Wednesday Wisdom: Study Smarter, Not Harder!

When I was an undergrad student, working away at my bachelors degree, I didn't even know there were different ways to study. But there ARE! And some of them are way better than others.

University students should spend their first semester or year trying out new study methods to see what works best for them. We all have different preferred methods of learning!

For example, I do not learn well from listening. Having a text read to me is pretty much pointless. I need to skim the text and then go back and re-read passages that are more important or that I didn't understand. But I know that a lot of students use apps to have their textbooks read to them and find it really helpful!

There is some debate about the "blurting" method. I have recently seen some academic coaches describe it as less helpful because it is more about memorization than comprehension (deep learning), but I would challenge that! You can use blurting to work towards comprehension - this is one of my favourite methods. If you're not familiar with it, you can read more here, and also read my other study tips.

Basically, in university you have to figure out which study methods work best FOR YOU for PARTICULAR TYPES OF MATERIAL. What worked in high school may not work in uni, and what works in one class may not work in another, and also what works for your friend may not work for you. This is why it's so important for you to take time to explore this in your first year or so!

Resources: May Scholarship Deadlines

May is a BIG month for scholarship deadlines! Here is just a sample of the upcoming deadlines:

May 17 - AEBC (Alliance for Equality of Blind Canadians)

May 23 - AbbVie IBD Scholarship Program (Crohn's & Colitis Canada)​

May 24 - CanGap Gap Year Scholarship,

May 31 - Bank of Canada Scholarship Awards, Betty Spalton Scholarship, Black Canadian Scholarship Fund, Canadian Federation of University Women South Delta Branch, Canadian Federation of University Women Surrey/White Rock, Corus Television Broadcast Scholarship and Internship​

If you'd like access to the list that we maintain, you can purchase it here ($10) or enroll in the online scholarship course here ($24.99).

*As always, make sure you check the requirements and deadlines for these. These scholarships are not offered by me and I gather them for you but sometimes they make changes that I'm not aware of.

ChooseYourUni News

June is going to be a really exciting month over here at Choose Your University! We have several exciting dates coming up:

June 3: We will be launching our new course: Networking for Students! It's a collaboration with Start with Hannah, who is probably the best networker I know, and I'm so excited to help students become better networkers!

June 10: I'll be presenting to a group of entrepreneurs on how to plan their own online courses. I'm taking what I've learned from teaching university courses, working online with students, and building online courses, and distilling it into a one-hour session! If you want to come, you can gain access by joining the free tier of membership in the Start with Entrepreneurship Community. Hit reply if you have any questions!

June 17: We will be launching our new website! Same domain - chooseyouruni.ca - but it's going to look so much better AND be mobile-friendly! I can't wait to share it with you!