College 101: The Diary of a College Student

College 101: Out of Town Students living with a roommate

2007-11-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

Here is an article about making the transition of living at home, to college. Most of us never had a roommate before and it can be difficult to get used to, especially if home is not 20 minutes away. For more articles like this visit http://education-portal.com/article_directory/Articles_about_College_Life.html

Tips for Living With a College Roommate
Aug 15, 2007

Living with one or more students can be both exciting and infuriating. This article advises students on how to resolve and prevent conflicts, making living with a roommate easier.

Whether you're living in a dorm room, an on-campus apartment, or an off-campus house, you will probably have to deal with one or more roommates. Sharing a place may seem like a good idea because you'll be around other people and save some money on housing (if you're living off campus). On the other hand, having roommates can be frustrating at times. Cleaning schedules, noise levels, moodiness, and bills can quickly transform a friendly relationship into a stressful one.

The College Board says, 'You'll find that sharing space builds character.' It will probably make you more patient at the very least. Here are some tips for dealing with your roommate:

Establish Rules

Talk about one another's preferences immediately. Are you an earlier riser? Does he or she like to listen to music really loud? Do either of you need complete silence when working on assignments? Discussing these preferences can help you establish certain rules. Make sure that the rules are clear. If they are, then both of you may be able to avoid minor disputes and make living together smoother.

Compromise

Compromising is important whenever people are living together. Living together involves blending two lives and lifestyles. You may be very similar or very different. Both of you may feel different about certain things. For instance, your roommate may not start working on homework until 10 o'clock at night and like to have all the lights on while you prefer having your homework done before 10 o'clock so you can get plenty of sleep. In this case, you will need to find a compromise. A compromise doesn't mean one person is surrendering to another person., but rather that two people are working together towards a solution they can live with.

Communicate

If you're frustrated about something, tell your roommate. Your roommate can't read your mind or vice versa. You will need to communicate in order to have a good relationship and to be able to live together. It's understandable that you may annoy each other, but you may want to try hard not to annoy each other as much as possible. Communicating doesn't mean being critical or nitpicking, it means being honest with someone. Choose your battles carefully. Complaining about everything may cause problems. As often as you critique your roommate, you should try to praise him or her as well.

A Final Thought

Hopefully, these tips can help make living with your roommate tolerable, if not pleasant. Staying open-minded and being respectful may also make life easier for you both. For more tips on handling roommates, try the College Board website (it has more information than just SAT dates) at http://www.collegeboard.com/

Coping with Homesickness

2007-11-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

College is a life-changing experience that can be a difficult transition for many young adults. Not only is there an educational transition, but an emotional one too. Leaving home, sometimes for the first time, can be a struggle for students and parents.

Going off to college was the first time I was away from my home for more than one week. Even though I was only 40 minutes away, I still struggled emotionally. I missed my friends, family, and my old high school days. The first few weeks of my freshmen year were very hard, but I learned to cope with my emotions and adjust to my new lifestyle. Communication is key to adjusting and overcoming homesickness. I always talked to my friends through AIM, we called each other all the time, and they came to visit. I also communicated with my parents on a regular basis. Allowing my parents to help me transition was very important. It is important to not completely shut your family out.

If you are struggling with homesickness there are a few things to do. You can let your parents visit, chat through AIM/email, allow your parents to encourage and comfort you through the difficult transition, talk about what is bothering you, and ask questions!

You may want to take advantage of your freedom, but it is important to contact your parents because they are struggling just as well. My parents helped me cope with my struggles and as time went on I became better friends with the people in my classes and dorm, and I didn't need to rely so much on my high school friends. I became well adjusted to my surroundings and it was for the better. If you are homesick, don't go home every weekend and ignore the situation! Talk to an RA, a counselor, or your parents because you can get through it!

Surviving College Life - http://www.survivingcollegelife.com

How would you deal with homesickness?

Survey for Incoming College Freshmen:

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Welcome to the Dorm Life

2007-11-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

So you finally decided on your college. Good For you. Now you have to think about where you are going to live. The dorms is a different experience than living with your parents. You have a lot to think about before you move in.
Unless you have had to share a room with a brother or sister this is going to be the first time living with someone else. This could be a hard adjustment at first, but talk with your roommate and set up a system for living together with some rules if they are needed.
The only thing that the school is going to give you is a bed, desk, and closet. Other than that you have to bring the rest. You can bring as much or as little as you want. This is going to be your "home" most of the year so you are going to want to make it as nice and comfortable as possible for yourself. Some things that i would suggest to make sure not to forget would be:

Alarm clock
Bed linens/towels
Carpet
Chair/bean bag
Clothes drying rack
Clothing/outdoor gear
Compact refrigerator
Computer
Cup/mug/glass/plate/bowl/silverware
Dish soap
Fan
Hangers
Iron
Laundry bag
Laundry detergent
Medicine
Microwave
Radio/stereo
Rolls of quarters for laundry
School supplies
Shower caddy
Telephone
Toiletry items/soap dish
TV/VCR/DVD

Once you move into the dorms life is going to be really different than living at home. You can do whatever you want to whenever you want to. There is no one there to tell you what to do. There are RA's there but for the most part they don't really care what you do. Have fun but remember to do your work first. There are always people around and stuff to do but if you don't do your work you won't be in college very long to have fun.

Keep an open mind when you meet the people that live in your dorms. I thought that many of the people that lived with me were crazy at first and didn't like them. The more i got to know them, I become friends with them and still am friends with a lot of them to this day. Most of all GO CRAZY. You only have four years to have no worries and party and have fun. I used to do a lot of stupid stuff in the dorms and it was some of the best times I had in college. I'm not saying not to do your work, get it done and then have fun.

Facebook College Applications

2007-11-12T13:18:00.000-08:00

After reading a post on internationalcounselor.org, Facebook has introduced an application from Embark that allows you to apply to schools directly from the site. Since most of you students out there are already members of Facebook, I suggest adding this application. I added it today and it is a great search tool to narrow down your schools.

You can apply to up to 1000 schools. You have to add the application and then you can search for schools by your planned major or by the area you want to go to school. You can invite you r friends and see where they are applying as well. Over 5000 schools have profiles and you can view suggestions by your friends. I searched for John Carroll and a It is a great interactive tool, check it out.

If Money Could Grow on Trees: Money Management for Incoming Freshmen

2007-11-12T09:45:00.000-08:00

One of the most stressful issues for many college students is having a sufficient amount of money to provide for a unique lifestyle of late nights and living on their own. It is very challenging for a high school senior to transition from high school to college, but it is even more demanding to begin paying for items that you did not have to pay for when you lived at home. The majority of teenagers live at home with free food, clothes, and shelter paid for by their parents. This is a nice luxury until it is time to go off to college and this is where the worrying may begin. From my own personal experience, I never had to pay for anything, but when I came to college I had to start paying for the luxury items that I wanted. I guess this is part of the whole growing up experience! Here are some tips to saving money whether you will have to pay for everything yourself or your parents will still provide you with funds.

Expenses that contribute to the college experience:
- Tuition -Meal Plan
-Computer -Books
-Bedding -Student Activity Fees
-Checking Account -Phone Cards/Cell Phone Plan
-Additional Spending Money

The first step should be to write down all the possible expenses and create a budget.

Books can be very expensive and it seems the bookstores take advantage of the students by raising the prices to an extreme level. I saved a lot of money by buying my books on the internet through http://www.textbooks.com/ and http://www.amazon.com/ Also, when I finished a semester and I didn’t need my books anymore, I sold the books back to http://bookbyte.com/ and this was nice to have a little extra spending money.

I received aid for my tuition by applying for several scholarships and filling out the FAFSA form Even if you think you are not eligible to receive aid, you should still fill out the form because everyone is eligible! I received a scholarship of work study( http://www.jcu.edu/admission/faqaid.htm) by working about ten hours a week for the school. There are several programs which students can work including academic departments, sports information, library, etc. I work in the Sociology department for ten hours a week and I usually get most of my homework done during this time while getting paid. It is a great experience and all incoming students should look into working on campus.

I also saved money by looking for special sales and deals on computers (http://www.dell.com/) and bedding ( http://www.target.com/) throughout my senior year of high school. There are always sales throughout the year and it would be a good time to purchase things on sale rather than right before leaving for school when the prices might be higher than usual. I also put money into my checking account every payday and this created a lot of spending money for my freshmen year.

The most important thing is to start planning your senior year of high school, if not before, and do not wait until two weeks before you leave for college!

http://money.families.com/blog/tips-on-saving-and-raising-money-for-college

Textbooks 101

2007-11-07T13:18:00.000-08:00

We are nearing the end of the semester. When I first started college, at the end of the semester i would gather all my books up and drag them to the bookstore to sell them back. I loved getting $50 back for the $400 that i spend on the books in the first place. As i got older i realized that you didn't have to buy your books in the book store. In some cases i didn't even have to buy some books for some of my classes. So i was pretty much just wasting my money.

My advice is to wait for a week or two before you decide to buy books for your classes. Go to the class a few times and see if you really are going to use the books. Check out the internet to see what places sell the books you need and the prices. I use half.com to buy my books and i save alot of money each semester. (http://www.half.com/) You can also try amazon they have deals sometimes. (http://www.amazon.com/) Lastly see if you have any classes with a friend and split the cost of the book with them. You should check out your schools bookstore as well because sometimes they do have the cheapest price. Check out John Carroll's bookstore (http://www.bkstr.com/Home/10001-10071-1?demoKey=d)

Once the semester is over don't think that you can't get any money back becasue you didn't buy your books in the bookstore. You can sell them online at Amazon and Half.com. You can get good money my doing this. I bought a book once one time on Half.com for $40 and then ended up selling it for $60, so i actually made a profit on the book.

Out of Town Students- Learn to make the transition

2007-11-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, everyone is rushing to finish their work and staying up to study for exams and in the back of your mind you can't help but think about the semester's end. As a senior, I have made the transition from home to living on my own, but for many freshamn, they xan not wait to get home for the holiday break. When reading through JCU's Freshman Blog, the author expressed how she misses her family. She says that she started babysitting, which seems to fulfill her need to be around family and also help her get her mind off missing home. It is a good idea for freshman to get involved in activities. You can learn about all activites offered through your Student Union, or through the Career Center if you are looking for a job.

When I was a Freshman I started out my John Carroll education as a varsity athlete which occupied me even though I was not 5 minutes away from home. I did not visit my school on an official tour, and I wish I did, students who learn more about the university they want to attend will know exactly what they are getting into for the next 4-5 years. Get involved!!

MOving in to JCU- FIrst Expereince

2007-10-29T12:59:00.001-07:00