Studying is an essential part of college life, but many students find it boring. However, it doesn’t have to be this way with the new apps that are currently available. The following five apps can be a great help to you, whether you’re attending a traditional university or studying for your degree online. Keep watching to learn more about how these apps make studying a breeze.

Evernote

Evernote is one of the best organizational apps available. It provides multiple functions for streamlining your note-taking and scheduling processes, including attachments, checklists, links and audio recordings. The free subscription comes with 60 MB of uploads per month, which you can synchronize across two devices. This feature allows you to access notebooks from your desktop even when you’re off-line. The paid subscription adds email forwarding, annotated PDF files and note presentation with a single click.

My Study Life

My Study Life is available for free on a variety of platforms, including Android, iPhone, Windows 8, Windows Phone and the web. It allows you to store information on your exams, homework and lectures on the cloud and manage them from your device. You can also synchronize data across platforms, so you can still access it if you lose your Wi-Fi connection. My Study Life notifies you of due dates for homework, as well as scheduling conflicts between classes and exams.

XMind

Exploring new ideas by mapping them out is sometimes the best way to approach an assignment. XMind is a study app that lets you map ideas, allowing them to flow more freely. XMind includes multiple templates and a matrix that help you change the logic and organization of your ideas. You can also export your maps from XMind to Evernote.

Scanner Pro

Scanner Pro turns your iPad or iPhone into a portable scanner, which is especially useful for accessing physical text from multiple locations. For example, you can scan pages from a book in a library without having to check it out. Once you scan your study material, you can upload them to the cloud. Scanner Pro also includes options to create workflows for any of its processes. In addition, this app recognizes text embedded in images, allowing you to search them.

Chegg Prep

Chegg Prep is a study aid specifically designed for students who learn best with flashcards. It allows you to create flashcards on any subject or type of test. You can customize your cards, including adding your own images to them. Once you’ve mastered a card, you can remove it from your deck. Chegg Prep also allows you to download thousands of cards that other students have created, if you don’t want to make your own. This app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play.

 

Attending medical school is a major life decision. While attending medical school and becoming a doctor is an excellent choice for many people, it’s not the best course for everyone. 

Wondering whether med school is right for you? 

Read on for a roundup of five signs that you are a good candidate for medical school. 

1. You’ve excelled academically

Medical schools have limited spaces with way too many candidates fighting for them. As such, they’re notoriously difficult to get into. Before setting your sights on attending medical school, you should first consider whether it’s a realistic choice for you. 

If you don’t have top-notch grades, test scores, and extracurricular activities that will give you a decent shot at getting in, you may want to consider another path, such as a less competitive healthcare career or taking a year or two to improve your qualifications. 

2. You comprehend the commitment

One of the reasons medical school is so difficult to get into? Medical schools are seeking candidates who can handle the rigor. No one expects medical school to be easy. Between the intense curriculum, the grueling hours, and the stiff competition, however, few people are aware of just how difficult it is. 

And we’re not just talking about your time in medical school. Attending medical school is a commitment to years and years of learning—both in the classroom and during your residency afterwards. 

Some residencies, like neurosurgery, last as long as seven years. Therefore, aspiring neurosurgeons are committing to more than a decade of training when they decide to go to medical school. The more aware you are of this commitment, the better prepared you’ll be to manage it—both personally and professionally. 

3. You’re supported by your loved ones

The decision to attend medical school doesn’t just impact you.  From the high cost of attending medical school to the time demands of being a doctor, medical school is a huge commitment for families of medical students, too.

The support of spouses, partners, families, and friends can help you stay the course when things get tough. Conversely, lack of support can become one more obstacle to success with the potential to escalate over time. 

This doesn’t mean you should let someone else’s opinions stand between you and your goal of becoming a doctor. However, it is another factor when assessing the pros and cons of going to medical school.

4. You’ve evaluated other options

The healthcare field is booming with a variety of potential career tracks. If you’ve only ever dreamed of becoming a doctor, then attending medical school may make the most sense for you. 

However, if you have a broader interest in the healthcare sector, it’s worth looking at other types of jobs. From clinical to research to administrative roles, there are many healthcare careers that require less training while still boasting a strong outlook. 

For example, if you’re most drawn to patient care, you may find working as a nurse, physician assistant, genetic counselor, occupation therapist, speech-language pathologists, or other patient-centered role equally (if not more) fulfilling. 

5. You’re motivated by the right things

People have many reasons for wanting to attend medical school. Unfortunately, not all of these reasons are conducive to a positive medical school experience and long-term fulfillment as a physician.

If you’re considering medical school because of parental pressure, prestige, or money, you may be setting yourself up to fail. Why? Because these motivations are unlikely to sustain you on the long and arduous journey to becoming a doctor.

On the other hand, if you are motivated by a genuine interest in medicine, aspire to help others in a meaningful way, and love to be challenged, medical school may be a perfect fit. These same qualities happen to be  the key to career satisfaction for physicians. 

 

Before we can dive into the hardest degrees to earn, it’s important to explore what it is that makes college hard. 

Of course, there are factors that are individual, like your natural strengths and challenges, your educational background, the resources available to you, and the support you have in other areas of life. Students who have to work full-time through college might fight all degree subjects more difficult than students who don’t have to work, for example, or full-time students who are also parents of young children might find school more difficult than those who aren’t. 

One factor that is comparable despite those individual differences is the amount of time spent studying. So we’ve come up with the five hardest degree subjects based on the number hours students spent preparing for their classes each week – and you might be surprised with the findings!

Engineering

Engineers are the least likely to hold a job while they’re in school. Once they’re done with their degree program, they apply science and math principles to develop smart solutions for incredibly complex problems, designing, building, and maintaining systems and structures. There are over a dozen engineering fields like Aerospace Engineering, Bioenvironmental Engineering (the unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic), and Industrial Engineering to choose from and courses range from Chemistry to Analytical Physics and beyond. 

Engineering students spend more time studying than any other undergraduate student, making this the hardest degree on our list. 

Architecture 

Students who pursue a degree in architecture take classes like physics, calculus, structural systems, freehand architectural drawing, and more, all of which prepare them for a career designing new buildings and structures. Need a house plan that nobody’s ever seen before? You’ll hire an architect for that. Ready to build a new middle school that supports learning, social development, and creative expression? An architect’s got your back. 

Biology

Students who major in Biology can enter the workforce as biologists, researchers, or in other scientific roles, but some go on to seek graduate degrees, often becoming doctors or advanced practice providers. Biology students spend an average of 18.4 hours studying every week and only about 7% will drop out before they finish their degree. Surprising – in spite of the intense study time – most still participate in extracurricular activities. That means you can choose this hard degree without sacrificing the fun you hoped to experience during your college years. 

Mathematics

A hard-to-earn math degree can grant you access to a career as an actuary, mathematician, statistician, or information  analyst, to name a few. Math students spend an exorbitant amount of time studying and little time working or participating in extracurricular activities. You might say they eat, sleep, and breathe school. 

It might be because the program is hard (it is), but it may also be a combination of factors: perhaps those who seek degrees in math tend to enjoy their studies more than they enjoy extracurricular activities.

Computer Science

Computer Science majors, like math majors spend a lot of time studying and little time working and playing. Their hard work pays off when they graduate and are eligible for positions like Software Developer, Computer Programmer, and Computer Support Specialist – and when those of us who took easier different routes have to call on them for help. 

It goes without saying that hard is subjective, and you should choose the degree program that gives you access to the most rewarding careers for your interests and skill sets. We hope this list serves as an eye-opening challenge for you! 

The IELTS, or International English Language Test System, evaluates your English abilities in listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The test is designed to be challenging, which means that this is not something to bluff your way through. Scoring well on your test can help you in a variety of areas, such as with visa applications or to accompany your application to English-speaking colleges and universities.

As your date for the IELT quickly approaches, here are 5 key strategies you can use to improve your score and make sure you are as prepared as possible.

Build your vocabulary

Vocabulary building will help you improve your understanding of complex passages that you read or listen to. It will also help you create more sophisticated answers when speaking or writing.

Build your vocabulary with an emphasis on phrases. Remember that English uses many expressions in everyday speech, so reading new words in context is helpful. When you come across new words and phrases, record them and note their meaning in the passage. Try to find vocabulary pertaining to a variety of different subjects, such as daily life, office culture, and travel. 

Spend a lot of time reading

Read everything you can get your hands on in English. Look at local newspapers and magazines as well as books. Reading helps you practice understanding the context of the new words you encounter and will help you internalize common phrasing.

When you read, try to use only an English-to-English dictionary instead of translating it back to your native language. It will further build your vocabulary and language skills. 

Listen to English media whenever possible

As you prepare for your exam, also make an effort to listen to English media whenever possible. Watch the news, listen to the radio, and watch movies and TV shows in English. If it helps to have the captions on, use only English captions. 

 When you come across words you do not know, pause the broadcast if you can to look them up. It will boost your understanding and help you deepen your vocabulary.

As you listen, practice discussing what you hear out loud in English. If you have a native speaker you can practice with, that is even better. If not, at least take care of this step on your own. It will force you to practice forming English sentences and try out pronouncing new words. 

Use a variety of different sources

While you prepare for the test, try to use a variety of sources. For example, instead of only listening to your favorite crime drama that takes place in New York City, try to listen to radio broadcasts from England or read nonfiction books. Using a variety of different sources on different topics will help you build a wider range of vocabulary. It will help you understand a variety of different types of texts for various situations. 

Review your weak areas

Finally, look back over your work in English as you have gone through your studies. Review notes that you have taken from past English courses. Look closely at the tests and essays you have submitted and the grades you received. Take note of your common mistakes and practice correcting them. If you do not understand something that was corrected, reach out to an English teacher or a native speaker to see if they can explain it to you.

Preparing for the IELTS can feel like a lot to manage, but keeping these tips in mind can help you perform well and increase your understanding of English.

 

For those that have completed their undergraduate studies, there are a few options. You can either go into the working world or start to pursue your masters. For those in business administration, the natural next step is to pursue an MBA, which can be a daunting task. Before you consider making that leap, there are some things that you should already know by heart. Here are five of the fundamentals that each MBA student should have mastered.

5. Know How to Use a Financial Calculator

To the average person, simply looking at a financial calculator may be extremely overwhelming. For an MBA student, though, it’s something that should be used on a daily basis. Forget all of the algebra or graphing calculators, it’s a financial calculator that you should know inside and out. Thankfully, you don’t even have to drop hundreds of dollars on a physical calculator (though you probably should just to be safe) as there are many resources online to help guide you.

4. Learn the Stocks

You don’t have to be the best day trader in the world or lead an online revolution where you get everyone to invest in stocks of a certain used video game company, but you should at least know the basics on how the stock market works. MBA programs tend to not spend much time talking about the stock market, but having an entry level knowledge of its workings will set you up for both professional and personal success down the road. Think of it as an extracurricular activity that some feel should be required.

3. Get Advanced in MS Office

So you know the basics of Microsoft Word and Excel, which is great, but you better get very familiar with these tools (and the other Microsoft Office products) if you’re thinking about taking on an MBA. These are products that you’re going to use every single hour that you’re studying and eventually working in the professional field. Excel especially is perhaps the most complicated in MS Office, and you’ll be using it so much that you should know how to do nearly every single thing it’s capable of.

2. Time Management is Key

It should go without saying that you need to learn how to manage your time effectively. This is even more paramount for someone going through an MBA program. Unlike many other programs, you might find yourself with much less free time than a lot of your college peers. Because of this, always set a schedule well ahead of time, even if it means planning things out over a month in advance. It might not seem like fun now, but you’ll be thanking yourself later when you’ve mastered this skill.

1. Network and Talk with Alumni

For many, especially those that are introverted, it might be difficult to start talking to people about your MBA program. After all, it’s not something that you tend to bring up in a random conversation. Networking is key for MBA students, though, as it leads you down a lot of beneficial roads. Career opportunities will start popping up when you speak with alumni, and you can also get some tips on how to complete your program. The big takeaway is that your network will never be large enough.

We all know that math is a complex subject for many students. But what most people don’t know is that some mysteries in mathematics may never be solved. In this blog post, we will look at five mysterious problems that have been baffling mathematicians for years.

The Riemann Hypothesis

The Riemann hypothesis is a mathematical conjecture that suggests that every non-zero whole number is the sum of a specific sequence of prime numbers. German mathematician Bernhard Riemann first proposed a hypothesis in 1859.

While many mathematicians have attempted to prove or disprove this hypothesis, it remains unproven. Most experts believe that if the Riemann belief is true, it would have significant implications for the distribution of prime numbers.

The Collatz Conjecture

The Collatz conjecture is a mathematical problem that asks what happens when you take any positive integer and then repeatedly half it if it’s even or triple it and add one if it’s odd.

For example, starting with the number 5, we would get the following sequence: 5, 16, 8, 4, 2, 1.

It has been proven that this sequence will always reach the number 1, but mathematicians have been unable to verify why this happens. Some believe that the Collatz conjecture may be connected to the Riemann hypothesis.

German mathematician Lothar Collatz first proposed this conjecture in 1937. Several mathematicians have worked on this problem over the years but cannot find proof. If the Collatz conjecture is true, it could provide insight into how different numbers behave.

The Goldbach Conjecture

It is a mathematical statement that suggests that every even number greater than two prime numbers, multiplied together, can be regarded as the product of two prime numbers. Swiss mathematician Christian Goldbach first proposed the conjecture in 1742.

The Goldbach conjecture has been worked on by many mathematicians over the years but remains unproven. Some experts believe that if the belief is true, it could lead to a better understanding of the distribution of prime numbers.

It is one of the oldest unsolved problems in mathematics. Some experts have worked on it over the years but have been unable to find proof.

The Twin Prime Conjecture

The Twin Prime ConjectureThe twin prime conjecture suggests an infinite number of twin prime pairs (two prime numbers that differ by 2) in the set of all prime numbers.

Greek mathematician Euclid first mentioned this possibility in 300 BC. While many mathematicians have worked on this problem, it has yet to be proven. If the twin prime conjecture is true, it would have implications for our understanding of the distribution of prime numbers.

The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer Conjecture

The Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture in mathematics suggests that every elliptic curve over the field of rational numbers has a finite number of points. This conjecture was first proposed by British mathematicians David Birch and Peter Swinnerton-Dyer in 1965.

Some Mathematics experts believe this conjecture is false, but there has yet to be definitive proof. If the belief is true, it would have implications for studying elliptic curves.

Wrapping Up

While these five mathematical mysteries remain unsolved, mathematicians continue to work on them in the hopes of one day finding proof. Who knows, maybe you could be the one to solve one of these mysteries!