The following post is written by Josh Olson from UNC, one of our many friends at Uloop, a student powered marketplace. Read more great posts in their blog.

We all know that reading, like broccoli, is good for us. Not only does reading make us smarter, but it makes class easier. The more you read, the more you know. And the more you know, the more you have a head-start in your studies.

Reading can, at times, feel like eating sandpaper. But fortunately there are some great apps to help you get literate.

Dictionary.com

Dictionary.com has created a great dictionary app. It has an excellent selection of words (almost 2,000,000). And it is free. Although some might think that this app is simply an app-front for Dictionary.com’s website, in reality no internet connection is required. It also includes a thesaurus and word-of-the-day function (although some see the word-of-the-day feature as a hinderance).

Wordbook

Another fantastic dictionary/thesaurus app is Wordbook. Unlike Dictionary.com, this app isn’t free (it’s $1.99). But its interface is slightly cleaner and more polished. It has 220,000 definitions, all of which are very clear and well-written. It also has word-origin information and recorded pronunciations of its words; this is helpful for words like “macabre” and “hegemony.” Read More »

Graduation is right around the corner. (And for those unlucky few…you’ve already passed that corner. Sorry guys.) And you’re about to start getting a whole lotta gifts…and wishing that a whole lotta them came with exchange slips. I mean, there’s not really much to do with a full-length nightgown that says class of 2011 all over it. Thanks for nothing Grandma.

So we’re trying to ease the pain of leaving college as well as the pain of bad gifts by giving you the chance to win your own. We’re teaming up with Shutterfly to offer you a kickass prize: a Shutterfly personalized photo book. What’s a photo book? It’s a hardcover book filled with YOUR PHOTOS.  It’s like bringing Facebook to life! Oh and that’s not all (It never is with us). We’re also giving away 100 custom graduation announcements  along with the book. ANNNDDDD we’re giving away ANOTHER photo book to a CollegeCandy newsletter subscriber. That was exhausting just to type.

Here’s how to enter to win:

1. Sign up for the newsletter AND leave a comment below telling us what you’re going to miss most about college. That’s it. You’re automatically entered to win.  Oh, and make sure to use your real e-mail address so we can contact you if you win. Oh, also, Shutterfly is so excited to keep giving stuff away that they’re offering another way to win big.

2. Contest closes at 11:59 PM on May, 8 2011

3. Please note this giveaway is only open to US  residents. Also please expect 4-6 weeks for delivery. For official rules and more legal mumbo-jumbo, click here.

[Welcome to Celebrity Chic on the Cheap, where our style guru takes a celebrity look and breaks it down for you, our poor college fashionista. What does that mean? It means that while the celebrities (like chic gone crazy Kate Moss) are spending $5,000 and more on an ensemble, you an spend way less...and save the rest for Margarita Mondays.]

Lauren Conrad is completely and utterly brilliant. She has somehow managed to parlay getting paid to turn her teenage/college-aged angst into an empire. She has a clothing line, a series of books (that I am unabashedly addicted to, btdubs), a lifestyle website (how very Gwyneth), and is a staple on best dressed lists. And to think, it all started because she was willing to put her dramz on a platter for all of us to devour on a weekly basis.

She’s basically our generation’s Einstein, with far better hair. Lauren’s style is amazing in its simplicity. It’s classic without being dull and trendy without being cliche. She has created an effortlessly unique blend of aesthetics, from preppy to boho to beach chic.  Her night looks are among some of my favorites because they’re always very simple and demure, which can be a nice change of pace. Read More »

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These days Glee’s been flip-flopping more than Sam Evans’ hair.  I mean, one week I’m struggling to get through the hour, hoping against all hope that Rachel will do one of two things: open her mouth to belt out a Broadway standard, or open her mouth to make out with Finn – probably the two only things that could salvage a truly boring episode.  And the next week?  Well, somehow they’ll manage to pull out something that has me more juiced up than Noah Puckerman’s arms.

Sadly, last night’s episode is one that falls into the former category.  “Rumours” has potential: songs that are pulled from a great album (Rumours, by Fleetwood Mac), major relationship drama, and a dramatic plot twist – but somehow, it just didn’t work for me.

I can more or less divide the various plotlines of this episode into three neat little categories – the romantic stuff, the dreaming big stuff, and the sneaky stuff – and they were all tied together by one idea: that muckrakers ruin everything.   The cast and crew of Glee have had more than their fair share of media warfare.  From racy photos, to reports of offscreen cattiness, to the widely held belief that Lea Michele is a diva, to Ryan Murphy’s tireless advocacy of his personal beliefs, polarizing as they may be – this is a show full off people who aren’t always on great terms with media giants.  And this episode was a not-so-subtle dig at journalists, bloggers, and the general public.  What can I say?  Haters gonna hate.

So let’s get to those three categories of plotlines, shall we?  To kick it off, let’s talk love….because, well, those are my favorite storylines.  Newsflash, kids: Blaine and Kurt are SO ten minutes ago.  These days, it’s all about pulling for an equally lovable same-sex pairing: Brittany and Santana.  To make a long story short, Artie and Brittany break up because he grows uncomfortable of her relationship with Santana.  It seems like another little argument between a high school couple – until Artie calls Brittany stupid.  Yeah, HE WENT THERE.  It’s more or less used as a figure of speech that has a special place in any fight, but Brittany takes it to heart.  She runs away crying, saying that he is the only person who had never called her stupid, and just like that, the entire essence of their relationship is revealed.  It isn’t just because she was his first, or because they make an insanely cute couple (who, let’s face it, don’t make a ton of sense).  The reason these two thrived for so long is simple: Artie, in his desperation to hold on to the pretty and popular girl he never would have never envisioned in his life, fails to call her out on the shortcomings that are so apparent to everyone else.  By doing this, he validates Brittany’s sense of self worth – after all, she did acknowledge her lack of brain power as her most undesirable trait in last week’s episode.

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Swap.com, LiveProfile and Foodily) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

It’s May, which means summer vacation is almost here! Soon, you’ll be free of classes and have plenty of time to relax, lie on the beach, party with friends, and work that summer job or internship — you just have to get through finals first.

But don’t worry, studying for finals this semester will be a breeze with Cramster! Cramster is a comprehensive online study and homework help resource that will make studying for your exams a lot easier. With Cramster, you can download study guides and lecture notes by subject, create and join study groups and take practice exams.

Read More »

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[The following story is written by University of Alabama student and CollegeCandy beauty blogger, Caitlin, who experienced last week's devastating tornado from the safety of her apartment bathroom.]

When I look back on April 27, 2011, I’m nothing short of amazed at how your whole world can be changed in a few minutes.  Like every regular Wednesday, I woke up early, made coffee, and did homework since I don’t have classes until 2:00 pm.  I usually go to the AOII house for lunch, but I had a lot of work to do and decided to stay at my apartment in Midtown.  While finishing up my short story for my creative writing class, I kept checking my email to see if classes were canceled since I knew the weather was going to be bad later that day.  The only news I received was that my poetry teacher canceled the conferences we were supposed to have that afternoon.

I got out of class at 3:15 and by 3:30 I was at my car when I noticed the sky was starting to get dark.  It was extraordinarily creepy out.  I never take 15th Street home, but Paul Bryant was a little backed up, so I took it that day.  I remembered I needed to stop at Rack Room in Midtown to get nude pumps for Birmingham Fashion Week, which in hindsight was a stupid stop to make, but none of us knew what was going to happen.  They almost didn’t let me in because the weather was picking up, but I ran in, grabbed a pair, paid, and left.  I was going to park in the lot behind my apartment since I hate making that illegal left turn out of the Midtown shopping center onto 5th Avenue.  I really didn’t want to drive around, but I did and parked in our deck.

When I got home, my roommate Kelly had the news on and was sitting in the living room.  She had picked up flashlights on her way home earlier, just in case.  I was going off about how much stuff I had to do and trying to figure out when I needed to go to Birmingham on Thursday for Fashion Week.  Then James Spann was on the screen talking about how this storm was a big one.  Kelly said, “I think I’m going to put some pillows in the bathroom.”  We gathered pillows, blankets, candles, flashlights, snacks, and our laptops.  We got situated and sent some texts to our parents, letting them know we were huddled up in the bathroom.  My boyfriend, Chris, texted me and told me he was safe at the fraternity house.  James Spann alerted us that a tornado touched down in the area.  We started getting nervous. “The tornado is on Skyland.” Power out. Read More »

During the summer, I live in my flip flops — they’re comfortable and they keep my feet cool. But while they’re great for the pool or beach or with shorts, flip flops don’t go with everything. In fact, they can look sloppy when worn with a dress or a dressier outfit. The solution?

Flat sandals!

They look like you actually put some thought into your outfit, instead of just throwing on whatever pair of flip-flops you had lying around, but they’re easier to wear (and a whole lot more comfortable) than heels or wedges.

Check out this collection of adorable flat sandals to find the perfect pair to take you through the summer months — but for just $20 or less, you can afford to grab a few different pairs! Now all you need is a pedicure and a cute sundress and you’re ready for summer!

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus. I’m sure you’ve heard this phrase and a million others about how different men and women are. There are so many differences that we rely on our favorite dudes to help us analyze boy situations and constantly debate the difference between the sexes in terms of love, sex and relationships. But the differences don’t just stop there. According to new research, men and women also differ in how they indulge their sexual curiosity.

Ogi Ogas and Sam Gaddam have been analyzing billions of web searches and found that women are more likely to seek out character-driven stories rather than explicitly visual scenes of sexual activity. Unlike men who need nothing more than a short porn clip (or a hot girl modeling a bra in a Victoria’s Secret catalog) to get aroused, women require more of a story – and an emotional connection – to be stimulated. Proof: women account for 90 percent of sales for the romance novel industry but only two percent of porn site subscriptions.

But why? Read More »