We know that making real-life decisions and the whole UCAS commotion is basically a year away, but before you know it these choices will be getting all up in your face and demanding attention. Then there's all the exams, revision, coursework, birthdays/bar mitzvahs/weddings and cat gifs... it's never too soon to get focused.
Besides, what's sixth form all about anyway? If you can work out where it's heading, it gives the next two years more purpose, more focus — perhaps even more fun and success. What we're saying is that, however early it seems, now's a great time to be thinking about two of the big questions: what do you want to study and where do you want to study it
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When distance learning is necessary, many students and teachers consider it a challenge. In reality, it can be a very useful tool which can provide students from all over the world with the chance to learn. Whether they don’t have access to education otherwise or a worldwide pandemic has taken place, distance learning can become a great alternative for everyone.
In order to make it effective, though, teachers are not the only ones that need to find ways to keep it interesting. Students should also find ways to make distance learning more interesting in order to get something from it. Here are some tips to help you achieve just that. Worried about all the fake news and conflicting information when it comes to Covid-19? (Yes, we always sing it to the tune of Come On Eileen, too.) Us lot at Push are no doctors or virology experts, but we can remind you of a few fundamental things…
Now the boring obligatory bit’s done with, what about the rest? Are school closures likely? What do they mean? We've all been there.
You've got your exams coming up, you've got your coursework needing to get submitted. You sit down to work and before long you find yourself with your phone in your hand, scrolling through social media feeds or killing five minutes on the latest game, because five minutes isn't going to hurt right? But five minutes every half an hour soon builds up. Before you know it you're having to cram revision, rush your coursework and in turn become stressed and don't want to do the work. A vicious cycle if there ever was one. Been there. Done that. Every student can say this when it comes to meeting assignment deadlines that just come up too fast.
Maybe you have procrastinated a bit too much; maybe you have spent too much time working that part-time job or partying; maybe you are just that dis-organized person who is not a master of calendaring. All of a sudden it hits you. You’ve got a deadline for an essay, a paper, a project – whatever – and you are now facing the prospect of either getting it done or taking that poor/failing score. Spending a semester abroad to study is an incredible opportunity that can change your life. It’s important to be aware of certain mistakes people make so that you can avoid them and make sure that your time abroad is as rewarding and exciting as it can be.
Procrastination can be a serious productivity killer. It can get you into all sorts of deadline troubles, leading to frantic keyboard tapping and energy drink fuelled all-nighters.
It’s not just you – besides the most diligent and proactive of us, we’re pretty much all in this together. Picture the High School Musical number, except none of us want to dance right now. Maybe later. So when the Independent reported on a uni student who blitzed through her dissertation project in a single night, mere hours before her deadline, we can’t say we weren’t a bit awe-struck. And incredibly stressed on her behalf. But still. Impressive. Everyone loves Matilda, right? Whether it’s Quentin Blake’s iconic illustrations and the heart-warming tale of Danny DeVito and Mara Wilson (now a Twitter icon, honestly…)’s unbeatable Hollywood depictions, Roald Dahl’s creation is a timeless classic.
Not to mention we’re always here for a strong female protagonist. With vigilante magic. But we digress. Two Manchester-based parents are advertising through a freelance tutoring service to find a tutor willing to dress and act the part of the unforgettable Miss Honey, Matilda’s sweet, nurturing schoolteacher to tutor their daughter. Getting a job, apprenticeship or a place at your dream uni might seem like pretty terrifying concepts right now, but they don’t have to be.
You might think you have no skills and a dire CV or personal statement, but you’re completely wrong. Everyone’s got something that will wow employers and admissions tutors, whether it’s dedication, time management and people skills earned from a weekend shop job or paper round, or sacrifice, compassion and maturity from being a carer to younger siblings or family members. Sometimes it might feel (rightly so, often) that our favourite tech is holding us back when it comes to coursework productivity or exam periods.
Go on, try to tell us you’ve never thought “I could work on Algebra, or I could check Insta stories…” or “I should really do this Physics past paper as exam prep, but after just one more episode of Game of Thrones…” Never heard of the Access to HE Diploma? It’s a Level 4 HND qualification specifically designed to help students who don’t have traditional qualifications like A Levels or Scottish Highers to get into university or other higher education.
We’re lucky that mental health awareness is ever improving, and the stigmas and taboos are slowly being lifted. But that doesn’t mean we live in a perfect mental health utopia, so it’s important to look out for yourself and plan ahead if uni’s in the cards for you.
One of the most important things to do if you suffer with your mental health is to look out for universities who have a strong support network for students and their mental health issues. The web is full of dodgy types and one that students in particular should avoid are the essay cheats – or, as they’re sometimes called, ‘essay mills’.
The situation they prey on is common enough. An essay is due next week and you’re finding it too hard or you haven’t done the reading or there’s some thing else more important right now – your job, your boy/girlfriend, a different essay or even just a party. For a few quid (in fact, often quite a bit of money), you can make the problem go away. You can buy a ready-written essay, dissertation or even PhD thesis online and pass it off as your own. Of course, the shysters offering this service don’t advertise that they’re there to help you cheat. They describe them as “sample essays” to “inspire” or “inform” your own work. However, they also describe them as “plagiarism-free” (so that, in theory, unis won’t spot it’s not the student’s own work). Why would they say that unless everyone knows the real score? You know perfectly well this isn’t ethical and you shouldn’t do it. But, if morality isn’t enough to convince you to do the right thing, here are six reasons why you should never cheat. We’re an addicted generation, we know. Where would we be without Scottish Twitter, or Facebook’s Love Island memes? Doesn’t bear thinking about.
Even so, social media and the devices we access it through aren’t always good for us. For one, they may be harming the quality of our sleep. The cold, blue light that smartphones, tablets and laptops emit is conducive to keeping the brain engaged and awake, so scrolling for an hour before bed to wind down might not be such a good idea. We all know there's a variety of ways to get things to stick in your head: texts books, spider diagrams, post-it notes, mind-palaces, reading out loud, singing your revision and even sleeping with your notes under your pillow (note: we have no proof of the last one...).
If you have a basic understanding of how memory works you can incorporate this into the way you revise. Did you know that all of your senses can be helpful when you revise for exams?
Some studies have found that if you always suck on Polos while revising the ins and outs of Biology, or wear the same perfume when thinking about French sentence structure, it can help encode what you're memorising. This is because all our senses are linked and they all make pathways into the process of remembering. This, however, should only be used alongside your regular excellent study skills otherwise you'll be sat in your exam popping Polos and praying to a confectionery god. Not a good look for anyone. Now that we’ve talked all about how essay mills are out it would be pretty unfair of us to leave you high and dry when it comes to getting down to the nitty gritty of essay writing.
Before we start, have a look at Edinburgh Uni’s PhD student Tim Squirrell’s blog – it’s full of great insider tips on writing a top-class essay. He even has a handy TL;DR version: For the terminally lazy:
As a nation of young people raised on social media and the spotlight surrounding its many “influencers”, it’s no wonder that social celebs have made household names for themselves. They’re trusted. And they know it. So it’s no wonder that social media celebs have come under fire over the past few weeks because of some shady ad endorsements.
If you've already started your uni career, you now know that textbooks are the necessary evil that slash at your alcoholic beverage budget. If you're just about to start, let us tell you now: you've got to pay for these bad boys all by yourself and they're nothing to laugh about.
Sometimes lecturers have a reading list as long as your arm, and borrowing from the library just won't cut it when there's 60 of you clamouring for the single dogeared copy of Particle Physics: A Very Short Introduction. Push has always got your back, so this is your last minute call in case you're still planning to apply to Oxbridge for 2018/19.
We don't mean to stress you out, but time is officially ticking. Everyone hates revision right? But when exams loom, and beyond them lies a career, revising is key. Let’s face it, reading through pages and pages of scribbled notes are going to get you nowhere. And don’t even get us started on the highlighters.
Make your revision fun, and when we say fun we really mean easier. That way you spend less time convincing yourself to do it and it’s all over a little bit quicker. Some of the usual advice is worth following. Structure your notes, plan regular breaks and give yourself some time off. There’s no point running out of steam on day one. And as tempting as the night before sounds, start revising with as much time to spare as you can. LEARNING STYLES When it comes to good revision it all depends on how you go about doing it. Your sister may have been able to read a page once and remember it forever but forget about her, what works for you? Are you a seer, a hearer or a doer? This may sounds like long-haired hippy nonsense but it isn’t.
No idea which you are? Try them all. Nothing like a little useful procrastination to keep you sane. DIET Revising may be boring, but how you revise is only one part of getting a good grade. What you eat is vital to how your brain works. Snacking on crisps and sweets may sound like the best idea but really isn’t, sorry. Junk food has been found to block the passage of messages between the nerve endings in your brain, so all those hours studying could be for nothing if Doritos are all you're munching on. Instead try a handful of nuts or berries, both contain Omega3 and will keep you active and focused. Like you've been told a million times before, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Sugary cereals and toast will give you a short buzz but then you’ll be hungry again. Porridge is great because it releases its energy slowly and the milk you use with it provides protein which will aid your concentration levels. Lastly, drink lots. Keeps you focused and awake, making lots of trips to the toilet is 100 times better than sitting there staring blankly at the screen and learning nothing whilst dying of thirst. |
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We're always interested to hear from talented young writers, so if you'd like to feature as a guest author then hit us up for more details.
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