[How To Adult opening theme]

Emma: Hey. So, college is back in session and you know what that means: time to hack it. I would really love if we had some of those, like, hacker graphics where it's like green, green font- you know what I mean? [laughs] and it's scrolling, and then I can be like, "beep boop, beep boop," [beeps] and then something unlocks. Can we make that happen?

Mike: I think it just did happen.

Emma: Yeah! Nine tips on studying more effectively, managing your time, saving money, and generally making college a more awesome experience.

Hacks one and two: Hack your brain. 1. Your brain learns material best when it's forced to pull it from your memory, so take advantage of that for studying. Create quizzes out of your lecture and reading notes. Doing this will help you identify the most important material, and when you take that quiz yourself, you'll effectively remember that information from recall.

Number two, another hack for studying effectively is recreating the conditions of your upcoming test. Try taking your self-made quizzes in the actual room you'll be tested in. Set a timer so you'll get a feel for the pressure you'll be facing. Research has also shown that being in the same environment where you learned something can help you recall it better, it may also cut down on test anxiety.

Hacks three and four: time management. Number three, when it comes to managing your time and to-dos, we recommend using David Allen's "getting things Done" system, which we discussed at length in our procrastination video.

If they pause to watch that video about procrastination right now, would that be procrastination?

Mike: I think that would be destiny.

Emma: Uh, that sounds lofty, let's go with that. [Mike laughs]

Number four, when you're sitting down to work on an individual task, use the Pomodoro technique. Set a timer for 25 minutes, and work only on that one task during that time. Then, take a five minute break, you earned it. This helps framing your task as the completion of a process - work for 25 minutes -  instead of the completion of a product, which can seem daunting.

Hacks five through seven: saving money. Number five, keep applying for scholarships all through college. Check out our video on getting educated on a budget for more information. Number six, consider living off-campus. Living on-campus comes with lots of benefits, however, it can also be quite expensive.

Number seven, find textbooks for cheap. Beware of your campus bookstore. You might be able to borrow or rent a textbook for free at your school library or you could share one with a friend. you could also e-mail your professors to ask if old editions will work. Once you know your true requirements, there are also lots of sites that offer used or rental editions, we're gonna put some links in the dooblydoo below.

Hacks eight and nine: general college tips. Number eight, create a "brag folder." Throughout and after college, you're going to have to write about yourself. Scholarship forms and job applications want to hear about your achievements, experience, and endearing qualities, so save some time by creating a folder where you save a copy of every personal statement or application that you write or fill out. The next time you have to write about yourself, you'll be able to reference the personal statements that you've written in the past.

Number nine, find a great part time job. Working in college can give you job experience, it can boost your time management skills, build your network, and increase the size of your wallet. Your school likely has a job board where you can look for opportunities, and if you have work study eligibility, ask your school's financial aid office about how you can utilize it.

And that's all we've got for you today, links to some additional information on these topics can be found in the dooblydoo below. If you're in college right now, or if you're out but you still remember it fondly, please feel free to share any additional tips you may have in the comments section below, we would love to hear from you.

In the meantime, good luck this semester, and when life inevitably rears its head during your college career, know that we here at How to Adult will be here for you if you need to know how to ask someone out on a date or whether or not that month old milk is good to drink, we've got your back.

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