History students are often bombarded with many names and dates that have to be memorized. This is often the reason why students are alienated in studying history.

If taught and understood the right way, history provides interesting understanding of our immediate life background. It will help a lot if history educators will exert some effort in explaining the relevance of history among the individual life of the students for them to fully appreciate the study of the said field.

While history often deals with complicated eras and events, students should grasp the essence of studying those since it will be the foundation of their understanding on the other aspects of history as a whole. It is important to comprehend for instance trends and social institutions. Students need historical understanding of the major forces in the world. For example, through history, students will understand the story behind the conflict between Islam and Christianity.

Historical habits of mind interestingly broadened when we learn to compare different patterns of historical development, which requires looking into the background of national traditions and civilizations. Do not see history as a dreadful subject that you are just required to take. Studying history is really fun if taught and understood correctly.

Historical habits can help students appreciate the study of history more. This means having a repeated experience of historical inquiry. The most essential part of studying history is having a clear understanding of the events and phenomena that took place while employing a critical analysis of those. Memorization is actually just a minor thing in history. As long as you understand how and why things happened, history will never be a burden. Historical evidence could also be an alienating term for most of the students. However, historical evidence serve as the most important pieces of information about history and this essentially makes up the study of history.

Aside from the pieces of information, history should also push the students to think critically about social events. This is the most crucial part of studying history and is usually neglected.

Studying history does not always have to be boring. If history is well explained and appreciation among students is promoted, history can really be fun! You just have to explore the other aspect of history and how the study of such could be a fun and learning experience for both the students and the teacher.



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You have been told that studying history is important. Educators have mentioned that studying history is crucial for analytical decision-making, avoiding past mistakes, and for individual and collective progress. There are hundreds of other reasons for studying history. One of the reasons that applies to you may simply be to pass the course and get your degree. But whatever it is, our first tip in studying history is, to come up with a good reason on why you need to study history, to motivate yourself!

* You have to motivate yourself because reality is you need to budget several hours in studying and concentrating in history.

* Scan your assigned textbook first. Read the starting and ending paragraphs to have an idea of the important issues and questions. Read the chapter summaries if the book contains them to guide your reading of the whole chapter.

* If you cannot understand the textbook, get another book in which you can understand the writing style of the author. This will help you read and understand the assigned textbook faster, hence saving valuable time. Most importantly, this will help you keep your patience and not put off studying history!

* Next, learn how to take notes. Be critical and pay special attention to primary sources and evidences than opinions. There is no need to write in complete sentences. Use keywords to give you a quick grasp of the important ideas. Experiment with what works for you. Use different colored pens or subheadings.

* Pause regularly to recall, make sense and connect different ideas. This not only improves your memory but also your understanding of the text.

* Note down the critical role a person or group of people played in history. Also, note down critical events. What made them important? What made these events inevitable? What could have changed history?

* History is based on actions of real people. So consider the perspective and motivations behind their actions. Determine the critical issues and debate during that period in history. Be able to explain the issues well.

* Remember the purpose of studying history. Why are these important for you to learn? Keeping the purpose of your study in mind, helps you determine the key points you need to note down and evaluate.

* What were the cultural attitudes and values during that time? How are they different from today?

* Common mistake in history essay writing is not reading the question carefully and understanding what is being asked. So take time to read the question and understand its significance. Do not just quickly write historical facts. Remember, your teacher is evaluating your critical thinking and not your memory and transcribing ability.

* Also to get good marks, you need to write clearly. Make sure to check your spelling and grammar. Read your essay twice and revise when necessary.

Practice this tips and feel more confident about your analytical thinking and writing ability. Hence, studying history also teaches you how to learn more effectively and think more rationally, the sign of an educated man!



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Andrews University is a private university located in Berrien Springs, Michigan - about 25 miles form South Bend, Indiana and about 100 miles from Chicago. It was founded in 1874 by the Seventh-day Adventists, and is considered to be the Flagship University of the Seventh-day Adventists school system. It was much smaller, and went by several names until 1959 when the graduate program and theological seminary of Potomac University moved from Washington, D.C. and joined with the school, merging into what is now known as Andrews University.

Although not well known, it is generally considered to be one of the more research intensive schools in Michigan. It has an endowment of around $20 million, and very dedicated alumni due to its stated mission. The campus is about 1,600 acres, and is nestled into a very private setting, not far from the shores of Lake Michigan. The nearest bus station is almost 10 miles away, and there are very few distractions at the school. There are jobs available for those that want them, with about 70% of the students working on campus either full or part-time.

To say that Andrews University is not a party school would be a bit of an understatement. Alcohol is not permitted anywhere on campus, and there is a dress code, hair code, honor code, hazing is not allowed, class attendance is mandatory and dorm room visits from the opposite sex are strictly forbidden. Additionally, if you live on campus you are required to attend worship services. The entire campus is wired for high speed internet though, so you can live vicariously through others, online. You come to Andrews University for two reasons: you're a Seventh-day Adventist, and you want a world class education. The university has almost 300 faculty members giving it a student-faculty ratio of 10:1.

The university is made up of six colleges, which offer 85 undergrad majors and 50 graduate majors. Master's degrees and Doctorates are also offered in several areas as part of the School of Graduate Studies. The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest school by far. It is divided into twenty different departments that specialize in numerous areas of the fine arts, humanities, hard sciences and social sciences. The College of Arts and Sciences also offers numerous pre-law and pre-med programs, although most students deciding on a career in Medicine transfer to Loma Linda University in California, which is part of the Seventh-day Adventist school system as well. There is also the College of Technology, the School of Business, the School of Education, School of Architecture (which is highly regarded) and the SDA Theological Seminary for those with a "higher calling".

As a private university, you can expect to conform to the rules and traditions of the University, and chances are you wouldn't be considering Andrews University unless you were a Seventh-day Adventist, so none of these rules should come as a shock to you. You can expect to pay around $17,000/year for tuition and another $6,000/year for room and board if you choose to stay on campus. For more information, be sure to check the links below.



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Shortly, millions of High School Seniors will apply to college. The freshmen class of 2009 face intense competition for a limited number of spots at the most competitive schools. Moreover, current economic conditions present these applicants with yet another obstacle-how to pay for college in a recession.

While tuition, room and board, books, travel and other college expenses continue to soar, the economy has worsened. The credit crunch and stock market crash will have an impact on the ability of families to pay for college. Many 529 college savings plans tied to the performance of the stock market have suffered massively. It is much more difficult to obtain a student loan. It is nearly impossible for parents to tap the equity in their homes given the current real estate malaise.

What to do? Here are five proactive steps students should take:

1. Research and apply to state universities-there are many wonderful public institutions which represent a fraction of the cost of most prestigious private schools. Forget labels and brand names, they are overrated.
2. Apply to private schools with huge endowments. Many private schools such as Vanderbilt University have eliminated all need based loans. Commencing in 2009 Vanderbilt will replace all need based loans with grant and scholarship assistance.
3. Attend a local four year or two year community college. Living at home is a lot cheaper until financial circumstances change for the better.
4. Complete as many AP classes as possible while still in high school. The more credits you arrive with, the less you have to pay for in order to graduate.
5. Get a job and save money. Admissions committees admire students who are go getters. An after school job combined with a summer job will help build a substantial nest egg which will come in handy for the fall of 2009.

Be proactive, these are unusual times and unusual times call for unusual measures.



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