When I made the big decision to go to college and not travel around Europe for a year,  it was because I enjoy being taught in a classroom. I’ve enjoyed being taught psychology and the different techniques of advertising. World history…erm… not so much, but I try in every class I take because I’m paying to get this education. And you better believe I want one heck of an education when I cross that stage in May.

So you must imagine how surprised I was to learn that, according to a recent study, “45% of Students Don’t Learn Much in College.”

Hold the phone, people. And by that I mean this is all 100% crap. And I’m getting angry enough to throw some. (Seriously, read that article and join me….)

First of all, who on earth were polled and interviewed for this 4-year study? Who is the student who claimed he could get by using Wikipedia and “pass anything”? Maybe that’s what it’s like in the ho-hum classes he chose to take (most likely based on “Easy A” reviews by older students on RateMyProfessor.com), but at my school you would be laughed out of the classroom if you used Wikipedia as a direct source for anything. And it’s not like BSU is some top notch, Ivy League institution. Read More »

On Tuesday, October 5, President Obama and Jill Biden hosted the first ever White House Summit on Community Colleges. In an attempt to draw attention to his education plan, Obama claimed, “We want to make it easier to connect students looking for jobs with businesses looking to hire. We want to help community colleges and employers create programs that match curricula in the classroom with the needs of the boardrooms.”

Due to the exceptionally high unemployment rate and our falling world ranking concerning the percentage of college-educated adults, the Obama administration feels we need to focus on community colleges to provide a more affordable education for America’s youth. Obama is looking to improve the number of college degrees by 5 million before 2020.

Undeniably, a two-year, community college education would make many students’ resumes more appealing to any future employer than having no higher education at all. However, after already shoveling over $3 billion to help low-income students at colleges with an average graduation rate of 20% (versus the 58% rate career colleges boast), Obama’s plan is far from cheap.

The move toward this plan would attempt to partner community colleges with various businesses and focus curriculum on skills necessary for students’ desired career choices, making them more appealing to said partners. The plan has received some backlash, especially from for-profit career colleges. However, all-in-all, it hasn’t received much attention. Read More »

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.

Read More »

For every hour a student is in class, he or she should be studying for two.  That’s what they say, but is that what you do?  The Huffington Post reports that students today are studying drastically less than their predecessors.  While you or I might roll our eyes and say, “Duh Mr. Scientist man, haven’t you heard of Facebook?” the brains behind this study insist that social media outlets are not to blame for our desire to slack off.  Well…then what gives?  After briefly scratching my head and doing a minimal amount of research, I’ve come to the following conclusions:

Uhhh, It’s Called the Internet
While this report insists that the Internet is not to blame for our poor study skills, I have to disagree.  It’s not so much that I think we’re all on Facebook (she says as she closes that tab), I just think that the process of cracking a book open has changed so dramatically since the good ol’ days.  No longer are we wasting time flipping through card catalogues and rummaging in the library stacks.  It’s a simple point and click world- from Wikipedia to the New York Times archives, we have everything at our fingertips.  I refuse to believe that that doesn’t expedite our cram time.

Housewives Marathon.  All. Weekend. Long.
Guys, admit it: reality TV is like crack cocaine even to an actual crack addict.  Give me a comfy sofa (hell, give me the floor) and six solid hours of Project Runway, Housewives, The Hills…even a really good infomercial has the capacity to grab my attention.  When given the choice between a ten-pound Chemistry book and P.Diddy hawking Proactiv, there simply is no choice. Read More »

Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, and saddest things he hears on his college campus. And we know he’s not the only one who hears this stuff. Join the Overheard revolution! Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send ‘em over!

(Girl, raising hand in class.)

Girl: Wait, so … some languages don’t have vowels? That’s IMPOSSIBLE! How are you supposed to pronounce them? Do you have to guess? I can’t believe that! That’s so stupid! *scribbles furiously in notebook*

(Professor, teaching a class.)

Prof: Heaven is hard to describe. I’ve seen plenty of evocative depictions of Hell, but I’ve never seen a truly compelling vision of Heaven.

Student, interrupting: May I suggest one?

Prof: No. I want to talk about something else.

(Two guys, getting into their car.)

Guy: You ever notice that every time we go to make candles, one of us cheats on his girlfriend? Read More »

Mandy Moore is married.

Obama wants to help students.

Chris Brown pulls out of Teen Choice Awards.

Lookin’ for a new look? How about 80′s eyes?

Shooting spree in Alabama kills 11.

Annalynne McCord drives as well as she acts.

Spring handbags!

Katie Holmes has lady hair!

Octomom coming to her senses?

5 argument tactics that never work.

Life changing beauty products.

[Every week, CC and John bring you some of the weirdest, funniest, saddest things he hears on his college campus. Join the Overheard revolution!

Leave your own overheard convos in the comments or send 'em over!.]

“So I was going to go to the package store, and then I thought, hey, you know what, Fruit by the Foot. That ever happen to you?”

“It’s been a hairy week. Pubic hair, mostly.”

“I’m furious! This is terrible! The whole place smells like… boys! I’m gonna have to make, like, 20 bags of popcorn to get the stink out!”

(A teacher.)

“I love all my students. They’re just the cutest little puppies. Now, my puppies, let’s talk about sex.”

“I’d go to church if they had, like, communion eclairs or something. Or communion steak.”

“Or communion free money.”

“… and I was like, oh, my God, my nephew is eight years old and he’s wearing a huge hat with a shark fin on it. He’s one of those kids.”

“We should get more interns. They’re like human-shaped trash disposals.” Read More »

If you’re a fan of scary movies, you may be hard pressed to choose your favorite. But oh. my. lord; the worst scary movies of all time have turned into jokey, pop culture icons.

The trailers of these films look promising, and then the movies crash and burn. Big time. And they become the laughingstock of twelve year old kids everywhere who thought they were being daring by watching that movie that mommy and daddy told them not to.

But, wait. That movie was a joke.

In the spirit of Halloween, my friends and I were recently trying to list the best scary movies of all time, but in doing so, we ended up creating a list of the 5 worst. It seems like those were easier to come up with because usually there’s no argument; they are unanimously bad. These movies don’t send chills down your spine or make you jump when someone comes up behind you. These not-so-scary movies make you laugh. Hard.

In no particular order: Read More »

Happy Sweetest Day, ladies. Time to snuggle up with that sweet person in your life and tell one another how much you lurve eachother with some candy and flowers. Or, for those single ladies out there, time to snuggle up with a little cookie dough before hitting the mall to show yourself a little sweetness.

Whatever you choose to do today, here are a few sweets to celebrate with. Starting with the sweetest kiss.

Chuck Bass is the ultimate womanizer.

Looks like redheads are having all the fun.

Marcia Brady has tried anal sex??

10 things your student bag should never be missing.

Heidi Klum loves her milk.

Will Sarah Palin be on SNL tonight? Only time will tell.

How to settle your debt with the roomie.

What insult should be the new “douchebag“?

Do you volunteer your time for your favorite cause? Volunteer to work on the presidential campaign? Pass out pamphlets for women’s rights? Throw paint on people sporting fur coats?

I know I do some of those things. I am a huge supporter of animals’ rights, but even I think that PETA is a bit extreme when it comes to getting their point across. And it appears that some of their members are taking that extremism even further.

PETA intern, Jennifer Thornburg, Cutout Dissection.com convinced federal courts to change her name to support Cut Out Dissection Month in October.

Now, I don’t know if it’s fame, pure insanity, or a real dedication to the cause, but this girl is making a bold statement. This is originality and creativity at its finest. All in the “name” of community service!

So why did this 19 year old intern do this? She wanted to raise awareness about the six million animals that are killed for dissection each year. The animals suffer painful deaths. She hopes to raise awareness amongst students and teachers to say no to dissection, and yes to alternative ways of anatomy.

Around PETA and to her fellow interns, she is known as simply Cut Out, but her parents still call her Jenny. She loves introducing herself as Cutout Dissection.com because it engages people in conversation about dissection efforts, thus leading to ways they can get involved and help the cause.

Although, I can’t help but wonder what strangers think when she introduces herself at the bar:

“Hey, pretty lady. I’m Jon.”

“Hi Jon. I’m Cutout Dissection.com.”

“What?”

Tell me what do you think: is this amazing dedication or just plain crazy?