Organization isn't OCD, its KEY

Do you ever feel like you don't know where you're at in your life? That is most likely because you are a little unorganized. Honestly, how do you expect to juggle everything you do in college without having some sort of a plan? Exactly, it's almost impossible. So here's an idea! GET ORGANIZED =) because organization is not being OCD, but rather the key to success.

Being in college, students are given the freedom that they have been longing for since, well...forever. But, with that freedom comes a whole boat load of responsibility (and no, I'm not just talking about doing your own laundry). It includes getting up and going to your classes every day, going to work, meeting with professors or students, making appointments, doing your homework, and everything else your mom and dad used to help you with. So, to keep it all together and mainly yourself together, here are a few tips I find helpful for staying organized:

• Use a daily planner to write down homework, appointments, special dates, events, due dates etc.
• Have a desk calendar that displays large events that you know ahead of time, as well as work days and times (this way you won't forget to show up to work!)
• Make a list of things that need to be done, but be specific. Use specific days Mon,Tues,Wed etc. and also make sure that you write down what you need to complete specifically.
• Once you have completed the work on your list, cross it out, highlight it, or do whatever makes you feel like you have accomplished something!

If you don't find these tips helpful, I found a few articles on-line that you may find useful.

1. Life Goals: http://www.simplify101.com/goals.php
2. Time Management: http://www.simplify101.com/time-management-productivity.php
3. Create a Change: http://www.simplify101.com/create-change.php
   

Getting Money for College

One of the most common questions asked when applying to college is: How can I get money to pay for this!?!?! (Well, that's probably your parents first question) Now, if you are applying to colleges or are already in college, I'm sure you know the #1 answer is... "fill out the FAFSA form." Well, here's the truth, not everybody qualifies for federal aid. Financial aid is based upon your parents income, how many children they have, if they are in college and so on. Even if you KNOW you won't qualify for financial aid, you still should fill it out...maybe they will make a mistake or something like that. Unfortunately, when that paper comes back from FAFSA with a big fat $0.00, its pretty frustrating, and then you (or your parents) continue to freak out about the financial cost of college.
But, don't give up just yet. If you don't receive any financial aid, it should give you more ambition to get every scholarship you can find. Thats what I did, and trust me, it's helping. Colleges offer solely academic based scholarships. Most of them you must have a certain SAT or ACT score as well as a minimum GPA and rank in your class when you graduate as a senior. I had all of these, but I didn't quite have the test scores I wanted to get the highest amount offered. But, I was determined (and so was my mother) that I could actually get my ACT score up, and we were right after a few times I finally scored above the required score and I was rewarded with a Presidential Scholarship from Brockport. My parents and I were so happy because it was going to pretty much pay for my tuition costs.
Each college is different when it comes to academic scholarships. They all have different requirements as well as how much they award you. Private colleges tend to give more money, however thats because it cost much more to go there than to a state school.
Academic based scholarships are not the only ones available though. Most high schools offer scholarships that come in from organizations in their community and even national ones. But, the only way you're going to receive these awards is if you apply for them. Apply for as many as you can, you most likely won't get all the one's you think you would but you'd be surprised at what you can get. I applied to so many and after a rough start of not getting any I ended up with quite a large list to incorporate into my résumé (which is an added bonus, because being a young student you don't have much to brag about).

Living Situations at College

When I first started looking at Brockport, I had decided right then and there I was going to live in a two person bedroom, and not a suite. I'd have to say I made a large mistake. Being an only child made this decision a lot more difficult, the way I looked at it was: I have to share a room either way, so I might as well only share with one other person. Plus the fact that while touring the campus I was shown the newly remodeled Freshman dorms (not the building which I live in). So at that point, my decision became easy... freshman dorm, corridor style, one roommate.
Does anyone have a time machine to quickly take me back to when I filled out my housing application!?!? I realized that even though I sent in my housing application the day it came out, I was still placed in the older dorm building that has retro looking beat up furniture. I was also placed in a ghost wing "academic floor" where a lot of the girls are into different things than I am. Not to mention the fact that the bathrooms are filthy looking (not because they don't get cleaned, but because they are just so worn down). The toilets don't flush properly, the doors don't shut, the lights go out all the time etc, etc. But I guess it's my fault that I chose this over having my own bathroom that I would share with only three other girls and be able to clean and make "girly". However, I may have made a different choice had I been shown the other possible corridor buildings that I might be placed in.
Even though I do not like my building simply for the fact that it is old and raggedy looking, I am glad I met the people I did. It set me up for my living arrangements for the fall. Three of the girls in my hall that I became close to will be living with me in a six person suite in the high rises. And this time, we did our research we looked in all of the high rises to see which one we liked best. So, my advice to anyone looking to live on campus, make sure you take your time to find out all of your options for living on campus.