studenthacks.org

The Successful Student Series is an assortment of interviews with students who have worked hard and earned degrees from top universities. The purpose of this series is to learn about their study habits, college survival skills, and making the transition from college to career.

Featured Student:

Paul Fang

Undergraduate Degree/School:
UC Berkeley
BA in Molecular & Cell Biology (Genetics)

Graduate Degrees/Schools:
Harvard University
Masters of Education

Arizona State University
Masters of Natural Science (Physics)

[High School Questions]

How would you describe your study habits in high school?
My father instilled in me the idea of work first, then play. This has been beneficial throughout my academic career.

What types of extracurricular activities did you choose – and why?
I was on the swim team for 3 years. I also did choir, journalism, speech, and Academic Decathlon. I knew colleges wanted well rounded students.

Tell me about any goal planning or organizational strategies you used to get everything accomplished.
I try to make the best use of my time. In school, many teachers would give us time in class to start our homework. I would always take advantage of that time to get my work done.

If you could go back in time – and redo high school all over again – would you do anything different? And why?
I would try to do some internships or shadow someone in their job. This would have given me a better idea of what I wanted to do in the future.

What practical tips do you have for high school students who want to attend a top college?
Find out what the colleges are looking for. Visit the schools and drop by the admissions department. Sometimes they can give you some insight as to why some applicants were accepted and some were not.

[College]

What was the transition from high school to college like for you?
I think I was already a disciplined student in high school. So I didn’t have too much problem with slacking off which a lot of first year students have because their parents aren’t around to tell them what to do.

How did you decide on a college major?
The Gourman Report is a book that lists the top majors of universities. Even a great school has good and mediocre programs. So I looked through the list of good programs at my school and picked one that interested me the most.

How did you balance your academic life with social activities?
I lived in the dorms and spent a lot of time with my dormmates. I was also active in my church’s fellowship group.

Did you take any internships in college – if so – what types?
I did research in a genetics lab and also did research for an education professor. Both experiences were very worthwhile.

At what point were you thinking about graduate school – and did you know what program you wanted to attend?
I knew I wanted to become a teacher around my junior/senior year. So then I started looking at graduate programs in education. I also talked to other students who had already been accepted into these programs.

Any tips for college students planning on attending graduate school?
Visit the school, talk to professors, and drop by the admissions department for that program.

[Graduate School]

What was the application process like applying to your grad program?
I submitted my academic records and took the GRE. I also visited the schools that I was seriously considering. At a couple schools, I made appointments with professors to chat with them about their program. Sometimes these professors are the same ones on the admissions committee, so if they know you, you have an advantage.

Do you have any recommendations for students planning on going to grad school?
Talk to the students in that program and in that field. Ask them what they like and don’t like about it.

Aside from the academics, what was the biggest benefit of grad school for you?
Meeting people who come from all different kinds of background. It allowed me to discuss and debate various issues.

[Career Path]

Any recommendations for college grads making the transition to their first “real” job?
Talk to people in the profession and ask them what they like and don’t like about their job. Ask them what skills and abilities are needed to succeed in that profession. Learn social etiquette and professionalism. Employers want people who will show up on time, are competent, and dress appropriately.

Any other advice for college grads getting their first job?
Don’t expect to start at the top. You may have to start at an entry level job. But be persistent and work hard.

The Successful Student Series is an assortment of interviews with students who have worked hard and earned degrees from top universities. The purpose of this series is to learn about their study habits, college survival skills, and making the transition from college to career.

Featured Student:

Cal Newport

Undergraduate Degree/School:

Computer Science, Dartmouth College

Graduate Degree/School:

Working on PhD, MIT

The interview follows:

What was the transition from high school to college like for you?

I had pretty terrible study habits in high school. I tried to be organized when I first arrived at college, but had no idea what I was doing, so ended up exploring all sorts of craziness — from mind maps to speed reading.

How did you decide on a college major?

Somewhat randomly. Seemed interesting to me.

How did you balance your academic life with social activities?

I’m allergic to overload. I try to take balanced course loads and keep my extracurriculars both light and flexible.

Did you take any internships in college – if so – what types?

I spent a lot of my off terms working on undergraduate research projects.

At what point were you thinking about graduate school – and did you know what program you wanted to attend?

This all happened my senior year. I decided that might be a cool lifestyle. I applied to some grad schools, wrote a book, and applied to Microsoft. In the end I choose MIT because I thought it would be the most fun.

Any tips for college students planning on attending graduate school?

Only two things matter: your grades and your undergraduate research. If you want to go to a top school, drop your other activities, drop your double-major, and focus on becoming a departmental standout. The admissions committee could care less how many months you spent building houses in costa rica.

Did you take time off between college and grad school?

No. Some students get burned out. I find this stuff fun.

[Graduate School]

What was the application process like applying to your grad program?

You write some essays, get some recommendations, send in transcripts. I took the GRE at some point. It’s all pretty low key.

Why do you think you were a good applicant to the grad program you applied to?

I had good grades. Good recommendations. And a good research resume.

Do you have any recommendations for students planning on going to grad school?

Focus on research, research, research. And do well in your major classes.

What do you plan on doing after your PhD?

The professor life is the one for me.

Can you tell me about your two books — and how they can help students?

I was tired of seeing student guides that were written with the goal of “surviving” college. They seemed to have a lot of filler about things like packing lists and credit cards, and the tone sounded too much like a cheesy motivational speaker.

My goal was to write college guides that were more like business books: direct, unabashedly focused on doing really well, and based on real experience.

For my first book, HOW TO WIN AT COLLEGE, I interviewed award-winning students (Rhodes Scholars, Marshal Scholars, etc.) from across the country. I distilled their wisdom into 75 pithy rules.

For my second book, HOW TO BECOME A STRAIGHT-A STUDENT, I interviewed 50 straight-A students from a variety of schools. I honed in on how they studied and produced the first detailed look at the academic habits of *real* students how do *real* well. It busted a lot of myths. The most surprising observation is that these students studied less time than many of their peers.

Are you writing another book right now? Can you tell us about it?

I’m finishing up a proposal for my third book. Whether or not my publisher picks it up is another issue. (Selling books is tough, the conditions and the idea and the timing all have to be just right.)

The most I’ll say about it now is that it less tactical like my previous two books and more big picture. It deals with issues of stress and burnout, and how to build a successful student career that’s also fun to live.

Thanks so much, Cal!

Check out Study Hacks – to learn more about Cal and to read his student productivity blog.

Here are some popular student hacks to help you get ready for the Fall semester:

How to Choose a Professor
Learn tips on how to choose classes and professors this semester.

Where to Buy Cheap College Textbooks – 29 Nifty Websites
This is a complete list of popular discount book websites to help you find cheap textbooks.

How to Organize a Cramped Dorm Room
Learn how students are organizing their tiny dorm rooms.

Free College Scholarships You Should Know About
Find creative ways to pay for your education with some free college scholarships.

How to Hack Google Scholar and Get Journal Articles By Email
Find out how you can use Yahoo Pipes and Dapper to keep up with current research on the topic you’re interested in studying this semester. This is an essential tool for grad students.

The Nuts and Bolts of Time Management
Get ready for the hectic schedule of balancing school with your social life by following these time management tips.

As the Fall semester approaches, it’s time to start thinking of potential research projects to focus on this year. Here are some unconventional student research projects to get your creative mind going . . .

1. Crickets Playing Pac Man

Grad student Wim van Eck turned to crickets to add a bit more unpredictability to a game of Pac-Man, casting them in the role of the lowly ghosts against a human-controlled Pac. There’s few details about how the system actually works, but it seems that the crickets actually proved to be more worthy adversaries than your typical AI-controlled enemy: at one point, a particularly clever “ghost” decided to shed its skin, probably knowing full well that it would become invisible to the game’s color-based detection system. Watch the video . . .

2. Urine (You’re In) Control

These MIT seniors developed a game that is played when using a urinal. “The video game is our interpretation of the classic carnival game ‘whack-a-mole.’ Position on the back of the urinal corresponds to position on the screen. The player attempted to hit hamsters as they jumped from one hole in the ground into another hole in the ground. A successful hit turned the hamster yellow, made it scream and spin out of contol, and rewarded the player with ten points. The parabolic paths of the hamsters concealed the grid-like arrangment of sensors, resulting in a fluid transition between input and output. The game was programmed in C++.” See the whole project.

3. Flash Game – Flow

The addictive little flash game was posted on the USC website as part of his graduate thesis in the Interactive Media division. Within two weeks, it had over 100,000 hits – with no intentional promotion. In the game: as you grow, you can eat bigger and bigger things and survive at deeper and deeper depths. This eventually became a PS3 game. Play this addictive game online.

4. Rubik’s Cube Solving Robot

University of Michigan students Doug Li, Jeff Loevell, and Mike Zajac created a “Rubik’s Cube Solver” robot for their final project — it can solve a Rubik’s Cube in 54 seconds or less. Watch the robot conquer the cube.

5. Prototype Hand Gesture Based iPod Remote Control

Zhuan, Derrick, and Colin of Purdue University created “Handy”, a prototype hand gesture based remote control. The setup consists of a Handy box, an iPod Nano, and a BOSE Sound Dock. Watch the video to see it work.

6. Cheap Solar Power System

A team of MIT students, led by mechanical engineering grad student Spencer Ahrens, has come up with a prototype that one day could be mass-produced. The system is a 12-foot-suqare mirrored dish that concentrates sunlight by a factor of 1,000. Read the full story.

7. Star Trek Replicators and Diatom Nanotechnology

This paper helps demonstrate that silica can be replaced atom for atom without change of shape – a step towards the Star Trek replicator. Learn more about this Trekker project.

8. Using the Force: How Star Wars Can Help You Teach Recursion

The Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges published this research article on how Star Wars can help students learn about recursion. Check out the paper’s abstract.

Any other student projects that should get mentioned here?

I was very honored this week to interview one of my favorite writers – David Rakoff.

Rakoff is a regular contributor to NPR’s This American Life, and writes for New York Times Magazine, Outside, GQ, Vogue, Salon, Seed, The New York Observer, Wired, et al. He’s also received the Lambda Book Award twice.

His books “Fraud” and “Don’t Get Too Comfortable” have been my companions for many years, and I highly recommend you check them out when you get a chance.

The interview follows . . .

[About College]

Q. What type of student were you at Columbia University?

A: It’s very hard to remember. I wasn’t super academically distinguished. No Greek letters follow my degree. I was an East Asian Studies major, which meant learning Japanese (for someone of European extraction, learning an Asian language is a great exercise in being very, very bad at and unfamiliar with something. It’s been an invaluable lesson for me as a writer, where every new piece puts me right back in that spot). What else…I did fun theater, wore a long black thrift store coat, and smoked like a dream of adolescent alienation. It was an urban paradise.

Q. What did you like/dislike about college?

A: The entire process of picking a major was more about putting aside many things that interested me as opposed to choosing one true and great love. I had tried to design a major wherein I might learn four or five languages, but it was the early 80s, before students were customers, before universities catered in that way, and before I–green Canadian–knew the ropes. I regret not having really good French, Italian, Spanish, and German under my belt, for example.

If you could redo college, would you do anything differently?

A: See above. I’d also exercise more and sleep around a lot.

What advice do you have for current college students?

A: Exercise and sleep around a lot. And remember two things: youth is the least interesting thing you have to bring to the table, namely, don’t concentrate so much on being a prodigy. And There Is No Map (this is just a sidebar to the first rule. It’s largely unimportant what age by which you achieve most things. Try not to measure yourself against the inevitable hot shots. There’s no profit in it).

[About Writing]

What is your writing process like?

A: Oy vey. The writing’s not going great right now. I do make it a point to stay home all day every day, but it feels like I manage about ten minutes of writing a day, if that. There are some snacks and naps and e-mails and phone calls thrown in there, too. Plus art projects. Lots of duct tape wallets of late.

Do you have any strategies for staying productive and making your deadlines?

A: The perceived disapproval and disappointment of others in me is the most effective goad for my productivity.

When do you know/feel your essay is finished for publication?

A: A lot of it has to do with deadline. The actual time when something is due and necessarily has to leave my desk. But there’s also a point where you’ve written rewritten, walked away to let the gluten rest and then done yet another pass when you know something is finished. Or as finished as you can make it in that time. It turns out to be not quite as mysterious a moment as you might think.

Can you tell us about your next book?

A: To reiterate, Oy Vey. Well, it’s ostensible arc is a defense of melancholy, pessimism, anxiety, and all of the emotions that have been tarred with the brush of negativity and therefore stricken from the larger cultural conversation. I hope to argue (in a highly discursive, collage-like and possibly unintelligent manner) that, while these emotions may well be hedonically less pleasant, they remain necessary and even beautiful at times.

Learn more about David Rakoff:

• Don’t Get Too Comfortable [Flash Video]
• King of the Forest (Essay)
  
• Listen to an interview with David on Salon.com
• A Basket Case in North Carolina [NY Times]
• David Rakoff’s Online Diary [Slate]
• The Love That Dare Not Squeak its Name [Salon]

I’ve only used an MP3 recorder a couple times in my college career, and these were for classes where my professor would spit out tons of information in a brief amount of time (and my pen couldn’t keep up).

Here are some pros and cons of recording lectures:

The Benefits of Using a Recorder

The class lecture is complex and difficult to understand.
If you’ve ever had to sit through a lecture about Foucault, you know how difficult comprehending a lecture can get. And that’s where listening to a lecture a second or third time can help.

You’re going to be absent.
Ask a friend to record a class lecture if you’re going to miss it. Sure, you could just copy his or her notes, but a recorded class lecture in it’s entirely will make sure you don’t miss a thing.

You want an audio archive.
If you’re scared you might lose paper versions of your notes, then you might want to consider having an audio version available as a backup.

You can’t keep up with how fast your professor is lecturing.
I have horrible penmanship, and my handwriting is too slow. So if you have a professor or TA that lectures fast, you may want to consider recording the lecture to catch anything you missed.

The Problems of Using a Recorder

Listening to Recorded Lectures Takes Time
The biggest downside of using recorded lecture notes is that it takes time to listen. It’s another hour or two out of your day to scan through an old lecture. It’s a time killer.

Recording Lectures Encourages Half-Listening
When you know everything is getting recorder, you’re apt to daydream or not pay full attention to what’s being said.

Recorders Require Batteries and Might Not Work Properly
You never know when your last battery dies, or when the recorder didn’t capture everything your professor said. You also miss out on any notes your professor writes on the board.

Common Recording Problems
Here are some recording problems I’ve encountered: batteries died, pause button left on, volume too low, and recorder microphone not close enough to the speaker.

For the most part, I never used a recorder – but what about you?

If you’re thinking about going to graduate school, you should begin planning at least 15 months before the program starts.

Here is a typical application timetable:

June to August

• Think about what type of graduate school you want to attend and what you want to achieve.
• Compile a list of potential graduate schools you’d like to attend.
• Visit the grad school websites to see what the application process is like
• Start thinking about who should write recommendations for you
• Research financial aid sources for grad students
• Find out what standardized tests you’ll need to take – and how much time you’ll need to prepare. For example: GMAT (Business School), LSAT (Law School), MCAT (Medical School), GRE (Humanities) . . .
• Research test preparation courses for your program

September

• Request applications if the school’s website doesn’t provide it online
• Register for any standardized tests you need to take
• Write a first draft of your application essay
• Take a test preparation course
• Start visiting graduate schools you are serious about attending
• Request your undergraduate transcripts
• Create a list of schools you plan on applying to (with their application deadlines)

October/November

• Start talking with those people you want to recommend you, and ask them to submit their recommendation within a month
• Take your standardized exam(s)

December

• Write a second draft of your positioning paper
• Submit your applications for financial aid
• Make sure all recommendation letters have been sent in

January

• Complete your final draft of your application essay and have it proofread by several different people
• Submit your loan/scholarship applications
• Send in your application essays, forms, et al. to the schools

February

• Prepare yourself for any upcoming interviews at the grad schools you applied to
• Make sure all the grad schools have received your complete application

Upon Acceptance

• Notify the school you plan on attending
• Plan on leaving your job
• Have a party – and get ready for several years of hard work and drinking tons of coffee

Recommended Reading

• How to Get a Great Recommendation Letter
• How to Write a Killer College Application Essay
• The Nuts and Bolts of Time Management
  

You can instantly retrieve more information faster and easier by memorizing data in organized patterns.

Here are 8 ways to make information cement in your mind:

1. Acronyms
I’ve used acronyms throughout my college and grad school career. They’ve helped me memorize information for class presentations, and helped me memorize details for exams. An acronym is simply a word wherein each letter represents another word. For example: HOMES (The Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)

2. Acrostics
Acrostics are sentences in which the first letter of each word helps you remember items in a series. For example: Zoe Cooks Chowder In Pink Pots in Miami (The Essential Minerals: Zinc, Calcium, Chromium, Iron, Potassium, Phosphorus, Iodine, Magnesium).

3. Act it Out
Use your acting ability to make a connection with the material you’re trying to learn. For example: reenact a dialog between two historic figures – or carry on a debate between two different philosophers, politicians or literary critics.

4. Categories
Organize information into broad categories to help you remember information faster. For example: Types of Joints in the Body (Immovable, Slightly Movable, Freely Movable).

5. Peg Words
Develop a chain of associations between whatever list you need to memorize and a peg word. Peg words are associated with numbers (e.g. zero is hero; one is a bun; two is a shoe; three is a tree; four is a door; five is a hive; six is sticks; seven is heaven; eight is a gate; nine is wine; and ten is a hen). Here’s how peg words work with the atomic numbers in a periodic table: (1) Imagine a hydrogen hotdog on a bun; (2) Imagine a helium shoe balloon; (3) Imagine a lit tree on fire (lithium); (4) a door made of berries (beryllium); (5) a hive with bored bees (boron); and the list can go on. The odd pairing helps you memorize information quickly.

6. Rhymes
Make up a silly rhyme or pun to help you memorize information. For example: Brown vs. Board of Education ended public-school segregation.

7. Recordings
Make a recording of yourself giving a lecture about the subject you’re studying. This is especially helpful for foreign language classes or a vocabulary section on a standardized test.

8. Visualizations
Turn an abstract idea into an image of something that is as specific as possible. For example, visualize a scene from a historic period. Make it as real as possible in your mind. Use all your senses and imagine what it must smell like, feel like, etc. The more specific you are, the more you’ll remember.

What are some strategies you use to memorize information faster?

[Photo by Rofi]

Recommended Reading

• How to Improve Your Memory Power – 7 Effective Techniques
• Boost Your Brain Power with These Super Foods
• Brain Teasers and Games to Stimulate Your Mind
• Hack Your Mind with These Memorization Techniques

Here are some various strategies to help you start remembering what you’re reading:

Write Summaries in Your Textbook
Summarizing your reading causes your mind to comprehend, analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information better. You’re not just reading information passively, you’re causing your mind to join ideas together so you can condense it down yourself. Write down brief summaries as you read various sections in your textbook.

Say it Out Loud
After reading and writing summaries for about 30 minutes – stop and take a break. Try to recite out loud from memory what you’ve just read. Pretend to give a lecture on what you’ve read, and do your best to recall what you’ve just summarized. This might be difficult at first, but you’ll get better at it as you keep practicing.

Argue With Your Textbook
Another great way to remember what you’ve read is to start an argument with your textbook. Think critically about everything you’re reading and question concepts that seem foreign to you. Add question marks and underline areas that cause you to question. And make sure to write down questions in your textbook. These are also great questions to pose in class – or to ask your professor during office hours. It shows you’re an active reader.

Create a Mock Essay Exam
After finishing a chapter, write a mock essay exam question about what you’ve just read. And then take 15 to 30 minutes to write a detailed answer to the question from memory. This is a great way to make the information stick.

Record Your Verbal Summaries and Listen
I know this sounds geeky, but I used to record myself summarizing my textbooks. And I would listen to these recordings at night while falling asleep. This is a very easy way to help you memorize a lot of information without even thinking very hard.

The more actively involved you are with your textbook, the more you’ll comprehend and the more interesting you can make your reading experience.

Recommended Reading

• Why You Should Talk to Yourself After Reading
  
• Double Your Reading Speed with These Skimming Strategies
• How to Analyze a Book Quickly

I compiled a list of student bloggers who are focused on writing about college life and student productivity.

This list will continue to grow, so please feel free to email me if you’d like to be added.

Please note that I’m only listing student blogs that are updated regularly and focused on student productivity and/or life hacking tips.

I’ve also linked to this directory of bloggers on my homepage (on the left-hand side).