The College Collaborative

College Relationships are Great! Just keep these in mind

2008-09-17T15:16:00.000-07:00

Avoid these Mistakes!
1. Don't date anyone a friend used to like. Doubly so if they used to date.
2. Avoid too fast too soon. Let your relationship develop naturally.
3. Make sure that the other person's dating values are similar to yours.
4. Don't take classes or live together just because you're dating someone, break-ups can make these situations very awkward.

Now some tips for the guys:
1. Eye contact and body language! You're a confident alpha male that can get any woman he wants. Women pick up on these cues, so when you approach a girl, make eye contact, don't look away, stand up straight, and don't cower like a scared puppy!
2. If there was ever an attitude that women fall in love with, it's the cocky and funny attitude. The "I could care less if you were attracted to me 'cause I know I can get you and any women in this room, and I'm definitely gonna bust you for little things, but hey at least you're laughing" attitude works wonders.
3. Do not shower women with gifts and money. It just shows that you're trying to compensate.
4. Best first date spot? The local coffee place, a good place for stimulating conversation. The dinner and movie dates don't allow for interaction, and more often than not, women fall too much in love with the movie characters to focus on you. (read: Wall-E)
5. Do not pick up girls in the gym! I repeat DO NOT PICK UP GIRLS IN THE GYM! Girls are there to exercise, not to get hit on. Besides, you're sweaty, she's sweaty and not feeling at all hot, so just avoid it.
6. Best place to meet a girl on campus? Classes and bookstores are a great start. For example, you can start by meeting girls in class by forming study groups, or finding someone with similar interests in the bookstore.
7. Witty comments! Back to the bookstore, suppose you find a hot girl reading some celebrity tabloid. Go up to her and say, "Reading fine American classic literature, I see." This works wonders and opens up a world of conversation. Point is, don't make a typical comment that's predictable.
9. Don't worry about rejection! So what? You move on, and you approach your next target.

Some tips for the ladies
Really now, women don't need tips. Women have and always will be at the advantage in terms of attracting guys. But what if there's that one guy that you just can't get over? Saying, "Hi!" would be a good start. I can't get over how often girls complain about not being able to meet guys and getting together with that one guy they like, yet not even say a single word to them. Look, not every guy is going to approach you and we're notoriously bad at reading body language, so we don't have any idea that you like us. Moral of the story? Introduce yourself and let your personality and beauty do the rest.

Freshman 15 sure is a expletive ain't it?

2008-09-06T22:41:00.000-07:00

It's happened to almost all of us, the awkward sleeping schedules, crazy drinking, all-nighters, a metric ton of junk food, dining halls, and lack of proper nutrition wreak havoc on our bodies. Even worse yet, we're over here trying to look good and stay healthy and the college lifestyle certainly isn't conducive to that. What to do? Here's what you do:

Exercise - Yes, this is obvious. Almost any college or university has a gym. I'm not talking just cardio, but also weight-lifting. Get yourself on a weightlifting regimen and incorporate cardio. By toning and building lean muscle mass, your body's metabolism will naturally burn more calories.

Dining Halls - They're unavoidable. Food, and lots of it... and hey, its all-you-can-eat. With the ever-increasing price on goods, dining halls simply cannot afford to make the greatest quality food. Even worse yet, all that junk food, fat, refined sugars and uneccessary calories are punishing. So be smart, avoid the fried stuff, ice-cream and all the other delectable goodies that you know are bad for you. Common sense goes a long way here. Stock up on fruite and veggies, and take in a lot of fiber.

Avoid drinking excess alcohol - Oh yes, a staple amongst college students. Easiest advice? Avoid it all together. Seeing as how this is impossible for most of us, take it in moderation and double fist alcohol with water. Also, avoid all the sugary mixed stuff. A binge once in awhile is ok, just don't do it every night.

Watch water consumption - Make sure that you are drinking enough water to keep you hydrated. If you're not peeing at least every couple hours, you're not taking in enough water.

Eat regularly - Make sure that you eat regular meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism up. After about 5 hours without food, your body goes into starvation mode, and dramatically drops your metabolism. Not good. So bring granola bars, nuts and fruits with you onto campus to snack on and your body will keep that metabolism revving all day.

Get in on unlimited file storage online

2008-09-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Wixi is not just another social site. This site aims to help you ~~pirate~~ share movies, music, and whatever else. One of the most useful things will be having access to all your files from anywhere with internet, even your mobile phone. This would be pretty could to just have your music collection stream to your phone, thereby eliminating the need for another bulky mp3 player. Currently the beta until the beginning of October is allowing members to sign up for free unlimited storage. Those who sign up after this period will only get 3gb of storage with the opportunity to opt for unlimited storage for $5/month or $50/year. Seriously, just sign up, if you don't use it, whatever.

www.wixi.com

Thinking Makes You Fat

2008-09-05T01:35:00.001-07:00

...and here I never thought I could say that studying can possibly do more harm than good. However, in reality doing intellectual work could increase caloric intake, and combined with the fact that we tend to be less active when doing such activities, one can only assume that thinking too much could be one of the reasons for the obesity epidemic. I'd love to see a correlation study between amount of intellectual work (ie. publications, works, essays, papers, etc.) vs. BMI. Hit the link for more info.

Intellectual work induces excessive caloric intake

The Procrastinator's Flowchart

2008-09-04T22:10:00.000-07:00

Taken from www.projectsidewalk.com

How to stretch that gazillion page paper

2008-09-03T19:11:00.000-07:00

Its 7 in the morning and the stupid thing is due at 9. What can you do? You have another page to go and you're stuck. Of all the times to have writer's block. Well, you simply do as many of the great college essay writers do and stretch the damn thing. Trust me, these work, especially coming from a guy who detests papers.

1. Background info. Professors love background info. Give some info on things going on around the author for that book report. Give some reasons why a particular historical event occurred and how it relates to the topic of your paper.

2. Pad that sucker with some quotes. Now important part is to use some good quotes. Professors know when you're trying too hard to pad your paper with quotes, so make sure to relevant quotes.

3. Symbolism. Ah symbolism... there is any and every way to analyze a symbol. The great thing is that there is no such thing as a "wrong" interpretation, unless you're professor is one of those.

4. Bring in another topic. That's right, compare and contrast is the staple of my essay-writing, so bring in random crap with obscure similarities and bs to no end. Trust me, it's as if that blinking cursor will do all the writing.

5. Now if you really, really have to you can resort to www.antistudy.com. Do not, I repeate, DO NOT plagiarize any work. Besides, many professors use turnitin.com and it'll automagically pick up on your moral hiatus. Once you get caught, that stuff stays with you for LIFE! However, antistudy is a good resource for topic ideas, sources of symbolism, and a host of other things that will inspire your writing.

If you're gonna study, stock up on these foods.

2008-08-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

So the folks over at Zen have compiled a list of 20 Super Brain Foods that can help concentration, increase memory, ~~take over the world~~, and a host of other things that are sure to improve mental performance.

20 Super Brain Foods

That's not a furry cat, that's a dustball! Free Pledge Multiduster Starter Kit

2008-08-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's time for that long overdue annual cleaning. Fill out a quick 2-question survey, and get free cleaning stuff. Sweet deal right?

Free Pledge Multiduster Starter Kit

The most brutally honest TV Ad you'll watch today

2008-08-28T00:03:00.000-07:00

How many of us can identify with this?

2008 Bowl Game Predictions

2008-08-26T19:08:00.000-07:00

Ah its that time of year again, the taste of oily hot dogs, the smell of stale nachos and beer, and of course the sight of the ever-eventful college football season. Rivals.com just released their predictions for all the bowl games for the 2008 season with (surprise, surprise) USC against Georgia in the BCS title game. Hit the link to see if your team is up for a bowl game.

College Bowl Game Predictions - 2008

Ooooh, you know you wanna be naughty - ftp sites to software, games, music, movies and e-books

2008-08-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

FTP Sites to Download Softwares, Games, Music, Movies and e-Books

(yes, they work)

Your college President wants you to drink... now.

2008-08-25T01:38:00.000-07:00

So a bunch of college Presidents from about 100 of the nations universities are calling on lawmakers to change the legal drinking age to 18. Sweet deal right?

College drinking debate: 18 or 21?

Your life's ambition through college. Sometimes life is so unbearably depressing...

2008-08-25T01:35:00.000-07:00

Image taken from www.phdcomics.com

Michael Phelps is a BEAST! Check out these interesting facts!

2008-08-25T01:13:00.000-07:00

Really the guy has reached a level that only Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer have reached, and one of those guys isn't even real!

If you are ever asked who would win in a fight between a killer whale and a great white shark the answer is always Michael Phelps.
When tugboats can't do their job, they call Michael Phelps.
When Chuck N. roundhouse kicked Michael Phelps in his abs, he broke his foot.
If you look into the eye of a hurricane you will see Michael Phelps swimming.
Sure Jesus walked on water, but Michael Phelps swims through land.
Newborn dolphins learn to swim by watching footage of Michael Phelps'
Ancient Greeks used to sacrifice 100 cows to Poseidon who would then turn around and sacrifice them to Michael Phelps.
Michael Phelps went to participate in a boat race. The officials asked him where his speedboat was. Michael Phelps just laughed.
The tides actually change according to Michael Phelps’ training.
As you read this Michael Phelps just broke another World Record.

All the Awesomely Awesome Michael Phelps Facts

Wait! Don't Sign up for that class just yet!

2008-08-24T14:04:00.001-07:00

At least until you know what you're getting into. If you just knew about ratemyprofessor.com this wouldn't be an issue. Of course many universities have websites specifically dedicated to rating professor's from their own universities such as UCLA's Bruinwalk. Hit the link for some professor-rating fun.

Ratemyprofessor

Sweet deals on some Portable External Hard Drives

2008-08-23T20:20:00.001-07:00

You need a place to archive all those ~~pirated~~ legitimately purchased movies and songs. Might as well get in on these sweet deals.

Seagate FreeAgent Go 80GB Portable Hard Drive for $20 with free shipping.

They also have the 120GB for $29

What schools are all the Olympians coming from?

2008-08-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

As well all know, many American Olympians come from Universities around the nation. Just what school are they all coming from? For one, Michael Phelps' university makes the list. Hit the link for some more love.

Olympic Universities

Ringtones, Ringtones everywhere!

2008-08-23T16:44:00.001-07:00

No but really, no one has too many ringtones. That's why the good folks over at zedge has the hugest archive of ringtones I have ever seen. Seriously, its good stuff. You can even contribute your own ringtones. If you can't find what you want here, you're not gonna find it anywhere else.

Zedge

Forget Studying! Just listen to some sounds and become genius!

2008-08-23T01:20:00.000-07:00

Ok well not really, but the exploration of binaural beats have been shown to stimulate the brain in a way that can be similar to drugs or other influences. It can help you relax, focus, improve problem-solving, sleep better and a whole host of other things that are just really cool.

I’m thinking of trying this focus stuff before a midterm and see how it goes! The article can be found here. So if you wanna get in on all the craziness check out SBaGen which is a program that has a bunch of these different binaural beats or check out I-Dose which has a bunch of stuff you can just stream! I’m gonna try this stuff out and post my results!

Free tickets from StubHub!

2008-08-23T01:19:00.001-07:00

Well, that is if they’re exactly $10.

Use these special codes and get $10 off $10 tickets from StubHub

POSTBF28 exp 9/22/08
EXIT29AK exp 10/1/08

StubHub

Welcome, Freshmen. Have an iPod.

2008-08-23T01:16:00.000-07:00

So apparently some schools are giving out iPhones and iPods for their incoming freshmen for the Fall. This is absolutely amazing, no wonder people love private universities. But in all seriousness, is this really useful or just counterproductive? Hit the link for more love.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/technology/21iphone.html?pagewanted=all

Test Bank! 'Nuff Said.

2008-08-23T01:13:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how all these people manage to get such high scores and you can never seem to do as well no matter how hard you study? The answer is test banks! These people simply have access to old exams which creates for an unfair advantage.

It is time to level that playing field with a test bank with previous homeworks, midterms, finals, and notes for these major universities:

Arizona State

Boston University

Brown

Caltech

Columbia

Dartmouth

Duke

Harvard

Johns Hopkins

MIT

Princeton

Rice

Stanford

U Penn

UC Berkeley

UC Boulder

UC Davis

UC Irvine

UC Riverside

UC San Diego

UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Cruz

UCLA

UI Urbana Champaign

USC

UW Madison

Vanderbilt

Wake Forest

Yale

So head on over to www.courselog.org, and get some sweet, sweet exam lovin'.

Books are %$@!^%$ Expensive! What to do??!?!

2008-08-23T01:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, we all deal with it. Books! Money! Broke… So question is… how do we get our books and not break the bank in the process? Well first things first, only buy books when you need to. That’s right, gone are the days of being an overzealous freshman who desperately needs every single book you can lay your hands on, we gotta keep budget in mind here. On top of that, check with your professor if the older edition is acceptable. Often times that new editions are simply ways for the authors to rake in more money by doing very little work and making poor students pay for new books, instead of buying used ones from their buddies. Sure we can always just go to Barnes and Noble or Borders, but that just wouldn’t be very slick now, would it? With that said here are some ways you can get cheap books or free even:

Amazon.com really this place has a lot of books for much less than MSRP, and great place for review books for MCAT, LSAT, GRE, DAT, whichever poison you like.

Bookswaps

Bookmooch - You give away books to earn credits. Free, but pay to ship the books you give away.
PaperBackSwap - Same as above.
ReadersUnited - Same as above.
FrugalReader - Same as above, but this one has a premium feature that you can pay for.
TitleTrader - Same as above, but also has CDs and DVDs
Bookins - This one requires a $3.99 fee for each book you receive. You don’t pay for shipping though.
WhatsOnMyBookshelf - Same as the first few.
NovelAction - Membership fee of $25 a month, and you pay $4.80 for shipping up to 6 pounds of books.
BookSwapTextbooks
CampusBookSwap
BookHopper
SwapThing
BookCrossing
America’s Book Shelf
Free e-books

Other ways to get cheap books

Booksfree - Looks to me like Netflix, same type of payment plan as well.

Flea markets / Swap meets

Thrift stores

Yard Sales

If all else fails, CHEAP places to buy books

and last but not least FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE, my personal favorite, especially since you even get to know who you’re buying the book from. As an added bonus, you can potentially make a new friend… or better! ;) One option that also seems to be popular are torrents, for books. I in no way condone pirating, however many people have been able to find the materials they need through torrents.

If you have any more websites I missed, post and I will update links!