Archive for the ‘College Life’ Category

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Learn How to Survive College, It Can Be Done!

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

Are you worried about surviving college?  You shouldn’t lose sleep feeling that you are somehow unusual for feeling this way.  Most people are worried about making the transition to college, especially if they are going away to school.  No matter what your relationship is with your family or what you think your relationship may be, the fact is that you know what to expect from your home life.  College, on the other hand, marks the transition into the unknown.

You can learn how to survive college, and the first step in the process is to realize that your college life experience will be different from high school.  This is true whether you go away to school or continue to live at home.

Your first survival tip is to realize that you are on your own. This means that no one will force you to study.  Many colleges and universities, particularly state schools, have high flunk out rates.  Now you can’t exactly learn how to survive college if you flunk out, can you?

Getting good grades is, of course, all about studying, but it is also about realizing that as a freshman in college you have to show that you have the discipline to get your work done on your own.  In short, one of the single biggest hurdles for learning how to survive college is to realize that you have to study and that it is up to you to make sure that it happens.

Surviving College Dorm Life

College dorm life can be complicated as well.  You should be open and ready to make new friends.  Yet, you have to realize that there is nothing magical about your college dorm life.  Regardless of what you’ve seen in the media, college dorm life is just like the real world.  There are good people, bad people, indifferent people and everything in between.  This means that the same logic and caution that you’ve used in the real world to date still applies in college.

You shouldn’t show up to college and think, “Wow, I am in college now I can trust everyone.”  That is a recipe for disaster.  You might get lucky, but you will be tempting fate.  A big part of learning how to survive college is keeping your brain turned on and making good decisions.  It is possible to still have a great time!

Financial Aid for College Tuition

Worrying about grades may seem like a full-time job, but you may also have no choice but to worry about other things.  One of the factors that you shouldn’t lose sight of is financial aid for college tuition.  If you can’t pay for college, then you certainly won’t be “surviving” college, as you won’t be there.  This means that you will have to keep an eye on tuition related issues.  College tuition is going up, and it is going up very rapidly.  A good part of surviving college is finding a way to keep your student loans under control so that you are not repaying these loans when you are 75 years old.

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Posted in College Life, College Search, Paying for College | No Comments »

Time Management at College

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

Yes, there is an easy way to make college much more difficult and lower your grades.  Poor time management is a killer, and you want to avoid it if possible.  All the time you invested in test prep tutoring, studying for the SAT, and researching financial aid for college will seem pointless if you flunk out.

Many schools like having a high flunk out rate.  You won’t hear this fact mentioned very often, but for a variety of reasons its true.  Otherwise they would enact measures to lower the rate.  In fact, a high freshman flunk out rate is often worn by a school as a badge of honor that indicates the “toughness” of their given institution.  Yet, the fact of the matter is that there are a lot of factors that go into a high flunk out rate, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that the institution is that tough.  The point is that you do need to be aware of this factor and adjust accordingly.

Using your time correctly when in college is extremely important.  If you are partying constantly and still passing your classes, then you’ve learned something valuable.  If this is the case, either you’ve picked a major that is far too easy for you or perhaps you should pick up a second major.  Perhaps you even need to think about transferring to a different college or university altogether if the classes are that easy!

Try and remember that someone is paying for your college education.  If that someone is you, well, you want to get the most out of your money, don’t you?  Keep in mind that you may be paying off your college loans for an extremely long time.

How do you make the most out of your time in college?  Believe it or not, you already have many of skills that you need to manage your time properly.  In high school you probably had to balance your time between school, homework, extracurricular activities, home responsibilities and fun.  So you already have some idea of what you should be doing in terms of time management.  Don’t forget those lessons.

Time management in college is different, however.  In part, this is due to the fact that you have less oversight than you did in high school or in other words, “you are on your own.”  Further, if you go away to school, that means that you won’t have your parents watching over your shoulder to make sure that you get your work done.

All of this freedom may feel great, and you might get pulled into all the potential fun of college dorm life.  Just remember that you do need to correctly balance your time.  Consider creating a schedule and sticking to it.  This is one way to make sure that you don’t become a flunk out statistic for someone to brag about at a cocktail party!

By organizing your time carefully and thinking through what you need to do each day you will give yourself an edge.  Managing you time is easier than it sounds, and it takes less time than you might suspect.  However, it bears repeating that most of the hard work of college is setting aside the time to do the work in the first place.

Posted in College Life, Preparing for College | No Comments »

How to Eat Healthy While at College

Thursday, January 5th, 2012

Hopefully, you have already given some thought to how to eat healthy at college.  This issue is more important than it might seem for a wide variety of reasons.  At the top of the list is that dreaded and quite real, “Freshman Fifteen.”  If you were thinking that the Freshman Fifteen was some kind of myth, think again, because it is quite real.  Often being away from home for the first time goes hand in hand with poor food choices.  Let’s see how you can keep the Freshman Fifteen from becoming a problem for you.

Beware of Fast Food

The first step you should take is to make sure that you have adopted healthy food choices before you go to college.  In this way, you will know what you should be eating.  Not all food is equally good for you, and that means that there are many foods that you should avoid.  Processed food and junk food should be off your food list, but this could present a problem.

Unfortunately, it is a very sad commentary on the higher education system in general that unhealthy food choices are literally everywhere.  For example, these days, fast food restaurants, are not just near college and university campuses, but have been placed in central areas at many universities.  This change most definitely has played a role in increasing waistlines and the global obesity epidemic.

Why is it such a “big deal” that there are fast food establishments on your college campus?  For starters, it makes it very difficult for students to eat a healthy meal.  After all, if you’re not accustomed to preparing your own meals, you might be extremely tempted to “grab something,” and odds are you will use nearby options.  Fast food is also cheap as well, and you might not have a great deal of money at your disposal.  Third, if you are pressed for time, you are much more likely to take advantage of whatever options are available.

What Can You Do to Eat Healthy Food at College?

You’ve put a lot of time into test prep tutoring and thinking about how to survive college, and the last thing you want to do is ruin your health when you arrive at college.  So what should you do?  Here are a few ways to eat healthy and avoid the Freshman Fifteen.

Five Eating Healthy Tips

  1. Look for healthy options at your school, as they may exist.  Taking the time to know what they are could pay off.
  2. Don’t assume that food that “looks” healthy is indeed healthy no matter where it comes from.  This means asking for nutritional information.
  3. Prepare your own food.  This way you know what you are eating!
  4. Preferably before you go to college, know what healthy food options are out there, and learn to prepare some healthy meals of your own.  You may think that you have “better things to do,” but eating good food will help you feel better, look better, sleep better and maybe even perform better while in college.
  5. Use your food budget wisely.  This means be a smart shopper and look for deals.

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The 5 Pros And Cons of Study Groups

Monday, December 26th, 2011

Forming a study group for the SAT has some big pros, but it also has a few cons as well.  SAT preparation can be complicated and it’s a major step in your life.  Pretending that it isn’t a big deal might be tempting, but it really isn’t in your best interest.  If you take a “whatever” attitude towards studying for the SAT, you are doing harm to your friends as well, as you may influence their study habits and behavior.

It is vitally important that you realize with total clarity that despite what anyone ever told you, you are not competing against your classmates and friends on the SAT exam.  This kind of thinking is primitive, foolish and highly misguided.  Millions of students take the SAT exam every single year!  The thought that you are competing against your friends is silly and you shouldn’t fall for it.  If someone tells you that it’s a “dog eat dog” world and that this applies to the SAT, well, they just don’t know what they are talking about.  Remember that so many students take this test that any actual competition between you and your classmates is beyond trivial.

Once you realize that there is no real, actual competition between you and your friends and classmates, the option of cooperation opens up.  Why study alone if you have friends that are better at given subjects than you are?  By cooperating with one another, it is possible to not just break down the SAT exam, but to also pull on one another’s strengths and help with one another’s weaknesses as well.

Study Group Pros

1) Learn more as you can break down the test and study materials and split them up.
2) Pull on one another’s strengths
3) Get help with your weaknesses
4) Learn to see the test and test questions in different ways
5) Pull on collective resources, such as study guides and so on.

Study Group Cons

Unfortunately there are some cons to forming a study group for the SAT.  Let’s take a look a few of these cons.

1) There will be differing levels of seriousness among your friends.
2) There is a risk that your study sessions could deviate into socializing instead of working.
3) Not everyone will pull his or her weight equally.
4) Egos may get in the way and interfere with overall progress.
5) People may not stick with the study group long enough to get the desired results and to justify the time it took to start the group in the first place.

Whether or not you should form a SAT study group depends greatly on the quality of people that you can pull into the group.  Even if you get great people in your group, you may still find that the group dynamic doesn’t work.  In the end, you have to play this one by ear and see how it develops.  However, if your SAT study group is successful, you could really benefit a great deal.

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Posted in College Admissions, College Life, Preparing for College, SAT/ACT Test | No Comments »

3 Things to Consider During Your Campus Visit

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011

Picking a college can be complicated, and there are many steps to the process.  Find the right college and your college experience will be far more rewarding.  All the work that you invested in researching financial aid for college tuition, pre college summer programs, college counseling services and all the rest will seem like time well spent if you find the right college.  A major part of selecting the right college should be a campus visit.

Your concepts and notions about what a college may be like could differ greatly from the reality of the situation.  Selecting a college without first visiting the campus could be a decision that you might regret.  A college might look great on paper, but when you visit in person you may find that aspects of college environment, such as college dorm life, may vary too dramatically from what you want out of your overall experience.  It is difficult to perform well when you are not happy.  This is why selecting the right college is so important to your eventual success both in college and in life.

1. Do You Feel Safe?

During your college visit, you need to take many different factors into consideration.  The first consideration is whether or not the environment is a safe one.  In this regard, it is important to look at the environment around the school and try and gather some insight into how safe the campus is and how well it is policed.  A sad reality is that many college campuses are seen by criminal elements as target areas.  Your physical safety needs to be at the top of your list.

2. Do You Like the Overall Feel of the School?

Another important factor is how comfortable you feel at a given university or college.  If you visit five colleges and one has a “weird vibe” to it, then don’t ignore that feeling.  The simple fact is that if you don’t feel comfortable, you should pick a different institution.

3. Are the People Friendly?

Whether or not people are friendly is an important issue for many students.  Every university or college comes with a different vibe, and this will radiate out through the student body as well.  So when you visit a college campus, simply sit back and try to evaluate how happy your fellow students seem.  If everyone seems miserable, you have a key piece of information.

Don’t hesitate to ask around.  You should ask a variety of students about how they feel about the college or university in general.  If most people have positive feelings, that is a great sign!

Perhaps most importantly, you should not base your entire decision on what university officials or tour guides have to tell you.  Their job is to only paint the university or college in the best possible light.  Making the best decision for you means taking in a variety of information before selecting your college of choice.

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Posted in Choosing a College, College Campus, College Life, College Search | No Comments »

Being Cautious With Your Social Networking Profile

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

The odds are that you are involved in social networking in some way or another.  There is no doubt that social networking is a revolution in communication and has a wide range of benefits.  Yet, for students looking to get into college, social networking has some issues that you need to consider.

Some colleges and universities are using the information that you post on social networking pages to determine whether or not you should attend their schools.  Now you might be tempted to think this is unfair.  However, keep this fact in mind… if you post something in a public place, well, it’s public!

There is no way you can keep a university, college or prospective employer from looking at this information.  In a perfect world, people might say, “Your facebook profile is personal, and we only care about your professional life.” But, in reality, this will not happen.  This is why you have no choice but to stop and think carefully about all the public statements that you make in public forums and social networking sites.

College admissions counseling can be a demanding field.  The admissions officers that you are working with might see like robots to you, but you need to remember that often they are worried about losing their jobs if they make a mistake.  If they admit a student who turns out to make the school look bad or cause problems, it does reflect upon them.  As a result, they have to be cautious.

Admissions officers may look at your “online life” as part of the process of determining who you are and what you are like.  This is information that was not available just a few years ago, but today it’s easy to find.  Thanks to search engines like Google, almost anyone can find such information quickly and easily.

If you know that you already have embarrassing information online, realize that you are definitely not alone.  It is important to do want you can to remove any information that may reflect badly on you.  For example, if you have a blog dedicated to how much you dislike education in all forms, you should probably get rid of that!  You get the idea.

In general, start paying closer attention to what you post online, and have a good explanation for anything silly you posted online, as you never know when you might need to explain yourself.  Finally, be proactive and work to post positive accomplishments online.  Consider starting a blog designed to promote a charity that needs your help, for example.

Just because there may be some embarrassing things about you online doesn’t mean that your dreams of getting into a great college or university are “finished.”  By investing some time in working to fix your mistakes, you can smooth over much of what you did in the past.  For most people, this process will really only take a few hours, but the results can be very positive in the long run.

You’ve likely spent a lot of time doing SAT practice tests online, looking into financial aid for college tuition and maybe even college admissions counseling.  Considering all the time you are investing, why not spend a little time thinking about your online presence?

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Posted in College Life, Preparing for College, Social Media | No Comments »

Dental Plans Cheaper Than A Semester’s Worth of Pizza

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Like most college students, you’re probably waiting until the holidays to schedule your regular doctor checkups. Winter break is slowly approaching, your parents might be pestering you about scheduling a visit to see your hometown dentist when you’re in town. You, on the other hand, probably have better things to do during your short respite from school responsibilities.

It’s no surprise you’d rather be spending time with your friends and family instead of visiting the dentist’s chair. As nice as some dentists can be, you still cringe at the thought of being subjected to the scraping, forceful flossing and general gum prodding. However, missing those regular checkups can cause dental issues like aching teeth and sensitive gums, as well as lead to an increase in serious health problems, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease and diabetes. But what should you do if it’s a lack of dental insurance, rather than fear of the dentist’s chair, that prevents you from getting a regular teeth cleaning?

Luckily, there are dental plans available for individuals and students that will let you get your pearly whites cleaned without breaking the bank. For example, DentalPlans.com lets you search for plans in your area and view savings you can expect with each plan. Rates vary depending on your area, but most individual plans are available for $100 to $150 per year — less than you’ll probably spend on pizza in a semester. Avia Dental is another company offering student dental service, with plans starting at only $8 a month.

Another alternative is to see if your college or university has its own dental school. Many times, dental schools allow students to use their dentistry services at a discounted rate. While dental patients will need to wait longer than if they were visiting a traditional dentist, the fees are greatly reduced as you’re having a dentistry student perform the services. (Don’t worry; the students are closely supervised by faculty members who are trained and board-certified dentists.)

You can also see if your college or university offers its own form of dental coverage. New York University offers dental services to university students, as well as their spouses and children, and also includes discounts for orthodontic treatments.

With all these options available for student dental services, nothing short of a crippling fear of the dentist chair should keep you from your regular cleaning. Waiting too long for dentistry services could mean even more painful restorative dentistry procedures, like root canals. So, kiss Nana hello during the holidays this year, help yourself to an extra slice of pumpkin pie and schedule your regular cleaning.

About the Author
Amy Moczynski is the marketing associate for 352 Media Group, a web development and digital marketing company.

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Posted in College Life, Guest post, Preparing for College | No Comments »

Tips For Picking Your Major

Monday, December 12th, 2011

If you are concerned that you haven’t yet decided on a college major, stop worrying.  The simple fact is that many people don’t know what their major will be when they enter college, and switching majors is very common as well.  In fact, some people switch their majors more than one time!

When you want to find the right college it is good to consider what kind of college admissions counseling is available to you as well as college counseling services, in general.  Thinking about your major is something that you will want to begin thinking about while in high school.  However, it is important not to panic if you don’t have it figured out on your first day of college.

Many experts increasingly believe that most of us will have several different careers throughout our lifetimes.  This is due to the fact that technology is forcing the workplace to change more rapidly than at any other time in history.  So the career that you pick today may not be related to the field you will be working in thirty years from now.

When it comes to deciding on a major, there are two big “pulls” that most students face.  The first is that most of us want to like our work.  After all, forty hours a week or more is a lot of time, and it certainly adds up over the course of one’s working life!  This means that having a career that you like is a big factor.

The second factor in most people’s minds is the salary that a given career offers.  Yet, there is a third factor, which frequently gets overlooked, and that is job stability.  It is important to note that job stability is something of an illusion despite what you may hear.  Again, this is due to the fact that technology is changing the workplace landscape at a rapid pace.  The idea of long-term job stability for most people, in most careers, may be a thing of the past.

Trying to balance these three factors is difficult, and students handle these issues in different ways.  No one knows you better than you know yourself.  You may have family pushing you towards a major that does not interest you.  Don’t worry, as this is very common.  Usually this is an issue of your parents and relatives wanting you to have financial stability in your life.  Regardless of their motives, if you are positive that you will hate a given career path, you do need to strongly consider other options.  In order to be successful in a career, or even make it out of college with a degree in hand, you must be able to tolerate the major you select.

Another issue to consider is the connection between mind and body.  Our emotions do, in fact, impact our physical health due to the release of stress hormones and other factors.  Thus, if you truly hate a given career path, it could impact your health, and nothing is more important than your health.

Ultimately, you want to find a major that will lead to a career that will both make you happy and allow you to earn the kind of money you want to earn.  This isn’t always easy and it’s a good reason to invest some time into contemplation as well.  You can also ask for advice during college admissions counseling.  Many students realize that when they get to college that their concept of what a major would be like isn’t always reflected in the coursework itself.  Being adaptable and flexible is a key part to knowing how to survive college.

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Posted in Choosing a Major, College Admissions, College Life, Preparing for College | 1 Comment »

Making the Mental Transition from High School to College

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

High school and college are not the same thing.  Whether you continue to live at home during college or move to another state (or even another country!), college is still different in a wide range of ways.  You’ve probably put a lot of work into getting ready for the SAT; perhaps you have taken test prep tutoring or maybe even pre college summer programs.  Taking these steps is definitely smart especially if you are looking for financial aid and grants.  Yet, it is also very important that you realize and make plans for the fact that high school and college are radically different.  Having the proper mental outlook will serve to make your transition from high school to college a smoother one.

Living On Your Own

Regardless of whether or not you are living at home or go away for college, in a very real sense, you will be on your own.  In high school, you may have had a degree of assistance in how you were performing.  Your teachers, parents and guidance counselors were all keeping an eye on whether or not you were “on track” or were having problems.  College comes with a newfound level of freedom, but that also means a degree of responsibility.  College professors don’t care if you pass their class or not.  In high school, you may have had teachers that wanted to pass you and wanted to see that you had good grades.  But don’t expect this to happen in college!  In college, you are expected to be an adult and look after yourself.

Another aspect of this new freedom is that you may not have the adult or parental supervision that you once enjoyed.  This can lead to all sorts of decisions that you might not otherwise have made in the past.  Understanding that you are entering a new phase of your life and mentally taking steps to keep your “wits” about you is something you need to do in advance.

You Will Likely Be Studying More

Every college experience is different, but one common discovery among college freshmen is that there is more work involved.  The odds are excellent that you will be studying more hours in order to get good grades.  You may have found that you were able to get through high school with a modest level of work, but in college this may not be the case.  This means that you might not have as much free time as you once enjoyed.  However, over time, you will learn new time management skills, which will help take some of the stress out of your college workload.

Being mentally prepared for a new situation can be difficult, but working to prepare yourself ahead of time can serve to reduce the stress level.  Every new situation comes with a degree of stress, fear and confusion, but taking the time to simply acknowledge and realize that college will be different from high school is one of the best steps you can take to ensure a smoother transition.

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Posted in College Life, Preparing for College | 2 Comments »

5 College Essentials You May Have Forgotten

Thursday, November 24th, 2011

It’s likely that a few months into your first semester, your newly independent (but financially dependent) self will have to make that call home explaining how you forgot the necessities that weren’t on the “college necessities” list your mom started slaving over months before sending you off. Who would have thought when you loaded the car with the essential college gear — from new bed sheets and plush mattress toppers to warehouse-sized shampoos and conditioners — you would still have to make that pleading call home asking for more “essential items” you need to live?

Being a college student, I found myself making the exact same call to my parents a couple of months into my first semester. So here are the top 5 items that are necessities, but are not often thought of, when you’re getting ready for the next 4 years of your life.

Mini toolkit
Toolkits seem to be attached to men’s sides, but if you’re a woman, it may not be the first thing on your mind to pack. My dad brought up his tool kit to help me decorate the ugly white walls of my dorm room in an effort to make it more “homey,” but he ended up taking it back home when he left. Chances are you’re going to want to hang up something more than just taping a poster on your wall. This Apollo 39 pink toolkit from Target is the perfect aid to spice up your drab room. Don’t worry: They do come in different colors.

Rubber sandals
If you are living in a dorm with community showers, rubber sandals are a great and cheap way to keep your feet clean while cleaning the rest of their body. Havaianas sandals are comfortable, fairly priced and come in a college series if you want to show your school pride while you shower

Scooters
While a bike is a cheaper alternative than scooters, if you’re living off campus or at a school with lots of hills, riding a bike will actually take longer than walking. Bikes are also the number one stolen item on college campuses. Scooters are a great way for you to easily get around campus and run errands, like go to the gym or the grocery store. Road Rat Motors has a great selection of gas and motor scooters in different colors. They’re also store your scooter for your during winter break or summer when you’re not on campus. While they’re not stolen as often as bikes, it’s still a good idea to invest in a padlock chain system that can’t be cut through. Good insurance is also a must.

Mini Fridge
Even if you have a meal plan, having dorm snacks are a must. You’ll be working up an appetite in the late hours of the night, sometimes, you don’t feel like (nor is it safe) to walk all the way to your car or scooter parked at the freshman lot. Walmart will have the best prices ranging from $69.99 and up, depending on what size and compartments (freezer/fridge combo) you’re looking for. You can also check Craigslist for used ones, as former students who lived in dorms will be looking to part ways with theirs.

Skype Premium
If you get homesick for family and friends or are living too far for a quick trip home on the weekends, Skype Premium is a great investment for live group chat.  You can call and video chat with four of your friends who are in different schools at once or talk to grandparents and parents at the same time. Subscriptions can run by the month, by three months or a whole year.

About The Author
Kelsey Bohannan is a freelance writer who writes for the 352 Media Group, a digital marketing and web design company.

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Posted in College Life, Guest post, Preparing for College | 2 Comments »

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