December 2nd, 2008
There are no two ways about it—college will be one of the most stressful times of your life. You’ll have to face the clash of social and academic schedules, you’ll have tests that seem impossible, professors that don’t seem to like you, roommates you don’t see eye-to-eye with, and any number of possible other situations that cause stress. However, it is possible to manage these stressors and learn to deal with the stress that they cause.
When it comes to managing stress, time management is paramount. One of the decisions that you’ll have to make every day is how to prioritize different things in your life. These can include your social life, athletics, a job, academics, and anything that might take up even a small amount of your time. Learning to balance all of these things is a skill that takes years to develop; however, if you focus on discovering the best way to organize your day, you’ll be a step ahead of the game. Keeping a schedule, either on paper, on a PDA or cell phone, or on your computer will aid your time management efforts. Use it to plan all of your activities—but don’t be afraid to change them when needed. Don’t let your schedule cause more stress than the things that you put in it.
Finding a relaxing activity that you enjoy is one of the more valuable things you can do in the battle against stress. There are as many different stress-relieving activities as there are people. Some popular ones include reading, journaling, watching movies, exercising or just holding a non-school-related conversation. Find something that you like to do that takes your mind off of the problems that you have. You’ll find that you feel a lot better if you can schedule this activity into at least most days.
Finally, don’t be afraid to use on-campus resources. People like your RA, a counselor or a chaplain can provide very helpful information as well as listening ear, which can be just as important as the above strategies. Going to talk about stress or problems that you’re having is nothing to be ashamed of—in fact, once you seek help from these people once, you’re very likely to go again. It’s an effective way of getting advice from someone who has a greater amount of experience than you do.
While stress is something that you’ll be feeling a lot of throughout your college career, you don’t have to let it control your life. Be pro-active and take steps to manage your stress; the earlier you start, the easier it will become.
3:56 PM on Tue Dec 2nd, 2008
November 20th, 2008
The ultimate source for
student reviews of colleges and universities is now live at
StuVu.com! The recent release of our website has been exciting, especially with the timing for high school students. November is the month where most colleges have their deadlines for applications, and it’s also the month where college bound high schoolers are thinking about which college they want to go to.
That’s where
StuVu.com comes in.
StuVu.com is a place for high school students to research schools that they want to attend, and get an idea of what being a student at that particular campus is like through the eyes of a student. All of the videos, photos and reviews on the site are created by students at those universities, which ensures that everyone gets an authentic view of a “day in the life” of a university student at that particular college. College bound high school students, and even undergraduates looking for grad schools can base their decision on
student reviews of colleges and universities rather than statistics and guide books written by people who haven’t been in college in years.
StuVu.com is also a place for current college and university students to share reviews, photos and videos of all kinds of facilities, restaurants, services and events around campus with their fellow students. As a newer student on campus, you may not be familiar with certain campus services, or hot spots in town that other students may know about.
StuVu.com can bridge that gap of knowledge and make sure that everyone on campus knows where to go and what things they should avoid.
The bottom line is that most high school students currently base their college decision on top 100 lists, statistics and pamphlets created by the schools themselves.
StuVu.com provides a community that allows college students to be the voice that directs college bound students to the right colleges based on what’s important to them, because in the end, there’s a lot more to college than just statistics.
5:23 PM on Thu Nov 20th, 2008
October 29th, 2008
When you first start college freshman year it’s totally possible to get overly excited by all the club opportunities on campus. Make sure you don’t stretch yourself too thin and remember that you’re technically there for school, not clubs. They’ll look good on your resume for grad school, but not if you failed any classes because you were so busy being club president. Which leads to some cautions:
Don’t accept a leadership position until at least sophomore year. By then you have a handle on your studying habits and how you handle maximum stress so you’re better able to manage your time. If you try as a freshman you may get overwhelmed, depressed, and not know what to do.
Only do two clubs your first year and then decide if they really provided everything you expected the second year. If you’re still happy with them stick with it and jump on a few more, just make sure you can manage your time. Also, make sure your study sessions take top priority over a meeting; you’re not getting credit to hang out with your friends.
Get yourself out there if you’re really passionate about the club you joined. Championing for your cause and getting your voice heard is the best way to build self esteem and your network with the campus faculty. This comes in handy in later years when you’re looking for a job and going to interviews needing recommendations from professors.
If you like the people in your club make friends with them outside of club time. It will make finding new friends easier and make campus events more fun when you have a new posse that you’re already comfortable with.
2:52 PM on Wed Oct 29th, 2008
October 17th, 2008
It’s hard to create a savings account or even a checking account when you can barely scrounge enough during the semester for a coffee. If you do manage a job either off campus or as a work study, the last thing you want to do is put that money away where you can’t touch it. Here are some tips to manage money without owing the bank any of that hard earned cash.
Establish at least one credit card, purchase one thing on it, and then put it away so you can’t use it. This will afford you an awesome line of credit and more credit card opportunities without breaking your bank. Spend only the amount you have to spend in your normal account and then pay it off right away. Viola, instant money management when you can’t pay right away, but you know in the next week at most, that you can.
Check your daily balance online, over the phone, or at an ATM whenever you can during the week, every week. The age of paper statements is at a close and it’s so much better to save tress then waste them on monthly account updates. However, this means for the most part you have to stay on top of what your balance is yourself through whatever means possible. Nothing is worse than getting overdraft fees that you can’t afford because you spent money you didn’t have in your account.
Save all your change and then find Commerce Bank. They have free coin stars instead of having to pay half the amount you’ve had counted. When you’re a college student you want to save money, not give it away mindlessly and most coin counting machines profit off your laziness. Worse comes to worst, count it yourself and save yourself the trip period.
If you do incur charges that you cannot pay, if you work with the bank, they will work with you. Tell them you’re a college student, answer all their questions, and they will often put a hold on the account and stop charging you fees. It pays to be aware, honest, and face any problem head on.
5:18 PM on Fri Oct 17th, 2008
October 10th, 2008
Unlike having your Mom and Dad wash your clothes for you; college laundry is a whole other world. There are many things they don’t tell you on the tour of your new school and they almost never show you the laundry facilities because that’s where they make their money. Here I’ll outline some basic things to expect when traversing into the great wide world of college washers and dryers.
Bring lots of quarters, they are expensive. This is one of the most important things to remember, so bring a lot of clothes to college so you can do large loads of laundry and spend less. Expect the cost to go up every year that you’re in school and plan accordingly.
Expect it to be crowded because no matter when you time your laundry, how late or how early, there will be a line. Set an alarm on your cell phone so you can pick everything up the minute it’s ready, that way you don’t have to fight people for space in the dryer.
Expect your clean stuff to be taken out unless you’re not there with it. College students are all impatient and we all have stuff to do, if it’s been ten minutes and you haven’t picked up your stuff, clean or not it will be moved to whatever space is available. Sometimes that’s the floor, if you’re lucky; it’s a clean place for laundry. So always stay aware and be prompt because nothing sucks more than having to re-clean laundry that’s still wet from the washer.
Buy your own laundry detergent and don’t rely on machines at the college because it’s overpriced and buying in bulk instead of miniature will save you more money, faster. This is just a quickie and a goodie to remember.
There are no settings on the machines, the washers and dryers only work on hot and cold, to conserve water and money. So don’t worry about making color piles. It will do the same thing to all the clothes and there will very rarely be bleeding, so just pile it all in, save yourself some time and money, and don’t worry about it.
3:01 PM on Fri Oct 10th, 2008
