Education
Dorming or Commuting – What’s the difference?
As we tour different colleges throughout the summer, students are getting a taste for what it could be like to spend their day on a college campus. However, depending on where your student is applying, they may have to decide between commuting or living on campus. There are pros and cons to both decisions, and […]
Talking to Your Teen About College Applications
As your scholar is preparing their college applications, it’s important for you to understand and get involved with more than just the FAFSA! Do you know what your scholar’s personal statement is about, or have you sat down to discuss their college list? Staying engaged in the process can help both you and your future […]
Prioritizing Tasks to Pinpoint Your Priorities
This video allows individuals to identify the priorities that will allow productivity to flourish. Very similar to Eisenhower’s box, the video introduces a “Priority Matrix” that has four different colors — critical tasks, high importance tasks, medium importance tasks, and low importance tasks. The value of the task as well as the time sensitivity of […]
How to be More Productive By Using the Eisenhower Box
President Eisenhower developed a decision box system that helps to encourage productivity. To use an Eisenhower Box, you’ll need to divide it into four sections by drawing a horizontal and vertical line through the center of the box. On the top, you’ll mark one column as “urgent” and one column “not urgent.” On the side, […]
Warren Buffett’s “2 List” Strategy: How to Maximize Your Focus and Master Your Priorities
Warren Buffett, an extremely successful investor, has a 3-step plan for prioritizing your tasks. First, write down the top 25 things you hope to accomplish in your life and career. Next, circle your top 5 goals. This allows you to take some time to decide on what is most important to you. Then, review the […]
The Ivy Lee Method
The Ivy Lee method is a tried and true productivity tool, in use since the early 1900s. To stay organized and productive, Lee suggests following five simple steps. First, at the end of the day, write 6 tasks that you need to the next day — but only 6 tasks, nothing more. Then, prioritize that […]
Prioritizing: A Critical Executive Function
Neurologist and teacher Judy Willis explains the importance of prioritizing in her article “Prioritizing: A Critical Executive Function.” She recommends that children aged 10-12 years old focus on learning how to prioritize and delegate tasks. During this time period, the brain has more neuroplasticity, which means the brain’s circuits are developing and changing rapidly, as […]
Advice for Parents of First-Generation Students
By RJ Vega Parents are often our first and most consistent teachers. They teach us how to eat. How to walk. How to ride a bike or throw a baseball. They impart wisdom about life, love, responsibility, accountability, and respect. For the parent of a first-generation college student, this presents an interesting challenge. A first-generation […]
Helping your Teen Prepare for College
If your teen is thinking about college or applying right now, that means big and exciting changes may be happening soon! The transition to college and adulthood can be challenging. Check out this article to see what kinds of things you can do to help make that transition smooth and easy. Here are some of […]
8 Campus Resources Your College Student Should Know
The transition from high school to college can be challenging. Colleges offer a number of different resources to help make that transition a little smoother. Colleges usually have resources for tutoring, health services , counseling and more. To make the most of your college experience it’s important to know what your college provides and how […]
10 Tips for Organizing Google Drive
Follow the author as she discusses why Google Drive is one of her favorite tools for organization and productivity. It can be easy to get overwhelmed by all of the documents and sheets you accumulate over the years, but she gives you tips to keep things manageable. She suggests using folders, proper file naming techniques, […]
Become a Google Drive Power User With These 20 Tips and Tricks
In this article, David Nield shares insight on how to navigate Google Drive, an online tool used by millions for academic endeavors, personal and business organization, presentations, and team projects. He emphasizes that many of these users, however, are unaware of many of the most important and powerful features Google implemented on the Drive. David […]
Drive Tips
Read this article in Google’s ‘G Suite Learning Center’ for information, tips, and tricks on Google’s popular application, Google Drive. Learn step-by-step instructions on how to record video meetings, turn on Drive notifications, attach and share files, manage any changes by collaborators, change themes, search for text and images embedded in files, add comments to […]
7 Google Drive Tips
Author Alice Keeler writes about her favorite part of G Suite, Google Drive. As an avid user of ‘The Drive,’ Alice offers seven tips for how to take full advantage of the free application. The article includes information on important url shortcuts, sharing a folder, what “breadcrumbs” are, viewing ‘recent’ files, using the Drive offline, […]
Managing Academic Stress Series Kickoff
BeWell and BridgeUP staff are so excited to be kicking off our academic stress management series! School work and college applications seem to be a big source of stress for teens everywhere and scholars at BridgeUP. We have created a series of tools to teach BridgeUP scholars about things that can be done to manage […]
4 Google Keep Tips And Tricks For Better Notes, Lists And To-Dos
If you are interested in Google Keep, Google’s platform for note-taking and checklist writing, this article is for you. Author Mihir Patkar discusses the interface, functionality, and special features offered on Google Keep. Google Keep includes special features for staying organized, like a reminder system triggered by geographical location. For example, you can set the […]
How to Use Google Keep
Check out this site to learn about Google Keep, Google’s online tool for organization, note-taking, and checklist building. Learn how to use dictation to create notes with your voice, add pictures to notes, share notes across Google platforms, add drawings to notes, and more! This article will get you started with this free service and […]
Why Use a To-Do List
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by how many tasks you have that you need to complete? You are not alone! Sometimes, the best way to tackle that stress is to get organized, starting with a to-do list! Crossing items off a list will give you a sense of achievement that further motivates you to complete […]
Finding Your Community in College
By Horacio Romero Castillo Hello BeWell Readers, Whether you end up going to college 4 hours away or 40 minutes away, finding a supportive community at school is important. College brings along many responsibilities, experiences and challenges that will push your limits to the max. In my case, I did not have an older sibling […]
Why Go to College?
By Horacio Romero Castillo If you are heading into your junior or senior year of high school, you may be asking yourself, what’s next? Is college something I should think about? It may be hard to see yourself in college, especially if no one in your family has ever gone. But, consider some of the […]
Meet Horacio!
My name is Horacio and I am a current Post-Bac Pre-Med student at Columbia University. All that means is that I am taking MORE classes even though I already earned a college degree. Yes, I know, it sounds crazy! But I am doing so because I want to apply to medical school. A little more […]
Organization Skills for Students: 7 Practical Tips
Finding a balance between working hard, participating in recreational activities, and organization can be hard! The success of students has been proven to be correlated with their organizational skills. This article outlines 7 methods to staying organized inside and outside of school. Organizing documents and handouts in designated subject, topic, or task folders will help […]
Teaching Kids The Planner Habit
Getting kids in the habit of using a planner takes a little bit of time and repetition, but once you establish a routine, planners are conducive to organization and success. This article helps parents guide their students toward the efficient use of a planner. Beginning with the right planner for your child is important; there […]
8 Steps for Using a Paper Planner Effectively
If you have ever used a paper planner, you have probably found the following: they require maintenance, but they help you succeed! Writing down assignments on paper is a visual method of organization that is far more effective than creating a mess of calendar events on your phone! Once you become accustomed to using your […]
7 Tips for the Most Successful Planner
Have you ever used a planner? If you have, you know that it requires maintenance, but that it is the ultimate tool in helping you keep on top of assignments and stay organized. Being able to “check off” completed items and always knowing when things are due can be the best way to avoid the […]
10 Study and Organization Tips
Welcome back to school and BridgeUP! Getting back into the swing of things can be challenging after a long summer. Here are 10 study and organization tips to help you succeed in school! Put your phone away and turn it off while you’re studying or doing work. Watch this video about the Pomodoro Technique which […]
How to Manage Stress in College
College is the time in your life where you begin to figure out who you are and where your place is in the world. During these next few years you will learn to navigate new relationships and ultimately decide which career path you will choose. It is inevitable that you will feel “stressed out” during […]
Five Conversations You and Your Student Should Have as You Begin the College Admission Process
Before the college admissions process, it’s important to have an open conversation with your teen about college. Having honest discussions will better prepare them for the process and will allow them to maintain a realistic mindset while applying to colleges. Ask your student why they want to go to college and what their goals […]
What Do College Career Services Offices Do?
Colleges offer plenty of resources that are included in your tuition and fees. Take advantage of them ! Every college has a Career Service Office that gives you the tools needed to be successful after graduation. Here’s What to Expect From the Career Office at Your College: Career Decision Making Career Exploration Resume […]
Test Anxiety Relaxation Techniques
We know how stressful school and especially test taking can be. Click on this link to check out these test anxiety relaxation techniques the Love To Know project describes in this article! There are lots to choose from and they walk you through each step by step.
Top 12 Tips to Master the College Search
Searching for college can be a daunting task. It can be scary to think about where you are going to spend the next 2 to 4 years of your life! Take a look at these top 12 tips for choosing a college to help ease your worries and narrow down your search: 1) Identify the […]
Making the Most out of High School
High school is supposed to be a fun and carefree time. But it’s also a time where teens have a lot more responsibility and are thinking about their future, which may include college, vocational training, or entering the working world. Here are a few tips to help you make the most out of high school […]