Doing Some Last-Minute Shopping? Don't Forget Your Student ID!

If you're celebrating a gift-giving holiday over your winter break, chances are you're engaging in some last-minute shopping. Even those students who are fantastic about planning ahead sometimes are left in a time crunch because of end-of-the-semester chaos and the stress of finals.

For those of you experiencing the, ahem, joys of last-minute shopping, don't forget to show your student ID. Even if you're not sure if a place will give you a discount, it's worth asking! Some unexpected places -- like J. Crew -- often offer student discounts but don't blatantly advertise them.

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Campus Highlight: University of Delaware Promoters of Wellness

(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.)

With so many college students feeling the angst and stress of finals, I wanted to highlight a student group that focuses on something else: health and wellness. The Promoters of Wellness (Pow!) is a group of "peer educators from the Wellspring Health Education office at the University of Delaware. The mission of Pow! is to offer fellow students (1) information promoting wellness and (2) supportive resources for making informed health decisions. Pow! members carry out this mission with educational programs, individual peer consultations, and other services described in more detail on the Services page."

Pow! offers a range of programs for "you and a group of your friends, for your floor, or for your hall, class, or club," including a "Let's Talk About Sex" program this past November and a "Glow in the Dark Paint Party" on December 2. Students can request programs on topics like holistic wellness, substance awareness, healthy sexuality, stress management, massage, fitness and nutrition, disordered eating, positive body imagery, and quitting tobacco, among others. It's great to see a student group providing such an important resource for its campus community -- and planning important and fun events to boot! Keep up the great work, Pow!

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A Word of Caution about Drinking, Hangovers, and Acetaminophen

Let's just be honest here: The end of the semester and the holiday season often involve alcohol. And with the presence of alcohol sometimes -- and unfortunately -- come some poor choices about drinking too much.

Today's" YOU Docs Tip of the Day" column ("What Not to Take for a Hangover") addresses an important but perhaps not-well-known problem: the unhealthy and possibly dangerous combination of taking acetaminophen and alcohol. As the YOU docs advise, "Do not drink and take acetaminophen, whether for a hangover or a head cold." Just something to keep in mind as you head into (or out of) finals and start your official break.

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Long-Distance Gestures

Dealing with a long-distance relationship? Wish you could do something that, despite the distance, lets your significant other feel like you're right there beside them? Check out these 5 places to start.

1. Send flowers. It sounds old and cheesy, but it works. And you don't have to be sending flowers to a girl to make it work, either. Practically everyone -- including guys -- loves receiving flowers, and most florists offer arrangements specifically for the masculine type. An unexpected bouquet can cheer up someone and make them feel loved and appreciated for days on end.

2. Send a care package. Who in college doesn't love a care package? It can be baked goods, music, or special mementos that celebrate your relationship. But no matter what it is, a care package is guaranteed to let someone know how you feel about them.

3. Make and send a video. It can be sappy. It can be funny. It can be a video of you talking. It can be a video of things you guys have done together. It can even be a montage of photographs of the two of you over the course of your relationship. Regardless, it will be appreciated and cherished.

4. Make a good, quality phone call. Amidst all you both have to do, spending a solid hour (or more!) on the phone, without distraction, can do wonders for your relationship. Making the time to have a phone date of sorts just may be enough to feel like you're not so far apart after all.

5. Plan a surprise visit. It doesn't have to be for this weekend, and it may be months away. But knowing that a surprise visit is coming will warm your heart in the meantime -- and mean everything to your boyfriend or girlfriend when you arrive. (If you do go last minute, however, make sure you know how to get the best deals for college students.)

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Picking College Classes

The main reason you're in school is to earn your degree. Picking good courses at the right time, and in the right order, is therefore critical to your success.

Talk to your adviser

No matter how big or small your school is, you should have an adviser who helps make sure you are on track to earning your degree. Check in with them, no matter how sure you are about your choices. Not only does your adviser most likely need to sign off on your selections, but he or she can also help alert you to things you may not even have considered.

Make sure your schedule has balance

Don't set yourself up for failure by thinking you can handle more courses than you usually take, all with labs and heavy workloads. Make sure your schedule has some balance: varying levels of difficulty, varying subject matters (when possible) so you aren't using one part of your brain 24 hours a day, varying due dates for major projects and exams. Each course may be fine in and of itself, but when combined into a killer schedule they all may turn out to be a big mistake.

Think about your learning style

Do you learn better in the morning? In the afternoon? Do you learn better in a huge classroom, or in a smaller section setting? See what options you can find within a department our course section and pick something that matches best with your learning style.

Aim to pick strong professors

Do you know you absolutely love a certain professor in your department? If so, see if you can take a course with him or her this semester, or if it would be wiser to wait until a later time. If you've found a professor with whom you intellectually click, taking another class from him or her can help you get to know him or her better and possibly lead to other things, like research opportunities and letters of recommendation. If you're unfamiliar with professors on campus but know that you learn best from a professor who engages a class (instead of one who only lectures), ask around and check online to see what experience other students have had with various professors and their teaching styles.

Consider your work schedule and other commitments

Do you know that you absolutely must have an on-campus job? Do you need an internship for your major? If so, will it require you to work days? Consider taking a class or two that meets in the evenings. Do you know you work best when you can plop yourself down in the library for eight hours straight? Try to avoid taking classes on Friday so that you can use it as a work day. Planning around your known commitments can help reduce your stress level once the semester is moving ahead at full-steam.

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Long-Distance Relationships

You may have left your girlfriend or boyfriend back in your hometown while you went off to school. You both may have left your hometown to attend school in completely different parts of the country. You may even attend the same school, but one of you is studying abroad this semester. Whatever the situation, maintaining a long-distance relationship while in school can be quite a challenge. There are, however, some things you can do to make the experience a little easier for both of you (and your hearts!).

Difficulty: Hard

Time Required: Varies

Here's How:

1. Use Technology to Your Advantage

   There are countless ways to use technology to keep in touch with someone, which you were no doubt using before you arrived on campus. Text messaging, IM-ing, sending cell phone pictures, talking on the phone, sending emails, and using your videocam are only some of the ways you can help stay (and feel!) connected to your far-away partner. Make times with each other to meet up online, and view it like a date. Don't be late, don't forget, and try not to cancel.

2. Try to Send Old-Fashioned Mail

   As simple as it may seem, getting a card, gift, or care package in the mail always brightens someone's day. For partners who are separated by long distances, these little gestures and mementos can provide a physical connection of sorts. And besides, who doesn't like getting a cute card or cookies in the mail?!

3. Make Sure to Visit

   It may be hard -- financially, logistically -- but visiting a partner who is away at school can be really important to maintaining your relationship. You can meet his or her new friends; see where he or she lives; take a tour of the campus; and just get a general feel about your partner's new life. Plus, when you both are back at your regular places, you can picture more about your partner's life when you're talking on the phone or chatting over the internet. Despite the distance, visiting also demonstrates your interest and commitment to your partner (and might be a great Spring Break idea).

4. Pay Attention to the Details

   You may not want to spend the limited time you have with your partner talking about the details of your life, but these are often the most important things. Hearing about your weird Biology lab partner, the English professor you love, and how you can't get enough of the dining hall waffles are the things that make you you. Your partner will want to hear all about the details of your new life. So settle in for a long conversation about the things that seem most ridiculous, but that may just end up being the things that keep you together during your time away at school.

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College Students and Health Insurance

On Wednesday, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) released information about young adults' access to health insurance since President Obama passed the Affordable Care Act. As CNN reported, "About 2.5 million young people have received health insurance coverage as a result of health care reform measures that President Barack Obama signed into law last year."

If you're graduating this semester (or even in the spring) and need to find health insurance, make sure you know how to get on your parents' health insurance plan. After all, if you think your student loans are expensive ... try paying off a major medical emergency that you didn't have coverage for.

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