“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”
Anthony J. D’Angelo (Tweet it!)

“The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education.”
Albert Einstein (Tweet it!)

“As long as you live, keep learning how to live.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Tweet it!)

“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.”
Victor Hugo (Tweet it!)

“A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad.”
Theodore Roosevelt (Tweet it!)

“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
Benjamin Franklin (Tweet it!)

“It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.”
Albert Einstein (Tweet it!)

“The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.”
Aristotle (Tweet it!)

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
Mark Twain (Tweet it!)

“It is only the ignorant who despise education.”
Publilius Syrus (Tweet it!)

“Seeing much, suffering much, and studying much, are the three pillars of learning.”
Benjamin Disraeli (Tweet it!)

“Education is hanging around until you’ve caught on.”
Robert Frost (Tweet it!)

“Never let formal education get in the way of your learning.”
Mark Twain (Tweet it!)

“To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.”
Theodore Roosevelt (Tweet it!)

“Nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”
Oscar Wilde (Tweet it!)

“That’s what learning is. You suddenly understand something you understood all your life, but in a new way.”
Doris Lessing (Tweet it!)

“In the end we retain from our studies only that which we practically apply.”
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (Tweet it!)

“To teach is to learn twice.”
Joseph Joubert (Tweet it!)

“Personally, I’m always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.”
Winston Churchill (Tweet it!)

“They know enough who know how to learn.”
Henry Brooks Adams (Tweet it!)

“That is never too often repeated, which is never sufficiently learned.”
Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Tweet it!)

“Education is the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.”
Mark Twain (Tweet it!)

“Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.”
Plato (Tweet it!)

“In large states public education will always be mediocre, for the same reason that in large kitchens the cooking is usually bad.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (Tweet it!)

“It takes a great deal of living to get a little deal of learning.”
John Ruskin (Tweet it!)

“The educated differ from the uneducated as much as the living from the dead.”
Aristotle (Tweet it!)

“Wear your learning like a watch and do not pull it out merely to show you have it. If you are asked for the time, tell it; but do not proclaim it hourly unasked.”
Lord Chesterfield (Tweet it!)

“It is always safe to learn, even from our enemies; seldom safe to venture to instruct, even our friends.”
Charles Caleb Colton (Tweet it!)

“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.”
Thomas H. Huxley (Tweet it!)

“A mistake is a crash-course in learning.”
Billy Anderson (Tweet it!)

“Like a lump of clay in the hands of the creator, we are forever being molded by life’s experiences.”
Feyisara Aladese (Tweet it!)

“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.”
Marie Curie (Tweet it!)

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.”
Albert Einstein (Tweet it!)

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.”
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Tweet it!)

“Prejudice is the child of ignorance.”
William Hazlitt (Tweet it!)

“The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.”
B. B. King (Tweet it!)

“We are not retreating. We are advancing in another direction.”
Douglas MacArthur (Tweet it!)

“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Carl Sagan (Tweet it!)

So earlier this year I put up an article with tips for preparing for your exams. Listen I know that there are so many things that you think you need to do for your exam but the FIRST and MOST IMPORTANT thing you should do is to actually find out about the exam itself! You would be surprised about the number of people who revise so hard for the actual exam and don’t even know where the hell the exam is 20 minutes before it! Here are a few tips that I have learnt over the years:

- FIND OUT WHERE IT IS!!! 
I can not stress this point enough! In all seriousness I have nearly missed an exam that I studied hard for, purely because I found out 30 minutes before the exam that it was going to be on the other side of campus! So first and foremost check out WHERE and WHEN your exam is. Once you have done this plan your route to get there. It is always worthwhile turning up early for an exam rather than turning up late, so make sure you are there 15 minutes before it starts.

- Check what time it starts AND what time doors open.

You may not realise this, but in most cases before you sit an exam there will be two times that you really need to take note of. Firstly there is the time that the actual exam starts. Secondly there is the time that the doors open. This time is as important as the time the actual exam starts, since you do not want to be turning up 2 minutes before the exam is due to start. Ideally you want to time it so that you get there just before doors open.

- Find out how long the exam is

This may seem like a no brainer but you need to know if you are going to have a short exam or a long exam. This will help you structure your time management. Trust me, failing to do this WILL cost you exam marks if you end up running out of time towards the end.

- Learn what types of questions there will be

Make sure you always check with your teacher/professor on how the exam will be structured and what sort of questions will turn up. It may have only long answer questions or only multiple choice. This will help you study for your exam and help you with your time management during the exam.

- Know what you need to take

There is nothing worse that turning up to an exam without having a piece of equipment you need. It takes two seconds and saves a shitload of stress if you just check what you need! This is really important if the exam you are sitting has any maths involved. It is always a good idea to have a separate pencil case with everything you may need inside, and use it only for exams

Listen, I hope these tips helped and if you have any questions or anything feel free to drop a comment below!

Student banks which you should know

For all those students who are about to go to universities it is worth noting here that there are myriad of challenges apart from the parties and entertainment. And those students who are disciplined and ready to take on those challenges will come out as victorious nothing with certainty can be said about students who are lethargic and undisciplined. In the perspective of student life and university education, every student should have some sort of idea about student banks. The fact of the matter is that an average person regardless of being a student deals with these financial intermediaries on daily basis and one must be aware of all options especially when one is a student and the resources are constrained. The purpose of this article is to discuss student banks and to highlight important aspects of them.

To start with, The Co-operative bank is one of the great banks especially for students because of their favorable features for students. For instance, the overdraft limit of this bank is quite great. Over and above that, their ethical values are also worth mentioning. Moreover, student account offers many unique features which others do not even come close to it. However, one must note that there is no graduate account.

In addition to The Co-operative, Halifax is also one of the worth considering options and currently ranks at second position in our rankings. One of the first noticing aspects is overdraft which is up to three thousand pounds. Furthermore, the applications of overdraft are scrutinized case by case and your credit rating is one of the important determinant factors. So far as the payback of this is concerned, the interest will start piling after the first year of graduation. In other words, it would be better if you pay back the entire amount before that time. Another word of caution for students who are interested in using this bank account is that exceeding your overdraft limit will definitely not be a good idea as it entails significant costs.

NatWest occupies third position in our rankings as it also has a favorable and student friendly account. The overdraft limit of this bank is also different from the previously mentioned two banks and students are highly advised to check this out. RBS bank used to offer Rail card but quite unfortunately they no longer now. Furthermore, the eligibility criteria are also determined on a case to case basis. If you are interested in knowing about your eligibility criteria then you might want to contact their office or customer services to find this out. If you need advice on staying on top of your financial situation I suggest you take a look at the information provided by debt free direct.

HSBC comes at the fourth position in our ranking and worth noticing aspect about it is that there is a lot of similarity in their student account with that of Halifax. The applications are once again scrutinized on the case by case basis.

Lloyds TSB occupies the last position in our ranking and it is mostly favorable to students who are in a five year program. In conclusion, consider all your options and then go for a bank account.

Ways to overcome procrastination before final exams

When it comes to student life, procrastination is one of the terms which one might come across several times. Before delving further into the details of how to overcome this deadly disease, it would be a good idea to actually define this term. It is basically referred to any act of delaying or deferring a task or action to a later time. Phrasing it a bit differently, it is slowness of a person. Students usually suffer from procrastination when the motivational factors are less visible or apparent. Deep procrastination before exams is one of the worst things that could happen to a college or university student. Quite unfortunately, it happens a lot. In a nutshell, the problem of procrastination is not unusual in students and the objective of this article is to discuss ways to deal with it.

Also worth mentioning here is the fact that students feel lack of motivation to muster that energy for final push. It could fairly be established that procrastination is very dangerous and it is frequent among students. However, overcoming it is not entirely impossible. The fact of the matter is some small few tips can make a significant improvement in your life and can help you in overcoming procrastination and laziness. Following are some of the tips:

Plan ahead

There is nothing worse than randomness in one’s life though it could be beneficial few times but not always. Leading a disciplined life has always been the key to success. In this regard, it is highly advisable to students that they plan ahead and make some kind of a visual panic schedule where they could actually track their performance and know what to do each day. Of course, students will have to spend some time in doing that too but this spending of time in no way could be considered wastage as it is bound to yield high results if you stay committed to it.

Take a day off to enjoy

It is essential for every student to actually take a pause before making the last jump or leap because you will want all your mental faculties in the best state. That pause could be in the form of taking few days off to just do things which you want to. You could watch movies or do sports or anything you want to. The basic idea is that you do not follow your schedule and just relax to make that last run or jump.

Start early

Many students fail to do good at exams not because they have lesser minds rather it is because they fail to study early and end up preparing for the exam on the last night. Such students have a high potential for doing good if they start preparing, may be, two to three weeks early.  The idea is not to do all the preparation in one day but to do it topic by topic.

In conclusion, it is worth noting here that a balance must be struck between your strengths and weaknesses if you want to take good grades overall and not just in one course.

Ways to fund your university education

Wouldn’t it be nice to go ahead pursuing your psychology, business, or social worker degree. No matter what you are after, when it comes to college or university education, it is no secret that it is quite expensive in almost all parts of the world but there are different options which students could opt for to receive discounts or to reduce the overall cost of university education. Worth noting here is the fact that high cost is not the only issue which a student should be concerned about; there are many other significant problems which needs to be addressed and the rest of the article deals with those.

Research is extremely important

It is hard to believe that a large number of students all around the world do not opt for fund cutting options simply because they are not aware of them. Phrasing it in a different manner, students miss the chance to earn free money which seems to be quite counterintuitive but nonetheless it is a fact. One does not have to in the low-income or deserving criteria for such fund cuts; there is a plethora of opportunities out there and everyone could benefit from it. Company sponsorship is just one example of such opportunities.

The key here is to dig and find out. Things are not going to appear suddenly on the horizon for you. Instead, you will have to make an effort to earn.

Prefer a bursary

In addition to scholarships and sponsorships, financial aid in the form of bursary and tuition fee waiver is also quite common. Should you get a chance to choose between these two options it is highly advisable that you go with the former. Simple calculations and reasoning would reveal the superiority and benefits of choosing a bursary over tuition fee waiver.

Part time job would be a plus

This definitely does not come under normal student funding but it is actually a good way to keep things going. It might come as a surprise to many people but a significant number of students do part-time jobs to fund their education. That being said, finding a job which has flexible work timings is crucial here because you will not want to earn at the expense of your precious studies.

Students could always ask their parents

This is definitely a viable and executable option for those students whose parents have a strong financial position and could afford to pay some part of the university fee. The fact of the matter is that it would come as a great relief to students who are having a hard time in finding a good job that offers handsome remuneration and also has flexible timings. Moreover, it would also help the students who need more time to absorb and digest the class lectures and slides.

But looking from another perspective, it could also send wrong signals to your parents regarding your future capabilities to earn money. In this regard, reassurances from your side would definitely help.

Want to save money on the bills?

It is no hidden fact that costs of tertiary education are quite substantial and students have to find different ways to save money in order to finance their education. The challenges in college education are many and each more daunting than the previous. Lack of motivation and slump before final exams is just one of the many against which students have to devise a plan to counter it. The purpose of this article is to discuss a more specific financial issue which every student is bound to face. In addition to the cost of apartment or accommodation, paying all bills becomes extremely challenging along with the studies and projects. In this regard, this is a worth reading article as it explores and discusses different ways to cope with this issue at hand. Following are some of the tips:

Library is a good option

When it comes to charging up your different gadgets, you could do all such kinds of stuff right at your own library. In other words, one can effectively save consumption by using outlets like library to cut on the bills. In other words, you should not hesitate from charging your laptop and other important devices including your camera from your college or university’s library. Similarly, should you feel the need to get warm up due to cold weather you could take benefit of the library’s heating system.

Do not shy away from wearing warm clothes

This point is quite linked with the first one since one of the ways to avoid cold or get warm is to wear warm clothes. In other words, wearing a t-shirt in extreme cold winter would not be a good idea and in fact it would be health deteriorating. The basic idea is to save costs on heating and this could simply be done by layering up warm clothes.

Another mentionable aspect in this context is to buy warm clothes and blankets in the hot weather when the prices are low. On the other hand, one could also buy such stuff at lower prices when there is a special event like Christmas because of the sale offered by large and well-established sellers. Similarly, exercising frequently or regularly would also ensure that your body temperature remains warm and your feel less cold.

Getting smart

Apart from implementing all these suggestions, one also has to actually be smart if one desires some relief on bills. Blind trust on the bill company might not be a good idea and you should double check that the bill readings are correct. The idea is that you make smart adjustments in your budget by interacting closely with the company and by coming up with a certain plan. Furthermore, one must also look for ways for getting discounts. Paper billing is one example as a discount is offered on it.

As a student a good internet connection is essential and a good advice for saving money is to always compare prices before buying anything. When it comes to broadband there are a number of things to think about including broadband providers, dongles and mifi. uSwitch has a nice service for finding the cheapest broadband deals.

Energy saving products

Thanks to modern technological advancements, there are now many energy efficient products in the market which one can use to save money on the bills. In conclusion, be smart and effective.

Remember the most important thing is to pay off your bills! There is no point jeopardising your credit rating, not paying your bills could also affect the deposit you get back from your landlord (Check out our post about getting your deposit back).

Do you want the deposit back from your landlord?

College or university life indeed has very high private as well as social benefits but unluckily it also has significant costs. Students often have to do part-time jobs to make their way through university education. In addition to that, lack of motivation often comes into play and as a result students procrastinate and waste time in useless activities that have no relation whatsoever with their studies at university (Check out our article on staying motivated to avoid procrastination). Another mentionable cost aspect is that of student accommodation. In this regard, getting the deposit back from the landlord is often a problem for students. It is a fact that people of this age are careless and impetuous but getting a deposit back could be a source of big relief. The objective of this article is to give students some tips in getting this back in the context of student funding. Following are some of the things which students can do to get deposit back:

Restore the property to its original point

This appears to be quite straightforward and simple but quite unfortunately this is where students lag behind. The basic idea here is that there should be very less wear and tear. Moreover, students can live as they desire for the full year but on reaching the end of the year, they should spend some time in cleaning and tidying things. The aim is to restore the property to its initial condition when you moved in. Students could also cross check with itinerary if they filled any. Doing this would make harder for landlord to have a disagreement on the damages.

Do not forget to pay off your bills

Another way with the help of which you could ensure the return of deposit is that you pay all your bills regularly. Moreover, this will also ensure that students are not being overcharged. In this regard, a good idea would be to call the bill companies and let them know that you are soon going out. Bill companies will let you know about your outstanding bills and then you can pay them off and ask landlord to return the full deposit.

Return all the keys

Another thing which you might want to do when you are leaving is locking everything up and making sure you have all the keys of everything. In all types of student accommodations, a large number of keys are quite normal and students often tend to lose keys. Returning all the keys will make you free of any responsibility and landlord is likely to give you your deposit back.

Make sure you have checked the property

Leaving the property without checking could prove really disastrous for you and you could definitely save substantial amount of money on this. The idea is that you invite the landlord to have a look at the apartment and see everything is in top nick. If there is any issue, you can fix and then you have a good chance that you will get the deposit back.

In conclusion, it is basically the responsibility of the student to take measures that would ensure the return of the deposit.

There are tons of different ways to increase your motivation. it is always important to be motivated in what ever you do. However people often think that some people are just more motivated than others, this is true but only because these people WANT to be more motivated. If you want to really boost your productivity and really thinking like a smart student here are a few tips to help yourself get more motivated.

Set yourself some realistic goals. 

The first step to being more motivated is to set yourself a task to do! People are much more motivated to complete small tasks rather than large daunting tasks, so split up a big task into lots of smaller ones. It is important to set realistic goals, don’t trying to ask too much of yourself. When you complete a goal make sure you note it, nothing is more motivating than seeing how far you have come already.

Set goals for your own learning. 

Try to see which concepts you can learn to help you with your work. if you have a big task that needs doing try doing some reading around the subject, and see what you can learn before hand to make your work better and easier to do. Learning goals help motivate you about your subject and true student thinking requires a thirst for knowledge.

Make sure you know what completing the task will do for you.

It is always important to see the bigger picture. When you draw up a set of tasks make sure you know how completing each task will benefit you. This is a great way to motivate yourself, it makes the task seem more important and it actually seems like less work, if the benefit to you is much better than the work you have to put into the task. Completing a task will be a lot more enjoyable too!

Positive Attitude.

When starting any task it is important to remember ant tasks you finished in the past. Just by knowing that you have finished a similar task can increase your motivation. Or if you have to do a task that requires you to use a skill that you are proficient in, remember that you are good at it! It will help increase your motivation and improve your attitude.

Positive self talking.

Remember to always tell yourself that you can do it! A strong internal positive voice is one of the best ways to motivate yourself. If it helps do not be afraid to say it out loud, remember you have to motivate yourself.

Work Hard.

Remember, your work is what yields results, do not forget to put the most work you can into something!

Use Study Techniques.

It is always useful to use certain study techniques, there are different techniques for different types of learners. I would recommend the Feynman technique as a good method for studying and understanding your work.

Monitor your learning.

It is important to keep track of what you have done and what you have learnt. This is a great way to see how far you have come and how you have developed as a student. Remember it is always important to look back and see what you have come from and the mistakes you have made along the way. Also it would be a great idea to test yourself constantly.

Look at the mistakes you have made.

What we do right is only half the story. We all make mistakes and the best way to learn is to learn what you did wrong before. See any mistakes you made in tests you have done and make sure you go back and make sure you can answer them! The key to being a smart student is to learn from the mistakes you have made and not to repeat them.

I hope these tips have given you the tools to motivate yourselves and do the best you can. I also hope that you can now see that everyone makes mistakes, every smart student sees what they did wrong and ensures they never make the same mistake again.