More Helpful Sites!!!

Ok, so I found a couple of sites recently that are really useful for college students, or people getting ready to enter college. Hope it helps.

ShareNotes.com: So the title pretty much says it all, but just in case your slow I'll explain. This site is designed to allow students to share their lecture notes with other students online. Though the site has a pretty comprehensive list of colleges and universities participating, I just want to make it clear that it is students who are uploading these notes, not teachers or university faculty members. Membership is free, however, they do charge you to view the notes, its about $3.00 each. If you decide to upload your own notes, you will recieve a commission each time someone else downloads them. You also receive reward points for performing various tasks on the site which can be redeamed for stuff like ipods, cameras, and gift certificates.

CampusCompare.com: Ok, so this title is pretty self-explanatory as well. The site is pretty much a comprehensive comparison of colleges and universities throughout the country. Its purpose is to help you pick the right school for you through five different choices: state, major, career, ivy league, and sports. The site can even calculate what your chances are of getting in with your SAT scores, as well as how much financial aid you would need for each school. I wish I knew about this site before I applied for college.

Freebie for Followers

Ok, so I've got some good news for you guys. A couple of months ago I did a post where I mentioned the website, SwapSimple.com. Its basically a website where you can swap your stuff with other people, instead of buying it new. Well as a freebie to you guys, the people at SwapSimple have offered you Ten Free Credits!!

Here's how it works as the people from SwapSimple told me:

"Please feel free to tell your readers that if they sign up, list 10 items, and then email us and mention your blog, we will transfer 10 FREE credits to their account!!"

So there you go, enjoy, and start swapping.

More Discounts for College Students

Yeah, so the economy sucks and we can all use as many discounts as we can get, especially college students who've got loads of student loans looming over their heads. So here you go, your prayers are answered, you can thank me later :)

American Airlines: Whether you want to go away for summer break or you have to book your flight back to your school on the other side of the continent, it always helps to get a little break. With a valid student ID, you can save up to 10% on airfare and 5% of vacation packages. Ok, so that might not be much, but hey, every little bit counts. NOTE: This discount only applies to certain universities and colleges, which is kind of sucky, but maybe they'll add more later.

United Airlines United College Plus Program: So basically this is a frequent flyer program for undergraduate and graduate students, so if your the type of person that likes to go away for winter and spring break, or if you just go to school far away from your home, this is probably a good program for you. It works like any other frequent flyer program except you also get miles for graduation from college (as a full time student). Also, you can redeem your miles for hotels and car rentals and other such things.

YouRenew.com: Ok, so this isn't really a discount specifically for college students, in fact, this isn't really a discount at all, rather just a really useful website. Basically how it works is you take your old electronics, cell phones, dvds, cds, etc., and, based on their condition, get paid to send them in to the site to be recycled. I mean lets face it, we all have something old around that we could get rid of, you know that old cell phone of yours that you never threw out after you got your new blackberry, or that old ipod shuffle sitting in your room that you forgot about after you got the Ipod touch. I mean, I guess you could try selling it on ebay, but I'm pretty sure this is easier and youd probably get a better deal. And hey, your recycling, you know, save the earth and all that.

University Gear Spotlight : Rutgers University

Ok, so its been a while since I've done a post, sorry about that, I've been busy and all with finishing my first year of college, thank god that's over. So I figured to get back in the game I do a light, maybe even stupid post, since after all my finals I don't feel like thinking hard anymore until mid July.

So today's post will be a spotlight on the best university garb from schools around the country, and of course I'll be starting with Rutgers since I know where to find the clothes ;)

Feel free to nominate your school for the next spotlight!

Marc Ecko Limited Edition Rutgers University line.

Okay, so you may or may not know that Marc Ecko, creator of the Ecko Unltd. line, attended Rutgers University for his undergrad (in pharmacy, which didn't complete). So, to pay homage to his alma mater, he designed a line dedicated to Rutgers.
Now I know I might be a little biased since I go to Rutgers, but I have to say that this line is pretty much the nicest I've ever seen as far as University gear goes. Though I do have to say that I am a little offended that the clothes kind of represent the stereotype of someone from jersey (see pic below), but the line is still hot nonetheless.
The only thing I dont like about this line is that I don't get a discount, not even if I buy it at the campus store :(

To see the full line of Marc Ecko Limited Edition Rutgers University line click here.

All images used in this post belong to 2009 Marc Ecko Enterprises.

Most Controversial Universities

College is supposed to be a place of self-discovery and a dialogue of different ideas and views. Sometimes those views can get pretty controversial, and the school can get some negative publicity. Well this post is going to do just that, further embarrass all those stoopid schools who got themselves into a whole lot of controversial trouble.

• Columbia University: About a year ago, you probably all remember, Columbia came under a lot of fire when it allowed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad. What makes this so controversial? Well, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad is just the President of a country which uses nuclear weapons to promote terrorism, discounts the existence of the Holocaust, and claims that there are absolutely no homosexuals in Iran. That's normal, right? Yeah ok, anyway, did I also mention that he accuses the U.S of funding terrorism. So you can see why people were pissed at Columbia.
  
• University of Michigan: In 2007, the University of Michigan got itself into a whole lot of controversy when it distributed an anti-Israel and anti-Zionism book entitled Overcoming Zionism. Michigan's choice to be the distributor of this book brought down a whole lot of hate from pro-Israel organizations, regents and pro-Palestinian organizations which opposed the idea of creating a unified state of Israelis and Palestinians, which is the ultimate goal of the book. I think its safe to say that the school didn't even read the book, since evaluating the current situation in the middle east could have given them a heads-up that this book wouldn't go over that well. Just a suggestion.
• University of Illinois: Think back to 2006 when Europe exploded with controversy after a slew of Islam-bashing cartoons were published in Danish and several other newspapers. Now it has always been said that the U.S is much more conservative than Europe, so you can only imagine what would happen when a college senior, and a former U.S army veteran, published those same cartoons in his college paper. He gets fired as editor of the paper. I guess a small price to pay for fifteen minutes of fame.
• University of Delaware: So this is the weirdest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. In early 2007, the University created a new "training program" for all incoming students who were dorming. The program was called "all whites are racist" (seriously, that was the name they chose) and required all student to pass a program training them in how to be not racist?!?! And if you fail, you get "treatment", what ever that is. The program was cancelled, however the school has three times tried to bring it back. All I can say is, WTF?!?!
• Brandies University: Ok, so its things like this that make me feel that deans and heads of universities get paid entirely too much for what they do. In early 2008, Brandies University put one faculty member on a sort of faculty "probation" after he told his Latin American Politics class that Mexican Americans are discriminated against in America. Basically a student complained, the dean of the school threatened termination, and then for the continuation of the class the teacher was stuck with a sit in monitor. I'm sorry but that's just stoopid, and I thought people go to college to get smarter.

Ok, so if college is supposed to make you smarter, and the faculty and administration spend practically their whole lives in college, shouldn't something at least rub off on them. I mean, common sense at least, some of these cases were really stoopid.

Popular Celebrity Universities

So I finally decided to get up off my lazy but and write another post. However, I am still too lazy to write a post that requires more than 20 minutes worth of research, so this is what you get. Its not so much as informative as it is just interesting. Here are some of the more popular universities that celebrities have chosen to attend. Enjoy.

• New York University: Shocker!! NYU made the list, didn't see that one coming. See to me, NYU is kinda like a university-whore, trying to get as much attention and money as possible, which is probably why they'll accept any celebrity that even mentions their name (see Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen). But anyway, I shouldn't be so mean since my brother went there, so here's the list: Alec Baldwin, Kristen Bell, Selma Blair, Alexis Bledel, Billy Crystal, John Cusack, Whoopi Goldberg, Spike Lee, Adam Sandler, Russel Simmons and several other b-list celebrities I was too lazy to name.
• University of Texas: So this school has probably the second largest amount of celebrity alumni, the only difference from NYU is that all the people that attended this school became celebrities after they graduated. Wes Anderson, Farrah Fawcett, Marcia Gay Harden, Matthew McConaughey, Owen Wilson, Renee Zellweger...
• UCLA: Being in the hub of Hollywood and movie stars, you got to expect that UCLA has had a lot of celebrity alumni, and here's the list: Elizabeth Berkley, Jack Black, Carol Burnett, James Dean, Heather Locklear, Marilyn Monroe, and Ben Stiller.
• Columbia: So since this school is like a thousand years old, you have to expect a lot of famous alumni, most of them are senators and government people and presidents, like Barack Obama, but the school also has its fair share of celebrities, that is if you don't consider politicians celebrities. Julia Stiles, Jake Gyllenhaul, Amanda Peet, and Amelia Earhart.
• Harvard: How can you make any University list without Harvard, this is probably the most famous school in the world, so of course its going to attract a lot of people that want to be famous. The list includes: Barack Obama, Natalie Portman, Matt Damon, and Bill Gates.
• Rutgers: You know me, whether my school deserves to be on the list or not I'm gonna stick it in there. But in this case, there are actually a few celebrities who graduated from this school. Check it out: Kristin Davis, Calista Flockhart, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ecko.

So there's my list, its not really a top list or anything, since I'm sure that there are lots of other schools that have celebrity alumni that I dont know about, but then again, most celebrities don't go to school. So you see, you can still be stoopid and rich!

Ways to Save on Tuition

I have to say, I got pretty lucky when it comes to paying for college. I got a school scholarship which covered 60% of my tuition, and financial aid from the state pretty much paid the other 40%, but even with that, I still find myself paying for whole lot of crap that seems to be related to school, and I know that there are millions of kids out there who have to pay ten times more. So I decided to come up with a few ways to help everyone out.

• Community College: So I know what your thinking, "Why should I go to community college when I worked so hard to get into the expensive, snooty, and endlessly difficult ivy league school which I currently attend?" Well I'm not telling you to switch schools or anything, I'm just suggesting taking summer and winter classes. Why? Because, the earlier you graduate the less you pay, duh!! A lot of people don't realize that by taking two classes each summer and winter break you can cut a year off of your college career, assuming that the courses are at least 3 credits each. Don't feel like getting out of bed over the break, most community colleges offer online courses as well. And don't forget, taking a class at community college is significantly cheaper than taking one at a regular school. Just something for you to think about.

• Get a Job: Ok, so I know what your thinking for this one too, "Yea, no kidding! Getting a job could help pay for school". But its not so much about just getting a job, its about getting the right job. A lot of places, like banks and national retailers, will pay for your classes at school. Now they wont pay for all your classes, but they will for ones which will benefit you at your job. For instance, banks will usually cover the costs of any math courses you take at school. This wont cover a lot, but hey I don't know one college student who wouldn't appreciate another $400 in their pocket.

• Get another job: Now, if the last option isn't right for you, there is still a way to get a job to pay for you to go to school. Look for businesses which have Unions. Why do I say this, well most businesses will offer a scholarship(s) to one or many lucky employees, and as far as I know almost every union will offer a scholarship as well. For instance, when I used to have a job, I am currently unemployed and taking offers by the way, I worked at my local supermarket. We had a union which offered up to $5,000 scholarship, which I was too lazy to apply for, a little advice, don't be lazy. My employer also offered a scholarship, actually they offered one specifically for employees who were attending my school. I was too lazy to apply for that one too. But don't follow my example.

• Have someone else pay for you: Believe it or not, there are some corporations which want to pay for you to go to school. Yes, its true. At collegedegreefund.com, you can post some information about yourself, and allow big corporations to read your profile. If they like you, one click and free money. Its probably a long shot, and god knows no one has sponsored me yet, but you never. By the way, if you would like to sponsor me, click here for my page, just putting it out there.
  

• Get good grades: So yea, I know that no matter what, everyone wants to get good grades in school, but there may be some ulterior reasons why you should. Many schools have honors colleges or honors programs, and with the acceptance into either program usually comes free money, as in scholarships!!! I got one, and believe me I'm not that smart and my grades really weren't that good, most likely it was a spelling error on their list. But hey, you never know.

So that's it, I know some of you might think that some of the ideas are obvious, so sucks for you, but for everyone else I hope this helps.