New Students: How To Master College Life

Picture by Bruce Mars

Going off to college could be one of the best times of your life for so many reasons. Such as, you get to study the subject of a field you are dying to get into, connect with new like-minded people and for some, you may even have the freedom of living away from home. But the experience you have is entirely dependent on what you do to make it awesome. Which is why a little preparation goes a long way in helping you to ease into college life and tackle college work with confidence. With the central premise of college being to help you gain your next stepping stone in life to a better career or business venture, the way in which you handle your college routine will have an impact on the duration of your college life.

College Tours

Initially, you will most likely have no idea where your classes are, the library, your lecturer's office and so on, which is why helps to get familiar with your campus and to locate where your chosen ideal study spots might be. Leaving this to last minute or the day you start college spells a recipe for disaster, as you may be a little rushed, and it won't make the best impression on your teacher to stroll in late to your first class.

Schedule

Up there with locating your classes at the top of your priority list, should be you keeping a program of all of your classes to hand daily. Usually, a diary or an online phone planner app will do. This will prevent you from attending crucial workshops and lectures that could dock your grade and in turn help you to take responsibility for your own schedule and time management to master your college life.

College Work

Getting to grips with your college work from the get-go and dedicating time to your studies or to organize a research paper writing service in advance will prevent scraping or worse missing crucial deadlines. A good rule to follow when trying to suss out how long a particular project or piece of coursework might take you to complete is to add an extra 25% of time on top of this. This will allows time for life's unpredictable mishaps to prevent leaving you in a rut which could leave you struggling to complete your college work in a restrained time frame. For instance, your laptop could stopped working before you hit save (always save a backup copy), a bed bound illness could make it impossible for you to complete your work or a family emergency might throw you of your studies. Your extra 25% safety net will either help you overcome these hurdles or give you extra jiggle room to improve your college work further.

Bask In Student Life

Taking time to have fun and let your hair down is a right of passage when you’re attending college. To you this might mean joining the chess club, starting a band or going to house parties, whatever the fun,  you should do it a lot. The reason being is because it will make your college experience truly memorable, you will meet and connect with new and exciting people and in turn, find out more about yourself. This doesn't mean staying up and drinking all night before a test, however in moderation and away from deadlines, fun can help relieve stress, encouraging you to be more creative and inspired to think when writing your presentation or paper.

By injecting some organization, time management, and some fun from the get-go you can take control of your college life and subsequently mater college life as a new student.

5 ways reading makes your life better

With all our modern technology and so many entertainment options at our fingertips, there is little wonder that many of us are turning our back on the written word. We are missing out on so much, however, because reading can be a great source of entertainment. There is nothing quite like getting lost in a book, you can be gripped for hours. There are also so many other benefits to reading, it can literally change your life. Read on to find out what reading could do for you.

Reduces stress

Studies have found that reading can reduce stress levels by up to 68%. The study also found that often reading worked to calm participants down faster than any other method. It is thought that reading works so well because it offers you a true escape from the real world. A good book literally offers you a sanctuary.

Improves analytical thinking

Reading actively stimulates your brain which causes an expansion that helps you to think in new ways. You can actually grow your mind every time you pick up a book. Analytical skills really help you when it comes to problem-solving, something which employers tend to cherish in their workforce. If you are looking for a promotion or new job, it might be worth picking up a book first so that you can develop new skills to show off to potential employers.

Increases vocabulary

When you read you are exposed to so much more vocabulary. Even if you are reading words that you have already come across, they tend to seep into your consciousness more and more as you read them and you will find yourself them using them increasingly in conversation. You could make yourself look more business savvy at work by reading some corporate achievement books and letting that business-related language seep into your brain.

Improves memory

Reading really is a great workout for the mind. When you pick up a book, you are asking your brain to operate in a number of different ways. It needs to use vision to concentrate on the words, process what the words are and add things to your learning bank if you haven't come across them before. Using your brain in this way helps to keep your memory sharp, just like using the gym keeps your muscles in shape. There are many ways to help improve your memory, but giving your brain a good workout should always be at the top of the list.

Helps with prioritizing goals

Sitting down with a good book can really give us peace, even when the to-do list is screaming at us. The thing is when we are in the middle of the hustle and bustle of modern life we can't think straight and planning can end up being counterproductive. Escaping for a bit, into another world can help centre and bring some peace from all of the pulls that we have on our time. Through this peace, we can effectively plan and prioritize what is important in life.

4 Inescapable Truths of School and College

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You need to know what to expect from school and college, as well as what you can do to make this a more pleasant experience in the future. There are so many elements that are involved in the process of navigating school and college, and you need to know what plays a part in making this more enjoyable, and improving your capacity for learning.

There is plenty to consider in this regard, and the more you can do to make the most of your time in education, the better. Everyone has a unique experience in education, and the thing to remember is that you need to have an open mind. These are some of the inescapable truths you are going to encounter in the world of education, and you need to be ready for them.

1. Learning is the Focus

You have to remember that learning is the principal focus of being in education. You are not there for a holiday, you are there to learn, and this has to come first. If you can get into this mindset, you should find it easier to develop a love for education. Learning is so important, and the right education can get you many more opportunities when you start pursuing a career.

2. You will Make Friends

Another thing to think about is that you will make friends in school and college. This is something that it is important, and it can have such a positive and profound impact on the rest of your life. There are a lot of things that happen as you move through the years of education, but making friends is one of the constants. In fact, you might even find that you make friends for life.

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3. School Spirit is Essential

It is really important to have school spirit and to be a part of the community of your school or college. This is something that helps everyone come together and benefits the institution in the process. Things like LED signs for schools, the school paper, and numerous sporting events all combine to help capture the essence of school spirit. Try to involve yourself in this as much as you can because it’s going to help you find school much more enjoyable.

4. There will be Some Stress

There is no doubting that you are going to experience a degree of stress when it comes to school and education. You have to make sure you are focused on improving the ways you learn, but you also need to try to reduce stress as well. You also need to know when you’re doing too much in terms of study, and when you have to cut back. This is something that you should get sorted as soon as you possibly can because it will make learning much better for you.

Think about how much it takes to improve the college and school experience. It’s not something that everyone will take to, that’s for sure. But, there are certainly opportunities that will allow you to make the most of the situation in the long run. Use the ideas in this post to try to prepare you for the world of school and college, and make the most of the experiences you might have.

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In An Age Of Photo-Realistic Graphics, Why Do We Still Love Card Games?

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Just this summer, the video card manufacturer Nvidia unveiled a new technology that finally made the holy grail of photorealistic gaming possible. The technology, ray tracing, accurately plots the path of individual light rays, bouncing them off surfaces in 3D environments, making shadows and textures far more convincing than when using conventional rendering techniques. It was a giant step forward, and finally brought us to the cusp of the era of photo-realistic gaming; fantastic news for the existing video game industry, as well as emerging technologies like VR.

But despite the impressive improvement in graphics technologies, many “gamers” are finding themselves drawn back to simpler times. Rather than investing in big budget video games, they find the allure of simple cards much more appealing. What’s going on?

When the Witcher 3 released in 2014, reviewers praised the game’s immersive environment, compelling storyline, and beautiful quests. But read the reviews carefully, and you soon discover that almost all of them talk about Gwent - a card game within the overall game - speaking of its addictiveness and depth. CD Projekt Red - the game’s developers - say that they introduced Gwent as a side activity, hoping that people might enjoy it. But they didn’t realise just what a reaction it would provoke. Seasoned game reviewers who had been pumped for the main title found themselves obsessing over which cards they had collected and who they’d beaten. For some, it became a passion, and they were driven to collect all the cards in the game and construct the most powerful decks possible.

Other game developers have cottoned onto this phenomenon. Blizzard, for instance, created Hearthstone during a dry spell for the company, mainly as an experiment. The game, however, has since become one of the most popular, with millions of players logging on to do battle all over the world. Yes, it’s pretty, but it’s not exactly cutting-edge graphics.

Many Gamers Began With Cards

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Perhaps the reason for the success of card games, in video form or not, is that they help take gamers back to a time when they first discovered fantasy gaming. Many were brought up on the d100 dice from Dungeons and Dragons, or the innumerable strategies of Magic: The Gathering, and want to relive those heady days. Some couldn’t afford expensive gaming computers in the early days and had to make do with their physical analogues.

But there is something more profound about card games which just can’t be emulated in real-time combat situations. Turn-based games create strategy in a way that continuously-played games cannot.

The ancients knew this, of course. Both Go and chess use turns to generate strategic action. So too do other great video games in history, most notably the Civilization series, and some of the Final Fantasy games. In Civilization, the turn-based nature of the game means that players have to think carefully a number of steps ahead and take into account what their enemies are doing. In Final Fantasy, the space of possibilities is smaller, but the principle remains - combat choices depend heavily on predictions of what opponents will do next.

It’s this predictive nature of turn-based games that makes them so appealing. You never really know what’s going to happen because you don’t know your opponent’s hand or how they make decisions. But ultimately, you can refine your strategy to outwit other players, even though you may fail on the odd occasion.

Card Games Become A Cult Classic

There’s also the fact that some card games are becoming cult classics and collectables. People love to complete their Warhammer or other tabletop gaming collections, just as they do other things. Shops now dedicate themselves to providing a wide selection of gaming materials, ideal for even the geekiest of players.

Warhammer is an interesting example. Over the years, game developers have created numerous real-time strategy games based on the original franchise. And although those games are successful, they still haven’t built the cult following that the table top versions have. Warhammer is a classic example of a game that never had to go digital. There’s still a place for physical objects in today’s gaming landscape.

Card Game Bring People Together Physically

Read any business blog, and you’ll encounter experts who talk of the importance of physical proximity, even in an age of free video telephony. Card gamers will tell you a similar story. Yes, they love playing Overwatch and Battlefield with randoms on the internet, but they also like getting together with friends and just playing a round of cards. It’s the being together that’s as important as the game itself.

Flickr by Marco Verch        

In the old days, a simple LAN party would suffice. But with such convenient online gaming, the last thing that people want to do is lug heavy gaming equipment around to their friends’ houses. Much better to pack a box of cards and props, and have fun the old-fashioned way.

The Explosion Of Card Game Options

The number of options, both digital and physical, for keen card gamers has increased dramatically over the last few years, with themes ranging from high fantasy to space. Star Realms, for instance, is based on fleets of spaceships, bases and freighters, immersing players in the far reaches of the cosmos. What’s more, the game also has superb deck-building mechanics and AI, making it both a challenge and highly engaging.

Other games, like Dream Quest, take a different tack. The digital card game combines cartoon graphics with a dungeon crawler feel, making it unique and exciting. As you explore new dungeons, you can find treasure and unlock interesting cards with special abilities.

In short, there are now dozens of options out there for gamers, both on mobile devices and in real life. Photo-realistic graphics might be great for shooters and other twitch-based games, but no matter how good graphics get, they can’t emulate the essence of a good turn-based strategy. For now, it looks as if card games are here to stay, regardless of how good technology becomes. Which card do you want in your deck?

What To Get Up To After Your Exams

We all like to imagine what’s going to happen to us throughout life. We like to think of the places we’re going to go, the people we’re going to meet, the career ladders we’re going to top, and sometimes we just like to think about how many hours we can spend lounging on the sofa after a hard week of work. Especially if you’re someone who’s sick and tired of academia, and you want to stretch out the world to your liking!

So exam season is getting you down, but it’s not going to last forever! And because of this, now’s your chance to do a little bit of dreaming, and then work a little bit of magic on your plans for what you’re going to do after all your tests are through. Here’s a couple of ideas to get you started.

All your hard studying is going to pay off! (Source)

Throw a Barbecue (and plenty of other social outings!)

Sure, you might be a bit drained of energy right now, and want to do nothing more than lay in bed for the rest of the year, but this time right now is perfect for you to use for your social life! All of your friends, in and outside of your circle, are going through the same thing right now, and this is your chance to make sure you’re all being uplifted by each other in some fun and friendly situations.

So, why not throw something like a barbecue? Everyone loves chowing down on good food, surrounded by friends, in an outside setting where the sun and the breeze is on their skin. Even head down to the beach with your disposable BBQ tray and get grilling next to the waves - this is perfect for playing some music and dancing along as a group, and is the cornerstone of recreating experiences from all those teen movies you absolutely loved growing up!

Bulk Out Your Finances

If your exams are over, or ending soon, give yourself a day or two to gather yourself, and then start thinking about what you can do next to really bulk out the money in the bank. After all, your pursuit of academic achievement was to make sure you never had to look into the debt collection laws!

So whether there’s some part time positions going, or you have a blog and now have a real chance to set your mind to monetizing it properly, this is the time for you to apply yourself. Future you is going to seriously thank you later on - you’ll be better able to afford that holiday, or that new car, and you’re going to have a few more friends and relative experience on your side to take you further!

Exam season is a time of stretching out your courage to the max, but there’s plenty of ways for you to unwind and grow afterwards. Why not use ideas like these to really inspire yourself towards bigger and better heights?

People Who Make The Most Money Do These Things

If you want to make more money, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of making more. Many people who make a lot of money have things in common; below, we have a few things that people who make the most money do. Take a look and see what you can start doing today:

They Have A Positive Outlook

A positive outlook is key if you want to increase your earning potential. Why? Because when you have a positive outlook, you’re more likely to find solutions to problems, rather than only focus on the problems themselves. You’re also more likely to spot more opportunities, and have a can-do attitude about making money. You will also be able to build a positive money mindset far easier.

Work on your outlook and your whole world can change for the better.

They Do What They Love

Doing what you love isn't guaranteed to make you more money alone, but there are numerous benefits. You’ll enjoy life more, and you might just come up with more inspired ideas to make money. Take the time to do what you love, even if it’s just as a hobby.

They Make Their Money Work Harder

Making money and then spending it right away isn’t how you’re going to get wealthy. You need to make your money work harder for you if you’re going to build wealth. Investing in stocks, shares, property, and other things will help.

They Invest In Themselves

Investing in yourself is never a waste of time and money. Something like going back into education can help you to improve your skills and you earning potential. In fact, 54% of people go right into employment after university, according to Effat.

credit to Effat

Episode #50: Looking Forward

Welcome to another great episode of the podcast!

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In the final episode of this season, we look forward to what we hope for the show next year and what Dustin will be up to during the break.

Listen to the episode below, or subscribe and listen via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Google Play.

Music by pond5.com

Thanks for listening!

De-Stressing Tips For Stressed Out Students

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A student's life is not an easy one. You know this of course, especially if you're at a college or university at the moment. Stress is something you will become used to, especially when you take the pressures of studying and exams into consideration, as well as those issues around financial security. Not all stress is bad, of course. Studies suggest some stress can improve your performance levels and boost your memory, but there are downsides. If you let stress get the better of you, then the opposite can be true. Your academic and personal life will suffer if you are forever feeling the negative effects of stress, so finding ways to de-stress needs to be a priority in your life.

Here are some tips that should prove useful to you.

Play video games

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, and a very stressed out one too! If you are forever working, probably cramming your head with knowledge to improve your academic performance, or studying long into the night to meet deadlines, then you are going to stress yourself out because of exhaustion. You need to find some time in your busy day to relax, and one of the ways to do this is through playing video games. Research suggests video games are effective stress-relievers, especially easy to play casual games, so play such games as Animal Crossing and Madalin Stunt Cars in your downtime or in between classes. Get together with your mates too, and play party games such as Mario Kart and Rock Band in the evening or on a weekend, and relax in each other's company. Video gaming no longer has the stigma it once had, and because there are proven links to stress-relief, you no longer have to feel guilty about picking up a gamepad.

Get physical

Don't spend all of your downtime playing video games! As fun as they are, you do need to engage in some kind of exercise, as physical activity is a proven way to manage your stress levels. Of course, there are fitness and dance games on most consoles, but as fresh air is also beneficial to de-stressing, it makes sense to get outdoors every day to engage in some kind of exercise. Go for a walk alone or with your friends. Enroll for some kind of team sport at college, or get together with your mates and casually kick a ball around. Get yourself a bike and head off somewhere scenic, or spend more time exploring the place where you live. Do anything that takes your interest, and fit your exercise ideas into your daily schedule.

Do something that will make you laugh

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Laughter is literally the best medicine, as this article suggests. Laughter brings about a physical and mental release, enabling you to relax despite the stresses surrounding you. Therefore, find ways to laugh more during the day. Hang out with your mates and joke around. Go to a comedy club near you. Watch a funny video on YouTube when you're in dire need of some light relief, and get yourself a Netflix subscription and watch a few comedies. Find ways to add more humor to your life, and you will feel better as a result. Even if you have to fake a smile occasionally,  research suggests, smiling will offer respite from your short-term stresses. Try it now, especially if you're feeling particularly stressed, and put this research to the test.

Eat and drink with healthy options

The tendency when feeling stressed is to reach for unhealthier options, such as a glass of alcohol or a piece of cake. And as a student, you may have a habit of taking the easy option when it comes to meal times, such as ringing for a takeaway or opting for a quick solution to fix your hunger, such as a pizza. None of these things are particularly good for your health or for dealing with stress; however, there are foods and drinks that can actively de-stress you, such as dark chocolate, oatmeal, nuts, and green tea. Follow this link for more. And learn to cook something healthy. Not only is this an essential life skill, but the act of preparing and cooking food can distract you from your stresses. And, of course, it will help you save money as you won't be reliant on takeout food or unhealthy microwave meals.

Finally

Beat stress by having more fun in your life, and by opting for healthy lifestyle choices. You will feel much better if you do. And don't be afraid to ask for help. If you are getting bogged down with work, or you are struggling with your student finances, seek assistance from staff and friends at the place where you are studying. You don't have to suffer alone! We hope this article was useful to you, but do let us know if you have any further de-stressing tips based on your experiences as a student. Take care, and thanks for reading!

How You Can Make Extra Cash By Playing Games Online

If you’re a bit short on cash and you’re looking for a way to earn a little bit of extra cash, you probably start by looking at ways to earn money online. There are all sorts of things you can do like website testing or filling out surveys to earn a bit of extra money on the side. The only problem with that stuff is that it can get a bit boring. You don’t usually make that much money from survey sites and other similar money making schemes so you’ll have to spend a while doing the same boring tasks over and over before you get any real money out of it. But what if there was a way to earn money online while you’re doing something fun at the same time. It might sound too good to be true but you can actually do that.

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Playing games online is usually considered a fun pastime, not a good way to make money but what a lot of people don’t realize is that you can actually do both. There are plenty of different ways that you can play games online and earn money while you’re doing it. These are just some of the best ways to earn money online by simply playing games.

Streaming

Video game streaming sites have really exploded over the last couple of years, the most popular one being Twitch. All you have to do is set up a webcam and stream yourself playing your favorite games and people can drop in and watch. Then there is a donation section on there and if people like to watch you, they’ll send you some cash. You’ll also make money from ad revenue if you feature certain games. It takes a while to build a fanbase before you start making any big money but if you enjoy playing games anyway, that’s not really a problem. The most successful channels are the ones run by people with a big personality that people can relate to and the ones that do something interesting with their games. If you’re just playing through a game normally then people will get bored and switch off, but if you can think of a new and interesting way to play it, you’ll get lots of subscribers.

As well as streaming on sites like Twitch, you can start a Youtube channel to make money more directly. Once you hit a certain number of views on a video, you’ll start getting paid advertising revenue by Youtube. If you can build a loyal fanbase that watches all of your new videos, you can make a lot of money this way. There are popular Youtubers out there that have made millions just from playing games.

Esports Competitions

This one is a bit harder to get into and you really need to be good at a game to make money from it. There are a lot of new competitive gaming competitions out there and the prize money is in the millions for the biggest ones. Those are for the best players in the world and you’ll probably struggle to get into those unless you’re really good, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make good money from some smaller competitions. If there is a game that you play regularly and you think you’re pretty good, why not see if there is a local team that you could join?

Casino Games

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Getting into professional gaming or building a Youtube channel takes a lot of time and dedication and if you aren’t a serious gamer, you’re probably not going to manage it. That doesn’t mean you can’t make a bit of extra money by playing games though. Casino sites are one of the easiest ways to do it. There are plenty of online gambling sites where you can play with real money and sometimes win big. There are, of course, risks involved so don’t think that this is an easy way to make money fast. However, if you bet small and limit the amount of money you spend on there, you can use it as a way of making cash.

Bingo

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If you’re not too keen on the idea of casino games, why not try something simpler like bingo instead. There are so many bingo sites online where you can play with real money and you don’t have to spend that much at all. Some of them let you play with pennies per game so you’re not risking that much. Obviously, the more you play with the more you stand to win but ingo sites are often a cheaper and safer alternative to playing casino games.

Second Life

Second Life is a massively popular online game which, as the name suggests, lets players live out a completely virtual life of their own. You can do pretty much anything you want in the game whether that be working in a store, being a cab driver, becoming a businessman or even being a criminal. The most exciting thing about it though is that you can trade the in-game currency for real money once you’ve accumulated enough. There are people that have become millionaires from playing the game and, while you might not have that many hours to dedicate to the game, you could still make a lot of money.

One of the most popular ways to make money is trading in virtual real estate. If you build up enough in-game cash to buy some good properties, people will pay you a lot for them and you can then trade that for real money. Other people that own businesses in the game will pay you to work for them and you’ll earn a wage, just like in real life, which can then be swapped for real money. It’s a strange concept but there are plenty of people that are making a lot of real money just by playing a game online.

It seems too good to be true but if you put a bit of work in, it is possible to make some money on the side or even make your living from playing games online.

Episode #49: Looking Back

Welcome to another great episode of the podcast!

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Check out www.StudentAffairsFutures.com for lifetime access to this growing resource on the impact of AI, changing demographics, and the future of work on the student affairs profession!

Exclusively for listeners of the HigherEdGeek podcast, use the promo code ‘HIGHEREDGEEK50’ for 50% off the course (a $250 value) and prepare your career for the emerging future of student affairs ahead.

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We take a look back the first year of the podcast and how much life has changed for Dustin as the host.

Listen to the episode below, or subscribe and listen via iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, or Google Play.

Music by pond5.com

Thanks for listening!