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Best Ways to Study for a Big Exam

Big exams are potentially a stressful part of the college experience. They often make up a large portion of your grade, and the pressure to do well on a major exam can be intimidating. With some careful planning and positive habits, you can ace your exams. Make A Plan of Action Any large endeavor, such as studying for a major exam, or even writing a term paper, is more manageable when broken down into smaller tasks. Taking tasks one at a time can keep you on track and help you from getting overwhelmed with the scope of the work. If your professor has provided any guidelines or information about the exam, be sure to refer to that to aid your studying. After that, you’ll need to assemble your study materials. Did you take notes from your readings, and class lectures? Did you highlight in your textbooks or other materials? Gather everything that may be helpful for your studying and organize it, so that for each study session leading up to the exam, you know where to find everything you need. Anti-Cramming Trying to read and retain everything at the last minute, otherwise known as cramming, is not an effective study method. Focus instead on other productivity methods that have a little more breathing room for better results. There is no need to implement a new, complicated productivity system as an exam approaches. There are simple methods such as the Pomodoro Technique, where 25 minutes of work is rewarded with a 5-minute break. If a longer interval of studying is better for you, 50 minutes of studying broken up by 10-minute breaks are effective as well. Resist the urge to zone out on your phone or laptop during those breaks, and instead use that time to have a snack or drink, take a short walk, stretch, or even gaze out the window to give your eyes a break. Change Your Scenery There’s nothing wrong with spending some study time in a relaxing environment, such as your couch or bed, but the majority of your time should be spent in settings more conducive to studying. This means a table or desk and a sturdy chair where you can sit up straight. A space clear of visual clutter will help keep your mind clear as well. Your desk, if you have one, and the library, student lounge, or even the dining hall are all options for finding a proper study area. You shouldn’t spend all your time in the same spot throughout your studying. The New York Times reports that simply changing your location can aid in retention, so you can switch study spots halfway through the day or at an interval that works for you. Minimize Distractions One of the challenges of remaining focused during study time is the constant presence of distractions. In the college environment, distractions can be in-person or virtual. Use noise-canceling headphones or earbuds, white noise, or instrumental music to help block out auditory distractions. Let your friends and family know when you plan to study so they won’t call or text, or silence your notifications during that time. If you’re concerned about keeping virtual distractions at bay, there are apps for both phones and computers to force you to stay off social media and other distracting sites or apps. Freedom blocks distractions on both your computer and phone and an app like Forest incentivizes your diligence by growing virtual trees to represent the time you committed to not scrolling Twitter or Instagram. Work Together Depending on the material, some of your study time might be well-served working with others. If you don’t already have one, consider joining forces with a study partner or small group for your exam preparation. The other members of your group may have caught something you missed, or may be able to explain a concept to you as a peer rather than a professor. There is also accountability in groups; it’s more difficult to procrastinate when you’ve got a group of other students counting on you to participate. Talking through major topics, comparing notes, and quizzing one another can all be useful ways to make the most of a study group. Take Care of Your Body and Mind Sleep All-nighters may be tempting at times when you feel like you don’t have enough time to get it all done. If you’ve made a plan as detailed above, you won’t need those late-night hours to accomplish all of your work. It’s much more important that you get a good night’s sleep so you’re well-rested and clear-headed for the next day. Move Physical activity can be incredibly helpful to your body and brain during study time. In addition to assisting in learning, exercise can relieve stress and anxiety symptoms. If you don’t have an existing exercise routine, walks or bike rides are a simple way to get some of these benefits during your studies. Eat and Drink While this is true at any time, it’s particularly important during intense study periods that you fuel your body with a healthy diet and minimize junk food. The snacks and sodas in the vending machine may be convenient, but don’t provide the nutrition your body needs. Eat balanced meals and healthy snacks during your studies instead. It’s also important to stay hydrated, which can increase energy levels and improve brain function . As for caffeine, if you’re already a coffee or tea drinker, you can continue to do so. Just be sure to moderate your caffeine consumption to avoid spikes and crashes. Day-of Essentials On the day of the exam, arrive well-rested and have water or any other drinks that are allowed. Check your syllabus or the professor’s instructions and come fully prepared with whatever notes, textbooks and writing materials are allowed for the test. When you live at Vintage at Tabernacle, take advantage of one of our study areas to get the preparation you need for the big test. With some careful preparation, diligence, and self-care, a major exam doesn’t have to be intimidating. When it’s all over you’ll be glad you put the effort in, and confident that you did your best. Good luck!

Ways to Get Around Campus

Going to college can be costly. Every semester, you have to pay tuition for your classes, required student fees, and textbooks that you will never use after you graduate. You also have to account for the simple necessities of life: rent, food, clothes, toiletries, and other basic supplies. For many college students, a car is not one of those necessities. After all, it costs money to own and operate a vehicle, even if you don’t drive it very often. According to AAA , in 2016, the average cost of maintaining an average sedan was $8,558 annually. This included fuel, car insurance, maintenance, license and registration fees, tires, and depreciation. This works out to be $713 a month. Even if you do own a car that you bring with you to campus, you might choose not to drive it every day to help cut down on some of those costs. You might decide to only drive it once a week to the grocery store or to drive back home during a school break. You might be a student here without a car or a student who wants to limit how much you drive your car. Regardless of your car status, it is important to know other ways to get around campus at Dixie State University. Whether you live at Vintage at Tabernacle or another Dixie Statue housing option, consider these ways to get yourself around campus and St. George. Use the public transit system The city of St. George has a great public transit system, known as SunTran , that is available to its residents and visitors. Serving the area since 2003, SunTran provides an inexpensive way for riders to get around the city whether they need to get to work, school, or someplace else. SunTran has seven routes around St. George. The three routes that have stops around the campus are route #1 (Red Cliffs), route #2 (Riverside), and route #3 (West Side Connector). Buses come every 40 minutes. You can check out the schedules online. Free for Dixie State students We have some great news! SunTran is free to ride for Dixie State University students. Students just need to show their official student card when hopping on a SunTran bus. This allows you, as a student, to easily and cheaply get around town. You can take the bus to go shopping or to grab a bite to eat with friends. You can also use it to get to and from a part-time job. SunTran mobile app SunTran now uses a free app (Ride Systems) that you can download for your IOS or Android phone. You can use the app to track a bus to see when it will arrive at your stop. You can also use it to find the closest stop to your location. A fun fact is that the Ride Systems app was developed by Utah college students according to SunTran’s website. Besides St. George, it serves other communities and over 300 transit systems in the country ADA compliant In addition to being a comfortable and convenient option to get around town, all SunTran buses are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) policies. This means that their buses are wheelchair accessible. They also provide a service, for an additional fee, to those who might not be able to get to and from the bus stop. For information, you can contact SunTran at 435-673-TRAN. Ride a bicycle If you own a bicycle, Dixie State University encourages you to bring it with you to campus. Biking is a great way to get around campus while burning some energy. Whether you need to ride your bike to class, the library, or the student activity center, you will find a number of outside locations where you can chain up your bike. In fact, Dixie State University was nationally recognized in 2021 as being a bicycle-friendly university. They were one of 38 schools across the country honored by The League of American Bicyclists. The school is continuing to look for other initiatives to build on the healthy and safe bicycle environment that already exists on campus. It is important to keep your bike locked up. Dixie State University student housing apartment complex, Vintage at Tabernacle , has a locked and secure bike room on the property for storage. It is a safe room that is only accessible by current residents. There are bike racks in the storage room as well. Other things with wheels Maybe you do not have a bicycle. Instead, you might have a skateboard, rollerblades, or some other form of wheeled transportation. Use them! In addition to bicycles, Dixie State University allows the use of scooters, skateboards, longboards, and rollerblades on campus. Just remember that they should only be used outside. When inside, these items should be carried. If needed, refer to the current Resident Life Handbook for the regulations around using and storing these items. Take a walk Sometimes, nothing beats a good old-fashioned stroll down the road. It is a great way to get from point A to point B while enjoying some fresh air and soaking up some sunshine. Whether you live at Vintage at Tabernacle or other Dixie State housing, it is a short walk to most places on campus. For example, it is a half-mile walk from Vintage at Tabernacle to the student activity center. It would take you about eight minutes to walk it. The Greater Zion Stadium is a little over ¾ of a mile and would take about fifteen minutes to walk to. Besides walking around campus, Dixie State University has several great shopping centers and restaurants all within about a mile radius. Going Beyond Campus While at school, you might want to travel home for the weekend, during a break, or for the holidays. Using a shuttle service allows you to travel throughout Utah and a few surrounding areas for a reduced rate. St. George Shuttle offers routes from St. George to Las Vegas as well as several cities throughout Utah, including Orem, Ogden, and Salt Lake. They also have connections to Northern Utah cities and towns around Zion National Park. They have charging stations that provide individual USB ports in most of their vans. They also provide you with a free bottle of water. Salt Lake Express provides routes throughout Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah. They also have a few stops in Western Wyoming. They provide individual outlets to keep your mobile devices charged throughout the journey. They also include a bottle of water and a complimentary blanket. Their website also states that they have plenty of storage space and legroom. Both St. George Shuttle and Salt Lake Express have pick-up stops on campus to make it even more convenient for Dixie State students. If you’re interested, you can book on their website or give them a call. Regardless of how you choose to get around campus, we encourage you to make the most of your time at Dixie State University. Enjoy the campus and all that it has to offer you!

How to Prepare for Life After College

You did it! You’ve graduated college and are on your way to continuing your life with your new degree. But now, here’s your next big question: what are you going to do now? Life after college can seem very intimidating as you may feel like you have no idea what you’re going to do or where your life is going. But, it doesn’t have to be difficult at all. Let’s look into a few ways to prepare for life after college. Learn How to Network One of the most important things you can do is to learn how to network. Many people will tell you that a critical key to their business success is reaching out and connecting with other people. It’s important to find which networks will allow you to meet the right people in your industry. As you look for a job, having the right connections can serve as a huge advantage. The people you know or have access to are your network; be it friends, family, classmates, co-workers, or even instructors, as an example. These people can be connections for you to help you land a job or opportunities for life necessities. Keep building your network by staying in touch with people you meet; such as in class, internships, jobs, or even online through a professional business network. As your career develops, the people you know can notify you of job openings or other professional opportunities you wouldn’t have known. Networking is a critical key to job success! Find a Mentor or Coach Finding a mentor can help provide a necessary perspective to ensure you can develop a quality career. A mentor can be a trusted professor with experience in your desired field, an industry expert you’ve connected with on LinkedIn or even a family friend. The person you pick as your mentor or coach may depend on which field or career you want to succeed in and their experience level in it. You should have a general direction of where you want your career to go. As your mentor or coach teaches you skills and provides guidance, ask specific questions of your mentor and get the most out of their teaching. Mentors and coaches can provide a significantly positive difference in your career, but only if you fully implement their strategies and utilize their guidance to the full. Possibly, along with asking your coach for their input, try to figure out a plan to keep yourself focused on your ideal career outcome. If you decide to start your own business, you can hire a business coach to figure out how to go about this plan. Regardless of how you go about your future profession or career, finding a coach or mentor will always smooth out any bumps along the way. Start your Job Search You should start actively searching for jobs by your senior year in university. Some job fields, such as finance or other higher-up professions, expect to receive potential candidates to start working as early as their junior year. So throughout your last year or two of school, particularly your final semester, stay aware and search for entry-level roles you can apply for. By senior year, you should be actively searching for a job. Some fields expect candidates to start as early as junior year. Throughout your final year, keep an eye out for entry-level roles you’re qualified for. This would be the perfect time to utilize your network and available connections to widen out your career scope. Anyone you know may have access or “secret intel” on jobs that haven’t been made available to the public yet. As mentioned above, networking and forming professional connections can be invaluable tools to have in your career. Clean up your Social Media Given this is the digital age, many employers check out your social media profile before hiring you to learn your character. This is the best time to ask yourself, are your social media accounts a positive image of you? Also, would you be embarrassed if an employer were to see you like this? Potential employers may disapprove if they see you publicly posted a photo of yourself drinking or doing something unkind to others. There have been plenty of public instances where someone posted an unkind or thoughtless post or image online, believing it to be funny. However, others saw it as cruel and it cost that person their employment or job offer. Keep in mind, you don’t have to delete your account! Just be sure that any posts or photos you make public are ones that you’re comfortable with a potential employer viewing. This same mindset also goes for any controversial or sensitive topics, such as politics. Look for Internships Many organizations and companies tend to look for employees with skills or, more preferably, experience. Even those without a degree can score impressive roles as long as they have the experience that makes them valuable. You can gain this experience by taking on internships during college, allowing you to gain hands-on skills that teach you to handle assignments and challenges. Remember, you don’t have to wait until graduation to build up job experience! During any long breaks and periods with fewer classes, you can use this chance to take on internships or jobs that let you gain training. Form a Plan Based on your Interests Where your interests lie are the building blocks to your career success. Learning your true interests can take time, so give yourself time with this. Research what you know you love most and enjoy learning. Keep in mind, there will be influences and side jobs that will steer your focus off of your primary goal and career development. However, the most important thing is to keep building towards the career goals you wish to achieve. Form an outline of the path you want to see your career follow down the road. This plan will help you keep track of your goals, the time length in achieving them, and let you get closer to success. Map out your plan in gaining necessary skills, managing your time, and post-graduation goals. This will save you time as you plan your goals instead of figuring them out along the way. Upgrade Your Business Profile and Resume Many people in the professional world have a LinkedIn profile. You want to learn how to build up your resume so that it shines a spotlight on you. Be sure to put in relevant work history to the career you want to exceed in, internship history, schools attended, and other forms of education or professional experience you have. Also, make sure that your profile photo is clear and professional. Don't put in selfies or faceless logos, as potential employers prefer to see your face. There's so much competition in the workforce nowadays and individuals with impressive resumes, so you want to ensure you can keep a pair of eyes on yours instead! A tip to remember is to start working on your resume now so it can be submitted right away. Digital resumes are currently popular and most preferred over paper resumes. Keep your resume simple, detail-oriented, and relevant to the job you want to gain. When you live at Vintage at Tabernacle , you can take advantage of on-campus opportunities at Dixie State University to build up your resume and network with other individuals who are going into your same career. Save Up an Emergency Fund It's a wise choice to save up an emergency fund in the case scenario that something happens. An emergency fund can help you cover unexpected expenses, such as car repairs or medical bills. This way, you don't have to put it on a credit card and wrack up unwanted debt. Try to save up a few hundred dollars on the side while aiming for at least $1,000 strictly for emergencies. From there, continue to save a big enough emergency fund that can hold you over for a few months. This will financially help you if you find yourself without a job or something else unexpected. Don’t Overthink Your Future! The key to preparing for life after college is not overthinking it. Many people feel the way that you do and are nervous as well. Life after college can seem intimidating or scary, but it doesn't have to be. Form a plan of where you want your life to go; your career or where you want to be. Figure out the steps that will let you get there and take it one day at a time. Meet new people, continue studying, and always keep working in a way that makes you happy and always evolving.

How to Build Your Resume for the Professional World

Do you want to apply for your dream job but feel unsure how to build your resume for the professional world? We're here to help. We understand that writing a powerful resume is not always easy, especially if you lack formal work experience. While it’s a competitive job market out there, that doesn’t mean you can’t land coveted positions. Once you’ve learned how to write a compelling resume, you’ll never be far from a paycheck. Get your resume right, and you’ll be getting replies from every other company you apply to. In this article, we're going to teach you how to optimize your resume with a list of methods so that you can build your resume for the professional world and land that dream job. Write a winning introduction Studies show that, on average, recruiters spend seven seconds looking at a resume before deciding whether the candidate is suitable for the role. That's why first impressions are critical to your success. The first part of every resume is the introduction section. It is a concise and clear way of highlighting your interests and experiences with the employer. It is usually the first thing a potential employer will read. This introductory paragraph is sometimes called a 'summary' or an 'objective,' which includes a summary of your competence, knowledge, skills, and expertise that make you a qualified candidate for the job you're applying to. Think of your resume's introduction statement as your advertisement. You want to make sure you give your potential employer a quick snippet of your personality and strengths. The way you introduce your resume can determine whether it will be read or even advanced to the next step of the hiring process or not, so you want to write an excellent introductory statement. To write a winning introduction, start with a powerful headline; this will make it easier for the hiring manager to know who you are and understand your value in the workplace. After the headline, you want to focus on your strengths. For example, if you're writing a student resume and you don't have any relevant experience, don't highlight this fact. Instead, emphasize your work ethic, qualifications, abilities, and personality strengths. Resume introduction tips: Start with a powerful headline. Keep the introduction short and precise. Convey your strengths to market yourself to the employer. Choose the correct format for your resume There are different resume formats , but chronological, functional, and combination are the most common resume formats. All formats have a summary, skills, work history, and education section. However, each resume format structures those sections differently. The correct format for you will depend on factors such as your work experience, how your qualifications match the job you want, and your skillset. A professional resume should have consistent formatting. The reverse-chronological format is the most popular. With this resume format, you list your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent position and proceeding backward. It's the best one to use because it's easy to read and skim. Hiring managers and recruiters are familiar with this format, as most people use it, so it is preferred. The chronological resume primarily emphasizes your work history section. The work history section is where you list information about current and past jobs, with the most recent job history going first. To make the most of this format, you will need to focus on unique and detailed work achievements that show good work experience. It's also important to highlight key skills that fit the job description. Resume formatting tips: Be consistent when using punctuation throughout the document. For example, either use periods at the end of all your bullets or not. Try to use bold, italics, and underlining formatting to break up the text to make the document easier to read. Keep your resume to one page. Keep font size between 10-12 points and set margins to no less than 0.5. Make sure to avoid using the word "I" or other first-person pronouns. Use the past tense in describing past positions and use the present tense for your current work. Tailor your resume for the position Hiring managers sometimes sort through hundreds of resumes for a single job, which means they have to scan quickly to find the most relevant details. Therefore, you will need to tailor your resume to the employer's job description to get noticed as a candidate. Providing a tailored resume will make you stand out among other applicants and improve your chances of getting the job. Today, many hiring managers use tools to filter through resumes using keywords from the job description. When employers post a job opening, they include a list of responsibilities and required qualifications. Take the qualifications from the job description and add the same language and keywords throughout your resume. By tailoring your resume using the job description, you will improve your resume's chances of being seen and read. Make sure to specify work experience or achievements related to the position you are applying for. Recruiters and hiring managers are concerned about whether you fit the job requirements. When you focus on your most relevant experiences and skills, you can demonstrate a proven record of performing similar responsibilities. A tailored resume can also show genuine enthusiasm for the job since it demonstrates that you took the extra effort to ensure it showcases your best-fit qualifications. Hiring managers want to see how the candidate will support their goals, so they will undoubtedly appreciate this thoughtfulness and feel more comfortable hiring candidates who seem eager to work for them. Resume tailoring tips: Tailor your resume to fit the employer's job description. Use the same language and keywords from the job description to highlight you can fulfill the role. Specify work experience or achievements related to the position. Call attention to your achievements Consider including a separate "achievements" or "skills" section to highlight relevant achievements in your education, career, volunteer work, or other experiences. Include the most significant achievements and success in your resume and highlight the best examples of where you demonstrated your skills. These examples should showcase what you achieved in your education and previous roles and show what kind of employee you will be. It's best to include this information in the "work experience" section. Accomplishments or successes are critical to capture the attention of hiring managers. Without listing your important achievements, your resume is simply a recitation of your job descriptions and probably won't be read by many recruiters or hiring executives. Tips for calling attention to your achievements: When mentioning your achievements and accomplishments, give examples of where you demonstrated your skills. Try to demonstrate what kind of employee you will be. Create a clear education section In resumes with limited or no work experience, as may be the case with college students or recent graduates, the education section may be an excellent opportunity to show off educational achievements instead. Knowing how to list your education properly can be essential for advancing into the next phase of the hiring process. In the education section of the resume, you need to list the degrees you attained, schools you attended, your GPA if you're a student or a recent graduate, and any special awards and honors you earned. When structuring your education section, it is advisable to follow a reverse chronological order; list your latest educational entry first, and then go backward from there. Tips for creating an education section: Follow a reverse chronological order. For example, if you have a master's and a bachelor's degree, list the master's degree first, followed by your bachelor's degree. If you're still pursuing a degree, make it clear that your education is in progress. List your contact information Including the correct contact information on your resume is essential, mainly because you want to give employers an easy way to contact you for the job. First, you need to know what kind of information to include within your contact section. Make sure your contact details provide the following information so that if employers need to reach you for a potential interview, they can! Name: Naturally, your name should appear first at the top of your resume. Use your full name, and don’t use any nicknames or aliases. Employers generally need to know your real name, and they will turn away resumes that don’t provide that information. Address: For your address, include your city, state, and zip code. Phone Number: Many applicants fail to list their phone numbers on their resumes. Avoid making this mistake. List your number and make sure it is one you answer regularly. Email Address: Email addresses are critical, especially since many companies now choose to communicate with candidates using email. You should use an email address that sounds professional and one you check regularly. LinkedIn Profile Page: LinkedIn is a powerful tool to enhance your resume. It’s also something that hiring managers now check with increasing regularity, so ensure you update your profile if you have one, and keep it as professional as possible. Don’t forget to include the link to your profile page in the contact header section. List contact information in this order: your name should go first, preferably in large bolded letters. Under that, in smaller type, you should include the following details: Address (include: city, state, Zip) Phone Number Email Address LinkedIn Profile Link Tips for listing contact information: Use your full name and avoid using nicknames or aliases. Don’t forget to list your number and email address. Make sure they are the ones you check regularly. Share a link to your LinkedIn profile, preferably an updated one. Things to avoid in your resume Some things simply don’t belong on your resume. In fact, by including them, they can get your resume removed from consideration before it even gets a thorough review. Clichés: Avoid unnecessary clichés like ‘I’m a hardworking candidate with a results-driven attitude,’ and ‘works well as an individual and a team.’ Instead, offer statements that describe your industry-specific skills and knowledge. Unnecessary personal information: You have limited space on your resume, so you have to be selective about the information you share. Sharing unnecessary personal information is considered unprofessional. Giant walls of text: Long paragraphs and unbroken chunks of text are not easy to skim through and are not appealing to read. Break large text into shorter sentences and be more concise. Photographs: The space on your CV is quite limited. Having a photo of yourself taking up the page is not a good use of the space. It will do nothing to explain your skills and why you are the right fit for the jobs you are applying for, so there is no need to include one. Spelling mistakes and bad grammar: Last, but certainly not least, when applying for jobs, you need to make sure that your document is not just well written and beautifully formatted, but also error-free. Spelling mistakes, bad grammar, and a lack of attention to detail could outweigh your otherwise perfect resume. You might think that a tiny spelling error isn't a huge deal, but many recruiters consider such mistakes as instant disqualifiers. There you have it. A list of ways to optimize your resume so that you can impress employers and land that dream job. Good luck with your job search! As a college student, you can take advantage of on-campus resources like career mentors, resume workshops, and more. Vintage at Tabernacle residents live in close proximity to Dixie State University for easy access to a myriad of such resources!

Blog Posts

Best Ways to Study for a Big Exam

Ways to Get Around Campus

How to Prepare for Life After College

How to Build Your Resume for the Professional World

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