It’s back to school time, and it’s time to bring your dorm into the digital age. Whether it’s a new coffee maker or a new alarm clock, there are several new electronic devices that will make your life easier and your roommate jealous.

Here’s a list of this school year’s hottest gadgets:

Clocky Alarm Clock ($39): No longer will you be able to blame your tardiness on your alarm clock. Clocky has wheels attached to the sides and rolls away out of your reach to keep you from hitting the snooze button excessively.

Pivot Power ($25): This bendy power strip lets you shape it to fit any space. You can twist it, curl it or stretch it. Do whatever you need to do to make all those power cords more organized and less noticeable. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more complicated, yet important college majors that students can pursue is architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and erecting buildings and other physical structures. There are a lot of skills involved in becoming an architect and it’s the type of profession that’s good for those that enjoy drawing and numbers, as well as working hands on with a team on a public project. Without architects, some of the world’s most beautiful buildings wouldn’t be possible, and there is a sense of pride in seeing something you have designed and built yourself, for others to use and enjoy.

If you are interested in perusing a degree in architecture, you’ll want to go to a school well-known for its architecture program. Not only will you get an amazing education, but the school you attend can open a lot of doors when it’s time to get a job. Read the rest of this entry »

As students across the country prepare to embark on their fall semester of college, many students are experiencing a range of emotions: fear, excitement, nervousness, confusion, overwhelmed, etc. A lot of students might find that while they have waited their whole high school careers for these next couple of months, there is the chance that they may actually hate college.

So, what do you do if you get to college and absolutely cannot stand it? Well, here are your options.

• Reflect. Ask yourself if you’re just having a rough couple of weeks or difficulty adjusting. Most students take 5-7 months to really get their bearings at a university and you may just need to stick it out and try a little harder.

• Join a club, sports team or go Greek. An organization can introduce you to a lot of potential new friends and fill your social calendar to distract you from any feelings of homesickness or loneliness. And while Greek recruitment can be difficult in and of itself, I promise it’s worth it in the end!

• Consider transferring to another school. Maybe it’s not the entire college experience you hate, it might just be your living situation, your campus or your professors. Half way through your second semester, if you are still unhappy, consider researching online about transferring to another school that will accept your credits so you don’t have to start all over. Read the rest of this entry »

The field of psychology is one that will forever be needed, and thus, there will always be jobs available. Psychology is the scientific study of human mental functions and behaviors. From therapists to counselors, a psychology degree can get you involved in the field of helping people by helping them to understand themselves.

Those that want to go into this field can choose to earn a psychology undergraduate degree or choose to continue their education all the way up to the doctoral level. The higher your education in this field, the more responsibility you’ll have with your employment. Those with a psychology bachelor’s degree can find careers in case management, as a career counselor, rehabilitation specialist or psychiatric technician. However, psychology is usually one of those fields where most students choose to get an undergraduate degree as a stepping stone to higher level degrees. Read the rest of this entry »

We insure our cars, our houses, and sometimes even our pets. So, why not insure tuition? For a few hundred dollars, parents can purchase insurance for their child’s tuition in the event they drop of out college for medical reasons. With parents gawking at the semester’s $25,000 tuition bill, it’s no wonder some are considering tuition insurance. It has other parents, however, wondering if those extra hundred dollars are worth it, considering that bank-breaking tuition money they are already struggling to come up with.

The largest tuition insurance provider, A.W.G. Dewar, a unit of OneBeacon Insurance Group Ltd., said that insuring a child’s education is a solid investment. Providing plans for more than 1,000 of the U.S.’s priciest, private schools and elite colleges, Dewar often sends out insurance brochures to families when it comes time for parents to pay for tuition. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have any experience at all with Nelnet, you may be one of the many people who have tried to contact their customer service. Since Nelnet is a financial planning site that offers information about educational funding, there is always the possibility of questions. The web site is free to access, and gives you a direct link to services like financial planning and loan applications.

Sometimes one of the most frustrating things to deal with when trying to work with financial sites like Nelnet is making phone calls. That frustration can be compounded through things like being put on hold, not being able to understand the representative you’re talking to, dealing with an automated system or not being able to reach an actual human being. Many companies are leaning towards more automated recordings for customer service, but that doesn’t always meet the customer’s needs. Nelnet has received numerous complaints from people trying to call in and talk to an actual person.

If you follow these steps you should be able to talk to someone. The process is lengthy, but should help you reach an actual person sooner that you would otherwise. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know that you need to sleep and sleep well in order for clear cognition. And with the summer blockbuster movie, “Inception,” the power of our dreams as a learning and teaching tool is becoming an increasingly popular concept.

Dreams have long been heralded into the secret windows of our psyches and future. Everyone from ancient sages to modern philosophers have recognized the mysterious ability for dreams to provide answers to problems, foretell events and bring clarity to a perplexing situation.

When it comes to learning, students have longed for a way to sleep and learn. In fact, sleep learning is a student’s dream, (with the pun intended).

So exactly what is sleep learning? Read the rest of this entry »

The art of communicating isn’t often one that you would think someone would specialize in for a career. However, communication has become quite a popular college major. Communicating is a process where information is enclosed in a package and then given by a sender to a receiver via some medium. Pretty broad, huh?

A bachelor’s degree in communication can result in several different types of jobs because of its flexible nature. As a degree, communication combines convincing arguments with the appropriate channels to deliver your message most effectively. Some of the great careers that can be had by those with a communications degree include public relations specialist, corporate communications, publicist, communications director, among many others. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are going to be attending college in the state of Texas this school year, you need a meningitis shot before you can move into your on-campus apartment or dorm room.

There is a new state law in Texas that all entering freshmen have to have this shot prior to moving into their dorm rooms. Unfortunately, despite the many efforts of colleges in Texas to get this information to their incoming students, several of them still have not gotten their shots, and are unable to move to campus until they have provided the documentation showing they have received it. Aside from getting the shot, there is also a 10 day incubation period that all students must go through, which means that even if you get the shot four days before you’re supposed to move in, you still will not be allowed into the dorms until day 10.

Schools have made every attempt to stay on top of reminding students about getting their shot. They have enclosed reminders in acceptance letters, made mention of the law during orientation, sent out emails and letters and even made phone calls to students’ homes. Some of the major schools affected by this new law include University of North Texas, Texas A&M University, Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Austin. Unfortunately, students have still been falling short on getting their shots. North Texas has the highest number of students without shots at eight percent. Read the rest of this entry »

There is a little secret about getting in shape: despite the multi-billion dollar diet industry, staying fit and healthy doesn’t cost that much money, nor does it require a lot of space.

If there is one thing students have experience in, it is lack of space and money, so if you’re looking to get into shape in school or reduce stress, look no further than the four walls of your dorm room and the 5,000-year old Indian tradition of yoga.

What you’ll need:

• Yoga mat
• Yoga DVD
• Laptop or television with a DVD player
• Peace and quiet is preferred, but probably not realistic Read the rest of this entry »