College students are notoriously strapped for cash, and everyone on campus knows this.  Maybe administrators only do it because they feel guilty for sucking thousands of dollars out of our bank accounts, but the truth is, they actually provide plenty of awesome things for students to utilize – but we never seem to take these opportunities.  Why is it that the turnout for dollar beer night is always SO much greater than the number of students who show up for on-campus lectures?

There are so many chances that college students simply fail to take advantage of.  Here’s a little bucket list, College Candy style.  Make sure you take advantage of each of these things at least once before graduation.  Trust us – these opportunities are painfully rare once you get out into the real world.

Newspapers - Recently, we heard about a school that decided to terminate its free subscription to the Wall Street Journal because students just weren’t picking up copies.  Most institutions offer free copies of top papers, only to find discarded piles week after week.  Even if you only take it for the crossword, grabbing a free copy is totally worth it.

Special Guests – We’re not just talking about the lectures that pertain to your courses (although we totally advocate going to those too!). A lot of schools invest time and funds to bring really interesting people to campus, but students just don’t seem to appreciate it.  Take the time my school had Project Runway runner-up Althea Harper come in and talk about her experiences as a designer – it doesn’t get much cooler or more current than that, but only a handful of students dragged themselves away from happy hour to attend the event.  Piece of advice: the next time you see a sign promoting a guest speaker, check it out.  It may be your chance to get some great advice, listen to amusing anecdotes, or even meet a celeb – and you can usually do all this for free (or at least cheap).

Clubs -  Even super-involved high school students seem to have difficulty joining clubs in college.  Maybe they are time-consuming, but the truth is that clubs give you a much-needed break from the monotony of classes and homework.  Everything is offered, from musical groups to the school paper to intramural sports.  The second best thing about clubs is that they give you a chance to try something new, even if you don’t have a ton of experience or talent; clubs lack the competition and pressure of more official activities. The best part?  Free food is served at most of the meetings.

Dining Hall Buffets – The ABSOLUTE best way to really get bang for your buck.  Go on a totally empty stomach and let yourself go for four helpings of pure deliciousness.  It’s a great way to try a lot of new dishes, too. My personal recommendation?  Go during finals week, eat lunch, sit around and study while grazing on snacks, and then eat a full-on dinner a few hours later.  Just make sure you have a pair of oversized sweatpants on hand for the next day

Interesting Courses – So many people take classes for one reason and reason only: to satisfy graduation requirements.  But take it from a recent grad; college has so much more to offer.  The absolute best choice I ever made in my four years was signing up for a diversity workshop.   So if you’ve always secretly wanted to try pottery, sign up for a course.  Make it your mission to take at least one random elective every year – who knows what you might learn?

So here you have it, kids.  And one last piece of advice: if you’re shelling out thousands for school, try to limit skipping class to the mornings when you’re just too hungover to get out of bed.

Maybe it was the “this semester’s going to be different” syndrome that somehow possessed you to sign up for that early morning seminar. Or maybe it’s that pesky biology course that you’ve put off for the last 3 semesters — the one you have to take to declare your major. Either way, we all succumb now and then to the evilest of academia plaguing our university campuses – 8 AM classes.

After spending about five lectures cursing the school’s scheduling system, you realize that you actually have to suck up this class for the entire term. When you finally come to that place of acceptance, rely on these survival tips to get you through the long road ahead:

1. Prepare your sh*t ahead of time – It takes about 5 minutes to sleepily throw everything you need in your school bag before you hit the hay. Make sure to grab the essentials. Notebook? Check. Pens and pencils? Got ‘em. New York Times sudoku book? Hell yeah!

2. Set your alarm to your own sleeping habits – Personally, I like to set my alarm to about 20 to 30 minutes before the time I absolutely have to wake up, also known as the Oh Sh*t Hour. That way, I can have the satisfaction of slapping my snooze button without actually being late for class. Now, if you’re like my roommate, you may want to set your alarm at the actual O.S.H., or else you may automatically turn off your alarm in your sleep.

3. Drink coffee – And lots of it.

4. Bring breakfast with you – Let’s be real, most of us run a little late when it’s 7:45 in the morning, leaving no time to prepare let alone eat a hearty meal. I trust that you’ve seen the Special K Red Berries commercial, so you know that “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” I don’t like to lose any opportunity to eat, so I make an easy breakfast that I can eat in class. One of my favorites is the parfait – nonfat plain yogurt, granola, and mixed frozen or fresh fruit. Clean, easy, and effectively makes everybody around you drool in jealousy.

5. Wear your gym clothes to class – This is one of my personal faves. Wear gym clothes to class so you don’t have to get up earlier to get ready. It doesn’t even matter if you plan to go to the gym or even have a membership. As long as you’re wearing gym clothes you can be certain of two things: 1) You will be comfortable and 2) You can speed walk/run to class without breaking an ankle. This also doubles as an excuse to look like crap while still appearing as there’s a purpose to your raggedness.

Good luck and take heart: you’re not the only one struggling to keep those eyes open this morning…