Quick Tips for Final Exams

As we approach the crunch for final exams, here are a couple of quick tips. I know it can be difficult but the earlier you can incorporate these tips into your school habits the more

beneficial it will be to you!

Get Plenty of Rest – Insufficient sleep does not only deteriorate your health, but during finals it will drain your energy levels making it extremely hard to focus; the result…unproductivity. If you are going to pull an all-nighter just remember that the next day will take a toll on you.

Be Organized and Plan – Organization and planning in advance is extremely important so that you are making good use of every hour. When it comes to finals everything all of a sudden is a priority. The best thing to do is try and get a head start and plan your tasks appropriately. 

Avoid Procrastination – This ties in with the previously mentioned point. Start on assignments early and better yet finish them in advance. There is nothing worse than putting together a sub-par project at the last hour.

Take a Breath – One too many times I have had that overwhelming anxiety come over me…in these cases sometimes you need to just take deep breath, or take a breath and collect your composure. Make time for breaks as well, especially when you hit a mental block. Sometimes a change in atmosphere will trigger thoughts from your memory that simply were not coming to mind while sitting in front of the computer. 

Practice – Repetition is the best way to get practice. Review your notes on a regular basis so that it is all still fresh in your mind when it comes to finals. You do not get better at singing, playing an instrument, or playing a sport without practice; the same applies when it comes to studying for exams.

Hope these quick tips are of some substance in your preparation for final exams!  

Money Saving Tips for Students

Being a full-time student in my final semester of my program I can say that it has been quite a ride, a stressful one BUT a positive one none-the-less. Working for many years and having disposal income at my every convenience, I am finally learning the reality of what it is like to be on a very fixed budget. Thank god this is my final semester, I literally had a credit card that would not be accepted at the short-term parking lot on campus today. Not having a dollar in my wallet or my pocket, I literally had to scrounge up any bit of change possible in my car…who knew fifty cents could come in handy at such a good time? 

Here are my money saving tips to students: 

Apply for Bursaries/Scholarships – This one is a great way to save money from coming out of your pocket and is more of a way to get free money…literally. There are scholarships for just about any type of criteria now-a-days; being a certain height, gender, ethnicity…you name it. There are even cases where not enough applicable applicants apply. I wish I had known this sooner or I would have taken advantage of this, so do not make the same mistake I did. Check out your school’s website and look into external scholarships as well! 

Buy Groceries – If you are living on res or renting an apartment with room mates come up with a regular schedule to split the cost of groceries. You can easily spend $10 buying a single meal. Stopping by the grocery store to stack up on snacks and cooking at home is a great money saving tip that will go a long way.

Buy Things on Sale – Keep an eye out for sales and visit sites to get a hold of coupons. Making a habit of only buying sale items is also a great money saving tip that will save you from unnecessary spending. If you visit the grocery store later at night, often time items such as baked goods as marked down as stores need to replenish these items with fresh goods for the next day. As for shopping, there are times where I feel I have been so disciplined that I have not bought anything frivolous for myself and just want to spoil myself. Try the method of checking out sale or clearance sections of the store; the less you spend the more money you have left in your bank account at the end of the day. 



Piggy Bank Those Loose Loonies & Toonies – If you use cash as a primary method of purchasing items try saving loonies and toonies and throwing them into a piggy bank/jar at the end of each day. You will be surprised how fast this money saving method will add up.

Take Advantage of Student Discounts – As a student you are entitled to a multitude of student discounts. There are often student discount cards that can be bought as well, so that you receive additional discounts/perks which is a great way to take advantage of added benefits and even save you money at the same time. 

I hope these quick tips for money saving will be useful to students. As much as I enjoyed being a temporary full-time student, it will soon be time to get back into the working force and continue to earn money for a living! 

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Things You Should NOT Do In Class

You should always keep in mind the things that you should NOT do in class, in order to have a successful college/university year. Getting into the habit of good tips at the beginning of the school year will save yourself from having a potentially difficult year. 

Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to things you should NOT be doing in class: 

1) Fall Asleep – If you are going to fall asleep in class then really what was the point in coming? Yes you may score those participation marks (depending on your prof) but you miss on important pieces of information that your instructor is likely to deliver during the lecture. Getting to bed early the following night so that you are well rested for an early morning class is the smart way to go. Falling asleep can offend your instructor but also it looks bad on you so this is a very important thing that you should not be doing in class! 

2) Sit At The Back Of The Class – Sitting at the back of the class can often be harder for you to focus on what your instructor is talking about for the entire period. Not only can you get distracted by the actions of your fellow class mates, but it can be harder to hear clearly what your instructor is saying. Sitting closer to the front of the class room will allow for you to be more concentrated, as well encourage you to become more engaged. By becoming more engaged you will be able to retain what is being taught.

3) Not Take Notes – I know it can be a daunting task to take notes, but unfortunately if you are not taking good notes it is likely that study for big tests and final exams will not be a huge success. Professors will often emphasize and give hints on the important material, so if you can learn to master the skill of good note taking you will likely achieve better test scores. Also, skimming through class notes regularly is a great way to consistently keep the information taught fresh in your mind. 

4) Be Distracting or Disruptive –  This is at the top of the list among things you should NOT do in class. There is a fine line between keeping life in the classroom entertaining and being distracting or disruptive. There will always be a class clown or some loud and obnoxious individual in class. If you happen to fit this category have some respect other students in the class. Most of them have paid to be there and are probably more interested in learning rather than being distracted by YOU and your obnoxious behaviours.

5) Cheat/Lie – We all know cheating is unethical, in addition it really is not worth the sacrifice of receiving a zero, even worse expulsion when you are probably paying for your own tuition. Lying is also just as bad…professors really have heard it all.  Continually make up excuses for missing a big test or not having a major project done when it was due makes you look irresponsible. Watch out, it could bite in you in the behind because when a real emergency does come up your professor might have lost any sense of accountability in you. 

Do yourself a favor and make a mental note of things you should NOT being doing in class! The more things you can check off this list of things that you should not be doing in class the easier a school year it will be for you! 

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Know Your College Program and Be Familiar With Changes

To save yourself a lot of time and headache I would suggest getting familiar with the program that you are in or that you will be taking and learn the ins and outs. This also means being familiar with the changes as they occur. Whether you have started a program or you are in your last semester study other certificates or programs in your related area of study. You might find that you are eligible for a certificate that you would not have known otherwise.

As I began taking courses through Humber College I was constantly looking at my program curriculum and in other areas related to my program. This can save your substantial time in the future if you decide you want to continue with an education path. 

Bearing in mind that I was a part-time student, here are a couple of things I learned along the way just from constantly knowing my area of study...

1) By taking a Computer Applications course it not only exempted me from having to take Database Management in the Business Marketing program but I ALSO received my Business Marketing certificate! I was aware of this for some time because I took the time to learn my program inside and out. For example, what the course equivalents were and what the level of difficulty might be so that I could mentally prepare myself. 

2) The second advantage that I just very recently found out (literally about one month ago and bearing in mind I am in my final semester) is that I am also eligible for the Marketing Management Specialization certificate. I only figured this out because I was navigating around the Humber website for no known reason really...I thought I knew everything there was to know about my program already, so when I stumbled up this new piece of information I was exciting to know I would be earning one each piece of paper under my belt. I got on the phone and had Humber registration add the additional certificate on my student records.   

I realize that students all have different pathways in what they are doing, but if you are working as a part-time student (I know there are some students eventually end up working or there are other various situations that  unexpectedly change your plans that may already be set in place) then this is something that can work to your benefit. But by knowing your program and being familiar with the changes this really have an impact on you. If you are the person who is slowly chipping away at a program always be in the know; with technology advancing so quickly there are many changes being made to course within five years.