[The following is the first of a five-part series I’m calling “The Top 5 Things You MUST Do In College.” Everyone’s already heard about buying flip-flops for the shower, stocking up on veggies to avoid the Freshman 15, and to steer clear of mojitos before midterms, but there are other tips for enjoying college that the experts might have neglected to tell you about.

This series is meant to provide advice for getting the most out of college, rather than just getting through it. So whether you’re a freshman just starting out, or a senior on the job hunt, you’ve still got plenty of time to live it up (and do it right) as an undergrad.]
If there is one thing you should do before you graduate, it is to make friends with at least one of your professors.

For one thing, a professor has to be well established in his or her field, whether it’s philosophy or business, or something in between. If you get along really well with one of your professors, chances are they can connect you to a job or recommend you for an opportunity you might not have even heard about yet. You remember that old adage when it comes to getting a job, “it’s all about who you know”? Not many twentysomethings are chummy with CEOs or top magazine editors, but your professor might be. Besides, what if some day you do decide to go to law school? Imagine how hard it will be getting a recommendation letter from a professor you had years ago, especially when they see so many students in such a small window of time.

I know, I know, your school is so large you need to text your professor so he can answer your questions in lecture. Or maybe you’re thinking you just don’t know what to say. Valid excuses, but not good enough to get out of this one. Read More »

School is hard - you have to read and write and go to the library during parties to cram for exams. And sometimes all that isn’t even enough to get you that highly coveted “A.”

WTF? What ever happened to an A for effort? Or extra credit? Or taking a bit of pity on the kids you know bust their asses but still just miss the “A”?

I can’t tell you how many times I worked my booty off only to get screwed by a curve or my uncanny ability to freak out before exams…and then bomb them. I would seriously do anything for an “A” somtimes. Anything.

This week I asked the CollegeCandy writers to weigh in and tell me what they’d do for an “A.” Surprisingly, sexual favors weren’t that high on the list. Either we are getting less desperate (because we don’t need to be), or professors are getting really old and unattractive…

Erica - Kent State: Can’t say I’d go as far as sexual favors, but I wouldn’t be too proud to do a little flirting. Hey, why else do they let/force young, attractive TA’s teach classes?

Kathryn S.: Go to office hours for extra help. Ugh. This sounds lame, but you don’t even know how much I hate office hours.

Kari – FSU: I would recite the starting line up of the Miami Dolphins, in song form, for my sports fanatic prof in front of a 300 person lecture. And I have (he later confessed that he couldn’t give me any actual extra credit). Read More »

We love the internet for 2 main reasons:

1. We can do just about everything (shop, date, job hunt, talk to professors) in our underwear
2. We can procrastinate on everything in favor of the endless entertainment the inter-webs provide.

The sheer number of blogs and awesome websites out there is astounding…and nearly impossible to navigate. Which ones are good? Which ones are bad? Which ones will flash giant naked men on our screen? (Editor’s Note: Those are my favorite!) Which ones talk about all the stuff I want to hear?

That’s why we are here.

There are so many great college blogs out there and we want to share them with you. Because, after all, we college kids gotta stick together. So, here are a few of our favorites for today:

1. Kill Jill Goes to College: This girl is just awesome. We wish we knew her in real life. Wait, is that creepy?

2. Bwog: Those Columbia kids are as funny as they are smart. We know we didn’t go there, but that doesn’t mean we can’t live vicariously through them.

3. Dorm Wars: Yeah, so we think this site is meant for the college boys, but sometimes boy stuff is funny.

4. Brokeass Student: We are all poor, so maybe this blogger can help us get by?

5. College Sex Talk: Only because we think it’s funny to ask this woman questions about anal.

Which blogs are your faves?

We love the internet for 2 main reasons:

1. We can do just about everything (shop, date, job hunt, talk to professors) in our underwear
2. We can procrastinate on everything in favor of the endless entertainment the inter-webs provide.

The sheer number of blogs and awesome websites out there is astounding…and nearly impossible to navigate. Which ones are good? Which ones are bad? Which ones will flash giant naked men on our screen? (Editor’s Note: Those are my favorite!) Which ones talk about all the stuff I want to hear?

That’s why we are here.

There are so many great college blogs out there and we want to share them with you. Because, after all, we college kids gotta stick together. So, here are a few of our favorites right now:

1. ThePrereq.com

2. DormDelicious.com

3. ThatCollegeKid.com

4. PayForCollegeBlog.com

5. OverheadAtCollege.com

We are always looking for more awesome sites to keep us from doing that stupid Lit paper. Do you have any other blogs you are obsessed with? Email them to Lauren@CollegeCandy.com or drop us a line on our CollegeCandy Facebook group!

After a stint of boy craziness that’s lasted maybe ten years, I’ve had one bad break-up too many and recently entered a period of no-men-under-any-circumstances- and-I-mean-it, lasting indefinitely.

Don’t get me wrong– I like being single. I’m pretty independent. I can still study and interact with other humans. I function. But when it comes to the menfolk, I get easily distracted. And attempting to stay celibate in college is like asking Whitney Houston to get clean in a crack house. So, thinking that the best offense is a good defense, I’m using a plethora of methods to stay on track and focused.

These are the ones that didn’t work.

Fattening Food I started eating pizza every day. Like, a lot of pizza. There’s this place down the street from my house that serves whole pies for five dollars. (I get the “Oahu,” which is just fancy-pants for Hawaiian. Eating an entire pie in less than three minutes almost helps you forget you’re totally pathetic.) And the first few days I was feeling all blob-like and disgusting, but that’s actually passed. Because after a few weeks I’ve plumped up a bit, and now my skin glows (read: has a greasy sheen) from the extra calories. It kind of makes me want to have a baby. Which is bad. Bad, bad, bad. Read More »

The first week of college is summer camp. The second is back to reality. When I arrived on campus a little over a week ago, I never imagined going from name-games to essays in a blink.

My college has a week of orientation, so it never really felt like school until I walked into Geology on Tuesday morning. Before that, I had been watching movies with other freshmen, exploring—well, really getting lost in—the campus, and trying every imaginable ice cream combination at the dining halls.

From the moment I walked into my class, I realized I can’t just watch movies and eat ice cream for the next four years. Buying textbooks before the class was its own problem—really, if a book is used, shouldn’t it be dirt cheap, not just a fraction less expensive than the new version?—but being in a room filled with strangers, most not naïve first years like me, was unnerving.

In high school, the first day was one of my favorites. Sure, I hated knowing I had a year of work ahead of me, but I loved seeing old friends, catching up on summer gossip. Here, I sat down and immediately started taking notes. What part of this lecture was important enough to write down? Who was the person sitting next to me? Was I allowed to raise my hand to ask a question? Read More »

When I am not out slutting it up, I tend to spend my evenings alone watching TV, reading books and – to relieve a little stress – playing out some super sexy scenarios in my head. I crawl into bed, get under the covers with my favorite toy and imagine myself in the place I’d rather be; the man I’d rather be with.

I find sexual fantasies to be both extremely liberating and enlightening. By opening myself up to any possibility – mostly things I would never do in the flesh – I learn a lot about myself and what turns me on. I can act out entire scenarios in my head and prepare myself for new situations that may arise sometime down the road. And, of course, I get to do something a little naughty with people I would never have the opportunity to be with in real life.

Like the dad of the kids I babysit for. I know that fantasy is as cliché as they come, but there is something so sexy and forbidden about that bond between babysitter and dad. He is sexy, smart, funny, and adorable with his kids. I know it’s so wrong, but I can’t help but wonder what it would be like to have him drive me home, kiss me, then take advantage of me in the back of his Mercedes. Read More »