Sometimes, the school you picked isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Maybe the culture just doesn’t mesh with you, or maybe you realize after a few months that you want to be studying something completely different.

The thought of transferring crosses your mind. And then the thoughts of all you’d have to do -  paperwork, credit juggling, and the process of making new friends all over again – flood your brain. My expert advice (I’m a self-proclaimed expert, of course)  is to give your school a fighting chance before you go through the grueling process of transferring. But if you’re really unhappy, a change can be well worth it.

There are many different options when it comes to your education, some of which you might never knew existed. Here are a few different routes you can take on your path to academic success and happiness:

• Four-Year College
It might be a public university or it might be a private school, but places are handing out bachelor’s degrees like candy these days (well, if you do the work, anyway). This is probably the type of school most of you are in and the type to which most of you would consider transferring. There are zillions of them, so do your research and really know what you want—don’t just transfer because your boyfriend goes there.

• Career College
If you know exactly what you want to do and you’re on the fast track to doing it, consider a career college. Some of them can be just as pricey as liberal-arts colleges, but they may not keep you there for the full four years, and when you’re done, you’re basically set to get a job or apprenticeship in your field. A quick way to check out your options is to visit a site like CollegeSurfing.com, which lets you search for schools by career interest. Read More »

Confession time: I quit my (stable-ish well-paying, super fun) job a couple of weeks ago to go to culinary school for baking next year. Was this an awesome decision or a terrible one? The jury’s still out, but the way I think about it, the more time I have to devote to desserts, the better. So I’m leaning toward awesome.

To celebrate my decision, I’m using this week’s DIY to share an incredible buttercream frosting recipe with all of you. You can use it to frost a cake, cupcakes, cookies . . . or to eat it straight out of the Tupperware with some pretzels when you’re dealing with a breakup. Stop buying this stuff and make it yourself.

Ingredients
(Makes enough buttercream for one standard-size cake with 12-16 servings)

1/2 cup vegetable shortening (such as Crisco)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup heavy cream Read More »

Let me just start out by saying that I’m not someone to be admired. I didn’t give up something agonizing for Lent, like chocolate or looove. But I did give up something that’s every bit as valuable to me: baking.

As a frantic home baker and a person who is seriously considering enrolling in culinary school for a pastry certification, baking is like my lifeblood. I tried to get rid of the baking urge right before Lent started by going on a mad baking spree—I spent an entire weekend and most of the following couple of days making huge batches of granola, cookies, muffins, and sweet breads. But it wasn’t enough! I’m now going out of my mind because I can’t bake until Easter. WHY did I choose to do this?!

I suppose I could have just taken the easy way out and given up eating sweets. I sample everything I bake, but that’s about it—if I have one cookie or half a muffin, I don’t need any more; I’m perfectly content to give my stuff away. I just want to make it. And I have had a crazy craving to make cupcakes since basically the day that Lent started. Oh, my precious cupcakes. Why do I have to wait so long to make them??? It doesn’t help that I keep looking at sites like this one all day long. Read More »