#originaliish

[studyiish]

i’m starting the second semester of my junior year soon, and recently i’ve been dealing with a feeling of burnout and lack of motivation. it’s hard to force myself to study and power through.

one thing that has really helped is taking good study breaks! it definitely also helps if you’re staying up late studying or having a marathon study session... like for finals ;)

when should i take a study break?

here are a couple of options—find what works for you, or try a bunch of different methods!

pomodoro method - this generally involves working for 25 minutes, then breaking for 5 minutes. after 4 work sessions, you can break for 15 minutes. good pomodoro timers are the marinara chrome extension and tomato timer for iphone!

between subjects

between different assignments (ex. after a paper, then after a worksheet)

whenever you feel tired or unmotivated!

study break DON’Ts:

watching 5-10 minutes of a longer tv show episode - my ULTIMATE don’t. you’ll just be tempted to watch the full episode...and 3 more afterwards! save the tv-watching for after you’re all done. tv is meant to be compelling and enjoyable - NOT something you just watch 5 minutes of at a time.

reading a chapter of a book - for the same reason why tv-watching is super ineffective! you’ll just want to know what happens next.

watching 5-10 minutes of a longer youtube video

playing a video game

sleeping/napping - super short naps are ineffective and you’ll just be groggy. HOWEVER if you’re staying up super late and set an alarm to wake you up, a 30-minute power nap can be good!

scrolling through instagram/twitter

doing stuff you do before bed like showering or skincare - this will make you sleepier since you associate it with going to bed!

basically, don’t spend your study break doing things that are meant to suck your attention! save that for when you’re done and you can actually enjoy it :)

study break DOs:

eat a small snack

clean up your study area

wash your face or brush your hair - super effective, especially when studying late at night. splash cold water on the back of your neck!

listen to your favorite song and sing/dance along

drink a glass of water

do something boring - give your brain a break and do something important but super boring. send an email, get some forms filled out, etc.

and my ultimate study break tip...

WORK OUT!

this may seem really counterintuitive. why spend a work break doing MORE WORK? however, working out is SUCH A GOOD STUDY BREAK. it gives you a sense of accomplishment, gets some endorphins flowing, and COMPLETELY takes your mind off of studying. 

my favorite study break workouts:

pretty much anything from blogilates:

really hard weightless arms workout

another really hard weightless arm workout

extreme abs

under 10 minute yoga practices

10-15 min yoga

i hope these help you! in 2020, let’s start conquering procrastination and lack of motivation together!! :-)

- amulya

[studyiish]

an incoming Harvard student’s advice for you

I’m sorry for the clickbait title! After a long hiatus, here is basically all my advice for high school and college apps, packaged in one giant (slightly disorganized) post. I wrote this originally for an underclassman from my high school who requested advice on how to navigate HS. I hope this post helps you too!!

Feel free to DM me anytime with questions. I do check my messages and can get back to you with hopefully more specific resources and personalized advice! 

For more resources and advice, I also highly recommend Reddit (I know...) — specifically the subreddits r/applyingtocollege, r/SAT, r/ACT, and r/APStudents. This post is not one-size-fits-all and very much non-exhaustive, but I hope it can help in any small way, and encourage you to take what works and leave what doesn’t. 

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The most important thing to remember, period: I would strongly advise you not to go through HS with "getting into Harvard" (or something like that) as your goal. Consider that college is a means to an end. There are lots of people who get into Harvard, and fail to leverage the opportunities there — that’s a massive waste of 4 years imo. There are lots of people who go to community college, transfer into a four-year university (or don’t), and leverage their opportunities immensely. There are lots of people who don’t go to any college at all and leverage their opportunities immensely. Getting into college is only the start. The idea that you just need to work hard in HS, get into a “good college”, and then you’re set for life, is DEAD WRONG. You will have to continue working as hard (if not harder) in college. 

Please don't fixate on a school because of its prestige. In my view, people think school prestige equates to powerful networks and lots of resources. But, no matter which school you go to, networks and resources are factors that you need to work very hard — and often endure lots of intense competition — to leverage!! Early on in HS, I had the idea that if only I could get into a "good school", life would be set for me. That idea is not only naive but also dangerous. 

Another disclaimer (sorry). I'm not sure I can give a lot of good advice on the application process specifically because the year (2020) in which I applied was very unique. For example, a lot of people weren't able to take their SAT/ACT. I was, and so I might have stood out more to the admissions officers. Additionally, I've been working in a lab for the past few years and was able to continue my research during the pandemic, as it was a fully computational project. A lot of students who were doing lab work weren't able to continue during the pandemic, but I made a lot of progress on my project, and that probably also helped.

OK — now to the actual advice...

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Lab research

I've been working in a research lab since October 2018. This was an insanely lucky and unique opportunity!! I want to talk a little bit about it because I think a lot of students would love to do it but don’t know how to start, and I’d like to elaborate on what research is all about. Skip this section if you’re not interested.

The summer after my freshman year, I sent out cold-emails to many biology/computer science professors at local universities (some of the people I contacted were science-fair judges that I’d met while presenting at science fairs, so if you participate in science fairs you could try to get in touch with the judges you meet) who were working on topics I was interested in (Alzheimer’s Disease specifically, neuroscience in general). I included a brief introduction, some info about my interest, and information on previous science fair projects I’d done (it’s ok if you haven’t done any projects before, just go into sufficient detail on your interests/skills/thoughts). Maybe read some of the prof’s articles and research and formulate some thoughts (or come up with some research ideas, or even create a full-blown research plan you’d like to do) to share with them! At worst, you may not get to work in anyone’s lab, but you’ll probably get to have some cool and helpful conversations with people in your field of interest.

Alternatively, many programs such as RSI, MITES, TASP, SSP (summer science program) etc. can get you involved in research via a more structured and less arbitrary process. Here are a few more thorough lists: list 1, list 2, list 3

Additionally, here's a guide to science opportunities from students at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, an insane science magnet school. I looked at this like once in like freshman year lol but it might still help. Some of the advice is specific to the school (as it’s written by and for TJ students) but much of it is highly applicable. (this guide also does contain some good academic advice, so even if you’re not interested in STEM you may want to peruse it a little bit)

My lab research has been so so helpful — not only did I grow as a person, develop coding/biological thinking skills, ~learn how to learn~ (as cliche as it sounds) — but also I had access to TREMENDOUS opportunities.

If you do end up getting to do lab research, know that it’ll be hard work (a running theme of this post). You’ll hit many walls and often feel discouraged, stupid, and uncertain. There may be summers where you’re stuck in an office coding/stuck in a lab pipetting all day while all your friends are out having fun (speaking from experience). Stick with it, and remember how lucky the opportunity is. If you persevere — if you keep trying — you will, at the very very least, experience tremendous personal growth.

A recommendation of a few resources and programs (incredibly non-exhaustive): I reached out to Phillip Compeau, who does a lot of amazing computational biology education work at Carnegie Mellon University. I highly recommend checking out his work, including his book, courses, and open online education resources, if you’re at all interested in computer science, biology, or computational biology. Even if you’re not interested in those things. His work is awesome.

He helps run Carnegie Mellon University’s Pre-College Program in Computational Biology. I didn’t participate in this program myself, but it’s very cool and I definitely recommend it if you’re interested. Additionally, check out the UPMC Hillman Academy if you’re interested in research. It’s competitive but requires no previous research experience and is free and very fun! I participated in this program and know lots of other people who did, and I highly highly recommend it. 

Other extracurriculars and general EC advice (EC = extracurricular)

In general it’s good to commit fully to any ECs you choose to do rather than spread yourself thin and do a mediocre/uncommitted job at many ECs. Prioritize having fun and having unique experiences. Also, if you’re in a leadership position, you should prioritize concrete achievements (e.g. doubled club membership, fundraised xyz amount, talked to local legislator on xyz issue) rather than stuff that just sounds good but has no real substance. 

So if you find that you don’t enjoy an EC, don’t just continue because it’s “prestigious”. Strive to a.) do your very best at the ECs you do, b.) spend as much time as you need on them to do well (while NOT allowing them to infringe on your mental health, academics, life etc.), c.) do as much concrete stuff as possible via ECs, d.) MOST IMPORTANTLY actually enjoy them!! Gain something genuine from your activities, that’s the whole point. Just try to do stuff that you think is cool, you feel passionate about, and that will make an impact/difference in your community. (and some programs, like the she++ #include fellowship and NCWIT aspireIT can help you with community outreach!)

And don’t underestimate the possibility of getting very cool experiences from random opportunities. For example, I attended a few local council meetings last summer over zoom and ended up doing lots of local politics stuff, which I found that I really enjoyed and actually ended up writing an essay about.

Many colleges offer paid pre-college programs. I would not recommend doing these unless you’re truly interested in the subject and specific activities, content, and instruction of the program. Doing a paid program at XYZ university alone will likely not increase your chances of admission there.

Several lists of extracurriculars, awards, etc across a variety of disciplines - sourced from reddit

extremely important note: A lot of ECs have certain lurking prerequisites: lots of time, parents willing+able to drive you around, potentially $$$ etc. So they may not be accessible to everyone.

If you’re someone who (for example) spends lots of time (even just a few hours a week) taking care of siblings/other family members, or doing chores at home, or working to support yourself/your family, or you’re generally in any situation where you don’t have access to “fancy”/unique/whatever extracurriculars (or you simply don’t want to do those ECs), just remember that you can write about anything (including childcare responsibilities, literally any jobs, etc.) on your college apps.

Write all those things in your activities list and, if you feel that these activities are an important part of your life and you’d want to talk about them, go into more detail about these parts of your life in your essays. Don’t devalue your own hard work!!! I’m probably not the best person to talk to regarding more advice in this vein, so check out the resources on r/applyingtocollege for more in-depth advice.

Academic advice

My biggest advice is to try your hardest to find interest, joy, and excitement in each subject you take, and aim for true understanding rather than just superficially good test results (obvi, you need to work v hard to do this). Not only will this help you vibe better with teachers and do well in classes, it will lead to an overall far better, easier, and more fun school experience, and a more fun life. After all, you’re spending like 7 hours a day in class (plus even more on HW), so you may as well try to enjoy it and get something out of it.

Finish your homework as soon as you get home (maybe after a snack). You will be tired, but push yourself. It makes a difference. I used to be REALLY bad in this regard (i’d come home, waste time for hours, then work extremely late into the night) and found that I just had to brute-force push myself to work and do whatever it took to avoid distractions. 

Don’t try too hard with teachers in hopes of grubbing for rec letters (it’s gross and a bad use of your time + mental energy). Just try to build a genuine connection to the subject, show a genuine interest in doing well in the class and IMPROVING (no matter whether you think you’re already doing well or not), and ask your teacher for help when you need it. Additionally, you could maybe share things with your teacher outside of class (e.g. articles related to class content, even tangentially, that you find interesting; also, share stuff about your individual projects that you think they’d be interested in). You’ll get to have some really interesting and fun conversations! In short, treat teachers like the interesting, dedicated, human beings that they are and try to learn as much as you can, and have fun doing it. (Does not apply if your teacher is a truly terrible person, but lots of teachers are unappreciated. Try to find out whether your teacher is actually bad or is just unappreciated.)

Some colleges recommend taking AP courses in core subjects (English, Math, History, Science) and getting at least up to calc BC. AP courses are not (at least, you really shouldn’t consider them to be) a status symbol or something that makes you “better” than everyone else. Take AP courses for actual reasons: bc it fits with the major you’re thinking of pursuing, bc you want the challenge and feeling of accomplishment, because you actually enjoy and want to learn more about the subject!!!

Beyond that take whatever course you want. As I stated before, enjoyment and learning are the main things. So if there’s a course you really want to take and it’s not AP, don’t let that stop you from taking it!! For example, I took a linear algebra course (non AP) in senior year. I probably could’ve replaced it with an extra AP, but I had so much fun in that course and truly enjoyed it. If I had sprung for an extra AP credit — in favor of “status,” bragging rights, or misperception that it’d help my college apps — I might’ve had less fun and missed out on a wonderful experience that would give me a good foundation for future college classes. AP classes are not enough to ensure admission into any college.

AP EXAMS: Try to get 5s in those AP exams, only because it will help for college credit. 5s are more important if it’s an AP class that aligns with your intended major/ECs/interests. Fiveable is a good resource to help with that.

Random note on productivity apps: I really like to schedule out my day in chunks using google calendar and I use Notion for my todo list. I schedule basically everything in Google Calendar. Whenever I start a task (or a bit before) I put a block into Google Calendar of however long I estimate the task will take, then when I’m done I adjust the block to reflect how much time I spent on it. It’s very helpful for organizing your time and for looking back and seeing how you spent your time. It also helps you find out how long you take to finish certain tasks, which is very helpful. Finally, it encourages you (and gives you some extra motivation) to complete whole tasks in large blocks, which I find more manageable than spread-out work. I also use the app Block + Focus as a combination website block/pomodoro timer, as well as the Forest app (on stopwatch mode) and the Self Control app. Finally, I keep my phone in another room when I work.

Standardized tests - FOCUS ON THESE IN JUNIOR YEAR

TBH standardized testing kind of depends on which schools you’re applying to. For example, if you’re just applying to all UCs don’t bother as they’re test BLIND (e.g. they will THROW OUT TESTS even if you send them). Most schools are test OPTIONAL (so test RECOMMENDED to be as competitive as possible). I’d advise getting tests out of the way in junior year or senior summer/early senior autumn (which is tbh cutting it close). Trust me, college app season is stressful enough even without SAT grinding!!!

Aim for a 1550+ for most “”””top schools.””” (not the end of the world if you don’t get a 1550+ — there are way more important things in life — but some colleges consider it important) If you start out with a relatively low score (e.g., for SAT below 1400s — remember this is still great for the vast majority of good schools) maybe try a prep course, or for a cheaper or free route, a prep book (cheaper) or Khan Academy review of concepts (free) (I personally liked Khan Academy a lot for skill-building). 

With some grinding on that, you should be able to hit the “law-of-diminishing-returns” point, at which extra practice will result in ever more minimal improvement. At this point, if you’re not getting to your goal score, I’d advise starting to work very hard on practice tests, at least one per weekend, starting a few months before your scheduled test. If it’s summer and you have time, try to even do a test every day or every other day as it gets closer to your scheduled exam. Leave a few days right before the exam free for relaxation, though. Very important: After each practice test, look at what you got wrong and figure out why!!! (you can even order a list of answers from your official standardized test score sittings, I’d advise doing so if you can)

r/SAT and r/ACT has plenty of free practice tests for you to use, including the legal college board-released tests and tests from more… questionably obtained sources lol. Get out a spreadsheet and schedule which tests you will take on which days.

Your PSAT matters. In junior year it really matters for national merit, but think of the freshman and sophomore PSATs as good practice and do maybe 1-2 SAT practice tests before those PSATs. (for junior year PSAT maybe do a few more SAT practice tests; treat it like an actual SAT)

SAT vs. ACT? I took both, studying and grinding for both will of course improve your skill and endurance across the board (and tbh will probably improve your performance in school). Take one of each IN YOUR JUNIOR YEAR (again, don’t waste those precious practice tests) and see which one you vibe with more.

Keeping sane

I hope that this advice, taken together, will assure a high-school experience in which you work hard but also have a lot of fun doing it. Do things for genuine reasons: let me clarify that taking rigorous classes, working hard on extracurriculars that make a difference in your community, and doing things you truly enjoy are not valuable because “genuine interest = better essays.” These things should first and foremost make you happy!!! If you find yourself continually unhappy and burnt out (NOT the same as, like, feeling tired because you had to stay up doing boring work), don’t be afraid to vent to a friend, seek therapeutic help, or totally pivot your direction. This was the case for me trying to pursue robotics and orchestra in middle school; I made the wise choice to stop both activities, and it was a really good decision. Your mental health and life is way more important than any activity and for that matter any college.

Things like therapy can help with the mental health issues and pressure that can result from the seemingly relentless competition of high school (plus lots of other fun unhealthy thinking patterns).

Most importantly, divest from the idea that you need to get into a ““good school”” to do well. Stop spending mental energy thinking about how to get into whichever college in the future; start spending mental energy thinking about how to have fun, work hard, learn stuff, and have a good life in the present!!!

ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT COLLEGE IS A MEANS TO AN END. It’s no longer impressive to say you got into Harvard the instant you step on campus. And there’s only so far a school “name” can get you (really, not that far at all). The opening paragraphs of this post, where I discuss that, is one of the most important things you can keep in mind.

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I hope this helps you! Feel free to send me your questions, comments, etc. or add on with your own advice. This definitely isn’t a “definitive guide” and DEFINITELY won’t fit every situation. Just wanted to give my take on the subject. Take as much of this post as is helpful for you and leave what doesn’t work. Finally, again — feel free to DM me and I can try to help you find more specific resources for your situation, or maybe direct you to some places where you can good advice.

- Amulya

[studyiish]

sunday, may 17, 2020 | 2/4 ap exams in the bag! studying for bio on monday :)

i hope you all are doing well and staying safe ♡ that’s way more important than any studying and should be your top priority. i just wanted to share a technique that may or may not help you:

my favorite (re?)studying method that i’ve found is to annotate notes. (here is the video where i learned this technique. i love love love her channel, please check it out!) i made lots of notes over the year because that’s how i learn best, but imo it’s really difficult and time consuming to make new study guides, because not only do i have to look at my old notes and copy that, but also look at videos, etc. for new content...it just doesn’t seem helpful when i already put so much work into my notes, and only set aside a day to study (lol). the solution? note annotation.

i’ve been adapting it for my ap exam studying by watching videos (bozeman science >>>) and making new notes on top of my old notes from class. in these notes, i reinforce my old notes and add new content that i didn’t get in the first time around! this technique has also helped me decide which concepts i know really well, and which to improve on. i hope it helps you!

good luck to y’all!! i’m rooting for you!!

[studyiish]

december 11, 2019 | i’m sorry that i’ve been so inactive! here are some bio notes from september, back when i had motivation to make cute headers haha :) taking notes is so so useful, especially in a class where there’s a lot of things to keep track of (like bio). i definitely plan to be more active; i’ll be posting more soon! excited to get back in the swing of things :)

[studyiish]

august 29, 2019 | hi everyone!! i started my junior year about a week ago and i’m so pumped to return to studyblr! i’ve been mostly reblogging stuff over the summer, so i’m super excited to start posting original content. i’m excited to challenge myself over the school year in new ways, and i hope i can motivate you to do the same! 

[studyiish]

august 30, 2019 | some bio notes!! i’m really happy w how these turned out lol :)

[studyiish]

may 4, 2019 | some slightly old physics notes :’) so many exciting things are happening lately and i’m really looking forward to sharing them w y’all so stay tuned! also: congrats to the senior class of 2019!!! so so proud of all of you no matter what next steps you’re taking, and so excited to see all the amazing things you’re going to do!

[studyiish]

feb 16, 2019 | hey everyone!!! here are some physics notes. so great to get back into the swing of things — my second semester just started so i have entirely new classes! how are you guys??

[studyiish]

jan 11, 2019 | WOW it’s been so long since i last posted!! i’m back though and ready to tackle the new year! here are some notes from the test that i just took today — it’s the last test before the final, time flies so fast!

[studyiish]

may 20, 2019 | hi everyone. this post is more than a little abnormal for me, but as finals/exam season starts to ramp up, i thought i would post this picture. I have a chem quiz coming up tomorrow and this is my unfiltered study environment and my notes (i actually cleaned it up a little bit for this picture haha). i’m posting this picture as a reminder that effective studying is paramount no matter what it looks like for you and if that doesn’t include cute notes or super organized study setups, that is ok!!!! for me, this is effective. please don’t feel bad if you compare yourself to staged, idealized studyblr pictures. most of the time, I myself don’t live up to that. i post photos of my notes alone when they look good to showcase something i’m proud of and to hopefully provide motivation and inspiration. but this is where I study on a day-to-day basis, and I felt that it’s really important to show that too. 

[studyiish]

091618 ; 12/100 days of productivity

wow catch me having a productive day??? worked on a presentation, finished up some math homework, studied for chem???? not to jinx it but i feel ready to tackle the week!!

♬ ; mariners apartment complex - lana del rey

[studyiish]

091318 ; 9/100 days of productivity

aaaah today was so productive but also very tiring! i’m starting a new club in my school for stem outreach, and i decided to create the poster today,,, from scratch,,, entirely by myself,,, yeah. good decisions y’all! (even so, i’m pretty happy with how it turned out!!)

♬ ; machinist - japanese breakfast

[studyiish]

092718 ; 21/100 days of productivity

so i took my two tests today and !! ya girl got a 100% on her chem test! i think it was a fairly easy test but still hey!

(also the good place s3 premiere has me shaking?? that was EXACTLY what i needed)

♬ ; ivy - sales

[studyiish]

091818 ; 14/100 days of productivity

y’all today was pretty productive and fun! i gave a presentation and i think it went pretty well :-) but i’m really excited because i have school off tomorrow!

♬ ; kod - j. cole

[studyiish]

090918 ; 5/100 days of productivity

i feel like i’ve definitely gotten out of my slump over the past few days, and actually been productive! i sent some emails, read a really interesting paper, went to the gym, and finally, made my first ever (unfinished) mind map for my upcoming math exam. good luck for the upcoming week everyone!

[studyiish]

092418 ; 18...?/100 days of productivity? i dont know if this counts?

sorry for the radio silence over the weekend y’all! i was just really busy and wanted to recharge a bit :’) anyway, i’m so excited for the good place s3 premiere on thursday omg!! i have a bunch of tests and stuff that day, so i’m probably gonna treat myself when i get home skfdslfd

♬ ; met before - chairlift