Years ago, students applying to colleges and universities had to have their applications and personal essays printed out and then “snail-mailed”. Flash forward to today's world of Facebook, Instagram and WeChat, where photos, videos and mobile phones rule. Fortunately, several new tools are making it easier for college applicants to use technology to show off their personalities, skills and creativity.

    ZEEMEE

    One of the more popular innovations in college applications is ZeeMee, a free mobile app that allows students to upload personal profiles and videos to create visual resumes. More than 220 colleges and universities offer a ZeeMee option as part of the application process. The video can show the unique creative aspects of the applicants.

THE COALITION LOCKER

    Another relatively new tool comes from the Coalition for Access, Affordability and Success, now used by more than 110 member colleges and universities. Among the group's stated goals are getting students engaged in college prep early and using technology to create a supportive application process that encourages reflection and self-discovery.

    Students who sign up for the free platform get access to a digital “locker”, which they can use all through high school to save class papers, artwork, newspaper stories, videos and photos to share with colleges when they eventually apply.

    VIDEO — CHAT INTERVIEWS

    At some schools, an interview with an admission officer is an important part of the application process. To make it easier, several virtual interviewing tools have popped up, such as a video-based platform from Kira. More than 140 universities worldwide use Kira's video assessment tool to conduct real-time interviews with prospective students. During the interview, candidates are shown the questions prerecorded by the particular school and must respond in real time by talking into the camera on their laptop or phone. In addition to showing their ability, to speak fluently in English and think on their feet, it helps admission officers determine the “motivation, commitment and drive” of applicants.

    UNIQUE SCHOOL TOOLS

    Some universities have come up with their own ways to allow students to show their skills and personalities. For example, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, encourages applicants to display their technical abilities and creativity by submitting a “Maker Portfolio” —a written or videotaped description of a project that shows creative and problem-solving skills. While a new app would fit the bill, the project could be anything from an origami design to a potato cannon.

    Not too long ago, a young man asked me a question: how do you make study more fun? You can improve your study habits and make your process more enjoyable. It's a matter of many things.

    Manage your time

    {#blank#}1{#/blank#} All it takes is sitting down with a calendar, and just mapping out everything you need to do and the time you need to do it: projects, tests, part-time work, homework, parties, doctor appointments.

    Set the mood

    First, choose a good study area. {#blank#}2{#/blank#} Your spot may be in your dorm/bedroom or the library. If you prefer to lie on your bed or sit in a corner of the library, develop a study routine that will allow you to focus. Clean spaces are said to improve productivity. To help you focus, turn off your phone! And while you're at it, limit your access to the Internet.

    Make it a game

    Are you the competitive type? Try competing against yourself. {#blank#}3{#/blank#} Or try joining or starting a study group with fiends and take bets on who can get the most right answers when doing homework.

    Take breaks

    In that hour or two you've scheduled for studying, make sure you also give yourself enough breaks. Set a timer-even a short one, like 25 minutes-and work during that time. When the timer goes off, give yourself a few minutes to relax, drink some water, etc. {#blank#}4{#/blank#}

    Reward yourself Sweet treats and other snacks often come to mind as a “reward”, and that might work for you, but it's also probably not a great idea to eat a bag of potato chips after every 25-minute study session. Rewards can be as simple as allowing yourself to watch some interesting videos. {#blank#}5{#/blank#}

A. And we mean a specific, unique spot.

B. it's important to realize and make peace with the fact that studying isn't always going to be “fun”.

C. You can learn how to learn more effectively.

D. Then set another timer and dive back into your studying.

E. Or you can set goals, and then buy yourself something fun when you meet them.

F. Time management may be the secret weapon to succeeding at everything!

G. See if you can improve your reading speed to get yourself under a certain number of pages in five minutes.

    Science fiction writers create imaginary worlds. The way things work in your imaginary worlds will be based on actual science. So it's important for you to be familiar with the scientific principles and inventions that are related to your creation. For example, if you're writing about human living on a planet with zero gravity, then you need to know the effects of zero gravity on the human body.

    Then you have to figure out the exact rules of your imaginary worlds. And you have to follow them. If humans are able to breathe underwater in Chapter 1, your character can't drown in a swimming pool in Chapter 3. The issue here is maintaining your readers' trust. That means the readers are willing to pretend along with you. If you start out with an ordinary detective novel and then throw in someone breathing underwater in the 6th chapter, you will pull the readers out of their imagination. The same thing happens if you change the rules halfway.

    Part of your preparation work for the novel is to map out its worlds in great detail. You should decide the following issues: the history of the world, the geography, what possibilities it offers, how everything works in this new reality, and how all of these factors affect the way your characters think, feel, and react to things. You don't have to tell your readers all the rules in the first chapter. But you have to let readers know enough to understand what's going on. This also allows you to work out logical problems and contradictions before you start writing.

    When you are writing, remember to make it feel real. You are inviting readers to visit a new world. They will want to be able to see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste what it's like. Whether your novel is about a world without disease or an undiscovered planet, help your readers feel like they're actually there.

    America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while - then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.

    Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.

    Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don't show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet n friend. We may take days off to net as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homos, but truly can not manage the lime to do n great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, worm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.

    For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly lo invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!

    What is a lifestyle and how is that different from a life? A lifestyle is about brand names and buying identity or fame. Lifestyle gives a false sense of peace and acceptability that comes from others recognizing what you've bought into (as well as bought). If your car, clothes, and home are expensive, you're sophisticated (世故的) and stylish. If you have the right kind of job or go to the right social gatherings, then you receive the insincere approval of others. This means that your self-esteem (自尊) is always at the mercy of others, with no appreciation of you as an individual.

    A life, on the other hand, is very different. A life is what you lead when you know what matters most to you. It is very simple and comes from being connected to what you know is important and being willing to put that first, no matter what others may think. When you create a life vs. a lifestyle, your self-esteem comes from what's inside you, not what others think about you.

    Lifestyle is expensive financially and personally, because it costs a great deal to keep up appearances and do what you think is socially acceptable. A life is not expensive. Rather than using personal or financial resources, a life generates energy and staying power. It's about liberating yourself from the mindless consumption that society expects. It is about making the choices that are in line with your values, instead of using up your bank account or energy for no heart-driven reason.

    How can you make the change? Understand the difference between a life and a lifestyle. Analyze your current lifestyle to see what is costing you in money, time, stress, and energy to maintain it. Let go and make room for what is really important to you, what supports you and brings you joy. Remember who you are from within, not what you own!

The next time you attend a social function or go to a place where people meet and interact, take note of the number of people who have adopted the same gestures and posture—the way you sit or stand--of the person with whom they are talking. This "carbon copying" is a means by which one person tells the other that he is in agreement with his ideas and attitudes. By this method, one is non-verbally (非语言的) saying to the other, "As you can see, I think the same as you, so I will copy your posture and gesture."

    This unconscious (无意识地) mimicry is quite interesting to observe. Take, for example, the two men standing at the hotel bar. They have mirrored each other's gestures and it is reasonable to assume that they are discussing a topic upon which they have the same thoughts and feelings. If one man uncrosses his arms and legs or stands on the other foot, the other will follow. If one puts his hand in his pocket the other will copy and this mimicry will continue for as long as the two men are in agreement.

    This copying also occurs among good friends or people of the same social position and it is common to see married couples walk, stand, sit and move in very similar ways. People who are strangers, however, try hard to avoid holding mutual(相互的) positions. The significance of carbon copying can be one of the most important non-verbal lessons we can learn, for this is one way that others tell us that they agree with us or like us. It is also a way for us to tell others that we like them, by simply copying their gestures.

    If an employer wishes to develop immediate friendliness and create a relaxing atmosphere with an employee, he needs to copy the employee's posture to achieve the end. Similarly, an up-and-coming employee may be seen copying his boss's gestures in an attempt to show agreement. Using the knowledge, it is possible to influence a face-to-face encounter by copying the positive gestures and postures of the other person. This has the effect of putting the other person in a receptive and relaxed frame of mind and he can "see" that you understand his point of view.