The Heywood Academies blog.
Practical guides on studying smarter, choosing the right courses, and getting through the toughest classes at Camosun and UVic.
From the blog.
Study guides, curriculum breakdowns, and stories from the Heywood Academies team.
Free Academic Help at UVic: A Student's Guide (Beyond Just Google)
August 31, 2026Here's the pattern we see every term. A UVic student comes to us in week 9, already behind in a course, holding a midterm they'd rather not discuss.
Should You Take Pre-Calculus 12 in Summer School? An Honest Guide for Greater Victoria Students
August 24, 2026Why summer Pre-Calculus 12 in a self-paced distributed learning course backfires for so many students, who it actually suits, and how to build in the deadlines...
What to Do When You Fail a Midterm: A Recovery Guide from a Tutor in Victoria
August 17, 2026A Victoria tutor's guide to recovering from a failed midterm at UVic or Camosun: how to work out if passing is still realistic, when to talk to your professor,...
How to Actually Study for a BC High School Science Exam (Not Just Read Your Notes)
August 9, 2026A step-by-step method for studying BC science exams using spaced review, active recall, and timed practice questions, instead of just rereading notes the night...
How Camosun and UVic Students Can Get Tutoring Funded Through StudentAid BC
July 31, 2026A step-by-step guide to funding tutoring through StudentAid BC disability programs, covering the CSG-DSE grant of up to $20,000 per loan year, the APSD top-up,...
BC vs. Alberta Curriculum: A Math and Science Guide for Families Switching Provinces
July 31, 2026A comparison of BC and Alberta's math and science curricula for families relocating between the provinces, covering the Pre-Calculus versus Foundations split,...
Learning Centre or Private Tutor in Victoria: How to Choose the Right Fit
July 27, 2026A breakdown of when a math learning centre like Mathnasium fits a student better than one-on-one tutoring, and when a private tutor is the stronger choice for...
I Was Interviewed by Nexus, Camosun College's Student Newspaper
July 23, 2026Founder Matt Heywood talks with Camosun College's Nexus newspaper about failing his first calculus test, sending 37 co-op applications before landing a...
UVic Statistics Help: STAT 255, STAT 252, and Camosun Stats Guide
July 20, 2026A guide to why UVic STAT 255, 252, 260 and Camosun STAT 116, 216 trip students up at the shift from descriptive to inferential statistics, and how to study by...
How to Study Biology 11 and 12 in BC: A Victoria Biology Tutor's Guide
July 13, 2026A Victoria biology tutor breaks down what Life Sciences 11 and Anatomy and Physiology 12 actually cover, the mistakes students make in cell biology, genetics,...
Heywood Academies Featured on UVic's Work It Career Podcast
July 2, 2026Founder Matt Heywood joins UVic's Work It podcast to talk about switching from mechanical engineering into tutoring, his four co-op terms, and how a failing...
How to Survive ENGR 141 at UVic: A Practical Guide to Engineering Mechanics
June 30, 2026A practical guide to UVic's ENGR 141 statics course, covering why the free body diagram is the real challenge, how the topics build on each other, and the study...
MATH 110 vs MATH 211 at UVic: Which Linear Algebra Course Is Actually Harder?
June 26, 2026A breakdown of the real difference between UVic's MATH 110 and MATH 211, why spans, bases, and subspaces trip up so many students, and the free 3Blue1Brown video...
From Engineer to Educator: My Conversation on the LearnWell Podcast
June 23, 2026Matt Heywood recaps his appearance on the LearnWell podcast, covering his path from mechanical engineering into tutoring and the lessons behind how Heywood...
Should Your Child Get a Math or Science Tutor This Summer?
June 16, 2026Why summer is the best window to close math and science gaps before September, which BC courses benefit most from a head start, and how many tutoring sessions...
The Real Reason You're Struggling with Physics 11 and 12 in BC
June 8, 2026Most students who struggle in BC Physics 11 and 12 are actually struggling with the underlying math. Covers diagrams, unit tracking, the hardest units in each...
Is University Calculus Hard? What UVic Students Need to Know
June 2, 2026What makes Math 100, 101, 200, and 204 at UVic different from high school calculus, why the professor you get matters, and the study habits that actually help...
Why Most Students Fail High School Chemistry in BC (And How to Fix It)
May 25, 2026Why BC Chemistry 11 and 12 trip up so many students, the specific topics that cause the most trouble in each course, and why passive review doesn't prepare you...
How to Pass PHYS 110 and 111 at UVic: A Practical Study Guide
May 20, 2026A practical guide to UVic's toughest first-year physics courses, covering the weekly lockout structure, building a formula sheet as you go, and how to practice...
How to Study for Precalc 12 in BC: A Student's Guide
May 14, 2026A study guide for BC's Pre-Calculus 12 course, showing why passive review fails, how to build an error log from wrong answers, and when it makes sense to bring...
My Favorite Resources for Solid Mechanics
May 8, 2025A curated list of the best free tools for Solid Mechanics, including MecMovies, Engineer4Free tutorials, a SkyCiv beam calculator, and YouTube playlists for...
My Favorite Resources for High School Chemistry
April 2, 2025A roundup of favorite free resources for BC Chemistry 11 and 12, including a YouTube playlist, the Ptable interactive periodic table, and notes from two BC...
My Favorite Resources for High School Math
March 4, 2025A list of favorite free tools for high school math, algebra, and precalculus, including Desmos, Symbolab, Paul's Online Math Notes, and a BC teacher's...
My Top 5 Dynamics Resources for Engineering Students
February 5, 2025Matt shares his five go-to dynamics resources for engineering students, including YouTube problem-solving playlists, a free Portland State textbook, and the...
My Favorite Thermodynamics Resources for Engineering Students
January 7, 2025A roundup of favorite thermodynamics study resources for mechanical engineering students, from a 100-video YouTube playlist to an MIT OpenCourseWare course and...
My Favorite Resources for Engineering Statics
December 8, 2024Matt rounds up his favorite statics resources for college and university students, including YouTube playlists, free online textbooks ranging from easy to...
My Top 5 Places to Find Linear Algebra Resources
October 12, 2024Five places to find linear algebra help for Camosun and university students, including local teachers' course sites, top YouTube channels, free online textbooks,...
My Top 6 Places to Find Calculus Resources
June 9, 2024Six favorite calculus resources for high school, college, and university students, from a Camosun teacher's course notes to Paul's Online Math Notes, YouTube...
My Top 6 Places to Find Physics Resources
May 23, 2024A curated roundup of the best free and paid physics resources for BC high school, college, and university students, from YouTube playlists and OpenStax textbooks...
My Top 4 Tips for Studying STEM Courses
May 10, 2024Four practical study strategies for math, science, and engineering courses: solving real problems instead of just reviewing notes, picking the right practice...
My Top 6 Tips To Get Better Grades As An Engineering Student
May 2, 2024Six habits behind stronger engineering grades: effective scheduling, putting in real study hours, studying the right way, prioritizing sleep, taking care of your...
My Top 6 Tips for Managing Your Time as an Engineering Student
March 1, 2023A detailed time management guide for engineering students covering schedule building, task prioritization, to-do lists, beating procrastination, strategic...
The Best Way to Schedule Your Time at School
August 14, 2022A step-by-step walkthrough of how to build a full weekly schedule as an engineering student, from classes and commute to sleep, chores, extracurriculars, and...
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