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How to stay healthy during college
If you are choosing your meals like this gal, then you know a few things about how to stay healthy during college!
Despite the fact that you are as young as you’ll ever be, your body isn’t invincible. Put it under enough stress and fail to take the proper precautions and beer bellies will sag, fatigue will drain your energy stores, and diseases/illnesses will compromise your health. College can (and should) be a fun time in your life, but don’t neglect the foundation that supports everything that sits upon it.
There are several areas to which you should pay special attention to when looking into how to stay healthy during college; ensure that the following five areas are taken care of, and your life in college will be every bit as vibrant as it should be.
1) Maintain a balanced diet
This point is repeated so often that many glaze over when they hear it. But would it be mentioned so often if it wasn’t a fundamental cornerstone of your overall health? In college, cafeterias serve up many fried foods on their buffet lines, allowing students to go back for as many helpings as they desire.
Limit the amount of fried, carb heavy food you eat, instead opting for meals composed of whole foods (weighted towards greens/lean protein) as much as possible. Don’t go back for seconds, and when you’re back at the dorm, limit ordering out for pizza to your cheat day (once per week), and avoid snacking outside of meals the rest of the time.
2) Get plenty of sleep
In college, quality sleep can be at a premium, but that doesn’t diminish its importance, as it is this rest time that allows your body to properly heal from the physical and mental stresses that it endures during the day. Try to seek out accomodation where getting undisturbed sleep can be had more often than not. If it is a night where extraneous noise is unavoidable, wear earplugs and an eyemask to ease you into your slumber.
Avoid using alcohol to induce sleep, as it messes up your sleep patterns to the point where you often wake up feeling just as tired as you were when you fell asleep. Another trick to get the rest you need is to wash your face before retiring, as a going over with face moisturizer may make you feel more at ease physically, thus easing your transition to dreamland.
3) Drink moderate amounts of alcohol
Remember back in #1 where we contraindicated consumption of simple carbs? Well, beer and many forms of alcohol are basically bottled bread, making them the fastest pathway to the dreaded Freshman 15 weight gain. This doesn’t mean you have to abstain from booze while your friends live it up, but it does mean you have to be conscious of the effects of what you’re consuming. As a consequence, limit your consumption to once per week, and don’t drink to get blackout drunk (just a few will do). Nights out are more fun when you remember them, anyway!
4) Engage in physical activity on a regular basis
While following a protein-dense diet will help keep the weight off, it won’t build a strong body capable of getting through the stressors of daily life in college with ease. In order to get a bod that will back you up no matter what any given day will throw at you, you’ll need to engage in regular physical activity.
Simple ways to do this include walking, hitting the gym, and registering for intramural sports. Not only will this reinforce your health, you’ll improve your looks and make new friends in the process … winning!
5) Practice safe sex … every time
Don’t delude yourself that you can ride raw “just this one time” and you’ll be fine. It’s during unprotected encounters like this where debilitating diseases such as syphilis, gonorrhea and even HIV can be passed between partners. Always wrap it up when you get lucky, and if you forgot to bring one like an idiot, then no intercourse for you … period.
How to score scholarships
While applying for scholarship programs may not yield a windfall this big for you, yours odds of getting it are exactly zero if you don’t!
It has been said by many observers that a college degree is the new high school diploma these days. The price of admission to even decent jobs is often a piece of paper of varying specialties, be it from the arts, science or business, or another field of study. The problem with this is that while secondary school is free, having been paid for through our taxes through the years, colleges and universities shift the funding burden to the student.
While this expense had been easily payable through hard work and diligent saving on the part of former generations, the exponential rise in the cost of school has made it virtually impossible to get through these years debt-free even with a paying side gig. However, there is one avenue of funding still remaining that allows bright and deserving students the opportunity to get through college without stunting their post-school life underneath mountains of loan payments.
This method is none other than the scholarship, which allows applicants the chance to receive money in part or in full for the course of time that they spend in the school and program of their choice. So, how will you get your grubby little mitts on some of this life-changing money? The steps outlined below will help get you over your attitude of inadequacy and on with the task of applying for scholarship programs that will liberate you from financial worry.
1) Start by searching locally
Don’t look on wistfully at the high profile scholarship that require high grades to even qualify for applying – right now, in your community, there are businesses, service organizations, trusts, and religious institutions looking to give a motivated, hungry individual like yourself some badly needed cash to get you through school with greater ease.
If you can write an essay showing your passion for a subject, your community involvement, and your ideas for a better future (among other topics), there is an excellent chance that you’ll be able to score some cash at home before moving on to the heavier hitters.
2) Take your cash quest to the internet
The internet has changed the game in countless quarters of life – and the process of applying for scholarships are no different. Databases like Scholarship.com has organized countless post-secondary funding programs under one digital roof, allowing you to line them up and apply to these sources of money en masse. Using lessons learned from successful applications locally, use your best practices and track your results as you go, making changes where necessary.
3) Don’t give up
If your initial efforts are met with deafening silence, don’t get down on yourself. Try niching down and applying to smaller, lesser known scholarships, where you stand a better chance of being noticed by evaluators. Consider experimenting with specific aspects of your application, from citing specific activities over others, to writing essays on a completely different subject. Track the results of each approach, and go with the better performer.
How to get into law school
Choosing a path of study these days in something of a harrowing prospect, as many industries have started down a path of relentless outsourcing and automation, causing the loss of jobs in many of these fields. It’s hard to justify laying out serious cash to commit to a specific degree, when it is possible that there might not be many open positions waiting for you after the completion of your studies.
The question, and rightfully so, has become this: which areas offer the best prospect of stable employment, both in terms of job security and open positions at any given time?
These days, employment for solicitor jobs has been one of the fields that has remained steady as other industries has declined. The world will always need dedicated and caring individuals to protect people from travesties of justice, so if adding value to society while enjoying a handsome salary are both things that are important to you, then a career in law is something that you should seriously consider.
In order to stand in the courtroom and represent your clients with the passion you imagine during your vivid daydreams, you’ll need to get into a decent law school first. The process behind how to get into law school is a bit more involved than what it takes to merely get into university, so pay close attention to the following steps, and before long, you’ll be learning from some of the brightest legal minds in the world on your way to becoming a superstar solicitor.
1) Pick a field of study that emphasizes reading and the development of critical thinking skills
Don’t let those knocking Bachelor of Arts degrees dissuade you from studying it, as many of the programs essential to success in law hail from this end of the academic spectrum. Think about what kind of law you wish to practice, and allow this to influence your choice of major. Those looking to become a public defender might want to major in sociology, while those thinking about corporate law may want to major in economics or business.
All students angling to get into law school should at least take a few courses in philosophy and journalism, as these subject areas will school you in the art of critical thinking and asking pointed questions, both of which are essential to being an excellent solicitor.
2) Register with the LSAC, prepare for and take the LSAT
The LSAC is the organization that administers the LSAT examination, which is a test that you must take before applying to any law school. Once you have created an account with them, you will receive reminders about LSAT examination times and places, and you will have access to LSAT prep materials that are recommended for those taking the test.
3) Search for a law school that meets your needs
So you aced your LSAT… congratulations! Now for the final step, which is a crucial one. Law school is not cheap by any means, and barring winning the birth lottery by having the backing of wealthy parents, or snagging a full ride scholarship, you’ll likely be taking out a hefty loan that will take many years to pay back.
Be sure the school you choose offers the variant of law you wish to practice, at a price that is reasonable for the education that you will be receiving. While some areas of the law will offered by most schools, some of them will be renowned in the country or the world for certain sub-disciplines.
Get exemplary reference letters from mentors and professors that will bolster your case, and apply as early as January to give yourself the best possible chance of acceptance. The latter will allow you to apply to multiple schools with ease without rushing, giving your application the polished look that will give you the edge over your equally motivated competition.
How to write your resume
Want to get an interview with an employer like this dude? By learning how to write your resume effectively, you’ll get to this step quicker!
Your senior year is just over the horizon, and you’re scared witless. For three or four years, you have gone to class and learned everything there is to know about your chosen field, socialized with your fellow peers via clubs, fraternities/sororities, and volunteer organizations, and through it all, you’ve had a blast.
However, this chapter in your life story is drawing to a close, and the start of your working life is within sight. While you have the youthful drive to take on the problems that employers need solved, you have to first introduce yourself in a formal and professional manner. Of all the tools used to accomplish this, the resume has held fast through the decades as one of the most important of these. Companies use it to assess not only your raw skills, but your organizational abilities, attention to detail, as well as many other cues that reveal to them the type of candidate that you are.
Want to learn how to not only ensure that you are shooting yourself in the foot by committing an innocent mistake, or forgetting to include essential information? This article will cover how to write your resume, plus a few extras that will help you establish an edge in the 21st century world in which we live.
List your accomplishments
The central role of a resume to communicate everything you have to offer a potential employer, so include information on anything worthwhile that you have accomplished in the past few years. This obviously includes work, academic degrees and internship experience, but also include volunteer work (displays additional skills + your concern for society at large) and clubs (shows that you socialize, making it more likely that you play well with others).
Target the content of your resume towards a specific job or job type
Not everything that you have done in your past will relate well to certain positions. For example, your involvement in your universities’ video gaming club may not matter to a recruiter for a standard office job, but it becomes a big plus if you are pursuing a job as a programmer in the gaming industry.
Proofread your completed resume militantly
Once you have finished your resume check through multiple times and make sure that there are no misspelled words, misplaced words (many errant keystrokes when typing will result in a properly spelled word that is another word altogether from what you originally intended), or other tragedies of grammar. We don’t mean to intimidate you, but resumes with these miscues often get deleted on sight, as it is perceived as a lack of attention to detail on your part.
Leave a link to an online supplement to your resume
While the tips above have been repeated ad infinitum through the ages, change is ripping through the world of employment like a blustery gale. To avoid being sunk by this maelstrom of change, adjust your sails by enlisting the services of online accompaniment to resumes like about.me or LinkedIn.
The former provides you an online slate to express yourself in a way that paper resumes do not allow, while the latter provides social proof to your claims of experience from your colleagues, professors and peers.
Create a portfolio
If you are in a field that is is dominated by media or the visual arts, cobbling together a portfolio to go with your resume will put you heads and shoulder above those that are aimlessly carpet bombing resumes everywhere.
By detailing your best and most representative work, be it in the form of a web page showing off your creations, a Vimeo submission that demonstrates your cinematography skills in action, or a Flickr account that bears witness to your unmatched eye for photography, selling yourself to a prospective business becomes infinitely easier.
Experiment with alternate formats/strategies
In today’s increasingly congested job market, doing the same old thing as everyone else is a sure way to avoid getting noticed. Exciting and eye-popping templates abound throughout the internet, giving your submission to a business a look that will grant you a closer examination than other candidates. You could also write a proposal letter to an employer, explaining exactly how you would solve a problem in their field, or if you are so bold, you could cold call an important person in a position of influence and persuade them how you would add value to their organization from day 1.
This might be scarier than hitting send on a hundred resume e-mails and waiting for the phone to ring, but you’ll likely find yourself prospering in an entry-level position while your friends pile on more debt by going to graduate school because they couldn’t find a job after getting their undergrad degree.
3 Awesome Places for Spring Break!
While college is a fun place to be most of the time, the pressures of school can mount quite heavily at times. After all, you’re shelling out tonnes of money (often, it’s money you don’t even have) in order to gain a highly valuable piece of paper that will heavily influence the degree of prosperity that you may enjoy later in life. To add insult to injury, much of America in the second semester is often plagued by miserable weather, with snow, ice, and icy winds that just cut right through you.
Don’t you wish you were lying on a toasty beach instead this past winter, where shady palms, cold beers/fruity drinks, and the warmth of an ever-present blanket of tropical heat could have helped to take the pain of your nightmare experience with the polar vortex and midterm exams?
Don’t make the same mistake next year.
It’s July, and while all your fellow students are busy with their summer jobs, partying it up, or just chillaxing in general, now is the time to strike to get in while prices for next Spring Break are relatively low. While you will definitely benefit from getting in while demand for these vacations are still low, there is one question left to be resolved by you: where will you and your buddies be based for your week of fun and debauchery?
If that point has you stuck, let us help you out of your rut by suggesting three awesome places for Spring Break that you will never forget … ever!
1) Miami, Florida
If you started your search by checking out Miami flights for spring break, you’ve definitely picked a destination that will prove to be an unforgettable getaway for your and your mates. The South Beach area boasts one of the liveliest urban beaches in the country, with long stretches of perfect white sand, and endless masses of beautiful people out soaking up the rays.
Once the sun goes down, the nightlife a few blocks back from the beach pulses with activity, but be prepared to bring your wallet, as many places charge cover that costs at least $20, with many of their drinks costing just as much. Still, it will prove to be a classy night out, unlike the dive-bar atmosphere that you’re used to back in your college’s home town.
2) South Padre Island, Texas
If you’re seeking a more down-to-earth, drink until everything goes fuzzy type of experience, then chances are South Padre Island will be more in line with your expectations. The focus here is more on having a blowout good time then who has the fanciest watch. People usually check into a hotel, party until the sun comes up, passing out until they come to, head out to the beach to tan, play in the waves, and then proceed to do it all over again until it’s time to go home.
3) Cancun, Mexico
Sometimes, it takes leaving the country in order to elevate your Spring Break experience to the next level. Moving the venue for your mid-semester blow out to Cancun, Mexico achieves this beautifully, as you will be surrounded by sand so white it will blind you if you forget your shades back at the hotel room, local food that will blow Taco Bell out of the water, and the resident Mexican people gregariousness and love of life will enhance your time here, forever setting the bar for good times to a ridiculously high level!
Know of any other fun places for Spring Break? Share them below in the comments!
