During his growing up years, Mark, an underemployed contract laborer in his 30s, often heard his mother describe their town as “the devil’s thumbprint.” The name alluded to both its literal location in a valley and its social stigma as the watering hole of riffraff. “You gotta go up the hill and get out,” Mark said of the place and his aspirations.

When it comes to preparing for college, prepare early! Read this checklist for how to prepare for college as a sophomore in high school.

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Mometrix Academy will prepare you for any test, exam, or certification with our free practice tests, top study tips, and helpful hints to avoid test anxiety.

One of my favorite quotes is, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” College organization and planning is the major way that I’ve kept my head above water in school. Being organized has been my saving grace when it comes to grades, and today, I’m showing you my process. It may be a little much, …

Appreciating wonderful and beauty and glory that exists outside of myself removes a burden from my shoulders I didn’t realize I carried.

One of my favorite quotes is, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” College organization and planning is the major way that I’ve kept my head above water in school. Being organized has been my saving grace when it comes to grades, and today, I’m showing you my process. It may be a little much, …

When I was a freshman, one of the things that I struggled with the most was emailing my professors. It was so hard to find a balance between being too professional and too casual

Embarking on an academic year is like setting sail on a voyage of discovery and growth. It’s not just about absorbing information; it’s a journey that molds your future. But to navigate these waters successfully,

There are lists on what to bring to college with dozens of items, but I would keep it simple when you arrive and buy more things as you need them.

Making friends in college may seem overwhelming at first, but it's easier than it sounds if you engage with people with kindness and authenticity.

Check out the following eight tips to make sure your first day of college and the remainder of your semester goes off without a hitch.

I was recently reading about productivity when I came across a really interesting idea. It’s technically called the Eisenhower Matrix, inspired by a quote attributed to the famously productive president Dwight D. Eisenhower: “I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” But …

I've used the Cornell note method for years. Today I'm sharing my method for taking Cornell notes, plus a free worksheet that you can use to take them, too!

One of my favorite quotes is, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” College organization and planning is the major way that I’ve kept my head above water in school. Being organized has been my saving grace when it comes to grades, and today, I’m showing you my process. It may be a little much, …

Group projects can be a nightmare; conflicting schedules, slackers, different ideas. Remember these 5 tips and they won't be so horrible.

Taking a CLEP exam is like passing the final exam for a college class at the beginning of the semester. Learn about our CLEP Study Guides.

We have different dreams about college. For some, it’s fantastic grades. For others, it’s the adventure living away from home for the first time. We have visions of the groups we’ll join, the holid…

College productivity ultimately comes down focus; if you can focus on what you need to do without distraction you can usually finish that task faster!

One of my favorite quotes is, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” College organization and planning is the major way that I’ve kept my head above water in school. Being organized has been my saving grace when it comes to grades, and today, I’m showing you my process. It may be a little much, …

Emailing your college professor doesn't have to be scary anymore. Learn how to write a professional email to your teachers in college.

You'll need to build your own study plan when you start a new semester to have the best grades you can! I tell you all about my tips and tricks on the blog

College professors play a big role in whether or not you do well in a class. Some make it easier for you to learn, while others force you to basically self-teach. If you're going to be a freshmen this fall, here are 12 types of professors you will probably encounter during you college years. 1. The only my class matters This professor seriously thinks your whole college education revolves around his/her class. They will give you an unbearable amount of work to be completed in the shortest amount of time. If you try to talk to them about it, they'll waste your time talking about how there are 24 hours in a day and blah blah blah. BS basically. 2. The self-promoter This one spends an entire class bashing other professors for making their student buy books they wrote and then concludes by telling you that there's no way you'll pass the class without buying the textbook he/she wrote. They also make sure to tell to buy the most recent edition so you don't go buying a cheaper one even though they're probably not that different. Hypocrite much? Whether or not the textbook will actually help you succeed in the class is debatable. 3. The points taker How dare you make a mistake and cross off ONE word! Now your entire paper looks a mess. That’s minus 5 point! Next time it''ll be 10! I can't begin to tell you how these petty stuff has affected my grade. It made me so mad, I wanted to cry. This is also the professor who lives to make sure that no one passes their class with anything higher than an 80% and even that is sometimes too high. The fact that the class average is a 67% is literally their proudest accomplishment. Related: 5 Simple Tips to Avoid The Freshmen 15 4. The tireless lecturer Taking notes in this class will be the most tedious task you'll have to do. He/she does not wait for anyone so if you can't listen and take notes simultaneously, you're in trouble. This professor will literally talk your ear off! The only time they'll stop will be to take a sip of water, then back it again! You'll probably have a mini celebration every time this professor runs out of time. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have a professor who knows their stuff but it doesn't matter if you deliver your lecture in a manner that does not help me succeed. 5. The lover of surprises This professor patiently waits for the most unexpected day to announce a pop a quiz. Picture this. It's too early to function, it's raining endlessly, you forgot to grab your umbrella so you're already soaked, and when you finally get to class, POP QUIZ. It also just so happens that you weren't able to read the assigned chapters for that day. Good luck my friend. You're going to need it. 6. The tech know-it-none Every time you come to class this professor will almost always have a problem with a tech equipment. Just know that you'll probably always lose at least 10 minutes of class while your professor finds out what's wrong and how to fix it. This professor might have two Masters and one PhD but God forbid he/she tries to show you a video on YouTube. 7. The Overly enthusiastic This professor will make anything, and I mean ANYTHING sound like the best thing in the world. This is the professor who will give you fun ways to remember definitions or formulas. To this day, I still remember "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" for compass directions. As long as you get someone who doesn't try too hard to the point where they become annoying, this class will be super fun! The enthusiasms this professor has is super contagious and it'll likely help you learn better. 8. The Spitter If you come in a classroom and there are 1-2 rows of empty seats, you likely have a spitter. Now there's a big dilemma in this class. What do you do when you need help with something? Do you call the professor and take the rain of spit like a champ as he/she explains what you don't understand or do you take a rain check and try to figure it out on your own? I took the spit like a champ! I just kept looking down on my paper so the spit will rain on my head instead of my face. You're gaining knowledge and spit with this professor! Two for the price of one! 9. The late but not late enough I had a class that began at 3:00 PM and my professor almost never came to class at that time. So much that we were always surprised when he did make it on time. I'm not sure if this goes for every college but at mine, you're allowed to leave 10 minutes after class is supposed to start if your professor hasn't shown up. My professor made it his life goal to show up at 3:09 PM!! Everyone would have their stuff packed and ready to go, then we hear him open the door. All year we were convinced that he was doing this on purpose and enjoyed seeing our disappointed faces as he walked in. 10. The Hotty This professor could probably be speaking gibberish the entire semester and you wouldn't realize it. If you previously did not care for whatever this professor is teaching, you do now. If fact, it's your favorite subject now and you can't wait to go to class. 11. The always off topic This professor will be talking about molecules and protons, then all of the sudden he or she is talking about their trip in Italy. They'll then spend a good 15 minutes of class time talking about their experience in Italy and they'll ask the class "where was I again?" umm I'm not paying thousands of dollars to keep tabs on you! 12. The power point lover Adios! Goodbye! Sayonara! See you at the midterm and final! This professor will give you a bunch of power point slides and basically call it day. To make matters worse, those slides are probably 10 years old and in need of some serious updating. This professor will be at his/her computer desk probably doing something non-school related and if you raise your hand, they will act like you're asking them to fetch the moon for you. If you're more of a visual learner this might not be so bad for you but if you're the type of learner who needs someone to lecture and explain things to you, good luck. If you're already college let me know what type of professor you've had so far! Share This:

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the largest national park east of the…

Getting an on-campus job is a great way to save up money for the future and to pay for college. If you live on campus, having an on-campus job can be more convenient than finding one elsewhere and …

Emailing your college professor doesn't have to be scary anymore. Learn how to write a professional email to your teachers in college.

Are you struggling with finding enough time in the day for school, work, friends, and studying? I totally get that! There are various techniques that students can use in order to maximize study tim…

One of my favorite quotes is, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” College organization and planning is the major way that I’ve kept my head above water in school. Being organized has been my saving grace when it comes to grades, and today, I’m showing you my process. It may be a little much, …

There are a few life lessons that I wish I'd known sooner. Maybe they'll help you avoid some mistakes, or stumble upon happiness sooner than I did!

I want to be able to sit in any room, across from any person, and admit that they have something to teach me. Something I can learn from.

So you’re in college. That’s awesome! But it turns out you’re a little less awesome at it than you thought you’d be. Maybe you were the best student in your high school, but the expectations in college are different and you’re still figuring out what that means. Maybe you weren’t such a great student in …

Especially for students, who have limited budgets or closet space, a capsule wardrobe is a great option. That's where the college capsule wardrobe comes in.

Today, I'm sharing 29 college tips for acing your classes, so you can be more productive, boost your GPA, and have a happier college life!