"WHY AREN'T THEY UP YET?!"

Your stomach has been churning since you walked out of your last exam. You know the grades are curved, but you also know that leaving the last essay blank is not going to bode well on your overall score. You talked to your friends in the class and compared answers. You’ve flipped through your notes again and again. You’ve attempted to calculate your score in your head.

And now you just have to wait.

You pack your bags to head home. Then you check your grades online. Nothing.
You take a cab to the airport. Then you check your grades from your phone. Still nothing.
You check them again as soon as you land.
And again after you kiss your mom hello and drop your laundry in the laundry room.

Still nothing.

You know that there is no way the professor is going to get the tests graded in the next few days so you attempt to forget about it. You don’t want to think about grades anymore, anyway. You’re on break, the test is over and there’s nothing you can do about it now, dammit.

And then you sit down to dinner with your parents and before you can say “Pass the ketchup,” your dad turns to you and asks, “How did finals go?” Read More »

Question?! Answer!! (…Maybe.) TuffyLuv@collegecandy.com

Dear Tuffy Luv,
I’m pretty sure you already answered a question like mine but I couldn’t find the answer, so here goes. I’m a high school senior applying to college and I’m having a bit of a problem with my safety school. It’s brilliant: great nightlife, safe area, amazing dorms and has a course that I love. One bad thing though: it’s my hometown. The dorms are down the road. The campus is a 10 minute drive from home. Not that I don’t love my hometown and my folks, but isn’t college my one chance to become independent and get a little space? When it comes down to it, I want to be able to stumble home drunk at 2 a.m and not have to worry about seeing people I know on every street corner.

Would staying in town for college be a waste of an experience? [Ed. Note: No! Just ask our commuter student!]

Should I apply to a worse school just because I don’t want to stay in my town? I mean, my folks think I should stay in dorms (and I will) but still. Any advice would be lovely

- Confused about College

Read More »

"Ok, so I'll do all the work and you'll take all the credit. Sound good?"

It’s the start of a new school year and to honor that, we at CollegeCandy are bringing back the fan-favorite series, “We’ve All Been There.”  (We tried to get another national holiday/long weekend for you guys but it’s way harder than we thought so this will have to do.) Every week, Lauren – University of Michigan will comment on the common experiences all college women share – like the first day of classes or trying to figure out if that boy is crushin’ too. Read, relate, cringe and enjoy.

Your midterm is assigned and not only is it a group project, but you can’t even choose who you’ll work with. Your T.A. reads off your group of four then gives you the last half of the class to discuss your ideas. You pull your desks together in a mini-circle and start the introductions.

It only takes you five minutes to realize that this group is not going to work.  Between the kid who’s only showed up to class twice and the girl who speaks maybe three words of English, it’s going to be a disaster.

With only two weeks to complete both a four-page paper and a 5-minute presentation, you need to get to work quickly. The group spends ten minutes coming up with a topic and the next twenty trying to find a time to meet that works for all of you. Unsuccessfully. One kid holds an on-campus job at the library, one girl is heading out of town for the weekend and you all have 3 other midterms that you need to somehow complete. Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Worried about rooming blind this Fall? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question:
Next month will be my second year at my new college. This past semester I didn’t do anything fun. I was miserable and studied the whole time. I came out with a 3.8 but no new friends. How can I balance schoolwork and get out and meet people at the same time?

GPA Girl:
Story of my life . . . haha, no, just kidding. Well, sort of. I also studied almost all the time, but so did my friends, so I think it evened out. You are perceptive to realize that you need to strike a balance between your social life and your academics, and it’s wonderful that you place both things as such high priorities right now. Friends and relationships from college are just as valuable (and often more valuable) than the grades you get there, so I wouldn’t want to see you miserable but acing every test for another semester. Have you considered signing up for some clubs, activities, or intramural teams? Busy Bee might have more to say about that. Don’t go overboard and start attending every single thing on campus, but going to events that feature your hobbies is a surefire way to meet new people who share the same interests. If you can manage to get on the e-mail lists for a bunch of different campus activities, you can pick and choose those that fit with your schedule and start meeting people that way. Also, it’s totally possible to meet new friends and study at the same time. Ask interesting people from your courses to form a study group, or ask your current friends to study with you on a standing weekly date and bring their friends along as well. Go out for dinner or coffee beforehand and chat with the new people who come along. Good luck! Read More »

[We're following one post-grad as she grabs that diploma, packs up her college life and heads on out to the big, bad world. There's a lot of change comin' her way and one big challenge: The LSAT.]

So, it’s crunch time. From this point on until October 9^th, my life is really about one thing and one thing only – the LSAT. Of course, I will still have everyday life to live, but from this point on my post-grad life really is going to be dictated by what I am convinced to be as one of the most evil tests in all of existence.

And I’ll be the first to admit – I am terrified. I’m absolutely shaking in my Rainbow flip flops at the thought of one test having so much power over my life.

You gotta do what you gotta do though, right? And what I have to do is do well enough on the test in October, so I don’t have to take it again in December, and come out with a score that satisfies me enough to get into a good law school for Fall 2011 admissions.

A lot is riding upon this exam. If you aren’t familiar with the whole “getting into law school business of admissions,” the LSAT is the end-all-be-all factor in admissions. According to Top Law Schools.com, “Your undergraduate GPA and LSAT score are the two most significant factors that admissions committees look at. The fact that a four hour standardized test carries as much, if not more, weight than four years of classes should tell you how important the LSAT is.” Yikes! Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Don’t know what to do this summer? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question:
You girls seem to know what’s up with college. I’m transferring from a community college to a big college. I start with the summer term in a few weeks (I thought it would help me with my transition if I gave myself some extra time.) I’m really scared because I’ve never lived away from home and this is very different from what I’m used to from my current school. I want to know if you have any advice? Like, if you could tell me 3 things I should know, what are they?

Party Girl:
First of all, congrats on leaving the nest! That’s a big step and it definitely takes some balls. As for the advice, I can only say that going to a “big” college after community college is going to be like life in technicolor after living in black & white (a la Dorothy). Everything is going to be more intense: the classes, the drinking, and the lifestyle. There will be more opportunities to party and make friends at every turn – take advantage of them!!  If I have to funnel my advice into three bullet points, it would be these:

1) Fight the urge to hermit. Get a drink in your hand and your ass on a dance floor.
2) Study. I frequently forget to do this myself, so it’s good to remind yourself that going to a big college is more than just a huge 4-year speed dating event.
3) Live on campus. Even if it’s just for a semester, to really experience your new school you have to live on campus. Plus, you get an automatic in for any campus parties that most people living off campus don’t even hear about. Read More »

Whose lunatic idea was it to throw National Teacher Day in May, when finals are looming and we’re more stressed out than Kanye when he pulled the mic from T-Swift!?

I mean seriously, I just cannot devote any of my (precious) time to appreciating teachers today. Sorry. Nope. Not gonna happen. Not when I’m  running on little to no sleep, am elbow-deep in research papers, and my blood caffeine content is higher than my average BAC on mug night. We stretch ourselves so thin trying to be perfect for teachers, studying so we can get an A, then promptly forgetting all the material. We really make the most of our education, don’t we!?

Nope. But at least there’s one professor, at one school, that knows what’s up.

According to Duke University’s Cathy Davidson, “I can’t think of a more meaningless, superficial, cynical way to evaluate learning than by assigning a grade. It turns learning into a crass competition: how do I snag the highest grade for the least amount of work? How do I give the prof what she wants so I can get the A that I need for med school? That’s the opposite of learning and curiosity, the opposite of everything I believe as a teacher, and is, quite frankly, a waste of my time and the students’ time.”

You go girl…er…woman! Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision…like if Spring Break is for you? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question:

Ever since I joined the business program at my school I’ve been overwhelmed with group projects. WTF? It’s college; doesn’t anyone know how hard it is to get people together in a group!? Anyways, I’m never good at this whole group thing because I always get frustrated and either start fights or take total control. I don’t like leaving my GPA in other peoples’ hands. I’m just wondering what you think is the best way to do group projects. Any tips? Advice? Ideas for working around the busy schedules of 6 people???

GPA Girl:

Okay. As someone who also despises working in groups, I can definitely sympathize. But I think you need to look at things from your professors’ points of view. Perhaps the reason they’re assigning group projects so often is because group work is vital in the business world. And people in the real world aren’t going to be any less busy than people are now at your b-school.

It sounds as if you have a commanding personality, which is a great for a career in business and for being a good group leader. I think you just have to channel your personality in a more positive way. You have the gift of being able to commandeer a group, so use it well! The next time you feel yourself starting to get frustrated and wanting to start a fight, just take a step back and do your best to shut out the emotional part of your brain. Focus on the logical (and, if you can, on the compassionate). What could you say that might be best in this situation? How can you work to bring people together and cooperate with all of them rather than isolating yourself by taking control? Trust me, you’ll be working with difficult people for your whole life long, so it’s best to start building an arsenal of tips and tricks ASAP. Read More »

Got some college questions? Unsure of a decision? Need some sober fun? Just wanna chat it up with some really awesome chics? We’ve got the girls for you. Hit them up in the comments or shoot them an email with the subject “College Q&A”! They’ve got all the answers you need, no matter who you are.

Question:

My professor is a complete jerk. He talks way too fast in class and I’m always completely lost. I have a big exam coming up so I went to office hours and he refused to help me. He claimed I needed to figure it out for myself. I’ve been trying! I can’t bomb this test (its 30% of my grade) so I don’t know what else to do. Ideas?

GPA Girl:

Wow, that’s incredible. It sounds as if your prof has a major chip on his shoulder for some reason. Luckily, I don’t and I have a few ideas for you. First, you might consider writing your professor a sincere, well-thought-out e-mail that expresses your thoughts tactfully and considerately. Let him know that his class really matters to you and that you are willing to work to figure things out, but that you would really appreciate some guidance from him. Another option is to track down the star students in the class. Are any of them your friends? Could they be bribed with chocolate or beer to help you study for the test and review the material?

Finally, if you still can’t get the help you need and your prof doesn’t change his behavior after you approach him again, I’d recommend writing a letter to your school’s dean or academic advising team to let the right people know about how your professor reacted when you asked for help. If you do badly on the test because of his refusal to help you, they may review your grade and modify it, or–at the very least–your actions may protect future students from having to suffer the academic consequences of your prof’s indifference. Read More »

With the start of a new quarter comes the excitement of new classes and a new schedule. And new TAs. While my friends are frantically researching classes that both fill their requirements and leave Friday open, I’m zoning out at my desk dreaming (and praying) about a tall, handsome, smart, romantic, witty discussion leader.

One that I’ve never, ever had the pleasure of having.
I have, however, encountered a creepy TA that just would not go away, which seems to be more the norm than the exception. Here is my story:

I was a cute and innocent little freshman when this all went down. The grad student, let’s call him Jeff, was TA-ing for one of my history classes winter quarter. I’m a history major and have a natural love of history and hearing my own voice, so I was basically the ONLY person that ever said anything in section. But I always felt creeped out when Jeff looked at me. Especially those few times I wasn’t saying anything at all. I could see in his face that he wasn’t looking at me as the brilliant history mind that I (thought I) was; it was obvious he was thinking things a little – ew – naughtier. Being young and naive, I brushed it off and pulled an A in the class. Probably much easier than I should have.

The very next quarter – lucky me! – he was my section leader again. Awesome. The quarter went by pretty much the same as the one before it. And again, I pulled a very easy A. Read More »