No matter what level of schooling you are in, textbooks often cost quite a lot. Still, it is essential that you have these books to guide you through your lessons. Here are some tips on how you can save some money on your textbooks:
Borrowing textbooks
School libraries, public libraries, relatives’ libraries, and classmates’ libraries are all good places to start when looking to borrow books. Make sure that you tap the resources you have and you may just find someone who can lend you the textbooks you need. When borrowing books from actual libraries, be sure to take note of the due dates because late returns can lead to penalty fees.
Textbook rentals
Aside from borrowing your books, you can also rent textbooks. Textbook rental companies may be willing to lease you their books for long periods of time at a decent price. This is a great option for those who do not plan on keeping their textbooks after the semester is over. Just make sure that you take good care of the book, because you can incur extra costs if the book is damaged or lost.
Exchanging books
If you have classmates or friends with the same classes as you do, you can exchange textbooks to help both of you save. You can exchange books between classes or on the particular days that you need the book. Just make sure that both of you have enough time with the textbook to study, take notes, and do well in class. Sharing books is also an option here. If you have roommates or classmates that you spend time with often, just pool your books together for sharing purposes.
Buying books for keeps
Even if you end up purchasing your textbooks, there are still ways that you can save. There are numerous online shops that offer discounted prices on certain books. You can even buy used books through the Internet or in used-books shops. If you plan on buying used books, be sure that the book is in good enough quality to use. Some websites allow you to buy or read electronic copies of books as well.
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Self-help articles for students generally focus on what students could do about their academic life. We are going to veer away from that. Instead, we’ll give you new perspectives on some common habits of highly unsuccessful students.
>Mediocrity is just a state of mind.
It’s common knowledge that a lot of students churning out average outputs. Surprisingly enough, students’ academic standing is not entirely due to their abilities or lack of. Some of the reasons students produce average work can be traced to a predominant mediocre attitude that every student seems to always have.
Students who aim for above-average grades are a minority. It is now very likely for some students to pass academic requirements just for the heck of getting over them. If you want to get over such a habit, maximize your abilities. Aim to surpass your standard by giving everything you can when doing school work. Although mediocrity might be the trend, this does not mean that you should willingly count yourself in. Also, never think of school work as just tasks you should do to graduate. Look at the bigger picture and consider such tasks as opportunities for you to hone your abilities and show your potentials.
>Impulsive decisions do not always feel right.
Spontaneity could really add zest to life. However, there are things that need extra time and effort. Impulsive decisions could also result in complicated situations. To get rid of such unwanted instances, try to distinguish events that would require time for evaluation. For example, you shouldn’t apply to a school organization just because your friends are doing so. You have to identify if the goals of the club are in line with your personal endeavors or long-term goals. Doing so can help you figure out if you’ll enjoy being part of that organization because you know that you would benefit from the experience.
>Procrastination could be postponed.
Procrastinating is an innate human tendency. But this is not an excuse to slack off your responsibility. If you are having the urge to delay things, limit yourself to a few minutes or so. After that, try to do things that won’t need a lot of effort. You might have been planning to rearrange your bookshelf for days and now would be the perfect time to do it. If you want to put off working for a research paper, head to the nearest bookstore or library. Browse titles and list down the materials that might be of use in the future. This won’t take a lot of effort and you can be sure that you have done something productive even if you are on a procrastinating mood.
>Negativity has no space in you.
Failures come and go. They are there to make you better. So, treat each one as a starting point. For example, papers that were poorly marked could be a learning avenue. Go over the corrections and try to apply them in your next paper. Never be discouraged by your failures.
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“When I grow up, I’m going to be a doctor.” How many of the people who have declared their plan to be a doctor when they were younger are actually practicing medicine today? Just a few. Many people developed a desire of becoming a doctor after watching Neil Patrick Harris frequented emergency rooms in Doogie Howser, MD, but all these changed when Dr. House and the Seattle Grace surgical interns presented a more realistic hospital setting. The truth is, you can’t obtain a medical license at 14 and you have to repeat your internship even if you only missed one point in your intern exams. So, the question remains: “Is medical school worth it?”
Getting accepted to medical school
Before becoming a part of the medical community, you first have to endure four years of medical school. Entry to medical school, like law school, is never easy. Acceptance to the medical school of your choice is not solely based on the completeness of your requirements. It is also based on your GPA, your pre-medical studies, and your sample personal statement essay. Medical school applicants must put much effort in writing their sample personal statement essay because it is greatly considered during evaluations. The best weapon of applicants with average-GPAs against their counterparts is an impressive sample personal statement essay that highlights their value and potential as a person and as a medical doctor, respectively.
One of the things that appeal to the admissions committee is community involvement. You can strengthen your chances of admissions by simply mentioning a few accounts of your participation in community projects or medical missions. Involvement in medical projects and other community activities will give the evaluators an impression that you are a man for others – exactly the quality they look for in a doctor.
Surviving in medical school
The challenges of becoming a doctor don’t end with getting accepted to the medical school of your choice. One of the biggest challenges that aspiring doctors need to face is medical school itself. Your stay in medical school is your chance to show the person you wrote about in your sample personal statement essay. Prove to everyone that you can stay up late just to read biochemistry textbooks and cut up cadavers just to pass anatomy class. Medical school is hard and your only defense against it is your determination.
Many medical students quit in the middle of the school year because they just can’t take the pressure of meeting the required grades or the stress of keeping up with the ever-changing shifts. To survive medical school, you have to constantly remind yourself that it takes a lot of hard work and sleepless nights to achieve that precious “MD” title.
Becoming a full-fledged MD
After four stressful years in medical school, you need to have at least three years of hospital residency before you can specialize in your chosen medical field. Medical residency is the dusk to a medical attending’s dawn. Because it is the final step before being a full-fledged doctor, medical residency is also the most difficult phase to survive in. The stress of being a medical student is tripled by the time you become a medical resident. Aside from the inevitable sleepless nights, medical residency is also coupled with the pressure of applying everything you learned in medical school to medical practice. Your every decision is important and your move is crucial.
Being a medical resident may be one of the hardest phases you will ever go through in life but it can also be the sweetest. Aside from the very impressive salary, medical residency also gives you the chance to actually save other people’s lives. It is your chance to put everything you have learned to good use and give other people another shot at living healthier.
So, is medical school worth it? Absolutely.
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In the United States, the ranking of the best law schools are based on a lot of factors. It may be based on the quality of education, availability of facilities, qualification of professors, or organization of programs. For aspiring lawyers out there who are still undecided on which law school to apply in, here is the list of the top ten law schools in America:
1. Yale University
2. Harvard University
3. Stanford University
4. Columbia University
5. New York University
6. University of California-Berkeley
7. University of Chicago
8. University of Pennsylvania
9. Northwestern University
10. University of Michigan
As of 2008, Yale Law School is the number one law school in America. Having one of the lowest student-to-teacher ratio in classes, Yale Law School offers a healthy learning environment to its students. With its scholarships and outreach programs, Yale Law School proves to be more than just a law school for Ivy Leaguers but also an organization for the less privileged.
Finishing behind Yale Law School is Harvard Law School. With a curriculum that covers everything from a topnotch Bachelor in Law to one of the countries best programs in Doctor in Juridical Science, Harvard Law School offers only first-rate education to its students.
Coming at third place is Stanford University. Established fifteen years after the institution of the university’s law department in 1893, Stanford University not only offers a topnotch law education training but also an impressive library containing over a million books available as resources.
The fourth placer in the list, which is New York University School of Law, will forever be known for being one of the first law schools in America to accept female students. Founded in 1835, New York University School of Law makes another mark in history for being the first law school ever established in New York City.
Number five on the list is New York University School of Law’s neighbor, Columbia Law School. With practicing lawyers for professors, students of Columbia Law School will have firsthand advice on what it takes to survive law school.
University of California’s very own Berkeley School of Law also makes its mark in the list by establishing the best intellectual property program in the world for the eleventh year running. Because of its student-faculty collaborated journals, University of Chicago Law School grabs the seventh spot on the list of top ten law schools in America. Another Ivy Leaguer, University of Pennsylvania comes in at number eight because of their brilliant cross-disciplinary studies program. With an accelerated JD Program, Northwestern University Law School secures a ninth place finish. Wrapping up the list of the top ten law schools in America is the University of Michigan Law School, which is number five on the list of the most number of law school professors in America.
The top ten law schools in America have been named and what makes them the best in the country has already been laid out. Now, it’s your turn. Start preparing your application forms, sample personal statement essay and other entry requirements. You may browse through the different sample personal statement essay available in each school’s official website or other college-help websites to get tips on how to write law school-worthy personal statements. Well-written sample personal statement essay that accurately reflects your individuality may just be your yellow brick road to law school admissions.
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A great sample personal statement essay is one with coherent ideas, concise facts, engaging stories, relevant information, and interesting introductions. These qualities are exactly what the admissions committee look forward too before going over the insurmountable pile of admissions essay they receive every year. Over the years, the admissions committee of different academic institutions has been noticing trends in how a sample personal statement essay is composed. Here are three most commonly used themes in sample personal statement essay writing:
1. Rise from adversity
2. Quotable quotes
3. Life as a metaphor
Rise from adversity
Everybody loves the underdogs. People easily sympathize with tragedy-stricken individuals who climbed high mountains, swam wide seas, and crossed windy roads just to overcome the challenges of life. Every year, college applicants take advantage of this fact by composing an admission essay that centers on how they rose from adversity. This adversity, which may be the loss of a parent or the acquisition of a disability, is always used to tell a good story.
The admission evaluators, however, are not after the cinematic qualities of your story. A well-written sample personal statement essay about how you transformed from the token chubby classmate to the school homecoming king is enough to secure you a slot in your chosen university. You have to support your movie-worthy story with the life-changing lessons you learned along the way. How did you overcome your fears? What did you to improve your way of living? How did you handle your problems? Like any underdog story, the ending of your sample personal statement essay is already predictable. You have to remember that people are not so much interested on how a story ends but how the protagonist made it through the closing credits.
Quotable quotes
One of the most commonly used introductions in a sample personal statement essay is a quote. Whether it is something Thomas Jefferson mentioned or something Angelina Jolie said, a quote will always be present in at least 50% of the total number of sample personal statement essays submitted every year. Many applicants start their admission essays with a specific quote that made a difference to their lives. Most types of sample personal statement essay that started with a quote usually centers on the same quote throughout the essay.
When writing a sample personal statement about a quote, you have to explain how the meaning of the quote changed your life. Quotes are all inspiring but the admissions committee is more interested on discovering why the quote means so much to you. It is not enough for you to mention the quote and give an overview of the person who said it. You have to explain its relevance to your life. How did the quote inspire you? What did you learn from the quote? Quotes are included in a sample personal statement for a special reason, and by that, I don’t mean an attention-grabbing introduction.
Life as a metaphor
My life is an elevator – one minute I’m up, the next minute I’m down. Sounds familiar? Well, it should be because describing life as a metaphor is one of the most commonly used themes in writing a sample personal statement essay for college. Like quotes, applicants have a huge tendency to compare their life with other objects. Some are rosaries that are full of mysteries while some are journals that are full of secrets.
A sample personal statement essay featuring metaphorical references is promising yet dangerous at the same time. It is promising because a well-written admission essay with lots of impressive metaphorical concepts will reflect your creativity and philosophy. It is also dangerous because poorly explained metaphors, no matter how brilliant the ideas are, will only confuse the readers.
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Plagiarism is the most unforgivable sin you can commit in the world of writing. Copying another’s literary work is like stealing the answer to question number five from your classmate. The same thing goes for the sample personal statement essay. Plagiarizing a sample personal statement essay you found on the Internet can actually cost you your college education.
A wide variety of sample personal statement essay is available on the Internet. Some are especially written for medical school applicants while some are specifically made for law school applicants. The collection of sample personal statement essay is posted on websites to act as a guide, not as a template.
Many school applicants are guilty of committing the crime of copying a sample personal statement essay they found on the Internet. Unfortunately for them, the members of the admissions committee who evaluate their essays have a knack for distinguishing plagiarized essays from original work. To save yourself from sheer embarrassment, write your own sample personal statement essay that will tell you apart from the rest of the bunch.
You can find a huge collection of sample personal statement essay on the Internet, but they all have one thing in common: they all share the goal of helping you write an effective sample personal statement essay for college. Because college applicants have different backgrounds and goals, each sample personal statement essay is written to inspire a specific group of applicants. Aspiring doctors may find the sample personal statement essay for medical school helpful, but business majors will find the sample personal statement essay for MBA students more useful.
Sample personal statement essay as guides
It is a fact that an admission essay must reflect not only the applicant’s resume but also his individuality. In contrary to popular belief, an admission essay is not a way of showcasing your impressive traits and important achievements. An admission essay is a reflection of your personality. Who are you? What do you believe in? What makes you different? One of the best ways to write an impressive admission essay is to find a good sample personal statement essay to base your work on.
“Base” being the operative word, a sample personal statement essay must be treated only as a guide. It is not a “copy-paste” template that you can modify a little to suit your story. A sample personal essay must be used as a guide that will tell you which stories to write in your essay and which information to leave out. It will show you how to present stories or facts without being too arrogant, too boring, or too obvious. A sample personal statement essay must be used an inspiration for writing an interesting yet effective admission essay that will help you secure your college education.
Specific theme of the sample personal statement essay
Another noticeable similarity among all types of sample personal statement essay is their specific theme. One sample personal statement essay may focus on “adjusting life in a foreign land” while the other may concentrate on “overcoming the challenges of peer pressure,” depending on which topic is assigned by the school or which subject is chosen by the applicants. Like any literary piece, admission essays have to be written with a single theme. Adding anecdotes or facts unrelated to the central theme will only cause confusions to the evaluators and incoherence to the essay.
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It is important to find a balance between modesty and arrogance when writing a sample personal statement essay. Although it is never wise to sound like a senatorial candidate in a sample personal statement essay, it’s not also advisable to sound like you’ve never achieved anything in your life. The type of sample personal statement essay that can secure you a slot in the college or university of your choice is the one that highlights your good points without being too conceited.
A sample personal statement essay should not be treated as just another school admission requirement. It is a reflection of who you are as a person. Schools use your sample personal statement essay to evaluate your character, values, beliefs, and traits. Your individuality, among all factors, is the most important criterion that school admission evaluators consider when making their decision on whether to accept you into their institution or not. A well-written sample personal statement essay, and not good grades, is your best shot in securing a slot in college admissions.
Writing an effective sample personal statement essay
A sample personal statement essay, which is also referred to as an admission essay, is a written school requirement that reflects the student’s individuality. An excellently written sample personal statement essay may actually help students get admitted to the college or university of their choice.
The admissions committee responsible for evaluating your sample personal statement essay will carefully critique the way you constructed your essay. The admissions committee’s interpretation of the essay is not necessarily similar to what you wish to convey, so you have to be extra cautious in writing a sample personal statement essay. You may write about your achievements with pure modesty but it may appear too conceited for the admissions committee.
Instead of discussing your glorious moment or instant popularity, try explaining the hardships you’ve faced on your way to success. Discuss how you discovered new things, learned new lessons, or developed new values because of the experience. Mention how thankful you are for being blessed with such an overwhelming recognition. It is not wrong to write about your achievements but you have to divert the focus of your sample personal statement essay from the achievement to the humbling experience.
A sample personal statement essay should not focus on achievements alone. In fact, you can also write about your personal weaknesses and support them with explanations about your desire to overcome them. One of the things that appeal to admissions committee the most are the students’ ability to admit their shortcomings. By pairing your shortcomings with your desires to be a better person, you can almost guarantee yourself with a school acceptance letter.
Ruining your school admission chances by being too modest
As weird as it may sound, revealing too much modesty in your sample personal statement essay may even cost you that precious slot in your dream college or university. Which one has a higher chance of admission? An overly modest straight-A student or an overachieving student leader? Try to find the balance between modesty and self-promotion and write the sample personal statement essay that will secure your college education.
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