Environmental sustainability has been a hot topic around the country—and around the world—for the past several years. It is no surprise, then, that many colleges have made their campuses more environmentally friendly. “Going green” is becoming more common every day in colleges around the country, and many students have begun to take steps on their own to reduce their college’s carbon footprint. If you’re ready to join the environmental sustainability movement, you may be wondering how to make your dorm room green. There are many ways to do this, but you can start with these:

Turn off your air conditioning. Air conditioners can use a very large amount of energy, especially if left on when no one is in the room. Replace your window air conditioner with a fan or two, and you’ll stay comfortably cool without using nearly as much energy. If you absolutely must have an air conditioner, find one that is as energy-efficient as possible, and only use it when it’s absolutely needed. Turn it off when no one’s in your dorm or apartment, and turn it down at night.

Use energy-efficient light bulbs. You’re going to be up late studying. A lot. So you’ll probably be getting a lot of use out of your desk lamp. You can buy bulbs that use significantly less energy and will last a lot longer, saving you cash in the long run. Some of them last so long that you’ll probably be able to get away with only one or two for the whole year. As with air conditioning, use them only when necessary–if you can open your blinds and study without turning on a lamp, go for it. It’ll make you feel less like you’re studying in jail anyway.

Reduce waste by buying used. This is a great way to not only make your dorm room green, but also to save money. Buying used books is much cheaper than buying new. Used furniture is also significantly cheaper, and if you get it in the same city as your college, you won’t have to transport it from home. This may not seem like a big deal, but if everyone decreases their carbon footprint by a little bit, we can make a big difference. It’s cliché, but it’s true.

Reduce waste by buying reusable. Similar to the above recommendation, reusable items can make go a long way in making your dorm room green. Instead of buying water in plastic bottles, trying buying a stainless steel water bottle to fill with filtered tap water (you can buy a Brita or similar filter just about anywhere). Instead of carrying food in sandwich bags that you’ll throw away, use reusable plastic containers like Tupperware. By thinking in this manner, you can greatly reduce the amount of waste that you generate.

There are many other ways to make your dorm room green—get creative with your ideas and start a trend at your school. We can all make a difference!

Everyone has group assignments in high school—whether you’ve been asked to give a group presentation, write a group paper, or some other such activity, you’ve certainly worked closely with others, and you might think that you’re pretty familiar with the whole thing by now. That’s probably not the case. Group assignments in college are very different than group assignments in high school. While it might seem like working in groups just complicates any given assignment, you can use these situations to learn a lot about yourself and how you work with others.

In most colleges, group work is fairly common. You’ll have to conduct research, write papers, give presentations, form and defend arguments, and collaborate in other ways in groups. Because of this, it’s important to go into group assignments with an open mind. Yes, it may seem like it makes the process much more difficult. But it can also be much more rewarding. When you use the creative capabilities of a number of people, you have many different perspectives, backgrounds, and ideas that can change the outcome of your group’s efforts. And even if the outcome isn’t exactly what you want, it’s likely that it will be well thought out and of high quality. So listen to the suggestions of your group mates and be open to new ideas; you’ll be better off for it, and so will your group.

Gaining experience working with others will prove to be very useful in the future, as it’s rare in the professional world to work only by yourself. Once you’ve graduated and get a full-time job, you’ll be working with others constantly, so getting used to the dynamic of working in groups is very beneficial. For example, you’ll whether you function best as a leader or as a follower. Both are needed in every group, and you’ll quickly learn when to take the reins and when to let someone else have control of the group. It’s equally important to learn to influence the group with subtlety when you’re not the leader, because, let’s face it, those who step into leadership roles are often not qualified. There’s no way to truly understand the interplay between leaders and followers until you’ve experienced group assignments in college in both positions.

Another useful skill that you’ll pick up during your groups assignments is the ability to compromise. When you’re working on an assignment by yourself, if you don’t like how it’s going, you can just change it. When you’re in a group, it’s a little different. You’ll have to diplomatically communicate to the group that you disagree with the current consensus and make a case for your recommendations. This seems like a simple proposition, but it’s something that takes a lot of practice. It’s really a trial-and-error process.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, never overlook group assignments as an opportunity to get to talk to a cute guy or girl in your class that you haven’t had the courage to approach. Group work is an invaluable tool in this respect!

When spring rolls around—and seniors begin to realize that time is really starting to run out—many colleges will hold job fairs and give students a chance to get some one-on-one time with employers before the “real life” job search starts. Because you won’t have any professional work experience when you start applying for jobs, your résumé won’t be as impressive as many of the other candidates’ and you’ll need to take advantage of every opportunity that you can when it comes to getting an “in” with potential employers. To maximize your chance of employment, you’ll need to make the most of your college job fair.

The first step in having a successful job fair experience begins long before the job fair takes place. Employers are going to be talking to a very large number of students, and you need to make sure that you stand out from all of the others. It’s one thing to stand out while you’re at the job fair, but it will take more than that: your résumé needs make you out to be a top-notch university recruit. Because the employer will be taking résumés with them and reviewing them later, it will be of great benefit to you if it stands out and helps them to remember who you are. Make up a draft of a résumé using a template (you can find these in many places, including on Monster and MSN) and then bring it to your college’s career center and have it looked over by at least two people. Make sure that it’s as professional-looking and –sounding as possible.

Once you’ve prepared your résumé for the job fair, you’re ready to prepare yourself. In the same way as you want your resume to stand out, you want yourself to stand out. It’s difficult to take someone seriously if they aren’t dressed seriously, so make sure that your appearance is immaculate. There’s no such thing as being over-dressed for a job fair; a suit or a sport jacket and tie is certainly called for. Men should make sure that they are clean-shaven; both men and women should make sure that their hair is done well. A conservative look will make sure that you appeal to as many employers as possible. Now is not the time to show that you can combine professional and casual looks successfully. Be traditional. It may be boring, but it’s effective. Carry your resumes in a portfolio; it looks a lot better than carrying a bunch in your hand or in a backpack.

When you finally reach the job fair, it’s essential that you conduct yourself in as professional a manner as possible. Be extremely polite, address with “sir” or “ma’am,” do not interrupt conversations, speak clearly and use proper English. Speak with as many potential employers as possible, and make sure that you have enough resumes to distribute to all of them. Ask questions about their companies and tell them why you would be a good candidate for their positions; make sure to tailor your conversations to each individual employer.

A last note on making the most of your college job fair: be confident in yourself. You’ve completed (or will soon complete) four years of college. You’re ready to take on the adult world. Let it show.

Once you’ve decided (or been forced) to live on campus, you’ll need to decide if you want to buy a meal plan or make your own food. While this may seem like a simple decision, you should put some thought into it before you choose one or the other. Consider the following things when thinking about whether you should buy a meal plan.

First, think about how much effort you’re willing to put into making food. If the answer is “not much” or “none,” you’re probably better off buying a meal plan. You’ll be able to get your meals from the cafeteria without having to worry about making anything at all. This can be especially convenient during really busy times during the semester, like around mid-term and final weeks. If you choose not to buy a meal plan, be sure to understand that you’ll need to put at least some amount of effort into your meal-making (unless you plan on eating out all the time . . . which gets really expensive really fast). One of the best ways to prepare meals without feeling like you’re always in the kitchen instead of doing homework is to take a couple hours out of a Saturday or Sunday afternoon and make large batches of food. Put meal-sized portions in some plastic containers and pop them in the freezer. Whenever you need a meal, just take a container out and microwave it

Second, it’s important to understand exactly what you may or may not be getting from your meal plan. Many schools have different types of meals plans—if you plan on buying one, make sure that it fits your needs. You can usually find a variety of three-meal and two-meal-per-day plans at any school; however, your schedule may not match up with the hours of the cafeteria (especially at a smaller school where the hours may be more limited). If the meal plan just doesn’t look like it’s going to work out, think about making your own food.

Lastly, it’s important to consider the cost of buying a meal plan. This can also vary greatly between schools. Some colleges’ meals plans are very affordable, while others can be quite expensive. While it’s difficult to estimate how much you’ll spend on food if you make your own, you can try to make a rough guess and see if it will save you money (it’s fairly likely that it will). You can then decide whether saving money or saving time is more important to you.

Like many things, deciding if you should buy a meal plan is a personal decision that requires some thought. Think about the above three things, do some research, and you should be able to make a well-informed decision. Asking upper classmen is a good way to get information about your school’s meal plans and whether or not they’re a good deal.

99.5% of the world’s population has a Facebook account. Or at least that’s what it seems like. It’s probably not quite that high. But it’s very likely that you, internet peruser and blog reader, have an account, whether you’re in high school or already in college. Facebook has become one of the primary means of social communication for students throughout the country (and the world), and, like any other means of social communication, has its own set of norms. While you won’t be humiliatingly reprimanded for breaking any of these rules, you may find yourself in an awkward situation or make someone else feel a little weird.

First and foremost, don’t be a Facebook stalker. It’s difficult to define exactly what a Facebook stalker is, but it starts with knowing a lot about someone’s life . . . even though you’ve never met them. If you know someone’s siblings’ names, their pets’ names, their favorite colors, and what they did last weekend, they better be one of your best friends. If not, you may want to take a step back and question whether or not you’re guilty of this. Don’t let this deter you from reading about people that you don’t know (that’s one of the nice things about Facebook)—just don’t go overboard and make it weird.

One of the best things about Facebook is that it allows you to share pictures with your friends. You can post pictures of trips that you’ve taken, your friends and family, sporting events, parties, or whatever you wish. But be careful which pictures you put up—before you post pictures of your friends from the party last night, make sure you’re not putting up anything that could cause embarrassment. It’s just not cool, and it’s also one of those things that can come back around. You wouldn’t want to see an embarrassing picture of yourself up on somebody else’s page, would you?

If you know a lot of people, it’s easy to accumulate a very large number of friends on Facebook. Some people even take pride in the fact that they have a ridiculously long friend list. This is fine, if these people are your friends. If they’re not, they shouldn’t be on your list. You may think it’s cool to befriend every person that’s friends with your friends’ friends, but it can get really irritating to receive a bunch of friend requests from people that you’ve never heard of. Don’t ask someone to be your friend unless you at least are acquaintances.

Facebook etiquette for college students is a fairly simple concept: just be polite. You can be sure, though, that you’ll run into a significant number of people that break at least one of these rules. When you do, unless they’re one of your close friends (in which case you should tell them that they’re being annoying), it’s best to distance yourself a bit from this person to that you don’t become associated with their antics as well.