Category — College Productivity

This is perhaps the greatest invention of this millennium. Ready to burn to a disc for Mac or PC, the Software For Starving Students package is bundled with all sorts of free apps that will make your life a field of tulips dappled in sunshine.

And can you believe it’s free? From their website:

The cost of a college education is always increasing — usually faster than students can earn money. We hope our efforts will help lower students’ software costs. We obtain all of this software, legally free of charge, via the Internet. Most of it is open source, the rest is obtained and distributed by permission. It doesn’t cost us anything but our time (for the most part), so we pass the good will on to you.

Software For Starving Students

Source: Lifehacker

You’ve just spent 4 years (or more ) basically living in your own little world of classes, studying, writing papers, and taking tests. Now you’re about to be out on your own and you have no idea what to do next. Should you go to grad school, get a job, travel, do an internship? The array of choices is sometimes too much.

You may be at a point in your life where you’d like to try something different before settling into your “real life” future. You can do it–Imagine having adventure, freedom, money, and the satisfying feeling of giving back to humanity.

Join the Peace Corps or work with a volunteer agency that is trying to change something that you care about. Look into Americorps Vista, which is a program that works to fight poverty. Both the Peace Corps and Americorps offer a stipend, so you will be paid for your work, and there is usually a time commitment for service (one year for Americorps and I believe 2 years for the Peace Corps).

Both of these organizations LOVE college grads, and you’ll have the opportunity to see and change the world, all while gathering meaningful experiences that will help you after you return from service.

I wish I had done something like this when I first graduated. With no job or family or anything tying me down it would have been perfect. I can only imagine that the decision of what to do next with your life, whether it be grad school or the working world, might come easier after such a life changing experience.

Related posts:

What Should You Do After College? Get A Job
What Should You Do After College? Do An Internship
What Should You Do After College? See The World
What Should You Do After College? Dream BIG!

Photo .i want to change the world.

Definr has to be one of the quickest online dictionaries that I’ve ever used! With a simple interface and no advertisements, this site will definitely help you with writing those thesis papers! As you type in your word, Definr shows possible words that you might be typing. Click “meep”, and it gives you every definition imaginable! Happy word hunting!

Listen to your elders, kids! They’ve been through trials and tribulations and you might as well learn from their experience.

Drew McLellan knows how awkward it can be for new college grads transitioning into post-graduate life. He’s gleaned some of the top minds in the business world and asked them to share advice for new college grads.

I know I was NOT looking forward to leaving school. This probably explains why I switched majors 3 or 4 times!

The most important thing I wish I had known when I was starting out is that you don’t have to make a lifelong decision and stick with it. You can try multiple professions, do one for a while and then switch when you’re ready for a new challenge. A great education gives you that leverage, and puts you in a position where you’re constantly versatile and able to learn new things.

You can download the free e-book at Drew’s blog and read all the wonderful advice, including some tidbits from Seth Godin plus a ton of other savvy folks.

If you’re about to graduate from college and still are unsure if you’d like to go to grad school, the best thing you could do to help the decision making process might be to get a job.

Yeah, I know it sounds harsh but it has to happen some time. If you can’t stand the thought of putting on a suit and tie, it might be worth it to just take some type of full time work situation.

This is what I did–after graduation I didn’t know what I wanted to do, so I held 4 part time jobs, all of them very different and interesting. A couple of jobs were in the Theater, one was at a book store, and another was as a secretary in a psychologist’s office. At the time I thought I might want to be a designer or painter in the Theater, or a psychologist, or an English professor. I didn’t know for sure which one, so I took jobs that had something to do with each potential career, and that helped me make my decision.

Taking a job in the real world will not only give you exposure to the fields you’re interested in, but the very experience of seeing what it’s like to work 9-5 may be the wakeup call you need to light the fire that makes you seek a higher education. I know that when I graduated from college, I thought “Oh, I’ll just work and life will be great.” I had the idea to go on to graduate school but I was burnt out from college and my mind could not face another 2 years of intensive study.

But after taking 2 years to work in the real world, I became convinced more than ever that I wanted to do something more with my life. I knew that I wanted a higher level job, one with more satisfaction, and that going to grad school was the next step. When that realization hits you, you will find a way to make it happen. You will discover a passion in yourself that might not have been there before, and you will then have the emotional and mental energy necessary to help you get your master’s degree.

Related posts:

What Should You Do After College? Change The World
What Should You Do After College? Do An Internship
What Should You Do After College? See The World
What Should You Do After College? Dream BIG!

I’ve done several internships, some of them paid and some unpaid, and I’ve never regretted doing any of them. An internship is an opportunity for you to work in an industry at an entry level (sometimes below entry level ).

The perk of this situation is that you get to see what it’s really like to work in that field. There is no pressure to get the corner office or impress anyone–you are the intern and you’re there to learn. While college was all about books and tests, an internship is learning in the real world without the commitment of having a “real job”.

Who knows–you may love it, and you may impress your supervisors enough that they offer you a position. If you like it, you may also find that going to grad school may be the logical next step for you. The worst case scenario is if you don’t like it you move on and take whatever life lessons you’ve accumulated with you.

Deciding what to do after college is a big step. It’s worth it to explore your options, and at the very least if you do end up going to grad school you’ll get a little mental break from student life while you’re doing your internship.

Related posts:

What Should You Do After College? Change The World
What Should You Do After College? Get A Job
What Should You Do After College? See The World
What Should You Do After College? Dream BIG!

Having a tough time getting everyone together for a group project? Try Drop.io, a website that is designed to help you gather all the information together in one place. Just create a drop name, decide if you want to password protect the drop site, and voila! You and your classmates can drop in PDFs, Word Docs, voicemails to each other, images, and emails, all in one spot. The service is free up to 100mb, and will hold your content up to a year, when it will be automatically deleted. If you need more space, you can purchase the upgrade for $10 off of their website.

I was never much of a consistent studier in school–I seemed to always like to save the studying until the last minute and then do a blitz session right before the big test moment. It worked for me, but everyone has their own tactics. If I had to list my absolute best study tip it would be this:

Take regular breaks. I know, it sounds counterintuitive. You have papers due, exams coming up, presentations to make (eek!), plus class, plus studying. It may feel like the only way to get everything done is to cut back on leisure time, but that’s simply not the case. Your brain needs time to rest, and you’ll actually accomplish more if you work less.

The Strategy: For every 45 minutes of work, take a 15 minute break. Get up, walk around, talk to people, watch TV, eat something, walk outside–whatever, just get away from your desk, your books and the computer.

This is a little of a mind trick–if you sit down at your desk and think “I’m going to study all night long” your mind will rebel, and you will have trouble concentrating. But, if you know in your head that you will be rewarded with a break in 45 minutes, your mind will kick into high gear because it sees the finish line in sight.

In addition to taking regular breaks during study time, it is also essential to take a day off once a week. That’s one 24 hour period of time when your brain can relax and have fun.

After a break or a day off, you will come back to your work with fresh eyes, and you’ll find learning so much easier. It also helps when you go to take your tests–you will show up refreshed and energized, which beats stumbling in unshaven with wrinkly clothes and a frazzled look on your face after pulling an all-nighter .

After you graduate from college you may not be sure what the next step is–Should you go to graduate school? Should you get a real job? These are tough questions that have lifelong implications. Taking a step back and getting some perspective on your life and your place in the world will help you reach a decision that’s right for you. Travel is one thing that can help you get some insight into what you want to do with your life.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” –- Henry Miller

When you don’t have a job or a family to support you are free to roam wherever you want. There is a beauty in that. If you have the money and the opportunity to see the world, then for Pete’s sake do it.

I have friends who saved their money and went on adventures in other countries (Australia, Italy, Peru, Guatemala), staying in youth hostels and sleeping on couches. A trip like that that exposes you to a different culture can help put your own life in perspective and help you figure out what your place on planet earth is.

This doesn’t have to be a 2 year journey across Africa –even a trip as short as a few weeks can shake up your viewpoint enough to help you make decisions on where to go next with your life. I very much wish that I had done this after I graduated from college and before I started graduate school. You get the chance to see that it’s a big wide world out there with limitless possibilities. When you return home you’ll find it easier to approach the transition from colllege to graduate school (or college to work) with more peace of mind.

What about you–have any of used travelled to help you decide what path to take after college?

Related posts:

What Should You Do After College? Change The World
What Should You Do After College? Do An Internship
What Should You Do After College? Get A Job
What Should You Do After College? Dream BIG!

Photo: High hopes, big dreams

Over the past 4 years you’ve been through a lot. You’ve lived away from your parents for the first time, you’ve been in charge of your own finances for the first time, you’ve taken responsibility for your academic performance and have asked the multi-layered question: What do I want to do with my life?

The time after you graduate from college can be a time of angst, indecision, worry and confusion, but it’s also a thing of beauty. Your life is a blank canvas, ready for the first stroke of your brush. Enjoy this time, be patient with yourself, and above all never stop learning. You will figure everything out if you take the time to refresh your mind and dream big.

There are some people who just instinctively know what they want, but I think many of us need some time to reflect, consider our options and decompress from the ordeals (and fun ) of college life. As you’re in this transition mode, there are a few options standing in front of you. Over the next few days I’ll be presenting some ideas and options to you.

Alright, let’s get started on these dream sparking options. The first up is….See The World.

Related posts:

What Should You Do After College? Change The World
What Should You Do After College? Do An Internship
What Should You Do After College? See The World
What Should You Do After College? Get A Job

Photo: Dream Big | 9