We’ve all been there: just when your enrollment time rolls around, the class that you planned to take next semester is now full. Even though you need that class to qualify for another upper-division course, accept that dream internship AND graduate on time, there just aren’t enough seats. And when you attempt to crash the class, the wait list is moving at a glacial pace and you’re getting seriously desperate. How much would you pay to add that course? Would you pay more than four times the current fee per unit? Is that even fair? Is that even legal?!?

A few things are for certain: it’s happening, it’s pissing people off and, therefore, it’s the Hot Button Issue of the week.

According to the Los Angeles Times, an incredibly popular community college in Southern California will soon implement a two-tiered pricing system that offers high-demand classes at a much higher price. Class fees are currently set at $36 per unit and will rise to $46 beginning this summer. As part of the new system just approved by the school board, crucial classes at Santa Monica College will costs about $200 per unit. The new program would be offered as soon as this summer and winter — the latter of which may only offer the higher-priced classes. Hey, desperate times obviously call for desperate measures.

Read More »

Prince William and Kate got a puppy!

Weirdest relationship ever.

Five things to talk about before the big move in.

Learn how to wear shorts with tights.

Justin Timberlake‘s finest fashion moments.

5 break up myths.

Superbowl ads and their mismatched marketing.

Daniel Radcliffe puts on his serious face.

How much do A-listers really make?

You finished your last exam early and, after waiting for someone else to turn theirs in (you don’t want to be first!), ran down the steps of that lecture hall, slammed that baby on the desk and skipped your way to freedom. As you walk home you notice how great the air smells, how bright the sun is and how beautiful your campus is. School is out and you are feelin’ groovy.

After regaling your roommates with tales from your 90-minute essay exam (“I totally rocked that shiz!”), you head to your room to start the end-of-the-year cleaning session, beer in hand. You grab a garbage bag, sit down at your desk and start sifting through the piles of papers, books and notebooks that litter your desk.

In the back of your mind, you know that some of those notebooks will come in handy for next year’s classes. In the front of your mind, though, you know you will never look at them ever again. So, in a celebratory fashion, you toss one binder after another into the Hefty. Read More »

How to get the life you want

Figure out where all your money is going

What if I gain it all back

R. Patz gives deets on his sex secene

Why do men fight the way they do

Going for the gold

Guess which Full House girl is getting married?

Find the passion in your life

Should You Get Brazilian Keratin Or Japanese Straightening?

As a college student I’ve learned that there are just some things that parents will never understand. And I’m not talking about how to change their profile pictures or how to DVR The Closer. I’m talking about the way life is now; the way we college students communicate and socialize and hook-up.  I know I personally joke about my parents living when the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but sometimes, after being forced to explain to them what a sext is, I find myself thinking this could actually be true.

So in case you think you’re the only one with confused parents (why don’t you just pick up the phone and call her! Why do you always have to text everyone!?), this list will help you to see that you’re not the only constantly having to justify to your parents that slapping a bag of boxed wine is a fine way to spend a Saturday night.

1. We drink like champions

Let me just start by saying, parents will NEVER UNDERSTAND why college kids drink so much. I think we can all say that it’s a fun thing to do, a great way to meet people, and an easy way to break the ice with the cute guy across the room. Yet parents will always wonder if a kegstand is actually safe and why taping cheap beer to your hands is fun. Just accept the fact that no matter how many times you try to explain the rules of Beer Pong, parents will think that package of ping pong balls in your room is because you and your friends reaaally got into ping pong this past summer.

2. Hungry? Let’s Order Pizza!

If you didn’t make it to the dining hall before it closed or ran out of pasta to make at your apartment, pizza is usually the first thing to come to mind. Parents don’t understand that it completely normal to order pizza seven nights a week without even peeking inside the fridge. Healthy eating doesn’t really exist in college. Sure we go to the gym and sure we sometimes make sure to order chicken AND BROCCOLI from the Chinese place, but we rarely pull out the food pyramid and consult it. Read More »

Student loans have turned me into a Grinch this Christmas.

Even though Christmas is on Saturday, I honestly couldn’t care less this year. With everyone around me so happy and festive, I feel like the odd-woman-out. However, I think I have a decent excuse. Instead of “Jingle Bell Rock” in my head and busy days spent shopping at the mall, I’m singing the Student Loan Blues while staring at my empty bank account.

Ugh. Student loans.

If you graduated last spring and have student loans, you probably feel the same way I do right now considering our loan repayment grace period is over: in over your head! Although I knew this reality was coming, I guess I never thought it would hit me this hard and scare me this much. And I’ll be the first to say, I’m scared that these loans I had to take out to go to college will ruin the rest of my life.

Maybe I’m exaggerating a bit much, but right now, they certainly feel like they are taking hold of my entire life. In order to make payments so I’m in good standing with the lenders, I had to dish out the cash this month to get my payment record off to a good start. And boy, has it hurt. Christmas presents? Yeah … no one I know will be getting one from me. Not even the homemade variety. Will I be getting to see my boyfriend anytime soon? Nope, I don’t have the cash to pay for a plane ticket (ugh, another lovely benefit of being in a long-distance relationship). I can’t help but wonder “Will I ever have money again?”

Now, I probably sound like a Debbie downer, but it’s easy to feel downtrodden and stressed when it seems like you have a whole life ahead of you … centered around owing someone a ton of money. However, I do keep telling myself that one day my college degree will pay off … so maybe it wasn’t a terrible thing after all? Maybe?

This is where I keep my fingers crossed. Read More »

Let me put it out there: whoever said money couldn’t buy happiness was a moron. Aside from being a super dad-like statement, it’s completely false. While I’ve always suspected a little extra cash brings on the smiles, a study out of the Wharton School now also suggests my inklings are spot-on.

As if we needed a study to tell us this, it looks like the truth might actually be we’re simply happier people when the bills are covered, the loans are paid, and there’s a little extra play money lying around for those just-because purchases. As a college student or a recent grad, you probably feel the financial strain more than most groups within society. Rent, school, transportation, random incidentals…chances are you’re paying for one or more of these hefty items on your own with minimal life savings to your name.

And that’s all before you factor in the cost of shopping, vacations, and going out…if you can even afford to do those things. So what are we left with? A lot of debt, a lot of stress, a lot of mail we don’t want to open, and NOT a lot of affordable ways to de-stress. Read More »

Holiday season is by far my favorite time of the year. It’s a season of excessive desserts, eggnog, sample sales, boots and of course, lots and lots of gifts.

What’s not to love?!

No matter which holiday you celebrate, gift giving is a staple of the holiday season. But there is some major pressure when picking out a gift for that special someone. And in this not-so-fabulous economy, a lot of people don’t have the resources to buy the perfect gift anymore.

Well, like I always say, if you can’t buy it make it. (Okay, so I don’t usually say that on day-to-day basis, but you get my point.)

Homemade gifts can be some of the most cherished and beloved gifts. There’s nothing better than seeing someone’s face light up as they unwrap and enjoy a gift you made especially for them. But not all homemade gifts are created equal. Frankly, some just plain blow. Hard. Re-gifted presents and macaroni necklaces won’t cut it anymore, so I’ve rounded up a list of the best homemade gifts that don’t suck. Read More »

Say you had a million dollars.  That would be pretty cool, right?  You’d probably go shopping more than once a month.  Maybe bankroll your friends at the bar.  Pay off those student loans.  Get yourself set up in a cushy lifestyle, right?

Okay, now say you had $100 million.  You’d still do all of the above, but with the leftover change I hope you’d go all-out Oprah on some people in need.  Genocide refugees, abandoned animals, sad kids with distended bellies and flies on their faces…take your pick.  It’s really not that hard when you look at everything that’s going on in the world.

Or so I thought until one Mr. Henry Kravis proved me wrong.  The dude’s loaded.  Forget millions, his net worth is in the billions range.  And while he did recently make a significant donation, it wasn’t to the type of organization you’d expect.  Thanks to Kravis’ generosity, 100 million of his hard-earned dollars will be going to Columbia University’s Business School.  Because Ivy League universities need 450,000 feet added to their buildings and this guy really needs his name on a library or something.  Riiiight.

I’m sure the school would have gladly accepted a donation of a far lesser sum and maybe even still put his name in big stone-engraved letters somewhere.  The rest of that cool $100 mill could have fed families, bought vaccinations, or sent young girls to school.  Hell, he could have even done something as frivolous as sending a thousand sick kids to a baseball game and it would have been a better call. Read More »

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like social media blackout!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

One of the big buzz topics surrounding colleges in the last couple of years has been an administrative push to get everyone to graduate “on time” – as in, the four year model. Florida’s university system thinks they might have found the answer – as a number of other colleges have – in “block tuition”. Block tuition is basically just a flat rate system where every student pays a set price for a year or semester, regardless of how many credit hours they take. I can see some serious advantages to this program – that might be completely outweighed by the disadvantages.

On the one hand, anybody taking a heavy course load essentially gets a couple of free classes since most block tuition systems are set up around 15 credit hours. Anyone who’s already taking 18 credits, then, is getting a break on her education. Also, somebody who might want to graduate earlier could possibly get a lot of their credits packed into a year without having to pay extra – awesome! The system obviously works because it’s become a norm for private universities along with some big names like the University of Texas at Austin and UCLA. Read More »