There’s a lot of great sites out there on the internet. If anyone would know that, you would. (After all, you did find us.) But finding all of them isn’t always easy. So most of  the time you probably stick to the same old, same old, right? CollegeCandy. Facebook. Google. CollegeCandy. Maybe Texts From Last Night if you’re feeling adventurous. We know. We get it. Scouring the blogs for the best there is isn’t always easy and it’s definitely not quick. But now, you don’t have to do the legwork (or finger work? Er…) CollegeCandy’s Web Spy does it for you. Each week this column brings you a new find. From the best online shopping sites to the best places to waste your time to the best ways to get yourself organized and avoid procrastination, the last of which are the sites I’ll be focusing on right now.

The semester is winding down. Soon there will be papers to write and finals to study for, which means cutting out the procrastination and cracking down on the studying, which isn’t always easy. But fear not, our resident Web Spy has done her research, providing CollegeCandy readers with ten surefire ways to get organized and start studying.

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It’s finals week. You’re living on coffee and chocolate. Your days are spent in the library. Your nights are spent in the library. You’re wracking your brain trying to remember historical facts no one knows about and chemical equations you will never use. You’re stressed and crazed and far from in the mood to write. But write you will have to do.

Because in exchange for not having to take a final for that literature class you have to write a paper. And not just any paper, but a good paper. A really good paper. Because this paper is worth a large chunk of your final grade. The problem is though, you’ve never really gotten a grip on that whole paper writing thing. Sure, you know the basics, but do you know the specifics? Do you know how to avoid the mistakes that will keep that A just out of reach?

Well, I do.

After four years as an English major, one year as a literature tutor, and two semesters worth of thesis writing, I think I’ve cracked the code. And I’m going to share my secrets with you. Below are the most common grammatical and paper writing mistakes, the things you always miss, the things you need to know, the rules standing between you and that elusive A. So bookmark this page and consult it when writing those final papers. You’ll thank me later.

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It’s SAT season and you know what that means: high school juniors are buckling down and getting ready to take “the most important test of their lives,” the test that will determine whether or not they get into college, the test that will supposedly predict how well they will do there. Now, I don’t know about you ladies, but as a seasoned college student I have to say I think that is a load of ridiculous. I mean vocabulary and problem solving and knowing who the Kardashians are is all well and good, but is it really an accurate portrayal of how a student will do in college?

No. It’s most definitely not.

So we thought we’d help College Board and all those other important SAT people out by offering them a few alternative SAT questions. Real life questions, the kind of questions that college students may encounter on any give college day…

1. One tequila, two tequila, three tequila…

(A) Four (B) Floor (C) Bed (D) Death

2. Beer goggles is a commonly used college expression. Explain the meaning of this phrase and then use it in a sentence.

3. A walk of shame is:

(A) Walking into class after said class has started (B) Walking home during the early hours of the morning in last night’s clothes after spending said night in with a guy (C) Tripping while walking in high heels

4. A steak dinner is to real life as ____ is to college life.

(A) cafeteria food (B) Ramen noodles (C) Chef Boyardee

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If you’re not already back you’re probably very, very close to heading back to school by now, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I mean there are only so many movie marathons you can watch, so many hours you can sleep, so many fights you can get into with your younger sibling before you realize it’s time to head back to school. That’s all well and good. It’s not the beginning of the semester I’m opposed to. It’s the beginning of classes.

I’ve had a fun few weeks, full of productive days that involved sleeping until noon, catching up on the new season of The Bachelor, and trying to determine the real reason Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal broke up. So I really don’t have time for pesky things like classes, and homework, papers and projects. There are so many other things I’d rather be doing. In fact, now that I think about it, there’s not much I wouldn’t rather be doing than starting classes…

10. Go a week without internet access. If you knew me at all you’d know this is big. Very big. I don’t think I’ve gone 24 hours without internet access, never mind an entire WEEK. It would be pure, unadulterated torture for me to go a week without updating Twitter, Facebook stalking or checking my favorite blogs (Looking at you, CollegeCandy), but I would do it if I meant I didn’t have to go class. I really, really would.

9. Spend some quality time with my professor during office hours. Yes, I would. I would make awkward conversation with my professors in their creepy offices with their creepy things if I didn’t have to listen to them lecture. I would dodge questions about the lack of progress I’ve been making on my thesis, and suck up so they’ll write me awesome recommendations letters. Just don’t make me go to class.

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The last few weeks of the semester can get a little stressful. And not because you just can’t seem to find the perfect present for everyone on your list (or in my case because you keep getting distracted by Macy’s shoe department and never get around to buying those other presents), but because of finals. Remember those? Probably not.

If you’re a freshman you have absolutely no idea what horrors await you, and if you’re an upperclassmen you’ve more than likely blocked out this horrific experience. But yet, here you are. Professors are bombarding with you deadlines and dates, final papers and exam study guides and more information than you could possibly handle while you’re still recovering from your Thanksgiving-induced food coma.

Ten-page papers?
Cumulative finals?

You can’t even pronounce half the stuff on you history study guide and those calculus questions might as well be written in morse code for all you can deicer. It’s okay. Take a deep breath. You can get through this.

And I can help.

As a senior taking on her (second to) final finals week, I like to think I have this studying thing down. For a while there I kept getting it confused with napping, but I’ve since cleared things up, and I’m willing to share my infinite wisdom with you. So before you do anything else you need to… Read More »

I love the first week back after Thanksgiving break.

No scratch that, I hate it, actually. But what I do like is what that week represents. It’s the beginning of the end. The start of the finish. You’re over the hump. The semester is almost over. You’ve finally reached those last few dreadful weeks. And okay, maybe that doesn’t seem like something to be happy about, maybe you want to pull your hair out right now? Maybe you’re stressed? Sure, but just think, in a couple of weeks it will all be over.

How can you be sure that there’s a light at the end of the tunnel? Here are just a few signs that the semester is almost over.

10. You’ll do anything to avoid your homework. Okay. Time to get serious. You have a lot to get done these less few weeks. Time to buckle down and start working. No distractions. No Facebook. No phones. Reading time. But wait…you have been meaning to reorganize your desk. And your bookshelf. And…you get the idea.

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Finals week drained me of a lot – my last pint of Cherry Garcia, my final cup of Folger’s, my sanity – plus the extra cash I had stashed in my wallet all semester. Cash that was supposed to help buy gifts for well, everybody, on my holiday gift list.

But it’s the holidays and sometimes magical things happen. So I’d like to extend a big THANK YOU! to the Holiday gods for sending this little gem my way: SwapStyle.com. It reminds me of my junior high days when my BFFs would bring over extra clothes for me to model and “borrow.” We all knew that “borrowing,” however, actually meant my friend would never see her A&F tee again. And she was cool with it, because she only brought it over because it made her look fat.

Yeah, so it’s just like that only on a much larger scale. Thanks to the information superhighway you can “borrow” clothes from women from all over the globe! That means you’re not limited to extra large, ratty Mickey Mouse T’s and super-flare Mudd Jeans from your somewhat-frumpy best friend’s wardrobe. Instead you can “borrow” Coach bags, Forever 21 dresses and MAC eyeshadows.

Plus, clothes-swapping is super environmentally friendly (you are reusing other people’s things instead of wasting new materials!) and the site is easy to use. Did I mention it’ s free to sign up?

Check it out here.

[Let’s be real, in college, the pre-game is almost as important as the actual party. Besides a killer outfit, a case of booze & a few good pals, the most essential part of any pre-game party is the playlist. So, we made it easy for you: every Thursday here at CC we’ll be building you the ultimate pre-party playlist and bringing it to you through our favorite thing ever, MixWit. All you have to do is just click, play & enjoy.

So hook up your laptop speakers, bust out your 40’s and get ready to pre-game harder than those other kids party.]

It’s Thursday. Probably the last one of the semester. Your brain is fried, your fridge is empty, and you are probably thisclose to killing someone. So tonight, if you’re done with finals (or even if you’re not), buy yourself a six pack and let’s all celebrate the end of another semester with this eclectic group of tunes about freedom, partying and havin’ a damn good time. Let’s hear it everybody: F*ck finals!

Go ahead, turn your brain off.