How to get the most out of Greek life

5 easy ways to keep cash in your wallet this summer

Important questions to ask your future roommate before you move in

How to take back your bedroom for the summer break

Why your love life and finances are related

Some lesser known drinking games you need to try

The playlist you need for this summer

Why being back home is not all fun and games

Should you use a backpack in college??

How to deal with work screw ups

Lesson 23: Summer and Single Go Hand in Hand

There’s nothing like finals time to stress you out enough to make you forget that your last few dates were total flops. Caught up in the chaos of studying for a cumulative exam created by the most cruel of professors, there is a sigh of relief in knowing that your single life is the last thing on your mind, if only for a week. But what’s a girl to do with a suddenly cleared up summer schedule and no summer romance lined up?

First things first, do what makes you happy. This isn’t the summer before your senior year in high school when all you and your girlfriends did all summer was hang out at the skate park watching the same lame guys from school hook ollies and talk about the NBA playoffs. In college, so much of our school year is spent doing things for others – sororities, your loser ex-boyfriend, professors who refuse to acknowledge that their class isn’t the only one you’re taking – but the summer is the one time that is truly ours to do whatever we want. The best thing you can do for the three months of sweet respite before fall and it’s accompanying stresses barge back into your life is take this time for yourself and make it your own.

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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 »

Ah, summer. The temperatures rise, the air thickens, our tans darken (unless you work in an office like me), and we go back to the old friends from home that we haven’t spent much time with in the past year. But among the mass of people you used to see all the time in high school, there are six different types of people that you will never see over your long summer vacation at home. Read More »

Summer is in full swing and while we’re all busy toiling away at our internships and jobs, it’s hard not to dream about those relaxing and fun summers of our past. Not only did we have zero responsibility back then, but we had all of our friends to chase through sprinklers and get Dairy Queen with. Not anymore. With all of our college friends spread across the country and the dreaded 9-5 gig, summers just aren’t the same anymore.

But they don’t have to be a total bust. It is summer, after all.

When it comes to summer break, there are only 5 friends you need for optimal summertime fun. You keep these peeps around and you’re golden through Labor Day. Read More »

Before I started college I would spend literally weeks fantasizing about summer. The perfect summer camp, summer job, summer fling, summer barbecues (mmmm cole slaw), whatever. Daydreaming about all the fun I was to have in the summer days ahead was the only way I managed to keep my eyes open during those high school classes that miserably lasted through June.

Now, things couldn’t be more different.

College has opened me up to a whole new world that allows you to be basically as lazy, drunk, and independent as you please, whenever you please. I know not everyone will agree with me about all this, but real life back at home with real responsibilities just seems so much more dull than simply having to cram for an exam every once in a while. But that’s not all. I’m yearning to be back on campus because, well:

1. You don’t have to drive anywhere.
What’s a bigger buzz kill than fighting with your friends over who’s going to be DD for the night? Life is way more fun when everyone gets to enjoy some cocktails and your biggest issue is whether or not it’s safe to take off your pumps and walk home barefoot.

2. Your friends are willing to go out roughly Monday through Saturday.
Although everyone has the friend who could care less about showing up hungover to their summer internship, wasn’t it just so much more fun when no one cared about showing up hungover to their classes? Read More »

Just another day in the country...

The summer before my freshman year of college, I packed my bags into the back of my car and drove to the big city. Cue the music, feel the rain on your skin, no one else can feel it for you… My blonde hair was whipping in the wind, my shades on. I was starting a whole new life, and although Raleigh, NC is nothing like LA and my life is far from an episode of The Hills, it was really exciting. I’m from a town where if you want to go to a mall, you have to drive forty-five minutes. A town where you can’t talk about someone, because chances are, it’s your friend’s second cousin.

So I did what any big-city-living-in-the-country girl would do; I said eff that and moved to the state’s capitol.

Oh the city; when your skyline came into my view I screamed and threw my arms into the air, excited to reside within your warm arms. For an entire school year, I danced on your bars, shopped in your stores, and fell in love with your boys. But when the summer came, I pulled a Scarlett O’Hara (“Home. I’ll go home…”). I figured the country would give me time to relax, to detox, and, frankly, it was closer to the beach. Things would be serene, and all that.

Yeah, until I smelled my town before I even entered it. Serenity (and the sound of tractors) is only interesting for about a day. I miss the city! I miss the constant buzz, the bars, and the stores! You would think I learned my lesson the first time, yet here I am, my sophomore summer, sitting in a town with a Food Lion and that’s it.

What the hell was I thinking?! Read More »

Classes are out, exams are over, and I am thrilled to announce that outside my window it is a blissful 78 degrees.  Dearest readers- the summer season is within reach.  With the heat comes a breezy wardrobe, new flings, and a fresh excuse to document all the places you get drunk with those arm-out pictures that crop off half your face.

As you bid adieu to roommates, campus bartenders, and that guy you may or may not have hooked up with last weekend (still waiting for photo evidence), I said goodbye to my favorite Upper East Siders on Gossip Girl (am I saying goodbye to Chuck forever!?) and bawled my eyes out watched in horror as MTV is wrapping up putting The Hills out of it’s misery, one week at a time.

And I know I’m going to be extra cranky as I face three months without Serena’s gravity defying boobs and Miss Blair’s scheming ways.  I feel so abandoned.  What’s that you say?  Retail therapy?  Good thing Victoria’s Secret has a sale!  Also:

-To make room for your new cute things, I suggest you clean out your old tees by making them into stylish and fun bracelets.  You might as well jump-start your reputation as a poolside trendsetter.

-Thinking of transferring schools over the summer?  Have Harvard dreams?  This is how one guy faked his way in. Read More »

Well that just sucks.

[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 Facebook! ) 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!]

Summer, my favorite time of year. Not because of the weather (yay, swimming!) or the fashion (yay, things that aren’t sweaters!) though those things are great – I love summer for the same reason that pretty much every other kid who went to school in America does; no class! But, even though the sixth grader inside my head chafes at the idea, summer classes are becoming more and more common, so the question is, are they worth it?

Alright, the pros of summer classes (words I never thought I would write). One perk of taking summer classes is that you’re getting your credits but you can mix up the usual class experience – you can take classes at an affiliated college or do a program in another city or country (hot foreign boys). Plus you don’t have all of the distractions that come with the rest of the school year (football games, school newspaper, frat row parties…). Getting some classes done over the summer also means more credits you don’t have to take later, so maybe cutting down your college career (and the amount of time you’re footing those tuition bills). Summer classes also usually take about half the time that classes do during the school year (how does that work??) and a lot of the time you can catch a break on the price with special summer scholarships and financial aid. Read More »

Chances are you’ll be spending many days at the beach this summer. And chances are good that a day of sun time can often be topped off by a night of fun time out at the bars.  Heading out for some drinkies with the girls doesn’t mean you have to rush home to get ready; you can rock out the same outfit all day with a few quick fixes (and hey, tousled beach hair is damn sexy). Read More »