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Managing Public Speaking Anxiety

3d human give a lecture behind a podium

We all have to present our work to others at some point in our graduate careers, and this commitment to public speaking can lead to real anxiety for some individuals. I know this because I am in that group. I have been so anxious before a 12 minute talk that my hands actually went numb from the terror, my pulse started racing, and I ended up speaking so fast that my 12 minute talk became 9 minutes, tops. That leaves a lot of room for awkward silence.

So how do we learn to manage our public speaking anxiety? Some would suggest simple hacks: use confident body language, speak slowly and in a deeper tone, or my least favorite “picture your audience in their underwear,” which is most definitely the LAST thing I want to think about during a talk. While these hacks can be helpful for people with minor issues they are by no means sufficient if you are experiencing serious anxiety prior to public speaking events.

You might have public speaking or performance anxiety if you have experienced any of the following before giving a talk:

  • trembling
  • sweating
  • clammy hands
  • rapid heart rate
  • shortness of breath
  • muscle tension,
  • blushing
  • confusion or losing your train of thought
  • upset stomach
  • shaky voice
  • dizziness

At this point I think just about everyone can say yes to experiencing at least one of these prior to public speaking. Thankfully, since my numb-hands-speedtalk days I’ve learned some new ways to manage public speaking anxiety.

Know your stuff: This is the most important part for dealing with anxiety related to graduate level and professional presentations. Minor hacks such as puffing up like a fish to project confidence and lowering your voice will not help you if you don’t know the material. This happens to me on a regular basis: I do just fine presenting my own work (which I know) but the moment I have to present for journal club (where one student reviews a recently published paper in depth in front the of the department) I start getting anxious because I am presenting work I am unfamiliar with.

Make sure that you give yourself plenty of time to go over your talk before hand. One trick that has helped me immensely is to structure my slides so that the end of each slide leads directly to the next. By building in and practicing transitions you are much less likely to get lost, and your audience will appreciate having a cohesive narrative in your talk.

Notes aren’t just for class: Even when you know your project inside and out it is still good to have some form of notes on hand–whether it is a general outline of your talk, important sources and citations, or specific technical details of experiments. You can do this the old fashioned way and have printed notes, but I recommend becoming familiar with the joy that is presenter view on Powerpoint. If you don’t know how to use it I highly recommend this approach as it allows you to have your notes for each slide displayed for you, but not your audience. However, not all presentation venues are set up for presenter view (a lot of conferences are like this, unfortunately) so keep a hard copy of your notes handy just in case.

Get (non-threatening) feedback: Next time you have a big anxiety-inducing speaking event coming up (thesis defense, anyone?) try running through your presentation for a small group of fellow students, professors, and other coworkers and get their feedback afterwards. This is an enlightening experience as sometimes what you are the most worried about no one notices, or you find out that you have a distracting tic that you never noticed.

Managing the anxiety response: Sometimes no amount of preparation can prevent your innate flight response when faced with public speaking. If you can’t stop your innate responses you can learn to manage them. Your audience has no idea your hands are numb, and no matter how bad the talk goes you will not be chased down with pitchforks.

When you feel yourself starting to get anxious remember that these feelings, while very much real, do not mean that you cannot give a great talk. The trick is learning to be separate from your anxiety by acknowledging it and allowing yourself to have that feeling, then deciding that even with the feeling you can move forward. It can take some practice learning how not to be overwhelmed by these feelings, but eventually you will be able to acknowledge them and move past them in order to accomplish your goal of giving a good presentation.

Graduate School Papers and You

Graduate study is all about writing, as the thesis or dissertation is the ticket to graduation. However, lots of writing occurs well before the thesis and dissertation are begun. Most graduate courses require students to write term papers. Many beginning graduate students are accustomed to writing papers and approach them in ways similar to undergraduate papers. As students advance and near the end of their coursework, they often look ahead towards the next task (such as preparing for comprehensive exams) and may begin to resent writing papers, feeling that they have already proven themselves as competent students.

Both of these approaches are misguided. Papers are your opportunity to advance your own scholarly work and receive guidance to enhance your competence.

Take Advantage of Term Papers

How do you take advantage of papers? Be thoughtful. Choose your topic carefully. Each paper you write should do double duty – complete a course requirement and further your own development. Your paper topic should meet the course requirements, but it should also relate to your own scholarly interests. Review an area of literature related to your interests. Or you might examine a topic that you are interested in but unsure whether it is complex enough to study for your dissertation. Writing a term paper about the topic will help you determine if the topic is broad and deep enough to fulfill a large project and will also help you determine if it will sustain your interest. Term papers offer a place for you to test ideas but also to make progress on your current research interests.

Double Duty

Each assignment you write should do double duty: help you advance your own scholarly agenda and get feedback from a faculty member. Papers are opportunities to get feedback about your ideas and writing style. Faculty can help you improve your writing and help you learn how to think like a scholar.

Take advantage of this opportunity and don’t simply seek to finish.

That said, take care in how you plan and construct your papers. Attend to ethical guidelines of writing. Writing the same paper over and over or submitting the same paper for more than one assignment is unethical and will get you into a great deal of trouble. Instead, the ethical approach is to use each paper as an opportunity to fill in a gap in your knowledge.

Consider a student in developmental psychology who is interested in adolescents who engage in risky behaviors such as drinking and drug use. While enrolled in a course in neuroscience, the student might examine how brain development influences risky behavior. In a course on cognitive development, the student might examine the role of cognition in risky behavior. A personality course might push the student to look at personality characteristics that influence risk behavior. In this way, the student advances his or her scholarly knowledge while completing course requirements. The student, therefore, examine multiple aspects of his or her general research topic. Will this work for you? At least some of the time. It will better in some courses than others, but, regardless, it is worth a try.

15 Things to do This Spring Break as a Grad Student

In March or April of each year, grad students get a week off from suffering.

Or, at least, a week off from having to attend classes or undergo campus obligations. Multiple ways to spend this week exist, some more productive or fun than others. But a week-long break in grad student time is like a year in everyone else’s time. Every moment must be used or cherished. Here are 15 things grad students may want to do this spring break.

1.) During this week off, perhaps you should avoid intellectual anything. Seriously, just watch funny movies, do mindless activities and avoid friends who can’t seem to go an hour without philosophical or political conversation. True vacation!

2.) On the contrary, you could use this week to work on your thesis or dissertation. With dissertations consisting of often a couple hundred or more pages, according to a chart by FlowingData.com, and a thesis being close to or half of that, you should probably get on that sooner rather than later.

3.) There are plenty of music festivals go on during March and April, from Austin’s South by Southwest to Iowa City’s Mission Creek Festival. Check out MusicFestivalJunkies.com for a seemingly comprehensive list and get your rock on this spring break.

4.) Let’s not sugarcoat it: Grad students are often poor. So why not use this spring break to earn a few extra bucks? Work a job, do some odd jobs or pick up an extra freelance gig. Do you and your wallet a favor!

5.) Go home this spring break. Give your parents a hug, your dog a pat on the head and your friends a high five. Breathe in the nostalgia and relax.

6.) Go travel! USA TODAY posted a useful list of affordable places to travel for spring break, including Portland, Ore. and Vermont. Roam free!

7.) You could play catch up this spring break. That is, if you’re behind. Maybe you’re not as far as you’d like on your research or a class. Perhaps work on it during the day and have fun in the evenings.

8.) Spring break’s a fine time to search for summer internships, fellowships or jobs. Browse InternQueen.com, Craigslist and other sites and get searching. Or ask around, go to networking events and sniff out opportunities.

9.) It doesn’t have to be how MTV showed it in the ’90s, but you could go to the beach during spring break. Not everywhere is cold. StudentUniverse.com has a great list of spring break beaches on its website, from Miami to Cancun. Get in the water!

11.) Keep your mind active this spring break, by visiting museums, watching documentaries and reading for fun. This contradicts number one on this list, but hey, going mindless for a week isn’t for everybody.

12.) Hang out with your friends who are either undergraduates in college or not college students at all. You surely know some of these people. You know, the types who don’t have a 300-page research paper lurking. See how they operate. Adopt their possibly-less-stressed-than-you attitude and breathe deep breaths.

13.) As a grad student, you may be so busy that you have been missing out on your own city. So stick around for the break, check out events and walk the downtown.

14.) As Lindsey Mayfield pointed out in a 2012 article for US News & World Report, “By spring break, you’ll probably have a good idea of what the rest of the semester will bring.” Use that foreknowledge this spring break to prepare for the rest of the semester. Reflect on the past few months and start planning ahead. A bumpy ride until May is probably ahead of you.

15.) For goodness’ sakes, don’t be like the grad students in a recent Late Night with Jimmy Fallonskit, who do things like enter wet argyle sweater contests and pass out in their bouillabaisse after drinking one too many glasses of Riesling on spring break. Unless that’s your thing.

Spring break as a grad student may not be as stress-free as it was when you were an undergraduate student and surely nowhere near stress-free as it was during high school or grade school. But a week off is a week off and you can use that time however you wish, even if it means indulging in more school work or working a job.

3 Tips for Conquering Midterm Stress

They say that the first step in overcoming a problem is admitting that you HAVE a problem. So before you can deal with your midterm stress, you have to recognize it for what it is.

You might assume that you have some kind of long-lasting virus (fatigue, stomach trouble, heavy sweating) or that you’ve developed a neuromuscular disorder (headaches, a twitching eyelid). But it’s just good old-fashioned stress (unless it’s not; if symptoms persist, you should see an actual doctor). So how can you handle it while still juggling the responsibilities of projects, reports, and other obligations like family and work?

1. Delegate

Yes, you’re in grad school, so money is probably tight. But sometimes it’s worth spending a little cash to get some peace of mind. So instead of trying to handle school AND the demands of daily life (I.e., keeping yourself and possibly others clean, fed, and clothed), outsource some of those chores!

If you have kids, a couple hours of peace to study or relax might make the money you have to pay a sitter the best $20 or $30 you’ve ever spent. Order takeout and drop off your laundry for someone else to do. All of these things require some expenditures, but consider them an investment in your sanity.

2. Look out for #1

Sometimes, what you really need to do is take a nap, go for a run, or sit quietly in a room staring at a blank wall. Even though midterms can be hectic, don’t be afraid to be a little bit greedy with your time, and allocate a chunk of it to maintaining your own mental health. Flight attendants have it right: you have to put on your own oxygen mask before you can help others.

3. Don’t be afraid to look for support.

Sometimes, self-care isn’t enough, and there is absolutely no shame in that. Know what resources your school makes available to grad students and take advantage of them; they might include stress-management seminars, individual counseling, or other options. These services are there to help. Let them.

Class Participation in Grad School

In college, students are responsible for their own education. Most professors spend a considerable amount of time preparing lessons, activities, and assignments for classes, but the responsibility for embracing and learning the material lies on students. Students who take responsibility for their own education—who come to class on time and avoid absences, pay attention and participate in class, and complete assignments with integrity—are not only more likely to enjoy their classes but  may also be more likely to succeed in the classroom and in future academic endeavors. The following are ideas for taking responsibility for your own education.

Class Participation Tip #1: Come to Class and Arrive on Time

Arriving to class on time and avoiding absences are two easy things you can do to take responsibility for your own education. Clearly, the more you are in class, the less you will miss, and the more you will learn. Following are three central rules for attending class and arriving on time:

  1. Arrive a few minutes before the start of class. Be prepared (books and materials on the desk, ready to go) by the time the teacher starts class.
  2. Do not ask questions that are not pertinent to that day’s lecture or materials during class. Wait until the end of class, after class, or during your professor’s office hours to ask questions about unrelated material, upcoming assignments (unrelated to current material), missed work, or other personal needs.
  3. If you miss a class, check your syllabus to see what you may have missed and talk to classmates to get assignments, class notes, and other missed information. If the syllabus and your classmate don’t offer the information you need, visit your professor during his or her office hours. Do not use everyone’s class time to figure out what you missed or to catch up on missed materials. More importantly, do your best to avoid absences and to attend every single class. Teachers use class time to teach material to students. Typically, there is no amount of reading and “catching up” that can make up for the information that is taught to students during class. Assume all class sessions are important and there is never an ideal time to miss class.

Class Participation Tip #2: Pay Attention and Participate in Class

Contrary to popular belief, class time is not a time to sit back, relax, and allow your professors to fill your brain with fascinating material. Class time is a time for you, as a student, to actively listen to your teacher and classmates; engage with the teacher, your classmates, and the material; and squeeze the most you can out of the precious few moments you spend with an expert in the field—your teacher.

The following are suggestions for developing the skills to pay attention and participate in class:

  1. Put away your cellphone, computer, and any other electronic devices. If you must use your computer to take notes, turn off the wireless internet feature. Unless your class involves electronic or online work, those contraptions will only serve to distract you from the work at hand. Strive to stay focused on what your teacher and classmates are saying and refuse the temptation to communicate with the outside world during class
  2. Sit close to the front of the room, raise your hand often, and take notes. The more active you are, the more likely you will be to engage with the material. Avoid the temptation (and believe me, it will be strong on certain days) to sit back and “listen” without participating. The simple actions of raising your hand, moving your eyes from person to person as the teacher and your classmates talk, and exercising your voice will help keep your brain awake, alert, and interested.
  3. Actively listen to what your professor’s says. In many classes, you will be required to copy down notes and listen to your teacher. If this is the case in any of your classes, ask your teacher to make his or her notes available online. Then, in class, give the majority of your attention to your teacher. Take notes based on the lecture and then correlate those notes with printouts of the notes your teacher puts online and the notes you take while reading and completing your homework.
  4. Think critically in and out of class. Do so especially while participating in class and while doing your homework. Much graduate school curricula depends on critical thinking—use class time and homework assignments as opportunities for improving your ability to think critically, and then offer your thoughts to make class discourse more rich, meaningful, and vibrant.
  5. Be prepared for class. This will be discussed in more detail in the next section. For now, know the degree to which you engage with your homework correlates to the degree to which you can effectively participate in class. Do not waste your teachers’ and classmates’ time by coming to class poorly prepared.

Class Participation Tip #3: Complete Assignments with Integrity and Prepare for Each Class  

Teachers use in-class assignments, reading assignments, and homework to give students additional time to work with class material. Completing your assignments with rigor and integrity is one of the best (if not only) ways to comprehend class material and to be prepared for class. That means avoiding plagiarism in your papers and getting a tutor if needed.

The following is a list of ways to complete your assignments with integrity and to prepare for class:

  1. Read and comprehend the class syllabus. Make sure you have a clear idea of what is expected of you during the semester. Write down important dates (assignment due dates, etc.) on a calendar and plan your work accordingly.
  2. Set aside a realistic amount of time for completing assignments and do not procrastinate. You will likely be incredibly busy during school—therefore, it is very important to get a head start on all of your assignments and to follow a realistic plan for getting them done. As soon as you receive an assignment, schedule your work.
  3. Take notes while reading for class. Look for answers to the “big five” while reading: who, what, where, when, and how, and take notes of answers for each. In addition, do some critical thinking of the readings prior to class. Then, while in class, strive to learn something new from your classmates and to offer interesting insights you derived from doing your homework. This also gives you a good chance to come up with questions you can ask your professor during class.
  4. Complete all of your assignments, even if you don’t understand them. Homework is designed to teach you something—simply by working with it, even if you don’t fully understand it, you will learn something.
  5. If you don’t understand your assignments, or feel as though you are falling behind, ask for assistance. This means meeting with a tutor or your professor outside of class and reviewing course materials. Regardless of which graduate degree you decide to puruse, you are not expected to already know everything. Rather, you are expected to take responsibility for learning. If you’re lost, confused, and falling behind, ask for help immediately.
  6. Work with a tutor on difficult assignments or materials with which you struggle. If you continue to struggle, consider meeting with your college or university’s disabilities center to see if you have an undiagnosed learning disability. Learning disabilities, whether slight, moderate, or severe, can have a huge impact on students’ education and can often times be easily dealt with if diagnosed correctly. Attending graduate school with a disability, while more challenging, is still possible.

The Commonality Between James Bond and a Grad Student

Grad students and Agent 007 might just be another two contradicting concepts. But wait; let’s see what they really have in common. Let me start with 5 of the things I can think about as of the moment:
1. Both are knowledgeable on lots of things. We all know that James Bond’s character seems like a Mr. Know-It-All. He knows something about geography, politics, government, culture, and even food and literature. A grad student, as my former professor once said “must know something about everything and a lot about one thing”. I bet that’s a challenge for every grad student, to comprehend every topic that concerns his craft. However, there should be one field he/she should be an expert of.
2. Both have an arsenal of gadgets/tools. Blame it on Dr. Q. Double “O” 7 has submersible cars, mini blowtorches, miniature cameras, state-of-the-art communication systems, whatever you can think of. A grad student on the other hand has all the necessary tools for analysis. Statistical and mathematical tools, software tools, and other analytical tools needed for decision making and problem solving in their field of expertise.
3. Both knows how to improvise and innovate. We can just admire how our favorite spy agent can get out of every dangerous situation. Give all the credit to his resourcefulness and quick thinking. A grad student knows well how to improvise too. In the field of research, they are known to introduce tools or methods in their own field which were taken from other fields. A business analytical tool perhaps can be used in the field of environment or a social research tool is used in the field of engineering. These are just examples of how a grad student innovates and improvises in order to further his/her field of knowledge.
4. Both work even on vacation. If we see James Bond in a beach, or swimming pool, or a bar in a hotel, we all know he’s not on vacation, he’s on a mission. A grad student might also be seen in a resort or a hotel but inside that traveling bag you’ll see some lecture notes, or books, or a laptop with all the study materials in its hard disk. We all know what he’ll be doing whenever he finds the time.
5. Both sometimes don’t follow convention. Our special agent doesn’t care if his methods are acceptable or not as long as he gets good results in the end. Grad students are in the same way unconventional in such a way that they try to find new and fresh ideas in order to improve our understanding of the real world.
I hope it gives us the idea that a grad student’s life is as full of adventure as Agent 007 does. However, I do not claim that they are comparable in any way.

10 Best Tips for Success in Online College Classes

10 Best Tips For Success in Online College Classes

So, you’ve decided to take an online course. Maybe you’ve decided to take all of your classes online. There are certainly many great reasons for doing this. If your chosen school is to far away for you to attend in person, or your schedule requires more flexibility than on campus courses offer, online classes are a great alternative.

Unfortunately, many students begin taking online courses only to realize that it takes more time and effort than they expected. If you want to get the most out of your online, learning experience, check out the ten tips below.

  1. Start With a Solid Game Plan

Being prepared and knowing what to expect is key. When you receive your syllabus read it thoroughly. Mark important dates on your calendar. Pay special attention to any group meetings, test dates, supplies that you will need to pick up, and other important information.

Once you have that information, you can create a bit of a master schedule for the term. You can also set reminders for upcoming due dates, and plan extra study time when big projects will be hot and heavy.

  1. Don’t Miss Group Chats

Depending on the nature of the course you are taking, you might be required to participate in group chats, live discussions, or online lectures. Don’t underestimate the importance of these, and don’t skip them.

Because of the nature of online learning, it’s very difficult to catch up after you have missed out on important discussions. You might also find that instructors are much less likely to excuse missing a class that doesn’t require that you leave your home.

  1. Schedule Enough Time

Many students make the mistake of underestimating the amount of time they will need to dedicate to each online class that they take. This is largely because there is a bit of a perception that online courses are easier than their on campus counterparts.

The truth is, you will need to put in just as much time, and in some cases more. Here are a few suggestions for calculating the amount of study time you should plan on for an online course.

  1. Use Technology And Online Resources to Help You Succeed

Here is some good news! There are a huge number of websites, apps, and other tech based solutions that you can use to ensure you complete your online courses successfully. Here are just a few that many students use:

  • Evernote: For taking and organizing notes, sharing with others, and organizing projects.
  • Google Docs: A free alternative for MS Office and other that is accessible anywhere.
  • Review: review of the most popular services by customers
  • Khan Academy: Online learning to help you master a variety of subjects
  • StudyBlue Flashcards: Enhance your studying by creating sets of flashcards
  1. Find a Comfortable Place to Work

Before classes begin, try to identify a couple of places where you can comfortably work. Your environment should be physically comfortable and well lit. You’ll also want to make sure that you can feel comfortable participating fully in your class.

For example, the coffee shop down the street might be perfect for working on homework and doing research. However, it might not be the best place to take a class that involves video conferencing.

  1. Remember That Office Hours Are For You as Well

Keep your instructor’s contact information on hand, and jot down their office hours. If you have questions, or simply want to introduce yourself, call or send an email. The fact that you may not ever meet your instructor in person does not mean that they aren’t willing to help you outside of class.

  1. Get Help When You Need It

Another one of the dangers of taking online classes is that it’s easy to convince yourself that you can catch up when you fall behind, or that you will eventually understand a topic that is difficult for you. When that happens, you might need more help than you can get on campus.

Hiring a tutor is always an option. You could even consider joining or creating a study group. If things get too difficult, you may find that it is your writing assignments that are holding you back. Fortunately, there are services that help you polish up your writing with editing, proofreading, and other help. If you use this option, do your research.

  1. Take Some Time to Get Familiar With The Tools And Websites You’ll be Using

Before you can begin your class, you may be required to take some of the following steps:

  • Create an Online Account
  • Download Materials
  • Install Software or an App
  • Learn to Navigate a New Website

Don’t make the mistake of waiting until the night before or the morning your new class begins to do all of this. Make sure that you get this done ahead of time so that you can identify any issues. If you wait until the last minute, university tech support may not be able to help you in time to get started on your first day.

  1. Consider Taking a Mix of Online And on Campus Courses

If you are able to, it can be a good idea to take both online and on campus classes. The online courses can help you to maximize your credit hours while allowing you to save gas or enjoy the other benefits of learning online.

On the other hand, if you mix in one or two campus based classes, you will be able to socialize with other students, get face time with your instructors, and enjoy some of the experiences you can only have by being on campus.

  1. Get Rid of Tempting Distractions

If you continually flip over to social media or play games when you should be focusing on your class, your grade will probably suffer. This is especially true if you are taking a class in real time. You’ll want to find a way to avoid these distractions.

One method is to download software that simply blocks access to apps or websites that could be distracting for you. All you have to do is indicate what you want to avoid and when.

Another option you have is to have one device that is ‘dedicated’ strictly for school, work, and household and personal management related tasks. If you have your games, social media apps, and other ‘fun’ things stored on an alternate device, you won’t have to worry about temptation.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the path to getting the most out of your online classes includes planning, self discipline, time management, and using all of the resources that are available to you. Hopefully the ten tips listed above will help you reach your goals.

5 Ways to Get Your First Internship in College

Internships are important

In this day and age, internships are not only encouraged, but they’ve also become a necessity. Working as an intern (most of the time without pay) will allow young students such as yourself the chance to dip their toes into the workplace and experiment with different careers. This can not only help you gain some much-needed working experience but will also aid you in making connections that will help you in the long run.

If you’re interested in getting your first internship offer while you’re in college, here are a few easy tips and tricks.

Tips and strategies

  1. Get to work on your cover letter and resume. This is the first thing a company will see about you, so it’s an important part of the selection process. A good cover letter and a cleverly designed resume can give you a leg up and put you in the “to interview” pile.
  2. Create a blog or website. If you want to go the extra mile, you can create your online portfolio (depending on your career of choice it may be a necessity). This will let potential employers get to know you and your work better. In turn, you can use analytics tools like leadfeeder to keep an eye on which companies are interested in you.
  3. Do your research. If there’s one particular company you’re hoping to land an internship in, it’s wise to do your research. Get to know as much of the company as possible (including their products/services) so that when it comes the time to be interviewed you will certainly peak their interest and stand out from your competitors thanks to the knowledge and passion you show them.
  4. Get advice from people who know the game. Make an effort to talk to professors, parents, other students, and anyone you can think of who can give you insight and help you prepare for the interviewing process. First impressions are important, especially during an interview process, so arming yourself with knowledge will help you be more confident when you’re at that stage.
    They can also help you get your foot in the door if they know someone who may be looking for an intern for the summer.
  5. Apply everywhere. It’s better to be safe than sorry. Much like college applications, it’s advisable to have plenty of options when it comes to internships, even if you already have a place in mind you want to go to. Spread your resume and cover letter far and wide to better your odds. Be proactive, search for listings on company websites, and don’t be afraid to explore choices outside of your chosen career. There is no better time for experimenting.

Conclusion

When it comes to landing an internship, there are several things to keep in mind, from your cover letter and resume to doing your research and even acing your interview. I know it may sound daunting to go through that process, but really, it’s not that hard. As long as you put in the work and make an effort, you’ll be landing your first intern position before you know it.

Life Hacks for Going Back to School After Winter Break

Winter break … it was fun while it lasted. Whether you were ready to escape your family and head back to college or you never wanted your vacation to end, all college students must face the fact that class is back in session.

So how can you make the transition a little bit easier? With some valuable life hacks paving your way!

Time to go back to college when…

Sleeping in, home cooking and hanging with the family—all are the positives that come with winter break. When the luster of all that starts to fade, you know it is time to pack up and head back to the dorms. Kate Zasowski compiled a quick life hacks list of “15 Signs You’re Ready To Go Back To College After Winter Break” in her buzzfeed.com post on January 18, 2014, to help you be sure when you’ve worn out your welcome with mom and dad. Here are the top five:

  • You start to feel weird in the shower if you aren’t wearing flip-flops.
  • “Some nights your dreams take place in your school’s library,” Zasowski wrote.
  • Sleeping in no longer seems as awesome as it did that first morning.
  • You called one of your parents “professor” at dinner.
  • Boredom has driven you to visit your old high school.

What to bring back from winter break

Life hacks 101—be smart and plan ahead. If you did this, you probably brought some things home from school at winter break that you no longer needed. But college students should also prepare for the rest of winter and their spring semester by knowing what to bring backto college. “The Top 10 Things to Bring Back With You From Winter Break” posted on hercampus.com by Heather Rinder on January 11, 2014, gave some recommendations:

  • Gifts and gift cards. Did you get some cool gifts for Christmas? Don’t forget to pack them to take back with you. Same with any gift cards you received. If you don’t have them, you can’t use them.
  • Winter weather gear. Maybe your college is located on the equator, but if not, you will probably need some clothes for colder temperatures.
  • Spring break attire. If you don’t plan on visiting home again before spring break, be sure to bring along some warm weather outfits, too—if you think you will be heading somewhere sunny.
  • Food from home. Your grandma’s homemade cookies never get old, do they? So stock up on your fave goodies for those days when you are missing home.

How to get back on track

Last, but certainly not least, once you have established you are ready to go back to college and have packed the essentials, college students need to know some life hacks for how to get readjusted to classes and college life in general. Think back to what you did at the start of fall semester, or follow Kaitlyn Taylor’s suggestions in “How To Get Back On Track After Winter Break” for collegehelper.com:

  • Eat right. Sticking with or renewing your efforts to consume a well-balanced diet, light on the junk food, heavy on the fruits and veggies, will help you stay healthy and focused in class.
  • Keep moving. Sure it may be cold outside, but make sure you keep up your exercise routine. It will help you combat stress.
  • Establish a routine. “It may be difficult to adjust to a new class schedule, but try your best to keep your body balanced by waking up, eating, and exercising around the same time every day,” Taylor wrote.
  • Have some goals. Think about what you would like to accomplish this semester. Maybe bumping up your GPA? Joining a campus group? Cutting back to one coffee a day?
  • Check the socializing. You’ve missed all your friends, but know when you have caught up enough, and don’t let yourself get behind in class because of too much socializing.

How to be a Better Reader

How to be a Better Reader

Take a trip to your local elementary school, and you’ll likely see one subject touted more than the rest on bulletin boards, classroom doors and motivational posters: reading. Reading is crucial to the scholastic success of grade schoolers, and even more so to college students.

Obviously, you know how to read. But do you read well? Here are some things to consider to improve your reading skill, comprehension and speed.

1. Do you really need to read it?
If you’re reading for a class, consider whether you really need to read each of the assigned texts. Some professors will call readings (and textbooks) “required” when the material will be completely covered in class or irrelevant to your performance in class.

This is not to say that all required reading is optional, or that optional reading isn’t edifying. In order to do your best at anything, you have to prioritize. Understanding which readings to focus on and which to skim or pass over can help you to learn better.

2. Mind your setting
Noise levels, visual distractions, friends, other people in general and even lighting can affect how much attention you are able to focus on reading. Everybody studies differently, and you know best what works for you. Try to match the difficulty, importance and retention of your text to the setting you intend to read it in.

3. Choose the right reading format
Today you can get most texts in multiple formats. The format you choose should be based on personal preference as well as what you have to do with the material.

For example, some people dislike reading ebooks because they remember material better if it is on a physical page. Other times, ebooks trump paper copies because they can be picked up anytime—in line, on the subway or during otherwise wasted time.

If you prefer the low-tech option so you can underline, highlight and write in the margins, keep that in mind when buying your textbooks at the beginning of the year. On the flip side, if you’re going to use your textbook for research papers or essays, it might be worth it to have the digital version so you can copy and paste quotes into your assignments.

4. Read actively
A mistake that people often make when reading less-than-invigorating material is being too passive. This causes lower comprehension and recall of material later.

If you’re reading something that is important (see step 1), make an effort to actively engage the material. For a textbook, this might be as simple as mentally answering the reflective questions throughout the chapter. For a literary work, analyzing things like plot, setting and character development as you go will help you discuss the work later. Whatever you’re reading, make sure you understand it as you go instead of realizing that you’re confused after plowing through a hundred pages.

5. Read often
Social media makes it easy to be well-read in your field. Take a few minutes to follow some reputable sources on Twitter, Facebook or even Pinterest and read the articles that catch your eye. This is great fodder for class discussions and papers, but also helps familiarize you with terminology and give you practice assessing the usefulness of different research.

The ability to read well is taken for granted at the college level. If your skills aren’t up to par or you’re looking to be a more efficient student, try these tips.

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