Someone needs a little more 'bux in her cram sesh.

College. Sigh. It’s unlike any other time in your life. It has its own set of rules, its own unique circumstances. And it’s not always easy to navigate. Enter…me!

Every week I’ll be tackling your questions about college. From classes to keggers, I’ll do my best to respond and be your Pez dispenser of collegiate wisdom. Got questions? Unsure of a decision? Just wanna talk to a pretty cool lady (if I do say so myself)?

Hit me up in the comments or shoot me an email at melanie@collegecandy.com

How can I cram for a test effectively?
Okay, first of all, cramming and effective should not go in the same sentence. But if you lost track of time (or couldn’t pass up a week-long Beer Pong tourny the week of exams…) and you must cram, pick a place that’s quiet and distraction free. Preferably the library or a Starbucks. Load up on caffeine, make an outline of the most relevant points that are going to be on the test, make flashcards, whatever; just writing down the information will help you learn it. If you’re in a time crunch, skip the excess and read (and read again and again ) summaries and Sparknotes.

Cramming is different for everyone. Personally, I crack open a red bull and hide in a deserted classroom and make absurd nmenumic devices. If Redbull’s not your thing, snag the most expensive drink at Starbucks. It’s a 13 shot venti soy hazelnut vanilla cinnamon white mocha with extra white mocha and caramel. $13.76 (with tax). Gross, right? Read More »

We all have to admit that aside from the five days a week of partying, the sexy men, and the girl talk/Cheeto-fests that lass into the wee hours of the morning, there are those aspects of college life that aren’t so great. And we make sure everyone knows how much we hate ‘em when we whine to our friends over cafeteria slop/to our moms on the phone/to the rest of the world via our Facebook status updates.

And why not? Despite the stereotype that college students just eff around playing beer pong for four years straight, being a college student isn’t easy. (And, hello, we play flip cup, too!)

Over at US News, they documented some of the most commonly hated problems about being in college student. And we totally agree: getting closed out of the classes we need brings us to tears (and sends us into a pity binge of wine and nachos) and the boring professors make me want to rip the hair out my head.

But when I got to thinking about it, isn’t college really just one big love/ hate relationship? Sure we complain about a lot of things, but secretly deep down, we find the silver lining. Read More »

Freshman year of college, from what I’ve learned so far, is a series of firsts. Some of them are great – first 11:00 a.m. class (yay sleep!), first weekend away at school – while others simply aren’t – like your first midterm exam. But regardless of whether or not these firsts are awesome in themselves, just experiencing them is exhilarating. At what other time in your life can you call Mom and prattle on excitedly about your first time studying at the library until its 2 a.m. closing time?

Oh, wait, that just might be me.

So, my college firsts? Some of them I remember vividly, and others, not so much (but not for that reason – really, Mom, I swear!). Maybe a trip down my four-week-old college memory lane will help joggle my sleep-deprived brain.

First meal

I don’t remember what or with whom I ate, but I do recall being totally daunted by the dining hall. My school’s main dining hall has fifty billion different lines criss-crossing all over the room; while I understand the system now, on the first day, I was clueless. I’m sure wasn’t the only one stricken with trepidation, but who would openly admit feeling totally lost to a bunch of unfamiliar people? Well, now I admit it. I was paralyzed with fear by a freaking dining hall. Laugh if you must.

First reading assignment

The first assignment I read was a “short story” (i.e. a rather long piece masquerading as a short story) for my English class. Heeding my professor’s advice, I annotated the sh*t out of it, but when I was through I had absolutely no idea what I had read. A second read revealed to me that it had been some bizarre satirical story, but for a good half-hour, I was reconsidering whether or not I was ready for college. Read More »

Between homework, studying, group projects and partying, I really had a tough time managing my time in college. I was always looking for ways to make my life easier, and it always backfired on me. No matter what anyone says, Sparknotes is not an acceptable substitute for reading the book. You’re still not going to know the main character’s sister’s dog’s name. And your professor is always going to ask you for it.

But the good people at Microsoft must have heard my cries of pain and despair when they took it upon themselves to create their new program, Office Live Workspace. Not only does it let me store my documents and information online and let met access them anywhere from the Internet, but also, it’s FREE. So, when you’ve got a paper due in 12 minutes and your printer is out of ink, all you have to do is save that puppy to your personal online space, haul ass to the ‘brary, print it out and turn it in. Phew.

Even more amazing, Workspace takes the headache out of group projects because it has simplified the sharing process. Everyone in a group can access the latest edition of the document in a glorified, virtual “workspace” where they can collaborate, comment on and edit the same document. Without coordinating their super busy (or super “I don’t want to go to the library in the dead of winter to meet up with these losers”) schedules. Lord knows that’s the most annoying part of any group assignment (besides the a-hole who does nothing and gets the good grade…) Read More »

You’ve spent the past 4 nights in the library flipping through your tattered notebook. You’ve highlighted and re-highlighted all the most important sections in the textbook. You’ve answered the sample review questions your T.A. gave out and the entire review packet distributed at the review session.

Hell, you went to the review session.

And now, on the eve before the big blue book exam, you feel ready to go. You’ve done everything you can and now it’s time to show that little blue book who’s boss.

Before you climb into bed at the ripe hour of 11 p.m., you pack your messenger bag with two blue books, 2 pens (in case one runs out of ink), a few pencils (in case that is what the teacher prefers), White-out, gum, tissues and a bag of Sour Patch Kids (for a post-exam celebration). You set your alarm and snuggle into your Twin XL to get the required 8 hours before the big day.

Except you only got 5 hours. The other three were spent staring at the ceiling freaking out.

“Oh God. This exam is 50% of my grade. 50! I can not eff this up. What is an example of Intrinsic Motivation? What are the symptoms of Multiple Personality Disorder?! Why am I still awake?!”

When your alarm goes off, you shoot out of bed and spend the duration of your shower/hair drying/getting dressed testing yourself just a little bit more. You flip through your notes one last time as you scarf down a bowl of cereal, then review them again on the way to the lecture hall.

You find your assigned seat, unpack your abundance of supplies and wait for the exam to begin. You’re feeling confident and ready, already planning what you’ll be drinking to celebrate when this nightmare is over.

In what seems like slow motion, the T.A.s begin walking through the hall, passing stacks of exams to the end of the rows. You wait as the students to the left of you take one and pass. Finally, you get the stack. The professor makes a few announcements, writes the time on the board in giant numbers and it begins. Read More »

Why waste four years of an awesome social scene biting your fingernails over academic probation?  In between juggling friends, lecture notes, beer, exams, and boys, watch out for these GPA pitfalls:

1) The Internet: Essential to keeping up with friends from home (and that kid you haven’t seen since  pre-kindergarden), essential to keeping up with world news (gawker.com, anyone?), and very, very excellent at wasting your time (during class, during your chem final cramming session, at four am in the morning when you just have to broadcast your insomnia on Twitter…).  Leave your laptop in your dorm room when you attend lectures if you want to save your grades. If you must bring it to take notes, turn off the wireless.  And if you really don’t trust yourself, install a self-control application to help set a daily time limit on time-wasting websites.

2) Ass-crack of dawn classes. Try as you might to schedule classes around your personal body rhythms (the preferred way to avoid this), there comes a time in every girl’s college career when she realizes that the only available section of a mandatory course meets early in the morning.  Combat the potential damage to your batting average by buying a new alarm clock, an extra cup of coffee, rewarding yourself for waking up with five minutes on your favorite blog before you dash off to class, or finding a classmate on your hallway to share in your pain….and notes, if one of you ever oversleeps.

3) Ovulation. For all intents and purposes: that time of the month when you really need to get some.  Do not go out to a bar and accept drinks from a cute stranger/stick your tongue down his throat if it’s Tuesday night you know you should be working on the key slides for your history power-point presentation.  Save your grades, buy a vibrator. You’ll also cut out the make-up application time, the cab fare, the hangover, and the heartbreak. Read More »

[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send ‘em over!]

(Girl and guy, across dining hall.)

Girl: You’re beautiful! What’s your name?

Guy: Oh, thanks. You’re not very pretty at all.

(Guy, in the dining hall.)

Guy: I love space monkeys. But, you know, not in a t-shirt way.

(Girls leaving a class building.)

Girl 1: Oh, my God, that was complete bullsh*t.

Girl 2: Double bullsh*t.

Girl 3: Yeah. Fart fart fart. Read More »

So, you studying for that last final?
Trying to push your way to the end?
Wondering what the hell you are supposed to do about this giant blue book exam now that you have successfully skipped every class the entire semester?

You might be totally screwed, but you also may have a chance to pull a Mine That Bird (that’s a Kentucky Derby reference) and come up from behind! And you can win a $100 Amazon gift card just for trying!

“But fantabulous CollegeCandy editors, how would I ever be able to do that!?”

I’m glad you asked, dear reader. Let me introduce you to Shmoop. Read More »

Every college library is similar – always too hot or too cold, smells kind of bad but you aren’t sure why, phrases etched into the tables, and a mixed population of students either writing on each others’ Facebook walls or writing 20 page term papers in a single night.

Good times!

I used to be very anti-library (who isn’t), but this semester I have found ways to make it more comfortable, enjoyable and conducive to a productive day/evening/month of work-doing. It’s all about being prepared (for anything) and as long as you have these essentials in that backpack of yours, you can be successful too.

Water bottle: This seems obvious but you’d be surprised. I once pulled an all-nighter without bringing a water bottle and because I was so into the work I was doing, I never felt like going to get water. Stupid mistake! I got tired and sick, and spent my night drooling on my laptop instead of researching on it. The next time I filled that sucker up a few times per hour, got everything done, and felt great the next day. Also, drinking only coffee, tea or Red Bull (or Bawls...) will almost definitely dehydrate you, cause you to crash sooner than without caffeine and probably give you a terrible stomachache (which may explain that weird smell in the libs….).

Personal hygiene products: I’ll admit that I’m a little weird when it comes to hygiene – I carry toothbrushes with me wherever I go – but I highly suggest anyone going to the library for an extended period of time should have at least a toothbrush thrown in their backpack. Some other products that always come in handy for me are hand sanitizer, lotion, tissues, chapstick, and deodorant. Trust me, it’s better for everyone if you smell like a “Satin Pear” (whatever that is) than whatever 10 hours in a dirty library smells like for a 9:35 Italian class! Read More »

You need this pen for exams.

Yup! Nicole Richie is indeed preggers.

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I knew Ryan Seacrest wasn’t gay!

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