A week in the life of a college student can feel like an eternity, and it can be complicated. Thankfully, there is a limitless supply of useful apps to help get you through week. Your lifestyle and personal preferences will dictate what you need to survive. But if you’re a little clueless, or just curious, here are some suggestions to get you through the week.
Monday – CNN mobile. Face it. You didn’t watch the news over the weekend. That’s why politicians always make apologies and give bad news on Fridays. They know you’re thinking about that hot date or that party you got invited to – as you should be. But come Monday, you might accidentally get cornered into a conversation about something newsworthy. Have this app ready, even if you just scan the headlines and improvise. Who knows, you might meet someone who’s attractive and smart, in which case this app might come in handy.
Tuesday – ScoreMobile. I know, it’s only Tuesday, but you’re already thinking about your fantasy team, or you’re following March madness and every other sport you can think of. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be glued to your TV or computer to know the latest scores, stats, or upcoming game times. With ScoreMobile, you can follow: NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAAB, NCAAF, CFL, PGA, NASCAR, EPL, Champions League and MLS soccer.
Wednesday – Lose it! By mid-week you’re already looking forward to eating 50 wings while watching the big game. But that feeling of guilt creeps in that reminds you how long it’s been since you showed up at the gym or ate a salad. With this app you can track your nutrition and explore a database of recipes, exercises and activities in the palm of your hand. You can even share how motivated and disciplined you’ve been with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. There are so many features and benefits to this app – order a pizza and check it out!
Thursday – Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies. Okay, the weekend is getting really close. You can almost taste those hot wings, hear the laughter of your friends, and envision your team winning the big game. So what do you need to control the fire burning in your soul? A game that lets you kill Nazi zombies who have no souls. With this app you can meditate on shotgun blasts, splattering brains and the moans of the undead. Also, you can play with friends who are might be just as bored in class as you are.
Friday – Bartender’s Encyclopedia. (For 21+ College Students of course) You know what day it is. It’s time to relax and blow off some steam. Let’s say you’re trying to impress a date by making a martini (which you’ve never made before), or your at a bar and you want to order something different but you’re not sure what. This app boasts almost 25,000 different drink recipes. Drinks can be sorted by name, ingredient and in alphabetical order – depending on your need. This app even includes other information such as setting up a bar and techniques for quality assurance.
Saturday – Dinner Spinner Pro. So that girl you talked to last night? Um, yeah, you told her you could cook and that you’d make her dinner tonight. I know! How could you have done that? Thank goodness you have this app that lets you search by name, ingredient, cook time – you name it. You can even create a shopping list (because we both know you don’t have anything except beer and leftover pizza in your fridge). This app is handy for novice and experienced cooks. Why clutter your bookshelf with recipe books when you can have them all on your phone?
Sunday – HomeWork. Where did the week go? It’s Sunday and you can’t believe another week is about to begin. More than that, you can’t believe that you haven’t studied since last Sunday night. Some things never change. If this describes you, then download this app and start keeping track of your classes and homework. You won’t have to rummage through your notes (which are poorly taken) to figure out what your priorities should be.
Who knows what apps you’ll need next week? But rest assured there’s an app for everything (except time travel) and everyone.
1. North Carolina vs. Duke - The Battle of Tobacco Road is always that, a battle. Each team has talented squads year in and year out and the fact that their campuses are separated by only 8 miles of highway makes this our #1 choice.
2. Kansas vs. Missouri - Dubbed the Border War, this rivalry dates back to the Civil War and the hatred between the two fan bases hasn't dwindle too much since then. Kansas usually has the more talented squad, but Missouri has been known to pull an upset on more than a few occasions.
3. Kentucky vs. Louisville - Kentucky is one the bluebloods, but always finds themselves trying to keep their instate rival at a distance.
4. Maryland vs. Duke - Maryland has done a great job closing the gap in terms of talent with Duke, but the Blue Devils still seem to hold the edge over the Terrapins. Maryland does pull its fair share of updates though.
5. Texas A&M vs. Texas- You may have immediately thought about football when you saw this matchup, but don't let these traditional football powerhouses fool you, as they have some of the best basketball games year in and year out.
6. Purdue vs. Indiana - The Battle of the Shot Clocks as I like to call it. There may not be a lot of scoring in these games as defense is the key. But these two teams know how to execute and play smart basketball. This instate rivalry always gets the Indiana natives riled up.
7. Cincinnati vs. Xavier - These schools are only 10 minutes apart, which means their fans bases know each other well. These teams may not always be in the Top 25 of the rankings when they meet every year, but the intensity that these games are played at cannot be overlooked.
8. Arizona vs. UCLA - Both of these programs have been down as of late, but their traditions keep them firmly in the Top 10. You will always see athletes galore when you watch this track meet play out.
9. Michigan vs. Michigan State - Michigan has also been down for the past few years, but they are improving. Tom Izzo keeps sending out talented squads which is one of the reasons Michigan State has one won 18 out of the last 21 games against Michigan. It also doesn't hurt when he has a recent Final Four under his belt.
10. Pittsburgh vs. West Virginia - The Backyard Brawl as this is aptly named, looks more like a wrestling match when they hit the hardwood. It came to a head over the last couple of years when West Virginia students started throwing pennies on to the court.
“Remember remember the 5th of November…” Students of Washington State University sure will. A student turned hacker, turned V from V for Vendetta, hacked the school’s academic media system which controls all the in-classroom presentations and distance learning technology. The still yet to be identified culprit(s), programmed the projector screens to automatically deploy and play the 5 minute video message every hour on the hour.
The V wannabe, brandishing a Guy Fawkes mask just like in the movie, used their 5 minute video to criticize the IT department and to encourage the student body to lead a revolt against the squirrels that live on campus grounds. “V” believes that the squirrels are freeloaders and do nothing but “eat, drink and breed”. It is unclear at this time if his message resonated with any of the students in the 12 or so classrooms that were affected. The leader of the squirrels was unavailable for comment when asked about the incident.
Darin Watkins, a spokesperson for the University stated that the school administrators were not amused, and that “Childish pranks don’t have a place anymore”. He would go onto say that “What may have been seen as cute and clever years ago, really doesn’t get that kind of reaction today.” He also believes that the perpetrator(s) would face “serious charges” once they were identified.
In the movie V for Vendetta, “V” channels his inner-Guy Fawkes to lead a revolution against the sitting British government that that ruled the public with serious fascist undertones. V’s antics, which ultimately lead to violence against the government, made school officials fear that the hackers could possibly be up to more than just hacking a dozen projectors. In the post-9/11 era, they were not going to take any chances and went into full alert to bring an end to the hack. They were able to shut it down after a few hours and one official was quoted as saying that it “was a rather sophisticated program” and at some point they just started unplugging hard drives to get the video shut down.
It seems as if most of the students that saw the video were more amused than worried. In fact, it has brought about a spirited discussion about current issues on campus. Some of those topics include tuition increases, the cutting of courses and overall university governance. Whether or not the video message will evoke any actually change to any of that listed topics is yet to be seen.
The full fallout of this escapade has yet to be realized, but rest assured, the 5th of November will always be remembered on the campus of Washington State. Or as their resident V might say, “Remember, remember the 5th of November. The media projector hack, and plot. I know of no reason why the media projector treason should ever be forgot.”
To find a college where you can experience interesting occurrences such as this one, visit AnyCollege.com.
A week after we posted about the Top 10 College Pranks of All Time, a group of students from the University of Michigan hacked a Washington D.C. voting site. What did they do once they were in? They programmed it to play the Michigan fight song. So why did they target this particular site? They didn't, the websites administrator sent out an open invitation for people to attempt to find vulnerabilities in the website. Well they obviously found one. The site was designed by The Board of Elections in Washington D.C. to give American Service Members and other Americans living abroad an easier way to vote from overseas. NPR has the full story if you would like to know more about it.
An article about the Most Legendary College Pranks of All Time was recently posted by the Huffington Post. Here are some of the pranks they uncovered and included in their list. It seems like college pranks are still around, but they are not quite as grandiose as they once were. I am guessing that has to do with the fact that you can be sued for just about anything now-a-days. Sneeze on a statue and you may be liable for destruction of private property. =)
In 1979, the student body government of University of Wisconsin was led by the infamous Pail & Shovel Party. Their platform? Use the school's budget for art projects and wacky pranks. Their masterpiece was putting a fake Statue of Liberty in the nearby (and, at the time, frozen) Lake Mendota, placing half of Lady Liberty's head and torch on top of it.
The Great Dome, Massachusettes Institute Of Technology
One of the most famous college prank schools, the Massachusetts school is famous for its history of jokes involving the MIT Dome. The most legendary case was back in 1994 when students installed an MIT campus police car on top of the dome -- which is 15 stories high. The clever pranksters built the frame of the car in pieces on top of the dome. It's now a tradition for copycats follow up the trick by putting all kinds of strange objects on top of it, like a firetruck and a piano.
In 2001, a gang of Canadian engineering students tied nylon cables to a red Volkswagen bug and pushed the bug off the eastern side of the Golden Gate bridge, leaving the car hanging 100 feet above water for more than four hours, halting both car and ship traffic. Police cut the cables before the car plunged into the bay and sank.
Pink Flamingos On Bascom Hill, University Of Wisconsin-Madison
The Pail & Shovel party struck again in 1979 by putting 1,008 fake plastic pink flamingos on the front lawn of campus landmark Bascom Hill. By afternoon, students had plucked most of the flamingos from the lawn for their own keeping. Flaming-planting soon became a tradition on campus.
In 1933, staffers from the Harvard Lampoon managed to steal the Sacred Cod, a five-foot long wooden fish that hangs from the ceiling of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. As the Museum of Hoaxes reports, the theft of the cod of was quite simple: "Three Lampoon staffers walked into the state house armed with a pair of clippers and a flower box. They waited until a discreet moment when no tourists were around. Then they quickly clipped the wires holding up the fish, tucked it away in their flower box, and disappeared." To prevent the cod from being stolen again, authorities raised it six inches higher.
To see the rest of the pranks, please check out the original article at the Huffington Post. Use AnyCollege.com to find a college where you can learn about all of their heritage and traditions.
As a freshman year college student, give yourself time to adjust to the college transition. You need some time to digest all of the new things around you before you go home for a visit. It's very common to become homesick when you first move into a dorm. Especially if you're within driving distance of home, you may be tempted to go back within your first few weeks because of that feeling. Try to avoid doing so and instead give yourself time to experience your new surroundings. Look into college programs on campus that can help keep you engaged in the campus social life. Be sure to check out our College Freshman Survival Guide for tips on making this adjustment easier.
Dorm living
Leaving your family to move into a dorm and become a college freshman is something that you might be looking forward to or you might be dreading. For most undergrad students, adjusting to college life is a combination of both. The idea of going away and being independent is exciting but there is some worry about being alone, possibly for the first time and some people have trouble adjusting to college. Below you will find some tips or adjusting to college.
Many college freshman tips talk about how to adjust to dorm life, how to budget your time and your money and how to handle living with a roommate that you don't know. They will also talk about moving out checklists, dorm checklists, dorm stuff and the dreaded freshman 15. Not as much college preparation seems to be spent preparing you for how you'll feel when you leave your family. This could be one of the toughest things to do. But you have to consider your family and your place within it, as well. It's often just as much an adjustment for parents and family members as it is for you when you leave home. Though they know you'll be coming back for visits (and maybe even bringing your laundry with you!) it may be the first time you've been away from home for weeks at a time.
College Activities
Going home early or often in the beginning can actually make you more homesick. Do your best to stay on campus as much as you can and get involved in social activities around your campus to help distract you from those feelings until you adjust. Ask your RA if there is a college activity list or if they have any ideas on what you can do. Some colleges also have a college activities board that can help place you in the right group. Call home, write, e-mail or talk via web cam when you feel home sick, and express your feelings. Your parents or family members are bound understand because they're going to be missing you, and they may remember what it was like for them when they went away to college.
College Freshman Tips
There are a lot of sites that have college freshman tips and advice for students that are having some problems. Here is an idea that could help, revive the somewhat forgotten art of letter writing and actually mail them home. Your parents will probably be thrilled to hear from you in this way and the act of manually writing down how you feel and writing to them about your college freshman adventures can help you feel less homesick and make the adjustment easier. This is also a lot more personable and only takes a few more minutes to complete than sending an email.
College Depression
If you're a freshman year college student and you're having some homesickness, don't forget that your family may be having a harder time than you. Call home and contact your family on a regular basis to help ease their transition to your college life. Staying in touch with your family and friends can help keep your spirits high. And don't hesitate to contact a school counselor if your feelings of homesickness persist, or you start to feel lonely or depressed, because counselors have great college freshman tips to share. Those tips listed above will help you avoid college depression, college anxiety, or feelings of being home sick or bipolar. There are a lot of college depression facts that show a correlation of college success vs. college drop outs. So be sure to seek help if you feel you are starting to struggle with any of these feelings.
Comparing Colleges
One way to make sure you find the right college that’s not too far from home, is to use AnyCollege. You can compare college and universities though our online search engine. We also have a great resource center with stats, charts and worksheets on colleges in your area.
Some of the most repeated college freshman tips include how to deal with difficult roommates or how to win your new roommate over and make him or her a friend. No one wants to live with someone who is distance or unpleasant. And statistics show that not only can it be annoying, it can threaten your higher education.
Freshman College Statistics
An article in the College Student Journal suggests that not only is social adjustment desirable, it can help make or break your success as a college freshman. According to the stats, about 30% to 40% of college students eventually drop out before they earn a degree. And aside from having problems with classes and other issues that make a student drop out of college, not adjusting to dormitory life and the social changes that college brings on can make it more likely that a student won't finish school.
A college education is a huge financial investment in your future. It should be your priority to get the most you can out of it, so adjusting socially to your new environment is very important. Whether you're attending school on college freshman scholarships are you're paying for it yourself with the help of family, it's often easy to forget just how expensive it is and how important it is when you're feeling down or lonely.
College Freshman Social Advice
Making connections and bonds as quickly as possible when you're a college freshman can help you, not only throughout your freshman year, but your entire college career. Of course, reach out to your roommate and try to forge a connection there. One of the best pieces of college freshman advice is it's best if you don't have any preconceived notions before you meet your roommate that way you won't be disappointed if they don't turn out to be your best friend right away. And there's no point in wasting time and energy worrying about a roommate that might be terrible. Try to have an open mind and decide to go with the flow.
Also, reach out to people in your dorm and in your classes. If you're lucky enough that some of your friends are attending the same college, that's a social safety net but don't let that keep you from making new friends. Cloistering yourself among what's already familiar isn't going to help you adjust to college. Get involved in some organizations or sports to get yourself out of your dorm room and among new people can help you make new friends and adjust socially, and can help you avoid the dreaded "freshman 15."
The Freshman Fifteen
Gaining 10 to 15 pounds is something that's common among freshmen because of changes in eating habits, and the tendency to eat when you're lonely or frustrated. But you don't have to come home a heavier college freshman than when you went if you focus on staying active and meeting new people. And if you have problems adjusting socially, there are on-campus guidance counselors and psychologists that can help you, so don't hesitate to contact one for college freshman tips and moral support.
Visit AnyCollege to find colleges and universities near you where you can make new friends and get a higher education.
Starbucks announced today that they will begin offering free Wi-Fi at all of its locations nationwide starting on July 1st. Even better, you won't even have to register for an account and the Wi-Fi will not be limited. I have a feeling that the Starbucks near Colleges and High Schools are going to be a lot more busy starting in July.
While you are taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi, be sure to stop back by and read our blog or apply for our scholarship drawing!
A freshman year college student faces a lot of new information and situations at once. Classes are different, people are different and the college is often miles or even states away from home. But nothing requires the same kind of adjustment that dorm life does. If you come from a large family where several people have shared a small number of bathrooms or you've shared a bedroom, the adjustment might not be as extreme as you think. If you're an only child or you're used to having everything to yourself, a little college preparation can go a long way.
College living in a dorm often means that you'll be using a community bathroom. Each floor of a dormitory typically has one bathroom, but the large dormitories may have more than one. And for most undergrad students, it seems that the bathroom is as far away as it can possibly be. This requires a little bit of forethought. A caddy or container that contains all your toiletries and anything you might need should be fully stocked and kept handy.
If you're not used to wearing a robe or slippers around the house, you may want to invest in those for your freshman year so you never have to make a midnight dash to the bathroom in sleepwear that may be a bit more revealing than you'd like. Also, some type of shower shoes like flip-flops, as inconvenient as that might seem when you take a shower, can protect your feet from fungus that is pretty common in shared shower situations. Taking 3 seconds to slip on a pair of cheap flip-flops can save you in aggravation and antifungal medication later.
You'll also need to consider the laundry situation as a freshman year college student. Shared laundry facilities are common in dormitories and upperclassmen are typically already in a routine. They know the best time to go and have worked out all of the schedules and situations that you're trying to figure out now. Give yourself leeway. Don't wait until every item of clothing is dirty before you try to get the laundry done or you might find that the machines are full.
Also, keep in mind that the neater you keep your space, the better you'll be able to concentrate and focus on your work. You'll also be able to enjoy yourself more when you do have down time because you won't be thinking about how messy your dorm room is. The stereotypical messy dorm room might seem almost fun, but it can actually be counterproductive to a freshman year college student or any student. Keeping your room clean and organized and planning your time for showers, laundry and other tasks will make a huge difference in how smooth your transition is from high school to dorm living.
AnyCollege can help you find a college that has a great dorm environment as well as academic excellence.
No no... we're not discussing the 1951 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical (sorry). Rather, it's the concept of who you are and who you appear to be online. Is there a difference? Is it, as the royalty of many countries do, a combination of the public personae and your private personae? What do you share and what do you not share on social networks (do you show your public or private personae there)? How do you decide?
Starbucks announced today that they will begin offering free Wi-Fi at all of its locations nationwide starting on July 1st. Even better, you won't even have to register for an account and the Wi-Fi will not be limited. I have a feeling that the Starbucks near Colleges and High Schools are going to be a lot more busy starting in July.
A freshman year college student faces a lot of new information and situations at once. Classes are different, people are different and the college is often miles or even states away from home. But nothing requires the same kind of adjustment that dorm life does. If you come from a large family where several people have shared a small number of bathrooms or you've shared a bedroom, the adjustment might not be as extreme as you think. If you're an only child or you're used to having everything to yourself, a little college preparation can go a long way.
