Jose Davila

**Life Balance**

  Pitt, Mayble. "Balance Your Social and Academic Life at University." The Telegraph. September 24, 2014. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/student-life/11100038/Balance-your-social-and-academic-life-at-university.html.In

In this article; Mayble Pitt, a student in the University of Bristol, talks about her personal experience as a university student. She provides help on achieving a successful career in university, directed to high school students and first year college or university students. She does this by sharing some of her experiences during her first year and also gives a few key hints on how to successfully manage your university life with a proper balance between the academic challenges of a university setting, and the equally important social aspect that comes with attending a university. She highlights the importance of managing your time during the “school week”. What I get out of this article is the aspect that your first year greatly impacts the rest of your career in university. Coming into university one might be drawn to think that the first year isn’t as important to a successful next few years, but Pitt tells us that the most important thing for success in university is finding a balance during the first year.

Lucier, Kelci. “Learn To Manage Your Time In College”. US News & World Report. October 5, 2011. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college-experience/2011/10/05/learn-to-manage-your-time-in-college.

  In this article, Kelci Lucier gives the following four tips on how to balance your time in university:1. Manage your academic time2. Manage your personal time3. Keep your health in mind4. Where to go if you need time-management helpThese four tips while they may seem simple aren’t always as easy to do. Achieving good time management is a challenge that needs regular work put into it, but it will give positive results. Personally I found that the last point is very helpful because at times we all need help, and knowing where to get it is important.

**Achieving good grades**

 "14 Ways to Improve Your Grades If You're Underperforming." Oxford Summer School 2016 with Oxford Royale Academy. September 1, 2014. Accessed December 8, 2015.   https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/improve-underperforming-grades.html.

  This article gives fourteen points on how to improve your grades in university if they aren’t at the level you want. These fourteen point are all very helpful to anyone trying to underperforming academically. What I found most helpful from this article was that when trying to achieve better marks instead of being sad or depressed, having a positive attitude towards improving is very helpful and will make a big difference on your future grades.

"How to Get Good Grades in College." UMass Dartmouth. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.umassd.edu/dss/resources/students/classroomstrategies/howtogetgoodgrades/.

  This article, from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, gives advice to students on how to be successful academically. It gives eight main points on achieving good mark and it goes into very specific and helpful hints on how to do assignments, how to take notes.This article was extremely helpful because instead of general hints it goes into depth on things that are directly related to students, I specially found the section on hints on how to read your textbooks very useful.

**Long term goals**

 "How to Develop Long-Term Focus: Staying Motivated to Achieve Distant Goals." Mind Tools. Accessed December 8, 2015. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/long-term-focus.htm.

  This article talks about what focus is, and why it is something that can easily be lost. It then goes on to talk about how to develop and maintaining a long-term focus. It does this by giving 5 points which it explains very carefully. The points given are: Identify Meaningful Long-Term Goals, Write Goals Down, Strengthen Self-Regulation, Make Time for Long-Term Goals, Stay on Course, and Recognize Progress. This article points out that focus is an energy consuming talk which you have to dedicate time too. I found this very helpful because it tell you that being focus is much more than paying attention in class.

Schwarz, Daniel. "Suggestions for Seniors Graduating From College: Planning for the Future." The Huffington Post. May 15, 2014. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-r-schwarz/suggestions-for-seniors-g\_b\_5334827.html.

  This article written by Daniel Schwarz, a Cornell English professor, discusses two main subjects. He gives two suggestions for graduating students; the first one is about future plans and when and how to make these plans, the second suggestion is about life after university and in the “real world”. This article is really great and very helpful to anyone in university and he gives some very good insight on how to approach your future and how to plan it so it is successful.

**Employment in Field**

  Foster, Angela. "What to Do with a Degree in Chemistry." The Guardian. May 28, 2011. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.theguardian.com/money/2011/may/28/chemistry-degree.

This article talks about the skills gained from doing a university degree in chemistry. The article shows how skill from chemistry can be applied to a large variety of jobs, both inside the field of chemistry and outside of it. The article also tells students thinking about a chemistry degree that postgraduate studies is an option available to them. What I took out of this article is that a chemistry degree can be used in search for employment.

Tucker, Laura. "What Can You Do With A Chemistry Degree?" Top Universities. May 7, 2015. Accessed December 8, 2015. http://www.topuniversities.com/student-info/careers-advice/what-can-you-do-chemistry-degree.

  This article talks about what one can do with a chemistry degree and it deals with many careers for chemistry students including research in chemistry, chemical engineering, healthcare, pharmaceuticals and others. This article does a great job at showing the many possibilities for careers in chemistry available to students with chemistry degrees.