Newsweek just released their 2011 college rankings, and they’re pretty useless for prospective students. Top Schools for Activists? Boring. Best Schools for Foreign Students? I could just study abroad. Most Rigorous? Why would I want to challenge myself?

Here are five categories that Newsweek should have included on their list that prospective students would actually need to know about.

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A presentation by the American Psychological Association on college drinking recently released some statistics that may make you spit our your beer: 1. College students intend to drink to get drunk, and 2. College students use alcohol as an excuse for hooking up. Yeah. When I said you were going to spit out your beer, I meant because you’d be laughing with me.

If you ask any frat boy at a party he’d probably have told you these shocking findings, while saving money on the research. He might also then go and give one of his bros a big hug, saying “I love you man,” behaviour if questioned on, he would likely blame on the alcohol. Because, as Jamie Foxx has figured out, it’s pretty easy to blame it on the alcohol. Which college students inevitably do. So, in case the American Psychological Association wants to save some money next time, here’s eight more things college students blame on the alcohol.

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That being said, it can sometimes be pretty obvious when someone is at a bar for the first time. No matter how hard you might be trying to fit in, that’s probably exactly what’s making you stand out. And trust me, you don’t want to be that girl. Sometimes, no matter how much everyone drinks, there are some things people just don’t forget.

Here are a few handy little tips on how to handle yourself the first time you make an appearance at a bar — from one bar veteran to a bar virgin, trust me on these.

Dress appropriately. I can’t stress this enough. You might think you’ve finally found a place to wear that skin-tight, super-short, leopard print dress you got at Too Cute, but consider your surroundings first. Most bars are relatively casual, especially local ones. I can’t tell you how many bars I’ve been to where everyone is in jeans and a cute top, and in walks an 18-year-old girl in a tiny dress and sky-high heels looking completely out of place and completely 18. Those outfits are usually better suited for a club. Not that you can’t look cute at a bar — you should. But I would say it’s definitely more of a casual environment.

Maybe don’t get on top of the bar. Everyone has those blackout drunk nights that end in waking up in the morning and seeing a hundred pictures of themselves dancing on top of a bar tagged on Facebook. All of my friends, myself included, have found ourselves up there at one point of another. But you probably don’t want to get the reputation as the girl who’s always slutting it up there. You know, the girl who goes up there in one of those really short little dresses so that everyone can see her underwear (or lack thereof), and clumsily pours shots down guys’ throats and shirts and then proceeds to dance like she thinks she’s J-Lo. It’s not the best look…for anyone.

Not everyone cares how drunk you are. You don’t need to loudly proclaim how wasted you are to everyone in your vicinity every five minutes. I can guarantee that no one cares, except for maybe that creepy guy in the corner who’s been watching you. In other words, keep the screeching to a minimum. Nothing is worse than a group of underage girls shrieking about how much they drank and how they don’t know how they’re going to get home.

Keep your friends close. Yes, what your mom has always told you is true – you should definitely use the buddy system when you’re out at a bar. You’ll have to deal with a lot of creepy guys — guys who don’t know what the word ‘no’ means, those guys that just hang around looking at you and muttering under their breath. Or maybe you’re not sober enough to realize the guy you’re eagerly chatting up is actually NOT cute (this is where a friend comes in). Or maybe you’ll get lucky and find a cute guy who needs someone to entertain his friend — hello wing-woman! Also, you just shouldn’t sit alone in a bar. It’s sad.

Try not to spend the night in the bathroom. Don’t get so wasted that you’re leaning over a disgusting bar toilet bowl for hours on end. This one is helpful for you and your girls — none of your friends want their night out wasted by having to hold your hair back as you puke. And you don’t need to be seen looking like the definition of a hot mess when you walk out at the end of the night, dried vomit on your cute shirt, your hair stringy, and looking like you’re about to hook up with death.

Tip generously. Especially if you plan on returning. You will learn that building a friendship with your bartender will be one of the most important relationships of your college career. No, but seriously, being buddy-buddy with the bartenders can only be a good thing. Not only will they make your drinks extra strong, but you’ll usually get free drinks and shots out of it, and they’ll also notice you even when it’s super crowded. Not to mention they make for some pretty great conversation at the end of the night.

Fair warning though, this week, instead of my usual witty commentary I’m going to take a back seat and let these drinks speak for themselves. All recipes taken from drinkmixers.com.

10. Sex on the Beach. 1 ½ oz vodka. ½ peach schnapps. 2 oz cranberry juice. 2 oz orange juice.

9. Between the Sheets. 1 oz brandy. 1/2 oz light rum. 1/2 oz triple sec. sweet and sour mix.

8. Mountain Dew Me. 2 oz midori melon liqueur. 1 oz triple sec. 4 oz pineapple juice. 1 splash7-Up soda.

7. Bend Over Shirley. 1 ½  oz raspberry vodka. 4 oz sprite soda. 3/4 oz rose’s grenadine syrup.

6. Buttery Nipple. 1 ½ oz bailey’s irish cream. 1 oz. deKuyper buttershots liqueur.

5. Screaming Orgasm. 1 oz vodka. 1 ½ oz bailey’s irish cream. ½ oz kahlua coffee liqueur

4. Slow Comfortable Screw. 1 oz sloe gin. 1/2 oz southern comfort peach liqueur. 1 splash orange juice.

3. Panty Dropper. 1 oz kahlua coffee liqueur. 1 oz sloe gin. 1 splash half-and-half.

2. The Leg Spreader. 2 oz captain morgan’s spiced rum. 2 oz malibu coconut rum. 2 oz peach schnapps. 4-6 oz pineapple juice.

1. Suck, Bang, Blow. 1 oz jacquin’s orange flavored gin. 1 oz rumple minze shopping list. 2 oz goldschlager. 1 oz jagermeister. 3 oz tequila. 1 oz hpnotiq. 1 oz smirnoff vodka. 1 oz absolut citron. 1 oz aristocrat triple sec.1 peeled, whole lime. 5 oz strawberry daiquiri mix. 2 cups cranberry juice. 1 cup sugar.

Ever had one or five of these drinks before? Any favorites? Which drinks did I forget? Leave a comment and let me know!

So, how casual is your sex life? You’d be surprised to know that 8 out of every 10 women up to the age of 63 have had at least one casual sex encounter. Sheesh, that’s a lot of hooking up! Lots of girls are taking part in this no strings attached lifestyle, and they’re revealing all the juicy details in this latest survey from TrésSugar & Self Magazine. For climax confessions and one-night-stands gallore, check out the survey results for yourself. Happy humping!

No more slipping your older, cooler friends a twenty in line at the liquor store for getting you your goods. No more getting completely annihilated before the bars because your drinking has to end the second you leave the security of your own home. And best of all, no more trying to scrub off those despised black X’s in the bathroom sink of the bar.

Ladies, you’re about to enter a magical time in your life where paper wristbands are your new favorite accessories and Tylenol is your new best friend. So toss that fake I.D. aside and get ready for a ride.  You’re turning 21.  Now how do you survive it?

Pre-Drinking Preparation. It’s all about getting your room ready for your future drunken self.  Before you go out for the night, make sure your room is ready for your return because you might not even know who you are, let alone how to get into a bed, by the end of the night.

1. Pull the covers back on your bed to make it easier to pass out in.
2. Put the garbage can next to your bed. Obvious reasons.
3. Set a container of bottled water next to you. When you wake up, you’ll be thirsty…but there’s a good chance won’t feel like moving.

It may seem pointless now, but you’ll thank yourself later.

Plan Your Outfit Accordingly. If you’re wearing that cute, little dress you’ve been saving for weeks for your special night, you may want to invest in a pair of compression shorts to wear underneath it.  After multiple shots, you could very well end up rolling around on the floor of the bar thinking you’re a world-famous break dancer. Trust me, it happens. In the morning you’ll be glad everyone didn’t get a look at your Barbie underwear.  Or, see you in your birthday suit.

Designate a “Mom” for the Night. Or multiple Moms. Depending on your level of wildness, it may take more than one person to keep you under control on your big night. It’s always a good idea to have someone there to make sure you don’t drink too much…and then hold your hair for you the next morning when you do. This person also comes in handy when you’re trying to get home at night. Choose to have a drinking Mom, or end up waking up in someone’s front lawn when the sprinkler system goes off. It’s up to you.

Take a Picture— It’ll Last Longer. Since the likelihood of you remembering your night is pretty much nonexistent, you’ll want a team of photographers (a.k.a. your friends) to help you relive the craziness…over and over again.  If you have a successful night, your pictures will be nowhere near Facebook appropriate but they will definitely give you a good laugh and something to show your grandkids someday.

Don’t Lose Your S#^&. Believe it or not, there’s a feeling that’s worse than puking your guts out the morning after a great night out— the feeling in your gut when you realize you’ve lost your license, student ID, and everything else you took out with you the night before. To avoid this problem, you have a few options:

Option #1: Have a friend carry the important items you’ll need to get into the bar, such as your license and money.

Option #2: Put your important items in a wristlet…and duct tape the wristlet to your wrist.

Option #3: Stick your important items in your compression shorts if you decide to wear them. Nothing can escape the compression shorts.

Have Your Cake and Eat it Too. Your 21^st birthday only happens once so live it up.  If you want to do snow angels in the middle of a parking lot on the way home from the bar, do them.  If you’re in the mood for some take-out after you get back, order it. With dessert! And if your friend’s man is lookin’ extra fine, he’s yours! Okay, just kidding on that one. Guess we can’t have everything we want.  But seriously, you’re the birthday girl. Take advantage of that!

I’m proud to say I survived my 21^st…in a blizzard.  And I may or may not have indulged in some snow angel making. You’ll never know. How did you survive your 21^st birthday?

Oysters, chocolate, and green M&Ms chili. No, I’m not listing off ingredients for a (seemingly disgusting) recipe; I’m listing off well-known aphrodisiacs, AKA foods that allegedly get you in the mood to get freaky with yo bad self (and your partner).

Well, get excited peeps, because there are a few new frisky foods to add to that list.

The Food Research International journal has recently published research saying that saffron and ginseng also boost sexual performance.

The professor behind the research said these natural aphrodisiacs theoretically enhance performance and libido and, because they are simply common spices, are safe to experiment with. Unlike alcohol, another aphrodisiac (the effects of which we’ve all experienced, am I right?), saffron and ginseng will not cause judgment impairment (the effects of which we’ve all unfortunately experienced, am I right?), meaning this is a fun and safe way to literally spice up your love life.

While it has yet to be determined what affect saffron in household cooking will have on your sexual desire, there is no harm in trying it out. If you’re looking to add a little somethin’ spicy to your love life, cooking a meal with saffron could do the trick, especially if you and your bed buddy cook together. (And double especially if you cook together with a bottle of wine nearby.) Paella and saffron rice are two dishes that incorporate saffron. But if you’re not feeling that ambitious or don’t even know where the grocery store is to stock up on saffron, check out your local Spanish restaurant, where saffron dishes are abundant. Bonus points for salsa dancing – if saffron in the paella doesn’t do the trick, a little Havana Nights-inspired hip thrusting definitely will.

As for ginseng, it’s slightly more difficult to use, but as it’s easily found in tea form, you can skip all the efforts of cooking and cleaning and get straight to bed. Easy peasy.

And that’s that. Will you be adding a little saffron into the mix? Have you ever felt the affects of an aphrodisiac? Share your thoughts below.

Oh, and P.S. This study also found that chocolate may not actually be an aphrodisiac and the psychological meaning of chocolate could be influencing this common belief! Yes, the chocolate companies have successfully linked their products with romance, meaning people associate them with sex, but really, pounding a bag of M&Ms (green or any other color) will only make you full.

Although it may not feel like it (what up gloves in March), but summer is coming. And with summer comes tank tops, short shorts and bikinis. You know you want to start getting in shape for all those beach photos, but you also know you’re not ready to cut out all your favorite snacks. After all, what is life without ice cream or cheese? What is a night out without beer followed by the drunk munchies.

Here are some suggestions on how to make your favorite and most unhealthy foods a little bit healthier. Although it’s not exactly the same, these options are still tasty AND they don’t include that guilty feeling in the pit of your stomach when you wake up the next morning spooning an empty pizza box. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself in June, when you’re feeling totally fabulous in that new string bikini.

You don’t need to give up your favorite junky foods while you’re trying to slim down — just keep these tweaks in mind and you’ll be cutting down on a lot of unwanted calories!

When I started this column back in September I was just starting senior year.  I was both excited and terrified at the prospect of having just two semesters left of college, and now, two months away from the end of college, I’m just as excited and just as terrified. That much hasn’t changed. But a lot has changed.

I started this year with more responsibility and less time than I’ve ever had. And lots and lots of things that I wanted to accomplish, things I felt I needed to accomplish. Take the GRE. Write a senior thesis. Keep up my GPA. Remain involved in all of my extracurriculars. And on top of that I really wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose sight of my social life. I was determined to keep all aspects of my life in perfect balance. I was determined to figure it all out. I was determined to find answers, to figure out what I wanted to do and where I wanted to do it. But even though I accomplished pretty much all of my goals, I’m still no closer to knowing what’s going to come next.

I don’t know where I’ll be a year from now. I don’t know what path my career will take. I don’t know if and when I’ll go to grad school. I don’t know if I’ll become a writer or a wizard. I don’t know if I’ll ever find the perfect guy or the perfect pair of pumps. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to go to Greece…or if the closet I’ll get to that ancient city is watching Mamma Mia. Because senior year hasn’t given me the answers to my future. I don’t know any more about that than I did when I started. But I do know a few other things.

Senior year has taught me that I can handle myself pretty well in the real world. It’s taught me that most of the time I really do know what I’m talking about. It’s taught me that I’m a hell of a writer. It’s taught me that friends come and go, but the good ones always come back. It’s taught me that there’s a lot of different types of love. It’s taught me that there’s nothing quite like an iced caramel macchiato on a beautiful spring day. It’s taught me that we all need a mental health day every once in a while. It’s taught me that chocolate cake shots sound really great, but after the first three they’re just really gross. It’s taught me that there’s always an excuse for a new pair of shoes. It’s taught me that my GPA won’t matter in the real world. It’s taught me that I’m a tequila girl through and through. It’s taught me that sometimes ice cream really can cure all. It’s taught me that life will go on. It’s taught me to laugh it off. It’s taught me not to take myself so seriously. It’s taught me that college is ending is the rest of my life beginning. Mostly though, its taught me that I’m going to be okay in that big, bad post-grad world.

But I don’t have to face it just yet, so if you’ll excuse me I’ve got two more months of college to enjoy…

While we can’t predict if your invitees will go gaga over a hand-carved ice luge, we can give you the answers to throwing an absolutely awesome house party.

1. Invest in a variety of alcohol…and lots of it

Nothing says lame party like the house that runs out of alcohol before midnight.  People at parties have this great habit of making a drink, holding onto it for five minutes, and then forgetting about their cup and pouring another drink.  Therefore, buy more.  It is absolutely okay to get cheap vodka and cheap rum if that means that more people can drink it.  You and your friends will have the leftover alcohol to use for the rest of the year.  If you need a guide, there are 17 shots in a fifth and 40 shots in handle.

2. Don’t forget the beer!

Even if you aren’t a beer drinker, a party without a keg means no flip cup, no beer pong, and a larger chance that someone will throw up in your house, since hard alcohol drinks will get people drunk faster than beer.  Set up the keg in the corner somewhere, and make sure you have lots of cups.

3. Jungle Juice and Jello Shots

In my personal opinion, Jello shots are awesome and fun for a few people, but if you are having a party with over 75 people, they are a waste of good alcohol and a waste of money that can be spent elsewhere.  However, Jungle Juice is easy to make, can be made as strong or as weak as you want, and minimizes the amount that people pour their own drinks into cups, helping you somewhat monitor how much they are drinking and how much alcohol is consumed

4. Make an awesome playlist

Have you ever been to a party where all of a sudden the Pokemon theme song comes on?  I’ve hosted this party.  Make an exceptionally long playlist with every song that people might want to hear at a party so that nothing embarrassing happens to you…putting your iPod on shuffle is the kiss of death. Need help? Check out these great suggestions!

5. Lock up your iPod or Computer in a room on the first floor

Because parties are all over Facebook these days and it is likely that some people you don’t know are going to show up to your house and drink your alcohol.  While this isn’t really a big deal, you would rather be safe than sorry when it comes to your valuables.  Take it from someone who had her iPod stolen during welcome week…lock the iPod in your room, and plug it into speakers or an extension cord that you can wire under the door.

6. And while your on it, get rid of your food

Reeses Puffs.  Pretzels.  M&Ms.  A bottle of Sangria.  All things that I have seen stolen at various parties.  Drunk people are hungry people and hungry people will raid your fridge and your cabinets.  Make sure that you’ve stashed anything important in your room, and if you are able to lock your fridge, by all means, just do it.

7. What goes on Facebook is there for everybody to see

If you want a smaller party with only people you know, try to make it a private event on Facebook.  Otherwise, it is really hard to dictate who comes through your front door and figure out who is a “friend of a friend” versus who “just got bored and saw a party and wanted free alcohol.” Also, a lot of school’s have their public safety guys cruise Facebook looking for open events where they can bust underage drinkers.

8. Invite your close friends to pregame

It’s a good idea to have 20 people or so at your house at the beginning of the night.  Nothing is more awkward than starting the night with your four roommates and 10 people from freshmen year who you haven’t spoken to since then.  Having people who you know at your house early makes it less awkward when your less close friends stop by, and also is an easy way to start your party.

9. And the last thing…ending the party

If it is 4am and you still have some stragglers, turn off the music, start cleaning, start putting things away…these people will get the idea….

Any other advice for first time party throwers? Any questions for the party experts? Share below! And feel free to check out our insider’s guide to the college party scene.