There is much to be said for Emily Post. She wrote the book (literally) on manners and standardized etiquette customs for the general public. I adore her books full of old fashioned advice, and while some of it is still relevant, much of it is dated. I constantly wonder what kind of place our society would be if Emily were still around to impose properness upon us all.

Unfortunately, she is not–as evidenced by many of my college classmates.

We’ve all seen those people in class: the ones who act like they’re too important to be there, don’t care what the professor has to say, rudely answer their phones and are generally a disturbance to those of us trying to learn. If you are an incoming freshman you probably haven’t witnessed such obvious rudeness, and you most certainly do not want to become one of said rude people. So, read on, my pretties, and enter the world of higher education with grace, manners and –ahem–class (haha…)

Don’t Be Cell-fish.
Gone are the days when your cell phone was contraband (absurd, I know). Instead of focusing on your under-desk texting (ala your dinosaur of an AP Chem teacher), your professor will most likely be concentrating on imparting you with knowledge during your class sessions. So this means you can feel free to text, Blackberry message, IM away with your cell held at –gasp–eye level, right?! Wrong! Your professor has assumed (rightfully, I hope) that you are a respectful and mature person who is attending (and paying for) their class to learn something useful from him or her. Do not prove them wrong by blatantly expressing that you have better things to do. Read More »

The University Experience sure has changed. It’s now normal to take longer than four years to complete your degree; students are known to switch majors repeatedly (and often at the last minute); and transfer admissions offices are swamped with applicants who realize that the college they chose senior year of high school just isn’t making the grade.

I know all about the stress of transferring and adjusting to a new school. When I began my undergraduate career, I wasn’t content with attending the state university that 83% of my classmates were enrolling in. Oh, no - I had to get away. So I enrolled in a small private school in London, England.

My freshman year was a blast– I was in a major city, surrounded by hot men with hotter accents, and I didn’t even need a fake ID. But eventually, reality sank in, and I opted to transfer back to the same state school that I’d once adamantly rejected in order to prevent graduating with student loans up the wazoo.

My first semester at the state university was miserable. I’d missed out on all of the freshman year bonding, got stuck with a lame random roommate, and when I did go out, it was because one of my high school friends was kind enough to let me tag along with her group. It was so bad that I took a semester off to figure out if I wanted to go through the transfer process again. I ended up going back to the state school, and - thankfully - things got better. In fact, college kicked some major ass.

So, having been on the Maybe-I-Should-Transfer fence and a member of the Transfer Students Association, I thought I’d share some pro’s and cons with anyone who isn’t quite sure that they are attending the right school. Read More »