I apologize. I have not written anything in almost 2 weeks. It has been a hectic time. I just graduated college (congratulations to me) and have been finalizing my job situation. I’ve also been in between apartments, without internet, half my stuff in boxes, and trying to find an apartment. Whoa is me. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it might be a bit before I’m back to writing regularly, but I will try to keep you posted.

Adam

Photos of the San Diego State University Drug Raid

1. Start Early
While I am probably guiltier of this than most, procrastinating on finals is one of the most stressful things you can possibly do. I have that terrible habit of waiting until the night before to begin studying for any test. This means I pull all nighters, which in a normal week isn’t a big deal. But during finals, this can be a terrible strategy. If you are taking a full course load or more, and wait until the last second to start studying, then you could be in for a week of all nighters. While this may work for tests 1 and 2, it will drastically reduce your abilities for tests 3 through 5 (or 6). Try to start doing basic review a good week before the test, and study hard for the 2 days prior to the exam.

2. Get Organized
One of the worst parts about comprehensive finals is simply the task of finding everything you need to pass this test. If you are horrible at keeping up with old tests/quizzes, homework, and notes, then this is a rough time for you. Even if you are never going to be the kid with the trapper keeper, try to figure out what you need at least a few days before exams begin. That way even if you don’t have most of the necessary documents it gives you time to bum from all your friends and make copies. If you wait until the last minute, many of your friends will be unwilling to give these things up for even half an hour because they will in the middle of studying them. It also ensures you don’t find out the day of the test that you were missing some crucial old quiz that you had no idea about that is a big piece of the test.

3. Study Strategically
This means that before you even begin studying for finals you should know exactly what your current grade (# of points), how much the test is worth, and how well you need to do in order to get your desired grade. This is one strategy that many people don’t consider. If your tests are relatively spread out then this may not matter. But if you have 3 or 4 exams in a very short period you need to decide what matters. Are there any classes in which you must study just to pass? Those classes are priority number one. From there calculate how low you can score on any given test to receive the score you need. Also be realistic on the likelihood of getting that score. If you know you need a 98% in a hard class, but only a 35% for a B and you have another class where you have a very good shot at getting that A, then do the smart thing. Chalk class #1 up as a B and focus on what you can realistically manage (the A on #2).

4. Take Care of Yourself
You are not superhuman. You need sleep, and decent food. Goal number 1 should be to get as many hours as possible. This means when it’s time to crash for the night, don’t play on the computer. Go to sleep. You should also take naps whenever possible. They’re like a good cup of coffee without the energy crash an hour later. Try to eat right. I know it’s tempting to live on nacho cheese Doritos, M&M’s, and Dr. Pepper during finals, but it is not going to help you study. Eat healthy, drink lots of water, and only hit the caffeine in times of need. You will feel better and think better.

5. Take Breaks
Finally make sure you take breaks. If you’re brain is at it’s breaking point, then take half an hour. Don’t do anything that means you have to read, concentrate hard, or strain your eyes. If you can, go for a run or lift some weights. This will help wake you up, get your blood flowing, and give your chance a time to digest all the information you’re shoving into it.

6. Relax
One final or even several finals is not going to determine your permanent GPA. It is not going to change your life. It is not going to determine your career. Study, do your best, and don’t worry about it. You can only do what you can do.

1. Lower your brand standards

Mom and dad are no longer paying for everything you do (if you’re reading this). It’s no longer all about the Abercrombie shirts, expensive dinners, Grey Goose vodka, and Corona beer. If you want new clothes look for sales, or check Ebay. Instead of that expensive steak, try grabbing a burger. And most certainly downgrade your alcohol brand purchases. You do not need Crown Royal, grab a bottle of R&R. Try the Busch lite. I promise the difference in taste is not worth the difference in price.

2. Pre-party

If you are going to the bars, have a few before you leave. Instead of spending $20-50 at the bar, try having a little party at the house until 11. Get the point you want to be and then go out. That way you can nurse that single drink or two at the bar and save $10-25 bucks. This may not sound like too much, but if you go out 2 or 3 times a week it adds up quickly.

3. Cook

You probably never tried it in high school but it is time to learn, even if you are living in the dorms. You may not have an oven, but you can certainly manage a microwave. This means you can make sandwiches which are a simple staple in the college life. You can also heat up anything that comes out of a can or box (rice) and keep a variety of snacks. If you are feeling brave grab a george forman grill. If you have a grill and a microwave you can cook anything you find in any kitchen. Chicken, burgers, fish, rice and vegetables are easy to make. It’s very simple, very quick, and drastically cheaper than going out. You might be surprised and actually enjoy it too.

4. Coupons

While you’re college may be different, I know that most in my area provide “student coupon books”. These books contain coupons to local businesses looking to drum up business from new students on campus. It shocks and amazes me how many of my fellow students never bother to pick up or even open these money savers. While many of these coupons will be worthless to you, there will likely be at least a few helpful ones in each book. The trick is to have enough books to have a steady staple of these coupons. For example, our books often contain several “buy one, get one” and “buy this and get this free” coupons for both local fast food and local restaurants. With these, you can often eat fast food for $3 or 1/2 off at a restaurant. Grab as many as you can and actually use them.

5. Budget

College students normally have a pretty set amount of money they are going to have on hand, whether this is a one time scholarship check, weekly parental allowance, or a bi-weekly paycheck. Let’s be honest, you know how much you are getting. Stop spending it quicker than you get it. If you have a $100 for the week, realize you can’t drop $60 at the bar this weekend. Put aside what you know you are going to need for your expenses. Also, by keeping track of what and where you are spending you are much more likely to question purchases and save a little more.

As an editor here at College Reflections (CR), my sole job is not to just read articles and tell the original author when there is a mistake that needs to be corrected, but to also voice my opinion when I feel an article is a little too biased or needs to take another approach to the subject matter in an attempt properly represent and address the diverse demographic that is our readership. Well, a few months back one of our main contributing authors penned what I believe was a slightly biased piece on factors to consider when choosing a college. But instead of rewriting the article to be more bipartisan, the original author suggested I just write a rebuttal to his article – so here we are.

To give a little background, I currently attend an SEC school that is known for partying, I’ve been able to watch a Heisman candidate for the past two years, and I happen to be very involved in the Greek scene at my campus – so don’t get the impression that I only came to college to hit the books. Furthermore, I have been able to accomplish most of my career goals coming from such a school (I’m going to be an Investment Banking Summer Analyst this summer in NYC). But despite my satisfaction with my college experience thus far, I have no problem admitting that there are better options out there and I will NOT encourage my future children to attend a comparable college. Now onto the rebuttal . . .

1. Money

A few decades ago, maybe financial issues were a legitimate excuse to not attend the school of your dreams, but with the plethora of resources available today, if one has the intelligence and/or drive to attend a certain college, money should not be holding them back (fact: despite 5 people in my graduating class having higher GPA’s and higher ACT scores, no one raked in more scholarship money than yours truly; over $90k when it was all said and done). Furthermore, many of the most elite universities in our nation are currently in a price war to ensure they are getting the absolute brightest and best students available to apply without financial concerns holding them back.

2. Location

Nothing to argue here – I completely agree.

3. Career and Major

If you are one of those people that is dead-set on being a doctor, a lawyer, a marine biologist, or an astronaut and have been since you were seven, then I have news for you: you’re probably going to change your mind in college. When I entered college, I had a near suicidal devotion to becoming an attorney and running my own law firm. That’s all I could think about and all I could imagine doing. By my sophomore year of college, I realized I wanted absolutely no part of courtrooms, case studies, affidavits, dockets, contracts, and everything else that is associated with being an attorney. Therefore, don’t pick your college based on what you want to be when you graduate or what you want to major in, pick your college based on where you think you fit in the most and what gives you the most options post graduation, regardless of what you major in. If you are a Harvard graduate, no one cares whether you majored in Philosophy or Art History, all they care about is that you attended Harvard.

4. Prestige

There are definitely smart people everywhere and I am also a believer that intelligent, driven people will succeed regardless of which school they attend. However, there’s something to be said for attending a school where you are surrounded by the smartest people in the country versus attending a school where you are consistently the smartest person in the room. For example, when I am at my SEC school, I am usually one of the smartest people in the room no matter what the make-up of the room is. But when I go visit one of my friends at a top Ivy, I am probably average (maybe even below average) in raw intelligence. I don’t know if you can really put a value on being immersed in a truly academic environment where you get smarter just from daily interaction with your fellow students, whereas, it’s fairly easy to become complacent in an environment where your 80% is better than most people’s 100%. Furthermore, going to a prestigious undergraduate institution will add instant validity to every endeavor you wish to pursue – for the rest of your life. People are much more willing to give money to (either as an investment or when buying a product) and to try out a product, when it was created by a Princeton, Harvard, Wharton, Yale, Stanford, etc. graduate (or current student) versus one from Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, and Auburn. Additionally, I think those in the world of business that attended an elite undergraduate institution have the opportunity to bypass an MBA later down the road because they already have that incredible network and already have that polished pedigree on their resume. Unlike myself, who will most certainly need to go get an MBA from a top school later down the road to add some prestige to my resume and help assure those who would doubt me due to my not-so-academically-intense undergrad.

5. Social Life

Attending a big party school will definitely give you more willing participants for a wild and crazy spring break trip and I will be the first to admit that when I stayed at one of the more elite Ivy League universities for a week, I was aghast at the lack of partying (and social interaction in general) during the week. But this brings me to what I want to be the main takeaway of this article: you can find a balance. There are schools that excel in academics, offer you major sporting events to attend, and have huge Greek and/or party scenes – they do exist. These are the crème de la crème of the universities in the U.S. in my opinion. They give you all the recruiting you could want for your future investment banking or management consulting career, while also giving you more beer and vodka than you can handle. We’re talking about the University of Texas, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, Duke, Indiana University (to an extent), and UC Berkeley to name a few. These are the sure-fire, can’t-go-wrong college choices that offer the best of both worlds and won’t have you taking sides on the classic Ivy versus state school conundrum (i.e. a lot of my Ivy League friends feel like they missed out on the college experience and wish they attended a party school, whereas a lot of my state school friends feel like they missed out on a true college education and wish they had better job opportunities).

In summary, pick the school where you feel like you will have the best fit and will have a solid collegiate experience, but don’t discount the value of solid exit opportunities (law school, med school Wall Street, Madison Avenue, etc.). Additionally, don’t let schools hoodwink you into thinking they are a prestigious university because some worthless magazine ranked them 24th among public schools. Not only are published school rankings complete rubbish, but when is the last time you honestly heard someone brag about finishing 24th in a race? That should let you know there’s something fishy going on from the start. If you want to truly know how prestigious a university is, look where like-minded graduates are going post-college. Meaning, if you want to be the next Clarence Darrow, see how many students from the pre-law society are going to Yale Law School; if you want to be the next Gordon Gekko, see how many former finance students are working in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs come July; if you want to be the next Mitt Romney, see how many business students are working at Bain next fall.

If at First You Don’t Succeed…: The Eight Patterns of Highly Effective Entrepreneurs by Brent Bowers is a book describing what he believes are the 8 highly effective patterns of entrepreneurs. Each chapter builds upon the next and the patterns of entrepreneurship he shows are worth considering. He breaks down these traits; an apptitude for seeing and seizing opportunity, the desire to work for yourself, your background, a background of innovation, nimbleness and agility, tenacity, an unshakable belief in their company and product, and the ability to fail upward, or learn from their mistakes.

While there are many books on entrepreneurship and the qualities of successful entrepreneurs, this book stays interesting by giving real life examples. Bowers takes the time to interview numerous entrepreneurs of every background and industry, including heavy weights such as Cameron Johnson, Underarmour founder Kevin Plank, and Greg Herro’s of LifeGem. My favorite part of any book on entrepreneurship is the real life examples and stories of people who have failed and succeeded in the business world. I would give this book a definite read for anyone who has ever asked themselves if they are made to be an entrepreneur.

This is a link to a page of resumes of some young professionals. Their resumes have been prepared for the financial world and are formatted about as well as they can be formatted. You should be able to take virtually any of them as a great template for your resume.

When writing a resume there are a few important things to keep in mind. The most important thing is to understand who is going to be looking at your resume and the process they take to decide who to interview.

The first person who will see your resume (at least in large companies) is the HR department. The HR department goes through thousands of resumes every year for many positions. Speed is key. When a batch of resumes is evaluated for the first time, the reader needs to make split decisions about who keep or throw away. They are unlikely to spend more than a minute on any given resume and during high season you are lucky to get 30 seconds. This means your resume needs to be very clean, clear, and easy to read. If the reader finds it difficult to scan for pertinent information they are likely to just throw it away.

So lets talk about the specifics of formatting. Your resume should go roughly in the following order:

1. Name - This also includes your contact info.
2. Education Information
3. Work Experience
4. Involvement
5. Personal

I am a strong believer of separating each section with a line as you can see on the sample resumes. This makes each resume easier to read and immediately pulls the eyes to each relevant section.