Category Archives: Academics

Academics, Events / Programs, Save the Date

Important Dates!

Leave a comment

With the start of the semester right around the corner, it is important to start planing out your semester. You don’t want to fall behind and forget anything important. So, here are some of the important dates to keep in mind when it comes to the Spring Semester:

January 2020

  • 19th – Residence Halls Open
  • 20th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day! (No Classes)
  • 21st – Classes Begin
  • 23rd – Org Outbreak

February 2020

  • 5th – Room Selection Event
  • 14th – Valentines Day

March 2020

  • 3rd – 5th – Same Room Selection
  • 6th – 9th – Matching Roommate
  • 9th – Shenks Room Selection
  • 10th – 31st – Open Room Selection
  • 16th – 22nd – Spring Break

April 2020

  • 9th – 17th – Early Undergraduate Registration for Undergraduate Registration for Fall 2020

May 2020

  • 4th – Last day of classes!

Now this list isn’t all the important dates when it comes to the semester, but for those of you who are planning on staying in the residence halls for the 2020-2021 school year this is the perfect list of dates. To find more dates of important times you can use this link:

Spring 2020 Academic Calendar

Spring 2020 Academic Calendar

Don’t forget to put these and any other important dates into your planers! It will really help you plan ahead.

Academics, Lifestyle / Hall Life

Helpful Tips To Help You Prep For Finals Week

Leave a comment

It is that time of the year again, the dreadful finals week. All of the 15 weeks of non-stop hard work leads up to this defining moment. Finals week can be intimidating, but very manageable if you plan ahead. Taking the time to fully process finals week and everything that comes with it is very important and can make a huge difference to how things play out. Here are some tips to help you prep for finals week.

 

 

  1. Write down each of your final times in your planner

The finals week schedule comes out early each semester so you can plan ahead and know when your test time is for each class. If you write down the date and time, you can plan out how many days in advance you want to start studying and what time you should get up each day during finals. This is also helpful so you do not forget the time you are supposed to be at a certain exam.

2. Start studying ahead of time

Studying ahead of time can help you learn the topics better and alleviate some stress during finals week. Each student most likely has an exam in each class which can total out to about 5 exams, so making time to study for each one can be tricky. If we utilize the week before finals week to study, we can take extra time to make sure our studying is not rushed and that we have adequate time to study for each exam we have.

3. Plan out time to relax

Finals week is very stressful, so it is also a great idea to take time for yourself and give your brain a rest. If you need a break from studying try taking a walk outside, watching a movie or going to the gym to get your mind off of your exams or projects!

4. Pack up some of your items in your room a week before you move out

Finals week also signifies the end of the semester which means it is time to move out. Moving out can also be an added stress during this already stressful time. To avoid getting even more stressed, try to pack a majority of items in your room that you are not using ahead of time so you do not have to do it last minute. If you live in the residence hall you can find a schedule of the move out times and other information here.

5.  Study with friends

Studying in a group can sometimes be more effective than studying alone. This can be very beneficial because if someone knows some information better than you, they can help you piece together what you are not understanding. Also, you can use the other person for moral support to get to the library and put the appropriate time of studying in.

6. Attend office hours if you have questions or do not understand a topic

If  you are not understanding a topic or have a question, your professor is a great source. This is also a great way to show your professor you are serious about this class and you want to succeed and get a great grade on the final.

7. Stay well rested

Finals week can be very tiring, especially if you are staying up late to prepare for exams night after night. Each night you want to make sure you are getting at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep. This is the recommended amount of sleep a person should get each night and it also gives you the right amount of energy you need  to get through the day.

8. Enjoy your last few days on campus

Whether you are graduating or returning next year, enjoy your last few days on campus! Over the summer you will not see this beautiful campus or a majority of your friends, so make sure you have some fun and make memories before you leave.

 

We hope everyone has a great finals week and may the odds be ever in your favor! Tweet us @VilleHousing if you have any finals tips to pass along.

Picture source

Academics, Announcements

Have Any Summer Plans? Summer Session Courses Are An Option

Leave a comment

The spring semester is quickly drawing to a close, which means it is time to start thinking about summer and more specifically, summer plans. An option to think about is taking summer courses. Here at Millersville, the university offers summer courses during 3 different summer sessions. These summer sessions run from different times in case you are going on a family trip or have other plans, you can plan around it and be able to take a course that works with your schedule. Summer session 1 starts May 13th and ends on June 7th. Summer session 2 starts June 10th and ends July 12th. Lastly, Summer session 3 starts July 15th and ends August 16th.

Summer sessions are a great way to retake a course you may not have excelled in or give you a chance to get ahead on your studies. Either way, it is a great way to spend a small portion of your summer and can have many benefits.

 

 

If you plan on taking summer courses, you may want to stay on campus while you take your course or courses. Summer housing is available for all students at a discounted rate. All summer housing will be located in South Village A and check-in times will be from 3:00 pm – 9:00 pm for each session on the designated check in dates. More information regarding check in dates and room rates can be found on our website.

The summer housing 2019 application is now open and can be submitted through your My Housing Account. To locate your My Housing account, log into your MAX account and select Student Services and then select the Housing and Dining tab, it is the fifth choice down. Then you will see the link to the My Housing portal where you can find the application. There is one application for the entire summer and you will be asked which session you are signing up for when you complete the application. It is also possible for you to request a suitemate, so if you’re taking summer courses you can encourage your friends to do so as well! Once your application is completed, you will receive an email confirmation.

Summer session courses are a great way to stay on track with your studies and maybe even help you get ahead.  For more information on summer sessions, you can go here to the website.

 

Photos courtesy of Canva.

Academics, Lifestyle / Hall Life

Motivational Quotes To Help You Get To Spring Break

Leave a comment

Face it, we have had many snow days and it is getting hard to keep track of classes and assignments when due dates keep getting pushed back. When this happens, personally I lose motivation and I need to refocus in order to stay on track. Along with this feeling, spring break is right around the corner which also can contribute to slacking in our classes. To fight these feelings I have gathered some inspirational quotes to get you through this and make it successfully to spring break without easing up on your work.

 

Photo courtesy of Canva. 

 

  1. “ I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” – Florence Nightingale
  2. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” – Pele
  3. “Procrastination is like a credit card: it’s a lot of fun until you get the bill.” – Christopher Parker
  4.  “You don’t drown by falling in the water ; you drown by staying there.” – Ed Cole
  5. “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” – Maya Angelou
  6. “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.” – Ralph Maston
  7. “Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
  8.  “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier
  9.  “Some people dream of accomplishing great things. Others stay awake and make it happen.”
  10. “Try to live everyday like Elle Woods after Warner told her she wasn’t smart enough for law school.”

Sometimes we just need to sit back and refocus in order to regain our motivation when it comes to  doing well in our classes. If these quotes help you, let us know. Also make sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram, our username is @Villehousing ! Study hard!

Academics, Lists

Tips For Surviving Finals Week

Leave a comment

?“It’s the most stressful time of the year.”? Yes Marauders, it is Finals Week. Finals week is one of the most stressful weeks in the whole semester. Somehow during this time you have what feels like a hundred papers due and an exam in almost every class. Tensions can run high and you may pull all nighters just to prepare for your exams. To get through this tough time, I created a list of some tips I have accumulated to successfully get through the storm.

 

  1. Start Early.

If you start studying or creating a study plan early, you will feel less overwhelmed when finals week arrives.

2. Stay Well-Rested

Getting a good amount of sleep each night is essential to feeling well-rested. This will also give you higher energy levels to get the right amount of studying done each day.

3. Attend Office Hours

This is a huge tip! Attending office hours can be very beneficial because it gives you one-on-one time with your professor to ask any questions on material you may not understand. Also, this is a big way to show your professors you are serious about your work and you are trying your best with the material. This can be very beneficial when grading comes around.

4. Create a Plan and Stick To It

If you have a plan in place, you are less likely to stray from it. This will act as a motivator to get your studying  done daily and to cross things off your checklist. I have to say crossing things off your checklist is one of the best feelings.

5.  Don’t Stick Strictly to the Study Guide

If your professors give you a study guide, make sure you also look at information that was not on it. Professors mainly give study guides to give students an idea of what can be on the test, but they might also add other information to make sure you reading the material and know it very well.

6.  Take Study Breaks

Sometimes spending too much time studying  without a break can be bad for your brain. If you take small breaks in between certain content, it can be beneficial. For example, you can take a quick walk outside or watch a short video in between.

7. Do Not Study In Your Bed

One of my biology teachers taught me this tip in high school and it has always stuck with me. Your brain associates your bed with sleep and relaxation, so when you try to study in your bed, you are less productive and you can disrupt your sleep patterns. The next time you will go to sleep, your body will take more time to adjust to it and you may lose out on hours of sleep.

8. Create Acronyms or Rhymes To Memorize Lists or Difficult Information

This is a very helpful tip that I use when I study. When I have to know long lists of steps or types of information, I create an acronym to spell out the first letter of every word. This is kinda like how teachers would use PEMDAS in elementary school to remember math operations. For example, this acronym stands for parentheses, exponents, multiplication , division, addition and subtraction.

9. Review Your Notes Daily

Taking time each day to review your notes will pay off in the long run. When test time rolls around, you will know the information better and be able to recognize the words in the questions quickly.

10. Dress Nice To Your Finals

“Dress well, test well” simply implies that those who dress well on the day of their exam or presentation are likely to perform better, or at least feel, better. Dressing nicer makes you feel more confident with the information and may help you do better.

11. Put Your Phone On Do Not Disturb or Turn It Off

Your phone can take away time from your studying and distract you from learning the information. Turn your phone off during your time studying to avoid this distraction and to decrease your time spent on one subject.

12. Eat Healthy

If you eat foods that are unhealthy and that do not provide nutrients, they can make you feel groggy. This can make you feel lazy and make you not want to study even more. Instead of choosing fried food or a bag of chips , eat a salad or some apples. Your body will thank you later.

13. Have a Positive Mindset

You are not going to get anywhere or have any confidence in yourself if you do not have a positive mindset. Studies have also shown that if you write positive affirmations on your exams, you will do better because it will make you more confident in your responses.

14. Study With Other People in Your Class

Having other people to study the information with you, will help you learn the information as well as teach you new study techniques. This is also good because if someone knows some information better than you, they can help you piece together what you are not understanding.

15.  Treat Yourself

This is a tough week and you are putting a lot of time into your studies, you deserve to treat yourself with a candy or maybe a coffee you like. Don’t feel bad about treating yourself or taking the time to do something you love, you deserve it!

We would like to wish everyone good luck on their final projects and exams! Stay motivated and do your best!

 

Picture source

 

Academics, Announcements, Events / Programs

For The Journal You’ve Never Heard Of…

Leave a comment

For those who know or may not know, Millersville University showcases achievement beyond the realms of a classroom with the Made In Millersville Conference. You might be aware of the signs that say “Apply Now” or emails that premiere how you can put yourself out there to represent your findings, content analyses, or begging questions about a topic of your interest. You find yourself applying, getting a T-shirt for your commitment to the success of presenting, shaking hands with folks, or sitting on a panel while you grab the attention of everyone in the room—either from your peers, professors, friends, or persons from another university.

MIMJ

What you may find however is not many know about the Made In Millersville Journal. These five Millersville students are the voice behind the Made in Millersville Journal. Shaakirah, Daniel, Allie, Sara, and Mikayla are the interns for The Made In Millersville Journal. The journal itself is an online interactive database where anyone can look at both current and previous years of student and faculty findings in areas of multiple disciplines that composite scholarly work, creativity, and collaborative learning. The team feverishly works on the journal for others to see—through their meetings they find new and innovative ways to inform the masses on social media platforms via Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter to spread the word about the journal.

Check out the Website here: https://www.mimjournal.com

They will  be presenting with the title: “For The Journal You’ve Never Heard Of.” Their goal with this title, from the team themselves was to establish a voice many may not have heard of—ultimately they want to widen their outreach to not only the  Millersville area, but to the Lancaster area and beyond. They hope to have other like-minded communities observe and commend Millersville University for their admiration, dedication, and approach to learning.

707f70e0ae8595cb74e3571daac4fad9--university

“I’m learning a lot about subjects I’ve not been around since I declared my major. It’s been really nice to be in a different kind of learning environment  all while being appreciated for my own skills.”—Mikayla

“Working on the journal has been a great learning experience for me so far. Between learning how to run social media accounts and promoting the journal, I’ve already picked up on  a lot of new skills. It’s also been nice to work in a collaborative setting where every team member brings a different  skill to the table. We’re all really excited about the journal!” —Sara

For the journal you’ve never heard of, now you know what you have to look forward to. Be on the lookout for these interns and the work of students, faculty, and your peers! Also be active on Instagram and follow the Made In Millersville Journal for updates, activities, pictures, and most importantly the Conference itself located in McNairy Library. You can follow: mim_journal on Instagram, madeinmujournal on Snapchat,  mimjournal on Twitter, and Made in Millersville Journal on Facebook. See you all there on April 17th, 2018! 

Photos courtesy of Eugene Thomas

Academics, Lists, Resources

Five Tips for Writing in College

At this point in the semester, you may have written a paper or two.  If you haven’t you may be preparing to write a final paper for a class.  (End of the semester is just six weeks away.)  Here are five tips from a past writing major to keep in mind as you work on your papers.

Writing 1

  1. Pace Yourself

It is too often the case that students wait until the night before to start a paper.  They’ll stay up all night, writing right up until the time it’s due.  Don’t do that!  Start at least a couple weeks in advance.  Take your time to formulate your thoughts and find your resources.  If you spend an hour a night writing you’ll find that in a couple weeks you will be done with time to spare.

  1. Outline

Now that you’ve decided to start sooner than the night before one of the first things you should do is outline.  Here are the basics: The intro paragraph, the body, the conclusion.  The intro should be no longer than half a page.  It should have a topic sentence that introduces the main idea of the paper.  The rest of the intro should quickly outline each point you hope to hit in the body.  The body will follow the order of the points you outlined in the intro.  Finally, the conclusion is not just a summary of your paper.  The conclusion should be the place where you explain your findings.  It is the culmination of your paper’s viewpoint or argument; it should be the resolution to the problem or topic.

Writing 2

  1. Don’t know how to start?

Sometimes writing the intro is the toughest part of the paper.  If this is the case for you then skip it!  Start with the meat of the paper.  Once you get the ball rolling on the body you’ll find it will be easier for you to go back to the beginning and write the intro.

  1. Draft and Edit

Your first draft should never be what you hand in.  Make sure to re-read and re-work.  Do you need an apostrophe here?  Did you use the wrong word there?  Always draft and edit!

  1. Careful Sourcing

Double check your sources.  Are they reputable?  Or are they some random Tumblr blog?  Don’t use Wikipedia as your main source.  And DO NOT plagiarize.  If you are quoting someone else, make it obvious.  If you want to summarize what someone said, make it obvious.  The best way to do this is to follow the in-text citing guidelines of the style of writing you are using.  Whether it is MLA, APA, or something else there will always be a specific way to cite.  Save yourself a headache. Don’t mistakenly plagiarize by not following style rules, and don’t outright plagiarize.

If you need some help with your writing check out the Writing Center in the Francine G. McNairy Library and Learning Forum here at Millersville University.  They opened in their new Library location on September 18th, and have many tutors to help with all your writing needs.

The Writing Center in McNairy Library.  Photo courtesy Millersville University.

Other Graphics and Photos courtesy of Canva.

Kristi Shorter is an Intern for Millersville University’s Housing and Residential Programs.  She is currently pursuing her Master of Education in Student Affairs in Higher Education at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania.