photo credit: Spigoo

Antioch College – a consistent member of the “Colleges that Could Change Lives” guidebook. It’s also part of the Eco League of green universities, and the 300+ student population creates a nice small-school feel.
Bennington College – one of America’s top-ranked liberal arts colleges. Students draw their own curriculum, and can major in one subject or minor in two or more.

Brown University – an Ivy League university, known for its very competitive admission and comprehensive financial aid for the underprivileged. It’s a major landmark in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Evergreen State College – offers one of the most challenging academics for freshmen and sophomores, and one of the most comprehensive narrative grading systems in the country. In other words, difficult but rewarding!

Reed College – another pioneer of the narrative evaluation, located in a culturally rich campus in Portland, Oregon.

Sarah Lawrence College – best known for its high creative standards and academic excellence. Located in busy New York, but boasts a nice, sprawling peaceful campus.

Soka University of America – sister university of a prominent university in Tokyo. Located in a beautiful campus in Aliso
Viejo, California and holds a staunch global pacifist stance.

St John’s College, US – famous for its four-year Great Books Program (“The Program”) featuring works by Aristotle, Descartes, Einstein and Shakespeare. Talk about learning from the masters!

University of California, Santa Cruz – a large modern university with ten residential colleges and a beautiful sprawling campus. It’s a bit high-class, though, with the student’s median family income at over $80,000.
So should you consider a gradeless college? It all depends on what suits your learning pattern. One thing you might expect is lots of comprehensive custom essays in place of exams—definitely not the best setup for master bluffers! But it’s a very promising concept, and if you’re thinking of taking this path, it’s sure to be an interesting college experience.

photo credit: mgus

Define your priorities. List down everything you need to get done, rank them according to importance, and do them in that order. Set a time frame and mark items off as you go along.

Avoid distractions. Do you often get the urge to turn on the TV in the middle of writing a paper? Pull the plug. Playing too many video games? Put the console back in its box. Make it so that it’s too much trouble to access your distractions than simply getting on with your work.

Play leader if you have to. You don’t want a lazy study group pulling you down in class. When no one seems interested enough, step up and start delegating tasks. Don’t be afraid to stalk your members into doing their jobs—they may be a bit miffed, but they’ll thank you in the end.

Read in your free time. Whenever you can, read a custom research paper or custom essay on one of your subjects. It helps familiarize you with the subject and makes the rest of the lessons easier.

Pre-Examination Guide

1)  Focus on your studies.  This means that all you will ever think about and do during this preparatory period is to study and that alone.  Stay focused - no unnecessary text messages, no parties, no time for star gazing.  You can better understand what you are studying and retain more information that you read if you refrain from distractions.

2)  Join a study group.  But be sure that when you do, you already have understood most of the topics so you will not get confused all the more when the group discussions begin.  Do your part, study extensively, and take the opportunity to ask the group those topics that you cannot understand.  Also, try to anticipate possible questions that might be asked in the exam and make a group effort to find the answers for these questions.

3)  Check the examination pre-requisites.  Review all the technicalities of the exam – the date, location, materials, fees, and the examination rules if provided.  Arrange your transportation, keep all the receipts and necessary documents that might be asked from you on the day of the exam, prepare the specified materials to be used, e.g., pen, paper, calculator, etc.,  ahead of time so you will not cram the day before the exam.

4)  Get adequate rest.  At least a week before the actual day of the exam, start to relax and lie low on your review.  It is important that you are physically and mentally well when you take the exam so you can adopt to the environmental conditions of the venue and be able to focus and think clearly while answering.  Take some vitamins and eat right.  On the night before the exam, sleep early and set 2 alarms to make sure that you will wake up on time the following day.

Tips During the Examination Proper

1)  Arrive on time.  Or even earlier so you will not miss any announcement or additional instructions.

2)  Pray.  Miracles work wonders.  It may be the only thing that will pull up your score if you are one point away from the passing.

3)  Read the instructions carefully.  Or listen to the examiner for further instructions.

4)  Skim through the test.  This way, you will have an idea how much time you should put in answering every number.

5)  Be alert.  Take note of the time once in a while.

6)  Answer as many questions as possible.  If one question is taking much of your time, skip and move on to another.  Sure answers are more worthy of your time than wild guesses. Just put a mark on those questions that you leave so that you can easily find them when you are ready to answer in your extra time.

7)  Trust your instinct.  As they say, if you are not sure of the answer, the first answer is always the right answer.  This is because of the familiarity of your first choice.  You might not know it but the answer you chose is somehow embedded in your memory.  So better trust your instinct.

8)  Stay relaxed and focused.  If anxiety attacks, take a deep breath, think positively and concentrate on the exam at hand.  Do not entertain any other thoughts and get back to the momentum of answering questions.

9)  Do not stress yourself out.  If you feel tired or a bit exhausted, take a short break and stretch a little.  You can not stay focused with your head dizzy or your back aching.

10)  Check you answers if you still have time in the end of the exam.  You might have missed out a question or two, or mispositioned your answers.  This is also the time to answer those questions you marked and left blank, so maximize it and do not rush to pass your paper.

 photo credit: ccarlstead

photo credit: ccarlstead

It’s finals season again, and much as you regret it, you’ve spent more nights out partying than hitting the books. So you turn to everyone’s favorite last resort: cramming. Besides hitting Ivy Research for a custom term paper, cramming is the negligent student’s main tool for survival. But like any other endeavor, there is a right and wrong way to cram.

The wrong way

• A bad crammer guzzles coffee all night and stuffs himself with chips, fries, or candy. The caffeine will keep you up all right, but loading up on fat and sugar will only make you feel sleepy.
• Bad cramming is disorganized, as if you’re jumping into a pile of work with no idea where to start or end.
• Bad crammers don’t dress comfortably—it feeds the urge to snuggle up and forget about it.

The right way

• Eat light snacks throughout your all-nighter, but try not to eat too much on your first three hours.
• Work in a straight, non-comfy chair.
• Do NOT even think about turning on the TV. Try to find some instrumental music (lyrics can be distracting).
• Divide your work into little tasks, set a time frame for each, and reward yourself with a cookie or a ten-minute break every time you finish something.
• Best of all, try not to cram in the first place—a custom essay may be easy, but it’s always best to study ahead!

• Come early or on time. Coming to class early gives you time to socialize and relax before the work begins. Showing up in the middle of a discussion is not just irresponsible, but also rude and tactless.
• Be on a learning level. Standing out doesn’t mean knowing all the lessons ahead of your classmates (although that helps); it means learning more and absorbing your lessons better. Make it your goal to really learn the lesson, not to recite more or put your professor to shame.
• Ask deep questions. And that doesn’t involve feverishly reading the chapter right before class. Teachers can tell whether you’re asking off the book or formulating questions from your own understanding. Be genuinely interested in the subject and you’ll come across as naturally smart rather than bookish.
• Relax about grades. If you look at the big picture, grades don’t measure squat. Besides, grade-conscious students calculate their every move and appear uptight and uncomfortable—and that’s about as geeky as you can get!

• Pay attention to lectures/discussions. Professors tend to linger over areas they are most interested in. See which topics they seem most passionate about and go for something along the same lines.
• Stay current. This is a great formula if you’re really stuck. Read the news, find something you can link to your subject matter, and you’ve got a unique and relevant topic!
• Read his work. Find books, articles, and journal pieces your prof has written. They’ll give you an idea of how he likes to write and what will interest him.
• Ask yourself questions. When reading through your subject material, raise questions as you go along, as if you were in a class discussion. These questions may reach areas not covered by your subject matter, which could make a great topic.

photo credit: dags1974

After a night of partying, you realize you’ve got a paper due tomorrow—or technically today—that you haven’t even started.  You start panicking.  So you do what many of your peers do: turn on your computer and look for a company or individual to help you get started on your research and help you organize that research.  In short, you look for custom term paper assistance. Of course, when you’re strapped for time, the last thing you need is some hack selling you a plagiarized piece of garbage. Here’s what you have to look for when looking for competent help:

• Originality: According to surveys, more than 80% of online term papers are plagiarized. And even the most lenient university won’t let you get away with submitting a plagiarized paper. Make sure you’re getting an originally researched and written paper.
• Turnaround time: The correct way to use research paper assistance services is to have them help you organize your research.  The final paper–your termpaper is solely the product of your own efforts.  Time is of the essence since you need time to cite the custom research and integrate it into your work.  Good companies such as Ivy Research can deliver a project on the specified time, no excuses. Believe it or not, there are writing companies that regularly go over the deadline—and still charge you the same price!
• Writing quality: Content is important, but so is presentation. You don’t want to pay for a paper that doesn’t even follow basic rules of grammar.
• Dependability: There are some scam companies that ask you for your money and deliver something totally (and obviously) rushed.  Check the site’s testimonials and look for reliable feedback.

photo credit: elisfanclub

At school, we call them Wizards, Magicians, or something of the sort. They party all weekend, go out on school nights, and seem to follow the happy-go-lucky lifestyle. Then the exam results come in and they get straight A’s—while you, who spent the whole semester buried in your schoolbooks, get a measly C+. How do they do it? Ivy Research shows you their secrets.

• Plan, plan, plan. Time management is the Wizard’s main tool. While the rest of us waste precious minutes deciding what to do first, they’ve already got it figured out and are actually working. That way, you won’t have to resort to buying that custom essay online.
• Come to class. Make it a point to show up to class on time, or even earlier. You can miss important points or instructions during the first few minutes.
• Read up. Skim through your professor’s reading list, then try to find other material on your own. Be genuinely interested in your subjects and read in blocks. Focus as much as you can on each small random block to get an understanding of the thematic whole.
• Don’t just do homework. ­Use it to get a better understanding of your subject matter. When you’re done with it, go over your work and remember what you’ve learned. If you use a custom research paper service for your papers, read the material so you can defend it in class.
• Sneak in study time. When your schedule is packed, use every free minute you have to study—in the car, in between classes, those few minutes in bed before you fall asleep.

photo credit: gadgetdude

Student Aid on the Web: a Department of Education site featuring advice on financial aid and choosing schools

FAFSA – Free Application for Federal Student Aid: a step-by-step guide to applying for federal student aid online

National Student Loan Data System: database of school and college information, student loan resources and a financial aid glossary

Student Alliance: an organization advocating for higher federal funding on student aid

Federal Student Aid: official forms and information on Federal Student Aid and similar loans

Sallie Mae: private lender for student loans, also offers student aid and college information

College Answer: a comprehensive guide to student loans from choosing a lender to graduation and closing

FedMoney: full official texts on federal student loans and other government loans

Students.gov: government student portal offering complete guides on student life, financial aid and choosing colleges

FinAid!: information, links and advice on student finance, including military aid and paperwork information

StaffordLoan.com: links and advice on the Stafford Loan, a deferred-payment financing scheme

NASSGAP - National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs: a group of student loan lenders offering free information and links on financial aid

Student-Loans.net: tutorials, links and resources on private student loans, including a loan calculator

Student Market: explains the different types of student aid and offers advice on choosing a loan

EDFUND: a leading resource for student loan guarantee services, student aid packages and school information

Student Aid Foundation: an independent women’s organization offering financial aid packages to the underprivileged

GoCollege: a complete guide to beginning college, including a section on financial aid

U.S. College Search: a free online resource for U.S. colleges and financial aid sources

Saystudent.com: a collection of student financing guides

College Board: planning guides and resources for student aid

photo credit: qronoz

Student or teacher?

Some argue that student assistants are technically still students, do dating them is no different from dating a classmate. But on the job, they are teachers—and they command the same respect and obedience as senior professors.

Academic favors

Once a student and teaching assistant have officially dated, it’s hard to believe the grading system is still 100% objective. Though you may not intend to, the general notion is that you may be getting a good grade in exchange for sexual favors. Chances are the label will be stuck on you even when you’re no longer dating.

Professional consequences

No one suffers the stigma of student-teacher dating as much as the teaching assistant herself. If things go out of hand, they’ll be labeled for the rest of the school year—and may even have trouble finding work in the future.