The Paycheck Loan Wheel.

Most students on Planet College are employed. Mostly part-time but employed nonetheless. Some times more than one employer. And the end result, the idea, the purpose is a paycheck. This check is supposed to cover at least most of the ongoing expenses related to life and school. It seems it almost never does.
And that is where the paycheck wheel begins.
Nationally for some times businesses have been flourishing which offer payday loans. The are usually storefronts and they often provide additional financial "services" such as cashing checks, sell money orders.
The pay day loans are usually in the form of a post-dated check. This is the procedure. The customer writes a check for a certain amount. They then date it for sometime in the future. Usually this date is on or after the customer's next payday. The total amount of the check includes a fee.
Practically it works this way. A student needs some quick funds, say $100.00. They then got to the payday loan company and there usually fill out some paperwork. The paper work includes their employer and other personal financial information. Once this paperwork is processed they can write the postdated check. The check will include the check cashing fee. In the state in which this is being written the fee is commonly $16.00. Thus the total of the check is $116.00.
The student then leaves the business with $100.00. Some time later, usually after the students next payday, the business cashes the check.

That is how the paycheck wheel starts.

Who knows where you are going?

And when you'll be back? And all that other annoying stuff mom used to ask. But doesn't now because you are long gone from mom's. Well. For many students Planet College presents unparalleled opportunities for mobility. On Planet College you are free to go anywhere you can and you don't have to tell anyone either where you are going or when you'll be back. Spontaneous road trips, weekend getaways and overnight at a friends (or a total strangers) are common and unremarkable. Mobility such as this is extremely convenient. It can also be distracting. In the heady swirl of instant weekend vacations obligations are often over looked. Papers due? I can do it when I get back. Pets to feed? I'll leave a note for my roommate.
Sound familiar? With break looming it is time for another Planet College tip. Where ever you're going tell some one. Tell them when you are leaving, where you are going and when you expect to be back. If you're not in a place to call home and tell the folks then: Tell your RA. Tell your Coach. Tell your friend who isn't going. Make sure they have your cell phone number and you have theirs.
That way when plans change as they often do you can call, check in, and make any further arrangement necessary until your return. Before you leave tell somebody.

I really want that job.

But I haven't graduated yet.
This is the time of year when potential graduates start thinking seriously about their first "real" job back on Planet Earth. Those who aren't hooked up with a worthwhile employer begin earnestly searching for potential employers, sending out resumes and hoping to schedule interviews for a real career position.
The promise of finally working in some position other than part-time campus parking control associate presents a genuine stimulus for students to get on the stick about finally getting serious about their job search.
Simultaneous with this is a dilemma faced often by potential graduates. They haven't finished every course necessary for their degree. Many students walk through Commencement with some requirements pending. Some even walk through with many requirements yet to be met. Still, it can seem slightly unethical to put BA on your resume when you actually haven't got it yet.
This calls for a Planet College suggestion.
On your resume where your School, College and Degree are listed you can put either the year you will finish or you can put Pending. This means, for example, you will be 'walking' in May of this year. But you may not finish every course until Winter 2010. You can put BA 2010 or BA Pending. Of course, if you are finishing this year, only not till fall, you can legitimately put BA Fall 2009. This is candid, fair and ethical. It also puts your position clearly in front of any evaluator or potential interviewer at the companies where you are applying for work. Just a thought. Hope it helps.

Ok, So Highlight.

There is a previous post which essentially says don't highlight. Highlighting makes things obscure simply because highlighters are over used. There are occasional circumstances where Planet College recommends the careful use of highlighting. Class handouts, course syllabus and some course outlined material can benefit from highlighting. In the case of the handouts it is OK to use a highlighter to accent the essential important information. For your syllabus other essential things like contact information for the instructor and due dates for important assignments can be highlighted. In course outline material the same guidelines apply. Highlight essential information only. Where these materials are distributed on line print them out any way. Then when you have the printout proceed with the highlighting. Often enough on these types of materials whether distributed in class or on line there are a few essentials which could be highlighted. Dates and days are important, times are important, locations are important and required equipment and materials are important. Also the contact information for the instructor is important. As mentioned previously that information is location of office, office hours, and any contact information such as cell phone number or e-mail number. These essentials are the basics which might be highlighted. Other than that skip highlighting.

If your brain isn't cool.

Then you are not either. Brains are a very predictable organ. When they are cool they work very well. When they are not cool they don't. This is why. Your brain represents about seven per cent of your body weight. Your brain, however, uses about seventeen per cent of the oxygen that you breathe in. That is a lot. The reason is that our brains require a lot of oxygen to stay cool. The oxygen is supplied to our brain by our blood circulation. This is accomplished by our big blood pump, the heart. As you can tell the brain is a very jealous organ. It demands a lot of the heart and lungs. This is, as I've said, because it needs to run at an optimum temperature. That temperature is approximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. A steady flow of oxygenated blood effectively keeps our brains cool. The best way to keep our brains cool is to breathe. Deeply and regularly. We don't think about breathing much because it is an automatic process. Still it is wise to pause occasionally, especially while studying, and breathe deeply. Keeps your brain cool. And when your brain is cool it works.

Planet College Advisory: Highlighting

Ever found yourself pawing diligently through the used books stacks hoping to snag an affordable copy of a text book you need? Uh-oh. OK, here's one and it's almost cheap. Cool. Until you open it and find it has been so highlighted that it is almost unreadable. Highlighting when over done, and it nearly always is, is distracting. Distracting to the point of uselessness.
Here's a Planet College advisory. Don't highlight your text book. Instead use this simple system. Study with a number Two Pencil ain hand. When you come across a valuable, noteworthy or useful fact carefully place one check mark in the margin of the book. Place it along side of the paragraph containing the fact. With this method you can develop a system based on checks. One check for rather important, two checks for very important, three checks for extremely important. If the passage contains extensive information you may also consider underling important parts with your Number Two pencil. When you go back to review the material you will be able to quickly determine the relative importance of the material you are reviewing.
This method has another advantage. It is much easier to clean up a used textbook for re-sale when all it has is pencil markings.