eShipGlobal

Tag: Student Tips

  • Freshman’s Guide to College Textbooks

    Freshman’s Guide to College Textbooks

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    Getting ready for your first semester is college is filled with excitement and anticipation. Many are counting down the days for when they can ‘officially’ call themselves college students. Perhaps you have already started buying your school supplies. If you have already signed up for classes, you may even know what textbooks are listed for your class. Textbooks are another expensive cost to a college education. That is why you should be aware of these 5 things.

     

    1. Textbooks can be  EXPENSIVE

    Textbooks can range from $5 to $500 easily. There is no average cost for textbooks, because it often depends on the major. For instance, many science books cost hundreds of dollars, so a science major will spend more than a art major, which usually has cheaper books or does not require any. It is important to note that just because you spend $300 on a textbook does not mean that it is bound. Some books are loose-leaf, which means they are unbound and require a binder to put all the loose pages into.

     

    1. Don’t buy your books before class starts

    Many blogs and articles might tell you to buy your textbooks early, but that could be costly. Professors have little to no control on what books are listed as required on the class catalog. So, you may have bought that $100 book and it will not be used. Buy your textbook right after your first day of class, when you get the syllabus. If your course requires multiple textbooks, wait to buy the other books until about a week or two before you need them. Sometimes professors have to redo the class calendar due to circumstances, which could result in one of the books previously listed as required not being used.

     

    1. Look for off-campus bookstores

    Some textbooks may sell out fast in your campus bookstore, especially if it is a core class that all majors have to take. Usually there are one or more off-campus bookstores, usually somewhere near campus, that sell college textbooks.

     

    1. Rent or Buy Used

    As mentioned before, college textbooks can be expensive. One way to help keep costs down to to buy used textbooks or rent them for a semester. Renting is always a good option and there are several places to rent textbooks: Chegg, Amazon, off-campus bookstores, etc. Just keep in mind when the books have to be returned (usually the last day of finals). However, if you are going to need the book for future reference or it is a good book to keep around for your major, you can buy it used at a cheaper cost. Because they are used the condition they are in often varies between gently used to completely marked up and usually the condition does not affect the price.

     

    1. Borrow

    This is the cheapest of all the textbook options. Connect with someone in class or find someone who has taken the class before and see if you can borrow their textbook. You can even ask someone taking the class and offer to share and split the cost of the textbook.

     

    With the cost of college and textbooks being so high, it is becoming important to try and reduce costs as much as possible. By utilizing or being aware of these 5 textbook tips, you can help lower the amount of money you spend on college textbooks. Just think, for every dollar you save the less you will have to pay back in loans and interest.

     

    Have any other tips for saving money on college textbooks? We would love to hear them! Share your tips on our social community UEMSConnect and help other students learn from your experiences.

     

    By Ashleigh Cue

  • Tips to Help You Succeed In College

    Tips to Help You Succeed In College

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    The start of the new semester is just around the corner. The summer is nearly over and many classes will begin again starting next month. This is an exciting time for all the incoming freshmen. They are now college students. College is different than high school. Many professors won’t remind you when something is due. Your parents won’t get notified of any bad grades. You are in complete control of your education, including whether you succeed or not. To help you navigate the college lifestyle, here are some tips to help you succeed.

     

    Take Your Classes Seriously

    Some students come to class just because of attendance and do not even try to learn anything. Some sit in the back playing on their laptops or some just skip class entirely. You are spending a lot of money on your education. If you are not going to learn, why spend the money?

     

    Keep A Copy of Your Syllabus

    The syllabus contains a lot of important information like: when assignments are due, information about big projects, grading policies, and professor contact information. Having a copy of the syllabus on hand is always a good thing. For instance, when your professor thinks an assignment is due that week, but is actually in the syllabus as the week after.

     

    Sit Close To The Front

    Sitting up close will keep your attention on the lecture and less on the students next to you. When you sit up front, you also indicate to the professor that you are listening. Some professors associate the students who sit in the back as the ones not paying attention in class.

     

    Take Notes

    The act of taking notes can actually aid in remembering the class material. They also are great to have when studying for an upcoming exam or later as references for future classes.

     

    Talk To Your Professor

    There is a saying “If your professor does not know who you are, you are probably failing the class.” That is not completely true, but knowing your professor does help you succeed in a class. By talking to the professor you build a rapport with them which could be beneficial in the long run. Jobs will often ask for references and professors make great references. Also they may be more lenient if a mistake happens if they know you.

     

    Register For Classes Right Away

    Classes fill up fast. Especially classes with great professors and required classes. The last thing you want is to be stuck with hard professor (not easily understood or just a harsh grader) or have to postpone graduation because you did not get into a class you needed. This can be harder if you are new because upperclassmen will have an earlier registration date. However, pay attention to payment deadlines. Students will be dropped from a class if they haven’t paid by that time, allowing you to quickly grab up the seat they had.

     

    There are tons of tips and advice for students to help while in college, but knowing these ones will not only help you succeed in college, they will also help you succeed once you are done. These tips help you to build habits like: note taking skills, networking with important people, good work ethics, listening skills and more. You are paying for and spending time in college, so make the most of it and learn all that you can from your classes.

     

    By Ashleigh Cue

  • Social Community for International Students (and College Students)

    Social Community for International Students (and College Students)

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    Studying in the US

    It can be a scary and exciting adventure when you decide to leave your home country to live and study in the US. This transition is often filled with uncertainty and questions; questions like: how can I easily acclimate to the US, where will I live and will I experience culture shock. Even after moving to the US, you will probably still have questions.

     

    Knowledge is key

    There is a saying: knowledge is key. The same saying is true with studying abroad. The more you know and the more you expect, the easier your transition will be. Having resources to help guide you through the process, tips on how to live in the US and a directory of companies that help international students studying in the US, will help answer questions and ease the uncertainty.

     

    Resources Available

    Providing resources and connections for international students is the primary goal for UEMSConnect, an online community. UEMSConnect is an eShipGlobal initiative to help international students, advisors and other university staff or students connect. It serves as a library of knowledge. International students have access to resources like, blogs, infographics, videos and services aimed to help them live and learn in the US.

     

    The Online Community

    As mentioned before, UEMSConnect is an online community. It is a social platform designed to connect international students, international student advisors, and college students. One of the best ways to deal with the uncertainty is to be connected to advisors and students from the university you are looking at attending.

     

    Making Connections

    Through the community international students will be able to talk to other international students, advisors, or US college students via online chat, group boards and private messaging. This is a great way to learn about the school from the people actually attending. International students coming into or already studying in the the US can (and are encouraged to) share tips, advice events and stories. What better way to learn about the challenges you may face when living and studying in the US then from student who made the same journey.

     

    Connect Offline Too

    The connections made on UEMSConnect transcend the digital world. Once you enter the US you can connect with the students, clubs, organizations and advisors you talked to in the community groups. These organizations, clubs and advisors hopefully where using their ability to list events on the calendar, so you may even know about what events will be taking place during your first few weeks on campus.

     

    Join Today!

    Whether you are a incoming international student, a current international student, an advisor or a college student, UEMSConnect is a community designed to help you succeed when studying in US Universities. Sign-up is quick and easy. We hope to see you there!

     

    By Ashleigh Cue

  • 10 Struggles of a College Student

    10 Struggles of a College Student

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    College – a world of freedom, away from your parents and surrounded by friends. Unfortunately, college also comes with a lot of struggles. Especially if you want to succeed and actually graduate. These struggles can be consequences of bad choices, poor organization or utterly bad luck. No matter the cause of these struggles – the stress and frustration that accompanies them is real. So here are some of the few struggles college students may face and some tips to help avoid them.

    Struggle 1: Your computer died right after finishing an assignment

    Advice: Save your papers frequently and on many devices (cloud, flash drive, Google Docs) because you don’t know when your computer will die/crash.

     

    Struggle 2: Your printer won’t print because it’s out of blue ink.

    Advice: Beg your parents for a laserjet or print your paper out at the school’s computer lab.

     

    Struggle 3: Slow or no wifi on campus.

    Advice: While you can’t change or fix your college’s wifi, you can go to a cafe or library.

     

    Struggle 4: Group projects.

    Advice: Make friends in class, hope the professor does not assign groups and talk to the professor about any issues within the group. Don’t forget to talk to your group members after class to find out the best form of communication, assign tasks and to set up deadlines.

     

    Struggle 5: No matter how hard you try, you still have no idea about what to write for your paper.

    Advice: Believe it or not, reading relevant text can help you get ideas about what to write. Start with an outline and go from there. Don’t be afraid to write down what comes to mind, you can revise your paper as much as you want before you have to submit it.

     

    Struggle 6: Realizing after you wrote your paper, you still need another page to meet the minimum requirements.

    Advice: Be descriptive when writing and if possible add additional information relevant to the paper topic, such as a quote, another perspective or including another study.

     

    Struggle 7: When all of a sudden all your professors assign big projects that are due during the same week.

    Advice: Two words – time management. It is important to start working on what you can right away. Good news is that managing your time is a skill that will get better over time.

     

    Struggle 8: Class presentations.

    Advice: Have general notes about what you are going to say and practice before you have to get up and talk.

     

    Struggle 9: Pulling all-nighters.

    Advice: Try to avoid pulling all-nighters as much as possible. If you absolutely must stay up all night then take naps, drink coffee, avoid carbs and go to bed early.

     

    Struggle 10: Realizing you forgot to do an assignment.

    Advice: I know this is hard to do, but don’t panic. You can not change the past, but you can take steps to help the situation. The first step would be to talk to your professor. If you have a track record of being a good student, they may be willing to give you partial credit. In addition, complete any and all extra credit assignments.

    The number of times you face these struggles should improve over time. You will get better at time management, studying, and preparation. Just remember these challenges are minor, for the most part, and they are only making you stronger. If nothing else, they are lessons in stress management.

     

    We want to hear from you!
    Have any tips or advice you want to share? You can connect with us on social using the hashtag #UEMSConnect. We would love to hear all about your college experiences: both the struggles and the fun moments. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter!

    By: Ashleigh Cue