It’s a long journey from deciding to do a Master’s till actually getting admission in a university of your choice. Once you have narrowed down on the program and shortlisted the list of colleges you want to apply to, starts the herculean task of collating all the supporting documents. From filling the application forms and writing personal statements to gathering transcripts and references – applying to a Master’s program is serious, serious work.

One of the most challenging subjects in IB is Chemistry, without a doubt. Unless you are a genius in that subject, you are bound to be met with hurdles along the way. If giving a Chemistry exam wasn’t enough, there is the Internal Assessment (IA) to worry about. Expected to be 6 to 12 pages long, your Chemistry IA is as good as your own little experiment or research project which accounts for 20% of your final grade. In order to secure high scores, your write-up needs to be meticulously planned, well-researched and articulately presented.

You made it! Finally, the day has arrived when you are making the transition from high school to college. You are now a college freshman and your excitement has no bounds. After all, college is a whole new world and marks the first step to adulthood. Living alone, stepping out of your comfort zone, meeting new people and discovering new passions – all of it sounds brilliant but in all this excitement, let’s not forget the main reason why you are here – academics. Did you know that 30% of college freshmen dropout after their first year of college? Yes, the first year is a critical one because you are mostly trying to adjust to the new atmosphere. On one hand, there is hope and enthusiasm and on the other, there is stress and anxiety – college opens you up to a myriad of emotions.

“Resumes? I’ll come to that when I am looking for a job” – if that is what you are thinking, you are mistaken. More and more colleges are asking students to submit resumes during the admissions process. While there are a few that strictly specify that they do not want students to upload resumes, there are colleges such as University of Texas, Carnegie Mellon and others that do ask for it. An activities resume is meant to give a snapshot of your background, notable achievements and accomplishments, especially during your high school years. It is an effective tool to set you apart from competition and lets the admissions committee get to know you better.

If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? 
If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge? These lines are from William Shakespeare’s play, The Merchant of Venice wherein he uses consecutive rhetorical questions to evoke a sense of human empathy. Well, this literary technique certainly worked here because the speech does manage to move us and pushes us to think. Writers have been incorporating rhetorical questions for centuries together. So, why not take an inspiration or two and include them in your college essays too? A rhetorical question is a question asked more to create an impact or make a statement rather than getting an answer. It is a powerful literary device which when used effectively can add immense value to your writing.

“It was an accident. I did not mean to!” you exclaim but it is too late. You are found guilty of submitting a plagiarized paper and there is nothing you can do to save yourself. If these are what your nightmares are made of, you do have a valid reason to worry. Plagiarism is considered to be a serious offense in the world of academics. It can result in expulsion and may have legal repercussions while putting your reputation in jeopardy. While many think plagiarism only refers to a word-for-word copy of someone else’s work, truth is there are other kinds of plagiarism too such as conveniently rewording another person’s work, not citing sources or even submitting an already submitted essay to another class.