Good grades, difficult tests, stress, and sleep deprivation will inevitably haunt you at some point during your high school journey. The resources listed below are a few timesaving, free, and easy to access tools which have aided my performance in the classroom and others alike.

1.The Organic Chemistry Tutor (YouTube Channel)

If you struggle with math and/or chemistry much like the majority of our world’s population, then The Organic Chemistry Tutor is a simple and effective solution to your suffering. The channel covers an extremely wide variety of topics in math such as Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Precalculus, and Calculus. It covers scientific courses as well of course, including, Chemistry, Physics, and Organic Chemistry. I find that this channel does an incredible job at simplifying complex topics in a generally short amount of time. The grand majority of the videos are between 5-20 minutes but do not lack depth in the explanation of the subject. Much more, it also includes videos that are much longer and may last between 40 minutes to an hour if you want a more expansive approach to your learning.

2. AP College Board Videos

Contrary to popular belief these videos are actually helpful. Despite the mental weight AP classes tend to carry in students’ heads, College Board did something right with this feature. On the official College Board website, there are videos explaining and reviewing the information of the course per unit, lesson by lesson. These videos are typically between 5-12 minutes and are a great way to review what you’ve learned throughout the year in the weeks before your AP exam. They are effective because they are made by College Board quite literally for College Board’s own exam. These videos are spoon-feeding you the main pieces of information you need to know to succeed on their tests that no one really likes. Take advantage of it.

3. Google Docs, Slides, Etc.

Not to take away from Microsoft Word, but Google Docs is way better. Have you ever closed your computer or accidentally forgotten to save your work and then lost it? Google Docs gives you peace of mind with an automatic save feature, allowing you to always continue from the last point you left off no matter the situation. In addition to this, it is linked to your google account without subscribing so it’s completely free and does not take up any space on your computer. You can have endless files organized on your Google Docs, Slides, or Google whatever page, at the cost of nothing. You don’t have to download any application the way Microsoft makes you.

*Be sure to use your Colegia email so you can take advantage of your unlimited storage plan during high school! Using a normal Gmail for this will not give you unlimited storage within Google Drive.

4. Khan Academy’s SAT Program

Another surprisingly helpful tool like College Board’s videos would be Khan Academy’s SAT prep program. This program aims to improve Junior and Senior’s SAT scores which are a vital component of most students’ college applications. Most teachers have probably already dreadfully forced you to create an account on College board, but if for whatever reason you haven’t, create one. Then, go to their official website and access the SAT tab on the first page when you login and click on “Practice for the SAT.” This will automatically send you to another page which opens Khan Academy’s SAT prep feature. Here, you can connect old SAT scores to the account and Khan Academy will customize your profile page with the math, reading, and grammar topics you struggled with on your previous tests. This allows you to strengthen your weaknesses in an organized fashion. If you have not taken a test yet, you can take one of the 10 different practice tests Khan Academy offers and it will recommend to you what skills you need to improve.

5. Notion (Mobile App/Website)

Notion is a productive workspace for notetaking and organizing your academic and personal priorities. This application has a calendar feature and allows you to create simple checklists and folder files. You can also design your own color scheme on your page with its expansive design software. It’s not a to-do list if it doesn’t look pretty and organized. All in all, Notion is an app you would have to try on you own because there are many little tweaks and features which make it a unique experience for each user, but I highly recommend you give it a try.