Beat the Heat! Or, How to Survive Without Air Conditioning

There are human luxuries we have all grown accustomed to in our comfortable American lives. These include: food, running water, bad reality T.V. shows, and air conditioning. I never realize how much I miss my air conditioner until it is the middle of August and I am left lying on the floor of my dorm room, panting, and praying for death.

Here’s a list of some useful (and some unconventional!) ways to keep cool on campus! Read More →

Study Album of the Week: Pretty Lights – “Making Up A Changing Mind”

Thomas Frank Music

I’m a sucker for good electronic music, especially when it’s laden with good samples. So when I came across Pretty Lights on Grooveshark radio, I had to check him out.

The man behind Pretty Lights, Derek Vincent Smith, is from Colorado and has been actually been making Pretty Lights albums since 2006. He describes his music as a combination of “glitchy hip-hop beats, buzzing synth lines, and vintage funk and soul samples, sometimes grime.” Whatever it is, it’s really good. Read More →

How To Build The Ultimate Hanging Loft Bed

Thomas Frank DIY, The Best Stuff

Back in May, I put up a cool little tutorial on how to build a hanging desk. Basically, I attached chains to the four corners of a sturdy board and hung the board off my loft bed. While it was a pretty simple project, the outcome was pretty cool – all the floor space that would be taken by desk legs is freed up, giving me more room to store things or to stretch out my legs.

Unfortunately, I’m back in school and the standard desk that comes with my room cannot be removed. Therefore, I had to go looking for other ways to free up floor space. Gotta make room for a couch, right? Read More →

Contest: Win a Logitech HD 1080p Webcam

Thomas Frank Announcements

Update: Our winner is Brian Francis! Thanks for entering, everyone!

Remember when I reviewed the Logitech c910 webcam this summer? I’m pretty sure I concluded that it’s one of the best webcams ever, and that conclusion hasn’t changed at all since I’ve been using it more frequently. This thing really is the shiznat. Well, a while ago a friend of mine suggested I should give one away. Was he secretly just asking for one? Yes. Is that stopping me? Not at all.

Guest Post: 5 Tips To Bag The Financial Aid You Need

Carol Montrose Guest Post, Money

This is a guest post from Carol Montrose, an MBA student at CSUN. Read more about her below the post.

When it comes time to head off to the ivory towers of your chosen university, you may find yourself stymied by a decided lack of funds. Unfortunately for students, institutions of higher learning require up-front payment in order to register for classes, which means that if you don’t have the money in hand, you really can’t go to college. And with the ongoing recession showing no signs of abating, this could spell disaster for the student that can’t qualify for a loan. But don’t despair; you still have options for financial aid. Read More →

Email Scams: Don’t Get Duped

Thomas Frank Tips

Update for February 2013:

You may have received an email from the Direct Loan Servicing Center about your loan being transferred to Sallie Mae. Don’t worry – this email is legit. (assuming the sender’s domain is correct – see screenshot below)

My own student loan was transferred at the beginning of this month (Feb. 2013), and I received the email. I called the Department of Education personally to verify that the email came from them, and they affirmed it.

For reference, here is a screenshot of the email I received:

If you have any specific questions, feel free to leave a comment on this post and I’ll get back to you.

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Original Aug. 2011 article:

Correction: If you viewed this post in the past, you probably saw that I had posted a specific email that I previously believed to be a scam. The email referred to a change in the way that the government is handling Direct Loan processing. It turns out the email was indeed not a scam, though it was a very poor and sloppily executed message that looked a lot like one. Read More →

Forget-Me-Not: Don’t Forget to Pack _______!

Meghan Callahan Tips

Ah, returning to college. There is no experience quite as joyful as being back on campus, seeing all of your friends after a summer apart, and embracing the heady rush of independence! But nothing brings you back down to Earth as suddenly and painfully as realizing that you left your vital _______ in your hometown! Here’s a last-minute checklist of the important things you may have forgotten. Shove these in your suitcase to keep your first days back on campus worry-free.

Avoid the Freshman Cliche

Chris Wilkins Tips

So, you are a brand new college student. You just graduated from high school and let’s face it, you ruled that place. You walked around with a swagger that couldn’t be fully explained by words. Now, you are entering college, full of energy and a sense of unmatched self-indulgent pride. Breathe in that fresh air, it feels good.

Protip: Everyone hates you right now. Read More →