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  1. MartaToms

    Tried to research California scholarships and got completely overwhelmed — help?

    The California scholarship landscape is simultaneously the most resource-rich and most confusing financial aid environment I have ever tried to navigate and I say this as someone who considers themselves a reasonably organized person 😩☀️ There's the Cal Grant, which most people know. There's the...
  2. MartaToms

    California minimum wage is great until you realize everything here costs twice as much

    The cognitive dissonance of earning $17 an hour and still feeling broke is a uniquely California student experience and I feel like we don't talk about it enough 😂 I'm at Cal Poly SLO and the local job market is genuinely limited compared to what students at LA or Bay Area schools have access...
  3. MartaToms

    Cal student budget survival guide — what's actually worth it out here

    California is simultaneously the best and worst state to be a broke college student in. The best because the sheer density of universities means businesses actually compete for student customers in a way that doesn't happen in smaller college markets. The worst because the baseline cost of...
  4. MartaToms

    Business Administration coursework at CSU - tips needed!

    Accounting Principles gets way easier once you stop trying to memorize rules and start understanding the logic behind them. Every entry tells a story about what happened to the business. Once that clicks, the rest follows naturally. Khan Academy's accounting section is free and surprisingly good...
  5. MartaToms

    Struggling with lab research at Cal State - any tips?

    Keep a research journal. Not for your PI, just for yourself. Write down what you did each session, what confused you, what clicked. After a few weeks you'll be shocked how much you've actually learned and it helps with that "am i even making progress" anxiety that kills motivation in long...
  6. MartaToms

    Bay Area Struggles: Is working 30 hours a week while in school even sustainable?

    Remote work is saturated but not impossible! I work for a startup based in Texas (fully remote) doing customer support for $24/hr. Found it on We Work Remotely. The key is looking for companies NOT based in the Bay Area—they pay California wages cause they have to but don't have the insane local...
  7. MartaToms

    California college scholarship hunt as an international student – possible??

    I'm an international student from South Korea studying at a UC and I'm trying to figure out this whole California college scholarship situation. Honestly? It's confusing and sometimes discouraging. 😕 So many scholarships say "US citizens or permanent residents only" and I just scroll past them...
  8. MartaToms

    UCR: The most underrated UC and I'll die on this hill. 🐻🏔️

    Everyone sleeps on UC Riverside. It's not Berkeley. It's not UCLA. It doesn't have the beach vibe of Santa Cruz or the prestige of SD. But honestly? That's what makes it great. The diversity is real. UCR is a Hispanic-Serving Institution and an Asian American and Native American Pacific...
  9. MartaToms

    CSU Fullerton: Surviving (and thriving) at a commuter school.

    I go to CSU Fullerton, and yeah, it's a commuter school. Everyone says that like it's a bad thing. It's different, for sure. But it's not impossible to have a good college experience here—you just have to work for it. The reality: Most people drive to campus, go to class, and drive home. The...
  10. MartaToms

    PSA: Don't be lazy like me! Use a personal essay writing service the RIGHT way

    A couple of years ago, I was super stressed and made the stupid decision to use a personal essay writing service in the laziest way possible. I just paid my money, downloaded a paper, and submitted it as is. Didn't read it properly, didn't change anything. Guess what happened? I got called in...
  11. MartaToms

    My oklahoma university essay is forcing me to explain why i'm leaving the coast and it's harder than i thought

    You said "how do I explain to someone in the middle of the country why I want to leave paradise?" But I think you're asking the wrong question. You don't need to explain why you're LEAVING paradise. You need to explain what you're SEEKING that paradise doesn't offer. Those are two different...
  12. MartaToms

    Balance clubs and academics at UC Berkeley - any tips?

    Here's my survival guide: 1. Use Google Calendar for EVERYTHING. Color-code classes, meetings, study time, and social stuff. If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist. 2. Find your "dead week" rhythm. I go hard on student gov early in the semester, then taper off during midterms and...
  13. MartaToms

    From chaos to calm: my compare and contrast essay on study habits

    Okay but can we talk about how compare and contrast essays are actually the most underrated genre? Like, they force you to actually understand two things deeply enough to articulate their differences and similarities. You can't just summarize—you have to ANALYZE. Your essay sounds like it's...
  14. MartaToms

    5 signs your 1000 word essay is about to write itself ✍️

    I've been in school for a while now and I've developed this sixth sense for when an essay is gonna be easy versus when it's gonna be absolute torture. You know the feeling right? Sometimes you sit down and every sentence feels like pulling teeth. Other times the words just flow and suddenly...
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