You read that right, folks: Today is the last day to vote the for College Life Readers' Choice Awards! This year's categories are as follows:
Make sure to get your vote(s) in by midnight (EST) tonight. And don't worry; winners will be announced on March 30th. Happy voting!
Packing for Spring Break can be ridiculously exciting -- but also complicated, given that most students are completely brain fried from midterms, papers, and general college stress. So how can you make sure you pack everything you'll need for your Spring Break adventure?
If you're headed somewhere warm, the list below includes everything you'll need to keep you safe and comfy (in addition to your regular things, like regular clothes and your wallet). Because with everything else you've got going on, who needs to make a new Spring Break packing list?
13. Look to the past -- the prehistoric past. You don't have to be an paleontologist to know that dinosaurs are crazy cool. Fortunately, they can also help make your party one to remember. Keep an eye out for decorations and other items that can be used for a kid party (origami dinosaurs anyone?), making sure to mix them up enough so that they suit your adult-themed prehistoric party, too.
14. Think Western. Sure, the Old West was a rough and tumble place. But that doesn't have to mean that your party can't take the best of what it had to offer! Fun hats, decorations, music, boots, outfits, and food can all work together to make sure your Western party is one everyone will be talking about Monday morning.
15. Choose a color as a theme. Go crazy with one specific color: invites, promos, decorations, foods, costumes. Using various shades of one color can make your color-themed party a little more visually exciting while also offering a way to transform your house into a place nearly no one will recognize. Encourage attendees to come dressed in the color, too.
16. Go colorless with a black-and-white theme. It doesn't have to be formal or New Year's Eve for you to go with a black-and-white themed college party. This theme is particularly flexible, too, because it will look classy no matter how fancy (or not fancy!) you make it. Let people know, too, that they should come wearing only black and white for an added effect.
17. Have everyone come as famous people from history. If you're in college, you're around a lot of smart folks -- which means they'll help make this party theme one that works well. How fun would it be to be schmoozing with George Washington only to go get more snacks next to Joan of Arc, stopping to talk to Socrates along the way?
18. Pick a classic board game. You may have thought that games like Monopoly, Scrabble, or Sorry were stuck in your past, but with a little creative planning, they can be turned into great party themes. Additionally, because most of these classic games hold a sense of nostalgia for everyone, people are likely to be interested in what you do with the theme and contribute to it.
19. Make a popular video game theme a reality. If you have a ton of gamers on campus (and who doesn't, really?), tap into their creative side by throwing a video game-themed party. World of Warcraft or even classic games like Zelda or Super Mario Brothers can bring out the best of everyone in attendance.
21. Angel or devil? Angel or devil parties are super easy to throw because your attendees pretty much bring the main decorations through their costumes. Tell guests to come dressed as either an angel or a devil; all you have to do is use black, white, and red decorations around your house or other party location to tie everything together.
22. Go for an animal theme. You might be surprised at how creative people can be if they're coming for an animal-themed party. People can choose from the simple whiskers-drawn-on-the-face to going full-out in a mascot costume. And, as the party host, you just need to coordinate a bit by providing things to help everything seem cohesive: zoo advertising? animal prints? "Please Don't Feed the Animals" signs?
23. Think classic Hollywood. Movies like The Wizard of Oz can provide great themes for college parties. For ideas on everything from posters and advertising to costumes and decorations, schedule a movie-watching session with your planning committee. Take great notes and then get to work!
24. Think classic literature (especially children's literature). Dressing up like Little Red Riding Hood, the Three Bears, or even Hansel and Gretel can be a fun and new way to mix things up at a college party. With so much to choose from, too, your guests should feel comfortable going as simple or all-out as they want to. For the theme, you can choose one story in particular or just make the broader theme of classic children's literature the main theme itself.
25. Choose-your-own classic musical figure. This theme provides endless ideas because there are so many musicians to choose from (Beethoven? Elvis? Britney Spears? Michael Jackson?). Additionally, creating a playlist to play during the party is easy-cheesy. And with a little searching online, you should be able to find enough images of famous musicians to create some rockin' promos and decorations, too.
(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)
Wabash College (located in Crawfordsville, IN) has the unique distinction of being one of a very-limited number of all-male liberal arts colleges. They define their mission as "excellence in teaching and learning within a community built on close and caring relationships among students, faculty, and staff." Part of that excellence apparently comes from how Wabash "challenges its students to appreciate the changing nature of the global society and prepares them for the responsibilities of leadership and service in it."
What better what to prepare one's self for leadership and service than to start in your own backyard? The Wabash College Mentors for Kids chapter was recognized in 2011 as the Chapter of the Year. The campus chapter was founded in 2006 and now mentors dozens of children in the surrounding community.
College Mentors for Kids is actually a larger organization that pairs college mentors with kids in grades 1-8. Chapters like the one at Wabash are clearly making a difference in the lives of today's young folks, and that always warrants a Campus Highlight in my book. Keep up the great work!
I always find it interesting to see which articles are the most popular among readers. And while I have access to the metrics behind the College Life site, readers can always see what other students are reading, too.
If you're a little nosy like me, check out the "Most Popular Articles" page that displays what the most popular articles have been over the past month. That way, you can tell if your struggles with time management are yours alone -- or if everyone else is having them, too.
Enjoy!
(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)
The Campus Highlight this week is a cool one, if I do say so myself; I'm highlighting the Social Entrepreneurs of Grinnell (SEG) at Grinnell College (Grinnell, IA). SEG is "a microfinance organization made up of students and community members from the town of Grinnell, Iowa" that "implements microloans in communities around the world and provides microfinancing services to the local Grinnell community."
In addition to being a fantastic organization, SEG also received some prestigious accolades: They were recognized by the White House as one of the five winners in the "Campus Champions of Change Challenge." Additionally, several members of SEG traveled to the White House on March 15 for an official event and the organization itself will be featured in an upcoming segment of mtvU.
Is the recognition SEG is receiving amazing? You better believe it. But so is the work they're doing. Way to go!
With much gratitude to everyone who voted, I'm so excited to finally be able to announce this year's winners for the 2012 About.com College Life Readers' Choice Awards!
Congratulations to this year's winners!
As was reported in several news outlets this week (including an article by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal), some employers have started asking potential employees to show them their Facebook pages during an interview and/or to provide them with their login information.
I understand that using Facebook requires you to forfeit a bit of your privacy, but this seems ridiculous. I hope that any (if not all!) college students out there feel comfortable drawing a line between their personal lives and their professional lives. Even if you're entering the job market for the first time, you'll ideally have a life outside of work -- and, of course, be able to keep the two separate. Consequently, having an employer, much less a potential employer, want to know about your personal life is pretty far over the line in my opinion.
What do you think, though? Would you let a potential employer have access to your Facebook page? Leave your thoughts and opinions in the Comments below.
(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)
This week's Campus Highlight beams down on The Knox Student, the student newspaper at Knox College (Galesburg, IL). The paper recently won "18 awards, the most in its division, in the annual Illinois College Press Association contest" according to a press release on the Knox website.
Although the paper was founded in 1878, it's great to see that students, over 130 years later, are continuing a tradition of excellent in leadership and journalism. Congrats to everyone on the staff for the great work (and recognition for it)!
A recent article on MSNBC.com documented the many mistakes people make when trying to use a condom. Frequent errors included "putting a condom on partway through intercourse or taking it off before intercourse is over, failing to leave space at the tip of the condom for semen, and failing to look for damage before use."
If you're sexually active in college, you should not only be using protection -- but you should also be using protection properly. After all, how ridiculous is it for you to be pursuing a college degree but not know how to put a condom on correctly? If you need some help with Condom Use 101 or just want to make sure you're already doing things correctly, check out the following resources:
Spring Break is so close for many college students ... only one, two, or three more weeks and you can enjoy your hard-earned break from papers, reading, exams, and midterms! Yahoo!
Not to sound like a Negative Nancy, but one important thing to keep on your to-do-before-Spring-Break list, however, is to apply for summer jobs (or at least get ready to). A few simple steps you can take now will make your summer much, much easier (and possibly more profitable):
(Each Monday during the academic year, I feature a "Campus Highlight": a unique, interesting, and noteworthy student organization, program, or initiative that demonstrates the amazing things college students do each and every day across the country.)
This week's highlight is focusing on the International Friendship Association at the University of Idaho. Their upcoming program -- "Cruise the World" -- sounds fantastic. The annual program "gives campus and community members the opportunity to experience different cultures by trying on exotic clothing, writing in new scripts, playing games, learning traditional dances, and much more while visiting over 30 country booths." Additionally, live entertainment rotates every 30 minutes, with performances including "traditional folk dances from Ghana, Guatemala, Nepal, India and Mexico, as well as music from Japan, and Saudi Arabia." What a great way to give people a chance to expand their horizons in an active, interactive way.
Keep up the great work, IFA! Wish I could come to this event!
Amidst everything else you're trying to finish before graduation -- least of all, your actual classes -- you're being pressured to send out graduation announcements. Why should you spend the time to send them out when you have so much else going on?
Sending graduation announcements can be a fun and exciting way to let everyone know you finally reached your goal and will soon be an official college graduate. But ... who exactly is everyone? After all, there are only so many announcements you can buy, address, and stamp.
While the following is a good place to start to figure out to whom to send your announcements, remember that there is no official right or wrong list: only the right or wrong list for your situation.
Sure, moving back in with your parents may not have been your first choice for what to do after you graduated from college. Many people, however, move back in with their folks for a wide range of reasons. No matter why you're doing it, there are some steps you can take to make the situation easier for everyone.
1. Set reasonable expectations. True, you may have been able to come and go as you please, leave your room a disaster, and have a new guest over every night while you were in the residence halls, but this arrangement may not work for your folks. Set some reasonable expectations -- for everyone involved -- before you even step through the door.
2. Set some ground rules. Alright, you may have to have a curfew so your poor mother doesn't think something terrible has happened to you if you're not home by 4:00 in the morning -- but your mom also needs to understand that she can't just barge in to your room without any notice. Set some ground rules as soon as possible to make sure everyone is clear on how things will work.
3. Expect a combination of a roommate relationship and a parent/kid relationship. Yes, you've had roommates for the past several years, and you may view your parents similar to them. Your parents, however, will always view you as their child. Do your best to keep this in mind as you figure out how things will work once you move back in. Sure, it seems ridiculous for a roommate to want to know where you're going every night. But your parents probably have a legitimate right to ask.
4. Set a time frame for how long you're planning on living there. Do you just need someplace to crash between when you graduate from college and when you start graduate school in the fall? Or do you need somewhere to live until you can save enough money on your own to get your own place? Talk about how long you plan on staying -- 3 months, 6 months, 1 year -- and then check back in with your parents once that time frame is up.
5. Discuss money, no matter how awkward. No one really likes to talk about money. But addressing the topic with your parents -- how much you'll pay in rent, for food, to get back on their health insurance plan, or if the car you've been borrowing needs more gas -- will help prevent a ton of problems later.
6. Have your own support networks ready to go. After living on your own or in the residence halls during college, living with your parents can become very isolating. Do your best to have systems in place that provide you with an outlet and support network that is separate from your parents'.
7. Thing creatively about how the relationship is give and take -- both ways. Yes, your parents are letting you stay at their place, and yes, you may pay rent to do so. But are there other ways you can help, especially if money is tight for everyone? Can you help around the house -- with yard work, fix-it projects, or technical support for the computers they can never get to work right -- in ways that will make your living relationship much more symbiotic?
8. Remember that the person who moves back in with your parents is not the same person who left. Your parents may have a very specific -- and outdated -- idea of "who" is moving back in with them. Take a deep breath and do your best to remind them that, while you left the house as an 18-year-old college freshman, you are now returning as a 22-year-old, college-educated adult.
9. Remember that time at your folks' is still an opportunity to build your own life -- not put it on pause. Just because you are at your parents', waiting until you can move out on your own, doesn't mean your life is on pause. Volunteer, date, explore new things, and do your best to continue learning and growing instead of just waiting for your first opportunity to move on to somewhere else.
10. Enjoy yourself! This may seem completely unthinkable if moving back in with your folks was the last thing you wanted to do. However, living at home can be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to finally learn your mom's secret fried chicken recipe and your dad's amazing way with woodworking tools. Live it up and take in as much as you can.
Alright, so your club, organization, Greek house, or group of friends is going to throw a campus party. And the best way to make sure your party isn't a total dud is to have a theme that ties everything -- from the advertising to the decorations -- together. But what kind of college party themes can you use that won't seem like the usual?
Fortunately, it's both your theme and how you approach it that can make or break your party. Check out these 25 college party themes for some ideas.
1. Go for the classic toga party. Unless there's another toga party that's traditionally held on your campus, a classic toga theme is a great idea for a campus party. Everyone loves it, people have fun, and the costumes are easy to make. Additionally, decorating can be fun and simple to put together.
2. Parallel a current, trendy movie. Is there a must-see movie out right now? Is everyone quoting lines or characters from it? If so, don't be afraid to jump on the hype and use it for your own party. If people are excited about a hot new movie, they'll be interested in attending your bash to see what you're doing.
3. Parallel a current, trendy TV show. Is there a new sitcom, drama, or reality show that's getting a lot of buzz? If so, think like a network executive and figure out how to use the show's popularity for your own benefit. Encourage people to dress up as characters and include decorations that match the sets or themes from the show. Keep in mind, too, that "current" and "trendy" can mean a show that everyone loves to hate, too.
4. Choose a decade. Seriously, who doesn't love seeing their friends in flapper dresses from the 20's or in the funkalicious outfits of the 60's? Going with a decade-themed party is a great way to ensure that everyone in attendance will know what the deal is -- as well as what to wear. (And besides, who doesn't also love running to the local thrift store to see what decade-specific treasures they have in stock?)
5. Require everyone to come as a reality star. One of the benefits of all the reality shows on TV is that anyone can find someone that they resemble. Advertise your Reality Party as the show that everyone must see this reason -- but that they'll only be admitted if they come dressed as a reality star.
6. Make fundraising the goal. You can turn your party into a fundraiser for a non-profit or other organization you hold near and dear. And you can pretty easily use that organization's mission (e.g., preserving the environment) into a theme that works for your party, too (e.g., nature decorations). Added bonus: Everyone feels good about donating, so the $1 or more you ask everyone for at the door turns into both a fundraiser and a way to make people feel good during the party as soon as they enter.
7. Pick one of the four seasons. This, of course, works best if you pick a season opposite of the one you're in. After all, who wouldn't want to go to a tropical, beach-themed party in the middle of December? That being said, things like Winter Wonderland parties during winter can also be perfectly nostalgic and charming.
8. Host a masquerade. This is a class theme for good reason: Nearly everyone likes a good masquerade party. People can get dressed up without having to go too crazy with outfits, and you can easily buy a ton of masquerade masks at a 99-cent store or other cheap party store. Add some shiny decorations, a few balloons, and feathers and you've got yourself a party.
9. Go formal. After seeing your friends and classmates in shorts, jeans, and even pajamas all year, mix it up by throwing a formal party. You never know how that hottie from your chemistry class is going to look in a sleeveless gown! Or how the cutie from your Shakespeare class might look in a suit or tuxedo. A formal party allows everyone on campus to get dressed up without feeling ridiculous for doing so.
10. Head underwater. Turning your house (or other party venue) into a deep-sea world can do wonders for sparking a sense of excitement throughout the night. Low-lights, some cool decorations (especially hanging from the ceiling), and low music can all contribute to a unique and funky theme. Add a yellow submarine somewhere and you're good to go!
11. Head to outer space. Just like heading underwater, heading to outer space can be an easy but really strong theme for your college party. You can get as wild as you want without seeming too ridiculous. And make sure to include lots of glow-in-the-dark decorations, too!
12. Look into the future. Future-based parties are a great way to go because there is so much flexibility. Grab some friends who have strong imaginations (or who are into science fiction) and see all the things you can dream up for a fun, futuristic party. Added tip: Have a fortune-teller on hand reading the futures of those in attendance, too.
College graduation announcements can seem so simple -- but also be so complicated. And, of course, while you're trying to figure out the ins-and-outs of college graduation announcements, you still have to focus on finishing your classes and planning for life after college. Use this guide to help you through the planning, organizing, and sending of graduation announcements.
Coordinating the logistics behind announcements can be a serious pain in the brain. With a little help, however, it can also be taken care of with a few quick steps.
The What: The Announcements Themselves
- The Why: 8 Reasons to Send Graduation Announcements
- The Who: To Whom Should I Send My Graduation Anouncements?
- The Where and How: Where to Get Graduation Announcements
- The When: When to Mail Your Graduation Announcements
Wording announcements can seem so easy ... until you actually sit down and try to write them. Check out the samples below for a variety of styles you can use -- or change a bit -- to create your own, personalized graduation announcement.
Announcements with Formal, Traditional Language
Announcements with Casual, Informal Language
Announcements Mentioning Friends and/or Family
Announcements with a Religious Theme
