Tag Archives: academics

October 20, 2011

Studying Alone vs. Studying in Groups

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by Guest Blogger Laura H.

Studying alone and studying in a group both have their advantages and disadvantages. But what are the pros and cons of each?

The biggest downside to studying alone is that, well, you’re alone. A huge advantage of studying in a group is there are people around to push you through bouts of boredom or lack of inspiration when writing essays. Groups can also help you through particularly long nights of studying. If I know I have to study for more than 3 hours on one paper or test, I usually prefer to study in a group. That way, I am  able to ask those my classmates for help if I need it.

When studying, one should take at least a 5 or 10 minute break every hour. Use this time to stretch, watch a funny video on YouTube or go on a walk. It may be tempting to skip the study break and work for hours on end, but the small break every hour enables you to maintain purposeful focus for longer periods of time. Physically, your body needs a break as well; your brain will retain clarity with the break from the computer screen, and your back won’t tighten up from hours in the chair.

by Steven S.

While sitting with others can be helpful, studying alone is more advantageous when you have a very specific, deliberate task ahead of you and can’t afford to be interrupted. If, for example, you have a reading quiz in your 8 a.m. class and it’s 10 pm the night before, studying alone can help you focus on what you are reading..

Overall, the homework assignment or project may dictate with whom you work. It’s up to you to decide what’s best for your particular situation.

We value the diverse voices and fresh ideas that our guest bloggers bring to BookRenter. However, the ideas and opinions expressed in guest posts are strictly those of the post’s author and don’t necessarily reflect the ideas or opinions of BookRenter. The information in guest posts is often drawn from a variety of sources, and we count on our guest authors to verify and fact-check the content they post. BookRenter  makes no claims, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of guest post content or the suitability of the content for a specific purpose.

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December 7, 2010

Mike’s Top 3 Tips for Acing Exams

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By BookRenter Mike

In sports, it’s called the stretch run. That time of the year when the season is winding down, and the end is in sight. Yet even though the end is near, there is much work to be done to make the playoffs, win a championship, and say it’s been a successful year. As I endure the cold, harsh days of winter in Virginia, I have come to understand that as a student this is my stretch run. For me exams are not right around the corner, they are here. I’ve been to all my classes, I’ve gone to as many office hours as I can, and therefore the time for cramming is now! Hence, here are my top 3 tips for acing exams and feeling good during finals week.

by brianc

1. Make an Exam Schedule with the date and time of all of your exams/papers

This seems so easy to do in your head, but few people actually write down their exam times on a calendar or a piece of paper. It’s one thing to know when your exams will take place, but mapping out your schedule will improve your time management and help you find out when you should be resting versus studying. Highlight your hardest anticipated exam in order to make sure you have ample time to study because you don’t want to be caught flatfooted studying for two exams in one night when you’ve been resting the previous couple of days.

2. Break down a difficult exam into themes and important overarching topics

If by no fault of your own you find yourself stuck with only one night to study for an exam, I guarantee that you can still do very well on the exam. Often times, students will get overwhelmed if the subject matter seems complicated or if there is a lot of study material. Breaking down the subject matter into themes will help you understand the course better and help you hone in on what you do and don’t understand. Some professors may give you a study guide to help you identify these themes, but more often than not you’re on your own. Don’t worry though; important themes become clearer and clearer the more you immerse yourself in the subject matter.

3.     Rely on friends and classmates to motivate and push you to succeed

During finals week, students have a tendency to hole up and lock out the outside world until all of their finals are over. This is a terrible idea for many reasons, the #1 being that the absolute worst thing to do during finals is to change up your established routine. Final exams may count for more, but at the end of the day they are still just tests. Study in groups or pairs because often times teaching others or learning from peers will boost your understanding of the subject material. Plus, everyone tends to stress out during finals week and it always helps to have somebody nearby to keep you focused and on task. They may even have better notes than you!

They call it the stretch run because players and coaches have to stretch themselves to the limit in order to succeed. So get ready, it’s the educational stretch run, and it’s time to really push yourself. Have any good tips or advice on crushing exams? Feel free to share in the comments section below!

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November 2, 2010

Top 3 Articles: Dealing with Stress

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Written by BookRenter Mike

by Johan Larsson

Everybody always says college is a blur. It’s a whirlwind experience that is full of late night cram sessions, outrageous parties, and every once in a while the opportunity to storm the football field after a big win. Yet sometimes college can be incredibly stressful, as all of those 10-page papers and 3-hour exams can finally catch up to you. So what can you do to relieve that monumental burden of stress? Don’t worry if you can’t think of something right away, I’ve got you covered with the top 3 articles that will help you find your ultimate nirvana.

Exercise- Shrinivas Kanade at buzzle.com writes about the benefits of physical exercise to reducing stress and dancing is one of her top tips. At UVa, there is a plaque outside of every gym proclaiming how Thomas Jefferson believed an hour or two of physical exercise was healthy for an active mind. I’m starting to think I need to go to the gym more often…

Be prepared- Academic Tips has a great assortment of quotes regarding stress relief which can be found at academictips.org. These will enable you to the find the best method for reducing your anxiety. Different coping mechanisms are better suited to different stressful tasks. Find what works best for you and stick to it!

Get Organized- Providence College has a great article designed specifically for college students and ways to reduce anxiety in the classroom. Instead of clumping all of your difficult tasks together, make a list and prioritize based on whatever factors you find important. Making to-do lists can often be a simple way to reduce stress by outlining exactly what you need to get done to help yourself feel better.

College is hard but you don’t need to make it any harder on yourself. By following these techniques for relaxation, maybe you’ll find the college blur a little clearer. Then again, if none of these tips works than maybe you should have googled “best college bars” instead of “top relaxation tips for college students”. It’s your call, so how do you find reduce stress in college?

Comment on our blog from now and until the end of November and be entered in to win one of our weekly coffee giveaways. Each winner will receive a $10 gift card, to one of the following: Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, or TBD.  Winners will be chosen at random and announced each Wednesday.

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June 9, 2010

Summer School Positives

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School’s out for summer…or not. A recent poll of our Facebook fans showed that many students choose to take at least one class during summer. It’s not the most relaxing thing to do over break, but the benefits you reap are a good reason to keep those pencils sharpened.

Most schools offer multiple summer sessions, too, so if you’re not already registered for a class, it’s not too late.  Check out our quick and dirty list of why summer school is a good thing, it just might send you class shopping:

  1. If you’re able to take classes at a school other than your own, there’s a good chance your letter grade will be converted to a pass or fail grade once you transfer your credit.  Although this keeps you from boosting your GPA by attending an easier college, it also gives you the freedom to slack off a bit.  Just think of how much less stressful it is to focus on getting a C rather than going for an A!
  2. If your school allows you to transfer credits, you can take a summer class at a school that costs less money. Community colleges in particular are known for their low price per class unit.  Classes are so cheap that often times buying the textbook costs more than the class- another good reason for you to rent textbooks.
  3. Some classes are only offered in summer or are so popular during the regular school year that you can’t get in.  Taking a class like this, or one that’s notoriously difficult, during summer helps you manage your regular schedule better and keeps you sharp for when you start back in fall.  Summer courses are also known to have a higher professor-student ratio, so you’ll get more interaction with your teacher and classmates.

Last, but not least, is the fact that taking summer school will help you graduate faster, and who doesn’t want that? That’s when school will really be out for summer.

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June 2, 2010

Shopping for Graduate School Programs

Filed under: College Life, Education - BookRenter Team
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The below post is from guest blogger Lynn O’Shaughnessy, a college consultant and speaker. Lynn is the author of The College Solution and a new eBook, Shrinking the Cost of College: 152 Ways to Cut the Price of a Bachelor’s Degree. She write college blogs for TheCollegeSolutionBlog and for CBSMoneyWatch.

Graduate School Programs? Shopping for the Right One

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How do you shop for graduate school programs?

With the economy still floundering, more Americans are considering attending graduate school. But how do you find the best ones?

Writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education, Thomas A. Benton, an English professor at Hope College made a stab at answering that question. He observed that the  universities receiving the highest graduate school rankings aren’t always the best places to earn a graduate degree – at least in the humanities.

The graduate schools and programs that receive the highest rankings don’t always deliver when graduates are looking for jobs. The elite research universities prepare their graduates to teach at other research universities, but most teaching jobs are at non-elite colleges.

Hiring committees at the schools lower on the food chain, however, can be suspicious of candidates from top-ranked graduate school programs. They suspect that these graduates will leave as soon as possible.

So how do you evaluate a graduate program without looking at the dubious rankings? Here are some of the questions that Benton says future graduate students should ask:

  1. What kind of financial support can a student expect to receive during the entire course of the program?
  2. How much educational debt do graduates leave with?
  3. How many discussion sections and courses are graduate students required to teach in order to receive a stipend each year?
  4. What is the average annual teaching load for graduate students?
  5. How many years does it typically take to graduate?
  6. How long are graduates on the academic job market?
  7. Where is every graduate employed in academe and in what positions: tenure track, visiting, adjunct?
  8. Where are graduates working, if not in academe?
  9. Does the program lead to appealing career paths outside of academe?
  10. What percentage of students earn doctorates?
  11. How many earn master’s degrees?
  12. What reason do students drop out?

If you’re considering graduate school, this is a great list of questions to start off your search. And whatever you do, don’t believe the rankings hype.

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