Guest Post: Warning Signs of an Expensive Roommate

 If your roommate pinches pennies at Costco, he may save you money on bills and expenses. Photo courtesy of Flickr user David McKelvey and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is from Kiley Theiring, a student at Chapman University majoring in Film Production and minoring in Japanese. She like to write and play video games in her sapre time. Give her a follow on Twitter at @loveglitterart

As if college tuition wasn’t already high enough, living on campus can mean paying astronomical prices for your sub-par college housing. Even if you like the dorms on campus, you’re definitely not going to want to stay there all four years of your college career. Depending on your school, living off campus can end up being much cheaper, especially if you play your cards right. Finding cheap places to live shouldn’t be too hard, but if you really want to slash costs, carefully consider who you’re going to be living with for the next few months. There are many reasons why choosing good roommates can save you money.

1.  More roommates mean less rent. Sometimes, it pays to dish out extra money for a larger two bedroom apartment. While it may be pricey to upgrade to a more spacious living area, a large two bedroom floor plan can easily house four people, which means you can potentially save more than the upgrade costs. Right now I’m living comfortably with three other roommates in a two bedroom apartment, and we’re all only paying $370 a month each!
2. Find a roommate who frequents Costco. Keeping enough food in the house for four people is much more challenging than just shopping for yourself. Initially when I moved in with my new roommates, we would find our entire pantry empty after just refilling it a few days before. I soon found out that one of my roommates had a Costco membership, and we have been saving money ever since. Buying in bulk at Costco is much more cost effective than trying to make frequent, inexpensive trips to the local grocery store. With four people footing the bill, our wallets can escape our shopping trips relatively unscathed.
3. Don’t live with party hosts. Everyone can appreciate a good college party, but make sure you don’t live with the person who loves to host them. Frequent crazy college parties at your place will inevitably lead to damages to your house or apartment. Damages could result in pricey fixes, especially if it’s something your landlord will have to take care of. Not to mention, your landlord may not let you sign the contract next year/month if they get fed up with your constant parties and repairs.
4. Room with busy people. If your roommates are constantly out at school, work, or whatever it is they do, it means that they won’t be sitting at home racking up utility bills. Choosing a roommate that is prone to sit around and play video games all day long will undoubtedly drive up your electricity bill. You can’t just let your apartment climb to 100 degrees or drop to 60, so whoever stays home will end up cranking the AC or the heater. To avoid paying big bucks for things you aren’t even using, try finding roommates with busy schedules or at least schedules similar to yours so you won’t be paying for nothing.
5. Find out what you need, and then find a roommate that has it. When you move in to your own place, you quickly discover lots of things that you need that you didn’t even know about. Some apartments don’t come with fridges, microwaves, or even lighting. Other things you’ll need - whether you think you will or not - are things like tools, cleaners, and storage. Costs for all this stuff can add up quick. Buying these items by pooling everyone’s money isn’t a good idea either because when you move out, there will certainly be fights about who gets what. The best thing to do is try to figure out who has what and choose your roommates based on who will bring the most diverse selection of stuff you’ll need.
6. Financially responsible roommates save you from headaches. Finding roommates who are very money conscious can help you save a ton. Late fees can put a huge dent in your monthly budget, but financially responsible people are much more likely to make their payments in time. They’ll be more careful about spending too when you are out on shopping trips, which makes it even easier for you to keep your spending down.
7. Eco-friendly roommates are your friends too. Eco-friendly roommates are great to have around. They love recycling, so they can help keep you from having to buy things new over and over again. They probably won’t want to waste electricity or water either, so they can help keep your utility bills low. Chances are, if they’re that concerned with the environment, they are probably also more responsible fiscally as well.

Guest Post: Top 5 Strategies to Land an Internship

How do you make yourself stand out among others? Photo courtesy of shahsjunkie. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.

Today's guest post was written by Luke Richter, a Senior at California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo majoring in Business, minoring in Statistics and Economics.  He recently spent time interning as a campus ambassador for InternMatch connecting with students and improving localized brand outreach.

Internships in today's economy are becoming a necessity for any student looking to remain competitive in the job market. Most employers expect internship experience, while at the same time it has become harder for students to distinguish themselves when looking and applying for internships.

The big question remains, how can I stand out from other internship applicants? Here are a few tips to help you.

Personalize & Customize Your Resume

In today's environment most students consider internship applications a numbers game, but I would argue that it revolves around how you personalize and customize your resume. But exactly how can you be sure that your resume will stand out from the rest? One way of doing this would be to use your college’ s seal as a watermark on your resume. It adds another level of elegance and depth to your resume in the crucial seconds that your resume is evaluated. Another useful trick is to incorporate the company’ s logo into the objective section of your resume. I have personally gotten a lot of "brownie points" for this and feel that it is an easy way of differentiating yourself.

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Guest Post: How to Handle Collegiate Introversion

Introversion can be tough to deal with, but certainly not impossible. Image courtesy of Flickr user Schleickmeister and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post is by Shahzad Saeed, an Indian Engineering student and founder of the blog Tech and Project. His site is geared toward students hoping to participate in international science fairs and student project programs, like the Google Summer of Code.

The best thing about college life is we get to meet all types of people on campus, both introverts and extroverts. Recently, I came  across an article explaining why introverts can make best leaders. The article says 40% of the executives and leaders are introverts like Bill Gates and Barack Obama, and it also describes the characteristics that help introverted leaders build on their quiet strength and succeed. Despite these success stories, many introverted college students worry about their ability to adapt and do well in college, and in life.

Am I introverted?

If you aren’t sure whether you’re introverted or not, try this this test to check. It also describes the top signs of introversion, and the results may surprise you. In this extroverted world there are a lot of myths about introverts. Many think that introverts hate people, they are shy and don’t talk too much. As an introvert I can say that these are completely false. Talk me about blogging or something I am really interested in, and I will keep talking for hours. That is why most of my friends never consider me as an introvert. For tips on dealing with your own introversion, or the introverts in your life, read on.

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Guest Post: In Trouble with the Administration? Be Prepared.

Found yourself afoul of campus police? Stay calm and be prepared for your appeal. Image courtesy of Flickr user Mskogley and licensed under CC by 2.0

Today's guest post comes from Stephanie Buscema, a recent graduate of Wagner College who will be attending NYU in the Fall to pursue a Master's in publishing. At Wagner, she was a part of the Community Standards Review Board, where she heard cases from fellow students who found themselves on the wrong side of school policy.

College is the environment where students are trying to find themselves, as well as trying to fit in with their new peers.  However, oftentimes students don’t know their limits and find themselves in trouble with administration.  While no longer living under their parents’ roofs, students have the freedom to explore all possibilities, even it means disregarding school policy. 

After attending college for four years, I have seen many of my peers fall in and out of trouble.  While serving on a disciplinary board, I have seen and heard many cases involving drug and alcohol abuse and violations of school conduct codes.  However, what I have noticed, is that without the guidance of a parent or mentor, some students fall through the cracks and find themselves not knowing what to do and how to prepare to deal with the consequences of their actions.

Students should have the opportunity to review helpful tips in preparation of an appeal.  The question that arises is, “How can I prepare?”  To be honest, it’s quite simple.  Here are some helpful tips to prepare for your appeal.

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Guest Post: How Twitter Can Benefit You in College

College students can use Twitter as a resource. Photo courtesy of stevegarfield. Licensed under CC BY-2.0

Thomas Frank is a student at Iowa State University and the founder of College Info Geek. You can find out more about him at his website and follow him on Twitter.

Twitter, the microblogging website, has been around for almost five years now. While the site now has over 200 million users, many students still believe that it's a waste of time. Part of the reason for this belief is the misconception that Twitter is only used to broadcast inane messages like "I'm eating a taco" or "Snookie is my role model". The reality couldn't be further from the truth. Not only is Twitter a much more robust and useful service than it's perceived to be, but it can also be of great benefit to you as a college student. Here are my top four reasons that you should be on Twitter:

You can build a personal brand

Twitter gives you the ability to garner an audience, and you can broadcast whatever message you want to that audience. Why not leverage this great opportunity and start setting yourself up as an expert? You're in college to get a degree and become an expert in your field; Twitter can help you let other people know that. Set up and account and make your interests known. For example, I'm an Information Systems major, so I'm interested in technology. However, I'm also passionate about entrepreneurship and helping people succeed in college. Therefore, a good amount of what I tweet about has to do with those three things.

You can do this with whatever field you're in. Fashion major? In Style, Vogue, and tons of other magazines are all on Twitter. You can follow them, retweet articles - anything that makes it known that you're interested.

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Guest Post: 5 Social Sites that Students Need to Try

Grab your friends and check out these sites that can help you with homework, registration, or even finding a job. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Nic's Events and licensed under CC by SA 2.0

Today's guest post is fom Lior Levin, a student at Tel-Aviv University and marketing consultatnt at the MA in Israel Security Studies and Political Science programs. He has some great sites for students, many of which you may not have heard of yet.

Every student could use a little help to make it through college. In this connected world, there's no better place to look for that help an online. Luckily, there are dozens of social media sites geared specifically to students. Here are our picks for the five social media sites every student should join.

1. RateMyProfessors

Rate My Professors provides a great way to check out the classes you plan to take, the books you will use and, most importantly, the professors who will teach you. It is the internet's largest listing of college professors. There are more than 1 million professors in the database and they have received more than 11 million student ratings. Best of all, it's absolutely free. Students always checking professors with other students -- this site just make the process easier. It's a wonderful way to make sure that you have a smooth ride through college with only the best classes and professors.

2. CampusBug

CampusBug provides homework help for students. It calls itself a social learning network which combines educational and social networking tools. It's a huge information sharing community where you can meet students from all over the world, share photos, upload blog posts as well as get help with tests. While the site has its fair share of spam, there is also a lot of useful information in the wiki categorized by tags and labels.

Read on for the rest of the list!

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Guest Post: Communicating Your Crisis

Not feeling up to class? Be sure you communicate well with your professors. Image courtesy of Flickr user Alicia Nijdam and licensed under CC by 2.0Erin Breedlove is back again with a follow-up to her last guest post about surviving college when you're sick, be it a cold or chronic illness.  Remember to check her out at her blog: Healthy, Unwealthy, and Becoming Wise.

Last week, we discussed surviving school in the face of sickness, but what happens if you are really just too sick to go to class? What do you do?

For me, and I’m sure many other college students, communication with professors has always been crucial when I’ve got what seems like a crisis situation. But how do I write that e-mail, make that phone call, or show up at that office door confident that the professor will understand the situation? Here are four simple steps that may help you to easily communicate with your professors to, in essence, avert your “crisis”.

Keep in mind whether or not the “crisis” is a recurring issue. If the situation you’re dealing with causes you, or will cause you, to miss class frequently or regularly, be prepared with background information for your professor. Expect to give some anecdotal information and recount experiences where the current issue has previously affected your academic performance. Ask about ways that you can compensate and make the “crisis” work for you, despite academic requirements set forth by the professor in the syllabus or otherwise? For example, if a class meets Monday and Wednesday, and you’ve got an assignment due Tuesday, it may be possible for you to turn in the assignment on Wednesday at the beginning of class if that works for you and for the professor.  The key here is to simply be as flexible as possible. Understand that any accommodation your professor allows is, in most cases, in concordance with the law, but often, it’s an act of generosity.

Read on for more tips!

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Guest Post: Surviving School in the Face of Sickness

In college, no time is a good time to get sick. Photo courtesy of Flickr user effekt! and licensed under CC by SA 2.0Today's guest post is by Erin Breedlove, a sophomore at Georgia College and State University. We'll hear from Erin a few more times in the coming weeks, but in the meantime be sure you check out Healthy, Unwealthy, and Becoming Wise, where she blogs frequently about the unique challenges of surviving college with a disability or chronic illness. 

There are days where you wake up and you’ve got a scratchy throat and a stuffy nose. “I’m getting sick, and I want to just lie here and sleep” goes through your head. Truthfully, though, you’ve got four classes that you can’t miss because of strict attendance policies. You feel like death, but you understand that you need to be in class. The picture of the syllabus that says you have a test in two days haunts the back of your mind.

Students with disabilities and chronic health conditions go to class when they’re sick quite often. So, for those of you who aren’t (and who are!) affected in this way, read on for few tips to get you through the sickness during class feeling might do the trick.

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