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 »

I have always thought of the iPhone as being cooler, more advanced, and just a better phone than the brick my mom carries around and calls a cell phone. However, I did not have any idea that the iPhone was actually sexier…or at least its users are.

A new study by OkCupid revealed that iPhone users have more sexual partners than other smart phone users. Blackberry and Andriod users came in second and third, respectfully, in the study.

Okay, so how exactly did they determine these findings?

“We crossed all kinds of user behaviors with the camera models and found we had data on the number of sexual partners for 9,785 people with smart phones,” according to the OkCupid blog. “We dropped what we found into Excel, and voila.” Read the rest of this entry »

Books, beer and sex. Those are three near givens on any college campus. But what most college students don’t realize is that when it comes to beer and sex, there is a lot more at risk than just a hangover and a broken heart. College students are one of the most at-risk groups for sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs).

But before panic sets in, here is what you need to know about protecting yourself, increasing your sex-ed knowledge, and lowering your risk for becoming just another statistic.

Risk Factors

There are two primary risk factors for STDs among students:

First, college students enjoy a remarkably easy access to alcohol, which significantly impairs judgment and in many cases, leads to sex.

Second, the lack of  practicing risk-reduction behaviors like safe-sex or getting tested regularly also amps up risk. This second risk factor can be intimately related to alcohol as the effects of booze contributes to whether or not someone is coherent enough to put on a condom or inquire about their partner’s sexual health. Read the rest of this entry »

Maybe you keep your dorm room cleaner than your room at home. Or maybe not. But chances are that your dorm room and the entire dormitory that you reside in are cesspools for infections and germs.

In order to stay healthy in college this year, follow these five key hygiene practices:

1) Kitchen Appliances: It is very convenient to have a microwave and mini fridge in your dorm. But these appliances are also vulnerable to bacteria growth which can send you or your roomie to the student medical center. Once a week, clean your microwave, mini fridge and/or hot-pot with kitchen soap and warm water. Also, get in the habit of tossing out leftovers within 24 hours and definitely do not leave opened containers around the dorm room or else you run the risk of opening up your living quarters to pests like rodents, cockroaches and other fun creatures. Read the rest of this entry »

For a college freshman, the myths that surround their new lifestyles seem to abound. You really do have to go to class, you don’t get to drink beer all day, and your parents will still know what’s going on.

One thing that is most definitely not a myth and will catch up with you faster than shower fungus is the Freshman 15, or the Freshmen 15. It’s very real, very unhealthy, and totally avoidable.

What is it? It’s this 15 or so pounds that college freshmen pack on. Their lifestyles completely change from their home environments. Their sleep habits are off, they’re probably not taking a gym class, and their diet consists of soda, pizza and whatever they can grab with their meal points while cruising through the student union. Read the rest of this entry »

“I’m bored” should never be a phrase uttered by a college student, especially one living on campus. Between classes and studying, dorm activities, intramural sports, Greek activities and the endless of other social and academic events taking place, every student can and will find a place to keep them occupied.

Here are some sure-fire places to find fellow coeds killing time and not being bored.

• Start in the dorm. Whether with your roommate or the girls across the hall, watch a movie, go shopping or just grab a snack and chat.
• Go clubbin’. And we don’t mean at the bar. Most larger colleges and universities have hundreds of clubs and organizations that suit nearly every possible interest and college major. Join one, or two. Read the rest of this entry »

This guest post comes from John Spiropoulos, B.A., a 3 time Emmy award winning TV news reporter whose website — www.collegefreshmansurvival.com — is devoted to the success of college freshmen.

Right now parents and students are focused on what to take to college. Now is also the time to think about what you want to keep in college, because without taking proper precautions, your valuables may be stolen. Here’s what to do:

Lock Your Room Doors in the Residence Hall

Break-ins are rare. Usually, items are stolen because doors are left open or unlocked. Unless your roommate is in the room, ALWAYS lock the door when you leave, even if it’s just going down the hall to the bathroom. Read the rest of this entry »

As you start packing, shopping and preparing to move to the dorms in the next few weeks, remember the size of your room.

The average dorm room is about 12′ x 9′ for a total of 108 square feet. This is shared with a roommate, desks, beds, and likely a counter top or chest of drawers. Split in half, you can call 54 square feet of that space your very own home sweet home. For reference, the average jail cell is about 96 square feet.

Living in the dorms, in what feels like cramped space, for 75 percent of a year can give you a chance to stretch your creative decorating and organizational muscles. And regardless of how much space you do or don’t have, it’s an experience worth having. Read the rest of this entry »

Graduation is over, you’re reaffirming to your parents everyday that you’re an adult now, and all you want to do is move in to the dorm. The summer prior to your freshman year of college can seem terribly long, as you’re wrought with anticipation of this new life outside of high school, curfews and younger siblings. The freedom can seem intoxicating, but it will be short-lived if you don’t prepare now.

Use these coming weeks to really prepare yourself for the college experience, especially if you’re planning to move away from home.

1. Drive the Distance. If you’re within driving distance, make at least one practice drive to campus from home, and vice versa. New territory can be hard for anyone to navigate, and if you’re not used to highway or interstate driving, it’s worth taking your college ride for a spin to familiarize yourself with the route.

2. Check-out Campus. While you’re there, familiarize yourself with campus. You likely took a guided campus tour, but this time you should do it on your own. Find your dorm, the cafeteria, the shopping district or mall and decent restaurants. Read the rest of this entry »

I read a recent article on Chattahbox.com that discussed how MTV plans on launching 25 new websites for 25 schools across the nation, MTVU, to serve as a College Campus guide for schools such as University of Texas at Austin, University of Central Florida, Ohio State University, Arizona State University, and University of Maryland College Park. Students from each of the schools will submit information on a daily basis that will keep their website viewers up to date with happenings such as parties, concerts, and much more; and that the idea behind these websites is for students to know what is going on at campus so they don’t miss a thing.

My main concern though is MTV may have the few students who post things on the website and be allowed to see into their lives, but what about other students who aren’t aware the things they attend are being posted online for anyone to see. I’m sure MTV will censor some things, but things that do not get censored can ultimately lead to bad consequences. It seems MTV may be encroaching on other peoples’ privacy while they keep others updated on campus happenings. It seems that MTV, before going any further, should at least alert students as to what will be happening with these websites before beginning them. Although if MTV has already done this, then my hat is off to them.

Of course on the flip side, these websites may prove beneficial to prospective students. Students who can’t pay the campus a visit before considering these schools may be able to get a feel of what campus life is like and whether or not its somewhere they feel they would belong. Allowing for students to see the campus life, and also their parents, could help students make final decisions on what colleges to attend, especially if they are torn between two colleges and do not want a ‘party’ college.

So as long as MTV properly warns students at each of the schools that their personal lives may potentially be placed online for all to see, I think what MTV may be a good thing for students to be able to view. Especially potential students that are unsure as to which college they want to attend.