Making "B's" into "A's"

If you're an average student able to get B's, or even C's there are tons of resources on the internet to help you along with school. Even iTunes has podcasts devoted to higher education and learning. I would recommend checking these out as a lot of course content is the same or simmilar. If you're struggling with a particular class you can download the online course content and watch videos of a professer lecturing at a different school. Sometimes this is better than just looking over your notes, you get a different perspective.

Here are a few link's I found Useful:

MIT Open Course Ware
Arguably one of the top engineering schools, they put most of their course content as videos online here. You can also find their OCW in iTunes under the vidoes section.
The Calculus Lifesaver
This is alot of help if you struggle with calculus. To get to the videos you need to click on Adrian's picture on the right side of the webpage.
Tutor.com
This is a good webpage for college entry level math and science help if you have specific questions you are looking for. It does cost money but my institution offers the service for free, so I make use of it as often as possible.


You may also want to see if your school as a tutoring or academic services center to get yourself help. Most larger universities have places for tutoring because their professors don't have enough time to answer students questions. If you need help, you need to make sure you get help as soon as possible, or you will be left behind.

Today's sleep schedule

My first attempt at a polyphasic sleep schedule was a complete failure. Monday morning I went to sleep at 4:00 and set my alarm for 7:00 but I failed to pull myself out of bed. I decided to sleep only 4 hours last night and then sleep 30 minutes every 4-6 hours today. I am planning on reducing my overnight longer nap to 1.5 to 2 hours slowly.

Surviving Failure

If you have ever failed a test or homework assignment in an important class you know how hard it is to redeem your grade. Asking your professors for a way to earn extra points can be invaluable, especially if you know your professors on a personal level. A lot of large universities' professors have a distant relationship with their students, so you may not be able to use this technique if you're attending large class lectures. If you do go to a smaller college and are able to talk to your professors on a personal level you need to take advantage of that opportunity. Here are some things to consider when asking for a chance to fix your grade.

1. Make sure your professor knows you desire to get a good grade.
This is the most important thing, if your professor knows that you're trying hard to succeed in class they will be more likely to help you in any way they can, but everyone has limits. Don't expect your professor to give you special favors or extra credit chances just because you asked for it. If you don't test well, be sure that you show your professor that you're trying hard in the class to succeed by getting good grades on your homework. If you have had stellar grades on all your previous tests make sure you bring that to their attention.

2. Don't make excuses.
I can't think of anyone that likes to listen to a well planed out excuse. If you think you have the perfect excuse as to why you couldn't pass the test save it for yourself. Even if you had a real problem keep it to yourself. You should only bring an excuse to your professor when you have a serious problem, like a death of someone close to you, and this should have been brought to their attention before hand. If you have had a tragic event happen, let your professor know, but don't expect this to guarantee anything.

3. Ask them politely for an opportunity, be specific.
Don't just ask for a way to increase your grade, have ways that you would be willing to raise your grade before hand. Ask if you can take the test home and fix the incorrect answers for partial credit or if you could complete a set of extra problems. Also give them a time frame for when you will be completing the assignment; if it is possible assure your professor that you would be able to turn the extra work in the next class day.

4. Pay attention to your tone of voice and word choice.
Do everything you can to sound like you're not begging or nagging. Be confident in yourself when you approach them but don't act like you expect to be given an opportunity. If you don't sound confident or you say things like, I'll do anything to raise my grade, it will seem like you're begging and they will be less likely to grant your request. Even if your request is declined, be polite, and be sure to say thank you.

Polyphasic Sleep Schedules

I have decided to adopt a polyphasic sleep schedule to try to free up some wasted time to complete homework and have more free time during the night. Right now I am undecided whether I want to try an uberman's schedule or an everyman's schedule. I am on my first night and I'm going to attempt an everyman's schedule for a while and see how I fair. I will be posting updates on my observations and frustrations as often as I feen necesary.

How to survive full time college and work

I have been going to school full time and working full time over a year and a half, and I've learned that sometimes you cant get everything you need done without a plan. My first semester working full time I got 2 B's and a C, not what I was shooting for. You need to set yourself up for success; You can't just amble along idly if you want to keep your GPA above a "3.0". Minimizing the time you waste sitting around and doing everything as quickly and efficiently as possible will give you enough free time so you don't get overwhelmed. This is tailored towards a person working ~40 hours a week and completing 12+ credit hours at school.

Here are some tips that will help you be successful while working full time and going to school.

1. Get used to carrying your book bag.
You'll need to carry around your books pretty much everywhere you go if you want to be able to complete your homework, especially if you want to have a life outside of school and work. If you get a break during work, rather than going out, bring your lunch to work before hand if that is a possibility. That way you can do your homework and you wont waste time driving.

2. Try to group things together during your week.
If you can skip going to the bank today and put it of for tomorrow when you need to mail the bills, do it. Plan ahead in your shopping, buy things you need two or three weeks from now today; don't wait for the day you need something to go purchase it. If you use less time traveling you will get more done during the week and you will find more free time.

3. Set time aside on the weekends to plan out your week ahead.
If your instructors give you your homework that's due ahead of time and you know your complete schedule for the week, make a mental tentative schedule of when you'll have time available for homework. You may even want to write down your week's outlook in a planner to help if you like to stay really organized. Give yourself extra time, that way if you end up with time left over you can enjoy yourself, or start on next week's projects.

4. Get used to sleeping less, and sleeping short periods at odd hours.
You won't be able to get your eight hours of beauty sleep every day, especially if you want honor roll grades. Eight hours of sleep is an even way to split your day into thirds, and it has become a part of society that most of us just tend to go along with. If you sleep eight hours and work eight hours, that gives you the last eight for free time. There are other sleep cycles, called polyphasic, that you sleep multiple times during the day. There isn't much research on them and the psychological and physiological damages are not well known, so proceed at your own risk.

5. Learn to study while you eat meals.
You may not have a full 30 minutes to devote to a well cooked meal. If you can get a meal on campus make sure you're looking through your book seriously while you eat. If you live on your own cook enough so that you have leftovers. That way you can toss them in the microwave in a couple days and have a "freebie" meal. Also, while you're cooking you can be doing homework in between preparing the food.

6. Use mass transit if it is available.
If you have a 15 minute trip into town and you can plan your schedule around a buss schedule do it. It is better to take a 30 minute buss ride than drive 15 minutes. You can be reading a book or doing homework in those 30 minutes. So even though it feels like you lost 15 minutes, you had a gain of 15 minutes that you would have wasted driving instead of studying.

7. Most importantly, make time for yourself.
You need to have a social life outside of work and school. Even if you have just one night a week where you go hang out with your buddies and do something. Maybe a poker night, chess club or something, you need to have time set aside to be social. This may be an engineering club or something that is considered an extra-curricular activity that will look good on your resume. Just make sure that you are making yourself available for social time; many people will get burned out if all they do work and study.