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?”

“Hanging out,” for a college man, consists of one of the following activities: watching the last episode of 30 Rock from his laptop while sitting on his unmade bed, him reaching over to touch your hair during a commercial break; going to a sweaty dorm party where he graciously offers you beer from the fridge and shouts in your ear over the loud music; or, for the adventurous few, meeting for a classy drink at the college dive bar next to campus, where you happen to run into five of his friends and end up shoved between two of them at a booth.

And all of these activities, must, under all circumstances, happen at night.

My attempts to move these “hang outs” to the daytime have consistently been shut down, in a variety of mediums. When I suggested coffee to one guy, he texted “Let’s do drinks later instead.” When I said “what about lunch” to another, he IMed “Sorry, just ate.” I once had a guy take out me out for bagels in the morning, and I was thrilled. It depresses me how little it takes to impress me. However, I’m not sure if this still counts, as he asked me while I was already in his bed.

I understand the appeal of night; a black sky, a lurking moon, a sense of indescribable mystery in the air. Nighttime feels sinister; it feels full of uncharted and unrealized potential—you could do anything, be anyone. Not to mention drink alcohol, which means fewer inhibitions and more potential for sex. But most of the men I encounter by night are not even drunk; they are themselves, just with more cologne and a half-empty beer in their hand.

Call me a romantic, but I like to be able to see the face of the guy I’m kissing. I’ll take the awkward lighting of day over the veil of night, where I can see the pimple on their chin, and they can probably see mine, too. Daylight may feel more like reality than the topsy-turvy world of night, but shouldn’t what we do, in anytime of day, still count?

Or maybe the fear of day comes from the suspicion that daytime hangouts verge on, god forbid, “date territory.” A date is enough to give a college guy blue balls and a hernia for a week. I should explain here that I am not in the market for a relationship either. In fact, I’m just as scared of getting into one as any guy on Frat Row. But that doesn’t mean I want to feel cheap, or disrespected, or only suitable after 9 p.m.  I’m still the same person I am in the afternoon. But for them, hooking-up by the glow of a TV-screen is far less intimate, far less “real,” than a walk in the park under the afternoon sun.

If they only knew; I would be far more inclined for a late night rendezvous after a mid-day sandwich.

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.

Timeliness is next to Godliness

The due date for payment is not a ‘suggestion’. Be religious about your payments and mark them in your planner, iCal, e-mail calendar or PDA. Use programs like Mint.com to keep all your spending and bills in one easy to access dashboard. Mint sends helpful reminders when bills are due and keeps track of your balances. Set up online payment for easy access, and do your best to make timely payments.

Do the math

If you’re spending $600 a month, and your income is damn near zero, you’re heading for debt disaster. Work out a budget and determine how much you can really afford to spend each month. Evaluate where your yet-to-be-earned dollars are actually going – is it beer, books or boots? Try and separate your needs from your wants: eating is a need, new going-out pants is not. Even cutting out one bar visit a month – I know, how very tragic – will bring down your bottom line. As boring as budgeting may be, it will help you understand where your money is going and where you need to cut back.

Look at the alternatives

If you’re spending like a wild woman, but not pulling in any actual income, its time to consider the alternatives. At the risk of sounding like your fiscally focused father, it might be time to get a job. If you’re not currently working, consider slinging plates of food at the local diner to fund your living expenses. (Please avoid the pole.) While you might have to defer to the plastic occasionally, a paycheck can take a big bite out of your monthly bill.

Be future-focused

Sure, skipping payments for a few months might not seem like a big deal now, but it will bite you in your metaphorical ass later. When you get out of school, virtually every potential employer will be eyeing your credit report right along with your resume. A shady credit history will turn off employers and prevent you from getting that dream job. Just like you want to woo that fine-looking boy with a swimmer’s build in your economics class, you should want to woo future employers as well. (And the benefits will last much longer than a hook-up with swimmer boy). To boot, applying for an apartment or financing a car will be hindered by your crappy credit – and who wants to live in a cardboard box under the freeway? These negative marks will stay on your credit report for a whopping seven years. So, you’ll be missing out on great opportunities long after you’ve worn out the soles on those Visa-funded gladiator sandals.

Two-thirds of college students have at least one credit card, and 55 percent of students received their first card during their freshman year of college, according the Institute for Higher Education. Of those college students with credit cards, 20 percent have four or more. While carrying a card can seem inevitable to get by during your four years, making irresponsible decisions and building hefty debt isn’t. Be smart and don’t make decisions you’ll regret later.

Bad credit stays with you a lot longer than a jagermeister hangover. And feels a whole lot worse.