Archive for August, 2008
It’s nearly September and time to pack up and start your college career. Of course, we here at “College - U. Got It?” won’t be sending you off alone; we’ve compiled a go-to list of CollegeBound Network (CB) articles to prep you for the coming school year. We call it “Freshman Year By the Numbers,” but you can call it a roadmap to success.
“31 Things You Need to Know About College” — From buying mattress sheets to meeting professors, this article will fill you in on the easily overlooked aspects of living on campus.
“25 Ways to Survive Freshman Year (Without Starving)” — All the penny-pinching tips you could possibly ask for without the stomach-starving hazards.
“10 Coolest Campus Jobs” — You’ve heard of working in the lunchroom or at the admissions office, but what do you know about getting paid to be a note-taker or a switchboard operator?
“8 Steps to a Stress-Free Semester” — Before you bug out, buff up on ways to avoid the stress and hectic scheduling that your first semester of college will bring.
“7 Freshman Year Myths” — Forget what your peers and the media have taught you about college; CB’s here to give you the real deal.
“5 Ways to Survive a New Town” – Ward off culture shock and homesickness with these simple rules for getting to know your campus town and its inhabitants.
“4 Quick Tips for Getting Professors to Notice You” – Depending on your school, a freshman lecture can have well over a hundred students. Here’s how to stand out and get noticed for all the right reasons.
– Genevieve M. Blaber
August 13th, 2008
An hour past midnight and I was just a page away from finishing my term paper; due the next day. I’m sure it would have been a great paper but Microsoft Word had other designs at that moment — namely crashing and taking my paper with it. When I finally loaded my “recovered” file, I found that not much had been recovered. My 10 pages of hard work had turned into 300 pages of random gibberish, the occasional asterisk, and a strange sentence that was either from my first draft or just my Mac taunting me.
Fortunately, I had an understanding professor — but that’s not always a guarantee in college. To avoid having your papers lost to a digital black hole consider these back-up plans:
The Easy (and Lazy) Way
E-mail
Why? It’s the easiest and cheapest method for saving your files to a secure place. As you work on your papers make a habit of sending back-up copies to yourself via e-mail. If you’re using a POP3 account your document will be saved to your inbox and sent box, while an IMAP account will save an extra copy to a remote e-mail server.
Any perks? It’s the height of portability. If your computer or printer should break down, simply hop on another computer and access your e-mail to grab the last sent version of your paper.
How much can I save? As much as you need, unless your e-mail provider has data limits on attachments or mailbox space.
How much does it cost? Free.
The Cheap (and Kitschy) Way
The USB Flash Drive
Why? Long gone are the days of floppy disks; in their place stands the USB flash drive. Smaller than the conventional CD and far more portable — you can place it in your pocket or buy models that hang from necklaces and keychains — 
the USB flash drive is the perfect place to store your important school docs.
Any perks? Not only can you easily access your files and encrypt them if necessary, you can also express your individuality thanks to the numerous novelty designs on the market.
How much can I save? Depending on the USB flash drive you select, you could have anywhere from 64 MB to 32 GB of space.
How much does it cost? As much as $100 or as little as $7.
The Pricey (and Best) Way
External Hard Drive
Why? The ultimate form of computer back-up, an external hard drive has the power and the space to accommodate all your files and applications. It’s essentially the same as your computer’s internal hard drive except it’s as easily detached and reattached as your average USB flash drive or Firewire device.
Any perks? Although it’s not the easiest thing to carry around, thanks to a protective case and its own cooling system, external hard drives are often smaller than your desktop computer or laptop and take up little desk space. 
You can even leave it connected to your computer all day, setting the drive to automatically copy and update files according to what you’d like.
How much can I save? External hard drives can range in size from 30 GB to 500 GB.
How much does it cost? Most will run you from $90 to $300.
For more college-relevant tech tips check out our article, “Manage Time the Techie Way.”
– Genevieve M. Blaber
August 7th, 2008
“I am completely uneducated. Not going to university did give me an incredible driving force because it leaves you with a slight chip on your shoulder. It makes me feel I am going to read absolutely everything so I can prove I am not stupid.”
- KEIRA KNIGHTLEY tells the new issue of the U.K.’s Tattler magazine
Excellent. Another celebrity claiming that missing out on school is not a big deal. Hey, they probably can only say this because they’re famous. And what strikes me hysterical is that they can easily pay the rising costs of tuition without even batting an eyelash.
Listen, don’t justify your decision to not go to college like it gave you more skills and made you more worldly. Sure, I hated those required classes and thought that working in the real world through internships and my current job have taught me more than I could have taken away in my classes. But I know that my college experience helped put me where I’m at today.
It was through college that I got practice and was exposed to a variety of schools of thought. It’s where I was challenged to be the best I could be and even better than that. It’s here that I learned to be on my own and really become the independent and responsible young woman my parents are proud of. And it’s here where I formed friendships - some that will certainly last me a lifetime.
College is a time where everyone can explore and, to be cliché, “find themselves.” You learn so much about yourself and other people in that four-year period of time that it could not possibly compare to trying to make light of a decision not to go to school and claiming that you’re better off. Sure, college may not be for everyone, but that’s why there are career schools and different places for you to go to really hone your craft.
Please don’t take Ms. Knightley’s sad advice and apply it to your life. While it’s nice that she took the time to really try to prove she’s not dumb, she could’ve used that time to take a few online courses. We’re all busy. Take what she says as an example of what not to be like.
-Amanda Fornecker
August 4th, 2008