Design Your Dorm

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After you finish entering the DesignYourDorm “Summer Plans” contest, check out these tips for doing well in the college classroom…

1) Go to class

As you move in to your first college dorm, you finally rid yourself of those pesky parents who made you get out of bed for school in the morning.  But after you get your first grade report, you may wish you had someone forcing you to go to class.  Skipping class is the easiest way to get yourself into academic trouble, while being an active participant in class is the simplest way to succeed.  In the end, the few extra hours in class will save you countless hours of stress later.

2) Create a good study environment

Unless you want to trek to the library to do every homework assignment, make sure you design a dorm that fits your needs.  If you can’t concentrate without a comfy chair, make sure you have one at your desk.  If posters of bikini models are too distracting, perhaps cover your walls in something more low key.  Also, make sure you are able to keep out wandering hall mates, who seem to be on a quest to interfere with your work.

3) Don’t procrastinate

When you find yourself with a paper due in two weeks, try to dedicate a small amount of time to it each day until it’s done.  Not only will your schedule barely change, but the final result will be far better than a paper you write the night before it’s due.  It requires a degree of self control, but in the end, you’re assignments will feel like a breeze instead of a blizzard.

4) Sleep sleep sleep

No, not during class, silly! Work to go to bed at a reasonable time.  Believe it or not, those extra hours of sleep will make a huge difference in your learning and classroom performance.  Instead of spending that extra hour browsing Facebook profiles and Craigslist, hit the sack early!

5) Don’t follow the lowest denominator

Don’t stoop to the low levels of some of your less motivated university-mates.  Some kids will never be able to resist the temptations of college, and you won’t succeed if you use their lack of motivation as an excuse for you to avoid work.  Just because “Jane” is skipping the midterm doesn’t mean you should too.

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As mentioned in the last post, the wait to hear which college(s) you got accepted to can be very nerve-wracking. The anticipation is almost overbearing. The good news is that there are things you can/should be doing in the meantime. See the useful links below for guidance. We wish you the best of luck!

Parents – Check out this link

Students – Check out this link

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Applying to college is a very stressful process. Even with the help of a college counselor, it is not easy for students to decide what school is the best fit for them.  Ultimately, you just need to apply to several schools that seem like a good fit and wait to see the results. Once the applications are all done, there is a long wait until you find out what school(s) you have been accepted to…

The waiting period to receive college acceptance letters might be even more stressful then the application process! If you are curious to find out what your chances are to getting into the universities you applied to, you might want to check out one of the following sites:

www.mychances.net
www.campusexplorer.com
www.Go4College.com

Each website takes into consideration different statistics in order to determine the chance you have in getting into a specific college. Mychances.net and CampusExplorer.com are two free services. You must pay for Go4College.com, but it claims a 94% accuracy rate. While these are simply tools to predict your chances, it may give you a good idea of the practicality of getting accepted into your dream school. Enjoy!

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For many people, 2009 was a great year and for many it was a bad year. Have you sat down and thought about how it could have been better or what you could do to make 2010 better?  Some questions to ask yourself might be: Did I work as hard in school as I should have? Did I get the grades I wanted to? Did I join some sort of organization/club? Did I make as many friends as I wanted to or put myself out there to meet new people? Did I save any money? Am I happy with what I did this year? These are just some of the many questions you can ask yourself.

Whether or not you like to set goals for yourself, it is helpful to sometimes take a look back on the past and see how you would like to see yourself progress into the future. The problem with many individuals is that they set unrealistic goals that are not practical to achieve. A great way to set goals is to use the “SMART” method. The website explains ways to achieve your goals by using the acronym Smart: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Timely.

Take the time to think of what you would like to do differently in 2010. Make the list as short or as long as you would like. You will find that once completing your goals, you will feel accomplished and at ease knowing exactly what you want to accomplish!

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Now that you’re free from parental control, you’re on your own to make sure your money gets you through the semester. How are you going to do that?

Marshall Loeb of MarketWatch.com shares five guidelines for managing your money:

1. Budget your money by semester. Calculate all of your expenses, from food to books and supplies. Once you’ve outlined a budget, keep careful track of all of your payouts. This will give you a clear idea of how much mad money you have to play with, and ensure that you won’t spend the final days of the semester living on rice and beans.

2. Start saving. If you don’t have a savings account yet, open one. Even if you don’t have to contribute to your own expenses, it’s important to get into the habit of saving for a rainy day. You don’t have to save much. Just commit to putting away a portion of any earnings or gift money you receive.

3. Beware of credit cards. Credit-card terms and conditions are so complicated that working adults even have a difficult time grappling with them. If you have a credit card, use it sparingly so you don’t end up over your head. Remember: Those early missteps will stay on your credit report for years to come.

4. Learn to cook. Preparing meals at home is one of the easiest ways to cut your spending, so learn to cook a few simple dishes that can sustain you throughout the semester. If you have roommates, you may want to consider buying food staples such as rice, cereal and pasta in bulk and splitting the costs.

5. Drive less. Instead of hopping into the car when you need to get to class, try relying on public transportation or simply hoofing it. This will save you much needed money on gas and parking.

College should be fun as you march your way to that dream job. So save yourself from the stress of college debts with this smart money saving tactics. As the saying goes, “Do what you love, the money will follow!”

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Written By: Kelli B Miller of 3 Boys & a Dog

You might think it strange for me to be writing this post since my oldest is only nine. Is it really strange? Do you honestly think 9 is too young for me to start preparing him for college?
More kids today attend college than have in the past, but a higher percentage of college-bound teens flunk out now than ever before! Why? Americans, as a whole, fail to teach their students how to learn!
Nine years old, is a GREAT age for me to teach my child the skills he needs to excel in college.

1. Study Skills – Do you know how to study? No matter the age of your kids, they need to be taught to study effectively.

• Thinking Skills – Teach your children to think as they read or as they are listening to a lecture! Have them write down questions and main ideas.
• Survey – Everyone should look over the materials BEFORE attending class to get a feeling of what they will be learning. Obviously, if you tell me about Quantum Physics, it will go through one ear and out the other because I know ZERO about it. If I familiarize myself with it first, parts are more likely to stick.
• Recite – Stop reading ever so often and go through your head everything you just read. Write down questions as you read and answer them during reading breaks.
For more info, check out this great article on Effective Study Skills!

2. Money Matters – To go off to school, your child needs to understand how to budget and how to stick with it. Did you know that credit card companies prey on college students? According to a recent study by Sally Mae, the average college graduate starts their adult life already over 2,000 in credit card debt! That isn’t even counting the 20,000 dollars or so in Student Loans!
• Budgeting – Teach them to understand how to make their money last!

• Balance Checkbooks – How many college students all of a sudden have a checking account to handle when they have never done it before? Teach your child to balance their check book!

3. Basic Housekeeping – Whether your kid is going to have a dorm or an apartment in college, basic housekeeping skills are a MUST! Do you realize the number of people who get married and don’t have a clue how to do the basics?

• Cooking – Come up with some simple dishes and teach your child to cook them! This not only prepares them for later, but it saves money in the long run! It also helps them avoid the freshman 15!

• Laundry – Teach your kids the basics of laundry: reading labels, folding clothes, running the washer, etc.
• Clutter Control – Kids (no matter the age… 2-200) need to learn the basics of clutter control! Put it away when you are finished with it! Everything should have a specific home!

These are all very basic skills, but they are not always taught! Get your kids off on the right track NOW instead of trying to cram it in after Senior Year! Teach them when they are young! Remember, practice makes perfect. I don’t know about you, but I would rather my son practice now with his 2 dollars a week allowance than later with a couple thousand dollar credit card limit!
For more homeschooling and organizational ideas as well as great product reviews and giveaways, please be sure to visit my blog: 3 Boys & a Dog!
~Kelli

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Sure, you got to eat right, watch the beer intake (especially if you are under 21) and avoid late night snacks, but here are some easy work outs to do in your dorm room to keep you in shape. Now drop down and give me 20!

1	Stretches	Use what you have. Most stretches can be done while sitting or standing. Use your dorm furniture to increase your stretching capacity. Prop up foot up onto your chair, desk, or bed to stretch the hamstrings more deeply; use the walls for stretching your arms, chest, and calves.
2	Jumping Jacks	A couple hundred of jumping jacks will definitely make your heart and lungs work. Try them for a warm-up, or they can be done as sets between other exercises.
3	Standing Rows	These are done from a standing position. Loop a towel around a vertical pole or column or another fixed object that can hold your weight. Have your feet close up to the pole and lean back gripping on the ends of the towel, keeping your body stiff and straight. Row yourself up with both arms. Keep your back arched and row with your back.
4	Squats	First, stand with your arms raised above your head like you’re signaling a touchdown. Squat as deeply as you can with your back straight, and then return to the starting position.
5	Push Ups	Easy and effective. For side-to-side pushups, use a desk in your room and lean your hands against the edge of the desk with your feet placed firmly on the floor and repeating side-to-side movements.
6	Crunches	All you need is a matt and you’re all good to do crunches. Just make sure not to force it if you can’t do more crunches…and don’t strain your neck.
7	Presses	MUse something around the house for weight, e.g. soup cans or milk jugs with water in them. From a seated or standing position, hold the weights just above your shoulders. Push them up overhead slowly.
8	Curls	Stand with your knees slightly bent, arms at your sides, holding your resistance bags or two dumbbells in your hands. With your upper arm pinned at your side and bending only at the elbow, lift the weight up to shoulder level. Do the same with the other arm, alternating back and forth.
9	Lunges	This exercise is even more effective with dung bells. Start with 10 lunges a day, keeping the weights at your sides. If you feel that you can do more, do it, just make sure to stretch before and after to avoid soreness.
10	Calf Raises	This is done by standing behind the chair with both hands on the back of the chair. Keep your legs straight and body upright. Slowly move onto your toes lifting your heels off the ground until you are on tiptoes. Hold yourself up on your toes for 3-4 seconds. Then go back to your position.

Be careful when you work out, in your dorm or the gym. Asking for advice from a trainer at your school is always a good way to start. Next post will feature more tips for avoiding the Freshman 15.

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In a recent article on the Online Wall Street Journal, author Sue Shellenbarger documents her preparation for the SAT. The back story is that she is a 57 mom and her son challenged her to take the SAT and she obliged.

Here’s the story: High-School Senior: I Took the SAT Again After 41 Years

The author poses the question that perhaps today’s kids have it tougher than they used to. She tells the audience her original SAT scores from 1967 were 1440, however these scores are adjusted to fit today’s rising SAT scores. But on her initial practice test she scored in the 1120-1280 range. Both the practice scores and the original scores were achieved with absolutely no studying. In 1967 that was the norm, but today kids study before the SAT. She hopped on the bandwagon and bought an SAT study guide. After six weeks of hard studying she took the test and scored a 1400, 40 points less than her original score.

But does this mean that today’s kids have it harder than they used to?

When you look Sue’s test scores from her original 1967 test and her first practice test in 2009, it becomes clear that the test has indeed become harder. But why is it harder? Some might be quick to say that today’s kids are just simply smarter due to survival of the fittest. But I say that today’s kids aren’t necessarily smarter, but just more competitive. In 1967 students didn’t study, and now they do. Thus, after one person decides to start studying everybody must follow suit, because the SAT is based on a bell shaped curve. So does this mean that today’s kids have it harder? I say yes, because they are being forced to be more competitive, and not just in the SAT.

Does this breed success or failure?

Many people point out that being more competitive is not a bad thing, and that kids should embrace the fact that they have it tougher, because it will only make the world better… because competition, after all, breeds innovation. I have trouble fully agreeing with this. Although it may be true that competition breeds innovation, I think that at such a young age competition causes tremendous amounts of stress. It’s not uncommon for college students to have mental breakdowns, just do a google search for ‘suicide bridge cornell’.

But stress isn’t the only negative aspect of over-competition. Kids are being bred for success at a very young age. Instead of having leisure time with friends, they are inside studying or learning some kind of trade. Unfortunately when this happens the development of social skills are overlooked, and social skills are very important in becoming successful, personally and financially.

I’m not here telling you that competition is bad, because that would be false. I’m here saying that over-competition at a young age is very detrimental to the young leaders of tomorrow. The reason is that all of this over-competition leads to today’s kids living their lives motivated by fear. They want to get into the right schools so that they can get the right jobs so that they can make the right income. They fear failure and they fear being left in the dust of life’s bell shaped curve.

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1. XL Bed Sheets – no one wants to sleep on a naked university mattress, ever.
2. Clip-On Fan – attach it right above your bed. It helps keep you cool and blocks out noises from your rowdy neighbors.
3. Shower Caddy – you’re going to have to shower after you’ve finished hauling all your earthy possessions up several flights of stairs all day long. You don’t want your body wash on the community bathroom floor, do you?
4. Alarm Clock – you don’t want to miss your first day of class. First impressions are important.
5. Mini-Fridge – do you really want to walk all the way to the cafeteria for a soda?
6. I-Pod Speakers – because your computer just isn’t loud enough.
7. Television – the common rooms are creepy.
8. Coat Hangers – who knows what your roommate might do to your clothes after a night out.
9. Picture Frames – show your parents you care.
10. Dry-Erase Board – hang it on the outside of your door to let your friends know what’s up.