A Big Little Blog: School Life

Pack Your Purse for School!

Purses come in handy for emergency situations. Unfortunately, it's time to take out the sunglasses and sunscreen lotion because you won't be needing it. My purse is like an emergency kit because I carry almost EVERYTHING it in. This post would be relevant to people with hugemonguos purses.

To keep your purse nice, organized, and roomy, get a pencil pouch and make pouch. Crushed eye shadow and pen ink can really mess up the inside of a purse.

In my make pouch I only pack the essential things:

napkins
lip chap
mascara
pads or tampons
scrunchies
hair pins

In my pencil pouch:

mechanical pencils
pens

Other school supplies things I pack are a thin binder with loose leaf paper and a planner. My planner is both for school and every day things, just in case I for get something. School and social life can get pretty hectic.

And additional ideas for my "emergency kit" are my phone, hand sanitizer, a bottle of water, and gum.

Student Discount

TEXTBOOKS: SlugBooks.com- compares prices between your bookstore and online options like Amazon/eBay/Chegg/etc. so you can be sure you're getting the best deal on your textbooks. Most people don't realize how easy it is to save money on textbooks, so they overspend. Don't do that! (SlugBooks is created by the same people who brought you CollegePackingList)

MANAGE YOUR CASH & PERSONAL BUDGET: Mint is a free website (click here) that allows you to keep track of your money to make sure everything balances. Being in charge of your own money for the first time isn't always easy, and hitting your savings goals is important. Signing up is FREE, and Mint is integrated with TurboTax (so your first time doing taxes will be less painful as well).

SHOES FOR COLLEGE: These are some online shoe providers that give you great deals:
- Zappos (click here) - everyone's favorite source for shoes/handbags/clothing. And they have the best customer service ever - if you order something and it doesn't fit, send it back and get a refund, no questions asked.
- Shoebuy (click here) - biggest shoe selection in the world - free shipping, free returns and no sales tax. Use code spring15 to save 15%.
- ShoeDazzle (click here) - Take a free style quiz, then ShoeDazzle gives you recommendations based on your personalized style. It's a subscription for shoes - you'll get a new pair of shoes every month that match your style. A relatively cheap way to stay fashionable.

SCHOLARSHIPS: Sign up for scholarships from Zinch - it's totally free, and you'll be amazed how much scholarship money is out there for the taking. Scholarships will help you get through college with as little debt as possible, and quite a bit of the scholarship money available each year goes unclaimed because people don't apply.

MOVIES: AMC Theaters Cheap Student’s Thursdays (show your id, get a discount!): amctheaters.com/offers

CLOTHING/APPAREL: The following apparel stores give discounts anywhere from 10%-20% if you show your student id:
- Ann Taylor*
- Ann Taylor Loft*
- Banana Republic*
- Club Monaco*
- Charlotte Russe*
- Madewell*
- J.Crew*
- Rugby (Ralph Lauren)*
- The Limited*
- Urban Outfitters*
*make sure you check with each of these places before you get to the checkout counter - student discount policies can change.

PIZZA: Dominos always has deals in college areas. Call them to hear the specials!

TEST PREP (MCAT/GRE/GMAT/LSAT/etc): BenchPrep (click here) - an incredible product that prepares you for whatever exam you're taking - and there are a lot of them out there. They have great interface that allows you to study whereever you are, whether that's in front of a computer, an iPad, an iPhone, etc. Use discount code BPREP40 to save 40% off of any course. Click here to get started.

PRINTER INK: Inkspector.com (created by the makers of CollegePackingList) - just like SlugBooks, but instead of textbooks, you compare prices on printer ink to make sure you're getting the best deal. Printer ink really isn't expensive if you shop around.

APPLE: Ask for the education discount, save ~8%! (in participating Apple stores)

MICROSOFT OFFICE SUITE: The College Edition’s only $99.99 (pc/mac) microsoftstore.com/student

AAA MEMBERS: You get TONS of discounts with your membership card: discover.aaa.com/membership

FAST FOOD: The following fast food restaurants give discounts of around 10% if you show your student id:
- McDonalds
- Subway
- Burger King
- Qdoba
- Dairy Queen
- Dunkin’ Donuts
(in participating locations)

TRAVEL: Nothing beats Southwest Airlines, but STA Travel is another good site to check for exclusive student discounts and deals (sometimes STA partners with American Airlines to offer even better discounts than you can get at their site.

GYM: 24-Hour Fitness has student deals in most locations if you don’t like working out in your school’s health center!

WALL POSTERS / DORM DECORATIONS: PosterHunt.com (created by the makers of CollegePackingList) lets you find and discover wall posters. There's also CanvasPop, which lets you make affordable art prints from your photos. One of the cooler things you can do is connect your Instagram account and create wall prints from your instagrams, a fun dorm decoration. Use code MayShipping on CanvasPop and get free shipping during the month of May.
College can be a very exciting time in your life, but your poorest time too. While it can be stressful on your finances, there are ways you can get discounts with your student ID. Here’s what we found that can help you save and afford to eat something besides Ramen Noodles for dinner.

Academic Superstore: this site provides student discounts on electronics and other necessary things for college.
Amazon Student: Amazon student members get exclusive discounts on a variety of products and categories, six months of free two-day shipping with Amazon Prime, and email alerts for discounts and promotions.
AMC Theatres: discounted tickets every Thursday.
Amtrak: Buy one full-fare ticket for high school juniors and seniors who want to visit a campus.
Ann Taylor LOFT: 15% off in-store.
Ann Taylor: 20% off in-store.
Apple: 8% off (online and in-store).
Banana Republic: 15% off in-store.
Blockbuster: various discounts for student. Present your card at your local store to find out.
Broadway in Chicago: Students get discounted tickets for as low as $14.50 for selected performances.
Burger King: 10% off in-store with a valid student ID.
Charlotte Russe: 10% off in-store with a valid student ID.
Club Monaco: 20% off regular-priced items
Dairy Queen: 10% off in-store with a valid student ID.
Dell University: Savings differ by college.
Dominos Pizza: Discounts based on location. Ask your local store representative before you order.
The GM College Discount: Gives discounts on Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles.
Harkins Movie Theatre: Discount depends on location, times and dates.
HP Academy Store: offers exclusive student discounts on laptops and desktop computers. Sign up online.
J. Crew: 15% off selected items.
JourneyEd: Save up to 85% on computers, electronics, software and other necessities.
Kroger: 5% off at limited locations.
The Limited : 15% off in-store with a valid student ID.
McDonald’s: 10% off at select locations with a valid student ID.
Metropolitan Museum of Art: Discounts vary. Check the website for details.
Papa John’s: Student discounts vary by location.
Pizza Hut: Discount depends on location.
Qdoba: Discounts vary depending on the day.
Ralph Lauren Rugby: 15% off in-store.
Regal Theaters: $1.50 off Sunday-Thursday evenings.
Sam’s Club: Depending on location, students can be eligible to receive a Collegiate Annual Membership for $40 plus FREE $15 Sam’s Club gift card.
Subway: 10% off in-store.
Topshop: 10% off online.
Urban Outfitters: Save 10% on select dates only.
Waffle House: 10% off.

There are a lot more stores that offer discounts and you can even save when you travel. Remember to always ask while you’re out shopping because a lot of places don’t advertise that they give discounts with a student ID. Check with your local public transportation systems for discounts also.

http://www.collegepackinglist.com/college-discounts-cheatsheet.html
http://carrington.edu/blog/carrington-college-news/discounts-your-student-id-can-get-you/

Intense Study Tips

I don't have any study tips of my own but I use http://www.thecollegeprepster.com/2011/01/intense-study-tips.html. Her study tips are very helpful, follow them.

School Survival

This is would be the health part of my blog. Thanks to Taralynn McNitt, she has the blog Undressed Skeleton. Awesome blog! Thanks to her blog I found out a neat way to be health at school. I don't have to wait until I get home to eat or grab a bag of chips at the nearest vending machine.

http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/Survivingschool

Getting Rid of First Day Butterflies

Okay, I'll confess. I have first day butterflies, it happens every year the week before school starts. That's also my relax week or my pampering week. To get rid of the anxious nervous feeling I do a number of things.