How to Buy Cheap Textbooks

January 28, 2008 by The Digital Student / 6 Comments

If you’re just back in the school groove and looking to buy the cheapest textbooks around, fret no further. Here’s where you should look to get some hot deals on textbooks.

Half.com. eBay’s “brother” site, half.com, offers books for a pretty good discount. You can also use half.com to get good deals on other items, such as electronics. While half.com is a great place for deals, since you’re working directly with a seller, you may not actually get your book on time, so if that’s the case, borrow in the meantime. By the way, while half.com is a great site in itself, don’t forget to check eBay out because you might find the book there even cheaper!
Amazon.com. If Half fails, Amazon succeeds — usually. Check the site for new and used books. You can also pay the seller for expedited shipping if you need the book immediately, but media mail is typically a good (and still fast) choice.
The library. Some college libraries may let you take out the book for an extended period of time if the book is not on reserve. This is a good option, but do it quickly. There’s probably a lot of competition for the same book!
Share. Share with your classmate. Obviously, this isn’t the best idea (though it might be if you have the same class at different times and therefore don’t have the same homework due at the same time. The other option would be to photocopy only the necessary pages when you’re in a time crunch.
Ask your professor. Sometimes you don’t have money to the book. It happens. Don’t be afraid to approach your professor because chances are he has one or two in his office. If not, he can point you in the direction of someone who does. And that person might even be a Teaching Assistant, which is another option if the professor path doesn’t pan out.

Other resources:

College Graduation Isn’t as Far Away as it Seems

January 14, 2008 by The Digital Student / 2 Comments

Graduation Ceremony If you’re a college senior, don’t forget that this is your last semester and graduation is only a few short months away. The future is now.

While “senioritis” and doing nothing might be your proposed direction, it’s not the best one for now. You’re almost fully into “real” adulthood, and your responsibilities are going to get bigger than ever. Don’t assume you’re getting off easy for the remaining three months. You still probably have requirements to take care of academically, like taking classes that can maintain your grade point average. Additionally, your goals for the upcoming years are still to be finalized, whether they are for fellowships, graduate studies, or professional pursuits. It’s right now that you should be working to solidify your plans for the years ahead.

Be advised that some schools have varying requirements regarding graduation. Some require you to actually apply to graduate, whereas others will assume that you’re in the graduating class of 2008. Whatever the case may be, make sure that all paperwork is filed so that you get to proceed with receiving your honors of academic completion.

As far as other requirements, you’ll likely be responsible to maintain a certain GPA, to finish any incomplete courses, to ensure that your major requirements are met, and any additional requirements are also addressed. If you have a major advisor at this time and you’re still in doubt about your requirements, it’s best to coordinate with him/her as soon as possible to work out any logistics in your schedule. Some major requirements classes, for example, are only taught during certain semesters. What do you do when it’s not offered at your last possible semester? Work with your advisor to see if there are any suitable alternative courses that still will get you out the door.

Research graduation requirements as soon as you can on your school’s website to make sure that all issues, financial and academic, are resolved.

It’s never too early to start preparing for the commencement weekend (or days). Start working out lodging details for out-of-town guests. Some schools offer this on-campus. Others partner with local hotels for good deals. Jump at opportunities for affordable discounts and rates, because these places will sell out quickly. If you can make a trip out of graduation for your family, they’ll probably appreciate it. Plan out a week with the family when they come up — or just have them attend the festivities. In any case, you want to prepare early and not later. Big tip: If you have a big family (and there are only a few tickets handed out for your commencement exercises), become friends with your classmates quickly and have them give you those extra tickets. They will go away fast.

It’s a busy time of year for the second-semester college senior, but if you make the best of it and work hard to do so, you’ll get ahead of your classmates and be all ready for the big day. And after that, the future is looking at you.

College Life Lessons from Benjamin Franklin

January 2, 2008 by The Digital Student / One Comment

Do you want to be like one of the fathers of the United States? Take Ben Franklin, for instance. Flamebright talks about how, at age 20, Ben Franklin devised a list of thirteen principles upon which to dictate his future conduct. Interestingly, they can apply to college life as well. Here they are, and here’s how you can make this system your own.

Temperance: Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation. Enjoy the college years, but don’t go overboard with partying, drinking, or even studying. Do everything in moderation. Don’t obsess over classes and enjoy your friends. But don’t do too much of anything.
Silence: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation. Learn, but don’t teach unless you are ready. College is an incredibly diverse atmosphere, so take advantage of that. Chances are you will be learning a lot from your newfound friends about religion, foreign countries, and the like. Listen to them, but don’t force any beliefs onto them.
Order: Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time. Organization is important. Have your class notes, clothing, and personal belongs organized. Ensure that you don’t double-schedule classes or meetings.
Resolution: Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve. Now it’s time for your New Years Resolutions and goals to be realized. If you’re aiming for top scores, go for it. Don’t get discouraged. Aim for succeed, and don’t give up.
Frugality: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing. Chance are that you don’t have unlimited funds or you’re on a budget. Keep true to that budget. Save money whenever possible. Help your friends and they will return the favor when you don’t expect it. Give of yourself.
Industry: Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions. Make the most of your college years, for they are short and sweet. When you’re done with school, you’ll miss your college years dearly. Take advantage of every opportunity that knocks if you can: participate in extracurricular activities, study (in moderation, as per #1), and enjoy the forged friendships.
Sincerity: Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly. Your debate class needs your voice, so don’t shy away. Are you a member of the College Democrats on campus? Let your voice be heard. College is a time when you are able to make a difference in the world more so than ever before; activist groups abound and you be true to your beliefs and advocate them where possible (but not in conflict with #2).
Justice: Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty. Be the good person you can be. Be a good classmate. Be a good roommate. Whatever you do, in the end, it’s about being virtuous to yourself, so be nice to everyone around you and it will come back to you.
Moderation: Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. Don’t overdo anything in school. Your courses are only a few hours a week for a reason. You can live, eat, drink, and sleep your lessons, but you’d be missing out on some excellent opportunities for friendship, internships, networking opportunities, and extra-curricular activities.
Cleanliness: Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation. Keep your belongings clean. Keep clean notes so that you’ll want to refer to them again. Clean your clothes (do your laundry) so that your friends will want to hang out with you. Keep your dorm room clean so that you can have visitors over. Your habits are a reflection of who you are, and laziness is not one of Ben Franklin’s rules of living.
Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation. Why are you going to school? For a boyfriend, a girlfriend, or for your education? Remember first and foremost the reasons for going to school. Let everything else linger behind.
Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. Okay, so your roommate forgot to buy toilet paper again. I know it sucks. Is it worth it, though, to blow up over it? Let the small things slide and be a stronger person about it. Don’t let these things bother you. If they do, just calmly bring it up in conversation, but don’t let it go further than that.
Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates. Be humble. Be modest. Live your college life to be a memorable one but don’t do anything notorious or bad. Remember, Ben Franklin lived a life of humility and yet still is famous in our time. Emulate his virtues, look to succeed in school, and you’ll be respected and revered by your classmates and professors.

Be Careful With What You Post Online

December 31, 2007 by The Digital Student / 0 Comments

Stacy Snyder Drunken Pirate
Today, your professors, your friends, and your future employers have access to anything about you online. Whether it’s your Facebook profile, your MySpace page, or a LiveJournal site, chances are someone you know knows about it — and that can be dangerous.

Take the picture above, for example. This is a picture of a 25-year-old woman, a mother of two named Stacy Snyder. This photo of hers was taken at a holiday party. She was fired from a student teaching program for being a “drunken pirate,” according to the New York Times. But who is to know what was really in that plastic cup? Who is to know if she’s really drinking alcohol?

Unfortunately, if it looks like a duck and smells like a duck, it’s probably a duck — even if it isn’t. Online, if it’s obvious that you’re somewhat responsible and put yourself to appear less professional, you’re guilty before being proven innocent on the Internet — and you can lose your job on your own time. Therefore, it’s really of utmost importance to be careful about what you post on the Internet, to your Facebook pages, and whatever else, because you never know if someone will turn on you and share those photos somewhere else.

Regardless of whether Stacy Snyder was innocent or guilty, one thing is absolutely clear: the image of professionalism is an important one to convey on any online persona, so be careful when partying and don’t publish your photographs where you don’t want others to see them.

Oh, and by the way, don’t pull any pranks like this bank intern did. (That job termination was deserved, though.)

[via Podcasting News]

Goal Setting for College Success

November 20, 2007 by The Digital Student / 0 Comments

What’s your mission? What do you want from your life? As soon as you determine the answer, you can get started on setting goals for the ultimate college achievements.

Let’s outline what you need to do to get started. Ask yourself these questions:

What are my values?
What interests me?

Your values are the most important things to you such as principles and beliefs. Is it family? The desire to pursue medicine? You already should have a few strong ideas in your mind. Similarly, look at what you enjoy doing. Look at the skills you’ve gained both inside and outside the classroom, including part time work experience. Make the connection between these experiences and your core beliefs.

Now start setting goals. Write down reasonable goals that both work for the short-term and long-term. Take a piece of paper and write all the steps required to reach that goal, from start to finish. Keep reviewing your actions to keep yourself motivated.

Finally, do some research: what do you want to be when you grow up? Or, if you don’t know, what is your dream job? Learn how people with your job got to where they are: learn what skills are necessary, what the salary is, the work conditions, and anything related to the job at hand. Can you envision yourself in that position? If so, you have just set for yourself a goal.

Remember, life is worth living, so enjoy it too while you’re aiming for the stars.