My website poll of 96 junior faculty members has an unequivocal winner.

The poll asks, “What is the hardest part about being a junior faculty member?” Over a third of the respondents chose “Teaching takes up so much time” as their response.

Exactly How Time Consuming is Teaching?

Surveys of how professors spend their time indicate that professors as a group, from junior to full professors, spend 29-30 hours a week at a minimum on activities related to teaching. Obviously, new faculty, who tend to have a higher teaching load than do full professors, and who are often teaching classes that they have never taught before, probably spend more than 30 hours a week. At some colleges with more of a teaching emphasis, it has been estimated that new professors may spend 50-60 hours a week on teaching.

What Can You Do To Lighten Your Teaching Burden?

Robert Boice, the author of Advice to New Faculty Members, devotes the first 100 pages of his book to teaching. His advice can be boiled down to “moderation in all things.” When it comes to teaching, there are specific actions you can take. Here are some of his recommendations that I believe are the easiest to implement.

1. Don’t try to fit too much into each class

2. You don’t have to know everything

3. Simplify and make things more clear

4. Allow pauses during class

5. Do the “hardest work before it seems like work”

Don’t Try to Fit Too Much Into Each Class

Many new professors make the mistake of equating quantity with quality. The truth is that it is easy to overwhelm and bore your students. Do you want them walking out of your class with pages of poor notes, not having taken in most of what you’ve said? Or do you want them to leave energized, excited, and clear about your most important points?

You Don’t Have to Know Everything

Students are relieved and, ironically, will like and trust you more if they find out that you’re NOT perfect. Studies show that students prefer hearing their professors reason things out. Showing the process of your thinking is excellent modeling. You don’t earn their respect by being the smartest, most knowledgeable person in the world. You earn it by respecting them. If you don’t know the answer to something, model a scholar’s attitude of curiosity. Compliment them on the excellent question, say you’ll look into it and that you’ll answer it in the next class.

Simplify and Make Things More Clear

The information is often already in the assigned readings. If classes function only as information dumps, students will be resentful. On the other hand, if you can simplify, clarify and help them see the information in a new way, you will be making the class time valuable to them. Do you notice how this interacts with the idea of not fitting too much into the class? In order to clarify and simplify, you can’t complicate things by forcing too much information into their heads.

Allow Pauses During Class

Racing through the material will leave you and the class breathless. It’s not only OK, it’s preferable to let there be some spaces where you collect your thoughts, find the next page of your notes, or ask if there are questions and allow a silence for students to digest the material. These pauses will allow you to gauge audience reaction and shape your subsequent remarks accordingly.

Do “The Hardest Work Before it Seems Like Work”

I used quotes because this concept is directly from Boyce’s book. As you go about your day, make notes of thoughts about future classes that crop up in your mind. Expand on those during little breaks of a few minutes in your day, making mini-outlines or taking notes on further thoughts. Continue to expand on these ideas, imagining student reactions, metaphors or examples you might use, questions you might ask, discussion points, etc. Thus you are not preparing in one painful session, but slowly building to a preparation that will be partly complete.

My Recommendation

I suggest that you choose at least one of these ideas to try out in your teaching preparation or in your classes this week. You might find the transition a little scary, but you also might find that it helps your teaching. What have you got to lose?

Gina J Hiatt, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist, tenure and dissertation coach who helps faculty and graduate students realize their dreams. With her encouragement, support and expertise, grad students, professors and writers are all able to complete research and writing projects and publish, while maintaining high teaching standards. Her web site is chock full of self-assessments, articles, resources, polls and newsletter archives. Check out her site and get help with time management, procrastination, writing, creative thinking, career decisions, choosing research topics, teaching and more. Sign up for her newsletter at http://AcademicLadder.com and get the free and unique “Academic Writer’s Block Wizard.”

Contact Info:

6845 Elm Street, Suite 710
McLean, VA 22101-3822
Phone: (703) 734-4945
Email: Gina@AcademicLadder.com
URL: http://AcademicLadder.com

A lot of people are getting their college degrees online these days. It can be much simpler than going to an actual physical college, and often it’s the only way some people can fit a degree into their busy schedules. But is it worth it financially to get an online degree?

One of the big problems you’ll run into is respect for the degree. A good general rule is that for advanced degrees (an MBA, a master’s degree, or a law degree, for example) you shouldn’t even consider an online school. No one in a professional field is going to take it seriously, simply because there is a vast difference in quality between the regular graduate schools and an online one. However, for a college diploma, it’s not true to that extent – there are many good online schools, and they aren’t much different in quality from a local community college, where a large number of people get their degrees (or at least start off). You do need to watch out for online "diploma mills." If the place you’re planning on taking classes from is unestablished or is shady in any way, you shouldn’t get one from there. This is going to be on your resume for some time, and if it comes out that they are simply granting degrees for cash or other practices, your degree will be worthless. Avoid places that offer things like "life experience" credits for most of your requirements – that’s a sure sign that they aren’t really making you do the work for a degree. Bigger companies will know all about the "fake" degree programs, and a smaller one can find out with a simple google search. Because online degrees don’t cost that much, a college diploma can be worth it – it’s really a symbolic thing, that you were willing to do the work, and it will get you over a hurdle to your career advancement.

Teve Torbes is an awesome owner of a flea control site, who knows a whole lot about air mattress stuff. He has also created a valuable air purifier resource.

Students increasingly turn to the Internet to help them with their coursework. Subject directories can be especially useful, whether you are in search of a movie review or a biography of Galileo. However, subject directories - like many online tools - can sometimes blur the distinction between information and advertisements.

Subject directories are collections of links to web sites, categorized into different subject areas. Human volunteers or employees can perform this task, or it might be automated by way of computer programs. Subject directories may be made by anyone, but there are two main types of directories.

Academic or professional subject directories are created and maintained by experts, for other experts. In contrast, commercial subject directories are geared towards the general public and are meant to generate revenue. Such directories make a profit by attracting as many visitors as possible so that they can sell advertising on their sites. Advertisements can be obvious or more subtle, ranging from a banner at the top of the page to paid listings within the subject directory itself.

Paid listings in commercial subject directories create an obvious problem. While it’s understandable that the site’s creators are in business and need to generate income somehow, the general public isn’t aware of such practices. Thus, many people assume that the information contained in all subject directories is selected for quality and relevance.

On the contrary, commercial directories rarely screen link submissions for quality, and questionable links may be included if their owners are willing to pay for placement. Although the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has standards that subject directories must follow for disclosing paid listings, not all sites are up to snuff. You will find the same conflict with many search engines, which also sell advertising space in the form of paid listings.

Subject directories are most useful in the early stages of the research process, when you’re trying to come up with a general topic idea, or if you need to narrow a broad idea down a bit. Using what Reva Basch (in “Researching Online for Dummies,” 1998) calls the “drill-down approach,” you can take a very broad subject heading and, step by step, break it down into smaller parts until you have a narrow, manageable topic to work with.

For example, let’s say you need to write a paper for your American History class, but you’re plum out of topic ideas. No problem! Using a subject directory, you could start with the broad subject of “History.” Under this heading is a list of countries; since you’re taking an American history course, you’d choose the “United States.” Under the US, you might find a list of time periods to choose from; if you know which period you’re most interested in, you’d make a beeline for that heading and explore the possible topics. If not, you might browse each time period until you find a topic that sounds intriguing. Using this approach, you’re sure to find something to write about!

Subject directories can also be useful if you already have a topic in mind. Simply find your topic in the directory, either by clicking through the directory until you locate it or by conducting a search with a search engine (which many directories are equipped with). Once you have located your topic, you will have a short list of highly relevant resources to help guide your research.

It’s best to use subject directories early on, when you’re conducting preliminary research. If you have problems defining a topic, subject directories are most helpful. With directories, you don’t have to formulate search queries, which require that you have a rather specific idea of what you’re researching. Instead, you navigate around until you find an interesting topic, which the directory defines for you. Subject directories can also be helpful if you need to locate some high-quality, peer-reviewed resources rather quickly, without having to wade through all the results a search engine would give you. Your best bet is to look to subject directories if your topic is fairly current (but old enough that it’s no longer “breaking news”), and has received a good deal of coverage. Obscure and out-of-date subjects are less likely to be included in directories.

When using subject directories for academic research, it’s wise to rely primarily on academic or professional directories. Not only are they unlikely to contain paid listings (and, in the rare instances that they do, the paid listings are clearly labeled), but the links are carefully chosen by qualified experts in the field. As a result, you have a better chance of actually finding your subject covered in academic directories. You can also rest assured that any links included lead to reputable resources that are suitable for your needs.

If you do decide to look at commercial directories, try to find ones that disclose their listing policies and clearly label paid listings as such. By all means, critically evaluate all the information you find online, and apply more stringent standards to commercial directories, search engines, and web sites.

Copyright Kelly Garbato, 2005

Kelly Garbato is an author, ePublisher, and small business owner. She recently self-published her first book, “13 Lucky Steps to Writing a Research Paper,” now available at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com) or through Peedee Publishing (http://www.peedeepublishing.com).

To learn more about the author, visit her web site at http://www.kellygarbato.com.

An Art school has a primary focus on the visual arts, such as graphic design, illustration, painting, photography, and sculpture. They are specific to the type of education that you wish to obtain. Art schools differ from larger institutions by degrees including such classes as science and math. When the school is considered an accredited college, you can still obtain a bachelor of Fine Arts degree. There are certain criteria that you need to meet in order to be accepted into an art school. What the admissions committees look for in an applicant is:

Grades: the committee wants to make sure that the future student will be successful and thrive under academic pressure.

Students who have strong academic backgrounds are preferred. Do not worry if you are not the strongest academic applicant.

The Admissions counselors also take personal background and extracurricular activities into consideration.

Improve your chances of being accepted at the art school of your choice, by improving your GPA, participating in after school activities, (if you are still in school), involvement in the community or neighborhood, and/or participation in civic or religious groups. These will all give you an advantage when applying to the art school you wish to attend, as they will enhance your application making it more likely to be accepted.

It is always a challenge to be accepted into art school, but it is never impossible. No matter what you reason is for applying to art school, whether it is to better your qualifications and improve your chances of getting a promotion or if you are just out of high school wanting to attend school.

There will always be ways to improve your chances of getting into art school. Therefore, take a look around talk to people that may be going to the school of your choice. Never be afraid to ask questions. You will find that people are willing to give you the information you need in order to optimize your application. Do not be afraid to take all the advantages and advise you can get.

For more information, visit Art Schools.

~~~ About the University ~~~

The University of Phoenix is the largest private university in the United States. It has more than 17,000 instructors and 240,000 students, out of whom roughly half are enrolled in its highly evolved online educational programs. It has 170 physical campuses spread over the US, Mexico, Puerto Rico and —. Since 1976, more than 171,600 working professionals have earned their degree from University of Phoenix.

The University of Phoenix is designed very differently from conventional universities. Its programs are aimed at working adults – AT&T, Boeing, IBM, Intel, Lockheed Martin, and Motorola — not to mention the U.S. military.—who want to better their salaries by enhancing their qualifications. About 60% of students receive some tuition reimbursement from their employers, which include such blue

The School offers undergraduate and graduate-degree programs in Business, Business and MBA, Criminal Justice, Education and Teaching, Healthcare and Nursing, Human Services Information, Technology, Accounting, Management, baccalaureate nursing programs marketing, and the like,

~~~ Pros ~~~

1. You can enroll in on-campus, offline or Flexnet programs (the latter is a combination of the first two) 2. If you are a working adult, you will not feel out of place age wise: the average student is 34 years old and earns between $50,000 and $60,000 a year 3. Again, if you are working, there is a high chance you can receive tuition reimbursement from your employer (60% of students do) 4. The tuition is much less than several other universities’. Some sample fee comparisons:

TRV University (Technical Remote Viewing 101: Basic Skills) $1295.00

Columbia University (Political Science S1002Q) $2514.00

Northwestern University (News writing and Reporting 301-0) $3217.00

Harvard University (SOCI S-40: Introduction to Human Societies) $1850.00

————— University of Phoenix Online (Marketing: MKT 421G) $1230.00 —————

5. The University’s online program is one of the most highly evolved in the world and continues to be a fount of innovation. (The latest development: online, downloadable, paperless textbooks) 6. The curriculum stresses team playing. Even online students are organized into groups and each group asked to complete a project. This prepares students for the group efforts so fundamental to today’s working world 7. The University is accredited by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. Any graduate school is required to recognize its diplomas

~~~ Cons ~~~

1. Graduate Schools value applicants from Ivy League Universities much more than those from the University of Phoenix 2. Staff turnover is very high and continuity is poor (http://adam.theficus.com/archives/2003/08/fuck_university.html#comment-864) 3. Instructors can often be confused about the syllabus (http://adam.theficus.com/archives/2003/08/fuck_university.html#comment-3196) 4. Plagiarism is often unchecked (Ibid) 5. Feedback on graded papers can be non-existent (Ibid) 6. Responsiveness of the management leaves a lot to be desired; often complaints are not addressed (http://answers.google.com/answers/login?qe_destination=%2Fanswers%2Fthreadview%3Fid%3D216054) 7. An unusual number of students are disillusioned with the University

~~~ Conclusion ~~~

All the facts are now before you. It is now your call to weigh them carefully and make a sound, informed decision. Good luck in your educational endeavors!

Copyright 2005 http://university-of-phoenix-info.info/

Lucky Balaraman, who has a Masters degree in engineering, is an experienced author who writes on a variety of subjects. For more information on The University of Phoenix, visit his website at: http://university-of-phoenix-info.info/

Can a quarter-million of the world’s brightest students be wrong? That’s one estimate of the number of foreign students who forsake the comforts of home and brave the UK’s food and, for many, forbidding weather to get the postgraduate education they consider the key to a bright future in their homelands.

The British Council puts the total number of overseas students currently studying in Britain – at all academic levels – at nearly one million, with two-fifths of post-graduate students hailing from other countries. The British government’s increasing recognition of the value of this phenomenon to the British economy overall is likely to increase its efforts to attract these students away from competing institutions in other countries and to address the complex student-visa laws that most overseas students cite as the greatest – and often the only – disincentive to seeking graduate degrees in the UK.

Studying in the UK, rather than at comparable universities and colleges in other countries, clearly remains the first choice of the largest segment of the overseas student population.

The principle reason can be summed up in the single word the 23-year-old Uzbekistanian Tulkin Sultanov gave the BBC as his reason for pursuing advanced studies in the UK: “reputation.” Worldwide, UK universities are renowned for their high academic standards, cutting-edge educational facilities (particularly in the sciences, engineering and the arts), and broad range of offerings combined with the flexibility to accommodate individual student needs.

Like many other students who eventually go to the UK itself, Sultanov was educated in a British school in his homeland. As a result, he said, he knew both that British teaching was high-quality, that the professors at British universities had international reputations as leaders in their fields – and, crucially, that alumni of British universities enjoyed a level of professional success on return to their homeland that made them the envy of their generation.

UK universities and colleges are continuously evaluated by professional bodies to ensure that their teaching and research standards and their facilities are at the highest standards. The result has been the more important rating by the rest of the world, which at this point assumes that any British post-graduate education is top rank. Because standards are now known to be high at all levels, an unrivaled prestige attaches to a master’s or doctoral degree earned at a British university.

Of the half-million Chinese students studying abroad annually, some 50,000 have chose the UK as their academic destination of choice, together spending an estimated £550m a year on their UK educations. Twenty-two-year-old Lin Disheng, a Chinese student featured in another BBC story, followed his BS degree from Nottingham University (where he earned first-class honors in e-commerce and digital business) with a master’s degree programme at Oxford. Citing China’s rapid industrialisation and economic growth, he told the BBC, “Chinese young people like me want to make a contribution to this rapid process. That’s why I want to study In the UK - to learn better western technologies and experience the western culture and do the best I can.”

It goes without saying that the students who are accepted into British universities are the top students of their home countries’ top universities. Still, for most, what amplifies the education they received at home can be summed up in the three words independence, creativity and self-reliance. These are not only qualities they pick up at the personal level – although the mere process of adapting to, and then succeeding in, a culture often significantly unlike their own gives them a level of self-confidence they might well not even need in their homelands.

More to the point, a UK graduate education teaches foreign students a kind of independent thinking, creativity with ideas (most conspicuous in artistic disciplines but as evident in disciplines such as business and politics – “thinking outside the box” – and even science. Most foreign student have come from academic environments that have emphasized rote learning and, with the best of intentions, the dutiful regurgitation to their professors of the teachers’ own ideas. Only in an environment that both fosters and teachers ways of independent thinking do students learn how to generate their own ideas, propose and test original solutions to problems, and trust their own creative impulses.

British universities also offer well-recognised value for money. Undergraduate degree programmes, for example, are typically spread over three rather than four years, and most master’s degree programmes are designed to be completed in one year. This makes them highly cost-effective when compared to the longer time it takes to complete comparable courses of study in other countries, particularly in the US. Also, scholarships and other forms of financial aid make it possible to for many foreign students to enter institutions they would not be able to attend on their own or their families’ resources. Personal support in gaining access to such assistance, overseen by highly trained university administration staffs, helps many foreign students navigate that thicket of qualifications that sometimes discourage them from pursuing this vital source of financial help.

Furthermore, access to government-funded health care contributes greatly to the financial advantages of studying in the UK. Students in any full-time course in Scotland and in full-time courses lasting at least six months in England, Wales or Northern Ireland are entitled to free medical treatment from the British National Health Service.

Another advantage of study in the UK is that some students can, if they must or wish, work while they are pursuing their degrees. Because they are from outside the EU, students who are registered is a course of study longer than six months can work as much as 20 hours a week during term time and full-time during holidays. Students who need to supplement their finances to live as well as study abroad will be happy to know that part-time work is easy to find. Others may find working part-time a valuable way of learning more about the local culture outside the confines of academe.

The UK also offers a unique variety of graduate academic settings. In addition to the universities and colleges ensconced within Britain’s bustling, dynamic cities – which include far more places than London, though the capital is unrivaled for its academic, cultural, and other offerings – students can choose to study on purpose-built countryside campuses, often in areas of singular natural beauty as well. While some foreign students understandably want the programmes as well as the prestige of Britain’s famous, time-honored seats of higher education, others prefer the more modern, state-of-the-art universities that have sprung up throughout the country, sometimes with specific academic specialisations, sometimes offering a full range of post-graduate programmes.

Indeed, exposure to the larger culture is, though often overlooked during considerations of where to study abroad, one of the strongest reasons for choosing the UK as a place to pursue an advanced degree. Exploring the country beyond the university campus is sure to strengthen English skills and, more to the point, it does not require learning yet another language beyond the international language of English that has become the worldwide academic norm.

In addition to the native, local, and popular cultures, Britain offers some of the richest examples of Western culture to be found anywhere in Europe – and not just in London. Although London plays second fiddle to no other city in Europe in terms of its cultural offerings of all kinds, there are also significant cultural centres and events in other UK cities, such as Birmingham, which has one of the world’s greatest symphony orchestras, and Edinburgh, a city with an extraordinarily rich year-around cultural life and a summer festival of all the arts that is one of the world’s most renowned. British museums also are considered among the world’s finest.

For the more adventuresome, the rest of Europe is literally at the doorstep of people living in the UK. There are affordable ways to travel to the other countries of Europe – particularly for students – with resulting close, easy access to a broad array of other Western cultures, people, and traditions.

But even students who find study so demanding that it keeps them close to home and allows them little time for travel will be grateful to be “confined” to a country as famously beautiful as the UK. The British countryside, villages, and beaches are famous worldwide for their surpassing beauty. Travel within the country is inexpensive and fast, allowing most visiting students ample opportunities to explore the UK’s riches beyond its university walls.

Whatever your motives for choosing to study in the UK – and whatever you do to enhance your academic experience while there – you can be sure of one thing. When you return home, everyone will be impressed that you earned your degree in a country known throughout the world for the high quality of its educational offerings. And, with a British degree in your pocket (and brain), you’ll be in a prime position to compete for your country’s best jobs – and find the most satisfying way to take part in a globalised world you have yourself encountered.

Hugh O’Connell is a business owner and university lecturer. He is a director of Plan-it Consultants Limited, Thailand and UniRoute Limited, Hong Kong. Plan-it provides off line resources to students wishing to study overseas: study abroad program. UniRoute offers online advice on study abroad and study UK. Currently Hugh resides in Thailand and is working towards his doctorate.

Students entering business school to earn their MBA degree will need varied skills and have basic proficiency in certain areas. The level of math skills necessary in business school will vary depending on the program. Many Master of Business Administration programs require statistics, algebra, and most likely, calculus. You may want to refresh your skills if they are in question before entering an MBA program. Most business schools require the use of personal computers throughout your MBA program. Many schools will require that you have your own laptop. Though the extent to which you use a computer will vary, you should be comfortable with word processing, spreadsheets and databases. Each school will give you their minimum basic requirements for computer skills and hardware/software needs.

Schools today attempt to mimic the business environment in their academic programs by using student teams. As corporations have increasingly turned to teams to work on projects and to solve problems, MBA programs have transformed a larger portion of course work from individual work to teamwork. Many master of business administration programs now include teambuilding training as team building workshops, or as a subject in organizational behavior courses. Teams may be formed for the purpose of one project in one course or they may remain together for months, working on multiple courses. In the competitive setting of MBA programs, the cooperation of students in teambuilding exercises is often difficult. Students that participate in team activities find that working with others takes up a lot of academic time.

The fundamentals of business are taught in every MBA program. Economics, finance, accounting, organizational behavior, marketing, and statistics are in the basic repertoire for master of business administration programs. In business school these subjects are considered a core group of courses required of every student. These core courses make up the first year of study in a two-year full-time program. In some programs, students who have a prior background in business can bypass some or all of the core courses on the basis of either a special examination or an evaluation of the undergraduate transcript.

Melissa Steele, College Degrees @ EducationGuys.com.

Want to Win a Lot of Scholarship Money? Beginning in junior high/ middle school is a great time to start. I’m serious. A winning scholarship effort always requires a plan. And assembling a plan of action requires time.

After one of my talks a happy couple asked me "Why do you think starting in the 8th grade is the best time?" Before I could answer they said, "We are telling our children in the fifth grade to start working on winning scholarship contests and any other contests that we find out about.”

They Got Results! Before they left I discovered their first child had already graduated from college with 50% paid by scholarships only because they got a late start; or it would have been 100%. They weren’t going to make the same mistake with their other student. I asked them what they thought was the hardest part of a search. Their answer surprised me. "NOTHING! There’s just a lot to think about. We really didn’t have a plan then. Now we do. And now that we have heard your College Scholarship Plan we’re going to eliminate some things and add others. We’re glad we came to your seminar”

I met a senior, we’ll call him "Jake", who was in the top third of his class. His GPA was in the C+ B- range. I told him that many scholarships had C+ qualifications or higher. Jake was dumbfounded. He thought all college scholarships were for the kids with really high GPAs. Later, in a letter, I learned that Jake had won a scholarship that would enable him to go to college.

Scholarship Doctor Rule #1
Make sure that you are on the same page with your student and regardless of GPA, if he/she wants to attend college, it will happen. And families can make it happen by talking about it early, often, and openly.

Scholarship Doctor Rule #2
Start telling everyone you know about your student’s college and scholarship intentions. Broadcast it morning, noon, and night to friends, relatives and acquaintances. Do this not once or twice but continuously from the 8th through 12th grades. Serious efforts require drastic measures.

Scholarship Doctor Rule #3
Make it a goal for everyone in the family to help your student win scholarships and attend college.

Scholarship Doctor Rule #4
Give the student enough space and quiet time to study.

Scholarship Doctor Rule #5
Be sure to offer continuous encouragement.

And never forget: The college scholarship effort is truly a family affair.

©2005 The Scholarship Doctor, Dale Clifton - All Rights Reserved - Dale is an educational consultant and expert at helping families win college scholarships. To learn more about planning to win scholarships, visit http://ScholarshipDoctor.com.

It’s true. University and college students do have the "ideal" life. We share rooms with our friends, and have our own little, segmented communities. We are learning the secrets of the universe, developing our minds into powerful tools that can do anything we want. We have everything we need within walking distance of our rooms (well, mostly) and we don’t even have to cook for ourselves. On top of it all, we are in a highly concentrated area of prospective mates. Could anything be easier? I say "heck yes it can be easier!"

The reason for saying this is simply that there are many stereotypes surrounding university students and the like. Most of them either stating how lucky we are, or how reckless we are. I’d like to remind everyone that there is only one way to get accurate information… The source! Of course we don’t live perfect lives, we aren’t allowed hot-plates and public showers and bathrooms SUCK. Have you ever eaten at meal hall? Or should I more accurately ask if you’ve ever taken vice- grips to your stomache and pesticide to your tastebuds? As far as University being a "dating connection" dream on. It’s just as hard here as it is everywhere else, the only difference is that we don’t have to travel very far to get shot down (by the decent ones).

It’s fine and good to try and use an article such as this to dispell such stereotypes, but what if we had a way to give the rest of the world a first-hand look at our lives as students? Well, now we can. The website www.Res-Rants.com is on the hunt for college students willing to give an account of a campus related mishap. Any sort of prank, any drunken night, and any thing school related (humor is a virtue). These stories are all going to be compiled into one large ebook to be sold on the internet. The best part of the whole deal is that by submitting your story, you are ensuring yourself a free copy of the finished product. Better yet is that all of the money brought in off of the ebook is going towards publishing costs to get it turned into an honest-to-god book. This is a great opportunity for us to show the rest of the world how things REALLY are. More importantly it’s a chance to produce something as a collective, as a unified mass, that is representative to our fun- loving, mischievous ways.

Matthew Goodfellow
Bachelor of arts - Psychology
University of New Brunswick
http://www.Res-Rants.com to claim your place in the spotlight.

Whether you are moving into the dorm as a freshman, or a senior looking for a nice house close to campus, odds are you will be living with roommates. There are very few college students who live by themselves, mostly because it is too expensive. In college towns, rent for a single apartment can reach up to $750 a month. It might not seem like a lot, and maybe it isn’t if your parents are paying for it, but for the majority of students $750 a month is not reasonable. The solution to lower rent is living with roommates. In this article I will talk about the pros and cons of living with roommates, how to find roommates, and I’ll share some of my experiences along the way. This will be a two part post due to its length. Part I will discuss dorm life, while Part II will discuss life after the dorms.

Since I just graduated from college in April of 2005, I consider myself somewhat of an expert in the college living life. Not much has changed in the few months I have been on my own. I am living by myself for the first time in my life, and let me tell you, it is quite different than being in college.

Most students start off their college experience living in the dorms. When I moved in, I elected to live in an old fashion dorm. Twenty some odd rooms on the floor with one large communal bathroom. The guys section was separated from the girls section by a lounge/kitchen with one stove, one oven, a few couches, and a TV. Not quite the same as living at home with your own bedroom and bathroom. Most dorms (at least the old fashion ones) do not have single rooms. Everyone has a roommate, and sometimes there are triples in one room. Most schools give you the option to choose your roommate or have one randomly assigned to you. My freshman year, I chose to live with a friend. Make sure you are good friends with this person or else you may end of wanting to kill each other. I have so many friends that wound up hating their roommates. They were friends on the outside, but in the room it was hell.

I was lucky for the first semester of college. I got along with my roommate for the most part. We led different lives, which was a good thing. I was on the meal plan and he wasn’t. We took different classes at different times and hung out with different people too. In my opinion this is how it has to be if you choose to live with a friend. You can’t be too close or else your friendship will crumble. (Please note that the dorms I am talking about are the ones that are about 12×12 with two twin beds and two desks and enough room to stand up. The new age dorms where people have their own rooms and bathrooms are totally different.) My friend who I roomed with ended up transferring to a new school after our first semester for various reasons. I thought I had it made in the shade. Would the school not know? Would I get the room to myself? The answer was no.

Enter Kraut (my new roommate from Germany). He was American, but grew up in Germany on a military base. This was one of the best and worst experiences of college. Living with a complete stranger who is the complete opposite of you. This is every incoming freshman’s worst nightmare. Andrew (who I referred to as Kraut… please don’t take offense to this. It was just a friendly joke between us) moved in with me because he was voted out of a triple dorm room by his previous roommates. Wow. After living with him for a semester, I know why they voted him out.

First off, he was in the ROTC. I have nothing against being a proud American and wanting to serve in the military, but when you have to wake up at 4:00 AM every morning to go run with that squadron, that’s when I start to lose it. His alarm would go off at 3:45 AM everyday and he would snooze for about 30 minutes. He never went to class, so he was there to bug me on all my time off. He played Counter-Strike (which I’m sure all you guys know what it is. Counter-Strike is a terrorist/counter terrorist video game). He played it all through the night with the sound up. You would think me dorm room was a war zone. I tried to take him out with me, or eat lunch with him at the cafeteria, but I just couldn’t take it. I learned a lot from Kraut and will never forget him. My most memorable moment is when I turned the volume all the way up on my PC and blasted the Salute Your Shorts theme song right in his ear while he was sleeping. I captured it all on video. He flicked me off and went to bed. I haven’t seen Kraut since I moved out of the dorm.

Some Pros and Cons of living in the dorms (once again, I am talking about the old fashioned dorms, not the apartment style ones).

Pro – Right on campus. You can wake up 5 minutes before class and walk there in your boxer shorts.
Pro – Right on campus. Food is close by (especially if you are on a meal plan).
Pro – Social life. You meet a lot of new people living in the dorms. Some become friends for life. Dorms often have mini-parties and social events where everyone hangs out.
Pro – It’s new. College is about experiencing new things. Dorm life is one of them.
Pro – It’s cheap. Not nearly as expensive as renting an apartment.
Pro – It’s very easy to find pick up games for sports.
Pro – There is an Ethernet computer network. High speed internet access and everyone is connected. Awesome for playing video games. (When I was a freshman things like Napster were brand new. People were downloading music left and right on the high speed network and sharing music like you’ve never seen. And as far as we knew, it was all legal).

Con – No privacy. People will just randomly walk in your room. Keep it locked.
Con – Old and dirty dorms are no fun. I got sick once a month living in there. I still have breathing problems.
Con – Dorms are very small. You won’t be able to fit everything you have in your closet.
Con – Having annoying roommates that you can do nothing about.
Con - Internet firewalls. Some dorms are real strict now about what you can and can not do on the school’s internet. Sorry guys, no downloading music here.
Con – Cooking food can be quite a problem. You have no fridge or oven in your room.
Con – Bugs and rats. Depending on how old your dorm is (mine was built in the 40s I think) you might find rodents running around. We had a rat problem one week. I saw one run right across the floor in my room and then he disappeared into the wall.

Well that is all I have for today. Come back tomorrow (or Monday) for Part II of College Roommates. If you have any questions, email me at collegesos@yahoo.com

http://collegesos.com/

I am a recent graduate of the University of Florida. I am currently employed full-time but I have a strong desire for helping incoming and current college students. It is my goal to give every student a better college experience.