It is 9:16 a.m. and I am already sweating. My calf-length skirt sticks to my legs as I slide out of the cab, inhaling the fresh air of a side street while choking on the remnants of crowded morning traffic pollution still in my lungs. I need water. Somehow, my lukewarm water bottle fails to satiate my craving for just one ...

When I first graduated from college I thought, “Ok, great I have my B.A. in English-- bring on my writing/editing jobs.” As I researched the jobs I really wanted, I saw that I was lacking one very vital thing, experience. All of my experience had been in the banking and business world. In spite of it having always been my dream, ...

As students around the country enter into the arctic wilderness that is February, moods drop, bodies slump, and grades lessen in importance. February wins the worst month of the year award, and I say this solemnly because my birthday inhabits this sad, dreary month. Students are right in the middle of the third quarter. Spring break seems close, but yet so ...

I’m going to give a little back-story on my experience with the fantastic test that everyone dreads – the SAT. I took it for the first time in the fall of my junior year and for the second time in the spring of that year. I did relatively well the first time I took the test, but it wasn't good enough ...

The first day of a new class always starts with a mixture of anticipation, nervousness, and excitement. If you take enough classes in college you are sure to run into the dreaded “bad professor” who seems to ruin your hopes of having a great semester. Every instructor has his or her own style. Sometimes the way a teacher teaches isn't conducive ...

Four college applications, three scholarship essays, two college visits, one student. It’s about that time when everyone starts to seriously think of eloping with that bizarre kid down the street and gambling with fate, but take two steps back and it slowly seems like you’d better steer clear. But, sometimes, taking those two vital steps back takes a lot of extra ...

I have always wanted to have my own talk show, so I'm just going to pretend that I have one right now. Hello faithful audience and at-home viewers! Welcome to The Alison Show! Today we are going to be discussing a serious topic, one that will give you great life experiences, impressive things to put on your college application, wonderful essay ...

Tick tock. That’s all I hear as I push in my applications for college. Tick tock. The clock’s ticking as I type in yet again, my first name, last name, address, alternative address, birthdate and phone number. What am I going to do with my life? [gate] I have an idea, but the most terrifying thing, is that I won’t in ...

When deciding to purchase textbooks for next semester, you have a couple of options: [gate] 1. Buying books online For most students, purchasing textbooks online is their primary option at the start of a new semester. The most popular website to buy and sell textbooks is Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/ ). When searching for a book on sites such as Amazon, here are ...

As college students across the nation lock themselves in their dorm rooms and curl up in bed with a spoon and a jar of Nutella in preparation for final exams, many of them will realize they are in over their heads. [gate] After all, there is a difference between stressing over an important final because there is a lot of information ...

The main hall of the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy has but one purpose: to showcase the most exhibited sculpture in the world, Michelangelo’s David. A visitor to the Gallery enters the well-lit hall to see David at the end, resplendent in the cold yet transient marble of the High Renaissance. Bypassing the other works of Michelangelo that line the hallway—another ...

The day of Big/Little Reveal was hot. I remember because we were all wearing dresses; it might have been the first day of the semester where no one had chosen to wear pants. I and five other newly initiated girls gathered outside of my freshman dorm to drive over to the venue together. For this occasion I had borrowed a friend’s ...

Everyone looks forward to the final couple of years of high school: you’re getting ready for college, looking forward to graduating, and enjoying all the perks of finally being at the top of the food chain. With all of the excitement of finally finishing high school comes a truckload of fun stuff that solidifies the rapidly approaching milestone of graduation: cap ...

Some people walk onto campus in the first couple of days and have an instant crew of best friends – other people take a little more time to meet people. While making new friends and branching out beyond your life at home is one of the coolest things about college, it’s important to stay in contact with your friends back home ...

Internships are the cherries on top of the resume sundae. They can make any student stand out to colleges, future employers, and boyfriends’ parents (just as a cherry stands out to a starving young child in a brightly colored ice cream store, or excuse me, froyo—the new trend). Internships are quickly becoming essential for any job and can offer a lot ...

I hate this time of the year, and it is not because taxes confuse me. For American students, it is time to register for classes again, which means lines, paperwork, and money. All three of those are problem areas, but no more! This year, I conquered registration. Advising The first step in choosing classes is meeting with an advisor, so I ...

In the frenzy that is preparing to leave the nest for the first time, there’s hardly time to sit around and contemplate your feelings. There are always more clothes to be packed, more things to buy, and emergency trips to the store to get something you forgot. As the day of departure grows nearer, emotions surface: worry, excitement, nervousness, apprehension, and ...

In Overachievers Anonymous, I wrote about what to do and ways to help if you are taking on a lot of things to fill up that college résumé to the brim, but after taking some time to reflect, I realized that an overload of work isn't the only thing that we have to worry about and that stresses us out, it ...

Graduation is a time for celebration, but graduation can also be a time of confusion. Many students leave college without the slightest clue of what to do next. Here are some things that you can do before your graduation date arrives to put you one step ahead. 1. Get familiar with your school's career services office. This office helps you to ...

From the vantage point of a high school desk, college can seem impossibly far off – a different, mythical world. It’s a quickly approaching leap from life at home to life in a college dorm, and in the scramble to prepare oneself academically for collegiate life, it’s easy to overlook the fact that in a few short months, you’ll be living ...