College is expensive! Sometimes you have to hustle to make ends meet. These 10 tips will help you stay afloat until payday.
- Save up before you spend your money on new stuff. Avoid using credit cards.
- Join a credit union or find a bank that offers free student checking accounts.
- Prepare your FAFSA and apply for financial aid with your school
- Apply for scholarships.
- Don’t buy textbooks unless absolutely necessary, and if you do, be smart about it.
- Learn how to eat on a college student’s budget.
- Make a budget and track your spending with a service like Mint.
- Don’t get a credit card unless you can use it responsibly.
- Cut the cable cord and sign up for Netflix, or Hulu. If you already take advantage of Amazon Prime’s student discount, you may be able to access their library of free TV and movies. If you’re really on a budget, you can use sites like Popcorn Flix, Crackle, Tubi TV, and Snag Films.
- Use your school’s gym, computer lab, health clinic and other resources that your tuition pays for.
The internet, which used to bring a sense of anonymity, is now the easiest way to find out everything about you. We learned in March 2018 that Facebook has given away the private data of over 50 million users. Now that your information is out there and freely accessible to practically anyone, it may seem like there’s nothing you can do to protect yourself.
Fortunately, there are a still a few ways to improve your online privacy and keep your private data private.
Dos and Don’ts for Online Privacy
- Don’t post personal information (phone number, address, school, job, etc.) on anything public
- Don’t post pictures, bulletins, notes, etc. that show you doing something that is illegal or would otherwise get you kicked out of school/fraternity/clubs
- Don’t become “friends” with someone you don’t know
- Don’t post anything threatening someone. Besides being terrible, it can be used against you by future employers and the police
- Don’t post inappropriate comments on public websites
- Don’t provide your credit card information on unsecure websites
- Do set your online profiles to private
- Do delete any posts, pictures, or videos that you don’t want potential employers (or your grandma!) to see
- Do protect your profiles, blogs, email, and cloud storage with strong passwords
- Do avoid sharing private information when logged into public Wi-Fi
- Do Ungoogle Yourself
Free Antivirus Software
If you want to go totally nuclear, you can delete yourself from the internet. This isn’t really your best option, as most employers look for some kind of online identity, and nearly all applications are done online.
The English language is very complicated and there are many sets of similar words that people have trouble with. Are you one of the many that confuse these words?
accept – to receive: “She would not accept my proposal.”
except – all but: “Everyone went except John.”
access – admittance, a way of approach: “No one had access to the room.”
excess – amount larger than needed: “He had an excess of paper.”
accent – particular way of speaking: “She had a New York accent.”
ascent – upward climb: “The mountain has a long ascent.”
assent – to agree: “The teacher assented to accepting a late assignment.”
advice – recommendation: “His advice was to study.”
advise – to make recommendations: “He advised me to study.”
affect (verb) – to influence: “Her actions will affect the rest of us.”
affect (noun) – an emotional response: “Even when his dog died, he showed little affect.”
effect – result: The effect of his good grades helped him get a scholarship.”
alter – to change: “She had to alter her plans.”
altar – platform in a church: “The priest stands at the altar.”
capital – 1) city/town that holds government seat: “Austin is the capital of Texas.”
2) supply of wealth: “You need capital to start a business.”
capitol – 1) U.S. Congress building in Washington D.C.: “You can tour the capitol.”
2) a building where a legislature meets: “You can go to Austin to see the capitol.”
conscience – sense of right or wrong: “Some people seem to have no conscience.”
conscious – aware of: “He made a conscious decision to help us.”
eminent – well known: “He is eminent in the field of psychology.”
imminent – about to happen: “The storm was imminent.”
stationary – unable to move: “I rode the stationary bike.”
stationery – paper for letter writing: “I bought new stationery.”
College students have about a million things going on at any given time. When you’re that busy, it’s easy to forget things. Unfortunately, what’s forgotten is usually important and course-related. If you’re looking to improve your memory and your academic success, keep on reading.
8 Ways to Improve Your Memory
1. Be flexible.
Experiment with what helps you remember, whether it’s a mnemonic device or color coding your notes. Studies show that chewing gum, listening to classical music, or burning candles all have a positive impact on memory. Find what works for you.
2. Overlearn.
Practice and reorganize what you intend to remember in as many ways as possible. Use it while speaking and writing, even act it out. The more time you spend, the more it’s ingrained.
3. Imitate.
Schedule study time to reflect the time of day when you’ll be using the material.
- Make study time the same as test time.
- Create a similar environment.
- Study without music if the room will be quiet.
- Study at a desk instead of on your bed.
4. Rephrase and explain.
Try role-playing. Take the view of the teacher and explain the material to someone else, your dog, or a stuffed animal. Teaching the material requires a higher level of comprehension and an ability to highlight the most important facts.
5. Eliminate accidental and unrelated associations.
A study situation where a phone rings constantly produces breaks in the association process. If you’re singing along to Eric Clapton throughout your study session, you will relate the material to Eric Clapton. This is only helpful if your topic is indeed Eric Clapton.
6. Eliminate previous mistakes.
Take note of any previous mistakes you’ve made while studying and make a conscious effort to avoid them.
7. Decide on order of importance.
Some things are more important than others. Decide on the big picture and organize everything else around that.
8. Become emotionally involved.
This doesn’t always work with schoolwork, especially if you don’t care about a particular subject. But notice how you remember things you care about. If you can somehow relate the topic to something you care about, you’ll remember it better.
Bonus Tip:
Put your phone away! There is a strong correlation between cell phones and lower test scores. Splitting your attention between your material and your phone is going to lower your recollection and increase your study time.
