It’s the New Year and we are feeling quite generous! Yes, CollegeCandy is an amazing website filled with juicy articles and advice that every college girl will enjoy, but we also do other fabulous things, like give away free cool stuff! Our giveaways include everything you could want — from laptops, shoes and leather jackets to ipads, gift baskets, books, and more! I mean really, who doesn’t like free stuff? We love to reward our faithful readers by giving you the best of both worlds: an unlimited source of information and new additions to your closet.

This Monday might be your lucky day! (Yep…that’s right, our giveaway contests happen every Monday.)  When you stop on the site to read up on the top stories of the day, check out the simple steps to be entered into our giveaway contests. We promise you will leave a happy CollegeCandy reader!

Click here to see our current contest, and be sure to check back every Monday when we introduce the new contest for that week!

Neverending class work,  nonstop relationship (or lack thereof) shiz, grad school applications, a dwindling bank account…the day-to-day worries of our college years often weigh us down.  But too often, we stress about the big issues and totally forget about the little things that make our daily routines bearable…or even great!

1. A Cancelled Class
Your alarm goes off bright and early at 8 a.m. and you can barely open your eyes.  You angrily hit the snooze button, roll over in bed and start thinking about what to wear.  Then your mind runs through all the things you have to do today: 3 classes, gym, library, chapter meeting…ugh. You’d rather stay in bed. Then – BUZZ! – your phone vibrates and you wonder who the hell needs to talk to you this early. Lo and behold, it’s your study buddy letting you know that (gasp) CLASS IS CANCELLED! Your professor is sick/at a family function/whatever, and you can barely read the whole text before you reset your alarm, pull the covers back over your head and sleep for a few more (glorious!) hours.

2. Free Stuff!
Let’s face it, in this economy getting anything for free in college is right up there with Christmas and 21st birthdays. Free short stack day at IHOP, free condoms at Student Health, those Victoria’s Secret coupons for free panties that come in the mail, and (a personal favorite at my campus) free iced coffee day at Dunkin Donuts.  And then there’s all those campus club meetings and fundraisers where they give out free food, and sometimes on hot days, free water bottles! It may not seem like much, but it doesn’t get much better than a free, ice cold water bottle.

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Tax Day isn't so bad when your nibbling on one of these. FOR FREE.

So tomorrow is Tax Day!  Yay!  Well, actually, not really, because taxes blow.  Signing that check is like a shot to the heart to all the money that I have made…the little of it that there is.  Basically taxes suck.  BUT.  Tax Day has an upside.  “How can that be?”  You might ask.  Well reader, I shall tell you.

FREE STUFF! FREE STUFF! FREE STUFF!! (And some pretty great discounts to boot.)

To help ease the pain of forking over all your hard-earned money to Uncle Sam, a few mighty fine companies are offering up some really great free sh*t. So put the wallet away and get ready to rake in the freebies!

Subway: FREE COOKIE!!  (No purchase necessary!)

Starbucks: FREE coffee if you bring in a reusable mug or cup!! (Al Gore/Leo/Mother Earth would be proud.)

Jamba Juice: FREE smoothie with this coupon!!

Maggie Moos: One FREE slice of ice cream pizza from 3-7 pm! (Never had it, but putting two of my favorite things together has to be delish.)

Cinnabon: Two FREE cupcake bites between 6 and 8 pm!!

Boston Market: Buy one plate get one FREE with this coupon!! Read More »

Living off campus is amazing.  You have more space, freedom to have a random flip-cup party any day of the week without an R.A. on your case, and an escape from cafeteria food.  However, for all these great perks, there are some things about living off campus that I just can’t help but miss.

Proximity to your friends.

Even if you choose to live with a friend (or friends, depending on the size of your apartment or house you’re renting), you’ll never have the same access to your friends as you did when you lived on campus.  They were either in the next dorm, just down the hall, or sleeping in the bed that was two feet away from yours (or, if they were a really good friend, they were just in your bed).  When you live off campus, you have to make plans to see people, work around conflicting schedules, and any chance of a spontaneous night of debauchery pretty much goes right out the window.  What’s easier than sneaking down the hallway at 2am and waking up your friends with a fifth of Popov and some orange juice? Nothing says “friendship” like a rousing game of Popov Pong. Read More »

Winter is a time for work.  We’re working hard on our schoolwork, our savings accounts, our bodies, and many other very useful things.  Summer, by contrast, is a time for play.  We’re ready to kill some brain cells, show off our bodies in barely-there outfits, and spend all that money we worked so hard to save.

Our friends over at Oscar Mayer, the people who have given us hundreds of good times at cook-outs and barbecues throughout our young lives, are giving us something else – free hot dogs.  Oh yes!  That word was FREE, homies!  Oscar Mayer doesn’t want you to spend your hard-earned cash on delicious food to sustain your amazing summer schedule.  If you go to www.oscarmayer.com, you can sign up for a coupon for free hot dogs.  Could summer get any better?

Um, yes.  I think it could.  I don’t mean to be greedy, but why don’t any other businesses give away free stuff?  Free hot dogs are pretty rad (as is free chocolate!), but where is my free pair of designer shoes?

Here are the Top 5 things I would like to see free coupons for: Read More »

Everywhere you look stores are having sales. And I for one am taking full advantage. Find me something (legal) that can make you feel better than getting a Calvin Klein dress for 75% off and I will eat my hat. Ok, maybe not my hat, but I will eat this Reeces Whip that is sitting next to me.

But the internet just took the whole “getting a deal” high and went one step further. Yup, now you can go shopping for free! Hello, FreeNapkin.com! Don’t let the name mislead you – they’re giving away more than just free napkins! This site is filled with stuff that people want to get rid of. For free.

Need a boat? What about a shelving unit for your new summer sublet? Why deal with actually paying for something when you can just hop on over to someone’s house and get it for free? Save your money for more important things in life like cable TV, shoes (because you never want to get those used), or a nice cushion in your bank account for when you can’t get a job after college.

Why would someone ever just want to give something away? Who cares?! They do, so stop asking questions and take advantage before someone else nabs that sweet free couch you’ve been eyeing!

[Welcome to my Weekly Love List. A list, on all things I love. Because if I love them - well then obviously you may (and should) love them too. As the Backstreet Boys song says (and yes I am actually quoting them) “My Love is All I Have To Give.” So with that throwback, here are this week’s list-worthy things…]

1. Old navy. Okay so Old Navy is not new- but it is list worthy, and let me tell you why. They have STEPPED UP their styles, but have kept their prices down- which makes me want to get jiggy at Old Navy. C.U.T.E. tanks for $10? Now that is something worth loving.

2. Hey, It’s Free! Couple your college budget with the failing economy, and the fact that air is still free seems pretty amazing. But, thankfully, this blogger came to the rescue with free stuff for all! Check it out for free loot like Free MP3s from Amazon.com, free food, etc.

3. Kindnotes.com – With Thanksgiving and the holidays just around the corner, here is a cute gift idea that is affordable, original, and filled with love. A custom made decorated jar with 31 mini-printed envelopes for each day of the month. You can either write a personal note on each, or pick from a library of over 300 different messages. After all, it’s all about spreading the love. Read More »

Aside from the night after you’ve taken your last final, the first week of school is generally the best time of the whole semester. The weather is great, you’re reunited with all of your friends, and the school year has returned just when you were starting to feel like you had too much free time.

The campus is buzzing with returning students, eager to see what the new year has in store. Even if you anticipate your hardest semester to date, there’s still a feeling of excitement in the air during the very first week.

1. You Get to Scope Out Your New Classes

Maybe I’m a dork, but I was always excited to see what my new classes would be like. In certain classes–the must-take courses taught by the professors with the best reputations– it was great to see what all the buzz was about. Other classes might have sounded intriguing in the course catalog; reading through the syllabus on the first day, I’d think the class sounded interesting, and hadn’t been assigned 500 pages of reading to prove me otherwise. I would also look through the syllabus and see what the course requirements looked like, so I could estimate how little effort I could put into the class, and still walk away with an “A.”

Of course, it’s also fun to see who else has signed up for the class. Whether you walk through the door and see five of the girls from your freshman dorm, or right into the eyes of your new insta-crush, it’s fun to find out who you’ll be taking the class with. Read More »

Our campus Starbucks is my land of milk and honey, holy ground for any sleepless NYU student. My reward to myself for anything from writing 20 pages of screenplay the night before, to just getting out of bed in the first place.

The problem with this particular location however, is that other hundreds of other students (mostly freshmen) hold the same love affair as I do with the green goddess. But I have one advantage they don’t: Rhonda.

Rhonda knows my usual drink, and generally orders it for me on sight. The first time I brought my best guy friend (thank you Urban Dictionary for all my subtext needs) with me to my favorite haunt, she not only put both our orders in right away thus bypassing a line which went out the door, but also gave them to us for free.

As we collected our drinks surreptitiously from the counter, passing both the line that never ends and the cash register, said male friend stared at me in awe. “Jen, you are a ‘free stuff’ goddess.”

Since then I have never ceased to amaze him with the sheer amount of “getting over” I do in the places I frequently visit. Our dining halls, my favorite bar, even the food stand on the bottom floor of our arts school. Read More »

Okay, this might be the coolest thing I’ve seen in a good while (besides that tampon – stun gun): From June 9 – 17, Crumpler Bags NYC, purveyor of cool cases for your coins, cameras, cassettes, whatever, will give you a FREE bag if you bring them some beer (you’re invited to drink it with them). It’s a straight business transaction: you spin their bag wheel, which picks your free bag. You got out and buy them beer. Return with the beer, they give you the bag, you drink the beer, and keep the bag forever. Talk about symbiosis. I”m stoked. I’ve been waiting and waiting for bartering to come back in style. I knew its day would come.