How to handle end of semester final exam stress
November 28, 2006
Stress-Free Success: Finals worth half a class grade. Thesis papers. How to do you make it through the end of the semester sanely when so much is on the line?
When it comes time to study for final exams and to finish writing term papers, there is one thing that separates the frazzled students bouncing around the library from the relaxed students who seem to take all the stress in stride: the happy students just don’t care — too much.
Go ahead and ask one of those calm, cool and collected students why they aren’t stressed over finals and they’ll probably tell you that they have bigger things on their minds.
Some successful students say a degree of nonchalance is actually the key to finishing the semester on a high note and being able to head home for the holidays with fond feelings for their “other” homes.
But don’t get too excited — nonchalance doesn’t mean non-studying.
Carefree students clearly care enough about school that they are able to get to finals period, but they’ve gotten a grip on the end-of-the-semester stress syndrome by knowing how to put the daunting tasks that lie ahead in the next few weeks into perspective.
“In 100 years, who’s gonna care?” wondered Spelman College senior Ria Burlew.
Burlew takes a pragmatic approach to studying: “If I don’t know it by now, I’m not going to learn it in the time I have left,” she said.
The key to effective studying in a short amount of time is prioritizing.
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Nine ways to stretch that term paper you should have written weeks ago
November 28, 2006
Even when you can’t make it stronger, you can still make it longer. Nine ways to stretch that term paper you should have written weeks ago.
Eleventh-hour paper-writing can be a cruel ordeal, especially when it’s 4 a.m. and the five-page brain fart you coughed up just won’t do. But don’t despair! Your late-night labors may have come up short, but these crafty tips will prove that in a pinch, size doesn’t matter — it all depends on what you do with it.
1. Inching In The Margins
Everyone’s tried it, but don’t scoff: With some finesse, you can make this cliched con work. The key is subtlety. Try knocking in the left and right margins a quarter-inch or so-it’s virtually unnoticeable, and if you’re starting with a half-decent number of pages already, the accumulated buildup can puff your length by a whole page.
2. Bumping Up Font Size
Another delicate maneuver that, if played too strong, could blow your cover. Regulation size is 11 or 12, but see where a 13 will get you. Some word processors even let you input decimal font sizes, giving you free reign over everything between 12.01 and 13.99. That may seem like splitting hairs, but over four or five pages those hairs add up. And unless your prof reads assignments with an electron microscope, odds are he or she won’t even notice the difference.
3. Changing the Font
Obviously, an essay typed in Olde English script isn’t going to be much of a bluff, but a secret weapon does exist: Courier, a font which mimics the style of traditional manual typewriters. Those old-school clunkers allot an equal amount of page space to every letter of the alphabet, meaning that thin i’s take up as much horizontal room as fat Q’s. Just one click on this heaven-sent typeface can turn you into a desktop David Copperfield, allowing you to magically materialize multiple pages out of thin air.
Space Management: Turning form into content
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!Meet me in Coober Pedy, Australia, a tourist’s guide
November 28, 2006
Down Underground: Coober Pedy residents take the moniker “Down Under” literally.
BY COURTNY SANDRA
ASKSTUDENT.COM guest author
After hours of restless sleeping on a Greyhound bus that provided no leg room and miles of empty desert scenery, I arrived at 5:00 AM in Coober Pedy. It was cold, dark and crowded as the weary travelers piled their huge backpacks on the floor of Radeka’s Downunder motel and made their way to the check-in counter. Even in the dark there was a sense that Coober Pedy, an opal mining town in South Australia, held a rugged element of danger and mystery.
Like half the homes in Coober Pedy, my hostel was built underground. For around $15 a night you can sleep in one of the four bunk beds lodged in a dugout cave with no doors and dim lighting. I enjoyed my bed despite the rock walls and constant chatter of foreign languages I could not decipher.
Living underground became popular when returning World War I soldiers came to Coober Pedy in search of opals. Used to living in trenches in France, the soldiers quickly discovered they could avoid hot desert days and cold nights by remaining underground where the temperature stays a constant 23 degrees Celsius.
For travelers who chose to stay underground at Radeka’s, a daily Desert Breakaway Tour can be added on to your bill for an additional $15. The tour group is small, about ten people, and my bus driver recommended it as one of the better tours offered. Taking any tour is well worth the money as Coober Pedy is too spread out to walk and see all the sights.
Windy City: Eats and Sleeps
Things to do:
Meet me in St.Louis, a tourist’s guide
November 28, 2006
Smaller than a big city, bigger than a small city, this “gateway to the west” is a cultural mecca in Missouri.
BY LISA BARTON
ASKSTUDENT.COM guest writer
Most people know St. Louis as the “Gateway to the West.” I know it as home.
The population of St. Louis is somewhere around 3-4 million. It takes a lot of industry and a lot of culture to support a town this big in Missouri. Washington University is here, as is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery (I-55 and Arsenal St.), the world’s largest collection of mosaic art (the Cathedral of St. Louis, 4431 Lindell Blvd.), Ulysses S. Grant’s restored farm (10501 Gravois) and a world-class zoo. And of course there’s the Gateway Arch, which, at 630 feet, is the nation’s tallest monument.
Along the Mississippi River bank is the South Grand area, home to a series of terrific ethnic (especially Thai) restaurants. North of Grand is the city’s small theatre district. The Fabulous Fox Theatre, a restored old-fashioned movie house, is often a stop for Broadway shows on tour. Powell Symphony Hall” is home to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The Sheldon Concert Hall (3648 Washington Ave.), the Grand Square Theatre (performance space for the St. Louis Black Repertory Company) and good weekend jazz can be found down on Grand.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!How to turn cafeteria food into the perfect Dinner Hall Gourmet
November 28, 2006
It’s a college past-time to whine and bitch about dining hall food, but with a little imagination, dorm food doesn’t have to turn your stomach.
Some people hate the idea of eating in a cafeteria. They envision women in hair nets doling out globs of institutional mystery meat, of entree options that involve limited innovation and few fresh ingredients, and of weekly cycles that bring the same tired dishes back to the steam table again and again.
I like to think of cafeterias as creative playgrounds, a well-stocked kitchen where I don’t have to rinse my own lettuce or scrub pots and pans.
It takes a little training and an open mind to escape the tyranny of the cafeteria menu, but it’s well worth it. You may have to eat off a tray, but there comes a point when every employee at the local Domino’s recognizes your voice, when your sodium level soars at the thought of any more Ramen noodles. So let your dining hall table be your kitchen counter and let your mind be your cookbook.
If you liked this article, click here to buy me a beer!First date duds and mistakes. Wardrobe ideas for men and women
November 28, 2006
While it’s not true that the clothes make the first date, a bad ensemble sure can kill the chances for a second.
What to wear, what to wear? Flowers are blooming, birds are singing. Is it spring? Well yes, but it could be snowing and you’d still see butterflies and sunshine; you’ve finally got a date with the person you’ve had your eye on for the entire semester. You’re even catching yourself spontaneously breaking into renditions of Frank Sinatra tunes.
You’ve probably pictured the whole date in your mind, right? You know exactly what you’ll do, what you’ll say and what you’ll — oops … what will you wear? The clothing is critical; it can make you look attractive but not too sexy, smart but not stuffy, interested but not desperate, trendy but not immature. But how to strike this delicate balance of ultimate desirability? If you’re suddenly panicked, do not fear. The following will provide you with inexpensive wardrobe ideas that will help you make a great impression.
Women
In search of a solution to the college student wardrobe problem (too many pairs of jeans and hiking boots, not enough cash for anything else), you’ve probably thumbed through the fashion magazines to find a solution to the wardrobe problem. There, you’ve seen a bunch of women with two-hundred dollar feathered boas and spiked heels. They’re no help. What you need is something practical that fits your budget. Here are some ideas that you can choose from, depending on where he’s taking you.
How to break into the entry level job market? Become the Specialist
November 28, 2006
The entry level job market is fiercely competitive, unless you’re a specialist.
The Chosen One Getting a job is much like competing for market share. Auto-makers, for example, strive to control a larger share of their market just like job-seekers contend with hundreds of other candidates for a single position.
Where you encounter the fiercest amount of competition is where there exists the least amount of “dissimilarities,” or distinguishing factors. Ford and Chrysler, for instance, compete in the booming economy-car market yet their cars are very similar. Thus, they must turn to heavy marketing and promotion to distinguish themselves.
This scenario closely resembles the search for your first job out of college. Competition is brutal at this level. Why? “Because everyone looks the same on paper,” says Ben Biba, Resource Manager at the telecommunications company Bellcore. “You’ve all received the appropriate degree and, for the most part, none of you have experience.”
Since you can’t buy advertising like Ford and Chrysler (well, you could, but how would you choose a billboard to display your resume?), you have to find some way to separate yourself from the competition. And that is by becoming a specialist.
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