Finals Week

Finals week is the make or break moment for most students in the classroom.  Personally, I really enjoy finals week because you don't have any classes that week because all you have to do is show up to the day of your final.  A lot of teachers even make their finals the last section you studied and it is not even comprehensive.  However, there are certain teachers who have finals that are very hard and require days in advance for studying.

Washburn Student Government Association always does incentives and fun activities during finals week to keep students stress-free and also to get them to come to the library.  My favorite day during finals week is the day that WSGA gives away free pizza and energy drinks at Mabee Library.  This makes me pumped about going to the library and keeps me awake for hours while trying to study for my finals.

Ivan Moya shows off the finals week board of events

Remember: Finals are what you make of them. Get plenty of sleep and study each day at a time and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Work, Work, and more Work

College students have a hard time balancing work and school.  I am taking 12 hours as well as having two jobs and sometimes I have a hard time making time for everything.  Luckily, my jobs are both on campus and I can coordinate my schedules with my bosses better.

I found and article on wikihow.com that gives seven steps for balancing work and school. Check it out! http://www.wikihow.com/Balance-School-and-Work-as-an-Adult

My dad always told me that being a full-time student is a job on its own.  If you have a job outside of school make sure you remember school is prioritized.  On campus jobs are the best because like I mentioned, Washburn works with your schedule and knows you are a student first.  Sometimes you might have a job that allows you to even do your school work at when there is down time!

Post Thanksgiving Break

Hello all!

Post Thanksgiving break is the time where students freak out about all the papers and projects they "said" they would get done, but in reality, ended up forgetting about school all together.  My solution to this problem was to get all of my assignments done before thanksgiving break and work on the bigger projects in sections.  I believe that it's better to take projects one step at a time instead of trying to get the whole thing done at once.  This way you won't have to stress about procrastinating, which I know we all do.

Something that I always do get myself in the mood to do homework is grab a cup of coffee and have my laptop with me playing my favorite song in the background.  This encourages me to get pumped up to do my homework.  I stay focused by thinking of creative rewards for myself.  Here are a few examples of things I have done:

 I ate a gummi bear each time I read a paragraph as an incentive

Starbucks keeps my mind awake while studying

Have a cute planner to make you want to look at your assignments

What motivates you to study? I'm always looking for fun things to keep me going!

Make a little time for fun

As the end of the year becomes stressful, I always make sure I keep room in my schedule for the fun things in life.  It's important to remember to go out and be with friends and go back to see family because I feel like that will keep you sane from over stressing.

On Nov. 9, 2013 I went to the marine corps ball with my boyfriend, Nick.  This year was the 238th birthday of the Marine Corps and they celebrate by having a ceremony of the cutting of the cake as well as dinner and a dance afterward.  This was the first time I experienced this event and I had a blast! The marines there were such gentlemen and us girls felt like princesses being escorted around.

                                                     Nick and I by the birthday cake

At the end of the night there was plenty of pictures and memories that were made.  I was so glad I got to attend this event because it will be one I will not forget.

Have you done anything and exciting this semester? Share with me!

Editing shift in Student Media

Over the past few weeks I was asked by my teacher to go to the student media office and edit stories for The Washburn Review and yearbook.  I just completed my last shift yesterday and learned so much from this experience.  The stories I edited, for example, were: volleyball, football, finals stress, and freshman insiders.  These stories were all personal and I really enjoyed reading them.  As I was editing, I was to make changes according the the AP style guidelines.  Being a writing tutor as well as an taking editing class made this relatively easy to go through each story.

When I was finished making the corrections to each story I went to a computer and made the changes and handed them to one of the editors in the room who checked over them a second time.  Each shift lasted two hours and there were other editors in the room as well as production and film students.  The atmosphere of the room was very relaxed and student lead, which I enjoyed.  They had a "to do" checklist on the wall of stories and things they needed to be completed.  This kept them organized and I knew these students were very good at their jobs and tasks they were given.  

Overall, my experience was positive and I can relate to the editors in student media since I edit at Mabee Library as a tutor. Whenever editors become stressed from all the grammar errors I like to tell them, "Just laugh it off and let your skills show through the edits."

Enrolling for Classes

What year are you in college? How are your classes? What's your major?
All of these questions we feel like are asked all the time and really make us think about what direction we are going in our lives and the path we are on.  The first thought in my mind is not only to get my degree, but to think about what it is that will get me there along the way and classes is a major aspect.  Seeing that "senior enrollment" status on the mywashburn tab really freaked me out because this is only my third year in college but I have taken so many classes that I now have a higher standing.  Depending what status you are in your academic year also determines when you can enroll for classes.  This week, Washburn opened up their pre enrollement for the Spring 2014 term.  Here are a few things to make sure you keep in mind and are doing before enrolling for classes:

1. Process a degree audit and see how many hours you have taken
2. Look over the classes offered next semester and have an idea of what you want or need to take
3. Schedule an appointment with your adviser
4. Talk with your adviser and come up with ideas of classes
5. Get your pin number from your adviser
6. Enroll for classes

This is the process I took before enrolling for my classes and it was a breeze! Sometimes it won't let you enroll for a class because you might need a pre requisite class prior to taking the class.  If that isn't the case, sometimes you just need an over ride.

Now that I only have a few semesters left, it is very exciting yet makes me nervous for making sure I'm taking all the right classes. Make sure you are on the right path to success!

Mid Terms

'Tis the season for mid terms......

Yes, that's right, it's that time of year again we know to expect as a college problem we all face.  As I am proceeding with my junior year of college I have had many types of midterms.  For the most part, mid terms tend to happen around weeks 8-10 of the semester.  Don't be discouraged and stressed out during this time of year because there are ways to get through the tests and jitters.  Below is a link for 10 ways to reduce stress in college: http://www.everydayhealth.com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress.aspx

I have already had two midterms and always find myself as the last one done every time.  Remember, being the last one done does not mean you are slow or didn't study.  Take your time and carefully read over each question then check your answer to make sure its the right one you have in mind.  Before you take the test, scan through it to see where you should begin.  Sometimes I start at the back of tests and work out the longer portions of the test first, then proceed to the easier questions at the end when time may be running out.  I hope midterms are a breeze and go well for you. Remember to stay positive and confident in yourself!

A quote that makes me smile

Sorority Life

As you may or may not know, I am currently living in the Alpha Phi sorority house on Washburn University's campus.  Being a sorority girl is tons of fun, but let me tell you, it has its ups and downs.

I joined a sorority two years ago when first arriving at Washburn.  Accepting my bid from Alpha Phi was one of the best decisions I have made in college.  Not only does the sisterhood wear our letters on our front, but we have sisters who have our back.  I decided to live in the house because I wanted to become closer to the girls and experience the atmosphere of really being involved with my sorority.  Living with 30 girls is never a dull moment!  I have had late nights, crazy times and memories to last me a lifetime.

All the members in Alpha Phi from Bid Day this year

There are times; however, that can be stressful.  This week has been one of those times for me.  We received our "little" sisters this week and as a "big" sister, it's our job to make them crafts and do things for their initiation week.  This is a very exciting time but it fell right as the same time that I am trying to do homecoming stuff as well.  I have been staying up late paining, pinteresting, and looking up ideas for my next surprise I am going to do for my little sis to make this a special resemblance of what Alpha Phi means.  While all of this is stressful, I keep telling myself it will be worth it in the end when I get to see how happy and surprised she is when she finds out I am her big sister.

Sorority life is an experience that has made me a better leader and stronger woman in today's society.  I believe that this experience has given me many opportunities that I wouldn't have any where else.  Along with that, I have 68 girls who I know have my back and will be there for me for the rest of my life :) 

~Envy the Ivy. Alpha Phi~

Upper Level Division Classes

I am in my junior year of taking classes at Washburn University and have found that it is now time for those upper level division classes.  All of my classes are 300-400 level and it's a different transition from last year.  I personally believe that now that I am in my major of upper division classes they seem to be better than my general education classes were.  Upper division classes should be hard yes, but they should also become of interest to you and be a training for your future in the degree you are pursuing.

The more advanced your classes are, the smaller the class size becomes.  Most of my classes consist of around 15 people or less. I love the way that I get more one-on-one attention and focus from my professors.  This helps me understand my classes and enjoy the environment.  The only downfall to having small class sizes is that you may only see the same people in every class.  I don't mind having my "public relations" group of students, but sometimes you may want to meet new people around the university.

Having upper division classes has allowed me to understand that I am in the right major.  I find myself spending more time on homework, but the work is exciting for me to learn.  There are those few elective classes that I sometimes wish interested me more, but they end up tying into my major as a whole.  The teachers in these classes expect more of you and are harsher on grading, but in the end it's all worth it.

Introduction to College Student Probz!

Hello all!

I created this blog to talk about the day-to-day struggles of the average college student. I could probably go on forever with college problems I seem to face. I know everyone can connect one way or another to the same issues.  In the end, we all love college! We just need to get past the daily struggles that appear every now and then!

A problem I just faced last night was the new iOS7 update for my iPhone.  I was hearing hype all day about students uploading this new software and thought, "I'll give it a try." I have only had my iPhone for about three months now so I didn't know any different as to what to update and what not to update.  Later last night I went online and read reviews about it and decided I would try the update.  Little did I know it would take two hours to update!! Once the pain of waiting was over I restarted my phone and tried out the new features.  Turns out, I'm not a big fan of this new software.  I feel as if my iPhone looks more like a Windows phone and is not the same phone I was used to.  The more I played with the features today and saw others messing with their phones, I have started to adapt to it.  I'm not sure what you all think about the new update, but it's quite different than any other iPhone structure I have seen.

The problem with college students is we like to try new things, but when something is changed we freak out and don't know if we like it or not. This will take some getting use to but I think I will end up liking it in the end. I hope you all enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy blogging about them.  If you have any fun stories to share, please feel free to comment!

-Elizabeth Burgett