About.com College Life

A Holiday Message from Me to Y'All

Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:18:18 +0000

At the end of each semester, the chaos of those last-minute exams, lab reports, papers, and packing seems to stop as quickly as it began. I hope that most of you are at home, on your way home, or about to head home (wherever "home" may be for you!) at this point and you are rewarding yourself for a semester well done.

I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for being readers of my College Life Guide Site. Thanks for your great comments, for your fantastic emails that provide everything from feedback on my newsletter to questions about situations you're facing while in school, and for your retweets and direct messages on twitter. I love this gig and the opportunity it gives me to interact with so many interesting folks in so many interesting places on so many interesting topics. So ... thanks!

And with that, I'm off to raid the fridge for egg nog. Happy Holidays!

A Holiday Message from Me to Y'All originally appeared on About.com College Life on Sunday, December 20th, 2009 at 20:18:18.

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NEW Article: How to Negotiate a Curfew with Your Parents

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:10:49 +0000

Heading home in a few weeks? If you're like many other college students, heading home over winter break can be fantastic -- and also frustrating. Along with the break from school comes a break from the freedom you have while living on your own.

If this sounds familiar, you may want to check out "How to Negotiate a Curfew with Your Parents." And even if you think your parents will be cool about your comings and goings while you're home, you may want to check out the article just to be prepared in case the issue comes up.

NEW Article: How to Negotiate a Curfew with Your Parents originally appeared on About.com College Life on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 03:10:49.

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Cool "Evolution of the College Dorm" Photo Slide Show on Time.com

Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:22:54 +0000

Ever wonder what residence hall rooms looked like 20 years ago? 30 years ago? 50 years ago? Time.com put together a fascinating slide show on "The Evolution of the College Dorm." Not only are the pictures interesting from an architectural point of view, but there are also plenty of other interesting aspects to look at in each photo (pinups, anyone?). If you have a few moments to spare, it's worth a browse. Enjoy!

Cool "Evolution of the College Dorm" Photo Slide Show on Time.com originally appeared on About.com College Life on Sunday, December 13th, 2009 at 00:22:54.

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Amazon.com Announces Textbook Trade-In Program

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 00:20:14 +0000

It's no secret that trade-in programs at on-campus bookstores are not exactly loved by students. After paying exorbitant amounts of money for a text in August, students often find themselves being given pennies on the dollar when they sell that same book back in April.

While I can't vouch for how much better (if at all) Amazon.com's new textbook trade-in program is, I can announce that now there's at least another option to consider. You can go to Amazon.com's trade-in site, enter your (in good condition) books, and see what they are worth. Amazon.com will then provide you with a shipping label (key fact to note: shipping is FREE), and then you are given an Amazon.com gift card as payment for what you send in.

It might be worth bookmarking their page to see what you can do with your books when this semester ends! Let me know how the process goes by emailing me or by writing about your experience in the comments section for this blog post.

Amazon.com Announces Textbook Trade-In Program originally appeared on About.com College Life on Friday, December 11th, 2009 at 00:20:14.

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Major Changes Coming to the GRE

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:06:23 +0000

InsideHigherEd.com reported on December 7 that major changes are coming to the GRE in early fall of 2011. Obviously, the changes are still a ways off, but they're good to know about if you plan to start studying next year; you'll need to make sure you're studying for the right test!

Some of the changes include:

Don't have to answer one question on the computer before being allowed to go to the next one

Change of the grading scale (will be from 130-170 instead of 200-800)

No more analogies and antonyms (woot!)

Use of a calculator is now permitted (double woot!)

Longer test time (moving from 3 hours to 3 hours, 45 minutes)

Major Changes Coming to the GRE originally appeared on About.com College Life on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 at 00:06:23.

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Great Gift Idea: Collapsible Vase

Tue, 08 Dec 2009 00:00:50 +0000

I came across this vase while reading something totally unrelated to my work here on About.com, and thought it might be a great idea for college students in tight residence hall rooms (or small apartments). After completing a product review, I can honestly say that they make great gifts, are cheap, and just may be that perfect gift you've been looking for. You can go directly to the manufacturer's website or read my review for more information.

Great Gift Idea: Collapsible Vase originally appeared on About.com College Life on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 00:00:50.

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Is Being an Undeclared Major Best for Your Career?

Sun, 06 Dec 2009 18:28:30 +0000

A recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research came to an interesting conclusion: while declaring your major early may mean you get more specialized training and education while in college, it may also mean that you are less likely to stay in that field of study as a long-term career. Declaring your major later may allow you to explore more options and, consequently, make a better long-term decision about what you'd like to do for the rest of your life. (Who knew?!)

Is Being an Undeclared Major Best for Your Career? originally appeared on About.com College Life on Sunday, December 6th, 2009 at 18:28:30.

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World AIDS Day: December 1

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:59:22 +0000

December 1 is World AIDS Day, so in the spirit of the day I am offering the following advice and links.

Advice:

Practice safer sex. Always.

Know your HIV status -- and get tested if you don't.

Educate yourself about AIDS. Even if you think you know a lot, challenge yourself to learn one new thing about AIDS today.

Links:

How to put a condom on correctly

FAQs about getting an AIDS test

About.com Guide to AIDS website

World AIDS Campaign website

World AIDS Day: December 1 originally appeared on About.com College Life on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 12:59:22.

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U.S. Professors of the Year

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:43 +0000

The Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching announced the 2009 Professors of the Year. And the winners are (drum roll please!):

Professor Brian P. Coppola at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Go Blue!)

Professor Tracey McKenzie at Collin College (in Frisco, Texas)

Professor Richard L. Miller at the University of Nebraska-Kearney

Professor Robert C. Thomas at the University of Montana Western, Dillon

Congrats to the winners ... and to the students lucky enough to be in their classes!

U.S. Professors of the Year originally appeared on About.com College Life on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 00:00:43.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:37:01 +0000

I hope most of you are home (or at least en route) by now, enjoying a home-cooked meal and some quality time with your friends and families. I wanted to use my post today to wish all of you a happy Thanksgiving and encourage you to take a moment and reflect on all that there is to be thankful for: the opportunity to pursue a college education, to better yourself through intellectual pursuit, to strive to make a difference in the world, and to work toward a degree that more folks don't have the chance to earn than do. Things in college may be stressful and frustrating sometimes, but really, at the end of the day ... wouldn't you rather be in college than not?

Happy Thanksgiving! Now go eat some pie.

Happy Thanksgiving! originally appeared on About.com College Life on Thursday, November 26th, 2009 at 00:37:01.

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