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Monday
Dec072009
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Eating Healthy and Regularly During Finals - Finals Week Prep

DateMonday, December 7, 2009 by AuthorMike Bertolino

For better or for worse, finals week changes our schedules around.  Whether it's an 8am class, whose exam time is at night or the library extending its hours beyond its normal closing time. With these changes in schedule and the anxiety that comes along with the potentially busy schedule, we may hastily eat unhealthy foods instead of what we might normally eat. So here are some tips to help you eat foods that will help us during finals time. 

You Can Order Out

It's okay to order out, you're stressed. In fact, it may be better for your focus, only diverging from your desk to look for menu or make a phone call. Instead of ordering a double bacon cheeseburger, order something healthy because by the time you get to finals, you usually know what's up with your campus' take out scene. If you don't there's always CampusFood. CampusFood, already profiled on HC here, may give you healthier options you might have been previously unaware of. 

Edit the Settings On Your Coffee Drink

As you may or may not know, we love coffee here at HackCollege. Hell, we even did a whole week dedicated to the stuff. So if you love coffee and coffee drinks as much as we do then follow the next few sentences for a more healthy coffee experience. Use nonfat milk instead of the whole milk the barista puts in your drink normally. Check to see if they have any Sugar Free syrups. For the simple people who just like a cup of Joe with cream and sugar, try to use half as much sugar if you're drinking twice as much coffee, or a third as much if you're drinking three times as much coffee. 

Plan Study Time Before Finals

One of the things I love about college is its tendency to be spontaneous. I seldom like to heavily plan my days beyond: my job, extracurriculars and classes. But during finals, it's a different story; it's game time so to speak. We need to be at the top of our game during finals, so planning out meals, sleeping and study time isn't considered out of the ordinary. Planning helps you to not get lost in studying. Like Kelly said below, rewarding yourself is important. 

Does finals make it harder to stay on your normal schedule? Comment below to share!

Image via Flickr User [j]t

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Monday
Dec072009
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Rewarding Yourself for Studying - Finals Week Prep

DateMonday, December 7, 2009 by AuthorKelly Sutton

Nothing takes the edge off of finals week like 1,000 calories of caffeinated sugar and syrup. Photo by flickr user D'Arcy Norman

We start off our Finals Week Prep feature with a classic: rewarding yourself for studying. The idea is self-explanatory: you study for a little while, and then reward yourself for distraction-free studying.

The Psychology

While it would be great to be able to be 100% productive all the time, the human brain tends to get distracted. Rewarding yourself for studying is a good way to force yourself to stay focused. There are several non-finals week methods for staying on track and capping off short bursts of productivity with a reward. These all fall under different names such as 50/10 (50 minutes of work, 10 minutes of reward) or 10+2*5 (10 minutes of productivity, 2 minutes of reward, repeated 5 times).

So don't feel guilty about popping a chocolate or squeezing in a round of Modern Warfare 2 during the week, just make sure it's proportional to the amount you're studying.

Pick Your Pattern

Different majors and different lifestyles will be conducive to different methods of rewards. If you tend to lose focus quickly and consider Facebook a reward, choose a time-base system, probably 10+2*5.

If you like to stick to a 9-5 schedule, consider rewarding yourself with a going to a movie or doing something out and about after full day's work. I would recommend against drinking too much, since that will affect your studying schedule the next day.

Whatever pattern you pick, don't forget to reward yourself. You always the have time to be selfish, and don't postpone those opportunities because you're crunched!

Choosing a Good Reward

So what makes a good reward? Something that makes you happy, obviously. Your brain might be cramped thinking about organic chemistry, though, so we've got some suggestions.

  • Fancy Food Item or Drink: Think like some nice dark chocolate or a cup of coffee from a pricey cafe. Warning: don't go overboard with the caffeine intake, you don't want to mess up your sleep schedule.
  • One Round in a Video/Board Game: And make sure it's just one. I made the mistake of picking up Modern Warfare 2 last week. It's very difficult to play "just one" round of that game. Nothing relieves stress like going 20-and-1 on a round.
  • Take a Stroll: I've been becoming a bigger fan of the destinationless walk to blow off some steam. If there's not snow on the ground outside, give it a try to give yourself some fresh air.
  • Facebook Binge: Because you're monitoring your Facebook intake during finals week (hell, consider blocking the site), Facebook becomes a reward. It's amazing how much you don't miss by only checking Facebook once a day...
  • Watch a Movie: Preferably something light and brainless, but not frustratingly bad. That means avoiding Transformers 2 at all costs. 

What are some of the ways you reward yourself during finals week? Let us know in the comments!

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Friday
Dec042009
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HackCollege Xmas Lists: David

DateFriday, December 4, 2009 by AuthorDavid Pierce

Here's my list! It mostly focuses on caffeine ingestion and electronics, which I guess is why I write for HackCollege...

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Friday
Dec042009
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This Week's Best Questions on Discuss Campus - Dec. 4, 2009

DateFriday, December 4, 2009 by AuthorKelly Sutton

Our semesters and quarters are quickly winding down, but that doesn't mean that Discuss Campus is slowing down at all. In fact, we appointed one of our first moderators this week. His handle is insanemo. His real life name is Mohammed Arfeen and he's a a sophomore at Benedictine University. He's got a reputation that puts me to shame, so I finally conceded. He'll be helping out around the site. If you're interested in becoming a moderator, prove it to us!

Here are this week's best questions:

What are some good methods to prepare for finals week?

What are some good methods you use to prepare for finals week? Where do you go to study? Do you have any studying tips? How about ways to keep yourself sane during finals week?

Political Science major for someone that is inept in politics?

To start, I know next to nil about politics, international relations, or things of that nature. But I chose this major on three premises.

  1. It genuinely intrigues me.
  2. I'm WILLING to learn about it.
  3. It's a path into law school.

I already know that there are other majors that can take me there (English, Sociology) but those appeal to me far far less than PoliSci.

So here is my question: how do I "get better" at understanding the messy world of politics? Right now I'm plowing my way through General Ed. classes, but with upper-division looming so close, I feel unprepared. I am surrounded by many students whom feel so comfortable talking about politics in everyday conversation, but I can't keep up with their lingo.

I am no academic-schlep. I just haven't been exposed to the proper material yet. Any suggestions of books, websites, news stations, magazines, and newspapers that would expose this "noob" to politics would be helpful. Thank you all!

How should I talk to and approach random women?

What do you do when there is a random chick, and you want to talk with her? How do you strike up the conversation?

That's it for the questions this week! Got a question of your own? Head on over to Discuss Campus and ask it. Don't forget that--like all things awesome--it's free.

 

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Thursday
Dec032009
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HackCollege Xmas Lists: Chris

DateThursday, December 3, 2009 by AuthorChris Lesinski
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Wednesday
Dec022009
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Presentations: Love Them or Hate Them, Here are Some Tips

DateWednesday, December 2, 2009 by AuthorMike Bertolino

Fickr User: vancouverfilmschoolIt's getting to be that time of year again. I am talking about presentations.  Potentially the most awkward part of the college experience, groups presentations have all the makings for disaster on a number of fronts.

Know How You Are Being Graded

Before you do any work on the project, ask your teacher if the members of your group are being graded individually or if your group is being evaluated as a whole. If you are being graded as a whole, it's appropriate to ask if there is going to be any peer evaluation involved. After all, if someone craps the bed on the project, it'll reflect harshly on you.

Know How Your Slideshow Will Get On the Screen

Obviously, through a computer unless you're going old school with an overhead projecter. The room you're in might already have a computer in it. If that's the case then you're in the clear. But, if there isn't you could use your own laptop. A few days before you present, check the connection in the room. Is it DVI or VGA or some other display connection that you don't have. In this case you might have to go to another option. Your professor may bring a laptop to class everyday to make presentations on themselves and hopefully they are generous enough to let you use it. In the case where none of the above is feasible, check in your library or computing center, they should have computers to rent for a class period. If you're Uni is smart they should have the same connections as each of the room does.

Don't Leave Your Slideshow

It's lame when I'm watching a presentation and there's a link to a YouTube video that may or may not load. Or there's an MP3 that needs to be played in Windows Media Player. Number one, I don't need to see what your wallpaper is or who you're buddies with on AIM. The technology to bring multimedia from outside of your presentation, in is right beneath your finger tips.

For videos that are on the internet, all you need is the two video extraction tools mentioned in this Lifehacker post, Download Embbeded and Google Video Downloader. Once you have this media on your harddrive it's easy to put it in your slideshow. In Powerpoint just go into the Format section of the menu bar and click slide layout. There should be an option for multimedia as well as pictures and other things.

Long story short, just try to be as professional as possible, give your professor as many reasons as possible to give you an A. For instance, I moved my teacher to tears yesterday. I don't know why, but it'll help me in the long run.

How do you feel about presentations? Comment below to share!

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Wednesday
Dec022009
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How to Get Free Envelopes

DateWednesday, December 2, 2009 by AuthorChris Lesinski

If you've ever bought envelopes in college, you know how stupid it feels. You use about two per year. Why buy a box of 40 for way too much money from the bookstore? 

Instead, plan ahead by saving the envelopes included with your bills that you'd usually discard. Everything from your student account bills to junk mail will provide you with a blank envelope and most just have windows -- no address or anything. They're good as new. You're probably not using them, especially if you pay bills online. 

Plus, the whole process is also a great testament to reuse. You might be wasting paper by opting out of an electronic bill -- according to your bank's incessant notifications -- but at least you're putting their envelopes to good use. Now that's what I call PUSHING THE ENVELOPE. HA! 

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Wednesday
Dec022009
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HackCollege Xmas Lists: Mike

DateWednesday, December 2, 2009 by AuthorMike Bertolino
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