#etudiance
17th April ~ 12:15
English essay planning & finishing off holiday homework this morning. I’ve started doing that thing where you plan each day on post-its? We’ll see how it goes. Also I’m running low on post-its.
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13th April ~ 15:43
I have been away for such a long time. My productivity & motivation have decreased so much, exams are only getting closer & stress levels only building. I have been so unproductive this Easter: back with a passion to make the most of the time I have left: new regime commences with nailing my Latin set texts
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7:40am // Gloomy Sunrise - Studygram: @studyingbrains
Revising early in the morning on the train before my last statistics exam. I really struggled all throughout this module. I’ve learnt a big lesson though; if the first lecture leaves you dumbfounded then know at the end of the module you’ll definitely have learnt something.
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Morning Session // Writing up project proposals…
I actually enjoy getting on campus early in the morning, before too many students are around. It gives me time to ease myself into the day (and eat my apple in peace). These pretty red chairs are super comfy too.
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07:00 || Lone mornings in the library.
As the term is only just kicking off, nobody attends the libraries early in the morning. Allowing me to bask in silence!! The above images are taken in The Flaxman Gallery inside the Main Library at University College London.
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Assignment Checklist Free Printable (PDF in Google Drive)
Keep your assignments looking professional and academic with these checklists that are used once you have completed a piece of work.
Tick off each task to make sure your work is of a presentable standard, for example:
- Single/Double spacing.
- Hanging indent for references.
- Completing title pages; Title, student ID, module code & name.
- Consistent font and font size.
- …And feel free to add your own tasks specific to your course too.
- Bonus: Box at the bottom has common reference styles (MLA, APA, Harvard).
I usually print these, cut them out and keep one with each assignment. It saves me time having to Google what’s required when referencing University/College work. If you can’t print then just write it out on paper/sticky notes. Let me know if this is helpful (and where to improve!).
More help: MLA Referencing//APA Referencing//Harvard Referencing
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Neuroscientist captures an MRI of a mother and child
Professor Rebecca Saxe (MIT) has taken the first ever MR image of a mother and child.
“This picture is an MR image of a mother and a child that I made in my lab at MIT. You might see it as sweet and touching… an image of universal love. We can’t see clothes or hairstyles or even skin colour. From what we do see, the biology and the brains, this could be any mother and child or even father and child at any time and place in history; having an experience that any human can recognise.
Or you might see it as disturbing, a reminder that our human bodies are much too fragile as houses for ourselves. MRI’s are usually medical images and often bad news. Each white spot in that picture is a blood vessel that could clog, each tiny fold of those brains could harbour a tumour. The baby’s brain maybe looks particularly vulnerable pressed against the soft thin shell of its skull.
I see those things, universal emotions and frightening fragility but I also see one of the most amazing transformations in biology.”
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- Once you have purchased an item open the product in-store (or in your car).
- Make sure everything is of an acceptable standard, and that it is what you needed (it usually is but I’ve sometimes made the mistake of buying the wrong cable).
I do this when buying:
- Technology;usually for small items e.g. USB, hard drives, cables, headphones, soldering irons etc… I would do it for laptops only if the box looked like it had taken a knocking. I’d want to check the screen there and then.
- Medical prescriptions; my grandmother was once given out-of-date medicine and the pharmacy also once ran out of the drug she needed and offered an alternative that my grandmother was actually allergic too.
- Textbooks;have a good look at the contents pages and illustrations (some pictures are sooo difficult to understand!) and make sure it has testing questions.
I have social anxiety and hate leaving the house for shopping so this has really saved me the worry of having to return products.
If these help anyone, great!
- Set your timetable as your phone background for the first few weeks. Use this method for no. 6 too if you can be bothered.
- Wear sports bras/bralettes to lectures instead of the ones with a buckle at the back. They tend to poke and prod your back after a while if you’re leaning back. Sports bras don’t.
- Lay a towel on your bed a few days before your period is due. If you leak on a towel you can just wash it or throw it away. Easier than washing and changing the sheets (esp. if you’re in a rush to get to a lecture!).
- When you’re in a lecture taking notes on a laptop remember to turn down the brightness on your screen, especially if the lecturer has dimmed the lights. Otherwise you’ll annoy others and drain your battery.
- Save your recordings at every given break instead of making one continuous one through pausing. Sometimes files are too large to save and you don’t want to risk losing the entire lecture recording. Save as you go along.
- If you need to remember something (e.g. a library book, USB, locker key..) write it on a post-it note and stick it on your shoes before you sleep. Make sure they’re the shoes you intend to wear the next day!
- Don’t shoot me: if you have left an assignment really late, stay up as long as you can completing it (yes, that means an all-nighter may be needed). Sleep as soon as you’ve handed it in.
- If you use tech in a lecture e.g. phone for recording or electronic notetaking on your laptop, then mess around with it before uni begins. Know what buttons to press and when, otherwise you’ll mess up your notes and annoy others, with your excessive clicking.
- Always, always, ALWAYS carry a plastic bag/carrier bag. You might need to make a trip to the library, drink may spill in your bag so you’ll need an alternative. Seriously, just carry one.
- Find out where coursework/assignment are submitted within your first week on campus. Ask admin how the procedure works and make sure you know it inside out.
- Spend a day wondering around campus (before timetabled lectures start). Find out where the library is, talk to the librarians and ask them how to borrow/return books and also how to reserve!
- When you get your timetable be sure to visit the lecture halls and seminar rooms a few days before the term starts so you know where to go. Find out where the toilets are in those buildings too.
- Find out where your lecturers offices are. Know the building and floor that they’re on (they’re usually all in the same place).
- Carry cereal bars and other non perishable foods that take up little room. Sometimes your tummy rumbles really loud in a lecture, give it some love.
- Volunteer in your first year of university, these is the least hectic year (usually!). You want something to put on that CV and those post grad applications!
- In the UK the first year generally doesn’t count toward the final degree classification but those grades WILL show up on your transcript. Make sure they look decent. When you apply for post grad courses, if you don’t have the certificate yet (because you’re still completing the course) the university/institution will ask for your grade transcript. First year grades come up first!
- A huge part of your degree classification/GPA comes from the final year thesis. Talk to as many older students as you can and ask them what topics they picked and how they went about it. A great thesis/dissertation will literally move you from a 2:1 to a 1st.
- When you have a meeting with your supervisor take notes and write up a short summary of what was said, similar to writing up “meeting minutes”. This will be helpful for you and your supervisor. Especially if you take long breaks before meeting again.
I’ll update this list as things come to me. I hope it helps.
9:00 // Royal Holloway, University of London is beautiful.
I’ve been running experiments with a masters student using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging). I also got an updated scan of my own brain. Nice nice.
Some cool stuff about fMRI experiments:
- Glasses can’t be worn in the scanner (because they contain metal) so you get to wear these sexy specs instead. The lenses that work best for you are slotted in. They’re like swimming goggles.
- People who wear the hijab or a turban can go in the scanner with their head coverings on. Yay! All pins,metals and hair ties need to be removed though.
- Experiments in fMRI tend to have a maximum running time of 90 minutes.
- There is a panic button (looks like a pump) given to participants in the scanner, if you ever want to leave the scanner all you have to do is press it.
- If it’s not given by default you can ask to have a copy of your brain scan. Download a free software called Mango and play around with your brain!!
- The equipment tends to look old - our comps run Windows XP. You’ll see this in science quite a bit and think “why don’t they update??”. Operating systems (Windows/MAC OS) sometimes have updates that tamper with medical software and it can be hard to pinpoint what’s gone wrong. So if it’s working we don’t update it until there’s a reason on our part e.g. when it breaks.
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11:00am // Work breaks.
With formal modules over, my breaks consist of reading [Phantoms in the Brain by V. S. Ramachandran] and walks around campus whilst listening to podcasts.
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