into a question and write the answer in my own words. Here’s an example on tropic versus non tropic hormones:

In orange I wrote the section of the chapter: Regulation

I wrote a capital Q for question and A for answer.

And sometimes I write a little flow chart for easy summary of what I learned

The reason why I used this system was for 3 reasons: (1) By writing out the section in a different colour, it acts as a study guide (you know with all the topics/questions pertaining to one part of the chapter for a test). (2) Turning the info in a paragraph into a question and answers makes it interactive and makes you think about what you are learning; sort of like flashcards. I would cover the answer portion with another piece of paper and just talk/aggressively whisper out the answer (the answer doesn’t have to be word by word but just similar to what it is). (3) When it is time for revision: Your notes are in a Q/A format or like test which is better than writing a bunch of notes and just passively looking over.

Here’s another one on the hypothalamus-anterior pituitary-adrenal cortex axis (HPA)

As you can see I love flow charts for sequential pathways and showing the cause and effects of each step (what increases or decreases, which hormone is involved, etc)

I will write a more detailed post on what I put into my MCAT notebooks and what I look for when reading or extracting information from the review books. So just hold on and be patient.

  Practice, Practice, Practice

Knowledge is power but practice makes perfect. Remember that the MCAT will not really test your ability to recall facts straight from the book; this is not a trivia show. It is your ability to apply known information (your MCAT content review) and integrate them with other information in an unknown situation (the MCAT passages). That’s why I like that my MCAT books have practice passages at the end of each chapter. I also bought extra practice passages from NextStep because they really do help me understand the content and the timing. If you do not have practice passages right now, go to the Khan academy MCAT section and there’s loads of them (but they are really easy though).

Also, I really enjoyed watching videos on YouTube on how to approach passages and seeing what other people’s strategies and methods are. I tend to integrate what others do with my own method, but everyone is different so just take it with a grain of salt. Here are a couple of my favorite Youtubers, one of which is actually my best friend.

Amanda and Rich Show: MCAT Biology Passage Breakdown

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Biochemistry Tutorial 1 (Amino Acids) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT Biology/Biochemistry Passage Analysis (Acetylcholine) – CurveSetter MCAT Prep

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Chemistry Tutorial 3 (Titration Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Chemistry/Physics Selected MC 1 – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: Electricity and Magnetism MCAT Physics Passage – CurveSetter MCAT Prep

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 Biology Tutorial 1 (Neuron Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 CARS Tutorial 1 (Passage) – CurveSetter Tutoring

CurveSetter: MCAT 2015 CARS Tutorial 1 (Questions) – CurveSetter Tutoring

SecondChance MCAT: MCAT Science Passage Breakdown #1

SecondChance MCAT: Full MCAT CARS Passage Breakdown (98% CARS Scorer)

Bless her Health: CARS WORKSHOP 08/24

Bless her Health: CARS WORKSHOP 08/28

  After going through a few passages or so, review your mistakes! Then again look up your Q/A notes and see where you went wrong. When you do this, you’re allocating your attention areas that need it. This really helped me retain information whilst, practicing applying concepts with other concepts. Another reason why, is that the questions on the MCAT are really different from your college classes. Again, you’re not regurgitating facts out, you’re applying what you know with what you don’t know by looking at superficial similarities and coming up with the best answer. Since this is a new skill, the only way to learn it is through practice.

I am planning on making a post about how I breakdown science and CARS passages as well so stay tuned.

Spaced Repetition Is Key

One of the keys to success for the MCAT is repetition for retention. If you do not review, you will forget it. That’s why I always made sure that after a section of a chapter I would look over what I had so far and really try to understand what I just learned and see how it relates to other chapters or to the other subjects in one way or another to get the BIG PICTURE. Then, before I go to sleep I will look over at the chapter again as a whole and annotate anything that I think needs more detail. Then the next day before starting a new chapter, I quickly look at all the previous chapters by talking aloud (or aggressively whispering if you’re around people, sorry to the girl at Starbucks who has to put up with my) and just make connections to it. Over time, I looked at all the previous chapters so much that I can recall many concepts.

Review while making your Q/A notes

review after making your Q/A notes

Look at your Q/A notes before you go to bed

Before starting a new chapter, look at all the previous Q/A notes to refresh your memory

1 day later look at your old Q/A notes then maybe 3 days later do it again

Congratulations, all the info you’ve mastered are now stored in your long term memory. It is permanent until you die (unless if you get amnesia).

  I hope this helps make up for my absence and don’t worry, I will post more on MCAT prep. So ciao for now, and stay flossy everyone.

  How I Prepare for the MCAT Part 1 Hey Snarklings! Are you surprised that I'm still alive? I know I am (lols am I even relevant anymore?) Before I get into my whole MCAT prep strategy, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for leaving you guys in the dust.

[blossom-hwa]

Do you have a study habits to share?

oh boy i’m really not the best person to ask because my study habits vary greatly from class to class depending on how invested i am in the coursework but i’ll do my best! i’ll keep it all under a cut :)

I’ll explain what I did to study for each of my classes (assuming I did study lol) and maybe you can find a few habits you want to try out!

In general:

- Since most of my classes are AP classes, all of the past FRQs are online. I do a shit ton of those, especially when exam season comes around. It gives me a feel for what I need to write in order to maximize my points, but sometimes things are unpredictable (fuck AP statistics) so it doesn’t always help much. Typically it does, though, especially for classes like AP Music Theory that don’t have a lot of content to review but where you need to practice a certain skillset.

- I can’t read the textbook over and over again. When I study, I have to be doing something. So typically I rewrite or type up my notes as my way of studying, like I’ll create a study guide with all my notes from the year or something. With history classes, like AP US History, I make timelines for every time period using my notes, the review book, and my textbook. I have to physically be doing something, I can’t just read things over and over again or I’ll get bored. 

- I don’t study at my desk, especially not when exam season rolls around. There are too many distractions, and I end up cleaning more than studying. So I take my laptop and books to the kitchen table and study there. Also, don’t study on your bed or someplace where you’re used to falling asleep, because it tricks your mind into thinking you’re going to fall asleep and that typically happens.

AP Music Theory - As I explained before, theory doesn’t involve a lot of content (it’s just an extensive vocab list of terms you need to recognize in music and stuff) so I just did a bunch of FRQs. I did buy a review book, Barron’s, for the class, but it didn’t help much.

AP Statistics - I did 3 years worth of FRQs, timed like the actual exam, and typed up my notes. I hated the class and my teacher barely prepped us, just taught us the content and let us go, so I didn’t study much and it kinda showed :/

AP US History - As I said, I brought together all my notes from the entire year and took my review book (AMSCO) and textbook and made timelines for every time period of the course (there are 9). Also, for exams where you have essays to write, try to find the rubric online (Collegeboard publishes rubrics for exam essays) and figure out the bare minimum you need to do to get all or at least most of the points. Then try to do a little more than that. 

AP Language and Composition - I didn’t study for this. I don’t know how you can study for an English class. My teacher gave us a lot of MCs and timed writings in class, so I felt prepared, but there wasn’t much I did on my own to prep.

AP Biology - Many, many FRQs. I probably did like 5 years worth of FRQs and MCs in all, not including the ones we did in class. Additionally, my teacher made it mandatory for us to do this sort of review project thing, where we had to make outlines of every chapter in the book and then we’d go over the big topics and take more notes in class as review. The outline-then-write-notes-on-the-outline format helped a lot in my opinion. It got my head on straight about what was important and what actually wasn’t.

And there you have it! Hope this helped, anon. If you have any more questions feel free to message me. I’ve got a lot of resources (including a stash of past released AP exams :D) so if you want those, I’d be happy to give them to you!

[spitestudies]

hello everyone!! as a high school junior taking 4 aps, 3 other classes, preparing for the act, trying to do college research, stage managing a musical, and trying not to lose my mind, here are some fun n handy tips for not Dying when ur schedule is hell!  

if you found this post helpful maybe give it a like/reblog and check out my other posts here!

01 | PLANNING AND PREPARING

so much of getting and staying organized has to do with organizing your time in advance.  there are a million ways to do this--google calendar, a bullet journal, a planner, some post-it notes.  my system involves three parts: a google calendar, a planner, and an online to-do list app.  

google calendar: this is mostly for events.  i can see when i have rehearsals, classes, doctor’s appointments, etc.  this helps me see how much available time i have and budgeting it properly.  

planner: i take this with me to school, and i use it to right down when i have assignments and tests.  i use the ban.do planner, but these are a bit pricey, and really anything will do.  just somewhere to put down tasks so you can keep track of them

getplan.co: this app is, honest to god, the only reason i am still alive and breathing.  it plugs into your google calendar and then allows you to create and schedule tasks around events.  @studycxlture has an amazing post about plan here that i def recommend checking out!

general tips about planning: 

plan out the events of your month at least two days before it starts

set aside a night (i like sunday evenings) to set up a system for the upcoming week and go over what you have planned so you don’t forget anything

you are NOT gonna remember that assignment that teacher told you about.  write it down.  

you do not need a fancy system.  it’s okay to try lots of different things until you find what works 

never spend more time planning out tasks than completing them.  unless you have that much free time, don’t dedicate two hours to making a lovely weekly bullet journal spread.  

color codes!!! are a life saver.  i have one with a color for each class (red for english, orange for spanish, yellow for history, green for science, blue for math, etc) as well as some for my extracurriculars (pink for the musical, teal for model un, etc).  

always have ur planner open when ur working, so that you can make sure u r actually completing all the tasks u said u were gonna complete

02 | STAYING ORGANIZED 

oh my god oh my god oh my god staying on top of your work is SO important when you’re busy.  being able to find your worksheets and keep track of your homework and your million responsibilities is essential to being successful.  to stay organized, i have an expandable file folder with tabs for each class.  because i take most of my notes in notebooks instead of binders, this is a good way to keep all of my handouts, worksheets, and syllabi centralized.  

also, make sure you have a way to keep your online materials organized.  create a folder for each school year, and within that folder, create more folders for each class.  from there, it’s up to you about how you’ll organize files. you can create even MORE folders (yeet) for things like homework, notes, study guides, etc, or folders for each unit you study.  the possibilities are endless!!!! isn’t technology exciting

here r some pieces of advice for staying organized: 

have a series of folders/binder/expandable file folder to hold your worksheets.  or one for each class, though i prefer to keep all my papers in one a) to save money and b) to save space.

label your notebooks/binders so that you know which ones to bring home with you

never just shove something into your backpack.  never.  i’m gonna manifest into ur classroom and FIGHT you if u do that.  it’s not good, it’ll end up getting lost or crushed under the weight of all ur textbooks, and you’ll end up panicking when u can’t find it 

have ur planner on u at all times

keep a good filing system of ur stuff at home.  u don’t need to carry around every single bio assignment you’ve gotten back, but by the time ur final rolls around ur gonna want 2 b able to look at all the materials you’ve gotten during the semester

that being said, throw stuff away when the year is over!  i, for one, know i’m never gonna think about calculus after this class is done, so i will be recycling all of my papers (save the earth) and moving tf on 

keep a recycling bin in your room!  even if it’s just a paper bag, it’ll make throwing paper in the trash way less tempting (save the earth)

u don’t need a ton of pens.  i’m being a giant hypocrite saying this but you really don’t need all that stuff.  if you want it and you can manage it, great, but if it’s just another thing to keep track of, leave ur staedtlers and ur mujis and ur fineliners and ur calligraphy pens at home, and just take the essentials with u to school

03 | MAKING THE MOST OF UR TIME

in order to succeed, it’s v important to make every second count.  this doesn’t mean studying 48 hours straight (pls don’t), but try not to waste time. whether this means you spend fifteen minutes napping, doing some reading for english, or having a quick snack, make sure u are being productive and healthy!  i, for one, sometimes have 1-2 hour breaks between school and rehearsal, and i like to use these to walk to the grocery store by my school and get some food and then study in the deli.  

some ideas for being productive! 

carry a clipboard around everywhere.  this way, u don’t need to spend as much time transitioning in and out of tasks, u can just put ur work onto the clipboard, and put it in ur backpack at the end of a break, and then the next chance u have to work on it, just take it back out.  easy peasy

work during commutes! nOT if ur the one driving the car though that’s VERY dangerous and distracted driving = bad.  but if ur on the bus, or ur mom is driving u to school, that might be a good time to go over some notes you took last night, or some reading you need to catch up on.  nothing too insane, please don’t do ur chem labs on the public bus but.  u know.  

read over the notes you took that day on the ride home.  this will help reinforce the information in ur brain, and it’s not super difficult. i go over my apush notes during the 40 minute drive home and sometimes talk about them w my mom, which gives me a much better grasp of the material

don’t waste time on social media.  either delete instagram altogether, or log off/mute notifications before u start work.  same with tumblr.  don’t start scrolling obsessively if u have three tests to study for. 

power naps!!!! napping for about 10-20 minutes, maybe on the way home or to practice/rehearsal/whatever u gotta do, can help u feel refreshed!  anything longer will make u more tired tho, so be sure to get up when u say ur gonna get up.  

study smarter: when ur going over material, u don’t need to handwrite 60 beautiful flashcards.  use quizlet instead.  don’t revise if it’s not gonna help u.  prioritize which assignments r gonna be most impactful over the little ones u can easily make up

take good breaks!! breaks r VERY important and should be utilized properly.  here r some good suggestions for things to do: 

throw in a load of laundry

empty the dishwasher

stretch/do some jumping jacks

drink some water!

go for a walk

talk to a family member 

get a snack!

read some fun novels n such

scream?

!! in case of emergency !! the following tips should only be employed when ur short on time.  don’t use these just bc u can, this is just when it’s about getting close enough to grasping material, not actually grasping it

do every other math problem assigned, and either star the ones u didn’t do, or get the answers from the back of the book.  this way, u get some practice but u also save time

sparknotes ur reading beforehand.  this way, u can recognize what’s going on.  it’s not v good for developing ur reading comprehension, but assignments will go by quicker

NEVER google translate ur language homework, but u can use word reference for helping u find the right word and proper conjugations

flagpole it: didn’t study enough for a test?  are u guessing on like 10 of the questions?  if it’s multiple choice, but the same answer for all the ones u have no clue about, unless that answer choice seems highly unlikely.  then pick a different one.  this way, ur statistically more likely to get some of the ones you guessed correct. 

when u have an online assignment due at midnight and it’s 11:53 and u haven’t started, find another assignment you’ve already completed that has a similar document name.  for example, “scarlet letter chapters 9-11″ instead of ur actual assignment “scarlet letter chapters 12-14″.  submit the other one, and then when u finish the other assignment (either that night or the next morning) email ur teacher and apologize, say u accidentally submitted the wrong document

if ur parents will let u (if ur in high school) or u can let urself (if ur in uni), it’s okay to skip a day to catch up.  just make sure u actually work, get the notes u missed, and talk to ur teachers/professors abt the material u missed.

04 | STAYING HEALTHY 

ur health comes before any assignment, test, or extracurricular.  i know lots of ppl r probably telling u that and it doesn’t seem like they mean it, but i mean it.  no exam is worth sacrificing ur mental, physical, or emotional health for.  yeet!  so here r some things to keep in mind

eat!  ur fuckin!  breakfast!  whether it’s a smoothie or oatmeal or a cup of orange juice or an apple or an elaborate french toast dish, u need some food in ur stomach so that u have the energy to start ur day

remember to take ur meds if u need to!

drink water!  drink! water!  have a glass when u wake up, and then at least one with every meal, and one before u go to bed.  hydration is v important.  if u can, invest in a water bottle and take it with u to class.  

pack a lunch!  and if ur staying later after school, pack snacks!  tech week for me is always hell because i get to school at 7:30 am and don’t usually leave until 11 that night.  it’s v important to stay nourished and hydrated so that u don’t get dizzy or faint.  

remember!  that u are beautiful, and ur body is beautiful, and it deserves 2 b loved! especially by u.  

get 6 hours of sleep.  aim for 8, but six at the very least.  if ur done with ur work, go to bed early!  don’t just stay up for no reason.  

shower everyday, or every other day at least.  give yourself those 15 minutes as a break from work or school or anything else that’s keeping you busy

write down ur thoughts in a journal?  

talk to a friend if ur feeling sad, or just feeling things very intensely.  share ur joy with other people!  vent ur sadness and anger so u aren’t carrying it around everywhere. 

make some time to have fun.  see a movie w ur friends or ur bf/gf/datefriend or ur family over the weekend.  go to a museum.  hang out at the mall.  sleepover at someone’s house.  taking breaks is healthy.  

make an effort to have dinner with ur family if u can (also if u like ur family.  i know some ppl have bad relationships w them so skip this step if that’s u).  it can be nice to reconnect w everyone, even when ur stressed or they’re annoying u, it can be nice.  

remember that it’s okay to be imperfect!  u don’t need to be good at a lot of things.  i got a b for the first time last semester, i just got a c on an apush test, i failed my driver’s test again yesterday.  but i also aced my math quiz, i celebrated six months of knowing my best friend, i walked my dog, i helped put a production together.  it’s okay to have rough days and bad days and bleh days, as long as you keep pushing through them and working for the days to get better.  

i love u!!! stay hydrated and nourished and get enough sleep.  put on some lotion if u have it available.  brush ur hair.  if u ever wanna ask a question, my ask box is always open!  <3

[eliteprepsat]

The concept of having a work-life balance refers to maintaining an equilibrium between one’s career and personal responsibilities. In a world focused just as much on our successes and upward mobility as it is on our mental health, achieving such a work-life balance has been the topic of much discussion in recent years. Companies have even gone to great lengths to create funded initiatives to ensure their employees have the best work-life balance possible. More balanced individuals are more productive employees, after all.

Unfortunately, though, when you’re in high school and college no such initiatives exist. Nonetheless, students share the same experience of competing pressures from both school and life. As a student today, one might even argue that a school-life balance is often more difficult to attain due to increasing demands placed on young people to achieve. But, the same holds true here as in the workplace: More balanced students are more productive students.

With this in mind, below are 8 tips for helping you reach a healthier school-life balance. If you practice these tips now, making them second nature, they will follow you into college and beyond into your career.

1. SET BOUNDARIES

With the amount of work that high school course schedules demand of us, it can become easy to give our entire lives over to them. While the hope is that such studiousness will eventually lead to great success, working so hard all of the time can actually be harmful.

Therefore, it’s important to establish boundaries when it comes to our school work.

Boundaries help to ensure that we don’t give all of our time to studying, but that we also leave room for other activities that we enjoy. This “down time” refreshes our bodies and minds, actually allowing us to be more productive when we do return to our school work.

To begin working within boundaries, study diligently throughout the week, but (if possible) take at least one day off from school work per week to do the things you especially enjoy. If you’re not in a position to take an entire day off from school work, try to leave at least a portion of one day free for enjoyable activities. During these designated “times off,” allow yourself the luxury of not even thinking about your school work at all.

On days that you do work, be sure to schedule in breaks. Rather than take work breaks at random, utilize the Pomodoro Method, which is a great approach for ensuring productivity without burnout. In this method, a series of timers are set to track periods of work followed by shorter periods of rest. There are many free Pomodoro Method timers online, but this one is especially handy (and cute!).

2. FOCUS ON TIME MANAGEMENT BY ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES AND SETTING GOALS

You likely won’t be able to finish your entire research project today (at least not well!). But, you can plan to finish the last chapter of your chosen novel today, research the author’s life tomorrow, and begin writing your introductory paragraph the next day.

The point here is that when you procrastinate and then set out to complete an entire task in one sitting, that task is often overwhelming. But when you pace yourself by setting manageable tasks that you can complete incrementally, that same project doesn’t feel so insurmountable.

To help with time management, create a to-do list, placing tasks of highest priority at the top of the list and working your way down to tasks of lowest priority. If you’re a visual person, write these individual tasks out on stickie notes that you can crumple up and throw away once each one has been completed. Physicalizing your accomplishments in this way brings a sense of accomplishment that simply crossing items out on a list does not.

3. THEN, REWARD YOURSELF WHEN YOU REACH YOUR GOALS

Beyond the implicit reward of simply accomplishing tasks, plan explicit rewards to accompany each of your set goals. Whether it’s with a break, a piece of chocolate, or an episode of your favorite show, treat yourself when you achieve a set goal on your to-do list.

Your goals needn’t be extravagant in every case in order to warrant a reward, either. Have you read 20 pages of your book? Put the finishing touches on your science project? Let the reward match the achievement. Whatever the case, it always helps to have something to look forward to!

4. PRACTICE MINDFULNESS BY POWERING-DOWN

The masses have long praised the idea of multitasking. Yet, we live in a time when this approach to productivity is being questioned. In fact, more recent research points to multitasking’s leading to negative effects, including increased stress and decreased cognitive functioning.

What’s recommended instead of multitasking is that you give your full attention to one task at a time. In other words, what’s recommended is that you practice mindfulness while at work.

In this article, Matt Tenney, author of The Mindfulness Edge, explains four ways that mindfulness improves productivity—including eliminating distractions and producing stronger work—by supporting his claims with evidence from an array of university studies.

One way to practice mindfulness while studying is to “unplug” by taking a break from technology. Reducing internet distractions—such as texting, social media, and even Google—can have real gains on your productivity.

5. SAY GOODBYE TO BAGGAGE

We are often reminded of the importance of extracurricular activities, especially when it comes to college admissions. Since this is the case, we tend to become involved in many extracurriculars, or we become so deeply invested in the few extracurriculars we’ve chosen that it seems they’ve taken precedence over our school work—and have even taken over our lives!

The important thing to remember is that extracurriculars are beneficial. But, they are only beneficial if they are enhancing and not draining your life.

So, do an inventory. If any of your extracurricular activities seem to be more of a drain on your time and energy than an enhancement to your current happiness and potential future success, drop them from your schedule. Place this saved time and energy into the activities you are benefiting from, and you will likely see an improvement in these areas.

6. UPGRADE YOUR STUDY HOUR

Another way to improve your school-life balance is to simply find a way to enjoy the school part of the equation more. This may seem like wishful thinking; but, if you can think of your studies less as work and more as play, then you are sure to approach this time with more balance.

So, what helps you get through hours of reading or studying for exams? Listening to your favorite music? Having your favorite latte by your side? Working with a big group of your best friends? Taking your work outside to the park or to the beach? Whatever the case may be, do yourself a favor by making study hour more enjoyable for yourself. This way, you will be less hardwired to dread your time spent hitting the books.

And if a place like the park or beach isn’t easily accessible to you, check out our previous article on Creating a Great Study Space.

7. LEAN ON YOUR SUPPORT SYSTEM

When in doubt, don’t be afraid to ask for help—from friends, family, and teachers/other mentors. It can be helpful just to have friends and family who simply understand what you’re going through with the heavy workload of school. A shoulder to lean on and an ear to confide in can go a long way toward relieving stress. And a best buddy or an understanding parent can also be key to getting you out of the house (and out of your head!) after a particularly long and grueling study session.

Teachers/mentors, on the other hand, can provide more “practical” solutions for helping to alleviate the worry from school work. Whether by suggesting additional reading, offering personally-tailored study tips, or pointing you in the direction of helpful tutors like those at Elite, these trusted adults can be a great resource in your search for a better school-life balance.

8. PRACTICE SELF-CARE BY FORGETTING “PERFECTION”

As modern students with such big workloads, it can become easy to neglect our own self-care. However, whatever this phrase (“self-care”) means to you—be it physical, mental, or emotional preservation—it’s important to maintain the practice even (and especially!) when a school-life balance seems the most difficult to achieve.

Forms of self-care are as numbered and unique as the people on Earth. You know what works best for you. But one thing is universal: To practice better self-care, try letting go of your belief in “perfection.”

In a time when social media has us constantly comparing ourselves to others, and life goals such as college admissions are increasingly competitive, it makes sense to dot every “i” and cross every t”—just maybe not 9 times.

Reaching for what you deem as “perfection” isn’t always beneficial. This is because reaching “perfection” isn’t always possible. Shoot for your best instead, and you are likely to feel more satisfied and balanced in the end.

Stacy G. is a writer and teacher who has taught composition, literature, and creative writing courses at a number of public and private universities across the U.S. She has also taught SAT, AP English, and Literature SAT Subject Test courses at Elite Prep. She likes poetry, dogs, and poetry about dogs.

[jayden98n]

Read AP US Government and Politics Premium: With 6 Practice Tests EBOOK -- Curt Lader

Download Or Read PDF AP US Government and Politics Premium: With 6 Practice Tests - Curt Lader Free Full Pages Online With Audiobook.

  [*] Download PDF Here => AP US Government and Politics Premium: With 6 Practice Tests

[*] Read PDF Here => AP US Government and Politics Premium: With 6 Practice Tests

  Be prepared for exam day with Barron’s. Trusted content from AP experts! Barron’s AP U.S. Government and Politics Premium: 2022-2023 includes in-depth content review and online practice. It’s the only book you’ll need to be prepared for exam day. Written by Experienced Educators  Learn from Barron’s--all content is written and reviewed by AP expertsBuild your understanding with comprehensive review tailored to the most recent exam Get a leg up with tips, strategies, and study advice for exam day--it’s like having a trusted tutor by your side Be Confident on Exam Day Sharpen your test-taking skills with 6 full-length practice tests--3 in the book, including a diagnostic test to target your studying, and 3 more onlineStrengthen your knowledge with in-depth review covering all  Units on the AP U.S. Government and Politics ExamReinforce your learning with practice questions at the end of each chapter  Interactive Online Practice Continue your practice with 3 full-length

[academiix]

im an upcoming junior and im going to take apush and ap lang do you have any tips (esp ap lang i feel like my writing is weak) thank you!!

oh boy, this will probably be long if i explained everything to you. honestly your teachers will probably explain most of it to you. also, it’s months before the exam so i’m not sure how much this info will still resonate with you by the time may comes around. 

for apush - take as many practice tests as you possibly can throughout the year. for example, the textbook my class used had 32 tests, and we took a 20~ question AP-style test for each chapter. These were also really time crunched, so it was much harder than the real practice test. 

for ap lang, take practice exams as well, but also study rhetorical terms and practice using them! definitely do several practice essays, at least 3 of each. the best piece of advice my teacher gave me was “HAVE A PERSONALITY.” write with your own style. 

also princeton review is seriously the best for practice books. if you can’t afford one, borrow one from a friend or from the library (either school or public)!

and start reading those practice books probably starting early or mid april.

[pdfepubkindlefree]

Download and Read online Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Prep  2021 3 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review + Strategies & Techniques PDF EBOOK DOWNLOAD

Download and Read online Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Prep, 2021: 3 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review + Strategies & Techniques PDF EBOOK DOWNLOAD

Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Prep, 2021: 3 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review + Strategies & Techniques

[PDF] Download Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Prep, 2021: 3 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review + Strategies & Techniques Ebook | READ ONLINE

Author : The Princeton Review Publisher : Princeton Review ISBN : 0525569545 Publication Date : 2020-8-4 Language : Pages : 432

To Download or Read this book, click link below:

http://read.ebookcollection.space/?book=0525569545

Free Online

Synopsis : Download and Read online Princeton Review AP Environmental Science Prep, 2021: 3 Practice Tests + Complete Content Review + Strategies & Techniques PDF EBOOK DOWNLOAD

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO HELP SCORE A PERFECT 5, now with 33% more practice than previous editions!Ace the 2021 AP Environmental Science Exam with this comprehensive study guide--including 3 full-length practice tests with complete explanations, thorough content reviews, targeted strategies for every question type,and access to online extras. Techniques That Actually Work.- Tried-and-true strategies to help you avoid traps and beat the test- Tips for pacing yourself and guessing logically- Essential tactics to help you work smarter, not harderEverything You Need to Know to Help Achieve a High Score. - Detailed figures, graphs, and charts to illustrate important world environmental phenomena- Updated to align with the latest College Board standards- Thorough lists of key terms for every content chapter- Access to study plans, helpful pre-college information, and more via your online Student ToolsPractice Your Way to Excellence.- 3 full-length practice tests with detailed answer explanations and scoring worksheets- Practice drills at the end of each content review chapter- Quick-study glossary of the terms you should know