Should I Switch Majors? - Reader Question

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I was recently asked a question by a college student that I felt was well worth discussing. He told me about how much he regretted choosing his college major. He was looking for advice on whether or not to change college majors. I figured I could respond best using a full article. Hopefully it will help some of my readers too.

Hold on a second. You want to switch college majors? I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume you put a whole lot of thought into selecting your first college major. Considering you put all that thought into selecting your first college major, why are you now changing your mind?

I know this can sound like I'm being a bit harsh but please stick with this. I switched majors in college too. It's not a horrible thing. I just want to make sure you can look at this honestly.

You made a mistake the first time you picked a major. If you can admit that then you're on the right track. That being said, since you made a mistake the first time you made this decision, what makes you think you're not making a mistake this time?

The Second Requires More Than The First

Selecting your college major in the first place can be difficult. No one wants to go down the wrong path and lose years of their life to a major that's not quite right. Some high school students spend years working on solving this problem. Eventually though, most of them come to some confidence in their selection of majors.

If you want to switch majors then deciding which major to switch to should require even more commitment than you had with your original major. What do I mean by that?

If you were 90% sure you wanted to go for your first major then to switch to new major you should be well more than 90% (I'd say 95% or more) sure you want to go to the second major.

Sadly, most students that switch majors aren't that confident. The fact that they screwed up their decision in the first place destroys their confidence. If you screw up a decision when you're 90% sure you're right then it should be really difficult to be 90% sure again. That's natural. (If it's not then I think you need to do some soul searching.)

Going to college is not cheap.

If you're taking out loans to go to college then you're losing tens of thousands of dollars a year. Even in the highest paying fields around, that's going to take a while to pay off. Every month that you spend in a major that doesn't increase your future income, you're making a mistake.

Even if your school is completely paid for. It's a big mistake to lose sight of the years you're wasting. If you're like most college students, you're under 25. These are some of the best potential years of your life. You can do more now then you'll ever be able to do in the future.

College is expensive in every sense of the word. If you're not using college like a real investment then you're making a mistake.

Consider The Hard Decision

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Before you think about switching majors, consider the possibility of leaving college. I know... everyone tells you that's one of the most stupid things you can do but consider it. Do it solely to prove you're not just staying in college to make everyone happy. Leave college out of the equation. What are you motivated to do right now if you're out of college?

Anything?

Some people have a very clear answer. Some want to start businesses. Some want to work at good trade jobs. Some want to travel. If you have an answer like this then know it before you decide to switch majors. Is switching majors really what you want to do? If you're driven enough to do crazy-awesome things then you can always go back to college later. (As long as you're smart enough not to make life trapping decisions.)

Of course, your clear answer might be, get into this particular career field. To get into that field you might need college. If you don't need college for a basic position in that field then consider getting into that field without college. (If you want to be a nurse, spend some time as a CNA. Sure, you won't get perfect experience but you'll learn to appreciate the environment. Or, of course, you might learn you hate it.) If you absolutely need college and want to get in that field more than all your other goals then college is likely the route you should be taking.

That being said, most people don't have any particular goals. Most people use college as a testing ground for potential futures.

I hate to break it to you but college is a really expensive place to be experimenting with futures. If you want to know what you want to do for a living then get a few crappy jobs in environments that you might want to be in. If you want to be a building project manager then get a crappy construction job. If you want to be a doctor, get a crappy hospital job. You get a paid chance to learn what the environment is really like. You'll get to watch people in the position you want to hold. Do you think you'd enjoy doing what they're doing? If not, don't. If so then you can be on your way to a new major.

That doesn't guarantee you'll like the job when you get it but it's a whole lot more effective than studying random things from a textbook about the career field.

Don't make the mistake of assuming you need college to become successful and happy. (It can certainly help if you're in the right field of study but until you know where you're going, you're going to be wasting a lot of time and money with it.)

Should You Switch?

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If you're damn sure then you should switch majors.

There are exceptions to needing that rule though.

If college is getting paid off as you go to school (no debt) then don't worry as much about it being perfect (as long as you're sure the money will keep coming.)

If you've gained knowledge about the major you're switching into outside of school (like from a job) and that caused you to be interested in that career field. You're probably more capable of making that decision than you think you are. Trust yourself if you've actually gained knowledge about the knew major.

If you're major switch barely changes any of your required courses then you don't have to be quite as sure while switching too. (If switching back would only require a couple other classes then it's hardly worth stressing about.) This works for switches between closely related majors.

If you're still struggling to decide whether or not to switch majors then try looking at yourself from an external perspective. If you saw a person like you planning to switch majors, would you bet on that person making a smart decision. Bear in mind, they screwed up once. Do you have any reason to believe this person is not screwing up again?

(If this person studied for hours about the new major in their free time, or if this person learned about the major from career experience, or if this person knows why they picked the wrong major in the first place, you can be sure they're more suited to make the decision now than they were before.)

Does that mean you should stay in a major you hate? Unless you're eerily close to getting the degree then I would still recommend getting out of your major. No... you don't have to quit school. Just take a leave of absence for a year or two. Get a few jobs. By playing around in the outside world you'll be much better suited to make the right major decision when you get back. As long as you make smart decisions you won't have any problem getting back into the school rhythm.

Are you tired of hearing the same boring old advice from everyone around you? Do you want to know how to study faster than ever? That's what this blog is all about. Be sure to check out the books and the archives for piles more o' awesome school hacks.

How To Use Caffeine For Studying

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It's the number one smart drug in the world. You'd be hard pressed to find an office that doesn't serve copious amounts of it to it's employees. It can be used to increase productivity significantly. More relevant to you, it can be used to increase your ability to study.

That all being said, it's a drug. While it may not be as heavily regulated as something like Adderall, its screwing around with your brain chemistry. That shouldn't be taken as lightly as many 9-5 employees treat it. By taking the time to use caffeine properly, you can see more positive results with significantly less risk to yourself.

(Of course, for legal reasons, this isn't medical advice. Get professional advice before doing anything medical.)

There are a few things you need to know before planning to use caffeine to study.

The Obvious

Like I said before, caffeine is a drug. Never treat it like less than that. If you're not willing to properly research how to use it, you shouldn't be using it in the first place. It's not magic. It's just a small improvement when used properly. (It's not even an improvement for everyone.)

How Do You Treat A Drug...

When I say to treat it like a drug, I'm not kidding. If you were planning to administer Adderall to yourself. You wouldn't take in Adderall drinks randomly through the day. With caffeine, that's the typical approach for many students.

You shouldn't be drinking caffeinated beverages if you want to use caffeine for studying. It introduces tons of new potential problems.

First of all, it's risky. Caffeine has a relatively low lethal dose.

Second, more caffeine is not always a good thing. When you increase the dosage too much, it can easily overstimulate you. You might even get anxiety that makes it impossible for you to effectively study.

Third, managing doses allows you to actual know how effective different doses of caffeine are. We're not all the same. Some people need more or less caffeine to be at their peak. (Some need none.) If you don't manage doses then you'll never be able to find the appropriate dose for you.

Fourth, you need to be able to tell the difference between a sugar rush, caffeine rush, and just ingesting calories. The fewer the variables you can use, the better off you're going to be.

Yes. Not drinking caffeine can mean no soda, no energy drinks, and significantly less fun. If you're unwilling to do that then forget about trying to use it any more effectively.

Cycling Caffeine

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Caffeine seriously messes with your brain chemistry. It can become addictive. Over time, the same dosage of it gets less and less effective. If you ever work in an office then you're bound to find some employees that take 5 or 6 huge cups of coffee to get through the morning. This is a depressing consequence of a complete addict.

Cycling is using planning your caffeine usage for periods of time while staying free of caffeine for other times. When you're on caffeine, you get to enjoy all the benefits of it. While you're off caffeine again, your body gets to readjust back to it's normal chemical levels. By planning your cycles right, you don't have to worry about needing to increase your dose in the future. You also get to limit your withdrawal symptoms to however much you're willing to suffer.

The exact plans for your cycling should depend significantly on your goals.

Experimentation

Treat your intake of caffeine like you're doing a science experiment. You want to test the dosages effectiveness. To properly do this, you should probably be using caffeine in a pill form.

The most simple experiment you can do is take a small dosage, study, and then note how good you feel about the study session. Then take a few days off caffeine and repeat it with a new dosage. (Include at least one day recording how you feel without taking the caffeine.) After a few days, look at which days seemed most effective. It's not too scientific but it's much easier than actual full experiments.

To do a full experiment you should do multiple trials and tests using something like flash cards. This can be a major process with plenty of hiccups. It's ideal but most people will probably pass on it.

I've found some of my most effective dosages to be half a pill. Do not overestimate how much caffeine you really need. Too much is much worse than too little. Good luck studying when you feel like hopping up and down for an hour and a half.

Keep in mind that some people will study better without caffeine. (In fact, some people could probably use a little tranquilizer. That's so far out of my scope that I couldn't tell you anything about it.)

When To Use Caffeine

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In the ideal scenario, you should use caffeine at least 10 minutes before your study session. That isn't particularly easy though.

Once you down a caffeine pill, you can start to feel a rush almost instantly. Most of that is just in your head. Sitting and waiting 10 minutes before studying is tough. You'll probably want to do something else for ten minutes. That being said, after 10 minutes, you better hope you're disciplined enough to start studying.

It's ideal to wait a few minutes to study but it's usually more practical just to take caffeine right before you study. You won't be at the peak of focus when you start but you'll probably see a significant improvements by the time you finish studying. (When you study for short periods of time like this blog recommends, you may not even reach your peak studying by the time you finish. That being said, it can still improve your studying noticeably.)

This schedule comes with some problems though. If you're studying in the afternoon or later, any caffeine you take may interrupt your ability to sleep at night. (I've found that I can't consume much caffeine past 2 without noticeable sleep problems.) Given the choice between caffeine while studying or a good night sleep, always pick the good night sleep.

So, use caffeine in the morning before you study. The later in the day it gets, the more natural you should be studying.

(Of course, there may be some perfect super low dosage that can help you later in the day but that's a set of experiments I haven't found.)

The Less Obvious Benefits

There are a significant number of studies that show tons of assorted health benefits of regularly consuming caffeine. It's a drug that's been shown to help prevent a number of problems in the future. Once you learn to properly manage the risks and benefits, it can be a very reasonable risk to take.

That being said, you shouldn't need it. Anyone should be able to study fine without a stimulant. You should be doing everything in your power to prevent dependency on it. Many studies have shown that caffeine can produce dependency issues and those issues will make it significantly more difficult to manage it in the future.

I personally limit my usage of caffeine significantly these days. While the benefits can be very noticeable, it comes at a risk the studies will never be able to prove. Whenever I take something like that, I can't help but wonder if I'm giving my body an excuse to get lazy without the drug. Mentally, I'm accepting that I'm not at my peak without the caffeine. That is just plain depressing for me.

Do I still use it? Sometimes. Do I need it? Hell no.

Do you want to know the secrets of studying in less than 15 minutes a day without your grades lowering? (You don't even need the caffeine.) That's what this blog is all about. Be sure to follow and check of the ebooks for more information.

How To Study The Subjects You Hate

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Let's face it. There are subjects you're going to hate. Despite that hate, you're going to need to pass them to progress in school. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Honestly, the fact that you're able to tell the difference between the subjects you hate and the subjects you like is a good sign. (I know it sounds pretty weird but tons of students just despise everything blindly.)

Unfortunately, hating a subject comes with some problems.

You cannot study a subject you hate nearly as easily as you can study a subject you enjoy. Your brain is designed to memorize things that are important to you. If you hate it then you're admitting that it's probably not all that important to you (at least at a gut level.) Subjects that you enjoy can stick a whole lot easier.

What can you do about this?

The Wrong Answers

I can remember the same piece of advice from every teacher I discussed this with. They would tell me how great the subject is and try to convince me it's important logically. That was never the real problem I was having though. I hated math. I knew it was important. A huge percentage of the good jobs in the world require at least a basic understanding of math. None of that mattered. I still just hated it.

Logic is not the solution to hating a subject because, odds are, your decision to hate the subject wasn't logical.

I eventually got one piece of advice that was semi-useful.

A friend of mine told me to, “pretend that you like it.” Instead of just hating the subject, pretend that you're the kind of student that enjoys the subject. By attempting that strategy I saw instant positive results in my output but it didn't take long before I lost that drive to pretend. (It's mentally draining.)

What Got Me To Like Math

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I'd like to say that my sudden interest in math was related to a conscious effort on my part but it was partially just dumb luck. That being said, I was able to create a strategy that I've successfully with future subjects I didn't enjoy.

What got me to like math? I got into programming. Programming is heavily based on logic most of it could be done without using much actual math. That being said, to go deep into certain aspects of programming, math is a requirement.

Suddenly, I had an incentive to learn math. At that point, learning to enjoy math just happened naturally.

What is the strategy I took from this experience?

Love a subject for what you would love to do with it. I hated math but as soon as I found programming, learning math became an enjoyable process. You may hate English class. Instead of going for the reasons the teachers tell you to go, go for your own personal reason. (Maybe you like to find new words to sound smart. Or maybe you prefer to make fun of the idiotic things most novel characters do.)

It can be difficult to find a personally relevant reason to enjoy a subject but it's one of the most powerful options you have.

It's not the only way though.

Experiment With Delivery

This is another one of your most powerful options.

Sometimes students end up hating a subject just because of the crappy way schools try to teach it. By crappy, I mostly mean, not personally relevant. Depending on your teachers, you may never get your learning style properly involved in the education of the subject. If you've never had the chance to learn it at your peak then it's no surprise you hate the subject.

If you can't enjoy a subject from school, try finding sources that can explain that subject outside of the school environment. I know... it can sound miserable to search for educational stuff outside of school but you should at least know whether or not it's the subject or the sources that are driving you nuts.

For example, if you find history class boring, you can find a ton of history podcasts that explain it in a much more fun way. That's not even close to your only option though. There are comics, graphic novels, songs, and just about anything else you can think of. Learning history doesn't just have to be a boring lecture.

Find a new source of information on a subject and see if it helps the subject get through to you.

Minimalism And Prioritization

The regular readers of this blog are probably pounding their heads against the keyboard screaming, “NOT AGAIN!?” Yes... I'm bringing this idea back from the nooks of your brain. I'd pick it out with an ice pick if I had to because it's that golly tootin' important. (Golly tootin'? I don't know why I used that.)

When you properly prioritize your classes, you're able to eliminate most of the challenges you'll have with subjects you hate. Instead of always having to put a huge effort in, you'll learn to put the minimal effort in while still getting a grade that you're comfortable with. This blog has tons of articles that can help you do that.

Action Plan

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I dropped a few ideas through this article. I ordered the options from most effective to least effective. That being said, I would recommend you start from the least effective and move your way up. What do I mean by that?

Prioritize everything before you try and solve your subject hating problem. By prioritizing your classes you'll be able to know how much stress you should put into solving this problem. (Some subjects you may never need to think about later. There is no reason to spend days learning to love a subject when you won't need the subject ever again in a month.)

After prioritizing, try to find the minimum you can do while still getting a grade you're satisfied with. Does that minimum seem like more time than you want to invest? Then you need to keep moving up this list.

After that you should look for new sources to help teach you the subject you hate. You know what you enjoy better than anyone else. Look for sources of information that employ something that you enjoy. If you look hard enough, you will find a source. The source doesn't have to perfectly relate to the subject. It just has to be closely related.

Finally, you can try to find a personally relevant reason to enjoy the subject. This can take months. In fact, it can never happen. You don't need to actively seek it. Just remember that you're looking for it. Think about it every once in a while. If you have a new idea then look into it. The best part about this is that it lets you explore different things that you actually enjoy. Most won't end up helping the subject but as soon as you find one. You're set on the right path for good.

Do you want to know how to get your studying done in less than 15 minutes a night (while still scoring kick-ass grades?) Then this is the blog for you. Check out the archives (or maybe even the ebooks if you've got a kindle.)

Cheating In School...

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Since I say so many controversial things on this blog, I kind of feel the need to go off the deep end and say to go cheat away on everything... but I won't. It's usually just a recipe for trouble. I personally have some experience on the supplier end of cheating. (I never cheated on my own work but I've helped others with getting their work done before.) There are a few reasons I learned that cheating is usually a really bad idea. It's not even a bad idea for the reasons you might think.

You'll Get Caught!?

The most common objection people use against cheating is that you're risking consequences if you cheat. If you get caught cheating, you can get a mark on your permanent record that will haunt you forever. That mark can cost you tons of options in the future. If you're in college then you're also putting yourself at serious risk of getting kicked out.

There are some risks involved with cheating but statistically speaking, you won't get caught.

Sure... If you're stupid enough to copy and paste an essay then you have a good chance of getting caught. If you take the time to thoroughly think out your cheating methods then you have virtually no chance of getting caught. Even if someone does suspect something, there are ways that you can be almost completely safe from getting proven guilty.

College professors deal with hundreds of students. For the most part, you aren't going to even get noticed. (Of course, in certain class sizes this is much less true.) Most essays don't go through the automated plagiarism tests. Even if they do, with 10 minutes of intelligent editing, you can ensure the essay won't even trigger it. Even on tests, most teachers don't have the resources to stop every attempt at cheating. With a little creativity, the odds of a student getting caught are one in a million.

Despite that, you still shouldn't be cheating.

Spark Of Genius?

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I used to sell essays to students that wanted to cheat. (Of course, as a safety precaution, I told them I didn't allow them to use essays for class submission but everyone knew the business...) One thing always drove me nuts about the students that would purchase essays.

Most of these students were below average to average students. I was known for writing extraordinary essays. (Yes... no one knows what hole that writing skill slithered off into...) These teachers got to read okay essay after okay essay from these students, until one day, they submit a really good one. Teacher's that actually read their students essays are not too dumb to realize this change.

A teacher will probably never take note of a C student getting a B or a B student getting an A but most students cheating aren't in that situation. Most students that end up cheating go from D's to A's overnight.

A good percentage of the time, the teacher knows something is wrong. They may be completely unable to prove anything. They may not even have enough to feel comfortable asking the student questions but in any average class size, the teacher can notice massive changes in a single student.

When you cheat once, you're setting yourself up to need to cheat more in the future. Even assuming the teacher never realizes that you cheated, that teacher is going to hold you to a higher standard when you show that you're capable of doing better. To keep up with those new standards, you're going to need to continue the lie even longer.

The whole problem just stacks on itself over time.

Digging The Hole Deeper

Students usually cheat for one of two reasons.

The first reason is that they lack confidence in their ability to learn or produce. When you're not confident about your ability to remember information, you're going to make it significantly harder to actually learn. This can be an unbelievably destructive mindset to get stuck in because it affects every area of your life.

The second reason people cheat is because they failed to prepare. Despite knowing the value of getting that good grade, they made poor decisions that left them with the option of failing or the option of cheating.

Both reasons are miserable excuses to cheat.

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When you're not confident in your ability to take a test and you cheat. You're admitting that you were right not to be confident. It's like betting against yourself. This just trains your brain to think it was right to stick with cheating. Your mind won't change and you'll just have to do it again next time to appease your lack of confidence.

When you failed to prepare for a test, cheating just encourages you not to prepare for tests in the future. Failing a test isn't the end of the world. No, you probably won't get kicked out of school. No, you won't be dying on the streets. You'll just have to suffer a little bit of embarrassment. As long as you use that embarrassment to prevent making the same mistake in the future, you'll be much better off just failing.

When you cheat, you're giving yourself an attractive out. That attractive out often just ends up being more of a trap. Sure, it wouldn't be so bad if you cheated one time in your life but it's probably not going to end up being one time because you're just giving yourself permission to do it in the future more.

The more you cheat, the more your gut repulsion to cheating will go away. That won't help at all.

You Don't Need It

You don't need to cheat.

There are ways that you can get very high scores on essays, tests, and just about anything else without investing hours and hours of your time. With less than a half hour of work a night, you can be one of the most successful students in your class. (Easily top 10% in most non-elite high schools and colleges.) Quite frankly, cheating is probably more work than it's worth.

In the same amount of time it takes you to write a good and thorough cheat sheet, you can learn everything you need to learn to pass the test. You just need to be using the right strategies. Once you learn these strategies, the idea of cheating almost sounds like a hard worker's approach to getting good grades. Why work hard when you can work smart? Learn these strategies and you'll be set.

Do you want to learn how to study in less than 15 minutes a night? Follow this blog and be sure to check out our kindle books listed in the side bar.

But It Won't Look Good On My College Application (Or Resume)!?!?

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I'm going to be writing this article for high school students but college students can still take a lot from it if they replace the discussion about a college application with a resume. Some of the examples won't fit perfectly but the two situations are very similar. Try to find the links yourself.

It's one of the most irritating sentences I hear from high school students. It's certainly not the students fault. They're constantly lied to about this issue. Every time I hear a student say, “but that won't look good on my college application,” I can't help but wonder where all the honest people in there life are. It's painful for me to think about.

People are scared to tell you what I'm about to tell you. Your teachers and guidance counselors will constantly tell you the exact opposite of this. Most of the time they're not intentionally lying to you. They've constantly been subjected to the same marketing material as you have been forced to see.

Forget About Your College Application!

Yes. Quit worrying so much about your college application. Why am I saying something this crazy?

Looking Good Is Easy

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If you want to look good on your college application then it's easy. You do not have to invest all of your free time into extra curricular activities. You don't have to volunteer 10 hours a week. You don't have to kick butt in sports. You don't have to learn everything from school. You just have to look good.

Your college application is going to be competing with thousands of other students. This may sound depressing but you will probably not be able to stand out from it in any competitive college. Guess what? Only a tiny percentage of college applications get special treatment from how good they are. That special treatment is not always only good special treatment.

A ridiculous percentage of students downright lie on their college applications. College applications that look too good sometimes even get confirmation calls from the college to the listed organizations that you claim to be associated with. (Did you really volunteer there 10 hours a week? They may check that.)

Of course, many lies on a college application never get caught. (No! Don't do it. That's not my point. I'm getting to that.)

That being said, another ridiculous percentage of students don't directly lie on their college applications. They just fluff up their numbers a hair. Maybe they even have connections with people that can vouch for actual lies. These kind of lies can virtually never be proven. (If a friend at the volunteer organization claims it's true then it might as well be true. The colleges aren't hiring professional investigators. They're just making calls.)

On paper, these people look fantastic. I'm going to start by assuming you don't want to lie. If you don't plan on lying on your college application, how do you plan on trying to compete with people that will?

College applications are paper with words on it. Do not make your decisions based on something this stupid because you are forcing yourself into a game you're going to lose.

Real Impact

Living your life for a college application is not necessarily a good thing.

I remember some students from high school that did this. They spent hours studying a night. They went to their sport's practices and games. They worked out to improve for their sport. They volunteered to look like they cared more about other people. They kissed the butts of teachers when they had good college connections.

It takes a whole lot of discipline to do well at this. I'm not going to fault you if you're good at this. While I question how helpful the goal is, it's definitely a skill worth having. It's not that simple though. I can't help but wonder how much of an impact these people could have if they actually focused their energy on a few things they really cared about.

That being said, most people aren't even good at this lifestyle. (I'm certainly not.)

Spreading yourself too thin is not a good thing. It's better to spent a large portion of your time doing a few specific things you care about. If you play a sport then you'll learn more, do more, and impress more by focusing on that sport. If you volunteer then you'll learn more, impact more, and impress more by focusing on that volunteering.

Imagine the college interview comparison between the people living for their college application and the people focusing their energy.

Every competitive college hears hundreds of students playing this balancing act. They say they care about animals so they volunteer at a shelter but they also care about sports and they also care about their grades and they also care about math club and they also care about debate. Doesn't that sound the slightest bit disingenuous to claim? After hearing it a few hundred times, any interviewer would agree.

Compare that to someone saying, I really care about this one or two things for these reasons.

Focus is the difference between productivity and aesthetics. For example, volunteering 2 hours a week does not offer a fifth of the value of volunteering 10 hours a week. Why not? Because there is a learning curve to everything. Someone that volunteers for 10 hours a week learns a ton more than someone just showing up a couple hours. They're more skilled at it because they're willing to invest the time. Of course, training a volunteer costs the organization resources too. A person that doesn't volunteer enough hours could actually end up costing more than they're providing.

Is looking good on your college application worth doing worse for the world?

Standing Out On A Different Platform

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Competing with other students against their college application is a pointless pursuit when there are so many better things to compete with.

If you want to get into a top college, then you have tons of options.

Top academic colleges sometimes are looking to get athletes. Sometimes, you'll get farther focusing on sports.

If you can write an awesome and notable essay then you're instantly competitive for good colleges. As long as you're just qualified enough academically, a good essay can pull you into an interview. (Then, of course, you need that winning smile.)

Top colleges love people that excel in particular areas in general. It's better to be the best yo-yo champion in the world with no other extracurricular activities than an average athlete, volunteer, and debate club participant.

Maybe you could focus your energy on getting close to an influential person who's connected with the college you want to get into. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise but one influential person can easily push your application over the edge.

Don't keep worrying about your college application. There are much better ways that you can try and compete.

Do you want to know how to cut your study time in half (and then in half again?) This blog is all about increasing the efficiency of your studying so you can learn everything faster and easier than ever before. Check out the books in the sidebar and make sure to follow to keep learning all the secrets.

11 Ways Life Is Way Cooler After High School Graduation

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I can remember when the end of high school was approaching. It was a nerve-racking time. While most of my friends were on the high school straight to college road, I was taking a slightly different approach. I wanted to save up a little money for college, (and have a clue what I wanted to study) before going. That left me leaving high school for a full time job. I was a little worried but it didn't take me long after graduation to realize exactly how awesome it was.

1. Monopoly On You

If you wanted to, could you quit your high school and go to another high school down the street? It's probably not that simple. You'd have to beg and plead your way in and out. You have virtually no choice which high school you end up going to. That leaves you in a precarious position.

Have you ever heard about the dangers of a monopoly? When the consumers don't have any choice but to buy from one company, the company doesn't have to try and please its customers. That's exactly the situation you're in with high school. High schools don't have to care whether you like them or not. Virtually everything else in life does.

If you go to college, you can always change colleges. If you get a job, you can always change jobs. If you travel to Puerto Rico and sleep in hostels, you can always find a new hostel (or new country.) That's the nature of most of the rest of your life. For the most part, your schedule is up to you. Sure, that comes with consequences but if you're a regular reader to this blog then I'm confident you'll handle them fine.

2. Your Priorities

Ever try to get out of a required course you didn't want to take in high school? I remember begging and pleading to not have to take an art course in high school. I was virtually begging, “I do not care about drawing ponies. I just want to take a science class.” They responded without a thought, “Well, we'd like you to be well-rounded.” ARGGGGHH!! It drives me nuts to this day. (For the record I drew awesome ponies before the class and the class didn't improve them much.)

Guess what? You never have to seriously worry about that again. Sure, in college you may have one or two classes you don't like but 90% of your schedule is up to you. If you want to be a mechanic then you can get courses on that. If you want to be a doctor then you can take courses on that. College mostly caters to your request.

If you don't go to college then you can go even more crazy. I remember spending months after high school studying online marketing. No, I didn't take a balanced course load of business classes. I just buried myself in that subject. Studying is amazing when you get to do it with subjects you love.

3. Your Pace

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Forget about doing what your teachers and parents want when they want. Sure, colleges have some schedules but most of your life is going to come down to your own choices. Don't want to do laundry? Screw laundry. You may stink the next day (because seriously, ewww, do laundry when you need to) but that's your damn choice.

In college, some of the best options are lining up your classes in a way that interest you. Do you hate how hard it is to keep up with high school courses? Then take fewer classes each semester. Do you hate how easy courses are? Then load ten classes on your schedule and don't sleep for months on end. That's your choice.

4. Boatloads O' Money

This isn't true for everyone but know that it's possible.

If you get a cheap apartment far outside of a city, you don't have any real commitments (like kids,) and you have your first full time job then you're not going to know what to do with all the money you have. Minimum wage pays you a lot when your young and not stuck with old people problems.

Sure, you may be eating cheap or leaving in a dingy little apartment but your money can go to whatever crazy things you want (college perhaps?) Compared to working part time for ten hours a week, you're going to notice the difference.

5. Less Parental Pestering

After high school graduation is the first time in your life you're without legitimate authority figures (assuming you're over 18.) If you want to move out then you're legally allowed to do it. More importantly, you don't have hours of school a day getting in the way.

Students that go to college may even get to move hundreds of miles away from their parents.

Now, parents are great (sometimes.) There is a very real chance you're going to miss them when your gone but everything changes when you get to see yourself as the authority figure over your life. After leaving your parents for the first time, it's going to be that much better when you see them again anyway.

6. Real Friendships

High school students... you're going to be losing a whole lot of friends. Sure, you might keep up on Facebook but it won't be anywhere close to the same. Eventually, you'll virtually never talk to most of the friends you had from high school. Why is that?

There are proximity friends and there are real friends. Just because you sat next to someone in biology class and shared a few jokes, it doesn't mean you'd be wonderful friends outside of that forced environment. Once you get out of school, at least one of you, isn't going to value the friendship quite as much. Some friendships can last but being in the same room as someone regularly is not necessarily a real one.

7. Sleep Late

Don't you hate waking up on time for high school. I remember some of my most productive times were late at night but I'd have to force myself into bed anyway to try and barely wake up in time for school.

In life, you get to choose what schedule you want to follow.

8. Stupid Mistakes

Some of the best parts of leaving high school are the most embarrassing in hindsight.

You are going to screw up really bad a few times after high school. That's actually really awesome. When you do screw up, you get to see the way the real world deals with it. You might get an F for screwing up in a course but in life, you usually won't face a grade.

That grade is something you'll have to give yourself. If you screw up at work then someone might not even tell you. You might have to watch someone else correcting your mistake to learn something. You have to be the one looking to grade yourself because, while you may not be facing grades, you are facing the consequences of your mistakes. You can't keep a job when you're screwing things up. Often, you'll be the only good judge of that.

While it's scary, it completely changes the way you look at your own life.

9. No (few) Commitments

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Most people are never going to be as free as they are graduating high school.

Most high school graduates have choices. You can go to college. You can travel the world. You can get a job. You can sleep on a park bench. Life isn't quite so simple later in life.

When you graduate college, you're probably going to be buried in debt. More importantly, it's hard to get a job after college when you don't go straight to work after graduating.

After a little while, you're probably going to have a long term relationship, and maybe even children to worry about.

When you retire, you probably still have family concerns. Maybe you're lucky enough to have your kids out of the house and comfortable but there are other problems. You'll be old. You're going to be more tired. You're going to be more sore. Odds are, you're not going to be particularly motivated to do the crazy things you wanted to do as a kid. Heck, most people end up living on a hot dog for dinner budget when they retire anyway. You won't be able to afford those fun things. You will have a house, a dog, and a retirement to support.

10. The Wait Is Over

Waiting for the last days of high school to end can be mind-numbing. It can feel miserable. It's an unbelievably scary time. Sure, you can do relaxation exercises or something but you're not going to be able to make it go away completely.

Once that wait is over, you're going to appreciate it.

11. Self-Directed Education

Unlike in high school, you're going to be able to define what education is important to you.

Do you want to go to a formal learning institution like college?

Awesome. Look around the world and find the perfect one. Then find your perfect major. Have fun.

Do you want to learn from hundreds of library books?

Sweet. That's my kind of learning. Get started. Maybe get a job to pay some bills and learn away.

The best part about this is that you're in control. If you're not learning what you want to learn, you can change what you're learning. When you realize that, your brain suddenly gets much better at actually learning. You'll get in the habit of focusing much more effectively because you'll know you're only focusing on subjects that actually matter to you.

I know learning doesn't sound like the most fun you can have after high school but once you realize the power you have, it will be.

Do you want to know how to study in less than 15 minutes a night? That's what this blog is all about. Find out the secrets by following this blog and maybe even getting one of the ebooks.

4 Reasons Study Hall Is Miserable For Studying

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Study hall (or otherwise called Study Period) is the perfect example of why you can't trust your school to give you a proper education. If I were to gather a group of the best experts in studying together and I asked them to design the worst possible environment for learning, what I'd have would look almost identical to study hall. (The difference would likely be that study hall has slightly less physical torture.)

Why is it so bad?

1. You're Surrounded By People That Don't Want To Study

The vast majority of students in any study hall couldn't care less about improving their grades. They're just slightly relieved that they don't need to listen to a teacher blather on for a period. That leads to one of two environments.

Most schools keep a teacher on full alert to ensure no student does anything entertaining. (We can't have people entertaining themselves on school grounds. That might actually make it a good learning environment.) That usually means that all students are expected to remain completely silent.

While silence can be a good thing for studying, there is a major difference between silence for the sake of learning versus silence for fear of trouble. That kind of an environment usually just leads to secret communication between students that requires way too much brain power for any productive studying to get done.

Then there are the study halls where the teacher couldn't care less about talking students. Of course, the majority of students take full advantage of that. When the majority of the students in study hall end up talking, it's virtually impossible for most students to get to their peak studying efficiency.

2. Silent Studying Sucks

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Anyone that's read this blog might be a little confused by that statement because it needs plenty of clarification.

To study most effectively, the vast majority of students require near perfect silence in the background. Any little noise can be a major distraction from the study material. That being said, many students suck at studying when they can't break that silence themselves.

In study hall, you can't just break out into reading your book out loud to try to get a difficult part down. Sure, it would be great if every person was gifted with visual learning to the point that they could read and memorize complex parts but some people need to hear and say what they're studying to get it. Just about any study hall you go to would have you reprimanded (or made fun of) for doing that.

Studying is not something that should be done in a group unless that whole group is motivated to study the same thing. There is no way it can work in this kind of an environment.

3. No Breaks

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Seriously, of all the stupidity a schools force their students into, this is one of the most irritating.

Study after study after study after study has shown that people can't study effectively for a full hour long. They can study effectively for 15-20 minutes and then they need to be able to take a break. Why do they make study periods so long? Sure, it may fit conveniently into the already a mess of a schedule but it's virtually guaranteeing half of the study hall is completely wasted time.

This isn't just preference. This is something that academics have been studying and proving for decades.

The worst part of all is that it trains students to study like idiots. Any student that doesn't take the time to research this information themselves is getting taught that an hour of sitting and studying is an effective strategy. Not only that but this also hurts the students that know how to effectively study.

Whenever you study, you get your brain into a rhythm of focus. A certain amount of focus can be maintained while studying and that amount of focus can improve over time. That is, it can improve if you don't blatantly force yourself into stupid study strategies like studying for a full hour.

You might start study hall with 80% study efficiency. If you spend your whole study hall studying, by the end of it, your brain is going to be working at somewhere around 50% efficiency. The next time you study, you're not going to be starting at 80% again, you're brain is going to be trained to think 60 or 70% efficiency is acceptable (because you did just study for nearly an hour at lower efficiency levels.) It gets your brain in the habit of sucking at studying.

4. Middle Of School

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Alright. So I want you to learn something. Now, to help you learn it, I'm going to stress you out for hours before you learn it and hours after you learn it. That's called the modern school day study strategy.

It's insane. Unless you're legitimately interested in the study material, there is no way you can learn much in such a stressful environment.

If your study hall is in the beginning of the day, it might not be so bad. You can save a little schoolwork for that morning and start the period fresh (even if you're still a little sleepy.)

If your study hall is at the end of the day, it also might not be bad. You get to wind down for the end of the day and do only as much work as you feel like.

It's the middle of the school day that causes most of the problems. While an effective student can nullify this problem, it can be miserable until you figure it out.

In the middle of the school day you're stressed. I don't care how much you enjoy school, your brain is probably pushing its limits in one way or another (if you don't like the classes then you can't stand the people, if you like the people then class is probably miserable, if you don't mind either then you might have just had a bad night before, etc.) Even if you could get work done during this period, you may get more overall efficiency from a good nap.

How To Manage Study Hall

This isn't going to be any students favorite advice in the world but ideally, don't manage study hall unless it's a near necessity.

What would make it a necessity?

If you have such a crappy home life that studying at home is worse than studying in school then do what you can to survive study hall. Otherwise, do everything in your power not to have a study hall.

Study hall isn't a required course. Instead of wasting your time with a study period, get another class. Sure, that might not be better for studying but you'll be doing more for yourself overall. In the ideal world, that course would help you get your diploma faster.

To be practical though, feel free to replace your study hall with any course that you find mildly entertaining. If you love art then an art class would do much better things for your stress level than a study hall ever could. The same goes for any subject that you enjoy.

This may end up adding more work to the end of your day but when you're in the habits that allow you to study more effectively the work goes by even faster than if you had it finished in a study hall.

Do you want to know how to study in less time while still improving your grades? Be sure to follow this blog and check out the archives to know it all.

11 Secrets To Making Your Essays Unbelievably Awesome

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Any class that requires essay writing can be a massive time investment for the average student. Considering this blog is all about reducing time investment while increasing grades, this is a subject that's essential to understand. With many classes, essay writing is pretty much the only form of studying required. (Yes. I'd argue essay writing is just another form of studying.)

Early in my high school years I struggled at essay writing. I struggled, not because I was a bad writer, in fact, I got great grades (not that I think that should be the only criteria,) I struggled because a single page essay could take me a whole night to write. I had to invest a ridiculous amount of time to produce a quality essay.

Eventually it hit me. Of all that time it took to write a good essay, less than a quarter of it was actually used for writing the essay content. Most of that time was me staring at the page thinking about how hopeless this essay was. I could barely think of the next word I had to write. A simple full-page would end up draining me of all the energy I had.

After a short period of giving up on trying hard for essays, eventually I started to learn some of the basic formulas to creating a great essay without all the writers block and preparation.

Using these 11 strategies will change the way you write. If you're following them closely enough they can increase your grades dramatically while you work less than ever.

(While basic mechanics of writing are essential, they're barely mentioned in these tips. If you genuinely don't have the basics down then these tips will help but only as much as you can follow the basic mechanics of writing. )

1. Unforgettable

Don't try to look for a great idea to write about.

Instead look for something unforgettable to write about. It doesn't matter if it seems a little like a stupid idea. (The better a writer you are, the more stupid an idea you can get away with while still scoring high. )

Unforgettable is key. The average teacher does not want to give a great score to a student with a boring essay. They're human beings too. If they find themselves thinking deeply about your essay then you're winning. You've just made your essay stand out above 90% of the essays in the class.

2. Enjoy Writing. (Enjoy Reading It.)

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I know. This title alone sounds a little irritating but stick with me for a moment.

Is there anything you actually enjoy writing? If not, is there anything you actually enjoy reading? If you deliver a strong no to both these statements then this tip won't help but for the rest of you, it can blow your mind.

Forget about writing what the teacher wants you to write. That is a never ending road to writers block. Instead write it in a way that you enjoy writing or reading. You can always adjust it to fit the teachers needs later (or screw the teacher's desires and enjoy your good essay.)

If you enjoy writing something or you enjoy reading it, you've written something worth writing.

The average student gets caught up writing something they hate. Then, of course, when they review what they wrote, they still hate it. That kills their ability to write in the first place. Just write what you love from the start and you'll have a much better paper to work with in the future.

3. Start With A Hook In Mind

While I recommend having a general outline before you start writing, I've regularly started without one and created good papers. There is one thing that you absolutely should not start writing without: a hook. (Don't be too picky about how good it is.)

A hook is something that makes the reader feel the compulsive need to read on. It's kind of like a cliffhanger at the end of a television show. Even if you hate the television show with the cliffhanger, you still end up curious of what's going to happen. Of course, in your essays you're not going to want to leave the ending out (unless you planned some interesting metaphor or something.)

There are a ton of ways to write a hook. One of the quickest ways to make a hook is to say something that sounds absurd and attempt prove it. Depending on the kind of essay you need to write, you will need to adjust this accordingly.

4. Fast Is Natural

Many students struggle to write because they write too damn slow.

It's a really simple problem that plagues hordes of people. The slower you write, the more time you spend reviewing what you're writing. As you review what you wrote or are planning to write, you're trying to work out the details when you don't even have the basic plan finished. Write first. Review after.

Constant reviewing ends up with most students creating boring articles that have absolutely no natural flow to them.

Write faster. Type as fast as you can possibly type. Accept that you're going to have to change it later. That's going to leave your essay sounding more natural. It's also going to be written in much less time.

One final bonus: it gives you a strong incentive to review your work later (after you know the whole plan of the paper.)

5. Pimp My Essay (Thesaurus)

This is a tip that you've probably heard before but there are a few important notes that are rarely mentioned.

When you're writing your essay on a computer, within seconds you can check a thesaurus for a better word using your word processor. While you're reviewing your essay, use that thesaurus to find better word choices. Every time you find a word that you think can be improved on, use the thesaurus.

That being said, never replace a word in your paper with a word in the thesaurus without being 100% sure it's the better word. If you're not super careful then your essay may end up looking like a verbose quantity of excrement.

6. Check The Grammar (And The Obvious)

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You aren't a good writer until you use good grammar. No, you don't have to be writing perfect grammar (this is particularly true if you get to write a blog,) but you need to make sure your grammar isn't interrupting the average person's ability to read your work.

In most cases, this can best be done getting a third party to review your work before submitting it.

Of course, don't forget spelling. One spelling mistake isn't so bad but it can really ruin the flow of an otherwise perfect piece of writing.

7. Read It!

Seriously! This is obvious but few students actually do it. I know when you finish writing you're usually stressed and couldn't care less. If you followed these strategies then that shouldn't be happening. You should be ready to read your article after you write it. If you don't, you're passing up on some of the easiest points you have.

8. Borderline Bad

Trust where your writing takes you.

If you're writing an essay and you realize you're saying something that can be interpreted badly (or sounds bad,) that doesn't necessarily mean you should stop. If you're staying on topic and writing well, you can write controversial stuff and still get a great grade. That being said, I wouldn't recommend going too far down into the societal hate category but don't be afraid of getting on the border of inappropriate.

Some of your highest grades may come from some of the most controversial stuff you write. (It actually helps in the unforgettable aspect.)

9. Start From Scratch

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With this strategy, occasionally, you're going to write a crappy essay. That's alright.

Don't waste your life polishing a turd. If you think an essay you wrote is hopeless and you have the time to write a new one then write a new one. It's worth it.

This might sound crazy but it's essential to the strategy. Once I started implementing just a few of these strategies into my essay writing, I was able to write better essays in less than a quarter of the time I previously invested. That being said, occasionally, I would write crap and need to spend another quarter of the time to get a new essay.

If you're not willing to trash your crap then you're not utilizing this strategy as efficiently as you could.

Heck, usually your second essay goes much smoother because you're all warmed up.

10. Purpose

No matter what you're writing, always have a purpose.

With most non-fiction essays, it's easy to have a purpose. You propose a thesis and you provide the evidence.

Anecdotal essays are where most students forget to add in a purpose. If you're telling a story then know what point you're trying to emphasize and use the space you have to emphasize it. It can be very difficult in practice.

If you write a story about a family repeatedly screwing over a child in different ways, you can try to prove the point, “family isn't all it's cracked up to be.” (Of course, don't say it that obviously though.) You can emphasize that point by repeatedly having the characters discuss how wonderful family is (all while family is causing one person to suffer.)

Take note of the slightly controversial tone of that story. That helps hit a number of these strategies.

11. Make It Yours

Fundamentally, forget about writing for your teacher. It's just going to drive you nuts.

Write as if this is an essay you want to write for you. The more you focus on pleasing someone else, the more you're going to run in circles trying to figure out how to please them. Guess what? You aren't your teacher. No matter how hard you try, you're not going to be able to please them completely. For all you know, the teacher will wildly disagree with anything you write.

The only choice you have is to write something that you can derive pleasure from. While you should try to fit the basic assignment criteria, don't be afraid to push it closer to something you care about. Perhaps that can lose you a few points but it can improve the writing so significantly that those couple points will mean nothing.

Do you want to know how you can study in less time with better results? Be sure to follow this blog. If you enjoyed this article then please share it to help spread the message.