“I find four classes of students: the dumb who stay dumb, the dumb who become wise, the wise who become dumb, and the wise who stay wise” — Martin H. Fischer

Throughout history, almost all of the world’s smartest people have been largely self-taught. Leonardo da Vinci (estimated i.q. 220) was the greatest painter, engineer, and genius of his time; he preinvented the helicopter, airplane, tank, and scuba-gear; and his only education was a few years at an art academy. Benjamin Franklin dropped out of school when he was ten, going on to invent several musical instruments, discover electricity, and help found the United States.

To most students, learning is a chore. The University has to use a system of grades to essentially hold a gun to our heads in order to get us to study. It might seem insane to want to study outside the curriculum of a class. But there are several benefits to such independent study which you might consider.

1. Knowing more than the bare minimum of knowledge can help you impress professors. This isn’t just about ego. There are times when you need to impress professors, such as when you need a letter of recommendation. You should always have a few professors you can count on to give you a glowing recommendation. If you’re average, what are they going to write? “Joe schmoe is a profoundly average student. He is reliable and always gets B’s. His papers are clear…”

2. It can help in future classes. If, outside of classes, you study things that interest you and you are majoring in something that interests you, chances are your independent study and major will intersect a few times during your college career. Everything is connected to everything else. And information that seems “just for fun” can come in handy in unexpected ways.

3. You might as well get your tuition’s worth out of that library. You (or perhaps your parents) are paying for college by the sweat of your brow. So why not take advantage of what your blood, sweat, and tears is buying you?

4. Almost all knowledge is helpful. Many people think that many (maybe most) facts are irrelevant to life. But that’s simply not true. Everything is connected. Every little bit helps.

By Corey Bobco for the Real College Guide

Getting to school means … being slapped in the face with a semester’s worth of work. Stacks of syllabi have you overwhelmed? Breathe. We show you how to manage.

You’ve been on the college scene for a few weeks, having the time of your life and wondering what all the university hype is about. So far, all you’ve had to do for your grades’ sake is skim some course readings and listen to a few professors babble in the lecture hall. But then … BAM! After an enlightening series of classes one fine Monday, you realize you’ve got a biology exam and two 1,000-word essays on Homer and Joyce due — all by the end of the week.

Uh-huh. This scenario is all too common, even among seasoned students.

Sure, you can survive it, even if it means pulling a few all-nighters. But if you always let everything pile up until crunch time, your grades will eventually suffer. And so will you.

So how can you avoid epic battles with tests and deadlines so you don’t become a scholastic casualty? Stop stressing. Now. You can tackle time management and stay organized so your course work doesn’t get the better of you. Here’s how:

• Stay on top of things! May sound like a no-brainer, but no kidding: If you don’t want schoolwork to pile up, you need to actively be aware of when it’s due. Pick up a portable planner — or if you’re computer-oriented, try an app like Google Calendar, which also conveniently syncs with your Gmail account — and copy the entire semester’s worth of assignments, exams and due dates into it from each class’s syllabus. And while we’re on the subject, be sure to carefully read all your syllabi. You may find sneaky stuff hidden in there, like “one full letter-grade drop for every unexcused absence” (true story). It’s better to know sooner rather than later.
• Got notes? When you’re trying to figure out what’s crucial to know for a test or how to arrange course content into a viable essay, having good notes can be a real lifesaver, so pick up a few loose-leaf notebooks for jotting down info. We don’t recommend taking notes on your laptop — you risk getting distracted by the Internet and missing most of what’s said. Besides, paper provides a much more harmless way of keeping you entertained during idle moments (i.e., doodling).
• Beating writer’s block When it comes to writing essays, getting those first couple of sentences down — or even just making an outline — can be a challenge, especially if it’s your first assignment. David Uskovich, a writing consultant at the University of Texas-Austin’s writing center stresses the importance of research: “It can put you in conversation with the material you’re trying to cover, which will help you make some connections so you’ll have something to start from when you actually sit down to write the paper.”

Freelance writer Lauren Brown, whose first young-adult novel is due out in the fall of 2010, offers this useful tip: “When I was in college at University of South Florida and had a paper due, there was nothing worse than staring at a blank computer screen and feeling like I had no thoughts in my head. The secret is to slowly condition your brain to start flowing by simply taking a few minutes to write via stream of consciousness. Just write down anything that comes to mind, even if you literally keep writing over and over, ‘Nothing is coming to mind.’ Eventually, your brain will warm up and more fluid sentences will emerge. After maybe 15 minutes or so of doing this, try again to start your paper. You’ll notice that you feel a bit more focused, way more relaxed, a little more creative and a lot less overwhelmed. Anytime you get stuck, just take a break and repeat this exercise.”

• Outwit exams College tests come in many shapes and sizes, but as a general rule, liberal arts classes usually stick to short-answer and essay-oriented exams, while math and sciences often lean toward a multiple-choice format. For essay exams, it helps to find out beforehand from your professor or T.A. what the test will cover. It never hurts to ask them point-blank a couple of days before the test.

Third-year UT-Austin biology major Ben Cox points out that you can sometimes find many multiple-choice test questions from homework of previous years: “Math and science professors often take the basic idea of homework questions, even optional homework, and tweak only a few figures, leaving the concepts tested by the question intact.”

If you can get your hands on exams from previous semesters, these can also be helpful. Just ask around to find out who’s taken the class before you, or find out if your professor posts old exams on the course Web site. (Note: As long as you’re not memorizing answers, we don’t count this as cheating, but check out your school’s policy to avoid things like, duh, expulsion.)

“While the questions and even content might vary some from year to year, knowing the way your professors format their tests will do wonders for your preparedness,” says Cox.

So there you have it. Just by being organized and putting forth the effort to adequately prep for tests and assignments, you’ll be able to get more z’s … and more A’s — which is sure to put you on good terms with the parentals. And that always comes in handy, of course, whenever you want an “extra something.”

“A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” — Alexander Pope

The economy is horrible and the sky is falling. Is grad school a workable umbrella from the raindrops that are fallin’ on our head? Short answer: it depends.

First, it is important to note that the recession has raided the pocket-books of many grad-school grads. I personally know a number of highly educated and highly intelligent persons who lost their jobs. Yes, there is a statistical correllation between education level and unemployment—the less educated are more often unemployed. However: these statistics show that lay-offs and unemployment still exist among the highly educated.

It seems to depend on what graduate degree you have. For instance, for certain persons with extremely technical and extremely specialized science degrees (antiferromagnetic condensed matter analysis, for example) there is a higher likelihood that jobs will be scarce. Specialization is simultaneously good and bad: if there is a market for your skill, you can command a high salary due to the lack of specialists; but on the other hand, your job-market is an infinitesimal pie-slice of the overall pie. If this already tiny pie-slice shrinks, you’re in trouble. This is why the graduate degrees that are most likely to help you are the more conventional ones (M.D., law degrees, etc.).

But what about teaching or becoming a professor? Is this graduate track a good idea? I am no expert, but where I’m from the schools have stopped hiring and are cutting back on teaching positions. Universities are tightening their budgets. On the other hand, if you begin graduate school now the economy may be on the mend by the time you emerge from the academy in a velvety, renaissance-style cap. If you try to get a PhD in history, you’re betting on the economy of 2015.

For ways to evaluate your “employability” check out this article on HackCollege.

“For every moment spent organizing, an hour is earned” — Unknown

“Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past.” — T.S. Elliot

In a previous post I sermonized about the benefits of having a schedule. Now I’d like to talk about what are the best times to do things.

When I began college, I foolishly believed that when you did a task or assignment didn’t matter, so long as you did it. Wrong. There are better and worse times for certain activities. And the way in which you schedule classes can make you more or less efficient.

The fundamental issue is mental freshness. While you sleep, you experience a psychological reset that makes your mind fresh when you wake up (granted that you haven’t gone on a Four Loko binge). Scientists say that when you start your day you have a certain amount of mental capacity (think of it as a video game life bar). As the day progresses your brain becomes more drained and less able to competently carry out strenuous mental activity.

So:

1. Morning is the best time for the most intense, mental activities, such as math problem sets, essays, or heavy-duty memorization.

2. Afternoon is best for less strenuous mental activities, such as reading.

3. The evening is best for relaxing. Your mind has become essentially worthless. Don’t even try to study in the evening. And certainly don’t save that behemoth problem set or research paper for this period of time. If you have to veg out, veg out now.

As far as classes go, there are two options. First, you could spread your classes out through the week. Second, you could condense your classes so that most of your classes are crammed together (say, on Tuesday and Thursday), with your other days being very light.

I think that the “cramming” technique is best for classes. It allows you to have long chunks of time when you can study (this allows you to “get into the flow”).

By Lauren Joffe for The Real College Guide

Having some serious issues with that one course? Thinking about dropping it? There are plenty of good excuses to drop a class after the semester has started, but it’s not always an easy decision. Here are the top four reasons to withdraw from a course, with advice on when to go with your gut … and get outta there! Read on:

Reason No. 1: It’s gonna ruin your GPA.

Drop it if: The first test was tough, and you still don’t make the grade when the second one rolls around. Says New York University junior Maddy Smith: “Before I transferred to NYU, I was taking anatomy and physiology at Villanova. The first test, I got a D+. I stuck it out, thinking I would do better. For the next test, I studied harder. I even got a tutor and attended office hours … to then get a D-. It got to the point where even if I did better on the next test, I still wouldn’t even pull off a C. I knew it was time to withdraw.”

Don’t drop it if:

• You don’t have enough credits to remain a full-time student.

• It’s too late to enroll in another course.

• The class is a requirement for your major (and you won’t be able to fit it into your schedule next time around).

Note: If you’re still failing after a few tests and a tutor isn’t helping, make tracks to meet with your advisor — ASAP!

Reason No. 2: The class is a total snore.

Drop it if: Your eyes are glazing over, and you find the information useless. Perhaps your time could be better spent focusing on something else. Says NYU soph John Michael: “Freshman year … a history of communications class … I dreaded going every day. The subject was boring, we got a ton of work and it never interested me. I just never wanted to go.”

Don’t drop it if:

• The information is valuable or otherwise useful. (“I ended up staying enrolled because I knew the information would help me later,” says Michael. “I suppose if I never learned some basic info, I’d be behind in other classes.”)

• The class is a prerequisite.

• Excelling in the class can help you cozy up to the professor for a future job or internship.

Reason No. 3: You hate the professor.

Drop it if: You love the subject, but the professor just doesn’t challenge or inspire you — or worse, has it out for you. Look into taking the class another semester with a different teacher. Says Megan Huntley, a junior at Colgate University: “While I was really interested in modern Jewish history, after sitting through the lecture, I knew I wouldn’t end up liking the course. The professor was knowledgeable, but her delivery was nothing but boring. I’d rather save the class for later when I’d get everything I possibly can out of it.”

Don’t drop it if:

• The add/drop date has passed (and you can’t recover course fees).

• Dropping a course will mess up a scholarship or grant.

Note: Sticking it out could be a lesson in perseverance, since life is full of challenges … such as dealing with difficult or lackluster people.

Reason No. 4: Your stress level is off the charts.

Drop it if: Your schedule is so loaded with tough-to-the-core classes that you’re missing out on the full college experience you deserve. Says Rutgers University freshman Max Young: “Tons of kids get so stressed out they end up paying other people to do their essays. Even worse, I know kids who take anxiety medicine or Adderall to function. Dropping one class and taking on an easier one really helped me balance out last semester. I’d recommend that over high blood pressure any day.”

Don’t drop it if:

• You’re this close to meeting your requirements (and this class will get you there).

• You’re going in for the homestretch (i.e., approaching finals week).

• Dropping will prevent you from graduating on time, studying abroad or taking an internship.

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time” — Annie Dillard

When at college, things sometimes seem to be going smoothly. At other times, however, it seems like school is happening to us, rather than the other way around. Assignments materialize out of the woodwork and all of a sudden it’s a fourteen-assignment/test pileup and the student is hurled screaming down a vortex of chaos and Red Bull. It results in energy drink binges, erratic sleeping patterns, and, finally, a C.

But school, and life in general, can be smooth-sailing when you make a schedule. Those who go through life skipping and singing “Spontaneous Me” and living in the moment often have a lot of hellish moments. Unpleasant things are always popping out at them. But it doesn’t have to be so.

Here are the main benefits of scheduling your schoolwork:

1. You will attain peace of mind… because you will know that all of your stuff will get done.

2. You will probably have more free time… because when you schedule, you tend to study more efficiently. Cramming before an exam generally gobbles up more hours than steady, scheduled study over the course of months. You may not believe that, but it’s true.

3. You will avoid unforseen catastrophes… Making a schedule is like drop-kicking chaos. In the scheduled student’s life, monsters don’t materialize out of the walls. As much.

4. You will make preparing for finals easy… I schedule. And, as a result, finals are no more strenuous than any other time during the semester. No wigging out. No terror, horror, or existential angst. No panic attacks. No kidding.

Apps can be helpful: I would recommend AwesomeNote (for iPhone and iPod Touch) as well as iCal (for Mac).