Colleges

The transition into college life can be dramatic and drastic, especially if you’re younger and just getting out of high school. Being on your own is a huge shock to the system if you haven’t experienced it before, and it seems as though that movement from safety to freedom is becoming more worrisome in more recent generations.

So, although going to college can be an amazing experience, and one that sets you up for a successful life more quickly than various alternatives, it’s important to listen to warnings, especially regarding things like drugs, sexual assault, frats and sororities, freshman-level classes, and putting yourself into the job market.

Be Aware of Drug Information

In the realm of hindsight, you’ll find that many people who deal with drug addition later in life started out some of their behaviors when then were in college. Though college is arguably the best time to do some of this experimentation, there are lines that can get crossed if you aren’t careful, and it’s not hard to get into the wrong kind of crowd when it comes to harder drugs that can distract you from the purpose of your university studies.

Read Between the Lines Regarding Sexual Assault Statistics

For women especially, understanding sexual assault potential on different college campuses is extremely important. There are lots and lots of unreported crimes of this nature, so you may believe that a particular school is safer than it actually is. Before blindly believing that a school doesn’t have a problem at all with this kind of behavior, talk to various women’s advocacy groups on campus to see what they have to say.

Research Frats and Sororities

A big part of the college experience for many people is the frat and sorority experience. And for many people, the attitudes and the events fit with their general demeanor. However, more transparent sets of information in the last decade or so have shown problems in the fraternity communities that can really color a person’s experience poorly. Know what you’re getting into!

Get Good Information About Freshman Classes

There are a few different ways to get information about Freshman classes, and not all of them are good. You can find out which ones to take in order to skip, or which ones to take because they’re easy, or which ones to take because they’re actually valuable. Choose wisely!

Get a Job As Soon As Possible

Too much free time is a problem during the college experience as well. Add to that, not much money, and it’s a conundrum. So, to that end, find enough time to study your material, but then also get a job, even a part time one, to fill your time responsibly and make money simultaneously.

While a lot of college revolves around parties, dating, sports and more, you’ve still got to do well academically in order to remain at school and off of academic suspension. But for those who either struggle with studying or have test anxiety, passing classes can be a huge ordeal. So to help you feel more confident in your abilities to do well in your classes and maybe even make the Dean’s list, here are three study tips that will help you ace your first big test of the semester and all semesters to come without developing bad habits like using study drugs.

Switch Up Your Study Spaces

Many students find a location or method of studying that they think works for them and then stick with that one formula for their entire academic career. While this may prove to be useful in the beginning, the Huffington Post shares that actually switching up your study spaces may make you a lot better at studying and recalling that information come test time. They claim that memory is strongly tied to location, meaning that it could be difficult to recall the information you’ve learned in a testing center if you’ve been studying in one location for an extended period of time. To combat this, try studying in a few different spots to help those memories to not associate with any one place and be easier to recall when you need to.

Avoid Cramming Before Tests

Time management is one of the biggest reasons people come into tests feeling unprepared. When you haven’t managed your time well to study for a test, that’s usually when you end up cramming in the few precious hours before you’ve got to take your exam. But according to CampusExplorer.com, pacing your studying over longer periods of time makes you much more likely to really retain and understand the information you should be learning. Try studying a bit after each class instead of doing it all in one sitting. This strategy also helps you to not get burnt out from going over your notes time and time again in just a few hours before your test.

Don’t Fly Solo

There may be times where you feel you’re going to get the most out of your study time if you spend those hours alone. However, Randall S. Hansen, a contributor to LiveCareer.com, reports that studying in groups or even with just one other person can increase your understanding of the material. This also makes it easier to split the work of studying between multiple people so you can learn both through your own studying and through the learning-teaching process of sharing your knowledge with others. This could be especially helpful if your test involves short answer questions.

By planning ahead and taking your studies seriously, you can see big improvements on your test scores in no time. Use the tips mentioned above to find easier academic success today.

College students have a bad reputation as drivers, and it’s unsurprising why: the leading cause of death for teenagers is car accidents. Because of statistics like this, young people have very high insurance premiums, and that can be hard to afford. Parents also tend to be very worried that their kids will be hurt while driving, especially once they leave home.

How can you stay safe and set your parents’ mind at ease when driving? While your mom will always worry, these 3 practices can make you one of the most reliable young drivers on the road.

Turn Off Your Phone

Distracted driving is a very common problem among college students – it’s just hard to put your phone down. While you’re driving, fight the urge to chat or text, even at stop lights, by turning your phone off or setting it to do not disturb mode. Be especially careful about texting – dialing a phone to make a call nearly triples the likelihood of an accident, but drivers who are texting are over 23 times more likely to be in an accident. Distracted drivers are a danger to themselves and their passengers and a risk to everyone else on the road.

Know Your Safety Features

Many college students own used cars, which is great from a financial standpoint, but not always ideal when it comes to safety. Make sure you’re familiar with your car’s particular safety features, such as whether or not it has side airbags and how many seatbelts are in your car. Some small cars don’t have a third seatbelt in the back; if your car doesn’t have one, keep your car at capacity. Just because you can fit a third person in the back, doesn’t mean you should when they can’t ride safely.

Take A Class

Sure, you might have only finished driver’s ed a few years ago, but that’s not the only class available to drivers. You can take refresher courses if you haven’t driven much since getting your license or even schedule a special highway driving class if you’ll be doing more long distance trips now that you’re out on your own.

Another useful class to consider is a defensive driving course. These classes are meant to teach you important driving strategies for avoiding accidents and they go above and beyond the basics learned in driver’s ed. Much of the time you can even get a discount on your insurance premium if you take a defensive driving class and present your insurer with evidence of completion.

Having a car as a college student can provide a lot of freedom, make it easier to live off campus, and even free up your parents when you need to come home from break, but you have to prove your responsible enough to drive without supervision. Follow the laws, drive smart, and put safety first whenever you’re behind the wheel and you’ll be on the road to success.

The college years can be a stressful time, for many reasons. You may have moved across state or even across country to go to your school of choice, which means that you are far away from your family that you are used to be with all the time. Depending on what you are going to school for, you may have a lot of tough courses and an extremely busy schedule ahead of you.

Many new college students will also be spending time working while they are going to school. That means even more stress and even longer day. All that stress in college can quickly lead to substance abuse. Most times, there is an underlying issue when it comes to addiction, from a brain disorder to using substances as self-treatment.

Don’t Even Experiment

While it can seem a benefit to take a pill that can give you more energy so you can stay up later and study, any kind of drug can lead to addiction. Plus, each time you take a drug, even if it’s a prescription one, you risk your life. Even if it is your prescription, if you are taken it different than recommended you could be harming yourself and you could risk overdose.

You may think that taking speed once, because you have midterms due, will just be that one time thing. However, once you’ve felt the effects it can be hard to say no the next time you “need” it. Instead, try to set better hours to work and study so that you have time for everything.

Be Careful At Parties

Rape is something that is far too prevalent on college campuses, and 80 percent of college students that are roofied are women. When it comes to parties, it’s simply part of the college seen to go and have some fun and have a drink or a few. However, you need to make sure you have a buddy with you when you go partying, and you also never want to accept a drink from someone else, or leave the one you have unattended.

By have a buddy, even if someone does slip something in your drink, they can be there to see that something is wrong and make sure that you get home safely.

Get Help

For some college students a few nights of parties and drinking each week is simply normal, and not a problem. However, if your drinking or drug use gets out of control, and becomes something you need just to get through the day, then it’s time to look for help.

If you become addicted to alcohol or another substance it can be detrimental to your college career. You may get kicked out or drop out. Things could be much worse than even this, from jail time to death. Get help, and if you have a college friend that has a problem, get them help as well.

Many people go to college with the intent to spend the time learning. However, you won’t be going to classes and doing homework all day, every day. What are you going to do in your spare time (when you’re not working, of course)?

So, maybe you’re not trying to find love, but that’s generally when you find it. College is a great time to start dating, meet new people, and have fun. You’ll meet a myriad of different types of people from all over the world, so why swear off dating with so many options?

Look In Class

One of the best places in college to find someone to date, and possibly love, is in class. You spend a lot of time there, and if they are taking one of your electives it’s probably because they are interested in some of the same things as you. Why not meet up for coffee or something after class and discuss class, life, relationships, whatever.

Maybe you will meet someone in the library, or maybe you’ll hit it off with someone that is in a study group with you. There are so many chances to meet someone you could really connect with when it comes to college and learning.

Go To Parties

If you aren’t having any luck meeting someone to at least date in classes, maybe you should start getting out more when it comes to college. You could meet someone at a party, and then you don’t have to worry about seeing someone in class all the time if things just don’t work out.

Parties might not be the best if you aren’t into the party scene. You could go to different college events, like protests or concerts, in order to find people into what you have an interest in. If you’re working while you’re in school you might even meet someone through work, whether it’s a coworker or someone that eats/drinks/shops where you work.

Keep It Casual

You’re in college, there is no hurry when it comes to finding love. Make your dates more a casual thing. Instead of romantic dinners, try going to lunch or getting coffee together. Go to parties together, or attend other events together.

Since you’re a busy college student, casual dating will work out better and it gives you time to get to know one another before you leap into anything serious. And, if the love bug bites you, then you can get more serious and do some romantic dates.

Finding love can happen in college, you just need to make sure it doesn’t take your focus away from classes. You can have the career of your dreams and the love of your dreams too!

College is known to be a time that is the highlight of a life. So much happens within that time period. You’re usually at an age where everything is taking off, you’re making big decisions about what you’re going to do for the rest of your life, you’re enjoying being out of your home town, and you have very high chances of meeting the love of your life and embarking on a journey that the two of you get to experience together for the rest of your days on earth.

Of course, things don’t always happen like that, but college is a thrilling time, nonetheless. In all the excitement, late night cramming, and parties that you go to during your college career, it’s important that you keep yourself in check so that you don’t get into trouble. If the party atmosphere is getting you into trouble, here are some things you should do:

Set Limits

Depending on the school that you go to, there could be a party happening every night regardless of the fact that everybody has class the next day to attend. Some universities have a track record for being party schools, so when you’re studying places, make sure you’re setting limits for yourself from the get go. Don’t allow yourself to party on school nights. If you must party on the weekends, be sure to only allow yourself a set number or drinks and say no to the drugs.

It’s better to be safe than to develop a habitual lifestyle where you’re going to have to start asking yourself questions having to do with addiction.

Move Off Campus

If setting limits isn’t doing the trick for you, it might be time to take a bit more drastic measures. Perhaps living on campus is presenting too much temptation. Your roommates are still partying hard and you’re invited to a party every day.

Despite having too much school work to get done and holding down a job to pay off loans and live day to day, it’s hard to say no. This might mean that you just have to make the move and get off of campus. You could always live close, but when you’re not surrounded by the atmosphere every second of every day, it might be easier to keep yourself out of trouble.

Move Into A Dry House

If moving off of campus doesn’t sound good to you, you could always move into a dry house. Every school usually has one of these. It’s full of the people who either don’t want to drink or do drugs, or they’re too busy focusing on what they’re actually at school for. These might be good people to be around anyway. They’ll keep you sober, they’ll encourage you to study, and you’ll get more out of your university days.

Drug use is rampant among college age students, and one place where the temptation is especially strong is in the party scene. After all, what makes a age (shorthand for day rage) so fun if it isn’t the readily available alcohol and drugs? But drug and alcohol abuse can have a severe negative impact on your academic and personal life, harming your focus, personal relationships, and commitment to your work. To avoid such an outcome, it’s important to resist peer pressure to use drugs or binge drink during your college years.

Partying can still be fun without drugs and alcohol, but it can take a lot of strength and self-confidence to stay sober. If you’re facing the next big party with trepidation, here are 4 strategies that can help you avoid temptation.

Know Your RIsk Factors

Some people have a harder time resisting drugs and alcohol and are more likely to suffer from addiction than others. While there are many reasons why this is the case, biology is one of the significant ones. People who come from a family with a history of drug addiction and alcoholism are more likely to struggle with addiction themselves. Knowing that you face a higher risk through no fault of your own, can help you stand firmer in your decision to abstain.

Set Limits

Drinking, particularly for college students who are already of age, is a common part of the college experience and it’s not necessary to avoid drinking completely, but rather it’s more important that you approach alcohol consumption responsibly. One way to do this is by setting a limit on the number of drinks you’ll have in the course of the night. Then you can pace yourself while you’re out. There are even apps available now that will help you keep track of how many drinks you have.

Use A Decoy

If you don’t want to drink or you’ve hit your limit for the night, one way you can avoid having more drinks foisted on you is by holding asking for ginger ale in a champagne glass or drinking a dark soda that you can pass off as something like rum and coke. When it appears you’re drinking, friends are less likely to pressure you into another drink.

Be The Designated Driver

If you have friends you enjoy spending time with, but don’t want to drink or do drugs with them, volunteer to be the designated driver. This is an important role that keeps everyone safe and also helps the whole group to avoid breaking the law. When you put yourself in the position of designated driver, you’re more likely to be supported by your peers for your decision to skips the drugs or alcohol.

While it may feel like all of your peers in college are drinking or using drugs, this perception isn’t true. There are many other young people who choose to be substance free. If this commitment is especially important to you, your campus may even have substance free housing. This can help you build a sober social group, as well.

Ultimately, remember that you can have fun without drugs and alcohol. Being with friends, hitting the dance floor, or having a night on the town are all just as fun when sober, or maybe even more fun because you’ll be able to relive the memories in the morning.

School’s out for summer, but what are you planning to do with all that free time? While you’ve earned a vacation after a long year of hitting the books, there’s only so much lounging around you can do before things start to get boring. That’s why it’s worth considering adding a volunteer opportunity to your summer agenda.

Volunteering during the summer is a great way to make connections with other students, give back to the community, and maybe even have a fling with another socially-conscious young person. It’s also a chance to get your hands dirty after a long semester in the classroom. That’s why we’ve scoped out 4 great opportunities for your summer. Take your pick for what’s sure to be an enriching experience.

Go Back To Your Roots

Many college students spend their year on beautifully manicured campuses with sprawling lawns, and it can be a bit of a culture shock for those used to urban environment. So why not spend you summer helping to spruce up an urban basketball court or tutoring inner city students? If your roots are in the city, going back there can set a good example to other kids dreaming of college.

The Athletic Advantage

If you play sports during the school year, lending your hand to a summer athletic league can be a great way to volunteer during the summer months. There are usually dozens of athletic programs running in any area when school is out, and they all need coaches. Get in touch with an organization like the YMCA and ask about their sports camp or bring some women’s sports wisdom to a group like Girls On The Run.

Travel The World

College students are often encouraged to travel while they’re still in school, but many feel like the resources aren’t there to just jet across the Atlantic for a few weeks. If you turn this advice into part of your volunteer opportunity, however, it can be easier to make space for travel – plus organizations like Volunteer Forever can help you to crowdfund your trip, putting it back within your budget.

Enjoy The Natural World

Depending on where you are, the summer can be a hot, sticky experience, but if you can take the heat, volunteering outside is an enjoyable way to get back in touch with nature. Spend a few weeks camped out in Florida’s State Parks, helping to maintain the area by removing invasive plant species and clearing trails. These trips often leave you lots of time to enjoy the parks during off hours.

These opportunities are just the start of the many volunteer jobs you can do during your summer that will build your resume but also build your sense of self and commitment to helping others. Whatever you’re passionate about, there are organizations that need your help – so finding chances to volunteer isn’t hard. The hard part is choosing between all the great choices before you.

College is known to be a time when you’re pinching pennies at every corner. If financial aid isn’t enough to get you through, you’re working one or two jobs to make up the difference, and you’ll still graduate with debt because you had to pay for inflated credit prices, room and board that was robbery, and the amount of coffee you had to consume to get you through added up to be enough to pay the down payment on a small house you could have bought if you didn’t spend all of your money on your education.

It’s a tricky time to be in. You have to make the decision to live on loans and rack up the debt, or forgo college altogether and choose a career that doesn’t require a degree. Though many professions in life don’t require a degree, you’re likely to make more money if you have one. For this reason, people decide to go through with school.

You’re faced with a multitude of questions, one of which is whether or not to have a car in college. It’s always nice to, but sometimes it’s not an option. If you really want a car in college, here are some tricks you can follow:

Share With A Friend

Heck. In college you share everything. You share a dorm, you share food, you share clothes, you share textbooks…why not share a car? If you’re best friends, chances are good you’ll both be wanting to go the same place, so why not just split the cost down the middle, share the title, and work out a schedule.

Go to your nearest Ford dealer, pick something out that’s a good deal and split the cost. It’s easy enough to sell the car once college is through, but if you need transportation, go halfsies and you’ll make it through just fine.

Get Something That Gets the Job Done

It might be tempting to get a new luxury ford flex or ford fusion hybrid, but if you can find a cheap car for sale that gets the job done, why not take that route? You’ll be spending the majority of your time in class so you only need your car to get to and from engagements.

If the weather is nice where you’re going to school, you may not need working heat or air conditioning, and you may not need to drive much at all, so don’t spend money on luxury models that deteriorate as soon as you drive off the lot, buy something used and get it done. Once you’ve graduated you can get a sweet ride. For now, just do what needs to be done.

College is a fascinating time for many people, especially if you’re just entering into the environment as a freshman, or particularly a young freshman straight out of high school. But without a little bit more focus than you’re used to, that time can fly by without you making the most of it, and you’ll wonder what you spent those precious moments doing.

So if you want to make sure that you’re absorbing as much of the experience as possible, there are ways to supercharge your overall intent, and five of them include learning an instrument in your spare time, staying active online, maintaining some distraction-free time, keeping your musical soundtracks handy, and staying fit and observant by keeping physically active outside.

Learn An Instrument In Your Spare Time

Music is a great connector, and especially in a college environment, if you do something like learn the guitar, not only will you be improving yourself and giving yourself and enjoyable hobby, it’s also a way to meet great people. Think about how many people talk about the bands that they were in while they went through college as well! Is all starts with that decision to take up that first instrument and learn in your extra moments.

Get Active Online

You’ll only have so much time to spend face to face with people and groups, but online there’s a lot more ways to train your explicit focus. For example, even for something like finding college dates online, there are ways to get active and find the right people for the right reasons, rather than leaving everything up to chance meetings at bars or football games. And while that works for some people, it’s certainly not for everyone.

Have Distraction-Free Time

One thing to be careful of is that you don’t get sucked into the distractions of college without stopping to smell the roses as well. In other words, be sure to drop your social media obsession every once in awhile and just be present during certain events and interactions. It makes a difference.

Keep Your Soundtracks Handy

And college life without a personalized soundtrack is going to be boring, truth told. So have your favorite tunes on your nearest device at all times. Whether you’re walking around town or skipping between classes, the right music in your ears will give you the energy you need to keep going.

Stay Moving Outside

Another way to get the brain and body sludge is to spend too much of your college time inside. If you really want to supercharge your experience, make sure that you get out and do physical stuff! Go for walks, join a co-ed sports team. Buy a fitbit and challenge your classmates to running competitions. That will really round out your overall experience.