The tests, they are a-coming...

For many of us, test time is rapidly approaching. Are you ready for it? In case you didn't see them, here are links to newsletter articles on taking good notes in class, getting better grades, and how to write an essay. Follow these suggestions, and this round of tests shouldn't be too bad.

Good luck!
Professor Cram

Sshhhh... don't tell anyone

We've been hard at work here at College-Cram getting a surprise ready for you. If you're into music, you're going to like this...

Nose to the grindstone,
Professor Cram

Happy New Year

We've made it through another year, and 2006 is spread before us. To celebrate the start of another school semester, we're offering a special sale -- get a five-month premium upgrade for the three-month price.

(Or, you can look at it as "buy a three-month and get two extra months free.")

Either way it's a great deal for you, but since it expires at the end of January you better hurry.

Saving you cash,
Professor Cram

What a long strange trip it's been

2005 is winding down, and 2006 is just around the corner. All the folks behind College-Cram.com would like to extend our best wishes for a productive and successful new year to each of our readers and subscribers. We also wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Kwanzaa, or happy holidays (you know who you are).

Onward!
Professor Cram

Smartacus Study Sheets

Now that the November newsletter is out, we turned out attention to our latest product -- the Smartacus Study Sheets™.

Students have been using study sheets for years. Collections of notes, formulas, and such presented on one or more sheets make a great reference for studying. We've kicked it up a notch by embedding links for running the appropriate Cramlets™.

You can find our growing collection of Smartacus Study Sheets™ by clicking here.

They have everything we described above -- notes, formulas, and Cramlet™ links -- and you can print them if you want.

OK, here's the best part: you don't need to be logged in to use the study sheets! Sure, you need to register to use the Cramlets™, but you can view and print any Smartacus Study Sheet™ without registering or logging in.

Don't stay up too late!
Professor Cram

Sneak peek at how to write an essay

We have a cool article coming out in tomorrow's newsletter on How to write an essay, but since some of you have tests coming up I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at it.

Enjoy!
Professor Cram

November newsletter coming soon

We have a newsletter to publish, and like students around the world, we were faced with a dilemma. We can write fiendishly and publish before Thanksgiving, or we can publish afterwards. One way lets us relax through the holiday, the other way makes us work through it.

Like many students learn this time of the year, there is no winning move. So, we decided to flip a coin. And the winner is...

We'll see you after Thanksgiving (if we can stay awake long enough to finish the articles.)

Chew slowly,
Professor Cram

P.S. Cool new Cramlet out today, we'll probably include a review in the newsletter.

Term Papers and Thanksgiving

Term papers... I don't think there is ever a convenient time for them to be due. There are at least two camps of philosophy for assigning term papers around Thanksgiving.

The first is the professor who wants to give you something to be thankful about by assigning the paper to be due before you leave. The problem is that you stay up all night for several days writing papers and then drive home sleep-deprived. This makes the rest of the family speculate about the dark circles under your eyes, because you (obviously!) can't be studying that hard. They figure you either must be on drugs or an alcoholic. So be thankful you got it done and that you are at least gorging on turkey, because it could be worse.

The second are the professors who don't want to grade papers while they are spending time with their families, so they assign the paper to be due the first day after returning from Thanksgiving. What pure joy! Now you get to work during Thanksgiving itself. Still the family speculates about your well being because you're overeating, grumpy, and not sleeping. Again the conclusions are the same -- you are either on drugs or an alcoholic.

The solution? Sorry, don't have one. Either way, you're going to be spending too much time writing papers around the holiday. The trick, though, is to have books with you anytime you're home -- at least that way your family might possibly consider that you are in fact studying and maybe aren't on drugs...

Pass the Turkey!
Professor Cram

Which way are we going?

The difference between accounting and finance is a matter of perspective. Finance is looking ahead and accounting tells us where we have been. But then there is managerial accounting, which looks forward, and I never could tell it apart from finance. Since I never could steer a car by watching the rearview mirror, when I was in business school I took all the finance and managerial accounting that they had and only the financial accounting that was required.

Another place that direction comes up is in time value of money. The difference between compound interest (future value) and present value is which way you are going – and that is determined by which one you know when you start. They have an inverse relationship. (Sounds a lot like algebra, doesn't it?) With interest rate as a third variable (when you get comfortable with the process), you can use any two to solve for the third.

You can review the concepts in the study Cramlets™ and practice endlessly going backwards and forwards using the bottomless worksheets.

y^x,

Professor Cram

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is Professor Cram's birthday, and as all real Tolkien fans know it's a hobbit tradition to give presents on your birthday.

So here goes: I'm giving away Free registrations all month to College-Cram.com!

That's right, get better grades with over 100 of our most popular Cramlets™. You don't even need to go to Mordor or anything!

Snoozing by the fireplace,
Professor Cram

P.S. If you're already registered, see how you can get a Premium Upgrade for as little as $5, and with a money-back guarantee.

Seven Keys to Success in College

I was giving a speech the other day at TCU on the seven keys to entrepreneurship, the bootstrap method. Afterwards I was thinking the seven keys of bootstrapping also apply to college and success in school. Some of you may be scratching your head now and wondering what starting a company and going to school have in common?

School is an entrepreneurial experience, you are taking the time to organize, manage, and invest time and money while assuming the risk for your education. It is also an experience that many have to partake in without the necessary funds (bootstrapping).

Your education is what you make of the situation. It will be your business for the next four years or so. How successful you are at school depends on how well you run your company (yourself). Think about your school as your own private company. Are you spending wisely and are you making wise choices concerning your product (you) and your market (instructors and classes)? Remember the customer (instructors) is always right; they are the ones who will pay or grade your product.

Look for the November Newsletter where I'll be sharing more about the seven keys for college success.

I am the round man, with the square deal!
Professor Cram

Which scenario sounds better to you?

When you purchase a textbook, you're pre-paying for whatever internet resources the publisher threw together to impress your instructor. For the average course, that comes to somewhere around $15.

If you choose not to use the internet resources, you're out $15.

If you use the internet resources and they suck, you're out $15.

If you complain to the publisher, you won't get any help. And yeah, you're still out $15.

If you get a one-month Premium Upgrade with College-Cram, and for whatever reason you aren't satisfied, we'll refund your $15.

Now, which one of those scenarios sounds better to you?

Sticking up for students,
Professor Cram

How useful are internet resources?

Over and over again, college students have told us that they just don't use the computerized 'stuff' that publishers provide with their textbooks. The words "pointless" and "useless" get thrown around by college students when describing these resources.

So why do publishers continue to spend (your!) good money on these? Because they aren't meant to help students, that's why.

Publishers are in business to sell textbooks, period. Their whole business model revolves around convincing your instructor that their book is best. But since every publisher's Chemistry textbook is pretty much the same, they fall back on the old 'we have more stuff to go with the book' approach.

It doesn't matter if their computerized 'stuff' is useless, as long as they have it that's one more checkmark for your instructor.

I have a confession to make -- I spent some time producing these sorts of resources for two of the three major publishers. I know what motivated the folks I worked for, and tried like hell to make the 'stuff' I produced actually be of use (despite their efforts to the contrary).

Now that I'm with College-Cram, I am finally able to produce useful resources. Our Cramlets aren't meant to convince the instructor to use a textbook because we don't publish textbooks.

Our Cramlets have to be useful, and over the past six semesters we've heard college students tell us loud and clear -- they are!

New newsletter is out

The latest College-Cram newsletter is out. It has some interesting articles like test-taking tips, why college algebra is such a challenge and what you can do about it, and a Cramlet review for Factoring Trinomials.

I also included a bit of introduction for your amusement. Enjoy!
Professor Cram

Rocking all over the world, part 2

The party continues to grow! Since my last RAOTW post two weeks ago, we've added students from Canada, Jamaica, and Turkey. Including the U.S., that makes over 200 colleges in seven countries.

Ride the wave,
Professor Cram

"Midterms," or "Do We Have a Test Today?"

My worst experience in college was taking the final exam for a Geology class. I was working full time and was only taking one course for the semester. With my mind on other things, I showed up for the final exam at the regularly scheduled class time.

I walked to my seat and sat down, when the instructor motioned to me. I walked up with a smile on my face and he looked rather baffled. He asked, "Are you here to take the final exam?" I replied, "Yep!" The instructor then looked at me again trying to remember me as one of his students and then said, "You do know the exam started an hour and half ago and you only have thirty minutes left?" I looked back with a blank stare; it was then I realized that the final exam schedule was different than the class time.

I picked up the test and started immediately. Only a few people had finished the test before I got started. I went through it like lightning, answering exactly what I knew and skipping the rest. Once I finished the first pass I had fifteen minutes left; the room was still mostly full. I took a second pass and guessed at the questions I didn't know. When I finished with the second pass I took it up to the instructor, smiled, and turned it in with five minutes to spare.

It wasn't the best grade I ever made but I did pass. So, remember to check your schedule and make sure you know when the midterm or final exam is scheduled and in what room. (I did have roommate who showed up in the wrong room for his final. Fortunately it was a departmental exam, and the room was for the same course just a different section.)

I have included two links that offer some test taking tips. I especially like the one that starts off, "It's already too late!" lol


Midterm Test Taking Tips
Studying For a Test

Just remember, it's never too late and if you need a little help with understanding how to read a Multi-Step Income Statement, then give us a try.

There's no Crying in Baseball,
Professor Cram

Rocking all over the world

Just wanted to give a special "hey" to our subscribers from New Zealand, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and all the other countries around the world.

Welcome to the party!
Professor Cram

Using the Bottomless Worksheets

As you may have noticed, many of our math and math-related Cramlets (such as Simple Linear Inequalities) have Bottomless Worksheets to go with them. Bottomless Worksheets are special Cramlets that randomly generate ten problems for you to solve, and provide an answer sheet too.

The best way to tackle these topics is to check out the original Cramlet to learn the problem-solving skills, then try them out with the Bottomless Worksheets, then go back to the original Cramlet to work out the ones you get wrong.

While many of the original Cramlets are only available to Premium Upgrade subscribers, the Bottomless Worksheets are available to all subscribers -- Premium Upgrade and Free Registration subscribers alike.

Good to the Last Drop!
Professor Cram

Tweak a Little Here and There...

It has been a few days since we launched the new site and like all things we have been tweaking. We appreciate your feedback; let us know what you think and how we can improve.

One of the first issues we've dealt with is the restriction of an .edu email address for the free registration. College-Cram.com is designed for University/College Students. We are working toward the development of tools to enhance the student's experience and build individual campus communities for academic success. This is why we are requiring an .edu e-mail address, to keep out those who want to take advantage of students.

If your university does not issue an e-mail account with the .edu exchange, e-mail us to set-up your school's e-mail exchange.

Keep Trucking!
Professor Cram

Algebra, Algebra, Why Algebra?

I was reading through the daily news relating to education, specifically concerning Algebra. It seems Algebra has become a major hurdle to college students even though it is considered to be developmental math. Students are struggling to understand the basic concepts and arithmetic necessary for the mastery of Algebra.

I am in no way a math major. I struggled some with math in college, mainly with Pre-Calculus. Honestly the first time I took the course I made a "D" by the skin of my teeth. I immediately re-took the course during summer school. It was a five-credit course that met during both summer terms. It was all I did that summer. I slept, ate, and lived math that summer. I would work problems late into the night, wake up and go to the study lab and continue to work problems until class started. By the end of the summer I had earned an "A" in the class. The other students thought I was a math genius, which I wasn't, I just worked hard and practiced that summer, it required time.

The following article excerpt written from the perspective of a community college math instructor, sheds some light on the problem in that we are not allowing students the time to digest and understand the concepts. A student’s time can be fragmented with extracurricular activities or even work leaving little practice time to understand the concepts and become proficient. Again, I am not a math guru but I did learn one thing that summer, math requires practice just like anything else.

Math anxiety plus overbooked kids equals no solution
The Free Lance-Star, Date published: 9/18/2005
What is important to understand is that mastery of algebra is critical to advancement--in both math and the sciences.

At the same time, syllabi in Algebra I and II--and other courses--are overburdened with extraneous material that is simply not essential to the next level. America's math textbooks are much too fat. Although teachers may admit that there is much in their textbooks they do not cover, many--in the attempt to keep pace with a required curriculum--feel rushed.

As a result, they talk fast and expect students to learn fast. A lot of impatience gets conveyed, resulting in frustrated students with unanswered questions.

What is being ignored in the attempt to cover material is that concept-laden mathematics needs time to be digested--time no one seems to acknowledge.

The problem, however, does not lie only with syllabi and teachers. Parents and students must bear their share of the problem. Students are overscheduled, and have been for at least one generation. Extracurricular activities have significantly diminished study time and personal time.

Many of today's students lack both the time and commitment to make math happen. Band practice, sports practice, and after-school jobs often absorb up to three to four hours of after-school time.

Unfortunately, this leaves fewer and fewer hours to make sense of those simultaneous linear equations, logarithms, and proofs. (Copyright 2005 The Free Lance-Star Publishing Company.)

It's this struggle student's have with Algebra that motivated us at college-cram.com to complete the College Algebra library first. We honestly want to help students to become successful in their academic endeavors.