Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
feeling like bill nye rn
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On my first day of high school, I rushed into the guidance office to ask my counselor about how to get into the Ivy League.
But unfortunately, my school had rarely sent students to top colleges. So I took to websites like Reddit and College Confidential to understand what it takes to get in.
I spent countless hours analyzing the profiles of admitted students, paying most attention to their activities. Here are the ones I wish someone had told me about earlier:
đ§ MITES:
MITES is an academic enrichment program hosted at MIT, particularly for students from underrepresented or underserved communities. Itâs a free, yet selective, program that can equip you for a future in STEM!
Many of my friends did MITES and loved their experience.
đŹ RSI:
This is another rigorous STEM opportunity at MIT. RSI is a free, highly-prestigious summer program during which students take STEM courses and work on their own research projects.
Iâll be honest, Iâm not sure if I wouldâve gotten in had I applied, but itâs a great opportunity for anyone interested in research.
đ
Olympiads:
These are academic competitions in fields like math, biology, chemistry, physics, and computer science.
Olympiads span from the local level all the way to the international level with competitions like IMO, IBO, IChO, IPhO, and IOI.
I met a surprising number of these Olympiad medalists during college.
đ¨ Scholastic Art and Writing Awards:
These awards highlight achievement in creative fields, such as writing, visual art, film, and more.
Winning a Scholastic Key Award is an amazing look for anyoneâs college application.
đ Coca-Cola Scholars:
The Coca-Cola Scholars program offers achievement-based scholarships to graduating high school seniors.
The program assesses students on their ability to lead, serve, and make an impact. Once again, extremely prestigious program that looks great on a resume.
If there are any other programs you know of, drop them in the comments! I genuinely want this post to help as many of you as possible.
(Also, check out this picture I took at Yale! One of the most beautiful college campuses by far.)
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yâall I just painted for the first time the other day
(followed a random tutorial lol)
call me vincent van goghAR
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Need help with your college essays? đ
Here are some revision tips!
đˇ Start With the Big Picture
Resist the urge to jump right into grammatical and syntactical edits. Step back and look at the bigger pictureâthe overarching structure and narrative of your piece.
Check if your writing addresses the prompt, flows smoothly, and sounds like you. Here are some questions I recommend asking yourself:
- Do I address the prompt?
- What qualities do I showcase in this essay?
- Are these the qualities I want to highlight?
- Is my story compelling from start to finish?
- Does the essay sound like me?
- Is my tone off-putting anywhere?
As you answer these questions, mark up a physical copy of your essay, annotating your piece with your answers to these questions.
đ Dive Into the Smaller Details
Once youâve made any necessary adjustments, now you can dive into the finer details.
Pay attention to sentence structure, diction, and punctuation. Do you vary your sentence length? Do you use a mix of loose and periodic sentences?
And of course, look out for grammar mistakes. Errors I see often include:
- Comma splices
- Dangling modifiers
- Subject-verb disagreements
- Faulty parallelisms
- Adverb overuse
Chances are you won't catch every error the first time you revise your essay. Revise often, taking breaks between revisions to approach the essay with fresh eyes each time.
---
If you'd like detailed college essay feedback from Ivy League consultants (in as little as 24 hours), check out Next Admit! nextadmit.com/services/essay/
Use code "gohar" for 10% off until 10/25. :)
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yâall I saw the most mesmerizing sunrise of my life the other day
just thought I should share it with yâall âď¸
like HOW is this real?! might become a morning person after this ngl
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What do most top students have in common? đ
They're mission-driven.
If you're in high school, you donât need to know your lifeâs calling, but I find the most successful students usually have a missionâwhether it's diving deeper into an academic field, advocating for a cause, or excelling in a sport.
But many students struggle with either too many options or none at all.
If you have too many, lean into areas where you have a natural advantage. For example, if you're into environmental justice and your school offers a community garden, birdwatching club, or AP environmental science, take advantage of those!
What if you donât have any options?
Simple. Write down your favorite topicsâand they don't have to be academic. Pick the one that excites you most and see how you can expand it.
Could a love of K-pop lead to a research project? Could building PCs become a small business? Could a Hunger Games obsession inspire a YouTube channel with video essays?
Do you have a mission? If so, what is it?
(Also, I was recently at Nasdaq for the 20th anniversary of Google's IPO. Check out these flicks!)
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Feeling stressed about all your responsibilities? đ
Here's one of my favorite pieces of advice: (try to) enjoy the ride.
Look, your to-do list is never going to end, and the faster you can embrace that fact, the faster you can conquer your stress.
We often tell ourselves that once we get through everything on our to-do list, we can relax and enjoy ourselves. But how often do we actually get through our entire to-do list? Most people seldom do.
In fact, of the five remaining tasks on my to-do list, Iâll probably finish three or four tonight and have to put the rest off to tomorrow. And this is how it is most nights!
As such, if I only yearn for the satisfaction of getting through all my tasksâwhich doesnât happen oftenâIâm going to entrap myself in a constant state of stress.
Thatâs why itâs critical to focus *less* on how much work you have left and focus *more( on the work youâre doing. Enjoy things for what they are instead of how much closer they get you to completion.
For example, as Iâm writing this post, Iâm trying not to worry about my remaining tasks. Iâm instead searching for joy in the writing process itselfâin expressing my thoughts, sharing my advice, and connecting with you all.
You can apply a similar mindset to your schoolwork. As you work through your assignments and readings, think âI get to learn thisâ instead of âI have to learn this.â Find joy in the fact that studying is making you more competent, well-informed, and engaging individual.
Life is going to throw an incessant stream of tasks your way. The faster you can learn to enjoy the ride, the faster you can replace your tension with relief.
(Totally unrelated, but I recently came back from a YouTube event and saw this headshot of me on the wall. So surreal!)
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Struggling to find the motivation for school? đŹ
Here are a few of my tips:
đŻ Find Your Why
For me, that was becoming valedictorian and getting into a school with generous need-based aid. For you, that might be getting into a specific college or pursuing a certain career path. In those moments when youâre feeling unmotivated, having a north starâa vision that you can live up toâcan often be a great source of motivation.
For example, to motivate yourself to go to the gym, you probably envision how youâll look months of even years from now. Do the same for school. Imagine where youâll be on your graduation day. Or better yet, just imagine where you want to be at the end of the school year. What do you want your grades to be? How do you want your resume to look?
Understand that achieving this vision requires consistency even on days when you donât feel like putting in the work.
đ Motivation Follows Action
Motivation follows action, not vice versa. In other words, youâll often find motivation once you get going. Those first few minutes of an assignment might feel brutal, but often it takes time for us to get into the right mindset for work.
This holds true for almost any task. For example, I know that once I finish this post, Iâm going to have to spend a few hours shooting B-roll for my upcoming video. Do I feel motivated to film B-roll? No. Not at all. In fact, shooting B-roll is one of the most time-intensive parts of making a video.
But I know that once I finish filming those first two or three shots, Iâll find the motivation to follow through and finish the rest. This is what happened last time and the time before thatâand I know itâs exactly whatâll happen today.
đ Look Beyond the Immediate Benefits
Yes, studying for an exam is going to help you get a good grade. But take a step back and observe the other benefits:
- Youâre going to build resilience and mental endurance.
- Youâre going to enhance your long-term memory and recall abilities.
- Youâre going to become a more knowledgeable and informed individual.
Oh and also⌠youâre going to explore cutting-edge ideas that took centuries to develop. Youâll grasp in weeks what brilliant minds spent lifetimes uncovering.
Recontextualizing why you study (and what you study) can often help you find an affinity for the task and boost your intrinsic motivation.
How do you find the motivation for school? Let me know in the comments! đ
7.6K - 148
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 5 MILLION SUBSCRIBERS! đĽł
Y'all, this is unfathomable. I started making videos to help students through the college admissions process, which was an incredibly stressful time for me as a student. I began by uploading the videos I wish *I* had back in high school.
But over the years, we've expanded beyond admissions. We've made our way into study advice, fitness, personal finance... and even skincare? Today, the mission of Gohar's Guide is to help students of ALL ages succeed inside *and* outside of school.
Thank YOU for all the support along the way. Whether by leaving supportive comments, tuning into my livestreams, or by "following Gohar" (lol), you've helped me pursue my mission to its fullest. I'm so grateful that this is what I get to do every single day.
(Also, if I told 12-year-old Gohar that he'd one day become a YouTuber, he'd go NUTS.)
Excited to see where this journey takes us!
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Got something in the works with this guy... đ¤Ť
Any guesses as for what it is?
(You might wanna subscribe to âŞ@KhanSquared⏠to find out...)â
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An MIT grad trying to help you survive school (and life).
Hi! My name is Gohar Khan, and I graduated from MIT with a BSc in Computer Science, Economics, and Data Science, as well as in Business Analytics. On this channel, you can find my best study tips, college application advice, and life hacks.
Feel free to DM me on Instagram if you have any questions!