how to be an academic weapon in your next school year. (2024)

Summary

This video offers essential tips for students to prepare for the upcoming school year, ensuring they can excel academically without compromising their well-being. Key suggestions include noting important dates, organizing subjects, reading ahead, setting up a task system, and focusing on holistic development rather than just grades. The speaker emphasizes that college is a personal journey, not a race, and encourages viewers to enjoy the process and learn beyond academics.

Takeaways

• 📅 Write down all important dates to avoid missing crucial academic events like exams or enrollment deadlines.
• 📚 Organize your upcoming subjects to have a clear understanding of what you'll be learning, which helps with preparation and adjustment.
• 📖 Read in advance to familiarize yourself with the material before class, reducing the feeling of being overwhelmed by new information.
• 📝 Set up a task system, whether digital or physical, to track and organize your assignments and responsibilities.
• 🎓 Don't focus solely on grades; being an all-arounder with diverse skills and experiences can set you apart from other candidates.
• 🔍 Engage with your peers and professors to gather resources and materials that can enhance your understanding of the subjects.
• 🛠️ Use productivity tools like the University template mentioned in the script to manage your tasks and assignments effectively.
• 🏁 Remember that college is not a race but a marathon; focus on personal growth rather than constantly comparing yourself to others.
• 🧘‍♂️ Maintain a balance between your studies and other aspects of life, including hobbies and personal interests, for a well-rounded experience.
• 💡 Embrace the opportunity to learn and grow, not just academically but also in terms of personal development and life skills.
• 💦 Take care of your health, including mental well-being, and remember to stay hydrated throughout your academic journey.

Q & A

Why is it important to write down all the important dates for the next school year?

Writing down important dates helps ensure that you don't miss any crucial events such as exams, big events, or enrollment deadlines, which can have significant consequences like missing out on prerequisite subjects or incurring unnecessary tuition costs.

What was the speaker's personal experience with missing an enrollment date?

The speaker missed the enrollment date for a subject in their first year of college that was a prerequisite for a major subject in the next school year, which they could not take because of this oversight.

What is the recommendation for organizing upcoming subjects for the next school year?

The speaker recommends having a general idea of what subjects you'll be taking next year, as it helps in adjusting to the new curriculum and preparing in advance.

Why is reading in advance before the start of school beneficial?

Reading in advance allows you to build momentum and a base knowledge of the subject, making it easier to understand and follow the class lectures without being overwhelmed.

What is the term used for reading material before a class starts, and what is its purpose?

The term is 'priming', and its purpose is to prepare your mind for the new information that will be taught in class, making learning more effective.

What is the significance of setting up a task system for managing schoolwork?

A task system helps you stay organized with all your tasks, both simple and complex, and provides a sense of accomplishment once all work is completed.

What are some options for creating a task system, and what factors should be considered?

Options for creating a task system include physical to-do lists or digital to-do list apps. Factors to consider include personal preference, simplicity, complexity, and whether you prefer traditional or modern methods.

Why is it advised not to focus solely on grades in school?

Focusing only on grades can limit personal development. Employers and colleges value well-rounded individuals with diverse skills and experiences, not just high academic achievements.

What is the analogy given to illustrate the importance of being an all-arounder rather than focusing solely on grades?

The analogy compares a book-smart med student with a med student who has field experience. The latter is more likely to be hired due to their practical knowledge and ability to apply what they've learned.

What is the main message the speaker wants to convey about the college experience?

The speaker emphasizes that college is a personal journey and marathon, not a race against others. It's important to focus on self-improvement and enjoy the process, rather than constantly comparing oneself to peers.

What is the final tip the speaker gives about learning in college, and what is its implication?

The final tip is to not just think of learning as something you have to do, but something you get to do. This shift in perspective can make the learning experience more enjoyable and fulfilling.

Outlines

00:00

📅 Essential Dates for Academic Success

The speaker emphasizes the importance of keeping track of crucial academic dates to avoid missing important events such as exams or enrollment deadlines. They share a personal experience from their first year of college, where missing an enrollment date for a significant subject due to negligence resulted in a missed opportunity and financial loss. The advice given is to request a school calendar and use it to note down all important dates, suggesting both digital and physical calendars as viable options.

05:02

📚 Organizing and Preparing for Upcoming Subjects

This paragraph focuses on the benefits of having a clear understanding of the subjects one will be tackling in the upcoming academic year. The speaker suggests that knowing in advance what will be studied can significantly ease the adjustment process and improve learning outcomes. They recount a personal anecdote about struggling with microbiology due to the extensive memorization required, highlighting how prior knowledge could have mitigated the difficulty. The speaker encourages students to read or skim the material in advance, a practice known as 'priming,' to build momentum and a solid foundation of knowledge before classes begin.

📝 Establishing a Task System for Organization

The speaker discusses the importance of having a task system to stay organized and manage academic responsibilities effectively. They argue that tracking tasks, both simple and complex, is crucial for knowing when all work is completed, which provides a sense of accomplishment. The speaker acknowledges that the choice between a physical or digital to-do list is a matter of personal preference, mentioning their own university template as an example of an all-in-one solution that helps in organizing and tracking tasks related to different subjects, including group and individual assignments.

🌟 Balancing Grades with Holistic Development

In this paragraph, the speaker advises against an overemphasis on grades, advocating for a more balanced approach to education that includes the development of other skills and hobbies. They argue that while high grades are desirable, being an all-around individual with diverse experiences and abilities is more valuable in the eyes of employers and colleges. The speaker uses the analogy of a book-smart medical student versus one with practical experience to illustrate the point that real-world application of knowledge is crucial. They encourage students to explore other interests and develop new skills alongside their academic pursuits.

🏃‍♂️ College as a Personal Marathon, Not a Race

The speaker imparts the wisdom that college is a personal journey rather than a competition with peers. They caution against deriving satisfaction solely from comparing oneself to others, as this can be detrimental to mental health and personal growth. The speaker reminds students that college is a marathon, and it's essential to take one's time and focus on self-improvement rather than constantly racing against others. They conclude by emphasizing the importance of enjoying the college experience and learning for the sake of learning, rather than solely for the purpose of competition.

Keywords

💡Prepare

To prepare means to make ready or to plan in advance for a particular purpose or task. In the context of the video, the speaker emphasizes the importance of preparing for the upcoming school year by organizing important dates and subjects. For example, the speaker advises writing down all important dates to avoid missing crucial academic deadlines, which is a form of preparation.

💡Important Dates

Important dates refer to specific times or periods that hold significance, such as exams, events, or deadlines. The video script highlights the necessity of being mindful of these dates as a student. An example from the script is the speaker's personal experience of missing an enrollment date for a significant class, which had a negative impact on their academic progress.

💡Organize

Organizing is the act of arranging or putting things in a systematic order. In the script, the speaker suggests organizing upcoming subjects to have a general idea of what will be tackled in the next school year. This helps in adjusting to the new curriculum and preparing in advance, which is a part of being organized.

💡Read in Advance

Reading in advance is the practice of reviewing material before it is formally taught or discussed, often to gain a preliminary understanding. The video encourages this practice as a way to build momentum and a base knowledge of the subject, making it easier to follow and engage with the class material when it is taught.

💡Task System

A task system is a method or tool used to manage and track tasks, which can be in the form of a to-do list or a more complex organizational system. The script mentions setting up a task system to help stay organized with assignments and to know when all work is completed, contributing to a sense of accomplishment.

💡Grades

Grades are evaluations or marks given to students to represent their performance or achievement in a subject. The video advises not to focus solely on grades but to be an all-arounder, suggesting that other skills and experiences are also important for personal and professional development.

💡Competition

Competition refers to the activity or condition of striving to gain or win something over others. The speaker mentions competition in the context of wanting to be ahead of others in school, but also cautions against deriving satisfaction solely from comparing oneself to peers.

💡Mental Health

Mental health is the state of an individual's psychological and emotional well-being. The script touches on the importance of mental health by advising against relying on competition for happiness and emphasizing the need for personal growth and self-satisfaction.

💡All-Arounder

An all-arounder is a person who is good in various areas or has multiple skills or interests. The video encourages students to be all-arounders by not only focusing on academic performance but also developing other hobbies and skills, which can set them apart in the future.

💡Productivity

Productivity refers to the efficiency of producing desired results. The video script mentions a keyboard and mouse from Ugen, which are tools designed to enhance productivity, particularly for work or school tasks. The products are presented as aids to help the viewer be more efficient.

💡Sponsorship

Sponsorship is the support of a person, organization, or event, usually in the form of funding or resources. In the script, the speaker discloses that a segment of the video is sponsored by Ugen, who provided the keyboard and mouse mentioned, indicating a form of promotional content within the video.

Highlights

Importance of writing down all important dates to avoid missing exams or events.

Being mindful of dates is crucial for students, as neglecting them can lead to missing prerequisites and costly consequences.

Suggestion to email the school for a calendar and use a digital or physical calendar to track dates.

Organizing upcoming subjects provides a useful overview and helps in adjusting to new material.

Advising to read or skim material in advance to build momentum and grasp base knowledge before class.

Recommendation to engage with professors or seniors for access to subject materials.

Setting up a task system to track and organize tasks, with options for physical or digital to-do lists.

Personal preference plays a role in choosing the type of task system that works best for an individual.

The presenter's own University template is mentioned as a comprehensive organizational tool.

Advice against focusing solely on grades and the importance of being an all-arounder.

Emphasizing the value of other skills and hobbies in addition to academic performance.

The analogy of a book-smart med student versus one with field experience to illustrate the importance of practical knowledge.

Encouragement to enjoy school and balance studying with other interests and hobbies.

Sponsorship mention of ugen's ku5 keyboard and its features for productivity.

Introduction of ugen's dual mode ergonomic vertical mouse designed for comfort and reduced strain.

Life lesson reminder that college is not a race but a personal marathon.

The importance of not comparing oneself to others and focusing on personal growth.

Final advice to enjoy the learning process and not just focus on the outcome.

Transcripts

so school just finished and you feel

like you haven't really done your best

the end of last school felt messy it

felt like you could have done more and

that's just skill issue I'm just kidding

jokes aside I really hope you watch the

entire whole video because in this video

I'll be talking about the different

steps to prepare ahead in time for next

school year and with these you might

even be ahead of others if you care

about competition that much I do hey you

shut your

[Music]

step one write down all the important

dates now the last thing you want to

happen is for you to miss an important

date let me tell you as a student this

is really the most important part being

a student is to be mindful of the dates

now whether that be an exam a big event

or even simply your enrollment now I

wish I told this myself sooner because

when I hit the first year of college

because I neglected the enrollment date

for a su class that had a very important

major subject I missed it it was a

prerequisite for pretty much a major

subject for the next school year so I

couldn't take it all simply because I

wasn't diligent enough and having a

simple oversight like this can cost you

thousands of dollars of tuition so I

really implore you to be diligent with

dates you could email your school and

ask them for a school calendar so you

could jot down everything now I

recommend you write down all the

important dates down and I would highly

recommend getting a calendar whether

that be a digital calendar or a physical

one what matters is that you track the

dates the step two is to organize your

upcoming subjects now having a general

idea of what you're going to be taking

or tackling next year is trust me very

very useful now having a general scope

of what you'll be learning is quite

beneficial especially when taking these

subjects because if you go raw with no

rubber into your subjects Without Really

knowing what you're in for you'll have a

hard time adjusting I hope you don't get

what I was referring to with that joke

but anyway for example last semester I

took microbi ology which required me to

memorize so many types of bacteria and

fungi and the naming is my god there was

so much to memorize at amount of

nomenclature so if I just had known in

advance what I was going to be

memorizing I would prepare myself in

advance I would have had a better grasp

of what I would be learning if I knew

what was coming and I would have read in

advance as well which brings me to my

next Point step three is to read in

advance now now this is not like a full

intensive studying I just want you to

try and read in advance or at least skim

the material you will be studying now

this is so that when you enter class you

won't be dumbfounded and being trying to

figure out what the hell you're learning

and I actually recommend doing this

before every class it's this is called

priming um I'll be talking about this

more in videos but basically when you

advance read before your school starts

you'll build this momentum where it's

like oh I kind of read this and I'm just

building on that base knowledge that I

have of this subject rather than oh

what the hell am I listening Len to you

don't have to worry about figuring all

of it out while the professor is

spitting out these information bits to

me so in summary make sure to prepare

your subjects and R need advance so

maybe ask your professor or maybe ask

your seniors if they have material of

the subject because I'm sure they

possess the resources that could help

you a lot so make sure to ask or go

around as well you know you engage with

people don't be an introvert like me

like embrace your extroverted side for

once and then you can forget about it

you don't have to talk to people anymore

just kidding now step four is to set up

a task system now I'm not saying that

you should necessarily have to have a

to-do list to help you accomplish your

tasks that is completely up to you but

what I am trying to emphasize is that

you should have a to-do list to help you

accomplish your

tasks having a system to track all of

your tasks even the simple ones and the

finished ones is really really important

it will not help you be organized with

the things that you have to do but also

let you know when you have finished all

your work now trust me that feeling is

very very important knowing when you

finished your work because I know that

even though we finish all of our work I

know deep inside of our minds or some of

you you're going to be like did I

really finish all my

work now you have multiple choices I

don't have a singular recommendation it

all comes down to personal preference

but you can do physical to-do lists or

digital to-do lists like apps and it's

completely up to you I don't really have

a number one pick it depends on what

kind of to-do list you want you want a

simple one do you want in a really

complicated one maybe you're traditional

you want the physical to-do list type

it's entirely up to you personally I use

my own University template that I made

for myself for my University I could log

in all the tasks link to my subjects I

can organize my subjects there and will

tell me how many days left I have before

the assignment I can label it if it's

group works if it's an individual

assignment and all that kind of and

yeah it's just a great template I I will

be linking it down in the description

and if you need a sort of all-in-one

University template that you know has

this databases linked together then go

ahead and check it out in the link

description but yeah I've been

developing it for a while now and yeah

I've been using it ever since and it's

really nice it's really clean and yeah

yeah but in conclusion get a task system

it's beneficial trust me tip number five

is to not focus on your grades too much

yes I know I know you want to get a

straight average of 90 or 8

in your grades which is really freaking

impossible in med school but I really

know you want that but I am here to say

that while it's great to achieve that

try to be an all-arounder don't Focus

only on your grades because that's not

the only thing employers will be looking

at or colleges especially and in the

higher levels because everyone could get

high grades everyone could be a straight

A student but what really separates

different candidates or students is

their other Hobbies or their other other

skills and an analogy I would compare

this to is like having a med student

who's really books smart 99 or a med

student who passes med school but has

experience in the field who would you

hire obviously you would hire the second

one because they just know the

experience of working in the medical

professional field and they just know

what to do unlike a book smart person

well while they're just really smart

with the facts and everything when it

comes to application they're just going

to start fumbling so what I'm trying to

say is try to enjoy other things while

you're in school I know it's going to be

really hard to match your time but I

will be making a video about that in the

future but try to expound yourself try

to learn new skills try to embrace your

other Hobbies cuz life is just not about

studying you know you have other Hobbies

you're I mean if your hobbi is studying

then yeah yeah I'm good for you but but

for everyone else I recommend you try

and become an allrounder trust me it

will benefit you a lot but but don't

please don't don't sacrifice your

studies okay like that's number one drop

out and become an entrepreneur okay

that's another topic for another video

but you you you shut your mouth this

segment of the video is sponsored by

ugen so ugen sent me their ku5 keyboard

which is a low profile keyboard that is

perfect if you want a simple easy to use

keyboard for work or for any use for

that matter now the build quality is

pretty well it doesn't bend that much

and it doesn't even take that much space

I've been using it for a while now and I

really like it it offers Bluetooth 5.0

connection or a 2.4 GHz dongle meaning

that you can just plug this to your

computer and you can just start using it

there even has type-c charging I've been

using it for school for work and a lot

more it's perfect for

productivity and they also sent me their

dual mode ergonomic vertical Mouse now

as you can see it's built with your hand

posture so that you don't have to strain

your hand while using your mouse it has

Bluetooth 5.0 and a 2.4 dongles as well

for connection uses dou battery as well

and even has built-in grip which makes

it really comfortable to use so thank

you again to ug green for sponsoring

this segment video I'll be having the

products Linked In the description of

the video now go check them out and yeah

thank you again for you green sorry for

inting back to the

video for the rest of the tips these are

more like life lessons that I've picked

up and I just wanted to share with you

because while it's important to have

practical tips for college it's also

important to kind of know how to conduct

yourself in this new life so let's get

started tip number six college is not a

race it's your own Marathon now yes

while earlier I did say that if you want

to get ahead of other students then

follow these tips but I really want to

remind you that you're not racing with

others the only person you're racing

against is yourself now now if you keep

comparing yourself to your classmates or

other people while yes I do find

competition healthy and it's a good way

to grow yourself and to sort of become a

better more competitive being if you

draw your satisfaction from comparing

yourself to others or competing in that

matter I don't think you'll reach very

far especially mental healthwise while I

do believe it's important to be

formidable it's not good to rely on your

competitive side for happiness remember

college is a journey and take your time

no one is waiting for you you no one

gives a so take your

time and lastly my final

tip

is don't think that you have to

learn

think that you get to learn thank you

for watching and don't forget to drink

your water bye just going to be a

subject to

follow to follow

all