Your are heading toward the end of the semester with finals approaching. Cramming for finals with the legendary late nights at the library adds additional stress to your already stressed schedule. Staying healthy is key for acing your finals. Eating right during these stressful times helps you stay laser focused with the task on hand.

Leave it to two ambitious moms who recognized this situation and came up with a solution and a business idea at the same time. They knew how much it meant to college kids to receive something from home – to know that they are being missed and thought about in a special way. Thinking of u care packages offers packages of healthy, high energy goodies for each month of the school year, including many Fair Trade, organic, and freshly baked products.  They also offer Special Occasion Packages for birthdays or anytime to celebrate or wish good luck.  They are happy to customize and can accommodate special dietary needs.
Visit their website for more information: www.thinkingofucarepackages.com
Give your student what he/she really wants.  They do the work. You get the credit!

Halloween can be a blast at college. A combination of costumes, cocktails and craziness adds up to great time. The big question of what to wear for the big night can become part of the fun. It is always fun to go as a group costume. Planning is a key for this GROUP to succeed. Have a party to discuss some options.  Of course you need a ring leader to organize all the participants and to perform the final costume check.  Good Will is always a good place to get the basics of your costume and you are helping them with their cause.

Here are some suggestions for unique group costumes.

• Traffic Cones – Cause a road block with your group!
• Box of Crayons- Color the town red!
• M & M’s – Be the treat for the night!
• 12 Pack of your Favorite Beverage – Remember the pack has to stay together!
• Deal or No Deal TV Show –   Find your favorite Howie Mandel and go as the glam girls on the show! You can fill your briefcase with all sorts of surprises!
• Tetris -If you have a group of people and no ideas for Halloween costumes, this is one of the easiest last-minute costumes you can come up with. Plus it has a great nostalgia factor.

Remember have fun, but be safe!

Note taking in classes can be a key aspect for being successful at college. Taking notes helps you to  remember days later the material from class. It helps to reinforce the information from the text and professor. If you have something written down on paper, you can always refer to the material later. There is no magic to taking good notes, just common sense. It’s simply a matter of being thorough and accurate.

There are several techniques you can utilize to help with your note taking. Below are some suggestions.

The 2-6 Method

The 2-6 refers to the way you divide the space on your notepaper. Make two columns, using the red line on the left of the page as your border. Then, when you take notes in class, use the 6 column for the notes and the smaller 2 column on the left as a highlighting system. Write main headings and important points on the left, including material you think you will be tested on. When you’re finished, you should have a comprehensive page of information that you can quickly scan for important points. Studying is 99% perspiration; if you give it a real, concentrated effort over the course of a semester you will see an improvement. Your academic success is entirely up to you.

George Mason University

Split Page Method

Class lectures and your textbook–they’re the primary sources of course content and you need to learn both. So combine them with the split page method of taking notes. Just divide your notebook page in half lengthwise. Draw a line down the middle of the page. Take class notes on one side of the page and outline the text on the other side. When you study you’ll have both. Class notes and text together, integrated. Some students find it helpful to add a third column for questions they need to ask the professor.

Sherry Reynolds

Group Method

Are you tired of struggling to keep up with a lecture while copying page after page of notes in class? My advice? Don’t take the notes — at least not every day. Instead, form a group with some of your classmates and take turns taking good class notes. When it’s not your day to be the note-taker, really concentrate on what is being said in class. You might want to jot down a few particularly important points, but mostly try to participate in class. Ask questions when you can’t understand the point your teacher is trying to get across, and score points by answering questions your teacher asks. After class you can either photocopy the notes from your classmate, or better yet, copy them over by hand while reviewing in your mind what happened in class.

Fred Weening

Hope this was helpful  information for taking notes. Not  everyone learns in the same matter, so find what works best for you, and go for it!

Good luck and Happy Note Taking!!

Ok, you’re all settled into your new home away from home, you have been going to class for a few weeks and now the tests and papers are starting to show up on the calendar. You’ve felt like you have had tons of time with class only 3 -4 hours a day. You’re wondering, where did all the time go and how will I survive.   The combination of unstructured time and larger projects proves disastrous for the first-year students who don’t keep a calendar and schedule their work.   Don’t panic; use the calendar to your advantage. Post your schedule on a monthly calendar, that way you can look ahead to see what is coming down the path. You will quickly be able to see which weeks will be heavier with studies, which weeks you can afford to kick back and relax. By putting your calendar on a dry erase, a college essential you can quickly adjust your calendar for your changing schedule. Planning your time with the knowledge of the monthly milestones will add up to years of success in college.

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The night before I left for college, I laid in bed wide awake worrying about all the things to come, like; how was I going to find my way around campus, how was I going to meet new people, were my roommate and I going to get along, are my classes going to be hard, am I going to miss my home, and how am I going to survive on my own? These were just some of the questions that were consistently popping into my head.

Finally, the morning came and next thing I knew I was at college. When I arrived, it was so hectic; everyone unloading the cars and setting up their rooms. With all this chaos going on, my initial fears were suppressed. They didn’t come back until I said goodbye to my parents and I was finally on my own. As I walked up to my dorm room I saw groups of people laughing and talking with each other as if they had been friends for years. I’ve never felt so alone and wondered how I was going to fit in.

Luckily, my room was all set up to make me feel more at ease and when I got there I sat down to relax. It was then time for our first hall meeting, and I first began to realize that college wasn’t so bad after all. Most of the people on my floor were in the same position as I was in and were really open to meeting other people. My RA answered any questions that we had about classes and whatever else, which made me feel more confident for the first day for classes. My fears quickly began to fade away. The first week there was always so many activates going on for Freshmen to meet other people and feel their way around campus.

The first day of classes, I soon realized, wasn’t so bad either. The teachers were pretty understanding of new students and the class work didn’t seem as hard if you put in enough effort for it.

I was also glad that I didn’t give up and end up going home the first weekends of college. During those first initial weekends I met so many people and found a great group of friends.

Now, I reflect and realize that college has been the time of my life. Even though it was a little over whelming at first, if you give it some time, you will realize too how great of a place it truly is.

Fondly, Lola

As you are deciding on how to decorate your new dorm room don’t forget to bring some life to your new home by adding some color with wall art. Everyone wants to make a personal statement and outfit their room in a way that reflects their own personality. After you have selected your bedding you can add a splash of color to those bare white walls with peel and stick wall décor. Wall art in the form of peel and stick can go a long way in a short and simple way. It easily brings that wanted flair and unique touch to your new home. At the end of the year the peel and stick art is easy to remove leaving the walls undamaged walls. It’s that simple.

It may be on your thoughts right now – just how to make your tiny dorm room feel more homey and inviting? By adding a few unique dorm accessories to your dorm room you can easily transform your space into the place to hang with your friends.

Wall décor is sometimes overlooked in the dorm room. Why not use functional art work to add that homey touch – like some of this great wall art from Dorm Digs. Butch and Harold have also created unique peel and stick frames that are perfect for your dorm walls. These are just a few suggestions, but with a couple items from Dorm Digs it’s easy to bring the walls of your dorm room to life.

Closet accessories are made to solve storage problems. Dorm Digs has some storage and organization essentials that can go a long way in that tiny dorm room space of yours. After you evaluate your space, then choose over the door shoe racks, belt and scarf holders, under bed storage units and collapsible bins to help organize your space and accessories. After all, a girl can’t have too many accessories.

These are just a few suggestions to get you started in transforming your dorm room into a space you’ll love. For more dorm room accessories visit Dorm Digs.

Most people think of college as days filled with fun and anticipation. Meeting new people, forging new friendships and starting a new stage of your life can be an exciting time. While all of this is exhilarating, it also can be overwhelming. Heading off to school, the independence that comes with leaving home, and the stress of classes can sometimes cause anxiety and depression. These and other mental health issues are prevalent on campuses across the country and it’s a very serious problem. Schools and other organizations recognize this and are working hard to help students cope with the many issues that arise throughout the college year.

As a resource we wanted to introduce Active Minds, which is an organization working hard to utilize the student voice and change the conversation about mental health on college campuses. By developing and supporting chapters of a student-run mental health awareness, education, and advocacy group on campuses, the organization works to increase students’ awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental illness, encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed, and serve as liaison between students and the mental health community.

Through campus-wide events and national programs, Active Minds aims to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and create a comfortable environment for an open conversation about mental health issues on campuses throughout North America. If you are interested in learning more you can visit their Active Mind’s site.

Although this is a serious topic, we at Dorm Digs felt strongly this important topic needs awareness, and we wanted to share with you this amazing organization that is helping students cope with the many stressful issues on campus.