I'm deciding whether or not to join Greek Life...
There was an info meeting last night, and it seemed alright. It was setup in a "science fair" style with each sorority having a table and decorated poster-board on display. You can definitely tell the different feel with each group, but for only spending a few minutes talking it may be too soon to tell. There are designated "counselors" who are basically girls that "give up their letters for recruitment so they can help new members find their letters," and there to help you with any questions and such.
They gave us a nifty Sorority Life Guide that lays out all the info about Greek Life, recruitment and the different chapters at the university. It is a helpful tool, for sure.
Honestly, I just felt OLD. All the girls seemed to be barely 20 and high-school-y.. no offense to those of you who are still getting through high school! For going on 24 and just now getting into the university lifestyle, it will just take a little getting used to.
I've filled out the application probably three times now, but every time I get to the end I'm not sure it's something I want to spend $65 on. Not to mention what happens if I get a bid... then I have to worry about $800-$1200 in dues PER semester, plus the time commitment. Buuuut then you have all those current members saying how they also work, do well in classes, and have a ton of fun with their sisters... so I don't know if I'm just being speculative.
Maybe I'll go through with it. You're only in college once, right? Besides, then I can tell you all about it in case you are thinking of doing the same. =)
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
5 Note-Taking Tips
Along with textbooks being provided to you free of charge, GONE are the days of your teachers giving you class notes to copy. YOU, dear friend, are now responsible for writing down notes from spoken lectures in your classes. Do you have good note-taking skills? Let me give you a few tips on how to efficiently write notes in college:
~~~
1.) If your professor repeats a phrase, or says it rather slowly or louder than usual (to ensure you write each word down), then write it down and highlight it! I've found that professors do this when students commonly miss questions on an exam relating to what they are saying. *Note: Do not only write down these obvious hints from your professor! They alone will NOT get you by. You must actively pay attention and take notes throughout your classes.
2.) Always define terms (vocabulary) in your notes. It is also a good idea to highlight defined terms in the same color highlighter that way you can easily spot them.
3.) Read the textbook section BEFORE coming to class (it will be stated in your syllabus)! If you have read the text assigned for that day, then you can more efficiently take notes by knowing what material will be covered, and how specific you should be when noting certain topics. Also, use chapter summaries to make sure you covered all the major learning objectives! For instance, in chemistry if you didn't read the text and your professor is explaining an example of how something works, more often than not you will hastily write down their elaborate explanation rather than the concise material via the text.
4.) Outline! Are you familiar with outlining? Check this out if you aren't: http://thatcollegekid.com/how-to-create-a-successful-outline/ Note!: Usually it is difficult to write a fluent, mistake-free outline while taking notes during lecture. The best outlines are made while you are studying with all the notes you took during class-time... that way you can organize your textbook notes, lecture notes, and examples in a clean and orderly fashion (and so they're all in one place for easy use when exam study-time comes around!)
5.) Abbreviate! This is a super helpful tip, just be sure to be consistent in your abbreviations. For instance, I use "b/c" for "because"... I use "para" (spanish, haha) for "in order to"... and in chemistry I use element symbols instead of writing out the whole word. Large annoying phrases like "significant figures" can be shortened to "sig figs," and "aggregate expenditure" can be "AE."
Saturday, June 9, 2012
"20 Things I Should Have Known at 20" -Julian S.
I like Twitter.. having said that, I follow Chegg (that nifty online textbook rental company) and they posted a link to the following:
~~~
(theburiedlife.tumblr.com)
2. Do not have faith in institutions to educate you. By the time they build the curriculum, it’s likely that the system is outdated– sometimes utterly broken. You both learn and get respect from people worth getting it from by leading and doing, not by following.
3. Read as much as you can. Learn to speed read with high retention. Emerson Spartz taught me this while I was at a Summit Series event. If he reads 2-3 books a week, you can read one.
4. Connect with everyone, all the time. Be genuine about it. Learn to find something you like in each person, and then speak to that thing.
5. Don’t waste time being shy. Shyness is the belief that your emotions should be the arbitrators of your decision making process when the opposite is actually true.
6. If you feel weird about something during a relationship, that’s usually what you end up breaking up over.
7. Have as much contact as possible with older people. Personally, I met people at Podcamps. My friend Greg, at the age of 13, met his first future employer sitting next to him on a plane. The reason this is so valuable is because people your age don’t usually have the decision-making ability to help you very much. Also they know almost everything you will learn later, so ask them.
8. Find people that are cooler than you and hang out with them too. This and the corollary are both important: “don’t attempt to be average inside your group. Continuously attempt to be cooler than them (by doing cooler things, being more laid back, accepting, ambitious, etc.).”
9. You will become more conservative over time. This is just a fact. Those you surround yourself with create a kind of “bubble” that pushes you to support the status quo. For this reason, you need to do your craziest stuff NOW. Later on, you’ll become too afraid. Trust me.
10. Reduce all expenses as much as possible. I mean it. This creates a safety net that will allow you to do the crazier shit I mentioned above.
11. Instead of getting status through objects (which provide only temporary boosts), do it through experiences. In other words, a trip to Paris is a better choice than a new wardrobe. Studies show this also boosts happiness.
12. While you are living on the cheap, solve the money problem. Use the internet, because it’s like a cool little machine that helps you do your bidding. If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, extend that to three weeks instead of two. Then, as you get better, you can think a month ahead, then three months, then six, and finally a year ahead. (The goal is to get to a point where you are thinking 5 years ahead.)
13. Learn to program.
14. Get a six-pack (or get thin, whatever your goal is) while you are young. Your hormones are in a better place to help you do this at a younger age. Don’t waste this opportunity, trust me.
15. Learn to cook. This will make everything much easier and it turns food from a chore + expensive habit into a pleasant + frugal one. I’m a big Jamie Oliver fan, but whatever you like is fine.
16. Sleep well. This and cooking will help with the six pack. If you think “I can sleep when I’m dead” or “I have too much to do to sleep,” I have news for you: you are INEFFICIENT, and sleep deprivation isn’t helping.
17. Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory. Do not trust it for what you “feel like” you should be doing. Trust only the reminder app. I use RE.minder and Action Method.
18. Choose something huge to do, as well as allowing the waves of opportunity to help you along. If you don’t set goals, some stuff may happen, but if you do choose, lots more will.
19. Get known for one thing. Spend like 5 years doing it instead of flopping around all over the place. If you want to shift afterwards, go ahead. Like I said, choose something.
20. Don’t try to “fix” anyone. Instead, look for someone who isn’t broken.
(Written by: Julian Smith inoveryourhead.net)
~~~
I completely agree with most of these..they each have a lesson we will need to learn at some point, but the ones I list below I have more experience with (and I'm just going to skip over the money ones because we all know how bad I suck at handling money.. luckily I'm getting better though!) :-)
-number 1 speaks volumesssss. If you aren't educated to some degree you will eat up what everyone else says, whether it's true or not. Take for instance, economics. I've always been intimidated by the subject... well I finally had to take a macroeconomics course and not only did I become less afraid of money markets and their jargon, but my professor said something along the lines of, "now that you all know this, you will constantly see misinformation on major news networks when they speak of the economy," and she is totally right. I'd give you an example but then I'd need to explain subsidies, GDP, and media bias which will definitely take more than a paragraph LOL.
-number 2 makes a great point... educational institutions are bound by state legislatures (for public schools). Coming back to economics, they need to make our education as cost effective as possible. So what's the next best thing? If you said EXPERIENCE, then you win! Get out there and find an extra-curricular group who's mission is something you are interested in. Whether it's politics, environmentalism, money management, swing dance, foreign language... 98% of the time there is a student group out there of others who are interested in the same thing.. and the best part? You as students get to decide what you want to do as a group (if your group is part of your student government, then you get funds to budget and further your cause, whatever it may be). The other 2%? If your group isn't on campus, you can start your own! See your student government for more details.
-for number 8 I would use a different word than "cool" because really, that all depends on who defines that slang term. How about, people that are better than you? Now I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but a mentor of mine taught me how to really shoot pool (billiards) and his number one advice is, "always play someone better than you, otherwise your skills don't get better."
-number 15 is great advice not only for your own health, but so many people rely on box meals (Hamburger Helper, EasyMac, and the like) for their nutritional needs. Big mistake, and it comes back around to number 14 because your body would much rather have simple foods compared to boxed meals loaded with unnatural preservatives.
-number 17 can be done in other ways. Me personally, I'm a list-maker. If I don't make a list, I don't get everything done (if at all!). Whether it's the grocery store, chores, my bills, or errands... if I don't have a list, I forget. Have a calendar, or a reminder app, use alarms and the like to keep your obligations to a minimum... besides, what happens when you forget to pay a bill on-time? Your credit score goes down and you get hit with extra fees (more money that should be in your pocket!)
-number 19 I can vouch for because my philosophy used to be, "why only do one thing when you can do so many?" I have a lot of interests, but the main problem with doing so many different things is that you never have enough time to dedicate your time and energy to just ONE of them so you can consequently excel at it.
~~~
(theburiedlife.tumblr.com)
20 Things I Should Have Known at 20.
1. The world is trying to keep you stupid. From bank fees to interest rates to miracle diets, people who are not educated are easier to get money from and easier to lead. Educate yourself as much as possible for wealth, independence, and happiness.2. Do not have faith in institutions to educate you. By the time they build the curriculum, it’s likely that the system is outdated– sometimes utterly broken. You both learn and get respect from people worth getting it from by leading and doing, not by following.
3. Read as much as you can. Learn to speed read with high retention. Emerson Spartz taught me this while I was at a Summit Series event. If he reads 2-3 books a week, you can read one.
4. Connect with everyone, all the time. Be genuine about it. Learn to find something you like in each person, and then speak to that thing.
5. Don’t waste time being shy. Shyness is the belief that your emotions should be the arbitrators of your decision making process when the opposite is actually true.
6. If you feel weird about something during a relationship, that’s usually what you end up breaking up over.
7. Have as much contact as possible with older people. Personally, I met people at Podcamps. My friend Greg, at the age of 13, met his first future employer sitting next to him on a plane. The reason this is so valuable is because people your age don’t usually have the decision-making ability to help you very much. Also they know almost everything you will learn later, so ask them.
8. Find people that are cooler than you and hang out with them too. This and the corollary are both important: “don’t attempt to be average inside your group. Continuously attempt to be cooler than them (by doing cooler things, being more laid back, accepting, ambitious, etc.).”
9. You will become more conservative over time. This is just a fact. Those you surround yourself with create a kind of “bubble” that pushes you to support the status quo. For this reason, you need to do your craziest stuff NOW. Later on, you’ll become too afraid. Trust me.
10. Reduce all expenses as much as possible. I mean it. This creates a safety net that will allow you to do the crazier shit I mentioned above.
11. Instead of getting status through objects (which provide only temporary boosts), do it through experiences. In other words, a trip to Paris is a better choice than a new wardrobe. Studies show this also boosts happiness.
12. While you are living on the cheap, solve the money problem. Use the internet, because it’s like a cool little machine that helps you do your bidding. If you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, extend that to three weeks instead of two. Then, as you get better, you can think a month ahead, then three months, then six, and finally a year ahead. (The goal is to get to a point where you are thinking 5 years ahead.)
13. Learn to program.
14. Get a six-pack (or get thin, whatever your goal is) while you are young. Your hormones are in a better place to help you do this at a younger age. Don’t waste this opportunity, trust me.
15. Learn to cook. This will make everything much easier and it turns food from a chore + expensive habit into a pleasant + frugal one. I’m a big Jamie Oliver fan, but whatever you like is fine.
16. Sleep well. This and cooking will help with the six pack. If you think “I can sleep when I’m dead” or “I have too much to do to sleep,” I have news for you: you are INEFFICIENT, and sleep deprivation isn’t helping.
17. Get a reminder app for everything. Do not trust your own brain for your memory. Do not trust it for what you “feel like” you should be doing. Trust only the reminder app. I use RE.minder and Action Method.
18. Choose something huge to do, as well as allowing the waves of opportunity to help you along. If you don’t set goals, some stuff may happen, but if you do choose, lots more will.
19. Get known for one thing. Spend like 5 years doing it instead of flopping around all over the place. If you want to shift afterwards, go ahead. Like I said, choose something.
20. Don’t try to “fix” anyone. Instead, look for someone who isn’t broken.
(Written by: Julian Smith inoveryourhead.net)
~~~
I completely agree with most of these..they each have a lesson we will need to learn at some point, but the ones I list below I have more experience with (and I'm just going to skip over the money ones because we all know how bad I suck at handling money.. luckily I'm getting better though!) :-)
-number 1 speaks volumesssss. If you aren't educated to some degree you will eat up what everyone else says, whether it's true or not. Take for instance, economics. I've always been intimidated by the subject... well I finally had to take a macroeconomics course and not only did I become less afraid of money markets and their jargon, but my professor said something along the lines of, "now that you all know this, you will constantly see misinformation on major news networks when they speak of the economy," and she is totally right. I'd give you an example but then I'd need to explain subsidies, GDP, and media bias which will definitely take more than a paragraph LOL.
-number 2 makes a great point... educational institutions are bound by state legislatures (for public schools). Coming back to economics, they need to make our education as cost effective as possible. So what's the next best thing? If you said EXPERIENCE, then you win! Get out there and find an extra-curricular group who's mission is something you are interested in. Whether it's politics, environmentalism, money management, swing dance, foreign language... 98% of the time there is a student group out there of others who are interested in the same thing.. and the best part? You as students get to decide what you want to do as a group (if your group is part of your student government, then you get funds to budget and further your cause, whatever it may be). The other 2%? If your group isn't on campus, you can start your own! See your student government for more details.
-for number 8 I would use a different word than "cool" because really, that all depends on who defines that slang term. How about, people that are better than you? Now I don't mean that in a derogatory way, but a mentor of mine taught me how to really shoot pool (billiards) and his number one advice is, "always play someone better than you, otherwise your skills don't get better."
-number 15 is great advice not only for your own health, but so many people rely on box meals (Hamburger Helper, EasyMac, and the like) for their nutritional needs. Big mistake, and it comes back around to number 14 because your body would much rather have simple foods compared to boxed meals loaded with unnatural preservatives.
-number 17 can be done in other ways. Me personally, I'm a list-maker. If I don't make a list, I don't get everything done (if at all!). Whether it's the grocery store, chores, my bills, or errands... if I don't have a list, I forget. Have a calendar, or a reminder app, use alarms and the like to keep your obligations to a minimum... besides, what happens when you forget to pay a bill on-time? Your credit score goes down and you get hit with extra fees (more money that should be in your pocket!)
-number 19 I can vouch for because my philosophy used to be, "why only do one thing when you can do so many?" I have a lot of interests, but the main problem with doing so many different things is that you never have enough time to dedicate your time and energy to just ONE of them so you can consequently excel at it.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Smart $hopper!
Who says you can't be a smart shopper when it comes to textbooks?
One of the biggest expenses (besides tuition) college kids have to deal with are ... sighh... textbooks. No longer are we lucky enough to have high schools simply provide us with a textbook to use.However, if you have a little time and patience you can find these (usually expensive) textbooks for a better deal than your campus bookstore can provide.
For example, last night I looked up the textbooks I will be using for this Fall semester's courses.. (only a few were available considering it is the beginning of June). Now the MAIN THING you NEED when looking for your particular textbook elsewhere is the ISBN number. It is basically a serial number for that specific title, author, and EDITION textbook your professor requires.
*Pay special attention to Edition numbers! Some professors don't mind if you have an earlier edition, however page numbers will be off and you will make life just a little bit harder on yourself.*
Let's take my International Relations course.
Now when looking up your textbooks, most likely your college/university will automatically direct you to their store. BUT! With that nifty ISBN number, we can easily look up the same textbook in other online venues.
Notice that there are 3 prices.
The first is the RENTAL price. Renting textbooks is kind of a new thing, but basically you pay to use the particular textbook for the semester and then return it as soon as your course is over in the SAME condition that you received it in.*To be honest, I've never rented a textbook; I fold pages, write/highlight, and sometimes I get caught in the rain when riding my motorcycle... so for me I find it safer to just outright buy the thing... just in case. Because if whoever you rent it from calls you out on returning their book in less than ideal conditions, you have to dish out more money which we all know doesn't grow on trees.
The second price is how much a USED textbook will cost you. A used textbook is simply that... a book that has been used by another student who chose to "sell it back" after their course was over. No harm in that!
The last price is the FULL RETAIL VALUE when brand spankin' new.
Phase One: complete. We know which particular textbook our professor assigned for the course.
Phase Two: finding the best deal. Take the ISBN number given (something like 12ish numbers long; you can find it in the first few pages of nearly all books... you know, where all that publisher information is, OR it is usually listed on/near the barcode) and Plug-N-Chug! Start with Google.. all the websites that have it available will come up, such as Amazon, Chegg, Alibris, Textbooks, etc.
I found a BRAND NEW textbook, still in the wrapper (the one listed above) at Alibris.com for the following:
So to sum it up, I purchased a brand new textbook for 70% less than full retail value. AND! With that awesome little promo code, I virtually got free shipping =)
My Mistake: My first two semesters in college I really didn't care how much textbooks cost because I got a ridiculous amount of financial aid and I had enough left over from tuition to be able to pay for new books. A new Anatomy&Physiology textbook ran about $250, not to mention the other four classes I was taking. Granted, this shouldn't really be considered a mistake, but rather a bad habit of expecting money to be there. What happens when the next year, you do not receive as much aid? Or you don't get that scholarship two years in a row?
My Advice: Save Save Save whenever possible! Don't kick yourself because there was an opportunity for you to save some money that could've been used to help you in-the-now.
((UPDATE! The book came early and in perfect condition, still wrapped in plastic. Happy camper.))
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