Saturday, January 15, 2011

Top Ten Majors Most Likely To Get You Hired

By Lauren Joffe for The Real College Guide

For students entering a somewhat bleak hiring market, your college major could be the biggest factor in determining your likelihood of securing a job. Based on a survey from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), here are the majors that offer students the best chances of getting hired upon graduation:

10. Communications/Journalism
And so we reach the final major most likely to get you hired out of college -- communications and journalism majors today have just above a 35 percent chance of getting hired upon graduation -- which may not be the highest of the bunch, but certainly lands them on this list.

9. Liberal Arts/Humanities
Liberal arts and humanities have always garnered heat from parents, grandparents and employers regarding hiring attractiveness come May. But not to worry -- you just make the cut, receiving a somewhat unexpected 37-percent chance of landing that job.

8. Health Sciences
Health sciences majors, ranging from physical therapy to audiology, might not fare as well at the accounting majors out there, but still rake in impressive hiring stats at 38.7 percent. And with graduate coursework almost always required in health sciences fields, we don’t doubt you’ll secure employment.

7. Mathematics
Well, maybe not as easy as 1, 2, 3 … but mathematics majors should be counting their lucky stars. Yes -- math majors show a close percentage rate with their VPA counterparts, reaching just below the 40 percent mark with a 37.5-percent chance of getting hired.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

5 Money Saving Tips For Buying Textbooks


It's back to school time again, and you know what that means. Time to empty your pockets to buy the semester's books. Here are a few tips to help you save some of that hard earned money.

Look For International Editions
International editions saved me a bunch of cash in college. They're essentially the same thing you would buy in the textbook store, just with a soft cover and for half the price. The whole legality and reasoning behind why publishers create International Edition is grey and peculiar to say the least. But if you're willing to put all that aside in order to save some big bucks (as I did), try looking for them on sale at sites like Ebay(affiliate link) and AbeBooks.com(affiliate link).

Buy Online
The internet marketplace has changed how we do business forever. Within seconds of turning on your computer, you can search the web for a variety of products at the lowest price possible. There are plenty of sites geared exclusively to help you finding the best deals on college text books, like DirectTextbook.com. The old standby, Amazon, is always a great option as well.

**Warning** When buying books online, carefully examine the seller's description and pictures of the textbooks they are selling. You don't want to end up with a Xerox'd black & white copy of your book held together with some staples and glue.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Top 10 Places to Download Free College Resources

By Alan Shin (references Uploaded by Skeezix1000) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

Guest Post by David Boyd of MoneyChoices.com.au

College can be an exciting time of your life. Your college years are a time for both self-discovery and for learning about the world around you. Although not all the learning you will do in college takes place in a classroom, mastering the material covered in your college courses will help you become a better thinker and a more rounded individual. Additionally, doing well in your classes can open up many opportunities for internships and jobs. Fortunately, there are many downloadable resources available that can help you ace your college classes. Here are ten of the best places to download free college resources.

1. OWL At Purdue

If you are struggling in a composition course, or you need help writing a research paper for a class, there are plenty of helpful resources at the online writing labs website run by Purdue University. In addition to the many helpful guides that offer advice on a variety of writing topics, you can also download the Purdue OWL podcasts that cover everything from Aristotelian appeals to invention and prewriting.

2. Massachusetts Institute Of Technology Open Courseware

Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers free course materials for over 2000 different classes. You can download lecture notes and course videos that can provide valuable supplemental instruction. If you are having difficulty understanding a particular professor, these materials can help clarify any troublesome points. You can even download exams so that you can see how much of the course material you are actually retaining. Although you might associate MIT with science courses, you can find course materials for classes across many academic disciplines.

3. Utah State University

Utah State University offers great resources for students struggling with technological projects and concepts. This website offers course materials for a variety of technology courses. You can even download sample projects to help you brainstorm ideas for your own.

4. Project Gutenberg

Instead of spending money on a book for class, check to see if the novel you are assigned is available on Project Gutenberg. This website offers downloadable versions of many books in the public domain. You can even download audio versions of some titles.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Nude No More!: Threadless Select Product Review


In college, what you wear defines you. This may be why there seems to be no shortage of online T-Shirt stores geared towards the college community.

Of the many, Threadless(affiliate link), in my opinion,  has shined out as a leader of the pack. Their shirts are witty and cool without being overly provocative or corny. So naturally when asked if I would review their new Select Line of Clothing, I was super stoked.

The Product
In Threadless' own words..
The Select Line is designed by the community, but curated by Threadless. It includes original Threadless designs blown up, scaled back, with the original concepts intact. The products are printed with water-based inks on finer cotton, to be sofer and eco-friendlier.
In essence, Threadless is taking some of their original designs, changing them up a bit, and then putting them on super nice material. The shirts are made from 100% pima cotton and are "satin garment washed" in order to get that soft worn-out cotton feeling.

The shirt I decided to review was the "Peace" design and here is what I thought about it...