Category Archives: College Life
3 Ideas on how to spend winter break
With final exams coming up in the next few weeks, you’ve been furiously studying to ensure that you make the most of the crucial marks that remain up for grabs in all of your courses. Somewhere in all that studying and exam writing, you need to pick up a few gifts for Christmas as well.
With all that going on, you only now realized that you also have a week or two before you get back to class as well! What will you do with all this free time? Below, we have a few suggestions that instruct you on how to spend winter break in style…!
1) Party like a rock star on a tropical beach
That’s right – do the spring break thing a full three months early. While you might not have the crowds and the hedonistic atmosphere that goes along with that time of year, it’s still warm and sunny, and when you’re in a place where the palm trees sway, any night could be occasion for a blowout party.
Cancun is a place where one can rock out with abandon with Senor Frog at any point during your winter break, while the once-monthly Full Moon Party in Koh Phangan, Thailand will give you the excuse you’ve been looking for to finally check out the Far East before winter semester begins!
2) Tear up the slopes at a mountain resort near you
Instead of running away from the snow and cold, you may wish to embrace it. If this sounds like you, then there is no better way to do this than to set your course for the nearest mountain range with plans of ripping the slopes there a new one.
Whether you choose run the glades of the Northeast at a resort like Sunday River, or challenge gnarly alpine terrain in Rocky Mountain ski areas such as Jackson Hole, you’ll get the adrenaline rush of a lifetime, along with all the apres ski nightlife you can handle in these popular snow resort towns.
3) Be a tourist in your own hometown – staycation!
Of course, you could just go home and spend your winter break with friends and family – that’s totally cool. However, if you find things becoming a little stale towards the end, don’t despair … just treat your hometown like a tourist destination and watch new possibilities open up.
Being away from the place of your upbringing at college allows you to see it as a place to be visited, rather than as your home. So check out the museums you’ve always ignored, eat at the joints you passed up because you had your favorites, and drink the bars you’ve never seen before (because you know, you weren’t legal back in high school … duh!)
By the time the day rolls around to go back to your new home at college for your second term of the year, you’ll see your former one in an entirely different light.
What Your Dream Student Party Needs
University is about finding out what sort of person you are, learning more about the subject that is your passion, and making plans for how you want to live the rest of your life. Of course, it’s also about having lots and lots of parties. The trouble is that the parties you have at university often end up being pale shadows of the parties in your imagination. You may plan the sort of neighborhood destroying catastroparties you saw in campus comedies growing up, but all too often you end up in a small house just off campus drinking cheap lager out of a bath full of ice cubes.
But what if money was no object? What if the only limit to how awesome your party could be was your imagination? What then?
Throwing a television into a pool
I’ll be honest with you. There will come a time in your life when throwing a television into a swimming pool seems stupid. One day you will see it as a terrible waste that ruins a perfectly good TV and a perfectly good swimming pool, aside from the (enormous) health and safety issues it brings up. But that day is not today. Today is the day that you know that ruining a perfectly good TV and swimming pool aren’t unfortunate byproducts, but the entire point of throwing a TV into a swimming pool. Future you may not understand, but they don’t have to.
Singing waiters
There are many ways in which real life does not live up to the world of movies, and student parties are just one of them. In reality, violence is horrifying and scary rather than ultra cool. In reality if two people of opposite sexes meet and immediately don’t get on, the odds are they will learn to sincerely hate each other rather than falling hopelessly in love. But worst of all, nobody ever spontaneously bursts into a fully choreographed song and dance number, even during times of high emotion or great parties.
Fortunately, science has now found an answer to this final tragedy with the help of singing waiters. You can hire Singing Waiters and have them simply walk around your party, serving drinks like regular waiters, and then on cue, WHAM! There’ll be jazz hands everywhere.
Mud Wrestling
As with throwing a TV into a swimming pool, mud wrestling is an activity that may not make sense at a distance. Okay, so it’s supposed to be sexy, you get that, but nobody actually looks any good covered in mud, so what’s the point? The point is that you’re really over thinking it. Just print invitations that say “This party includes mud wrestling” and let destiny do the rest.
Have any other crazy ideas for a student party? share them below!
Awesome Costume Ideas for Halloween This Year!
By: Niki Olsen
It’s that time of year again! Halloween is coming up and you’re probably struggling with deciding whether your costume should be funny, witty, sexy, half-assed, homemade, or from the consignment shop in town. Thankfully you stumbled across this post, because we will guide you through your dilemma. This Halloween we will take care of you!
Here are three potential costume ideas for you to showcase on your campus!
Option #1: TV show cast
This idea is basically two options in one (you’re welcome.) Take this option and run wild with your childhood memories! Can you think of that old show that makes everyone chuckle when you mention it? Grab your friends and recreate the cast of Hey Arnold or Scooby-Doo.
Want more relevant? How about Walter White and the gang? Either choice you make, if you choose a memorable show, people will be asking to take photos with you all night…
Option #2: Someone big in pop culture
Think about a character or person that everyone will recognize. Something easy and quick but add to the costume something that will distinguish who you are. The mayhem guy from Allstate will get a laugh out of everybody! Throw on a pink headband, a couple fake cuts and bruises, a black tie and you’re set.
Option #3: A play on words costume
Why not attempt at being funny? A play on words costume would be the perfect way to be witty and creative with not having to try super hard. You can easily Google play on words and go from there. Cereal killer or chick magnet are some of our favorites! Humor is much appreciated!
If you’ve got any other great costume ideas please share them below!
3 of the best cities in Spain to study abroad
Unbeknownst to most people, Salamanca is one of the best cities in Spain to study abroad!
While taking on student loans may make you hesitant to take to the road on an epic trip with all the bills that you owe to your creditors, it doesn’t mean you don’t have to sacrifice seeing the world until you are 55.
An interesting way to get over this beguiling hurdle is to apply to study in your discipline overseas. Most universities and colleges offer arrangements like this, or you can go to the trouble of arranging it yourself.
One nation that is an excellent place to spend a year or a semester overseas is Spain. Being home to amazing culture and history, mouthwatering tapas, and a language that is one of the most popular mother tongues in the world, this nation is an excellent choice to spend a period of time separate from the life you’ve always known back in America.
The only question that remains is: what city should choose to study in? This guide will you choose the best cities in Spain to study abroad so you can get the best possible experience during your brief period in this amazing country…
1) Barcelona
If being near a fabulous beach, amidst unique architecture, and within a community that speaks a regional language in addition to Spanish appeals to you, then Barcelona will prove to be a good choice. La Sagrada Familia will inspire you with its soaring spires, the strong regional identity of the Catalans will undoubtedly pique your interest in geopolitics, and when the time comes to relax on weekends with your new found friends, the beach will provide a chill spot to relax.
2) Salamanca
The mixed use of Catalan and Spanish will make it hard to focus on the latter if you are you are determined to learn it; if you are in this camp, Salamanca is a much better choice. A lack of English speakers makes it easy to immerse yourself in the local language, and when you are at ease in the community with your improving Spanish proficiency, you will be able to experience local cultural aspects like the generous lunches that are indulged in by the local population, experience the fervor that they employ to cheer on the local football team, and run errands like picking up mobile wif-fi from All Day Internet Spain with ease.
3) Madrid
If Spain’s complex art history has you interested in this storied nation, the best place to experience it is in the capital, Madrid. The Museum Triangle downtown contains some of the finest art museums in the world, and once you’re done getting your culture fix, some of Europe’s most lively nightlife awaits you in this cities’ entertainment district.
The Best Time Of Your Life: Top 10 Colleges With the Happiest Students
Of all the colleges with the happiest students in America, Clemson ranks in our top 10…!
While the point of college to learn about a selected field in deep detail and graduate with a degree that stands as your proof of competency in it, if you spend your whole time there bored out of your gourd, what’s the point?
Happiness needs to be factored into the equation as well, and to aid you in factoring that aspect into your decision-making equation, we have put together a list of ten colleges that stands heads and shoulders above the rest in this important category. Let’s review each of them, starting with…
1) Texas A & M University
If college athletics is important to you and you are looking for a university in the Lone Star State, you’re in luck, as Texas A&M is a big sports school, with its students whipped into a mad football frenzy every home game weekend. Those looking for a plethora of living options will be pleased that there are many apartment choices near the university, and those looking to celebrate Spring Break in style won’t have to budge an inch, as South Padre Island is practically in A&M’s backyard!
2) Vanderbilt University
Want your degree to actually mean something? Vanderbilt has some of the highest quality professors around, meaning that you’ll actually have the knowledge to back up the letters by your name after college. On the social side of things, there are tons of restaurants to choose from, which is quite fortunate, because you’ll be frequenting them after the countless parties you’ll be attending, as the party scene here is outrageously huge.
3) Virginia Tech
Despite the horrible tragedy several years back, Virginia Tech is a safe place that boasts one of the most down to earth student bodies in the nation. Those that are looking to ride a team all the way through to college bowl season will be in luck here, as football is a way of life for many students, faculty and alumni at VT.
4) Claremont McKenna College
Taking in the stunningly beautiful campus at Claremount McKenna College will be the first of many positive experiences you’ll have at this school, as the well-entrenched party culture will be the scene of made friendships forged over beers and shared interests. Those who claim Judaism as their religion will love the fact that there is a strong Jewish presence on campus, and those that live, eat and breathe academics will love the fact that their professors clearly know the subjects that they specialize in.
5) Stanford University
Despite being a school of Ivy League caliber, Stanford continually surprises newcomers with the friendliness of its faculty and student body. An open environment ensures that people of all creeds, races, orientations, etc are made to feel welcome and accepted, and the campuses’ Californian location grants it photogenic looks that will the background of every experience you have over the next four years.
6) Clemson University
Well known for its great social scene and incredibly friendly people, socially extroverted types will thrive at Clemson. Those that consider themselves outdoors will love the fact that the natural splendor of South Carolina will be at their finger tips, as the Appalachian Mountains are 45 minutes away, and the sandy beaches of the Atlantic are a mere 4-5 hours from campus.
7) University of Wisconsin
Those that yearn to get involved on campus will find plenty of opportunities to get involved socially at the University of Wisconsin, and for those that would rather paint their face and cheer on their school’s team until they lose their voice, being involved in D1 athletics creates a lot of spirit on campus. What if you’re introverted though? A variety of dorms enables people of all types to find a living arrangement that suits them best, eliminating friction being portions of the population that are less compatible with each other.
8) Florida State University
In the relative warmth of the Northern Florida autumn, football season is a blast from start to finish, as enthusiastic students crowd the stands to cheer on the Seminoles to victory. A vibrant Greek life only serves to fuel that fervor on game days, as well as the party scene on weekends. Those that were hoping to actually get some learning done in all this aren’t left out in the cold though, as the professors here are reported as being very competent and knowledgeable in their area of expertise.
9) Tulane University
First point in Tulane’s favor: it’s in freakin’ New Orleans, so when the books shut on Friday afternoon, the nightlife that ensues will make you the envy of your old high school friends. Those looking to meet people different from themselves will love the fact that Tulane attracts a diverse student body from across the country and around the world, all seeking the Nawlins lifestyle.
10) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jocks and partiers rejoice: the parties and social events that revolve around sports never seem to stop here, so enjoy the four years you spend here if you go, as they will invariably be the best ones of your life. Despite its location in the midst of the Deep South, UNC at Chapel Hill is actually one of the most open-minded and accepting places in the country, standing in stark contrast to the uber conservative countryside that lies outside this bubble of liberalism.
