18 Educational Podcasts You Need to Listen to in 2020

best educational podcasts

Educational podcasts have rightfully conquered the niche of edutainment, perfectly combining our urges to learn and to spend time meaningfully. Podcasts are now your best partner for commuting or doing household chores, but why not use them to upgrade your knowledge of college subjects or learn something completely different? To spare your time on swimming in the sea of exciting podcasts, we have made a list of best lifestyle and educational podcasts that can spur on your curiosity and boost your academic performance — in humanities and in STEM subjects.  

Continue reading “18 Educational Podcasts You Need to Listen to in 2020” →

College Freshman Checklist: 12 Things To Do This Summer

college freshmen this summer

Are you as thrilled before the start of the new academic year as I am? Especially for freshmen, summer is the best period to get ready for that first day at college. Your head might ache already from the amount of stuff you need to take care of: to figure out your schedule, to buy textbooks, to set up a university account, to connect to your future classmates… 

We’ve made this checklist for you so that you can keep everything under control. You can find a printable guide at the end of this post — it so handy to use! We took care to include some tips and those essential things that might not appear on your departmental webpage. Feel free to modify the list according to your needs, but never leave the important stuff out! Try to engage with these 12 points throughout the whole summer — don’t leave them until the very last moment. With this checklist, you’ll be done with all the preparations before you cross the doorstep of your new home as a first-year student. Making these small decisions and steps now will let you have more spare time for concentrating on your studies and having fun during the first term of your college life!

Continue reading “College Freshman Checklist: 12 Things To Do This Summer” →

Questions to Ask When Interviewing for an Internship (Guest Post)

Luis_Molinero - Freepik.com

You have learned almost everything you could in the school setting from your professors, textbooks, and overnighters on group projects. Now what?

Now comes securing that internship. Internships can be essential before you step out into the brutal reality of the actual workforce. Internships allow you to gain hands-on exposure to what it would be like working in the real world. The theories, knowledge, and skills learned at school can now be put to the test.

The interview process may be different in internships versus an actual, real job. Still, it is similar in that you have to make a pretty stirring impression, be prepared to answer questions about yourself, and ask about the roles and responsibilities the company expects from you.  

Here are the most important questions to ask when interviewing for an internship:

Continue reading “Questions to Ask When Interviewing for an Internship (Guest Post)” →

Finding Virtual Internships and Online Summer Schools in 2020

a woman applying for virtual internships in 2020

Our summers used to be all about grasping opportunities and gaining relevant experiences in internships, part-time jobs, or summer schools. But then the coronavirus-crisis came. Many secured internships were reworked, companies have frozen their hiring plans, summer schools were canceled — all this brought our summer plans to ruin. With the current splash of unemployment, it is even harder for recent grads to land an internship or your first full-time job. 

However, there are still some possibilities (thanks to the digital revolution) — these are remote internships, virtual summer schools, and online courses in 2020. Even if you struggle to land an online internship, there are more than ever options for self-study this summer. Although career prospects in some spheres don’t look encouraging right now, you should still think strategically about investing your free time this summer.

Continue reading “Finding Virtual Internships and Online Summer Schools in 2020” →

What to Do After an Exam: Manage Post-Exam Stress and Anxiety, Sell Textbooks and Plan your Future

managing stress and anxiety after the exam

The event that you have been preparing for all that time, pegging away at textbooks and prep materials, is over. You have taken most of the exams and submitted final papers. Although it seems that the worst days are over, the post-exam stress and anxiety might hit you hard. While you are now anxiously waiting for the results, you are often under higher pressure than before an exam took place. At least then you knew what to do and how to perform better… And now? Here are some tips on how to alleviate post-exam stress and anxiety, how to arrange your study materials, whether you should keep, recycle or sell used textbooks, and how to make sense of your future plans.

Continue reading “What to Do After an Exam: Manage Post-Exam Stress and Anxiety, Sell Textbooks and Plan your Future” →

Celebrating Graduation 2020 with Best Commencement Speeches

best commencement speeches for your college graduation

This turbulent year, high school and college commencement activities are postponed. However, many colleges moved their graduation celebrations online, and YouTube and Facebook have something for us in hand as well! The times have been tough, though there is no need to give up on having some fun and celebrating your achievements with others! Here we review a bunch of options for online celebrating Graduation 2020. The most significant thing to do is to watch (or read) the best commencement speeches ever given!

Continue reading “Celebrating Graduation 2020 with Best Commencement Speeches” →

How to Prepare for At-Home Online College Exams in 2020?

at-home online college exams in 2020

This year has completely changed our lives, including the examination format. As has been discussed round and about, this year’s AP exams are taken at-home in an online form. Well, you probably know the details about online college exams. SAT and ACT, while postponed, might take place as an at-home exam in the end. GMAT and LSAT have online proctored options during this summer too.

Since the dates for this year’s AP exams are approaching, I bet you’re thrilled, reviewing your exam prep textbooks over and over again! For some of us, this format would seem more advantageous and comfortable than a traditional AP exam. However, taking an at-home exam can be tricky and comes with several hidden dangers. If you want to achieve the best performance on the day of your test and feel confident —follow the tips and step-by-step actions we discuss below. 

Continue reading “How to Prepare for At-Home Online College Exams in 2020?” →

Listening to Music while Studying: Benefits and Disadvantages for Your Focus, Memory, and Creativity

discussing benefits and disadvantage of studying with music

Should I try listening to music while studying? Will it boost my concentration and protect from unwanted noises, or, on the contrary, are there only disadvantages for my focus? Although these questions have been sitting on the agenda for a while, now they are relevant as never. College students are outside of their habitual learning environments like libraries, co-working spaces, university halls, or coffee shops. All these places came not only with comfortable desks, caramel lattes, and occasional chats with friends. Each site is full of specific noises and background music that could have been helpful for our learning and concentration. At home, on the contrary, we struggle with unwanted sounds, lack of personal space, and poor focus. Is music an answer to these pains? 

Continue reading “Listening to Music while Studying: Benefits and Disadvantages for Your Focus, Memory, and Creativity” →

12 Educational Resources Available for Free during Coronavirus Quarantine

empty schools and universities on quarantine

The pandemic crisis has hit every single one of us. However optimistic lookouts we might hold, in the coming months, our lives will not go back to “normal”, if ever. With the quarantine measures, all educational processes and college studies have drastically changed. Not only our professors and we are getting used to having courses online, but all students and academics are locked out of the resources usually available at their universities and libraries. In conjunction with stress, fear, household chores, and babysitting, it is difficult to maintain any continuity in our habits and study routines. 

Many platforms and publishers opened their resources for free due to the coronavirus pandemic. Additional online courses can support your education process; platforms like Zoom and Adobe are there to ensure the continuity of your seminars; online libraries opened their virtual doors for you to access tons of books and academic articles. Here we have listed some of the educational resources that are now online and available for free during quarantine. These are not track-specific and can be useful for any specialization.

Continue reading “12 Educational Resources Available for Free during Coronavirus Quarantine” →

10 Trending College Specializations with the Best Payoff in 2020

The educational and employment landscapes have rapidly changed in the past five years — but what about college specializations? If you are now contemplating where to apply and which major to choose, you are probably very much in doubt. Soft skills are in demand more than ever. In contrast, some hard skills are attainable through free or relatively cheap online educational programs or even substituted by automation. Statistical data has also revealed that, on average, a person changes 10–15 jobs in a lifetime. The trend of lifelong learning is coinciding with employers demanding hands-on working experience instead of degrees from prestigious universities. At the same time, universities might as well change their educational curricula completely, opting for Open Loop University, not limited to three or four years of degree studies. How can one make sense of it and choose rewarding and relevant college major and minor tracks?

Continue reading “10 Trending College Specializations with the Best Payoff in 2020” →