Wow, Minimum Wage, you seem so paranoid. I utilize public transportation everyday in -- what's considered to be -- one of the most dangerous regions in the nation: South Florida, and I've never felt threatened. I feel less secure leaving my car at the mall than at a park and ride. Frankly, I feel less safe driving...Period.
Mile for mile, public transportation is safer by far than driving. Okay, so every now and then, an unsavory character may sit next to you. So what? That's life. If they disturb you, just loudly tell them that you're not interested. If they don't back down, simply switch seats.
I'm so tired of people using silly situations as an excuse not to use transit. Thousands upon thousands of motorists AND pedestrians get mamed, crushed and DIE in accidents every year in this country, yet people still jump into their metal traps and bitch and moan when there's traffic or when gas prices skyrocket, but they'd never sit next to a smelly person on a bus? I don't get it. It's not logical. Then again, we're talking about a country where 72% of the population believes that some sun god is going to return to earth on a cloud...So, my bad.
Janitors who own their own companies aren't janitors. They are business owners.
I grew up when there was a war on poverty. You grew up during the war on the poor. A lot of Americans are poor. I've been poor. There is no "extra" money to invest (and you can bet my employer wouldn't be giving me that extra 6% if it didn't have to pay it to the government - what baloney that is).
Where did my Social Security money go? I understand U.S. history and economic policy so I know that it went to pay for my grandmother - who was a single parent of two children after her husband died in WWII. And my other grandmother - and my parents. I'm thrilled it was there.
SS is a successful program - It virtually eliminated dire poverty among the elderly. It is also a stable program that will require minor tweaking in 35 years - and more tweaking in 75 years.
It will be there for me, unless my children and people of that generation fail to understand history and economic policy, and equally important, lack the will and compassion to protect me and my generation in our old age. Fear mongering spreads disinformation and diminishes community goodwill - the very goodwill so many of us need to depend upon.
We were there for our grandparents and parents - will our children not be there for us?
I have a friend who was given the choice between doing well in college and going to a third-world country. He attended college during the Vietnam War and didn't want to lose his college deferment to the draft; he graduated from college and then law school. See article on Going to College to Avoid the Draft (PDF).
My sister wasn't necessarily giving me the key to outrageous success but helping to remove any anxiety about how to succeed -- doing the basic requirement lays the foundation. There were kids who missed classes: I didn't think I was smart enough to skip and then make up the work.
The question of engaging in the non-academic aspects of college life vs. focusing on academics is a good one. I attribute much of my personal and leadership development to outside activities. Most of my classes focused on lecture and reading (or at least that is how I learned best) so for me, studying more didn't necessarily reap greater learning. Intellectual discourse came more through late night discussions with friends rather than debates in class. Looking back and considering comments, I can see that taking classes that required different types of effort would have valuable. We each come to college with strengths and deficits so what might be valuable to one person may not be as useful for another.
Stretching yourself without going crazy, and making alliances with the very bright and dedicated are wise choices. Those are some that I will pass on to my kids as they get ready to go to college.
Struggling College Student -- I like the maturity of the blog combined with insight into day-to-day issues that college students deal with. You've made me think of something else I would do differently and that is to pursue a double major and develop an expertise in a field unrelated to my major (Business); years later I took Journalism classes but probably should have pursued those courses at the time or through a graduate program earlier.
Take advantage of campus recreation! I'm terrible at sports, but there's something for everyone out there. In my case, it was aquafit classes and Pilates (for a fraction of the price anywhere!) Not only is the exercise great stress relief, but there are definitely other benefits. Attending a regular class is good for time management (you don't have to worry about when to fit exercise in), you learn new skills from a qualified instructor and you get to meet new people.
I also have to say I agree with Jonathan: There's more to school than just studying and grades. When I went back to school to do my graduate degree, I aimed to focus on areas of my life that I ignored when I did my undergrad. Despite a heavier and more intensive workload, I took exercise classes, volunteered, and did more with my friends. I learned important skills volunteering that apply to my job, and I still keep in touch when people I volunteered with. And yes, I also worked (as a teaching assistant and then a research assistant).
The best part? I love the work I do, and no employer has ever asked to see my grades since I graduated!
I'm just wondering if you'd agree that if the academic part of college isn't a number one priority, and that there are lots of other things one can learn at college such as the (very valuable) interpersonal skills and learning about oneself, perhaps it might be better/cheaper/more interesting to learn these skills while travelling the world, doing voluntary work etc. Doesn't having to go to class and take tests distract from the ultimate goal (for some) of finding yourself and your passion?
This isn't a criticism, just a curiosity. For me, while I realised that finding myself and developing social skills was important, it didn't take precedent over the reason I attended school. I shelled out so I could develop academically, so I'm curious as to why someone would pay (and it is expensive) for an education only for it not to take top priority.
I want to thank you all very much for bringing attention to my site. I left high school and initially joined the military in response to the Sept. 11th attacks. I wished to stay with the military but ran into some unforeseen medical issues. After that I enrolled at the University of Minnesota in their Electrical Engineering program. The ROTC program offered several scholarships for this program at the time. My college advisers initially told me that I would be a good fit for this major. As time progressed, the scholarships I was promised faded away. To put it simply I got stuck. I withdrew from the ROTC program and quickly realized I was on my own. I began paying for college myself and the tuition quickly became out of control. I got myself a part time job working about 30 hours a week, to help cut the costs of tuition.
My grades quickly became an issue in my junior year of this program. I felt it necessary for a change and enrolled in the Mathematics program. I am currently majoring in Actuarial Science and minoring in Economics. I strongly believe that my experience in Electrical Engineering did me well. At this point in my life I no longer wish to pursue Electrical Engineering. Currently I am a 6th year senior and plan to graduate in the spring of 2009. I created this blog to hopefully make college students aware of the potential risks they encounter in school.
While many students will graduate in 4 years with success there will be a few that encounter problems along the way. Nearly 50% of college students at this university will change majors within 2 years. Clearly graduating in 4 years is becoming a thing of the past. My hope is to empower college students to choose the right major and make the right decisions along the way. I thank you all for your comments and wish you all the best of luck in your future.
Thanks for your common sense article. With all the safety concerns around toys, my family now buys only natural wooden toys for our daughter. I'm sure many more parents are switching from plastic to toys made of natural materials.
There are essentially 2 things you can buy with your money (the Rich Dad Poor Dad guy explains this). One is goods, the other is investments. Investments allow you and your children to profit from other people's work, by owning (or having shares in) businesses, loans etc. The rich person owns the machine, a poor person does all the work, the rich person keeps 95% of the profit. Society would be better if poor people bought less goods and worked towards having investments, that will give them more power and stability in the future. On the other hand, it would be best if the rich would waste all their money on goods. This would give them less power and prevent their children from living off other people's work.
i've save tons of money from buying damaged books from abe books. if you don't mind reading a completely highlighted or water damaged book, then this is the place to go!
i've saved hundreds of dollars here. i got a $150 book for less than $30 once because it was waterdamaged. i don't care about crinkly pages. so its all good. i ended up selling it later for more than i bought it for. yay for making a profit off my text books!
checking out the text from the library is useful too.
if you're in a class that uses classic books like dante's infero or the great gatsby and all those other staples of european and american literature, then project gutenburg is a life-saver. you can download text versions (generaly notepad or word docs) of over 100,000 books. most of the books on project gutenburg are legal (though some might not be). its a great way to get free books. you can print off chapters if you have to read on paper, or if you want to save a few trees, you can read off of your computer screen and avoid straining your eyes by increasing the font.
many schools also have a textbook black-market of some sort. my university used to have TSU-bay which developed into pricemonk.com . this is a server that takes your class schedule, lists the books you need for it and then searches all the major book-buying sites all at once, including amazon, ebay and other smaller auction/seller sites, and arrages them in order of price all on one page. its pretty sweet.
Your entire college experience is determined in those first 3 months from the start of classes in your freshman year... to that break at Thanksgiving...
If by then youve attended all the classes.. and developed disciplined study habit... and really seriously dug deep into all your classes ...and formed your social group with other serious students... then you can pretty much put it on autopilot for the rest of your college years...
If alternatively you skip classes... party instead of studying... gloss over the course content... hang out with stoners... then you'll be too far behind to ever catch up and the rest of your college career will be an ever increasing downward spiral of failure and diminished outcomes...
Just remember.. the first 90 days determines it all... so do it right.
My best advice would be "When you read the material, think about it. Argue with it. Find holes in it." That was my natural way to read stuff, so even though I did all of the dallying and goofing off mentioned above, I still made close to a 4 point while having fun. And yes, I worked too.
My best advice would be "When you read the material, think about it. Argue with it. Find holes in it." That was my natural way to read stuff, so even though I did all of the dallying and goofing off mentioned above, I still made close to a 4 point while having fun. And yes, I worked too.
I love playing this game! I use it as more of a test of my mental math skills though as opposed to checking how close I am to the budget. I keep a running total in my head of how much my groceries will cost. Sometimes I'm within pennies.
I guess I am luck for the most part, our 10 for $10 sale is just another way for them advertising $1 each. It is very rare that you need to buy the large quantity. I can't believe the people who get suckered in to the buy one get one for a $1 or a penny. They act like they are getting such a great deal when 2 weeks later the same store will have the same item on sale 50% off. I have actually had people tell me that well I got the same thing for a dollar last 2 weeks ago. That is the 2nd one I inform them. I only need to buy the one I need and I save a dollar to boot. Pricing is such a gimmic. You really need to evaluate how many of an item you will use or need to evaluate the benefits of a bogo sale.
why are these homes going to be so expensive? shipping containers are relatively cheap, you could by a 40' container on ebay for between 1700 and 4000 depending on the specs. anyone have any clues?
...there are still 30 million Americans living in poverty. That's nearly 10% of the population. The situation is somewhat better among seniors, but not a whole lot. So again I ask, what problem has Social Security solved?
The problem that it's avoided is 10% of Americans living on the streets and 15% on top of that living in poverty.
I can agree that going to class is very important, not only with learning but with being consistent. I know my first semester in college I skipped a lot and it just became a habit. Once you start it's hard to stop.
I also think it's important to watch your workload. Don't take all your toughest classes in the same semester if you can help it. If you do, a 15 credit workload can feel more like a 21 credit workload.
You've got some great tips for living frugally, but I'd like to put in a plug for bicycle touring as a wonderful idea for a cheap family vacation. We spent twelve months in 2006-07 cycling around the USA and Mexico and were amazed at how reasonable the cost was - about $1000-1500 per month for all four of us. We camped out most of the time, had no gas costs, and couldn't buy anything because we couldn't carry it!
Now we are getting ready to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina - leaving in three weeks! We can't wait!!
I graduated with a comp degree and the top grad in my class actually didn't attend classes. He (and I) learned far more from spending an hour reading or doing exercises than we did from spending an hour in class.
Now, it wasn't always true. We had one prof who crammed more into an hour than seemed possible, but he was the exception, not the rule. Now by all means, attend your English Lit classes or your collaborative Management classes, but getting the most out of college or university involves pushing the class.
So my advice is to Push the class to learn what you need to learn. This means:
- Do your readings (and do the end of chapter questions as well)
- Start assignments when they're given (or posted to the class website). I know people who started researching their term essay on week 1.
- If you're going to attend class, write down questions from your readings and ensure that they are answered by the end of class. Otherwise, e-mail the questions to your prof the night before the class.
- Make friends with the smartest people in the class and work with them. Students tend to group, hanging out with the B students is likely to get you a B.
- Avoid managing time. Manage activities: "Read chapter 3 and do exercises", "Find 10 sources for essay", etc. The goal here isn't to make your life a prison by booking off 6 hours / day for study, the goal is to get your work done, whether that work takes 2 hours or 10 hours.
I know I might get pounced on for this one, but for some people, doing well in the college environment is far more important than doing well academically. This was definitely true for me.
I got a good GPA (3.5) and graduated in 4 years, but I didn't spend nearly the amount of time that I saw many students studying. Instead, I got a work study job and a job catering events on campus that together took up about 20 hours a week. I also got involved in intramural athletics and clubs on campus. I studied when I had to, but I spent a larger portion of time working on my interpersonal relationships with my fellow students and co-workers.
I saw a lot of kids with great GPA's, fellowships, and scholarships who spent their time at school maximizing every educational opportunity, and missed out on the true learning that college offers. It's about learning what you are passionate about and how to find your niche in society.
Working 15-20 hours per week forced me to set better priorities during the week.
It also helped me pay off more than 1/2 of my student loans - $15,000 of $22,000. I couldn't afford tution at the beginning of each semester, but I was able to "pay as I went" with no accrued interest. :)
It sounds AWFUL, but it's only $4,000 per year or $350 per month. I sure am glad I did that!
JIm, why not move an area where public transportation is more plentiful?
Wow, Minimum Wage, you seem so paranoid. I utilize public transportation everyday in -- what's considered to be -- one of the most dangerous regions in the nation: South Florida, and I've never felt threatened. I feel less secure leaving my car at the mall than at a park and ride. Frankly, I feel less safe driving...Period.
Mile for mile, public transportation is safer by far than driving. Okay, so every now and then, an unsavory character may sit next to you. So what? That's life. If they disturb you, just loudly tell them that you're not interested. If they don't back down, simply switch seats.
I'm so tired of people using silly situations as an excuse not to use transit. Thousands upon thousands of motorists AND pedestrians get mamed, crushed and DIE in accidents every year in this country, yet people still jump into their metal traps and bitch and moan when there's traffic or when gas prices skyrocket, but they'd never sit next to a smelly person on a bus? I don't get it. It's not logical. Then again, we're talking about a country where 72% of the population believes that some sun god is going to return to earth on a cloud...So, my bad.
Janitors who own their own companies aren't janitors. They are business owners.
I grew up when there was a war on poverty. You grew up during the war on the poor. A lot of Americans are poor. I've been poor. There is no "extra" money to invest (and you can bet my employer wouldn't be giving me that extra 6% if it didn't have to pay it to the government - what baloney that is).
Where did my Social Security money go? I understand U.S. history and economic policy so I know that it went to pay for my grandmother - who was a single parent of two children after her husband died in WWII. And my other grandmother - and my parents. I'm thrilled it was there.
SS is a successful program - It virtually eliminated dire poverty among the elderly. It is also a stable program that will require minor tweaking in 35 years - and more tweaking in 75 years.
It will be there for me, unless my children and people of that generation fail to understand history and economic policy, and equally important, lack the will and compassion to protect me and my generation in our old age. Fear mongering spreads disinformation and diminishes community goodwill - the very goodwill so many of us need to depend upon.
We were there for our grandparents and parents - will our children not be there for us?
I have a friend who was given the choice between doing well in college and going to a third-world country. He attended college during the Vietnam War and didn't want to lose his college deferment to the draft; he graduated from college and then law school. See article on Going to College to Avoid the Draft (PDF).
My sister wasn't necessarily giving me the key to outrageous success but helping to remove any anxiety about how to succeed -- doing the basic requirement lays the foundation. There were kids who missed classes: I didn't think I was smart enough to skip and then make up the work.
The question of engaging in the non-academic aspects of college life vs. focusing on academics is a good one. I attribute much of my personal and leadership development to outside activities. Most of my classes focused on lecture and reading (or at least that is how I learned best) so for me, studying more didn't necessarily reap greater learning. Intellectual discourse came more through late night discussions with friends rather than debates in class. Looking back and considering comments, I can see that taking classes that required different types of effort would have valuable. We each come to college with strengths and deficits so what might be valuable to one person may not be as useful for another.
Stretching yourself without going crazy, and making alliances with the very bright and dedicated are wise choices. Those are some that I will pass on to my kids as they get ready to go to college.
Struggling College Student -- I like the maturity of the blog combined with insight into day-to-day issues that college students deal with. You've made me think of something else I would do differently and that is to pursue a double major and develop an expertise in a field unrelated to my major (Business); years later I took Journalism classes but probably should have pursued those courses at the time or through a graduate program earlier.
Take advantage of campus recreation! I'm terrible at sports, but there's something for everyone out there. In my case, it was aquafit classes and Pilates (for a fraction of the price anywhere!) Not only is the exercise great stress relief, but there are definitely other benefits. Attending a regular class is good for time management (you don't have to worry about when to fit exercise in), you learn new skills from a qualified instructor and you get to meet new people.
I also have to say I agree with Jonathan: There's more to school than just studying and grades. When I went back to school to do my graduate degree, I aimed to focus on areas of my life that I ignored when I did my undergrad. Despite a heavier and more intensive workload, I took exercise classes, volunteered, and did more with my friends. I learned important skills volunteering that apply to my job, and I still keep in touch when people I volunteered with. And yes, I also worked (as a teaching assistant and then a research assistant).
The best part? I love the work I do, and no employer has ever asked to see my grades since I graduated!
Not to rain on you parade, but barter is income. It's supposed to be reported on your taxes.
Ok - now I'm curious how I can work with sand to make it float. Can you say more about this?
Hi Jonathan,
I'm just wondering if you'd agree that if the academic part of college isn't a number one priority, and that there are lots of other things one can learn at college such as the (very valuable) interpersonal skills and learning about oneself, perhaps it might be better/cheaper/more interesting to learn these skills while travelling the world, doing voluntary work etc. Doesn't having to go to class and take tests distract from the ultimate goal (for some) of finding yourself and your passion?
This isn't a criticism, just a curiosity. For me, while I realised that finding myself and developing social skills was important, it didn't take precedent over the reason I attended school. I shelled out so I could develop academically, so I'm curious as to why someone would pay (and it is expensive) for an education only for it not to take top priority.
I want to thank you all very much for bringing attention to my site. I left high school and initially joined the military in response to the Sept. 11th attacks. I wished to stay with the military but ran into some unforeseen medical issues. After that I enrolled at the University of Minnesota in their Electrical Engineering program. The ROTC program offered several scholarships for this program at the time. My college advisers initially told me that I would be a good fit for this major. As time progressed, the scholarships I was promised faded away. To put it simply I got stuck. I withdrew from the ROTC program and quickly realized I was on my own. I began paying for college myself and the tuition quickly became out of control. I got myself a part time job working about 30 hours a week, to help cut the costs of tuition.
My grades quickly became an issue in my junior year of this program. I felt it necessary for a change and enrolled in the Mathematics program. I am currently majoring in Actuarial Science and minoring in Economics. I strongly believe that my experience in Electrical Engineering did me well. At this point in my life I no longer wish to pursue Electrical Engineering. Currently I am a 6th year senior and plan to graduate in the spring of 2009. I created this blog to hopefully make college students aware of the potential risks they encounter in school.
While many students will graduate in 4 years with success there will be a few that encounter problems along the way. Nearly 50% of college students at this university will change majors within 2 years. Clearly graduating in 4 years is becoming a thing of the past. My hope is to empower college students to choose the right major and make the right decisions along the way. I thank you all for your comments and wish you all the best of luck in your future.
Regards,
Struggling College Student
Thanks for your common sense article. With all the safety concerns around toys, my family now buys only natural wooden toys for our daughter. I'm sure many more parents are switching from plastic to toys made of natural materials.
Mamabear
There are essentially 2 things you can buy with your money (the Rich Dad Poor Dad guy explains this). One is goods, the other is investments. Investments allow you and your children to profit from other people's work, by owning (or having shares in) businesses, loans etc. The rich person owns the machine, a poor person does all the work, the rich person keeps 95% of the profit. Society would be better if poor people bought less goods and worked towards having investments, that will give them more power and stability in the future. On the other hand, it would be best if the rich would waste all their money on goods. This would give them less power and prevent their children from living off other people's work.
i've save tons of money from buying damaged books from abe books. if you don't mind reading a completely highlighted or water damaged book, then this is the place to go!
i've saved hundreds of dollars here. i got a $150 book for less than $30 once because it was waterdamaged. i don't care about crinkly pages. so its all good. i ended up selling it later for more than i bought it for. yay for making a profit off my text books!
checking out the text from the library is useful too.
if you're in a class that uses classic books like dante's infero or the great gatsby and all those other staples of european and american literature, then project gutenburg is a life-saver. you can download text versions (generaly notepad or word docs) of over 100,000 books. most of the books on project gutenburg are legal (though some might not be). its a great way to get free books. you can print off chapters if you have to read on paper, or if you want to save a few trees, you can read off of your computer screen and avoid straining your eyes by increasing the font.
many schools also have a textbook black-market of some sort. my university used to have TSU-bay which developed into pricemonk.com . this is a server that takes your class schedule, lists the books you need for it and then searches all the major book-buying sites all at once, including amazon, ebay and other smaller auction/seller sites, and arrages them in order of price all on one page. its pretty sweet.
hope this helps!!!
This is the only secret you need to know...
Your entire college experience is determined in those first 3 months from the start of classes in your freshman year... to that break at Thanksgiving...
If by then youve attended all the classes.. and developed disciplined study habit... and really seriously dug deep into all your classes ...and formed your social group with other serious students... then you can pretty much put it on autopilot for the rest of your college years...
If alternatively you skip classes... party instead of studying... gloss over the course content... hang out with stoners... then you'll be too far behind to ever catch up and the rest of your college career will be an ever increasing downward spiral of failure and diminished outcomes...
Just remember.. the first 90 days determines it all... so do it right.
My best advice would be "When you read the material, think about it. Argue with it. Find holes in it." That was my natural way to read stuff, so even though I did all of the dallying and goofing off mentioned above, I still made close to a 4 point while having fun. And yes, I worked too.
My best advice would be "When you read the material, think about it. Argue with it. Find holes in it." That was my natural way to read stuff, so even though I did all of the dallying and goofing off mentioned above, I still made close to a 4 point while having fun. And yes, I worked too.
I love playing this game! I use it as more of a test of my mental math skills though as opposed to checking how close I am to the budget. I keep a running total in my head of how much my groceries will cost. Sometimes I'm within pennies.
I guess I am luck for the most part, our 10 for $10 sale is just another way for them advertising $1 each. It is very rare that you need to buy the large quantity. I can't believe the people who get suckered in to the buy one get one for a $1 or a penny. They act like they are getting such a great deal when 2 weeks later the same store will have the same item on sale 50% off. I have actually had people tell me that well I got the same thing for a dollar last 2 weeks ago. That is the 2nd one I inform them. I only need to buy the one I need and I save a dollar to boot. Pricing is such a gimmic. You really need to evaluate how many of an item you will use or need to evaluate the benefits of a bogo sale.
why are these homes going to be so expensive? shipping containers are relatively cheap, you could by a 40' container on ebay for between 1700 and 4000 depending on the specs. anyone have any clues?
...there are still 30 million Americans living in poverty. That's nearly 10% of the population. The situation is somewhat better among seniors, but not a whole lot. So again I ask, what problem has Social Security solved?
The problem that it's avoided is 10% of Americans living on the streets and 15% on top of that living in poverty.
I can agree that going to class is very important, not only with learning but with being consistent. I know my first semester in college I skipped a lot and it just became a habit. Once you start it's hard to stop.
I also think it's important to watch your workload. Don't take all your toughest classes in the same semester if you can help it. If you do, a 15 credit workload can feel more like a 21 credit workload.
So when do I get my $2.00? I could really use it.
You've got some great tips for living frugally, but I'd like to put in a plug for bicycle touring as a wonderful idea for a cheap family vacation. We spent twelve months in 2006-07 cycling around the USA and Mexico and were amazed at how reasonable the cost was - about $1000-1500 per month for all four of us. We camped out most of the time, had no gas costs, and couldn't buy anything because we couldn't carry it!
Now we are getting ready to ride our bikes from Alaska to Argentina - leaving in three weeks! We can't wait!!
You can read about our journey at www.familyonbikes.org
I graduated with a comp degree and the top grad in my class actually didn't attend classes. He (and I) learned far more from spending an hour reading or doing exercises than we did from spending an hour in class.
Now, it wasn't always true. We had one prof who crammed more into an hour than seemed possible, but he was the exception, not the rule. Now by all means, attend your English Lit classes or your collaborative Management classes, but getting the most out of college or university involves pushing the class.
So my advice is to Push the class to learn what you need to learn. This means:
- Do your readings (and do the end of chapter questions as well)
- Start assignments when they're given (or posted to the class website). I know people who started researching their term essay on week 1.
- If you're going to attend class, write down questions from your readings and ensure that they are answered by the end of class. Otherwise, e-mail the questions to your prof the night before the class.
- Make friends with the smartest people in the class and work with them. Students tend to group, hanging out with the B students is likely to get you a B.
- Avoid managing time. Manage activities: "Read chapter 3 and do exercises", "Find 10 sources for essay", etc. The goal here isn't to make your life a prison by booking off 6 hours / day for study, the goal is to get your work done, whether that work takes 2 hours or 10 hours.
I know I might get pounced on for this one, but for some people, doing well in the college environment is far more important than doing well academically. This was definitely true for me.
I got a good GPA (3.5) and graduated in 4 years, but I didn't spend nearly the amount of time that I saw many students studying. Instead, I got a work study job and a job catering events on campus that together took up about 20 hours a week. I also got involved in intramural athletics and clubs on campus. I studied when I had to, but I spent a larger portion of time working on my interpersonal relationships with my fellow students and co-workers.
I saw a lot of kids with great GPA's, fellowships, and scholarships who spent their time at school maximizing every educational opportunity, and missed out on the true learning that college offers. It's about learning what you are passionate about and how to find your niche in society.
The best thing I did in college: Get a job.
Working 15-20 hours per week forced me to set better priorities during the week.
It also helped me pay off more than 1/2 of my student loans - $15,000 of $22,000. I couldn't afford tution at the beginning of each semester, but I was able to "pay as I went" with no accrued interest. :)
It sounds AWFUL, but it's only $4,000 per year or $350 per month. I sure am glad I did that!