Relationships in College

Some students don't intend or coming to college and meeting their best friend, because they may already have one back home. However, not knowingly their roommate could become their next best friend. The same goes for relationships. Many believe romances formed on college campuses can be difficult to flourish. Some of the best relationships are made in college, whether it's a friendship or a romance.

Roommates often become the best of friends. Students may have best friends at home, but living with someone creates opportunity to build strong friendships. By living together roommates, get to know each other in ways that their closes friends and families don't. They know each other beyond social settings. They get to know each other's personality in a residential setting, which most regular friends won't get the opportunity of.

As far as relationships in college, it can be a very difficult and tricky thing to deal with. Most might say that college is the worst time to try and build a relationship or to even start one. Some come to college hoping to find their future husband/wife, and others come to college just to mingle and to have sexual relations with the opposite sex. This is where things get difficult because most females on college campuses are looking for something steady, while guys are just looking to fraternize and have fun. Neither parties are in the wrong here but when you try to bring these two together it gets difficult. Therefore, when dating, couples need to be clear with one another about their intentions and the expectations they have. That way there will be no more confusion.

Students should keep in mind that college is the time to have fun, and explore all alternatives in mind. If couples feel like they can withstand the negative influences colleges have on relationships, then by all means go for it. Don't be intimidated by these influences. As long as their communication, trust, and hope, everything should be fine.

Students shouldn't disregard the people they meet while away at school, because college is one of the important fields of networking. Its an opportunity for students to build the most important connections in their life.

Finals

The fall semester is coming to a close, and finals are rapidly approaching. Finals are basically examinations to test students and measure how well they have absorbed the knowledge they have learned throughout the semester. Finals can be the most stressful time for a student. It can determine whether a student: fails/pass the course, has to retake the course, what a student's GPA will look like, and maybe even if they will remain in school. Finals can be hard for many students. However, if students prepare themselves adequately they it can be much easier to withstand. Its all about time management and prioritizing.

Although many students dread studying, it is the only to pass examinations. However, studying doesn't have to be dreadful. Group studying is a great way to take the stress out of studying. A great suggestion for group studying is also to incorporate refreshments into the study session. This type of studying also give students this opportunity to share notes and information with one another.

Students should try to be more creative when it comes to studying. Create study notes with color pens/markers. This will help keep the student's attention. Students can even make up games, puzzles or mock quizzes to assist them with studying. This make studying a little more fun, and not so much like labor.

Most students become easily distracted while studying. This is a result of studying in areas with distraction such as their bedrooms, any room with televisions or computer, or an area that is noisy with many people. Students should really take advantage of their college campus library for studying. It is possible that certain college campus libraries will stay open later to better accommodate students. Students should study wherever they feel most comfortable studying.

When preparing for finals, students should study for all subjects by priority. This means that students should start studying for courses that they have the most difficulty with first, and then work towards the easier courses. Students should also take the time out to visit all of their professors to check their status in the course, and to make sure they are up to date with all assignments.

Lastly, students should remember to get an adequate amount of sleep. Cramming isn't recommended by no standards, especially not during late hours. Students should also monitor their diet, keeping it healthy and balanced. Refrain from any parties, or social events until after finals.

FRATernizing

To be or not to be apart of a fraternity/sorority is a question that almost every college student asks themselves.

Fraternities/Sororities are basically social organizations that college students with the same interests join for the purpose of forming a brotherhood/sisterhood. Most fraternities and sororities are Greek letter organizations. This means that the names of the fraternity/sorority usually consist of two or three Greek letters. For an example, the first ever Greek fraternity was Phi Betta Kappa, which is now an honor society for students who prevail in academic excellence.

Fraternities/Sororities can be beneficial during your college career, and after. These organizations are a great way for students to meet other college students. As a matter fact, fraternities/sororities are often seen as great networking systems. It can be very for beneficial for those looking to get ahead in their career. Some may look at fraternities/sororities as nothing but a group of students who only party, but what these people fail to realize is that most organizations offer a great deal of community service, in fact it's a requirement.

The decision to join or not can be difficult. There are many things to consider when entering a fraternity/sorority. Students should definitely do their research about the organization of their interest. To find out more about a fraternity/sorority, students can go to the specific website of the organization they are interested in, or look out for interest meetings on campus.

Students and Financing

Finances can be hard to manage for college students. Most students begin to accumulate debt while away at school. They don’t have their parents to look over their shoulders and guide them. Some students may come from homes where their parents may not be financially educated, or have accumulated their own mass of debt. This results into students practicing terrible budgeting habits.

Students also become easily fascinated with “fast cash”, or credit cards, without becoming fully aware of all the terms and obligations they succumb to when they sign up for these credit cards. They don’t realize that if they don’t manage the charges they make, one swipe at Aeropostale can land them into financial debt, or even worst, bad credit for a long period of time.

Many students don’t budget their money wisely. They may feel that the idea of budgeting is stupid because they only have but so much money. What they fail to realize is that budgeting, if done wisely, can turn a small lump sum into a large lump sum. It can also make it easier on the student, by allowing them to know what the spending boundaries are. If more students were aware of what their spending boundaries are, they would be able to save more money and stay out of debt.

Below are some money tips for college students from www.getrichslowly.org :

Track your spending. Use a notebook, or use Quicken if you have it. Good records will prevent you from getting overdrawn at the bank or charging more than your credit limit. This habit also allows you to detect spending patterns.

Make a budget. It doesn’t have to be fancy. At the start of the month, estimate how much money you’ll receive and decide where needs to go. Remember: you don’t need to spend it all.
Save your receipts. Put them in a shoebox under your bed if you must, but hold onto them. You’ll need to be able to compare them with statements at the end of the month. And some you’ll need to keep for several years.

Guard your vital stats. Don’t give out your social security number or your credit card info except to known and trusted sources.

Live without a car. Cars are expensive: gas, maintenance, insurance, registration, parking. Stick close to campus. Learn to use mass transit. Find a friend who has a car.
Don’t hang out with big spenders. Some kids have parents with deep pockets. Other kids are well down the road to financial trouble. Hanging out with them can lead you to spend more than you can afford.

Take advantage of campus activities. There’s always something to do. Attend free movie festivals. Pay a few bucks to see the local symphony every month. Support the sports teams. Attend lecture series. Get the most from your student ID!

Spend less than you earn. Don’t earn much? Then don’t spend much. If your spending and income are roughly even, you have two choices: earn more or spend less. When I was in college, I worked as many as four jobs at once. This gave me a lot of spending cash. (Unfortunately, I didn’t do a good job with the spend less part of the equation.)

Be an outstanding employee. Good work habits can pay enormous dividends, leading to recommendations and contacts that you can use after you’re out of school. Several of my classmates turned work-study jobs into launching pads for future careers.

Start your own business. Can you install a hard drive? Can you strip a computer of spyware? Can you perform minor car repairs? Do you have a pickup truck you could use to haul furniture? Are you a passable guitar player? Charge cheap rates and exceed expectations. Word will spread. When you’ve built up a customer base, you can raise your rates a little. This is an awesome way to make money.

Learn to invest. Find a discount broker and begin making regular investments. Sharebuilder is a great choice for college students. It costs only $4 to make a scheduled stock purchase, and you can invest any amount of money, even $20. Don’t obsess over the details yet. You can worry about high returns and low fees later. Right now the most important thing is to develop the investment habit. (Ad: Buy Stocks for $4 at ShareBuilder. ) Ten years from now, you'll thank yourself. If you can find a way to invest $1000 a year for the next ten years, you can set yourself up for life. No joke.

Students and SEX

College is like a breeding ground for students, especially freshmen. Freshmen girls are preyed upon by the upperclassmen. Freshmen boys become so eager and excited by all the mature college women they are surrounded by, that they don’t stop to meet one they want to meet all of them. Hormones are raging on college campuses. However, hormones can cloud rational thinking.

When students are getting hot and heavy, some don’t stop to think about their partner(s) sexual history or health. This is how sexually transmitted infections and viruses are spread. By not being educated properly about these sexual risks or even ignoring what it is known and not taking safety precautions, is how students become prone to the diseases and infections. “Studies show that somewhere between 20 and 25 percent of college students are or have been infected with an STD (collegetips.com).” If students don’t take precautions when having sex, then it’s safe to say that they don’t take care of themselves when they contract STD’s. Therefore, the viruses and infections continue to spread, along with ignorance.

Some Safe Sex Tips:

Get tested every 3-6 months. It can be nerve wracking, scary, or embarrassing, but knowing can put the worries to rest. When having sex, you’re not only responsible for your body but your partner as well. If you suspect you have an STD, the smart thing to do would be to get tested. If tested positive, notify your partner so that he/she can get treatment, and also so it isn’t spread to anyone else. Getting tested early can also prevent symptoms from getting worst. Men can get tested just as female can. Planned Parenthood is a chain of clinics that can be found in almost every state, and city. They provide services for small fees, sometimes for free. For more information go to www.plannedparenthood.com

Wrap it up! Use protection. Ladies if your partner says he has none, you should always have your own. Sure buying condoms can be uncomfortable. But what’s more uncomfortable, having to buy condoms or finding out you have an STD you have to live with for the rest of your life (i.e., Genital Herpes)? Guys, sex without a condom may feel good, but does pissing fire? No, so why risk it? At the end of the day, taking responsibility for your body by putting on the condom makes your more of a man than walking out on an unwanted pregnancy.

Stay monogamous, or limit the amount of partners you have. This could ultimately limit or avoid any complications.

Hopefully, students will begin to take responsibility for their bodies and practice safe sex. Having an STD that remains dormant in the body forever may be something that they think that they can live with, but what about a life threatening STD called HIV/AIDS?

Roommate Issues!

School has only been in session for a month and half. Yet, students are already having complications with roommates. Some have either gotten into verbal confrontations and, even worst physical confrontations. This is result of a few things. The main reason being a lack of communication.

First time college students are almost always advised to have a one-on-one conversation with their roommate when they first get together. The conversation should be thought of as almost like an interview. This helps "roomies" to get a better understanding of each other. This is the perfect opportunity to set boundaries, as well as negotiate other issues. There are basic things that should be practiced with, or without, conversing with your roommate. Below are some tips to building a great relationship with your roommate:

• Cleaning tasks should be delegated between roommates. Set up a system. Maybe you would clean the kitchen and bathroom, and your roommate would clean the common area and the bedroom. Be sure to set up a system that works well for the both of you. Nevertheless, take responsibility for yourself and clean up after yourself if you make a mess. Don't expect your roommate to clean up your mess.


• Respect quiet hours. When your roommate is studying or sleeping, be respectful and keep the noise at a minimum. Sleep is just as important as studying in college, so don't wake your "roomie".

• Never use a roommate's stuff without permission. It can create huge problems. You never how territorial someone may be about their belongings. I know this from personal experience. I'm actually very territorial. And when a roommate loaned one of my curling irons to her friend, I totally blew up about. We actually stopped speaking for few months. So just don't do it.
  

• Set rules for visitations. Come to an agreement about visitation hours. Ask before you allow your friends and significant other to spend the night. When it comes to your significant other spending the night, don't get physical with your roommate present. Create a system where you can give your roommate the red flag if you are about to partake in those type of moments. That way he ans she will know to avoid coming in the room. However, be respectful and try not to take advantage of this opportunity.

• Don't dish dirt about your roommate. If you have issues about you roommate's living habits, talk to he/she about it. Don't claim to others about it, because its disrespectful and can cause a major confrontation.

Adjusting to living arrangements your first year away from home can be difficult for you, but it can go a lot smoother if you try to build a great relationship/acquaintance with your roommate.

Get Healthy Students!

While living on campus, it can be hard to adopt or maintain healthy eating habits, and fitness. Homework and studying tends to get the most of your time. As a college student, studies should always be the main priority. However, one's health should never be neglected. As the body gets older, its gets harder to retain health. Although it can be time consuming and difficult at times, students should take advantage of their youth and maintain their health. Below are some tips for maintaining health and keeping stress at a minute:

• Sleep is of the essence!..Campus life can keep a student in motion non-stop, forcing them to put sleep at the bottom of their priorities. Students should at least get 6-8hours of sleep each night. Lack of sleep causes a lack of concentration, and an increase of stress. Try sticking to a regular sleep pattern.
• Eat wisely. Many college students tend to gain weight at college. This is a result of eating late and the consumption junk food. Students should never skip breakfast; it contributes to weight gain. They should also try at least 3 whole portioned meals. When snacking, try healthier snacks: granola bars, yogurt, or fruit. Also, drink lots of water. Try to stay away from vending machines.
• Exercise. Try to go to the gym for at least 30 minutes. Take a friend to make it a fun event. If there is just not enough time in the day, there are other ways to stay fit. Instead of driving, walk. Skip the elevator and take the stairs.
• Last but not least, RELAX!