Speaking For Change

For most students, finals is synonymous with extended periods of stress, lack of sleep, unadvisable amounts of Red Bull and quickly finding a god or deity to pray to. Is this on of the rites of passage of college? Sure, some may say so. But you can get through it with much less stress – and better grades! Just look at those well-balanced kids that ace their classes. Jessica was one of them; here are some of her secrets to successful and stress-free finals!

1. Hakuna-matata

It means no worries – for the rest of your days.

If you’re not into Lion King jive, it means relax. Take finals in stride. No stress.

Let’s take the worst-case scenario that you’re probably freaking out about: you bomb a final. I’m not condoning bombing a final here – but just one isn’t the end of the world. For example, Jessica failed a history final freshman year, but that’s all it was: one final. She continued to get a 4.0 next semester and graduates in under 3 years.

One bad grade is not going to ruin your college career, let alone your professional one. If you do your best studying, you shouldn’t bomb any in the first place – but my point is, it’s not even worth worrying about if you know you’re studying smart and doing well overall. Read the rest of this entry »

Cheating is about beating the system, right? Finding ways to get ahead without putting in mind-numbing study hours? Well here are four ways to do just that, and never get caught!

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College is all about learning to beat the system, right? I mean who’s ever going to use Chemistry or Differential Equations in real life anyway? Let’s look at five reasons for cheating.

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Read the rest of this entry »

It’s funny how excited we were about meetings when we were in our first role that required us to attend them; it gave us a little sense of importance. “Sorry, I got a meeting man,” we’d tell a buddy with a sense of pride. Like we were about to do something important… How quickly that novelty wears off.

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Meetings are necessary sometimes. But there’s also a reason people hate them: they are overused and misused. It’s like every time there’s a problem there has to be a meeting. If things are going well – there is a meeting. If it’s someone’s birthday – there is a meeting.

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So it doesn’t take many meetings to realize that they often are not the best use of a group’s time. Let’s look at the factors that make or break a good meeting so you can use them to keep your group engaged and productive instead of resentful and bored. Read the rest of this entry »

If you had a nickel for every time someone told you to set goals, you wouldn’t need goals. You’d be rich.

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Goals. Ambition. Drive. Shoot for the stars. Start a company. Get your MBA. Make dean’s list. Or … wake up before noon.

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We often set goals to keep us motivated, to gain a sense of accomplishment, and to make some type of difference. And if we want to advance in this competitive world, our goals need to be relatively impressive, right? They’ve gotta be better than the next guy’s (or gal’s).

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There is an important quality though about the type of goals you set. Most people would agree that impressive goals are good. They make you stand out. They afford you with bigger and better opportunity, and are like crack for your ego. So, the person who accomplishes the most impressive goals wins.

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But as you probably know, this isn’t completely true. Read the rest of this entry »

For many students graduating high school, a 4-year college is their clear path. For others, it’s a vocational school, military, or the workforce, or a 2-year/community college. But for those that are undecided between swinging for a 4-year or starting at a 2-year, here are some factors that can help shape your decision.  Read the rest of this entry »

For an organization to serve its mission, a leader must serve its members.

“Half of our members are dead weight.”

“Other e-board members never take initiative.”

“Guys keep showing up at service events hung-over.”

The joys of running a student organization, right?

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Getting a group of 18-22-year-olds to voluntarily exert effort is a challenge. You can’t give raises to incentivize them or fire them if they don’t show up at events. But the success of your organization depends on these souls. So how do you get them engaged?

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Written by Tip Fallon and Erik Hyrkas

Let’s be real: Your professor announces the first test that’s been blatantly on your syllabus the first six weeks of school, and you’re still in shock. You may have not even bought your book, let alone opened it until now. This test determines 30% of your grade, encompasses all of the material you may or may not have listened to during lecture, and requires you to rethink your partying habits for the next week or two.

Here are keys to help you get through midterms without having a nervous breakdown. Read the rest of this entry »