By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. I must begin this article with something important: Studying is supposed to be hard. Learning something new and building the neural networks in our brain to store that information is a challenging process that is supposed to make us feel uncomfortable. …
The Assignment Funnel: How Successful Students Finish Work on Time
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. There’s more to completing a single homework assignment than just sitting down and doing it. To complete a homework assignment from start to finish, and turn it in on time, four separate things need to happen. If there is a bottleneck …
Better Notes, Better Grades: How Good Note-Taking Changes Everything
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Getting good grades in school is about way more than being smart. In fact, being smart doesn’t have much to do with it. Students with the highest grades tend to have the most efficient systems for doing school. When your systems …
How to Know If You’re Ready for a Hard Semester
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Some semesters are just harder than others. Maybe you’re taking more advanced courses, your professors are a little stricter, or you’re adding an internship or job to the mix (which is maxing out your time, making your semester feel harder as …
3 Unexpected Reasons School Feels So Overwhelming
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. School can feel overwhelming for a million reasons, most of which have to do with the fact that school is hard. I’m dead serious. AP physics can feel challenging because AP physics is challenging. Advanced economics can feel difficult because advanced …
Why School Is Hard: 7 Invisible Traps That Make School Feel Impossible
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. We all know that tests can be hard. Obviously. But for many students, the real reason school feels hard isn’t the work itself: it’s everything around the work that’s the real challenge. The things no one talks about. The invisible stuff. …
How to Get an A on Final Projects: 5 Tips for High School and College Students
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Many high school teachers and college professors assign final projects instead of final exams. Teachers and professors may choose a final project over an exam for several reasons. First, it may fit the subject better. Second, they want to see if …
How Catastrophic Thinking Wrecks Your Grades (And How to Stop)
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Does this scenario sound familiar? You bomb a test and it brings down your class grade. That makes you feel bad, so you zone out during the next few classes because you think, “What’s the point? I already failed.” As a …
What to Do If You’re Failing a Class: 7 Tips for Students
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Most students will fail a test or an assignment at some point in their school lives. While this isn’t ideal, it’s normal and won’t likely jeopardize your overall class grade too much. If you fail a test, follow these strategies here. …
What to Do When You’re Overwhelmed with Late Assignments
By Katie Azevedo, M.Ed. Whether you miss class because you’re sick, have an excused absence, or just choose to sleep in, missing school almost always results in missing assignments. And missing assignments lead to late assignments. Something else that causes late assignments? Not doing them …