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The Digital Student Blog
College. To many, it sounds like newfound independence. And in reality, it is. Why are you going to college? If the answer is “to learn enough to become successful later in life,” the college years are a great time to start becoming successful.
TwinCommas explains why college is a perfect time to start a new business. A lot of what they say makes a lot of complete sense. Remember Mark Zuckerberg? He’s now worth $5 billion dollars and was a Harvard dropout. Bill Gates? Yes, him too — but his valuation is even higher.
Why not start with your own business? Do you have anything to lose?
As the TwinCommas blog explains, there are many good reasons why starting a business is a good idea during school. Here are the key points:
Minimal responsibilities: If you’re like me, you’re living in a dorm. You’re calling mom and dad every so often, hanging with your friends, and doing your schoolwork. You may have a significant other. But you don’t have kids. At least, not now. Between classes, instead of partying (or in addition — it’s your choice, really), focus on the moneymaking opportunities because you have nothing to lose and only experience to gain.
Age: Most of the successful entrepreneurs started their businesses well before they turned 30. Because you’re starting early, you have a lot of time to learn from your mistakes and grow your company, and hey, you might be able to retire early.
Inexpensive labor: Got a roommate? Give him some work to do. College students are often looking for work. If your business makes money, it’s really cheap labor (and it can also form some great relationships that will last well beyond college in the real world).
Knowledge: In school, you have professors to consult and a library of books and internet resources all within arm’s reach. This is the best time to take advantage of these abundant resources.
Software: Does “college discount” ring a bell? You’re a student, after all, so your academic discount will work for software you use for school/business.
Equipment: Just like you have access to professors, so too you have access to computer rooms and scientific labs filled to the brim with high-tech equipment that can help you get a kick start on your business. You won’t have that luxury after school.
Financial bonuses: I know a few programs that will invest in the most viable (purely subjective, as it’s judged) college business, and this can also get you on your way. Grants are not hard to come by if you have a business that will thrive.
In the end, if you have that killer idea, you have the resources to take advantage of it. Do it now.
Dear Digital Student,
I’m an incoming college freshman about to start school in the fall. I’m holding my own and am looking for ways to make money. What are some reasonable jobs for college students?
Sincerely,
Will work for food
Dear incoming freshman,
First of all, congratulations on your acceptances to school! There are several jobs you can look for once you get on campus. Some of the best jobs don’t require too much work, and they will make you some easy money. Here are a list of my favorites that don’t require you to venture far from campus.
Desk Attendant: Some schools allow student security guards to watch students enter and leave dorms and other campus buildings. Depending on the job description, you may have to sign guests in and out or disallow non-residents entirely. During the hours that aren’t that busy, you can even do your homework. It’s also a great way to meet new people.
Resident Assistant: This probably isn’t an option for an incoming freshman, but an RA usually gets offered free housing in return for leading a group of students residing in the same dorm (usually assigned per floor or per building). Resident assistants get pretty sweet digs and are required to hold monthly meetings with their residents. They also enforce the rules and offer a helping hand to students looking for guidance.
Babysitter: Face it, babysitting is a commodity to many working parents and it also pays a lot better per hour than on-campus jobs. Many college work programs have lists filled with parents who are looking for a mature college student to take care of their kids while they go out. And in reality, most of these kids go to bed early, giving you more time for homework.
Library Assistant: The college libraries are begging for students to help take care of book check out, audio/video systems, computer access, and the copy machines. There are a lot of positions and some good experience to be had.
Computer Lab Technician: Computer-savvy students will be happy to know that there are a variety of computer-related positions in on-campus labs and in college dormitories. Labs always need technicians during their open hours to troubleshoot problems with monitors, printers, and other peripherals. Many colleges also offer a “residential network” program, also known as ResNet, where students can get help from fellow students on computer network troubleshooting issues (wired or wireless) at any time of the day. All you need is to make an appointment.
Working alongside your professor: These individuals are also known as Teaching Assistants and get some incredible exposure on specific areas of study. You’ll often hold office hours, grade papers, and offer academic guidance on a specific course. You’ll also establish a relationship with a professor, which can open some huge doors for you. If anything, this is the job you want to put on your resume, especially if you’re headed up the graduate school route.
Internships: The other route is to take a paid internship in an area that you are interested in pursuing post-graduation. This is also a great way to build experience and pad your resume. Internships are a great option for financial aid and give you hands-on experience in a field — often well before your peers.
What jobs have you held during college?
So the long winter wait is over and those envelopes are arriving, thick and thin, yes and no, accept and reject (or waitlisted!). You’re now about to make one of the most important decisions of the next few years of your increasingly independent life and it’s important that you take advantage of all information available.
More often than not, students know little about the school that they’re about to attend. This isn’t an entirely awful thing – you can probably figure out how to make the most of your time anywhere. Some will want to stay close to home while others will flee to an opposite coast. Some might have a dream city in mind or desire nothing less than cheering on the big time football team from the student section on fall Saturdays. Maybe it’s the big campus green or the bustling student center that caught your eye on the official tour. Maybe mom and dad went there or maybe you really like the name of the place. Sadly, somewhere along the way, you probably forgot about the classroom component.
Beyond the artificial reasons for wanting to attend college, there’s the inescapable reality of the time that will be spent studying. After all, for most people, college is still an academic experience with an eventual undergraduate degree and then job or more advanced studies. Therefore, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the academic expectations of a school before you wind up blowing time and money on endless courses that serve no interest to what you want out of college.
Schools have different curriculums. Some require a subset of courses that all students take (a “core” curriculum). Others have a certain number of general education requirements (e.g. two semesters of a physical science, four semesters of a foreign language, etc). Still, others advance entirely open curriculums where students can take almost anything offered in course catalogs alongside their major area of study. One school might allow more advanced placement than another (which could save you both time and money). Another school might allow you to pass/fail (that is, elect not to receive a letter grade against your grade point average, unless you fail the course) the majority of your classes if you choose. Nonetheless, these things vary and you’ll want to know how they work before you end up confronting them firsthand.
Thankfully, the bulk of this information can be found on nearly all college websites, but it’s unlikely that it’s included in official welcoming admissions material. This information is there to win you over (maybe with a water bottle or bumper sticker or t-shirt), as schools are aware that they’re competing for you, still free agents. They’re out there making pitches as best they can, but as an admissions office, they care little of what will become your own academic experience. That, as so much of what you’ll learn in college, is up to you to discover.
We reported yesterday that 1 in 5 undergraduates is constantly stressed out. Additional findings, however, show that you’re likely to be more stressed out if you’re a female. The poll shows that men have an easier time sleeping (69% for men vs. 31% for women).
In the meantime, who do you turn to for help? Most turn to their friends first in hopes that they’ll be understood by their peers rather than family members. Next, they turn to their parents, and finally, to their siblings. Thirty three percent would confide in a significant other, twenty five percent will confide in a religious or spiritual leader, and twenty percent actually confide in their school guidance or mental health counselors.
Do you drink? Some people think that drinking may be contributing to the overall stress. Over 25% of students believe it’s not helping the situation. However, at the same time, about 33% of them want to turn to alcohol and drugs to relax.
Who are you? And how do you deal with stress at school?
Are you going on a trip for spring break? You may be overwhelmed with school, but you should start looking forward to spring break now (which will hopefully make your classes a lot less stressful too!) Here’s how you should prepare:
Book now. It’s better to book early than later, because fares will go up for trips as you get closer. Also, if you’re traveling in a group, you likely won’t have seats next to your friends because the seats will sell out. The sooner you book, the better off you’ll be.
Look at all-inclusive packages. One winter break, my friends and I went on an all-inclusive hotel+airfare trip to Vegas. It was totally awesome and very cheap compared to buying airfare and hotel separately. It helps a lot to limit your expenses by doing trips like this where the prices are spelled out for you beforehand and not after you arrive.
Overcrowd your hotel room. If you want to make the most of your money, have a long slumber party in your hotel room. Get cots for your friends and split the cost 4 or 5 ways.
Bring your food. Eating out is costly. Bring snacks and other food to nosh on so that you don’t have to pay the high costs for eating. Don’t forget that hotels have bars and buying it is not cheap at all.
Take public transit. Think about it this way: public transit is often cheaper than a cab. If you must do cab, pack in as many people as is allowed legally and split the bill.
Can’t travel? Make the most of your spring break anyway. Take advantage of the local hotspots or just hang out and enjoy the spring with our without your friends. Either way, you’re in for a great time.
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.
Other resources:
…but if you ever wanted to surf the web anonymously and bypass filters, use a proxy service!
Here are some services that may work for you.
AvoidFilter.net is a web proxy that allows users to browse the web anonymously. Our proxy service will allow you to unblock websites, unblock sites, bypass work filters, school filters and much more like Avoiding Filters.
wwwfilter claims: “we allow you to bypass restricted sites at work, school or college, including unblocking sites like MySpace, Bebo, Facebook and plenty more! The best thing is that we are free and simple to use, so check it out and tell your friends!”
Proxydoo: An anonymous free web proxy allows you to bypass local proxies and security restrictions and browse blocked sites or simply browse privately and securely without the need to install any software on your computer. If you browse the web through a public web proxy, the websites can not find your real IP address, and you also need not configure or update anything locally, everything is prepared and working. Access sites like MySpace, Bebo, Facebook and plenty more!
Unblock Anything is a free proxy that will unblock websites for your viewing pleasure. Our free service will allow you to unblock sites that may be restricted due to your network at school or work. Feel safe while you can anonymously browse the internet freely and securely. No compromising data will be given out such as your IP address or location. Access Myspace, Youtube, Facebook and others popular sites anywhere.
Surfing7 is a free anonymous proxy. The web proxies offers free anonymous surfing to protect your privacy. The server also can be used to easily bypass internet web filter, unblock websites Myspace Bebo Facebook from schools, help you share photos video and music.
Zero Anonymous Web: Never let your teachers, boss, or principal control your web browsing again! To bypass web filters, all you have to is type the URL of the website you want to unblock and hit ENTER! Protect your anonymity and remain safe with this site. Why wait any longer? Start unblocking sites now! Remember to bookmark us and to tell your friends.
What are your favorite proxies? Are they on this list? Have you had any bad experiences?
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.
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.
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]
