The Lancer Life

 We all make mistakes, and that is okay! Although, these are some of my top mistakes that I recommend every student to avoid at all costs! #1 Pulling Overnights Yes, it seems obvious that you shouldn’t do this. Although, as you advance into your university career, pick up extracurriculars,   get a job, it will get insanely overwhelming where you might feel that an overnight is needed. Although, I am going to hold your hand while saying this…they are pointless. You will not only be so tired, your brain will be very fried, and you will not retain any information whatsoever. Creating an agenda and doing a little every day will always be so much more helpful than cramming in one night. In addition, a few hours of sleep will always be more beneficial than no sleep whatsoever. Your brain needs to process what you just studied! It can only do it when you get rest. So, please yourself the sleepless nights and try to avoid these at all costs!   #2 Skipping Office Hours I h...

  Here I will be sharing some of my favourite study tools that I used during my university time so far. These tools are readily available, easy to use, and insanely useful. They can make confusing topics much easier to understand and learn. I hope you can implement some of these study tools in your future learning! #1 Anki/ Quizlet Both flashcard-making tools gained immense popularity over the few years. They are insanely useful for subjects where memorization is heavy. I remember first using Anki for my microbiology exam in second year, after struggling with the first midterm. While creating these flashcards, I realized I had basically learned most of the material. Therefore, using spaced repetition (throughout multiple days) memorizing these flashcards was a piece of cake. I still remember getting my grade back and scoring a 90, it was a very satisfying feeling. It’s also important to note that making these flashcards yourself, instead of an AI generative tool, is much more b...

So, the most important question...how do I study?  #1 Spaced Repetition: Repeat it till IT IS GLUED! I still remember the first time I was introduced to this method. I went to one of the premed conferences held at University of Windsor. It was a “meet the doctor night” where I was able to interview and ask many doctors and current medical students’ questions. One of the medical students introduced this strategy to me and the rest was history. Hey, if a medical student shared this study tip, it must be useful since they’re life surrounds never ending studying. his method involves separating your study time into several sessions instead of one or two. The first time I used this method in my introductory biology exam, my grade significantly improved. I split 80 slides of learning into a few days and repeating these concepts. It was much easier to latch on and memorize these concepts as my brain wasn’t as fried as it would have been had I studied in one or two days. It’s like learnin...

  Why Learn from Others? As I previously mentioned, the start of my success in university and ultimately the reason I created this blog came from inspiration from different blogs. These blogs share many helpful tips and strategies that I have implemented deserve credit. Not only did they inspire me to lock in, but they also gave a me a sense of direction to navigate my university journey. I hope that you take some time to read through these blogs and find new methods and ideas that you may have not thought/ heard of before. #1 SchoolHabits by Katie Azevendo: This is still one of my favourite blogs of all time. It focuses on study habits that are immensely helpful and is beyond beneficial to students. I have implemented so many of her strategies and still learning some new ones (ex. Pomodoro techniques which focus on time and energy boosts while studying). She teaches you how to make a course, which may seem impossible to do well on, easier to learn. Using her techniques I was...

Introduction: The First Day I still remember my first day of university. At the time, I only carried my notebook and pencil case in my backpack and thought that I was prepared. It quickly hit me that university is nothing like high school, and that I was going to need to approach it differently. Little things that I thought were simple (such as taking notes) wasn’t as easy as I thought they would be. I remember staring at the first PowerPoint and thinking, “how am I supposed to memorize all of this in 4 weeks?” Little did I know, university isn’t complicated, it just requires strategic planning, organizing, and initiative. Learning how to master different subjects, manage workload, and prioritizing mental health requires being focused and organized. Why Create This Blog? As a first-year student, I quickly realized that I needed to get help in some way and not feel as alone. I became fascinated with online platforms where students were sharing their experiences, asking questions, an...