This Week in College News for the Week of 6/21

Private Scholarships Feel the Pinch [via the NY Times]

Anecdotes are slowly starting to trickle in that private scholarships around the country are starting to dry up. Some colleges just aren't accepting applications. Yes, it's the economy, stupid.

Cheerleaders? You're All Cut [via the The Choice Blog]

Florida International University recently decided that its cheerleading squad wasn't worth the cash, so they cut the entire team and are saving $45,000. How will FIU facilitate school spirit? Maybe their new $50 million stadium will help.

Blackboard Promises to Not Be Evil, Function Properly [via the Wired Campus Blog]

Our favorite opaque campus-organization software said this week it would "do more to follow industry software standards, and to participate more actively in their development." The company's head of course-management software even went as far as to admit some degree of failure. Cool. I'll believe it when I see it.

Foods that Stay Fresh for the Semester

Most colleges/universities have dining halls with meal plans, duh. You might not eat from what's in your dorm for a while because of said dining hall, or your college towns wide array of take-out food. We've got you covered over here at HC. Here are some foods that stay good for a long time. 

Peanut Butter

This past August I bought a huge jar of peanut butter.  It lasted until the start of summer session and didn't change flavor one bit. It held up to me forgetting to close it at night and the times let it sit in a drawer under the bed for weeks at a time. 

Soy Milk

Okay, soy milk has gotten some flack recently about not being healthy for men to drink.  There's an article recently in Men's Health depicting a man who had dangerously high levels of estrogen from drinking soy milk everyday. He drank 3 quarts of the stuff per day. So for the purpose of this post, soy milk is definitely healthy provided you put it in your Lucky Charms once or twice a week. The stuff stays good for months at a time. 

Granola

Coming back from winter break there was some granola in tow along with yogurt. It's a delicious treat. Anyway the generic brand that was purchased had some faulty ziploc-age. The piece of crap wouldn't close. this wasn't a problem though, as it stayed relatively good for months. If you actually buy some granola with decent packaging, it'll probably stay good for even longer.

Dried Fruit

Stuff like raisins and apple chips are good examples of dried fruit. These are the types of food hikers take with them on trips because they don't need to be refrigerated. The other good thing about dried fruit is it's loaded with calories and energy, hence why you can find it in trail mix. 

Putting Bread in the Fridge

If you have the space to put a loaf of bread in your dorm fridge, go for it. It will extend its freshness much longer. So if you want to put some of the peanut butter you left in you closet shelf, from before between two slices of refrigerated bread, that'll be a possibility for a couple of weeks.

Do you have any other foods that stay fresh for long periods of time? If you do comment below! 

This Week in Facebook

Facebook Lobbies Washington on Privacy (via InsideFacebook)

This article details the balance between privacy and what Facebook needs to keep the servers going. Right now, they are taking keywords to put up relevant ads. The company's director of public policy, Timothy Sparapani worked as a legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union before coming to Facebook. That bodes well for people who want to keep their information out of the hands of people who want to make money off of it. 

The Fastest Way to Update Twitter and Facebook From Your iPhone (via Mashable)

This iPhone application allows for quick and easy publishing. The post includes a video to show the speed of application.

More Ways to Share in the Publisher (via The Facebook Blog)

Facebook is beta testing the new feature of its publisher that will allow users to tell it who can see the update. This goes along with the new filters to the news feed. Theses new filters let users see people's updates even if they aren't friends with them and the status updates they're seeing were meant to be public. An update to the article is saying that the default privacy settings to the publisher are not going to change. The posts you create from publisher will only go to the users you want them to.

Tips to Keep Your Head in the Books

1. Keep your Achilles' heel somewhere out of the way.

The farther you are away from distractions, the less likely you are to indulge in them. For me, it has to be the internet. Because of this I make sure my computer is either asleep or completely turned off. One of the benefits of having a laptop is that it fits in the keyboard bay under my desk. This keeps my baby out of site, and out of mind.

Alternatively, if you love reading romance novels go to the nonfiction section of the library. If you can help but turn on the television while studying in your room, go to a lounge. If you have a knack for humping strangers in public, don't go outside.

2. Supplement your reading with short bursts of exercise.

Doing 5 push ups has done worlds of good for my focus. I don't know if its the little bit of endorphins that are secreted by my body or just getting up and around that works the magic. It also has helped to do some intense stretching. Doing this has relieved a lot of tension built up after sitting in the same spot for an hour or two. Here's a guide to what stretches and the areas of the body they help.

3. No matter how small, reward the work you're doing.

Reward reading a chapter. Reward reading a section. Reward reading a paragraph. The key is to not give a unjust reward. Don't spend an hour on Facebook because you became strained after reading the introduction to the introductory chapter of a text. If you need to stop after a short period give yourself a snack, or a stretch. Pushing yourself could lead to burn out in the long run. If you do burn out, don't hesitate to check out this article.

4. Keep at it, it will get easier over time.

When you're a first semester freshman, reading a chapter from introduction to concluding comments seems like a near impossibility. Work with yourself and pretty soon you'll find that you are reading twenty or so pages at a time with out having to stop for a break.

5. The SQR3 Method

This method is really easy to adopt and is recommended by many teachers who say it's helped students get better grades. The acronym stands for Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review. After trying it for the first time myself this summer session, I found that I was reading for longer periods of time. The survey and question sections were a warm up for the bulk and the reading and the recite and review portions were like the cool down of my mental work out. Get the full explanation and other tips here.

Have any other tips you want to share with us? Leave a comment below!

What Google Street on Campus Means for Students

This past week, Google announced that it was coming to universities and colleges across the country to bring street view to their campuses. Both eSchoolNews and The Wired Campus reported the first schools participating are UPenn, University of San Diego and San Diego State University. Here are some reasons it could be good or bad for your studenthood.

Good: A Virtual Tour On Steroids

If you are planning on attending either of the schools listed above in the Spring, or Fall of next year this will give you a chance to explore a lot of the nooks and crannies of the school without going there. This could potentially save you a plane ticket and a hotel stay. 

Bad: Don't Get Hit By Google's Bikers

It isn't clear whether they will be closing down the quads or doing it right as classes let out. They will probably survey the campus when there aren't that many students. Still you should keep a heads up this fall people on bikes with cameras so they don't hit you while you're texting. 

Good: You could be famous

We've all seen those shots of people doing playing live action role players on Street View. Here's your chance. Google will block the quads off. But if you want to come up with a clever sign and sneak in, cue internet fame.

What do you think of Google Street View Coming to campuses? Comment below to voice your opinion!

5 Ways to Furnish Your Room for Cheap Next Year

If you’re moving off campus this fall, you’ve probably started to worry about gathering furniture for your new room. Although Ikea may be relatively cheap, it will be difficult to get a whole room furnished for under $1000. Here’s 5 ways to make sure you won’t be sleeping on the floor next year.

1. Call Aunt Janine

Furniture donated from friends and family is by far the easiest way to furnish a room. Call around and find out who has a spare bed frame or bookshelf collecting dust in their basement. You’ll be doing them a favor by taking it off their hands and they’ll appreciate the opportunity to see you.

2. Go to Yard Sales

Mission it out to a few garage sales every weekend, you’ll certainly be able to pick up a bunch of stuff at a very good price. It may not be new, but who you’re a broke student. Deal with it. Hint: Don’t shy away from that lime green wardrobe, just repaint it.

3. Build It

Making a bookshelf or a simple bed frame is surprisingly easy as long as you have a few spare tools and a weekend to give up. Most home renovation stores will cut wood to size if you ask them, then all your left with is some drilling. Although this is the most expensive option on this list, it’s still cheaper than Ikea.

4. Re-purpose

Need a bedside table? Why not stack a few milk crates on top of each other. If your friends call you ghetto, just tell them you're bringing out your creative side.

5. Go Without

If you can live without it, why waste your money on it. Mirrors are a great example of things you really don’t need in your room. Heck, I have friends who use the kitchen table instead of a desk. Think twice about every purchase.

 Have any cheap home furnishing tips? Post them up in the comments section. 

Mix Your Own Laundry Detergent -- Mom Tip

From your mom:

Do you ever find yourself in a laundry bind? You're down to the last few pairs of undies and just when you get the time to wash the rest, much to your chagrin, there isn't enough detergent! Well, mixing your own laundry detergent can be done with regular household items and it can even save you a lot of money if you make it a regular habit.

Melt a grated bar of soap in a saucepan over medium heat -- mix it with about a cup of water, just to help it along. Pour the liquified soap into two gallons of hot water and stir it in well. Next, mix in 2 cups of baking soda (not baking powder -- yikes!). That's all it takes! The hardest part is finding a big vat to stir it in!

Looking for more money-saving laundry tips? We've got a post for that!

Last Week in Life Hacking

The Joy of Electronic Books (via Sealed Abstract)

Drew Crawford of Sealed Abstract explains how to digitize your book collection for easy reading and portability on your computer or mobile device. I love the idea, however it does look like a pretty time consuming process. With the introduction of the Kindle DX, I assume we're only 6 months away from the majority of publishers releasing digital versions of their books. Oh, how I love progress.

Heineken Jacuzzi (via College Drinker)

Epic. That is all.

To Improve Fitness, Try Sleep (via NYT)

I've been advocating this for a long time, sleep deprivation is one of the most detrimental things you can subject your body to, especially in performance based work. Although this article explains the effects of increased sleep and athletic performance, there is certainly a similar correlation with matheletes. Try loading up on sleep a week before an exam, this could be a game changer.