If a milkshake brings all of the boys to the yard, I know a way to keep them out. So far past the perimeters they’ve taken a three-mile long-cut just to avoid walking on your grass.

What’s this guaranteed boy repellent?

The un-relenting light of day.

Call this a vampire conspiracy theory, but from my experience, suggesting afternoon coffee to a college guy is the equivalent of asking for their hand in marriage or to father your future child. I’ll meet one at a poorly lit bar, by the green glow of a lava-lamp at a ’70s themed party, or under the dimmed fluorescent lighting of the common room, and we’ll hit it off. He’ll ask if he can call me. He’ll “call” the next Saturday, in the form of a lackluster text message at around 9 p.m., approximately the same time we met the week before. Too early in the night to write it off as a booty-call, but too late that I shouldn’t have plans already.

“What r u up to?” he’ll ask, and I’ll wonder why a college-educated person would deliberately choose to downplay their spelling abilities.

Though small in word count and light in consequence, “what are you up to” is a loaded question. “Not much, you?” makes you sound boring or lacking a social life. Telling them what you are actually doing, “eating spaghetti with cheese,” or “walking home from the drug store” seems like an over-share. And you both know where this little text-dance is leading—“Do you want to hang out?” Read More »

Picture this: You’re thirty-five, and still paying for your Sophomore Spring Break to Cabo. It sounds crazy, but it’s a reality for many cash-strapped graduates who maxed out their cards during their college years. Most college students boast a wallet full of plastic, and will spend years paying off the balances.

College cards are often a necessity (ranking right up there with tequila shots and coffee) during your four years, unless you have a big fat trust fund or a wealthy eccentric uncle. A multitude of costly expenses fall outside your tuition bill. Some are necessary, like food, books and transportation, while others are luxuries, like clothes, alcohol, trips and concerts. Here are some tips to avoid the debt trap that so many students fall into.

Compare offers

Be as choosy with what you put in your wallet as you are about which boys you let sleep in your bed (Editor’s Note: When alcohol isn’t involved). There are tons of credit card offers out there – don’t just take the first one you stumble upon.

Do your research: check out the finance charge, annual fee, cash advance fees and late payment fees. The finance charge can be as high as 25 percent on the unpaid part of your bill, and the annual fee can suck up a hundred bucks each year. For cash advances, most cards charge a scary amount and high interest. Read the fine print, and look at what a late payment can do to your rate (hint: just one late payment increases your interest rate). Try sites like credit.com or bankrate.com) to compare cards and score the best deal.

Screw the free-t-shirt

Forget the free-t-shirt/ water bottle/ random-crappy-thing-that-you’ll-never-use-again. Don’t apply just to score free gear. With every application, an inquiry is made into your credit history. This can pull down your credit quicker than a drunken frat guy drops his pants (or yours). Push through the crowd of over-eager credit card pushers – its okay to say no. Read More »