So I just spent a month traveling around Australia. It’s a beautiful place that I hope everyone can visit one day. But I know that “one day” might not come as soon as we all hope (what between student loans and spending our leftover cash on the totally necessary things like flat irons, booze and books for class). So upon my return I thought I would fill you in on all the things you need to know about the Land Down Under that you can find here, in our very own sweet land of liberty.

There’s a whole lot to love about Oz, but there are definitely four things you MUST know about this glorious country on the other side of the world. And no, I am not talking about Vegemite. G to the ross.

1) Tim Tams. Lucky for you, an around the world trip isn’t necessary to get your mouth on these amazing cookies (or as the locals call them, Biscuits or Bickie’s); they’re available at Target and Cost Plus World Market! Dark Chocolate and Caramel are my favorite two flavors. Mmmm. And of course, you must try the Tim Tam Slam. Bite a whole at each corner of the Tim Tam and use that as the yummiest straw ever in your morning mocha. Just thinking about it makes me melt inside.

2) Australian Licorice, most preferably by Darrel Lea. (Nab ‘em on Amazon!) Seriously their licorice is like taking Twizzlers Pull n’ Peel and condensing 4 of them into one yummy, chewy, delicious bite size piece. Yeah, like that, but then also 5 million times better. They have tons of flavors from Mango to Pineapple, Strawberry and Green Apple, which are all incredibly addicting. Read More »

It’s no secret that it costs A LOT of money to go to school. Between tuition, textbooks, room & board, meal plans, and bar tabs, students and their parents shell out big bucks for a four-year university degree. But what if your college actually paid you not to go? It sounds impossible, but is actually a very real scenario for current high-school seniors planning on attending Ithaca College in the fall.

Ithaca accidentally over-enrolled their newest freshman class…by 20%. To fix the problem, they dropped $2.5 mil on a new dorm (built in just 6 weeks…impressive!) and are offering various incentives to make room for the extra students. Upperclassmen are being offered $2,000 to move to off-campus housing, and admitted freshman are being offered a whopping $10,000 to defer enrollment for a year, either by studying abroad or just taking a gap year at home. Read More »