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September is National College Savings Month, ScholarShare to Award 20 $500 529 Accounts During the Month of September

PR15:28
9/1/15

Contact: Drew Mendelson
916-653-2995

ScholarShare
916-651-6380

SACRAMENTO –ScholarShare, California’s 529 college savings plan, is celebrating National College Savings Month with a College Savings Pledge. Starting today, Tuesday, Sept. 1 through Friday, Sept. 25, Californians who take the pledge will enter for the chance to win one of 20 ScholarShare 529 accounts each in the amount of $500 for their child or loved one. The pledge is aimed at encouraging young children to aspire to go to college – whether that is a community college, four-year university or trade school – and educating parents and guardians about the importance of saving for college and the benefits of California’s 529 plan.

“The great equalizer between the haves and have nots has always been education. However, stagnant wage growth coupled with an explosion in college tuition has pushed that education out of the reach of many California families. Early, steady savings are among the best ways to restore the affordability of a college degree. Parents can open a ScholarShare 529 account with as little as $25 and make a college education – and its many benefits – a real and affordable opportunity for their children,” California State Treasurer John Chiang said.

Now through Friday, Sept. 25, eligible Californians can take the College Savings Pledge at www.CollegeSavingsPledge.com. Twenty winners will be awarded a $500 contribution to a new or existing ScholarShare 529 account, for a California student between the ages of 3 and 14. The teachers of the designated beneficiaries will also receive a $500 Visa gift card, to help support their efforts in inspiring children to dream big and go to college. Additional details about the College Savings Pledge, including the Official Rules, can be found at www.CollegeSavingsPledge.com.

The ScholarShare College Savings Plan is California’s state-sponsored 529 college savings plan, and was recently ranked second in the top direct-sold 529 plans for three-year performance by www.SavingForCollege.com. Since its inception in 1999, ScholarShare has grown to more than 266,000 open accounts with over $6.4 billion in total plan assets. In 2014, ScholarShare helped California families meet their higher education needs, with nearly $300 million withdrawn by families to pay for qualified higher education expenses.

ScholarShare offers a diverse set of investment options, and provides tax-deferred growth and withdrawals free from state and federal taxes when the funds are used for qualified higher education expenses, such as tuition and fees, books or even certain room and board costs. Any U.S. citizen, or resident alien with a valid Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number, can open a new account, for as little as $25. Through ScholarShare’s “Give a Gift” option, parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends can open a new account as a gift or make a gift contribution to an existing account. ScholarShare has no annual account maintenance fee, no income limit and offers a high maximum account balance limit.

To learn more about California’s 529 plan, please visit www.ScholarShare.com.

About the ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan:

ScholarShare accounts may be opened with as little as $25. ScholarShare has no annual account maintenance fee, no income limit and offers a high maximum account balance. Established in 1999, ScholarShare currently holds more than $6.4 billion in assets in more than 266,000 accounts as of 8/14/15. To sign up for an account or for more information about the plan, visitwww.scholarshare.com. For information about the ScholarShare Investment Board (SIB), visit www.treasurer.ca.gov/scholarshare. Like ScholarShare on Facebook at www.facebook.com/scholarshare529 and follow us on Twitter at @ScholarShare529.

Named for the section of the IRS code under which they were created, 529 plans offer valuable tax advantages. Contributions are made with money that has already been taxed. Once funds are placed in the account, investment earnings, if any, are not federally or state taxed, if withdrawn to pay for qualified higher education costs.

Consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing in the ScholarShare 529 College Savings Plan. Please visit www.scholarshare.com for a Program Disclosure Booklet containing this and other information. Read it carefully.

Before investing in a 529 plan, you should consider whether the state you or your Beneficiary reside in or have taxable income in has a 529 plan that offers favorable state income tax or other benefits that are only available if you invest in that state’s 529 plan.

The tax information contained herein is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, by any taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties. Taxpayers should seek advice based on their own particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor. Nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal and state taxes and the additional federal 10% tax. Non-qualified withdrawals may also be subject to an additional 2.5% California tax on earnings.

Investments in the Program are neither insured nor guaranteed and there is the risk of investment loss.

Angela Chen is the new Director for Pre-Health Dreamers, and she is recruiting students to apply to the Health Professions Advancement Program (HPAP). The program provides mentoring and financial support to undocumented individuals, who reside in California, apply to graduate programs in health and science fields (including professional schools).

The program starts with a retreat set for September 18-20 and we are currently recruiting applicants.

The application deadline is next Wednesday, August 5th at 11:59pm PST.

Specifically, program participants of HPAP will receive the following key benefits:
3-day Retreat in Northern California (cost of attendance and transportation paid for by PHD).
—Financial assistance to apply to graduate school for the entering class of 2016, up to $3,000.
—Peer-support and mentorship during the application cycle.

—Advocacy training to promote health care for undocumented community members in California.

http://www.phdreamers.org/hpap/apply/

Details and links below:

http://www.womensfoundca.org/wpi

We’re accepting applications for the 2015–2016 Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) fellowship. Applications are due no later than Thursday, July 23, 2015 by 5:00 PM Pacific Time. Learn more >>

More effective than a single lobby group, the Women’s Policy Institute amplifies the voices of women who are leading grassroots social justice work, training them on how legislation is made and connecting them to those in power.

Through the Women’s Policy Institute, a yearlong program of training retreats in Sacramento, we teach women activists and grassroots organizations how to successfully navigate the labyrinth of Sacramento.

During the program, women work in teams to develop and implement specific policy advocacy projects of their choosing with a mentor who is experienced in public policy work. The Women’s Policy Institute has yielded tremendous success. In the first nine years, fellows have contributed significantly to the passage of twenty new laws in the areas of women’s health, safety and economic prosperity. And we’ve only just begun.

- See more at: http://www.womensfoundca.org/wpi#sthash.11TyxPZZ.dpuf

SUMMER INTERNSHIP
The Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (APAPA) is a national non-profit, non-partisan and grassroots organization founded in 2001. APAPA was established with the primary mission of empowering Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Americans in civic and public affairs through education, active participation, and leadership development. APAPA developed voter registration events, internships, scholarships, voter education forums, leadership, and networking programs designed specifically for the education, betterment, and advancement of the API community.
The APAPA-Southern California Region (APAPA-SCR) was established eight years ago to serve the SoCal community. The SCR currently has five chapters (Los Angeles, San Diego, San Gabriel, Youth, and Orange County). APAPA-SCR along with the Los Angeles Chapter, San Gabriel Chapter, and Orange County Chapter are awarding a number of leadership and summer internship positions for current Asian and Pacific Islander college and graduate school students.
The purpose of the internship is to help students better understand California state and local government and to develop future leaders in the API community. Each intern must spend a minimum of 50 hours in the assigned office between July 6 – August 14, 2015, working for a local/state legislator, congress member, or constitutional officer in Southern California. Upon completion of the internship, each intern will be awarded a $500 scholarship. There is also a week-long, all-expense-paid study-tour to Northern California to work and play together national and international student leaders from many other partner organizations.
We would like to invite your students to apply for this comprehensive leadership program. With our positive experience working with your students in the past, we are going to give favorable considerations for your student leaders. We appreciate your help dispersing the application information.
The internship application form can be found at APAPA website: http://apapa.org/scc/tp-apapa-scc.aspx
or download directly from:
http://apapa.org/scc/pdf/APAPA-SCR_internship_appl_2015.pdf

Calling all LA high school students!  

Don’t miss the opportunity of a lifetime. Apply for the LA Fund’s Intern Project, a program offering paid (!) summer internships for LAUSD high school students at prestigious companies like SpaceX, Kaiser Permanente, Omaze, WME, Bad Robot, Fullscreen, Illumination Entertainment and more.

Deadline is March 7, 2015.

Please share this widely! OCA-Greater Los Angeles is hosting an APA-Y Advocate Youth Leadership Trai

Please share this widely! OCA-Greater Los Angeles is hosting an APA-Y Advocate Youth Leadership Training at Long Beach Poly High School on March 7th for high school students. The training focuses on awareness, team-building, and leadership development. Deadline to register for FREE is FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015 (breakfast and lunch provided): http://www.ocanational.org/?page=APAYAStudentReg


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The Korean American Coalition’s (KAC) Summer College Internship Program (SCIP) is designed to provide personal and professional development opportunities to highly qualified Korean American college students, and to encourage them to take on future leadership roles in the Korean American community.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
The program places participants in sponsor offices four days a week. Applicants will be able to rank their interest in four fields - Government/Political, Non-Profit, Corporate, and Media - and will be placed accordingly. Past internship placements have included positions at Samsung America, KTLA, FOX, KCBS, KNBC, an investment bank, Public Counsel Los Angeles, Center for the Pacific Asian Family, CRA, and the offices of Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Barbara Boxer, Congressman Xavier Becerra, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, and State Controller John Chiang.
SCIP will begin at the KAC National College Leadership Conference, where participants hone their leadership skills by hearing from distinguished speakers, engaging in skill-building exercises, and learning about Korean American and Asian American history and identity.

PROGRAM DETAILS:
 1 week (June 22 – June 26, 2015), KAC National College Leadership Conference (NCLC)
 7 weeks (June 29 - August 7, 2015), 40 hours per week
 Potential internship placements, all Los Angeles County-based:
 Government/Political, Non-profit, Corporate, Media
 Unpaid
 Transportation and housing costs are not subsidized by the Program
 All applicants must be enrolled in a four-year college or university

APPLICATION PROCESS
Completed applications must be postmarked by Friday, February 27, 2015.
The application requires:

 Application Form
 Two Letters of Recommendation in Sealed Envelopes
 Two Essays
 Resume
 Academic Transcript
 $20 Processing Fee made to “Korean American Coalition”

IMPORTANT DATES
 Friday, February 27, 2015 Application Postmark Deadline
 March 2 – March 6, 2015 Phone Interviews
 Monday, March 9, 2015 Selected Interns Notification
 June

2015 Application

http://www.onlinecpi.org/sej_application

Who will be the next class of organizers in San Diego? SEJ Fellows are the current and future leaders in the fight for social and economic justice.

Help spread the word to passionate college students interested in fighting for social and economic justice!

Overview

The Students for Economic Justice (SEJ) summer fellowship will be an intensive 6-week program that will give committed student activists organizing experience in a current campaign for economic justice.  College students will receive organizing skills training and will be engaged in educational discussions on various topics.  The goal of this program is to build the next generation of young leaders and community organizers who will effectively push forward social change and economic justice in San Diego. Students receive trainings from various community and labor leaders throughout San Diego and will finish the program with a better understanding of the social and political landscape of the region. These are some of the trainings and hands-on experience that will be provided during the summer internship program:

Organizing Skills

Doorknocking, Phonebanking, and Turnout 101

Understanding Power / Choosing Your Strategy

Coalition Building

Communications and Using the Media

Organizing and Taking Action to Win Change

Political Education

Accumulated Struggles: A History of Economic and Social Movements

Understanding San Diego’s Regional and Political Landscape

Current campaigns for economic & social justice in San Diego

Ideal candidates
First, second, and third year college students are encouraged to apply. If you are a graduating senior, we highly recommend for you to apply for the SEJ Assistant Coordinator part-time position.

Commitment
The SEJ fellowship is an intensive full-time program. It is not recommended that fellows hold other jobs or attend summer school at the same time. Exceptions may be negotiated. Fellows are also expected to stay involved after the program is over and to hold SEJ info sessions at their respective schools.

Dates of Program
Monday, June 29, 2015 - Friday, August 7, 2015 (six weeks). It will be up to 40 hours a week. Some evenings and weekends may be required but not mandatory.

COMPENSATION

This is a paid fellowship at a living wage ($14/hr). CPI makes the effort to ensure that interns are compensated fairly for their time and that financial challenges do not inhibit students from participating in the program.

Requirements
All applicants are required to fully complete this application form and also submit (1) a separate page with answers to two essay questions, (2) a resume, and (3) one letter of recommendation.

Applications Due Date
5:00 pm, Friday, February 27, 2015. Applications should be submitted via email to [email protected].

QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, contact Trinh Le: 619-584-5744 ext. 24 or [email protected].  

The Center on Policy Initiatives is proud to be an affirmative action employer. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Title: “SEA Legacies: Commemorating 40 Years of Southeast Asian Diasporas”

The goals of the symposium are to commemorate the formation of Southeast Asian diasporic communities in the US over the past 40 years and to educate students and the community about Southeast Asian American heritages, experiences, and histories.

Events in no particular order:

A.    Keynote: Dr. Viet Nguyen, Departments of English and American Studies and Ethnicity, USC

B.     Panel: Vietnamese American Authors: Telling Diasporic Stories from Vietnam to the US

C.     Panel: Southeast Asian Experiences

D.    Panel: The Fall of Saigon: Political Background and Military Context

E.     Roundtable: Alumni Experiences: Intergenerational Dialogue

F.      Panel: CBOs & JOBs: Get to Know Local Community Organizations and Resources

G.    Roundtable: Let’s Get Engaged! Students Share Opportunities for Campus and Community Involvement and Service.)

H.    Panel: Preserving and Sharing Our Stories: The Role of Southeast Asian Oral History Projects and Archives

I.       Digital Photo Exhibit: Vietnamese Americans: A Self-Portrait of a People

J.       Exhibit: Letters from Vietnam

K.    Film Series: Visual Stories of Diaspora: An Exploration of Southeast Asian History and Life through Films

L.     Panel: Beyond the Fall of Saigon: Communism as Discourse in National, Community, and Identity Formations in the US and Vietnam

M.   Panel: Global Perspectives on the Vietnam War

N.    Panel: National Resource Center for Asian Languages and Vietnamese Literacy Development for Dual Language Immersion

O.    Closing Performances: Southeast Asian American Expression and Performance

The SEA Legacies Symposium is generously sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and by Dr. Craig K. Ihara.

The SEA Legacies Symposium is organized by faculty, students, and staff of Asian American Studies, Modern Languages and Literatures, History, American Studies, Political Science, Psychology, Sociology, Communications, Education, the HSS Office of Development, the CSUF Office of State and Community Relations, the Vietnamese Students Association, the Cambodian Students Association, and the Asian Pacific American Resource Center, and in collaboration with community partners.

Please contact Dr. Eliza Noh at [email protected] for more information.

Please don’t forget to share the eventbrite RSVP link with the campus and external community. All attendees, including speakers and yourselves, should register by Feb. 20th so that we can take a headcount for food:

https://eventbrite.com/event/152941782

explorite:

You’re busy in school with projects and assignments, and it can be difficult to find the time and resources you need to provide you with the best college experience you can get–but that’s where we come in.

Keep reading

Reblog to save a life !

 What Is Form 1098-E: Student Loan Interest Statement?If you paid interest on a qualified student lo

What Is Form 1098-E: Student Loan Interest Statement?

If you paid interest on a qualified student loan, you may be able to deduct some or even all of that interest on your federal income tax return. Student loan companies use IRS Form 1098-E to report how much you paid in interest. Borrowers get a copy of this form, and so does the IRS. To learn more about who sends it and what to do if you don’t receive one, see the full TurboTax article.


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 Tax Deductions for Voluntary Interest Payments on Student LoansMost taxpayers who pay interest on s

Tax Deductions for Voluntary Interest Payments on Student Loans

Most taxpayers who pay interest on student loans can take a tax deduction for the expense—and you can do this regardless of whether you itemize tax deductions on your return. The rules for claiming the deduction are the same whether the interest payments were required or voluntary. To learn more about claiming the deduction, see the full TurboTax article.


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 Sending Kids to CollegeTurboTax can help you take advantage of tax breaks to ease the financial bur

Sending Kids to College

TurboTax can help you take advantage of tax breaks to ease the financial burden of sending kids to college, including tax credits, tuition deductions, tax-free savings and more. To learn more about what is available and who is eligible, see the full TurboTax article.


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A Leap Year Valentine

February 14, 1940: University of Minnesota Alpha Gamma Delta sorority members pose for a leap year Valentine’s Day at the King Cole Hotel swimming pool to publicize the sorority’s annual Founder’s Day dinner. Shown (L to R), out of water: Betty Jensen, Shirley Keith and Suzanne Lundgren, and in the water: Gail Johnson, Marilynn Flynn and Eileen Walvavna.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

PhotoP51920 from the Minneapolis Newspaper Photograph Collection in the Hennepin County Library Digital Collections.

is the best breakfast I’ve ever had.

My roommate and I get breakfast every morning, and sometimes our friends will meet us there. I have an 8 am class every day, so we meet at 9 for breakfast. It is so amazing.

At my school, there are so many breakfast choices. I get a scramble made for me every morning - you just fill out a little order form and they make it right there in front of you! I also get some sort of carb-y food, either pancakes (chocolate chip, blueberry, and regular is what they offer, different days of the week!) or french toast. They have sausage, bacon, turkey sausage patties, scrambled eggs, oatmeal, waffles, fruit, yogurt, cereal, breakfast muffins/cookies/donuts, potatoes, hash browns, and some other stuff that I can’t think of!

Waking up every morning knowing I’ll be full until 2 pm is a great feeling.

Cheers!

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1. Label your stuff while packing

Don’t forget to label your stuff when packing with a specific color code. You can use different tapes for packing different materials like you can use red tape for packing clothes; prefer green tape for packing shoes, and take black tape for packing stationary and books. This will help you stay organized while unpacking and minimize your cleaning effort.






2. Binder clip cord organizer

You must be wondering how to keep all your computer cords and cables in one place. You can use few simple binder clips to make a horizontal channel and then use it to hand all your cables and cords. In fact, binder clips can serve many other purposes. Just be creative!

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3. A magnetic board for your makeup

Creating a magnetic board for your cosmetics stuff will help you in managing them. Moreover, this will help you to grab your daily cosmetics easily and will save your time during the daily hassle.

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4. Buy different colored notebooks

Colored notebooks can be easily distinguished. Or you can simply color your notebooks if you don’t want to buy new ones. These notebooks can save you time during class hours as you don’t need to waste your time searching for them in your bag.

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5. Fold T-shirts properly

Fold your t-shirts or shirts properly and stack them horizontally in your drawer. This will save your time in choosing one out of number of t-shirts and also save space for more t-shirt.


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6. Washi tape photo frames


You can use washi tape to make photo frames instead of hanging the wooden photo frames using nails and hammer. Washi tape photo frames look stylish and can be easily peeled off if you want to change your photograph or the dorm room.

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7. Make your own DIY First Aid Kit

Your mother won’t stay with you in your dorm room. So, a first aid kit is much needed. You can keep all the first aid stuff in any box and label it clearly. Also, keep it at a place which is easily accessible in case of an emergency.


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8. Use folding chairs

Folding chairs can save space as these are easily stored. These are easily available and come in different colors and styles. Choose one that matches your personality.


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9. Magnetic Bathroom Hack

If your dorm room doesn’t have enough floor space then utilize the wall space. Hang a magnetic strip on your bathroom wall and it’s ready to hold all your bath and beauty supplies.


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10. Use Bed Lifters to free up more storage space

These bed lifters will not only free up space under the bed but also gives you additional outlets. One bed lifter includes 6’ cord which can be easily plugged to the nearest outlet. These bed lifter outlets come with 2 power outlets and 2 USB ports.

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No matter how hard you try; it feels like you can never get your college schedule just right. Whether it’s because your time ticket is second to last or you’re trying your best to get all of the best teachers on Rate My Professor. Either way, you are bound to have a little bit of time in between classes.

If you’re anything like me, it’s always too much to start walking to your next class, but not enough time to go home. And you know you would if you could. I mean, that’s where your Netflix is always signed in and your bed is always waiting for you.

So, if you can’t go home, why not try one of these suggestions!


1.      Review the notes you just took

If we’re being honest here, we both know you’re not going to study later on. You’re going to leave these notes in your back pack until it’s finally time to cram for that test. So, maybe take this opportunity to read over your notes again now. You never know how much of a difference it might make!

2.      Study for your next class

I don’t know if this happens to you, but have you ever walked into a class and been handed a pop quiz? Well it sure has happened to me! And since I’m a HUGE procrastinator, I rarely studied before class. So, if you get the chance take a few minutes to look over your class notes and prepare for the unexpected!

3.      Read something

If you’re tired of reading notes, read something else. Personally, I’m a book girl, but there are so many other things out there for you to read! Pick up a book, scroll through a blog, or even check out your school’s magazine. I always checked mine for the latest campus police news, that and the event’s page to find out where all the free food was gonna be :)


4.      Grab a bite to eat

Speaking of food, take this chance to splurge on something yummy! Whether you pack yourself snacks, go to the cafe, or head off campus, this is the perfect time to eat. Especially if you woke up late and ran to class without eating, I know how it goes! So make sure you take a moment to eat, that way your stomach doesn’t interrupt your next lecture!

5.      Visit a professor

It’s always good to get on your professor’s good side, so use your free time to drop by and visit one. Each teach holds office hours on campus and they are scheduled for you! Use this time to get to know your teacher, get help with an assignment, or ask questions about something you’ve been having trouble with. Just make sure that you follow your professor’s instructions carefully, some require appointments to be scheduled during office hours, while others encourage walk-ins.


6.      Make a to-do list

As a college student, you’ve got a lot on your plate! More than likely, you’re taking classes, working, and part of a team or club. On top of all of those responsibilities, you still have to remember to do laundry, clean up after yourself, and more. So, take a moment to create a to-do list. You can write everything out in a notebook, an electronic device, or even the palm of your hand. Although, be careful with that last one, especially if you wash your hands a lot.

7.      Check your e-mails

If you want to be productive, check your e-mails! I always recommend doing this before classes anyways in the off chance that one gets canceled. There’s nothing worse than waiting outside the classroom of a class that won’t be starting. Make sure to let your friends know too, just in case they don’t check their e-mails.

8.      Meet up with your friends

If you’re just looking to relax, I suggest making time to meet up with your friends! I’m sure they’d love to hangout if they’re free and if they’re on campus, you can head over to their place. Who knows, you might even make some new friends too!

 Now, if there’s a large gap in your schedule, you may prefer something a little more time consuming. Here are 4 more friendly suggestions!

9.      Head to the gym

In case you’re worried about the dreaded Freshman 15, head to the gym and get a quick workout in. Most campuses provide a large list of classes and physical activities for students. I know at my school, Zumba was one of the most popular classes. So much so, that they had multiple classes each day of the week. If Zumba’s not for you, I’m sure you can find something else that is!


10.      Take a power nap

We might not be kids anymore, but I’m a firm believer in nap time! If you’ve got the time, I highly suggest heading home and getting some rest. Even if you can’t sleep, it’s still good to lay down and relax throughout the day. Just make sure to set an alarm so you don’t sleep through your next class!

11.      Get a job

If you’ve got a decent amount of time between classes, why not use it to make a little bit of money? College can be expensive and even if you’ve got your expenses covered, it’s still nice to have a little spending money every once in a while. The great thing about it is, college towns are constantly looking to hire. If you’re lucky, you might even find a job right on campus or in your field of study!

12.      Go to a campus event

Each semester, campuses hold a variety of events for their students. There are so many different departments and clubs that there is almost always something going on.

If you haven’t seen any, try checking the flyers around campus and your school’s social media accounts. Plus, if you know any RAs I’m sure they’d be more than happy to give you free food at their next event!





About the Author:

Ivy is a blogger, an artist, a graphic designer, and an aspiring author. While she loves guest blogging, she mainly blogs over at Perfectly Ambitious. In her spare time, she can be found creating a new work of art or writing. She currently has two novels in the works and hopes to have one published next year. In addition, she is also a military wife currently living in Alabama with her husband and their three fur babies.

Make sure to connect with her using the links below!

Website|Facebook|Instagram|Twitter|Pinterest|Bloglovin’|Google+

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As graduating up to college means a lot more freedom from our parents and siblings, it lets use have a bit more freedom in trying out what makes us curious. In this list, we will show you the top 10 most interesting things that college girls have purchased for under $15.

The products that will be listed below have actually been bought by a college student. So even though these products may be really interesting and strange to buy, they have actually been bought so we hope that you enjoy our list of the most interesting things that college girls have purchased!


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1.)    Gigantic Fluffy Chocolate 12” Teddy Bear

For the first item in the list, we have this cute and cuddly teddy bear. Why would a college girl need this you say? When someone graduates from high school and comes to college, they might not be used to all the excitement and people that will be surrounding them as soon as they come to their dorm/school.

This will cause them to need some sort of support or something to hold on to while going to sleep so that they can feel calm and last throughout the first year. Although this item may seem silly to purchase as a college student, it can actually help some students feel calmer and feel safer.


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2.)    Yellow Pencils, Count of 144

Wait, a count of 144 pencils? Who needs this much? This package of pencils was actually bought by a student who needed pencils for an “egg-drop” experiment. This student was trying to make an enclosure with these pack of pencils so that their egg can stay safe during the drop.

Pencils may seem great for writing but they also have a great use, protecting eggs! Also, we want to ensure you that the pencil stayed safe during the drop!

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3.)    Multi-Port USB Station

Why would a student need a multi-port USB station in college you ask? In this particular student’s room, there were only a couple of ports that could let them charge devices and with a room full of college girls with laptops, phones, and tablets, the chargers would always stay used.

So what this brilliant student did was purchase a USB station so that many people could charge from one USB station at all times. This allowed everyone in the room to have fully charged devices On with even a few ports left open because of the amount of extra USB ports the station had. 


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4.)    Motor Oil 

Acollege student buying motor oil? Is she trying to create a fire at their college? The student who has purchased the motor oil actually had a brilliant plan in mind with this oil. As the school had a lot of students with cars and the nearest car repair and maintenance center was miles away, this student created a car shop of her own.As she repaired and helped a lot of people maintain their cars, she made quite a bit of money although some people questioned all the equipment she purchased if they didn’t know what she did with it.


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5.)    Ultra-protection 36 ct Condom Pack 

Sure, it may sound normal to some people that a college girl is purchasing condoms, since it can be useful in some dates, but there is actually another reason for this pack of condoms.Although it may seem like a waste to some, this pack was used to see how strong a pump was. In an experiment this student was doing, she had to prove that a pump she made was strong enough to blow a lot of pressure in a short amount of time. So what she did with the condom pack was attach all of the 36 together so that they were all layered on top of each other and then let the pump blow the condoms up. This helped her prove the strength of her pump and managed to “pull-out” an A from her professor!



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6.)    A Statue of Two People having Sex

Sure, sex toys and other equipment in that nature is fine for a student to purchase to use in her own time but a statue of two people having sex? What can be an excuse to buy this for a college girl?The particular student who bought this small $14.95 statue was actually a collector of unique and small statues that she kept in her room before college. However, as she graduated and moved away from her parents prying eyes, she had the freedom to purchase statues that weren’t really appropriate for her age.Although her roommate doesn’t approve of this student’s hobby, the college girl surely does enjoy the freedom that comes with college!


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7.)    First Aid Kit 

Don’t college rooms have this already or at least close-by? The student who had purchased this had a disorder that made her bleed a lot with even the tiniest scratch. As she thought her using up all the bandages and tools that the school provided them will be a disadvantage to her roommates, she bought her own first aid kit so that she can take care of herself without using the resource that is shared by others.

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8.)    Lube

When the student’s roommate found a package with lube with it, she was surprised and amused thinking of what the student that bought the lube would do with it. When the roommate confronted the student, she confessed, “I’m only getting this for my bike!”

Although lube can be used for other purposes, this student was innocently using this lube for the rusty parts of her bike as it was growing rusty from all the rain that has been pouring outside.

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9.)    Social Media Followers

In college, having a good following on social media accounts such as Instagram and Twitter can be a good social status. So what this student did was buy fake followers for her Instagram and Twitter account so that it seemed like she had several thousand followers.

As this is pretty cheap to do, it wasn’t a bad decision to make except when people cracked down her since her photos weren’t getting a lot of likes while she had a high follower count.

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10.)    Lottery Ticket

Sure, purchasing a lottery ticket is common and is purchased by almost everybody. However, the most unique part about this incident was that a college student had purchased a local lottery ticket won a house and got $100,000.

With this winnings, she had a house to live in – that was pretty close to her college – and $100,000 she could spend on anything. As this winning basically changed her life at college, it is one of the most interesting and unique things a college girl purchased for only $5!

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5 prices to be won every month:

  • Apple watch
  • $250 Foodler Gift Card
  • $150 Amazon Gift Card
  • Spotify yearly subscription
  • $50 Starbucks Gift Card

To enter to win:

The contest will run every month for the entire month, and we will randomly select five winners from the Members on the 1st of each month.

Winners will be notified by email and have 72 hours to claim their prize. Good luck to all! 


Step up your ramen game and turn them from ordinary staple to extraordinary culinary creation!

 Once upon a time, ramen noodles were simply known as a dorm room essential for the college student on a tight budget. But with some creative additions, you can bring a bowl of ramen to a whole new level. Here’s 10 ways to turn this pantry staple into an epicurean delight.


1. Phabulous Pho 


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Cook noodles according to package, but only use half of the seasoning packet. Add juice of 1 lime, a tablespoon of sugar, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, and if desired, a good pinch of pepper flakes to the broth. Put into a serving bowl, and add 1 to 2 ounces thinly sliced flank steak (it cooks in the broth), a handful of bean sprouts, and some mixed herbs like basil and cilantro, to taste.

2. Beef and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

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Toss a quarter pound of thinly sliced flank steak with half of the seasoning packet, then simmer the noodles until they separate; drain and set aside. In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of oil until smoking. Add beef and cook until well-browned (about 1 minute). Add a quarter pound of snap peas and stir fry for about 1 minute. Add another tablespoon of oil, the noodles, the rest of the seasoning packet, a couple tablespoons of oyster sauce, and a pinch of sugar. Toss until well-coated, then serve.

3. Hawaiian Ramen

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Pan-fry spam and toss it in with drained ramen noodles. Fry up an egg in the same pan you used to fry the spam so it gets that spam-tastic taste and throw it on top of the noodles. Add some sweet pineapple chunks and finish it off with Japanese-style barbecue sauce.

4. Chilled Coconut and Peanut Ramen Salad

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Prepare noodles as directed, then drain and add them back to a pot filled with cold water. Mix together a couple tablespoons of chunky peanut butter, half of the seasoning packet, 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, and a tablespoon of chili-garlic sauce or sriracha to taste. Add a little water to adjust consistency; then toss in the noodles along with some chopped cilantro, peanuts, and unsweetened coconut flakes until coated thoroughly.

5. Chili Cheese Ramen

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Cook noodles as directed, drain, and top with canned chili and shredded cheese.

6. Ramen and Meatballs

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Prepare noodles as directed; drain. Add pasta sauce and cooked meatballs (you can find these in any frozen food section).

7. Ramen Frittata

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Split finely-crushed uncooked noodles between two microwave-safe mugs. Stir 1 lightly beaten egg, ½ cup milk, shredded cheddar cheese and seasoning packet in small bowl. Pour evenly into mugs. Microwave 1 ½ to 2 minutes on high until cooked through; let stand 1 minute. Top each with a slice of cooked bacon.

8. Marshmallow Crispy Ramen

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Microwave 10 regular-size marshmallows and 1 tablespoon butter in medium microwave-safe bowl on high for 1 minute or until melted. Stir in finely-crushed uncooked noodles. Let them to soften; then shape into a bar.

9. Creamy Chicken ala Ramen

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Heat up 1 can cream of chicken soup and 1 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Once simmering, add 1 package of ramen sans seasoning; cook until noodles are soft and separated. Transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with dried Italian seasoning.

10. Ramen and Eggs

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Perhaps the most simple of all, just crack 2 eggs into the pot as you’re cooking the noodles. Leave them intact or stir in beaten eggs. The broth will cook it perfectly. Add the seasoning packet at the end.


College stress is a notch or two up from high school stress. It’s different than the stress in the world of professional work, too. Learning to deal with college stress requires looking at stressful situations from a slightly different angle than you have in the past. Here are some tips to help you deal with stress when you’re going to college.

1.) Prevent as Much Stress as Possible.

While a lot of stress is unpreventable, you can head off quite a bit of it just by planning ahead. For example, college students get stressed out when they know they have a paper coming due the next day, and they haven’t started on it at all. That kind of stress is preventable. By breaking down a large project like this into manageable chunks and working on it a bit every day for a couple of weeks, you can probably have that paper finished even a couple days ahead of time and not have to worry about whether you’ll be able to turn it in on time. Another example is having enough supplies, like printer ink, on hand to do your work. Your professor isn’t going to accept the excuse that your printer ran out of ink when you try to turn your paper in late.

2.) Take Breaks.

While you’re studying, take five or ten minutes for a break for every half hour or hour you study. Your brain will be better able to focus on the material at hand, and you won’t get so stressed out that you’re having a hard time understanding some of it. Likewise, take breaks for exercise and to be with friends and family during the course of the week. Do something you enjoy doing, such as sewing or biking, to keep your stress level down.

3.) Keep the Goal in Mind.

You’re likely to feel like the world is about to crash in on you when you have three finals in one day coming up. It’s vital that you remember why you’re in college, why you’re doing all this work and studying. You’re doing it to graduate, get a job you enjoy and that can meet your financial needs, and make a positive difference in the world. You may have other goals than these for why you’re going to college. Whatever they are, keep them in mind when you feel stressed by all that you have to do to reach those goals.

4.) Take it a Step at a Time.

You may get overwhelmed thinking about all that you need to do. Break up your projects, your semester, your year, and your college career into pieces that you can digest. If you can see your way to the end of the term, to the end of the year, you’ll be able to see your way to the end of your college career, to the stage at graduation when you get your diploma. Set deadlines for small chunks of big projects that you can reasonably meet. Mark important days like the last day of finals with a night out with friends.

5.) Take Care of Your Health.

Chunk the Ramen noodles into the trash. It doesn’t matter if you’re struggling to make ends meet financially. You need to have some proper nutrition in you if you’re going to manage stress well. You’re more likely to get sick if you don’t eat and sleep well, which only makes stress worse. Get some fruits and vegetables into your grocery cart this week. Cook up a massive batch of healthy soup you can freeze or eat throughout the week. Find creative ways to get the right food and rest that you need.

6.) Get a Support Network, and Help Others.

Sharing your stress with family and friends is a good way to manage it. You can talk about it, and perhaps they can offer you some relief, say, by forming a study group with you to help you study for an upcoming exam. Just having someone listen to you vent about your troubles can make you feel better. You may also feel better being able to help someone else in your circle with a stressful situation. Consider volunteering on campus or in your community to get that helper’s high as well.

College students have to deal with stressors that others do not. If you work on top of going to class, you have even more stress you have to prevent and manage. Just keep the goal in sight, and prevent as much stress as you can to keep yourself well.

Your mama isn’t there to take care of you when you have a sniffle in college. You’re on your own. (Unless, of course, you’re fortunate enough to be able to live at or close to home!) You’ve still got work to do, and you can’t afford much down time. Here are some ideas to help you get back on your feet as soon as possible.

1) Prevent, Prevent, Prevent. 

Taking good care of yourself is the first step to being as sick as little as possible. That means getting enough rest (Read, “Don’t leave that project until the last minute.) and eating well. Processed foods with little actual nutrition, extra sugar, and loads of carbs will not do much to help you stay well. Eat whole foods, and actually cook for yourself. Eat out as little as you can (This helps save money, too!). Get to bed at a decent hour, and exercise. Take breaks to be with your friends and family as well. Down time is important.

2) Take the Time Off You Need. 

If you’re running a fever, don’t go to class. If you’re hacking your lungs out, don’t go to class. No one wants to be around you, and it won’t be the end of the world if you miss class. The trick is to plan and communicate when you’re going to miss a class or a deadline. See if someone in class will lend you his or her notes. Maybe a friend can go to class for you, take notes, and / or record the lecture for you. Send an email or make a phone call to the professor to let him or her know you’re going to be out for a class and why. Ask if you can make up the test or turn in the paper the next day. Maybe the professor will email you notes and handouts from the class. Instructors are more likely to want to help you out if you simply communicate the situation and then follow through when you’re well again. Make sure you check the instructor’s syllabus for specific instructions on what to do when you’re sick. The protocol and policy is probably laid out clearly in the syllabus.


3) Supplements. 

Supplements, such as Vitamin C, can help you stay well and get better faster when you do get sick. Even if you’re immune system is fighting something, you can find vitamins, herbs, and other nutrients to help you get well faster than if you just let the cold take its course. Talk to your healthcare practitioner about natural ways to boost your immune system during the cold and flu season and to help you get well when you do get sick. If you can lessen the symptoms and feel better faster, you can get back to class and to writing that paper that’s due in a couple of days. By using the right supplements, you may also be able to lessen the degree of severity of any illness you get.


4) Get Checked Out. 

Head to your doctor off-campus or the campus health center to be sure that you don’t have anything serious if your illness becomes severe or lasts a long time. This can prevent the illness from getting worse or spreading around. Get any medication the doc says you need, and take it. If the doctor orders you to rest or to do anything else to help you get well, follow through on those orders.


5) Communicate with Administration. 

If your illness becomes such that you’re missing a lot of class, you need to communicate with your campus administration. This can help you stay on track to graduate or to make alternate arrangements, such as taking an incomplete on a course instead of failing, for finishing out the term.


6) Take Advantage of Your Support Team. 

If your friend offers to bring you some soup or to clean your apartment for you, take him or her up on it. You need all the rest you can get. People want to help out, so allow them to. You don’t need to do everything yourself when you’re sick.

Get well soon!


Exams can eat you alive if you don’t plan to study for them in the right way. The key to acing exams is to make a plan of attack and then to stick to it. Here are some tips to help you get the best grades possible on tests.


1) Don’t Wait to Study.

Did your professor tell you you’re having a test in two weeks? Start studying today. Just 20 or 25 minutes of studying now can cut way down on the time you have to study the night or two before the test. Review what you studied the previous day before you start studying new material. Do this every day, and you’ll have just about everything memorized and ready to apply on the test.

2) Make a Study Schedule. 

We suggests that you create a study schedule so that you know you have a specific time set aside every day to study, and only to study. Treat studying like you would your time out with your friends or your workouts. The time is to be used only for studying.

3) Don’t Procrastinate on Your Reading Assignments. 

Read your chapters and articles as they are assigned. Regularly review them before exams so that the information stays fresh in your mind. Create a summary of the important points in each article to make it fast and easy to remember what you need to for the test.

4) Go to Class Right Before the Exam. 

Another suggestions is that you go to class right up to the day of the test in case the professor gives some vital information related to the test. You don’t want to miss that!

5) Create a Study Guide. 

Throughout the semester, add important concepts (without examples, if you want to make the guide shorter) from your lectures, textbooks, articles, notes, tutorials, and any other source of exam material to the study guide. Organize the information into a few pages in a way that makes sense to you. Maybe use different colors to highlight important types of information (formulas, vocabulary, dates, names, etc.) 

6) Make Flash Cards.

Flash cards are helpful tools for studying and short-term memorization, but don’t make them your only study material. They are good for definitions, formulas, and dates, especially.·         

7) Get Rid of Distractions. 

Turn your phone off, and avoid texting or checking email while you study. Play some music if you focus better with it. Many people focus better with music without lyrics. ·         

8) Ask Yourself Questions and Paraphrase. 

Ask yourself questions about the material you’re learning. This can help you anticipate exam questions. Also, paraphrase what you read to be sure that you understand it. Do this out loud if you’re an auditory learner, or try writing it out if you’re a kinesthetic or visual learner. ·         

9) Make Visuals. Create charts, graphs, flow charts, and other visual material to help you understand complex processes and ideas. Breaking concepts down in this way will give you another way to comprehend the lessons. ·         

10) Create Your Own Tests. 

Write questions you think would be on the test. Then take your own test. Look for old tests from your professor. Ask people who took the class before for their old tests. Some of the questions may be the same. Your textbook probably has some online quizzes or practice tests in the book. ·         

11) Take Breaks. 

Some people say you should study 25 minutes with a 5 minute break. Others, say study 50, and take a break for 10. This gives your mind time to relax and reset. ·         

12) Write Down Questions. 

If you don’t understand something, write down the questions so that you can ask your professor or talk about them with a friend. ·         

13) Study with a Friend or Group. 

The more people talk about and review an idea, the better chance you’ll all have of learning from each other. Maybe someone in the group says something about a particular concept that you will remember because he said it in a novel way that helped you understand it better. 


If you want to earn a high salary straight out of college, you had better pay attention to what major you choose. You probably know that a social science or humanities degree is not likely to earn you the big bucks after graduation. 

You definitely want to earn a living wage after college at the least, but if you’re ready to start earning the big bucks right after graduation, then you need to plan ahead and focus your studies on particular subjects. Here are the five best college majors to earn a high salary after you are handed your college diploma, according to an article on Forbes.com by Susan Adams.Adams reported on a survey by Looksharp, a business that manages a website for entry-level and internship jobs called Internmatch. 


The survey is called the “2015 State of College Hiring.” The survey clumps broad categories of subjects together and doesn’t include every single major at every college. However, it does give you an idea of the areas of study that are likely to end up with rewarding graduates with high salaries. The top major in the survey for starting salaries is computer science, which has an average starting salary of $66,800. Just behind computer science comes engineering. All types of engineering were included in the engineering category, and the average starting wage is $65,000 annually. 

The “mathematics and statistics” category has an average $60,300 starting salary, followed by economics at $58,600 and finance with a starting salary averaging $58,000.These starting salaries reflect the average beginning salaries all over the United States. That is to say, there are big differences in what employers offer in different parts of the country. For example, computer science graduates can earn $85,000 per year out of college in the San Francisco Bay area, which is almost $20,000 more than the national average. 

Those computer science students who earned great grades can command over $100,000 to start out in that region. The cost of living is really high in San Francisco and the surrounding vicinity, so keep that in mind. Contrast these numbers with the last on the list, which is social services, which has a new graduate average starting salary of just $34,700, followed by number two on the list, English, at $39,600.History comes in third at $40,300, and then graphic design follows history at $40,700. 

Number five from the bottom of the list is the arts with an average starting salary of $41,500. The arts usually comes in at the very bottom of such surveys. The LookSharp survey is not the only survey that ranks college majors by their potential for high salaries for graduates. 

PayScale.com listed the top five majors as well. According to BusinessInsider.com, which reported on PayScale’s findings, petroleum engineering offers the highest salary for graduates with a median starting salary of $102,300, and a median mid-career salary of $176,300, which is a 72 percent jump in salary. 

Chemical engineering comes in second with a median starting salary of $69,600, and a median mid-career salary of $116,700, which is a 68 percent jump. Computer engineering students can earn a median starting salary of $67,300, with a median mid-career salary of $108,600, which is a 61 percent increase.

 Nuclear engineers earn $67,000 as a median starting salary, and they earn a median mid-career salary of $118,800, a jump of 77 percent. Computer science and engineering students can expect a median starting salary of $66,700 and a median mid-career salary of $112,600, which is an increase of 69 percent. 

So if you’re planning your career after college, and you want a high salary right after graduation, focus your efforts on getting a degree in computer science or a field of engineering. There is no consensus on the highest-paying college major, but they center on these two areas of study. 

Pretty much anything related to math and science is going to bring home the highest salary. If you’re more of a social science or art person, remember that you’re studying those subjects because you really like them, not because of the salary that you’re likely to earn. No matter what you end up studying or what kind of job you have, remember that money doesn’t equal the happiness. Do a job because you like it, not because of the size of your potential pay check.

With the advent of the smartphone and tablet, studying is now an activity that you can more easily do on the go. Apps make it easier than ever to study for that final or midterm, and they utilize instructional methods that speak to just about every learning style. So whether you like to learn by moving and touching (swiping, tapping, and clicking), by seeing what you’re learning (pictures, graphs), or listening (instructional videos, recordings), there is an app that will make it much more pleasant to study. Here are some apps from CollegeChoice.net and ExamTime.com.

Quizlet

Quizlet is one of the most versatile studying apps available. Create a set of flash cards with Quizlet on any topic. Arrange your study cards by subject. Add pictures. Add text and definitions in different languages. Play games to learn how to spell the words on your flash cards faster and more accurately. You can also play games to match the front and back sides of the cards. Add your voice or add words in 18 languages (helpful for studying foreign languages) to the cards if you want an audio component.

Recording App

Speaking of voices, use the voice memo app on your phone to record your voice or your professor’s lectures (if she allows it). When you review your notes, making an audio recording of you paraphrasing the notes in your own words forces you to state what you learned out loud. Later on, listen to the recording to review faster than re-reading the textbook. Listening to lectures again can help you clarify concepts you don’t understand.

iTunes University and Khan Academy

Check out the course material from colleges and universities on iTunes U (only available for iOS). You can watch video and read text on subjects that you’re studying. You may find a resource that explains something you didn’t quite catch in class in a different way. Download the Khan Academy app to watch videos on a variety of topics to enhance your in-class learning and to help you study for tests.

MyScript Smart Note

If you like to write down notes with a pen and paper in class and not type, then MyScript Smart Note might be a great app for you. There are lots of apps that let you handwrite with a finger or stylus, but they can’t really keep up with the speed with which you have to take notes during a lecture. This app isn’t any better about getting your  notes down faster, but it is good for taking notes if you’re taking notes from a book and are studying at home or at the library. One positive aspect of MyScript is that it can recognize handwriting in more than one language, and it can understand even the worst handwriting. This app is available for iOS and Android. The app enables you to change what you wrote with certain hand gestures. You can also draw and add media like images, sound, or PDF files from cloud storage. For a couple of dollars, you can add more pages, the ability to export, and back-ups as well. 

XMind

Xmind is only for desktops and laptops, but it is a versatile mind mapping tool. It isn’t mobile, and there is no Web app for it, but it can be a great planning tool for studying. Mind maps help you categorize and organize your thinking around a central topic and are usually helpful for visual learners. XMind has a free version, but you can pay extra for cloud storage and business-level perks if you want. 

ExamTime

This app lets you create mind maps, flash cards, notes, and quizzes. You can use all of these tools to help you prepare for exams. Organize your notes, and create flashcards and practice tests of your own. Share them with your friends to help them study, and they can share their materials with you to help you improve your grades. Your notes are all stored in one location, making them easier to find and study from. You can also study in groups, private message other users, use the online calendar, and plan your studying. This is a Web app, so you can use it from any device with a browser.

SelfControl

If you’re like most students, your mind wanders easily when you study. Use SelfControl to block a list of websites for an amount of time you choose when you study. You can better concentrate on studying and stay off of the Internet. 

There are times when being a good student is what it takes to pass a class or earn a good grade on an essay. “Good” doesn’t necessarily mean earning A’s throughout the semester, though, or that your professor is likely to want to help you out if you need her to. If you really want to get on your professor’s good side, you’re going to have to work hard. Slacking off is not going to make her happy. Here are seven tips to help you get your professors to love you.


1.) Go to Class. We know, basic, right? Show up to class, and your professors will remember your face as belonging to a person who actually is present for lectures. It’s natural for the professor to believe that you genuinely care about learning and your grade if your seat is warm every time she calls roll. If you demonstrate you care, you can expect to earn some brownie points.

2.) Go to Office Hours. Don’t ever tell your professor that you didn’t know when office hours were, and that’s why you failed your last test. They’re on the syllabus. You could ask the professor himself or the teaching assistant. Ask another student. Go to the professor’s website to find out when office hours are. There is no excuse for not going to office hours if you need help. If you make the effort to show up to office hours to ask questions about the lecture, text you read, or about an upcoming test, it shows that you want to establish a personal connection with the teacher and that you really want to do well in class.

3.) Ask Questions in Class. If there was something you didn’t get from the homework, make sure to ask your teacher. Do this during class if you can because there are likely to be other students who need an answer to the same question. If you don’t ask during class, go to office hour or send an email to ask. You could also leave your professor a voicemail if he prefers phone calls to emails. This helps your understanding of the material and again shows that you are paying attention to the material and truly want to comprehend it.

4.) Answer Questions in Class.

You can be of great help to other students if you can answer their questions during group work or when the professor leaves it open for a student to answer another student’s question. Also, pipe up when the instructor asks a question about the material being presented. This indicates that you read the assigned homework, listened in class, and that you have a good understanding of what you’re supposed to be learning.

5.) Do Your Work. 

You can’t get by on a wing and a prayer in most classes. You’ll need to actually do your homework and turn it in. Doing the work and reading assigned shows that you’re serious about understanding what your instructor is trying to convey. If you need help, make sure you ask ahead of time so that you aren’t begging for an extension.

6.) Demonstrate Maturity.

Cut out the wise cracks in class. Your schooling is your most important job right now, so treat it accordingly. Act professionally, just as you expect your professor to act. While it’s totally cool to laugh and have a good time in class, it’s also important to remember that you are at college to learn. Acting inappropriately can also negatively affect everyone else’s learning, and you don’t want your professor to remember you for being the class clown. 

7.) Get Help When You Need It. 

Contrary to popular belief, your professor doesn’t really want to see anyone fail. She is not out to make your life miserable. If you need help, ask for it. Your professor may offer to tutor you or direct you to resources on campus that can help you get a passing (or better) grade. Don’t avoid talking to your professor because you think he won’t want to help you out. In reality, he wants to see you succeed, and taking ownership of your education by asking for help will definitely help you get on his good side. 

Writing a college essay is a prerequisite for students seeking admission into colleges in the United States. If you are applying to a college that has a very rigorous and highly competitive application process, then your essay should be the one thing that sets you apart from other applicants. Writing the college application essay isn’t rocket science, neither is it as difficult as it seems. 

It’s simply matter of merging your personal experiences along with some factual information about the college are applying into. One of the first things you must therefore do before thinking of how to write a college essay is to determine what direction you wish to follow. It is advisable that you research the college of your choice online and find out detailed information about the course of study you wish to pursue. You can then use the information you have gathered to your advantage by seamlessly blending it into your essay. The concept behind this is that you want to show them how their college will help you achieve your goals academically.

The aim in college essays is to enable the admission officers learn new information about the students applying for admission that they cannot source anywhere on the students application. It is therefore expected that every college student should a unique and personalized story that helps to distinguish them from other applicants.

These unique stories can at times something as simple as your everyday routine that does not require travelling to other locations around the world. It may be writing about a part of your life’s experiences as a person or writing about a mentor or accomplishment. Writing the perfect college essay should not be viewed as a hindrance, but seen as an opportunity to reveal who you are. Your personality and character should be felt through in your writing in order for the college to have an understanding of your persona. Simply view this process as a chance for self-discovery and self-reflection as the case may be.College application essays are typically limited to 500 words, so you will need to really choose your topic carefully. With such a restricted amount of content, you will most likely have room to write about one experience only. Whichever story you choose to write about should be interesting and compelling enough to hold the admissions officer’s attention. When writing the college essay, you must understand that there are a number of subjects, topics and writing styles that already exist; as such it can be a bit challenging trying to evaluate a college essay. During evaluation, there are certain basic requirements that your essay is expected to possess. Your college admissions officer will no doubt be looking out for these vital key points in your essay, and it is there for important for you fulfill these fundamental requirements when writing that essay. 

 For insightful tips on how to write a college essay, here’s are some basic things you must to consider when writing one.       

1) Decide on a Concept

If the college admission’s instructor has not assigned a particular concept to you, then you will enjoy a lot more freedom in deciding what you wish to write about. When you are choosing a topic or subject by yourself, it is extremely important that you choose one that is pertinent to the course that you need to write the college essay for. Endeavour to select a topic that brings out some of the strong points of the essay you are writing. 

2) Build an Outline for Your Essay

The next phase in writing the college essay involves building an outline for your essay. The introduction, body and conclusion need to be incorporated into the outline for your essay. The introduction must include a short and concise definition of the concept you have chosen to write about. Any other additions you make to this definition should be added to the body of the essay. The body of your college essay should include comparisons,definitions as well as cause and effect examples. This will enable your admissions officer or other persons reading your essay to easily understand what your concept is all about. Your conclusion must include a brief summary of the major points and areas of your essay. Feel free to peruse other college essay samples to see how others have patterned the outlines for their essays.

3) Focus on One Section of Your Essay at a Time 

Focusing on one section of your essay at a time enables you to you break down your essay into smaller parts that will be easier for you to manage. It’s important for you to always keep to in mind the concept of your essay at all times when writing the perfect college essay. Bear in mind that your essay should not be wholly persuasive, but descriptive and informative as well.       

4) Aim to be as specific as possible

When aiming for a perfect college essay, avoid being overtly generic as much as possible. Making use of general phrases such as “my brother assisted me” or “I was completely nervous” will rapidly bring down the quality of your essay and also make you sound boring to the reader. As an alternative to using such generic phrases, think of more specific words and examples that better express your feelings or emotions without making you seem monotonous at the same time. Avoid cliches at all cost!

 5) Make use of your own personal voice

The sole aim of writing a college essay is to prove to the school that you would be of immense value to the school and also add something to their student body. All colleges desire students with creative ideas, a touch of humor, and the sort of personality that will make them standout in the future. Let this aspect of you be visible in your essay.


6) Review and edit your essay where necessary

Among the things you should look out for when reviewing your essay is continuity and/or contradictions in your concept that may be present in your essay. You surely do not want your points contracting themselves all over the essay-saying a thing in a paragraph and saying something contrary about it in the next. You can easily deal with the grammatical errors while creating your last. One good way to do this is to allow several persons to read your college essay and hear their honest opinion on it. It always pays to view things from a different perspective.


7) Read through your essay more than once

Before finally dropping your pen on the table, carefully and methodically read through your essay, and on a small jotter or separate piece of paper, note down the key points in your essay that make you stand out. Do not read anything specific at his point; but rather read to get a feel of what you are trying to convey through the essay to your reader(s). Read through it again and this time, pay close attention to the individual sections of the essay such as the introduction, body and conclusion while also watching out grammatical errors.

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Once you have your diploma in-hand, it’s time to start thinking about your financial future and planning for it, if you haven’t already begun to do so. Once you get a full-time job (again, if you haven’t had one already), you’ll have a steady income to start saving, investing, and spending. Here are some tips from Forbes.com to help you get started making smart financial decisions.

 

1.) Budget

It will take a few months, but keep track of what you’re spending on utilities, rent, gas, insurance, groceries, entertainment, clothes, etc. This will help you figure out how much money you can safely spend each month without running into financial troubles from spending more than you earn. Write down how much money you’re bringing in from work each month as well. Then start to flesh out your budget and stick to it. Remember to create a budget category for emergencies like a new set of tires for your car or a trip to the emergency room. Also, keep your expenses down while you establish yourself financially.


2.) Look for Student Discounts

College students should become masters at exploring the ways their educational status can save them money. Vendors, local venues, restaurants, and services near college campuses often offer student discounts that could save your freshman big money during the first year. What’s more, by looking for discounts, students learn the value of hunting down great deals.


3.) Stay Out of Debt.

If you don’t have debt payments, you can have more choices when it comes to your career. If you don’t have to meet a ridiculously high salary level every year to ensure you pay on your debt each month, you can apply for jobs that have lower salaries, but which you might like much more than one that pays six figures annually. Also, potential employers do credit checks on applicants, and you might not get a job offer at all if your credit report comes back with a high debt to income ratio.

Debt is incredibly hard to avoid, though. Forbes.com reports that a Fidelity Investments study found that 70 percent of the 2013 graduating class had an average debt of $35,200.

4.) Get Rid of Your Debt Fast.

Paying down and eliminating your debt should be your top financial priorities after graduation. If you have student loans, your payment on them is not just a monthly obligation you have to pay: it is an evil if your life that you must annihilate quickly. You may have to work more hours, get another job, start freelancing, or spending less money on eating out or buying clothes, but you will thank yourself in the long-run. When that debt is gone, you have more monthly income to spend as you want, and you can start thinking about bigger purchases, such as a house or new car.

Even if you can only save another $20 per month,  that can help reduce the amount of interest you pay over the life of the loan. You may also be able to save some money by having the payment automatically deducted from your bank account each month. This can reduce the interest rate in some cases.

5.) Set Up an Emergency Fund.

You never know when life is going to throw you a curve ball or dump everything it has on you at once. Set up an emergency fund with at least three to six months’ of living expenses. Shoot for a year, but this can take a significant time to accumulate. If you’re suddenly laid off or have medical expenses, these savings can keep you afloat financially. Stash your money in a money market mutual fund or a bank savings account.

6.) Move in with your parents

 Anything ! To keep housing costs down. This presumes they’re cool with the idea and won’t charge you rent. You’ll then be able to devote the money you save on housing to cutting your debt and increasing your savings.

7.) Start Investing Now.

You’ve got time on your side, and this gives your money more time to multiply. Buy stocks or mutual funds. Check out the National Endowment for Financial Education or SmartAboutMoney.org for free information that explain the fundamentals of investing. You can also learn about investing through a community college class or through a workshop from a group like the American Association of Individual Investors that does not sell anything financially-related.

8.) Put Money in your Retirement Account.

If you’re under the age of 50, you can put in up to $17,500 into 401(k) or other similar retirement plans. The money is taken out of your paycheck automatically, and it’s tax deductible. The money is tax-deferred until you take it out. If you can afford it, put as much money into your account as your company will match. Many employers will contribute a certain amount to your account if you do so yourself each month, so take advantage of it. It’s free retirement money. Employers typically require employees to save four to six percent to receive the highest match. You might be wary about tying up your money, but it’s worth it to have that money down the line.

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