Wednesday, March 25, 2020

How to Enhance Your Conversations With Your Conversation Tutor

How to Enhance Your Conversations With Your Conversation TutorEnglish conversation tutor, or conversational hypnosis, is the natural means of facilitating your learning of the English language. Since most people in the world are English-speaking, there is no doubt that this will be one of the most beneficial ways to communicate and get information from. Here are some important things that you should consider in order to better enhance your English conversations.Although you may have the natural conversational skills, you need to maintain your skills in order to improve your conversational effectiveness. You can benefit immensely from a good conversation tutor who can easily teach you to utilize these skills.Try to always focus on maintaining your natural skill of conversation. This would help you gain the confidence of knowing how to use your English. This will be really important if you want to have an effective conversation with someone. As you will most likely encounter people who m you need to learn how to speak and understand properly, it is best that you acquire this skill so that you can speak and understand like a native speaker.With the help of your conversation tutor, you can practice the basics of conversational speaking. In order to do this, you can ask questions and ask him to repeat or imitate you. You will have the ability to clarify the topics that you want to discuss since he has a good understanding of what you are trying to say.It is also important that you learn the most simple and easy ways of learning English. Although this will not give you a true and advanced skill, you will be able to understand the basic English. But still, you can learn more about it by using online resources that will help you understand more about how to communicate and use the basic English effectively.Even though you may be going to school or college, you can also take up some study subjects that will enable you to study and learn about the different subject. There are a lot of different choices available to you so that you will be able to focus on what you want to do.These are just some of the important things that you can do in order to enhance your conversation with your conversation tutor. There are a lot of methods available in order to help you communicate in English.

Friday, March 6, 2020

How to Win a Race After Falling on Your Face Video - Listening Exercise

How to Win a Race After Falling on Your Face Video - Listening Exercise Ive been running a lot lately; Paul and I are training to do our first marathon in the fall. So I was inspired to watch this running video someone shared on Facebook. It is incredible! Watch and seethe listening might be challenging because there is background noise but that shouldnt stop you from trying. Watch the whole video! Trust me, its worth it. After you do the listening exercise write a short paragraph about a situation when you didnt give up in spite of the challenges you faced.1. The 600 meter _______ way. 2. How many laps is the 600 meter? (no cheating and googling the answer!) 3. How is Fond looking? 4. How many points did Dorniden score last year? 5. Dorniden _____ down! Dorniden _______ _____. 6. She gets up quickly but that is ______ to _____ her. 7. That is _______! 8. Doing __________ she ____ to win this heat.Amazing video, right! Now for the writing assignment. Do you have any stories where you had to pick yourself up again?

Things parents should never tell students on results day - Tutor Hunt Blog

Things parents should never tell students on results day Things parents should never tell students on results day Things parents should never tell students on results daySchoolsIt`s almost too long ago for me to remember the day I got my exam results, but I`m sure that for all students the long wait for their papers to be marked, and their A-level grades to be announced must be excruciating. After two whole years of study, culminating in many hours of exams, they must wait for weeks and weeks - through the majority of the summer holidays only to have all their potential for the future distilled into a single letter: A, B, C Though most parents will have been taskmasters throughout the revision season, attempting to ensure their children get the best grade they possibly can, once the exams are over it`s time for the students to take a well earned break. I can remember the overwhelming relief when the whole business of revising and sitting to be tested was finally over. The matter was out of my hands - no about of extra study was going to alter the grade I was to receive: all I could do was wait. On the actual day of the results students can log onto the UCAS website to see how they performed - they won`t actually be told their grades though, only if they have achieved the required number of points to be accepted by their chosen university. Results day will of course be an extremely anxious time for any student - it will be a defining day of their lives. To help them deal with the stress and anxiety of this day, here is a list of things parents should probably avoid saying: 1. Back in my day exams were far more difficult. It will not be helpful to tell an anxious student about to receive their grades that their exam was actually far easier than those in the past. They will have sat the exam, and they may have struggled over much of it - to be informed that exams were so much easier in the past won`t be helpful to them, and will only exacerbate their nervousness. I can remember, after completing a difficult exam, hearing my colleagues afterwards expressing how easy it was. I was horrified - `if my peers found it so easy, what`s wrong with me? I found it extremely arduous - I must have done awful!` I seem to recall that I duplicitously agreed with my friends, boasting how easy I also found it. Perhaps we were all just being braggarts, showing off as a way to compensate for the feeling that we had really performed badly. Telling a student that exams were easier in the past serves no purpose - if they get a disappointing grade they will feel even worse, and if they perform well, they might feel that they don`t actually deserve the high accolade. 2. How well do you think your friends did? Adolescents are of course keenly aware of their status amongst their friends, be that socially or academically. We learn about ourselves by measuring our abilities against those in our peer group - and though they will have fairly certain ideas on how well their friends performed in their exams, it is probably best to avoid them making comparisons at this important moment. All their concerns should be on how well they did, if they obtained the grades to get into their university; reminding them of friends who might be more academically gifted will be an unhelpful distraction. 3. I heard last year lots of the exams were incorrectly marked. This is something that never be said to a student about to obtain their exam results. Though there are rare errors in the grading of exams, and querying an unexpected grade can lead to a remarking, these events are extremely uncommon. With this thought in mind, a student receiving a good grade might begin to doubt its authenticity, while a student getting a bad grade might nurture the unlikely hope that their test paper has been incorrectly marked. 4. If you fail you can do retakes next year. While retakes are often possible, it`s best not to set up a negative atmosphere, a scene of expected failure, just before the student receives their grades. Though they shouldn`t be made to feel that there are absolutely no options if they don`t achieve their required grades, it would be more helpful to let them know this some time before results day. A more congenial option than retakes, which would likely set them back a whole academic year, is the clearing system, which facilitates students who don`t achieve their required grades finding an alternative university course. 5. You should have revised more. Even if the student didn`t spend enough time preparing for their exams, pointing this out at the moment they are going to receive their grades cannot in any way be helpful. By all means stress the importance of revision in the period leading up to their exams, and do as much as you can to encourage them to prepare and study so they can achieve their full potential - but don`t chide them for not revising enough at the very moment when they are about to get their results. 6 months ago0Add a Comment

Thursday, March 5, 2020

italki Language Challenge Week 7 Goal

italki Language Challenge Week 7 Goal Lindsaydoeslanguages is blogging about her World Cup Language Challenge and we’re reposting here to share with the entire italki Community. This blog post  originally was posted  on  Lindsaydoeslanguages.com  website. What a challenge! You know what? I feel really proud of my commentary last weekend. A lot of people even asked me to commentate the final the next day! If you missed it, take a peek here and let me know what you think of my Portuguese! Beforehand, however, I was genuinely a bit nervous. I’d never done a live event on YouTube before, I would never have thought to do this in my own language â€" never mind one I’ve been learning for a few weeks, and I’d never commentated a football match. And to make matters worse, it was Brazil vs Netherlands â€" both countries speaking two languages I’d been learning recently â€" Portuguese and Dutch! Who was I supposed to support?! For this week’s goal, I initially said I’d opt for a video discussing how the commentary went in Portuguese, but I decided to try my hand at writing instead, something I haven’t really done much of. Please feel free to correct me in the comments! Here we go… (Psst! Click the Google Translate button in the top right hand corner and it should translate the text for you if you don’t speak Portuguese!) Semana 7 Então, e terminado! Estou muita contenta com o meu comentário e o meu português agora. Me sinto como si posso comentar um partido de futebol, posso fazer tudo o que necessito em português. Fazer um desafio como isso e o melhor coisa que poderia tido feito porque foi um desafio verdade! Porque escrever? Escrever não é uma coisa que fazemos muito na vida quotidiana hoje. E quando fazemo-lo, estamos rapidamente corrigidos dos computadores e tecnologia â€" então, já esta importante que aprendamos a escrever? Acho que a idioma e uma das coisas mas importantes que aprendemos na vida. Ter uma maneia em que podemos comunicar e empresarmos e imprescindível. Mas â€" escrever também? Quando falamos, falamos rapidamente, normalmente sim uma oportunidade a pensar muito do que estamos a dizer. Mas, quando escrevermos, podemos parar, e pensar, e ter cuidado do que queremos expressar. Isso é o que é importante. Fazes o italki World Cup Language Challenge? Quase, quase! Podemos ver a linha de terminar! Espero que tenhas desfrutado o desafio e que vais a continuar com as suas idiomas depois. Eu sei que tenho aprendido muito de português e que o tenho desfrutado muito! A prossima! Mas, antes, há uma semana e media mais em que podemos fazer mas aulas si necessitamos, revisar o que necessitamos a revisar, e desfrutar a idioma antes da tentação de uma outra quando tememos o premio de ITC… E agora que? E difícil seguir isso! Mais, acho que vou a continuar com português depois do desafio com um pouco quando posso. Isso dito, depois de Julho, tenho que concentrar só em francês porque e “importante” que obtenha uma boa nota mais ódio estudar academicamente e não posso esperar ate que possa aprender as idiomas sim as restrições outra vez! Just a little something to keep my Portuguese brain ticking over! How are you getting on with the italki World Cup Language Challenge? Not long left now! Let’s do this! italki Language Challenge Week 7 Goal Lindsaydoeslanguages is blogging about her World Cup Language Challenge and we’re reposting here to share with the entire italki Community. This blog post  originally was posted  on  Lindsaydoeslanguages.com  website. What a challenge! You know what? I feel really proud of my commentary last weekend. A lot of people even asked me to commentate the final the next day! If you missed it, take a peek here and let me know what you think of my Portuguese! Beforehand, however, I was genuinely a bit nervous. I’d never done a live event on YouTube before, I would never have thought to do this in my own language â€" never mind one I’ve been learning for a few weeks, and I’d never commentated a football match. And to make matters worse, it was Brazil vs Netherlands â€" both countries speaking two languages I’d been learning recently â€" Portuguese and Dutch! Who was I supposed to support?! For this week’s goal, I initially said I’d opt for a video discussing how the commentary went in Portuguese, but I decided to try my hand at writing instead, something I haven’t really done much of. Please feel free to correct me in the comments! Here we go… (Psst! Click the Google Translate button in the top right hand corner and it should translate the text for you if you don’t speak Portuguese!) Semana 7 Então, e terminado! Estou muita contenta com o meu comentário e o meu português agora. Me sinto como si posso comentar um partido de futebol, posso fazer tudo o que necessito em português. Fazer um desafio como isso e o melhor coisa que poderia tido feito porque foi um desafio verdade! Porque escrever? Escrever não é uma coisa que fazemos muito na vida quotidiana hoje. E quando fazemo-lo, estamos rapidamente corrigidos dos computadores e tecnologia â€" então, já esta importante que aprendamos a escrever? Acho que a idioma e uma das coisas mas importantes que aprendemos na vida. Ter uma maneia em que podemos comunicar e empresarmos e imprescindível. Mas â€" escrever também? Quando falamos, falamos rapidamente, normalmente sim uma oportunidade a pensar muito do que estamos a dizer. Mas, quando escrevermos, podemos parar, e pensar, e ter cuidado do que queremos expressar. Isso é o que é importante. Fazes o italki World Cup Language Challenge? Quase, quase! Podemos ver a linha de terminar! Espero que tenhas desfrutado o desafio e que vais a continuar com as suas idiomas depois. Eu sei que tenho aprendido muito de português e que o tenho desfrutado muito! A prossima! Mas, antes, há uma semana e media mais em que podemos fazer mas aulas si necessitamos, revisar o que necessitamos a revisar, e desfrutar a idioma antes da tentação de uma outra quando tememos o premio de ITC… E agora que? E difícil seguir isso! Mais, acho que vou a continuar com português depois do desafio com um pouco quando posso. Isso dito, depois de Julho, tenho que concentrar só em francês porque e “importante” que obtenha uma boa nota mais ódio estudar academicamente e não posso esperar ate que possa aprender as idiomas sim as restrições outra vez! Just a little something to keep my Portuguese brain ticking over! How are you getting on with the italki World Cup Language Challenge? Not long left now! Let’s do this!

Kia Motors America and Advertising Age Announce Competition for Creative Minds

Kia Motors America and Advertising Age Announce Competition for Creative Minds via Pexels.com Entries will be accepted at  www.kiasdrivingcreativity.com  through September 30, 2018, after which six finalists will be chosen. These finalists will have their work featured on AdAge.com, where the grand prize winner will then be chosen by Ad Ages online audience. Voting will take place between October 15th and December 3rd. The grand prize winner will be announced on December 10th. At Kia, we are fueled by youth and design influences every aspect of the vehicles we produce. Styled and engineered by legends in the automotive industry, the Stinger brims with power, passion and performance and proves that Kia is different by design,” said Saad Chehab, vice president, marketing communications, Kia Motors America. “We are thrilled to share our passion for design and cultivate the innovators and stars of tomorrow.” Partnering with Advertising Age was a smart move by Kia. With their growing audience, Advertising Age is the perfect outlet for Kias competition to reach creative minds. Ad Age is a global media brand, where award-winning journalists publish stories focusing on creativity, innovation, people, and culture. As a trusted news source, Ad Ages online audience continues to grow, giving Kia Motors America the perfect platform for their creativity competition. “Our business celebrates youthful challengers, and we are proud to partner with Kia to help showcase the talents of the next generation of creative disruptors who can change the way we find meaning in marketing,” said Josh Golden, president and publisher, Ad Age. Kia Motors America has been recognized as one of the 100 Best Global Brans by Interbrand, and is also the official partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). With over 800 dealers in the United States, Kia Motors is proud to produce their cars in West Point, Georgia.

Using Google to Become a Graphic Designer

Using Google to Become a Graphic Designer Photo by Young Design via Flickr.com With everything in life, learning Photoshop will take practice; practice makes permanence. All you need to get started in a good Internet connection, Adobe Photoshop, and Google. As a student, you can buy it at a highly discounted rate through the educational package. All you have to do is send them a photo of your student identification and the discount will be automatically applied. There are thousands if not millions of Photoshop tutorials online and they can each teach you something new. Photoshop has hundreds of features that even the most experienced graphic designer does not know about. The more tricks you learn, the more you can do. To get started, think of something you want to do and type it into the Google search box followed by “Photoshop tutorial” and search it. For example, type in “background blur Photoshop tutorial” and this comes up:  http://www.digiretus.com/tippek/cikkiro.php?SORSZAM=11 And you get step-by-step photo directions on how to blur the background a photo.   To learn how to create vectors, you can type in “vector Photoshop tutorial” and this comes up:  http://www.melissaevans.com/tutorials/vector-art-with-photoshop After trying about 10 tutorials, combine your skills and produce something from scratch. You will be amazed to see what you are capable of now! Yes, the Internet is a powerful tool that will save you a bunch of money in classes. You can learn much more than Photoshop on the Internet. You can learn how to cook, bake, decorate, dress, do your hair/makeup, jewelry, and even learn a new language. It’s all at your reach, don’t let all your resources go to waste: use them to enhance yourself.

How to Play a Game For Learning English Vocabulary

How to Play a Game For Learning English VocabularyLearning how to play a game for learning English vocabulary is easy and fun. This could be a great idea if you've got kids or if you are an adult who wants to learn English without studying. The language game is fun because you'll have so much fun speaking the language that you'll never forget it.You can play an English game as long as you like. There are many of them available online and at bookstores. They are fun to play and can help you with your English. In fact, they're even fun to watch!The first thing you'll need to know about the game is that you don't really need to learn anything. You can enjoy the game and still have fun. You'll need to determine what kind of game you want to play and how many times you want to play.Another thing you need to decide on is how fast you want to play the game. You don't want to play the game too quickly or too slowly because you could lose concentration and lose focus. If you're not sure about how fast you want to play, start slow.There are many vocabulary games online. Make sure you do a little research to find out which one you like the best. Many people have positive reviews on their favorite websites and this is the reason why they like them so much.In order to play a game for learning English vocabulary, you'll need to download the game onto your computer. This is easy to do. You just have to click on the icon and it's ready to play.Another way to play a game for learning English vocabulary is by purchasing one at your local bookstore. Many people like these because you can listen to them while you're eating. You might even get an eBook that has a series of vocabulary games in them that will help you improve your vocabulary faster.

The Organic Chemistry Tutor - The Newest Game in Town

The Organic Chemistry Tutor - The Newest Game in TownThe Organic Chemistry Tutor has come a long way in less than a year. The Organic Chemistry tutors at this site have been helping many college students around the country to improve their grades and to enhance their resume. The Organic Chemistry tutor wavelength in particular, has become one of the best-known and most popular tutoring sites on the web.The Organic Chemistry Tutor employs new methods and techniques to help organic chemistry students achieve better grades. They have a great vision, and are constantly seeking ways to better serve students. Not only is the Organic Chemistry Tutor wavelength user friendly but it has been able to offer all kinds of materials for better testing and practice. There are also a number of other benefits that come with an Organic Chemistry Tutor wavelength.The Organic Chemistry Tutor has been designed by a former teacher with years of experience in teaching science and related subjects. It emplo ys a lot of modern and cutting edge teaching practices. The system, which includes the a.i. and b.i.e.I. methods, is set up in such a way that it is easy to read and understand.The Organic Chemistry Tutor offers many learning activities such as quizzes, labs, assignments, quizzes, examinations, reading guides, and several test preparation activities. For those who do not like to read or study, there are written materials like books, electronic guides, video lectures, audio tutorials, and peer review forum. The Organic Chemistry Tutor is not just for college students, but is available for students at all levels. Students can also use the materials of the website for regular testing.The Organic Chemistry Tutor has one of the most unique teaching models in the world. Instead of teaching by example, the curriculum is based on a traditional professor-student format. This allows students to be more active in the classroom and to interact with their instructor and professor. It also allows students to speak up and ask questions during class and engage in discussion. Students learn how to lead discussions and presentations, and how to think through creative solutions to problems.Students can also find their resources on their website, in addition to the online materials. The Organic Chemistry Tutor encourages students to form as many group discussions as possible in order to help their teachers to develop better student activities. For each lesson, students have a self-study activity, which they can use to add additional information to their discussions, and work on taking exams.Students have several opportunities to use the Organic Chemistry Tutor wavelength, as long as they log in once a week. The features of the site are very simple to use, and there are no complicated settings that could make things harder. The Organic Chemistry Tutor is both user friendly and quick to set up, so students can get started right away.

A Day in the Life at Pomona College

A Day in the Life at Pomona College The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Krista is currently a sophomore at Pomona College. She tutors students in Algebra tutoring, Geometry tutoring, Essay Editing tutoring, and much more. Check out her review of Pomona College: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Krista: Pomona College is located in Claremont, California in Los Angeles County. The town of Claremont is a very safe environmentit is a quiet suburb in the foothills of the San Bernardino Valley. Although the town is not very lively late at night, it is conveniently located within walking distance from all parts of Pomona Colleges campus. Pomona College is one of seven private institutions that form the Claremont College Consortium, which also includes Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and Scripps College, as well as Claremont Graduate University and Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. The colleges share one campus, so you can easily walk between the campuses without a car. Many students opt for bikes or longboards, but these are not absolutely necessary. For the students who like to stay in and around Claremont, the bus system is advisable. There is an hour-long train to downtown Los Angeles, although most students who frequently visit the city or beaches prefer cars, whether their own or a rented Zipcar. First-year students may not park cars on campus. Ontario Airport is the nearest airport, about 15 minutes from campus, although Los Angeles International Airport often has a wider range of flight options. VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Krista: Professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants are always available at Pomona College. A professor teaches every class, and every professor holds weekly office hours that their students can attend for additional help or conferencing. I have attended the office hours of more than half of my professors at Pomona College, and many even required periodic meetings during the semester or when embarking on large individual papers and research tasks. A huge benefit to knowing your professors is their increased ability to write personalized letters of recommendation and their increased willingness to advise independent studies or other research projects, even over the summer. In my experience, professors also love to get meals with their students. I have dined with six or so Pomona College professors and many more administrators, too. It is always fun to have a lively conversation about the economic detriments of globalization, and then walk to lunch as a class. Academic advisers are first chosen for the student, but you may seek a new academic adviser at any time. My adviser, a professor of history, is always willing to meet, and we meet two to four times a semester. Not every time is for business: I have gone out to watch a soccer match with my adviser, and on another occasion, she treated all of her advisees to Thai food. In general, teaching assistants (TAs) will hold their own office hours. Sometimes, instead of TAs, Pomona College professors have mentors or writing fellows as their assistants. In any case, I never had trouble meeting with them, and they were frequently in contact with the professor on behalf of all of the students. VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Krista: At Pomona College, somewhere around 97% of students choose to live in on-campus housing all four years. Student housing is required as a freshman, and there are six possible freshman dorms. One unique feature of Pomona College residential life is the sponsor program, where housing forms are used to determine groups of individuals and two upperclassmen who will all live on the same floor of a dorm. All dorms are co-educational, and there are options for living in singles or in doubles. I got along well with my first-year roommate and became friends with many people in my dorm, despite initially knowing no one. All of the dorms are located on campus, with most underclassmen on South Campus and most upperclassmen on North Campus. Resident Assistants (RAs), sponsors, and a few sophomores live in the freshmen dorms, as well. On-campus housing is guaranteed all four years, and it tends to get better as the student progresses. Campus is really the focus of all socialization opportunities. At a school where almost every student lives on campus, almost everyone eats on campus too. Most students are on the dining plans that are shared across the five undergraduate Claremont Colleges (5Cs). This provides access to all eight dining halls, three of which are located at Pomona College, and a number of student-run stores and cafs. Dining is good by college standards, and plans are underway to make it even better in years to come. In addition to dining, most of the social life happens on campus, among all of the different schools. Generally, weekend events are open to the approximately 5,000 students that live at the Consortium, making Pomona College feel like less of a small school in terms of social life, even though the personalized academics prove otherwise. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Krista: I am currently an undeclared major, which Pomona College actually encourages! The community believes in learning for the sake of learning, and I have been encouraged to explore many different interests instead of jumping into a major straight out of high school. I am focusing on social sciences, although I have taken courses in the humanities, the arts, and the applied sciences. There are loosely defined breadth of study requirements that aim to enroll students in a variety of different disciplines. That said, many students come to Pomona College to study pre-medicine, and biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and neuroscience are some of the more popular fields. The social sciences, particularly economics, politics, and international relations, also get a lot of attention at Pomona College. The Cognitive Science and Linguistics department, which has connections to the Psychology and Computer Science departments, has been of great personal interest, as well. Even though many Pomona College students graduate with degrees in the hard and soft sciences, the most popular career field of alum is education. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Krista: By the end of freshman year, I already felt close to my classmates and had made many solid friendships. My own reluctance to turn my focus away from friends back home did cause me a few months of struggle, but even at that time, I was making connections to people. The community at Pomona College, and the people I have found there, are the most important thing that I take from my college experience. Greek life is limited to three local fraternities (one of which is co-ed) that do not have their own houses, but that do hold public parties in reserved on-campus spaces. Unlike many Greek parties, Pomona College parties have security officers and are less about the organization hosting the event than the event itself. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Krista: The Career Center has many post-graduate opportunities, but they also love to help students get involved in (paid) internships and (paid) research while students are still in school! Ask about SURP and PCIP for more information. Pomona College is definitely a big name for employers, especially in the California area, and I knew people who recently graduated that had already secured jobs with companies like Apple. A lot of students also choose graduate school instead of going directly to work, and Pomona College has very high acceptance rates if that is in your future plans. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Krista: There are always buildings to study in. If you do not want to study in your dorm room or in your halls study lounge or the dorms lounge, the library (shared by all seven colleges) has a busy caf area. Each floor gets increasingly quieter as you move up the stairs. There are several buildings open all night long (with free coffee!), and the student union in the Smith Campus Center has a fireside lounge where many students like to study. Of course, in sunny California, it is a personal favorite to study out on the lawn, because then you can be more productive by working on your tan while you work on your linear algebra problem sets. On the rare occasion that it is not sunny, there are plenty of cafs in nearby Claremont that will welcome you with open arms. Finally, many students prefer to study in various lounges that are the safe spaces of campus, whether that be the Womens Union, the Office of Black Student Affairs, the Students of Color Association, the Chicano/Latino Studen t Association, the Writing Center, the Foreign Language Resource Center, or any of the other student spaces on campus. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Krista: The town of Claremont does not have tons to do in terms of entertainment, but there are many cafs, restaurants, and bars. Claremont has a village center that attracts visitors from the nearby areas, and there is a movie theater. Many Claremont students go to the Village for Starbucks or frozen yogurt. All of this is within walking distance of the school. For concerts and sporting events that are not directly related to Pomona College students, Los Angeles is the place to go, and Anaheim/Irvine in Orange County also offer lots to do. California has many outdoor opportunities, including surfing, skiing, and hiking. Many of these require a car, however, but the school does have an Outdoor Education Center that provides gear and sometimes vehicles. Most students do go to the downtown area, but not very frequently. I went a couple times a month to Los Angeles, and even to San Diego and the Bay Area, but a lot of people only went to Los Angeles once per semester. The malls in Montc lair (the next town) or Ontario are both within a short bus ride of campus. Arguably, most students stay on campus most of the time. There is a big culture of involvement that includes weekend activities, and many students cannot afford the time away from campus or simply do not feel the need when there is so much going on in Claremont every day. Yet with a car, or with fewer weekend commitments, or perhaps no classes on Fridays, it becomes much easier to explore Southern California and to get off campus. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Krista: The student body is on the small side, with about 380-450 students in each class, and a total school size of 1,600 students. This may look small, but it is an incredible academic resource because class sizes are usually around 15 students. My largest class was an introductory chemistry lecture of 42 students, but most of my classes have been under 20 students. Small classes are always beneficial. You get more of the professors attention, and you are forced to participate, which leads to greater intellectual investment and growth. Cross-enrollment at all of the 5Cs is allowed, and those classes will be similarly small. The small overall student body also means that each person gets more involved in many clubs and organizations, and that the community is very tight knit because it is actually possible to meet everyone in your graduating class. Although I was personally disappointed in the lack of a major Division One football team to cheer for (Pomona College students have more reserved school pride than crazy school spirit), so far that is the only downside of attending a small school, and I made up for that by rooting for nearby teams. The social scene does not feel too small by any means: having four other undergraduate schools on the same campus means that there is always a larger pool of people to meet and socialize with, at least for the first couple of years on campus. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Krista: I loved my Introduction to Drawing class, the first formal art class I ever took. Not only did my professor, Mercedes, make us switch seats every day so we would not get too comfortable, she also had us actively toilet paper the classroom so we could draw the long, flowing lines of toilet paper during one class. She also read aloud to us while we drew on another occasion. Check out Kristas tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.