|
Practical Advice for Students Online
Those who have never attended college before should start here. These sites cover everything from your school search to finding financial aid to surviving dorm food. If you don't have an older brother or sister to fill you in, these resources are the next best thing.
- CampusGrotto. This site focuses on what you need to know for a successful college experience, for example student finances, how to study and take tests, college scholarships, and career advice.
- CollegeBoard. Valuable information for college students. While most articles are directed towards students applying to college, there are tips for current students as well.
- Study Skills Blog. A grab bag of practical advice and funny anecdotes to help you study for that important exam.
- CollegeTips. Real, practical advice from college student as well as college news.
- Gearfire. With contributors ranging from high school students to college graduates, this site offers tips for academic success.
How-to Guides: How Not to Fail
Sometimes you need very specific help--How to write a paper, how to improve your GPA, how to lose the "freshman 15." These guides offer step-by-step instruction and targeted assistance.
- A Guide for Writing Research Papers MLA. Instruction on how to write a research paper in Modern Language Association format. Covers quotation use, citations, grammar, and writing. Also includes outlines, proper formatting, and note taking.
- Make Use Of. Offers a listing of free "cool Websites, software, and Internet tips" to do practically anything. The site is updated throughout the day, so there is always something new.
- Tips for Writing Research Papers. Learn to correctly write a formal research paper. Its list of "Common Errors Found in Research Papers" is a must-read.
- Zen College Life. Advice on everything from study skills to job hunting. Also fun articles like "8 of the Weirdest College Courses in the World."
Your Study Resource: Free Productivity Help
One of the biggest challenges for college and high school students is juggling their many commitments. Fortunately, there are many excellent free Web-based applications to help you manage your life. Calendars, to-do lists, schedules, file-sharing--all the assistance you need is online. Calculators and clipboards help you study more efficiently.
- 30 Boxes. This could be the most convenient online calendar in the world. 30 Boxes is perfect for students who need to keep track of dates, to-dos, and activities easily.
- Backpack It. This one made PC World's Top 100 Product list. Backpack helps you easily create to-do lists, share files, make announcements, and even create an Intranet.
- BibMe. BibMe lets you search for books, magazines, journals, newspapers, Web articles, and films, and download properly formatted bibliographies for MLA, APA, Chicago, or Turabian styles.
- Calc Result. This site offers tons of cool calculators for everything from math equations to color gradients. And new ones are always being added.
- CL1P.net. Your own Internet clipboard. Copy and paste text, links, and photos to the site-you can access them any time and from any computer.
- College Ruled. Designed for college students, College Ruled is a one-stop app shop with class message boards and calendar making capabilities. Create color-coded schedules and link to them from Facebook profiles.
- Zoho. Highly-regarded Zoho features a comprehensive collection of business and productivity apps--more than twenty. Offerings include an online word processor (Zoho Writer), organizer (Zoho Planner), spreadsheet application (Zoho Sheet), database application (Zoho Creator), and presentation tool (Zoho Show).
Online Education: The Reference Section
This is not your parents' library. Online education resources make fact finding a snap--once you know where to go. Many of these reference sites not only boast a wealth of information; they make it easy to find with their own innovative and user-friendly search engines. Keep this list handy and your research papers will practically write themselves.
- Bartleby. Want free, unlimited use of great books? Bartleby is an online reference library publishing poetry, literature, reference books, and a lot more.
- Biz Journals. Business majors, check this out. Biz Journals publishes news, industry developments, events, community concerns, companies, resources, and lists.
- Free-Research.com. The world's largest storehouse of information on markets and companies. Business information includes markets, companies, insights, countries, associations, and industry news. You can even get custom research for your project.
- Library of Congress. It's the largest library in the world--what more could you want? Peruse historical documents, manuscripts, artwork, maps, photos, letters, and film.
- Library Spot. This award-winning Web site has some of the best reference resources on the Web. Check out the reading room, virtual reference desk, and several top-notch search engines to find whatever you need.
- Litsum. "The" source for comprehensive literature study guides, literature notes, and book summaries. Litsum has more free study guides than any other Web site. Save time and go there first when you have a lit project.
- Newspaper Archive. "Largest historical newspaper database online." For history buffs, students, researchers, and genealogists, the site also offers a community of like-minded sorts with its own Facebook page.
- Questia. It's the world's largest online library of books, with 67,000 full-text volumes, and over 1.5 million articles! There's also a virtual dictionary, encyclopedia and thesaurus.
- RefDesk. RefDesk is user-friendly and free--the place to go for fast facts and reference tools. The site offers dictionaries, encyclopedias, maps, atlases, calculators, converters, quotes, a fact checker, and more.
College should be about more than toga parties and beer pong. But that doesn't mean you need to grind away in the library 24/7. Online tools, references sites, study resources, and helpful blogs are there to help you be more efficient, centered, and social. So bookmark them and make some fun plans for the extra time you'll have.
About the Author
Gina Pogol has a terrific job as a writer and editor for an online media company. After working at several horrible jobs, she earned an associate's degree in Computer Programming, a certificate in Paralegal Studies, and a BS in Financial Management.
|
