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Being a senior in high school – where everyone looks up to you and you feel as though you are on top of the world – is a great feeling. As graduation day draws near, it’s easy to put yourself on autopilot but resist flipping that switch at all costs: If you don’t finish your high school career strong, everything you worked so hard for over the years could be taken away.

You may think you are in the clear if you have already been accepted to a college or university but keep in mind that many offers of admission are conditional. You still have to keep up that 3.5 GPA, maintain your roles in clubs or keep that 6-minute mile in track in order to enroll in the fall. Your senior year academics and achievements matter just like all the other years while you were in high school.

To not lose the chance of going to college, you have to keep that ambition that got you to where you are. Seniors get excited about prom, yearbook and graduation but letting these events overshadow the more important aspects of education is a big mistake. I have seen people slack off in their senior year and watching all their hard work come crashing down was awful! I know that when I was in my senior year, I definitely caught senioritis but I tried to finish the year the best I could. I’m glad I stayed strong: It made my transition into college so much easier.

My advice? Manage your time wisely so end of the year activities don’t overshadow your schoolwork. It will all be worth it because receiving that diploma and knowing that you will go to a college that you worked hard to attend is the best feeling. And no one can do it but you!

Katlyn Clark is a freshman at Campbell University majoring in journalism and minoring in marketing. She hopes to become a broadcast journalist for entertainment or write for a magazine such as People or Seventeen. In her spare time, Katlyn loves to hang out with friends and family and watch sports; she is a Christian who is so thankful for God’s many blessings in her life. Katlyn is from Elizabeth City, North Carolina and loves Tim Tebow, Pinterest, the WWE and cats.

We all know that school is hard sometimes but life after graduation can be much harder if you do not do what’s necessary to stand apart from the crowd. When graduating high school and entering college, you will find many opportunities to enter academic and social organizations, most of which will require application processes that ask about your involvement and leadership skills. Realizing you don’t have much on your resume? No worries: You still have time.

First, find a club that interests you and join it. And don’t just be a member – run for a position, ANY position. This shows leadership and adds an extra line on your resume while showing you have ambition and drive different from students who are just members. Another good way to build a resume is through volunteer work. Spending extra time doing community service is a great way to gain experience AND give back.

When it comes to building a resume in college, the small minimum wage jobs really do not count. After graduation, companies want to see what you have done to gain hands-on skills. Most degrees require students to do at least one internship; this usually takes place during junior year but don't be afraid to get a head start in your freshman or sophomore years...or both! Also, try joining academic and community service-based organizations – this will help to encounter great opportunities that you might not find on your own.

Remember that employers look beyond just good grades: They want to be able to see that you have put yourself out in other activities and can handle multiple responsibilities. If you spend your free time wisely and productively, you will definitely thank yourself later.

Chelsea Slaughter is currently a junior at Jacksonville State University majoring in communications (public relations concentration) and minoring in art. She serves as a resident assistant on campus, is the treasurer in the Public Relations Organization and is an active member in W.I.S.E., NAACP and Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Leadership Society. She aims to work in the entertainment industry post-graduation and is well on her way thanks to an internship with a digital marketer to several music artists. Chelsea strives to achieve all of her goals and motivate others along the way.

Every time I learn about a school shooting, I feel less safe at my university – my paranoia has become so severe that I won’t study in the library because this location has been a target in several shootings – and I’ve often wondered what could be done to prevent incidents like this from occurring again. With the recent situation at UCF still fresh in our minds, let’s discuss: Would allowing guns on campus make a difference? Some may think so while others are very much opposed.

Some state legislatures feel that allowing students to carry concealed firearms on campus will ease the worry of students like me. They say it’s an extension of a person’s constitutional right to protect oneself, yet higher education institutions that are in states that want students to be allowed to have a handgun do not agree with their lawmakers. (Texas and Kansas, for example, are two states whose lawmakers want to allow firearms on campus, while the schools within their borders want quite the opposite.) According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, there are 20 states that ban concealed weapons on campus, five states that allow concealed weapons at higher education institutions, 24 states that allow schools to set their own policies and several other campuses are debating whether or not to allow concealed firearms.

At the end of the day, people kill people, so I don’t believe guns are the real issue. Let me know your views about guns on campus: Would you feel safer or less safe if your student body and faculty were allowed to carry handguns?

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

There is no experience like living in a foreign country to introduce you to new cultures and open your eyes to the greater world around you. By immersing yourself fully in a new culture, you can gain invaluable insight into the challenges facing people from all walks of life. You may even come to develop your own ideas on how to contribute to the global community.

This year Clements Worldwide is asking participants to reflect on their time abroad and show through the use of video how you will use your enriching, cross-cultural experiences to make the world a better place.

To participate and have a chance at winning a scholarship, eligible contestants should:

• Go to Facebook.com/expatyouth and “Like” the page.
• Create a 1:30-2:00 minute video showing how you will use your experience living abroad to make the world a better place.
• Submit the video at Facebook.com/expatyouth at the Contest application by the April 30th deadline.

For more information on this and other scholarship opportunities, complete a free scholarship search today!

Recently, I read an article about whether or not Facebook was ruining the college experience. A huge benefit to going to college is having the chance to interact and socialize with people from diverse backgrounds but are students letting Facebook keep them from these advantages?

The article states that there is an increased level of “homophily” on campuses. Homophily equates to “birds of a feather flock together” – students are using Facebook to find roommates more like themselves rather than learning about someone with a different background and set of interests. It also allows people to keep so much more in touch with childhood friends and family that they cling to old ties instead of taking the risk to create new ones.

I agree that the problem isn’t mainly Facebook but the students using it! When I graduated high school, I was so excited for my new college experience that I started a group on Facebook called “Jacksonville State University Class of 2014.” At first, it was just me adding people I knew who were going but I also added my JSU recruiter; she added all of her recruits, they added people they knew and the group continued to grow. For the entire summer, I socialized with incoming freshmen about dorm placements, orientation dates and class schedules. By the time school started, I knew a VARIETY of amazing people on campus!

Facebook and other social sites are what you make them – do not allow them to keep you in the same place and hinder your chance to learn diversity and growth! Yes, it’s smart to take caution when meeting new people but don’t shy away from new experiences. Be open, get involved and don’t be afraid of getting to know someone different...WITHOUT computer screens between you!

Chelsea Slaughter is currently a junior at Jacksonville State University majoring in communications (public relations concentration) and minoring in art. She serves as a resident assistant on campus, is the treasurer in the Public Relations Organization and is an active member in W.I.S.E., NAACP and Omicron Delta Kappa Honors Leadership Society. She aims to work in the entertainment industry post-graduation and is well on her way thanks to an internship with a digital marketer to several music artists. Chelsea strives to achieve all of her goals and motivate others along the way.

College can sound very exciting with moving away from home and being on your own but who you live with can make or break your college experience.

Most colleges require freshmen to live in campus housing with roommates. Roommates can be chosen at random, via special requests or at college orientation. (Some schools, like Campbell, even have "Class of" or "Admitted Students" pages on Facebook and students can find their future roommates there.) I had a roommate selected at random and she moved out halfway through the semester but I knew this was a common situation: Sometimes students move out to room with a better friend or they change dorms because the new residence hall is closer to their classes and extracurricular activities.

How do you know if you have found the right roommate? Talk to them! Discuss what you both expect to do at college, your respective bedtimes and what you’ll bring into the dorm. If you think the match is a good one, sign a roommate contract but if you don't think your living situation is going to work, try to make a room change sooner than later. Maybe you met someone in class or on your floor who is also having roommate issues, which makes a potential swap even easier.

If I could choose the best way to find a roommate, I would go the random route again and connect with them prior to move-in day. Most people I know on campus were paired with their roommates randomly and now consider each other good friends...but that may not be the case for everyone: It all depends on what type of person you are and if you can handle living with someone else. There is a perfect roommate for everyone!

So how did you find your roommate? Did it work out, were there issues or would you have change the way you were paired?

Katlyn Clark is a freshman at Campbell University majoring in journalism and minoring in marketing. She hopes to become a broadcast journalist for entertainment or write for a magazine such as People or Seventeen. In her spare time, Katlyn loves to hang out with friends and family and watch sports; she is a Christian who is so thankful for God’s many blessings in her life. Katlyn is from Elizabeth City, North Carolina and loves Tim Tebow, Pinterest, the WWE and cats.

During my time at college, I found myself unhappy and unfulfilled. I despised my major and I wasn’t a fan of my campus. This being my second college, I figured it must be that college itself wasn’t for me, so I decided to drop out. I took a few months to experiment with careers that didn’t require college degrees but my choice to leave school kept haunting me.

In the midst of my time away from higher education, I came across a Chicago Tribune article which detailed common misconceptions students have about college....and I realized right away that I was one of those students! Here are just a few points the Trib covered:

• There’s a misconception that a college degree doesn’t hold any value; like any investment, however, a college degree pays off over time. A college graduate’s earnings rise faster and peak later than the earnings of someone with a high school diploma alone. A college degree is not a guarantee of success but grads do have better odds of finding, keeping and excelling at their jobs long term.
• Another misconception is that it doesn’t matter where you attend college...yet it’s the most important decision regarding your college career! Getting in is half the battle – the other half is deciding where to attend because that could determine if you stay there and get your degree. In real estate, they say the three most important things to consider when buying a house are location, location, location. The same goes for choosing a college: If you hate the location, it’s likely you won’t enjoy your college experience.

After realizing the true importance of a college education, I knew what I had to do. Recognizing that it was the location of my school and the major I had chosen that were bothering me, I spent my time off figuring out a major I want to immerse myself in and finding a university in a location I can’t wait to live. I’ll be returning to school in the fall!

Carly Gerber is majoring in journalism at Columbia College Chicago. She loves fashion and hopes to cover the topic for a Chicago-area magazine. In her free time, she focuses on her blog, loves making jewelry and spending time on Pinterest and Pose. She hopes to use this blog to guide and relate to its followers: college students like herself!

Running for student office can be a challenge. With the majority of students uninterested in student politics and others voting based solely on the catchiness of a slogan ("He's not popular and he's not handsome, so he has time for student council" got my vote every time!), the odds really aren’t in anyone’s favor. Unless, of course, you run your campaign on providing cuddly-wuddly, wittle puppies for all students to enjoy. I vote yes!

University of Calgary student Ben Cannon recently won the role of vice president of student life after promising voters a puppy room. Other Canadian universities have already adopted the idea, aimed at relieving students’ stress by giving them easy access to canines on campus. Debbie Bruckner of the U of C Wellness Centre said the university is already working with Cannon on the logistics of a puppy room. “It sounds kind of like a silly idea at first but it’s proven scientifically, I mean, it raises your dopamine levels in your brain, lowers your blood pressure. There’s just something about it – there’s a reason why dogs are a man’s best friend,” said Cannon.

With all the pressure and anxiety that comes with attending college, providing students with puppies only seems fair, right? Let us know what you think.

The Fountainhead Essay Contest, offered by the Ayn Rand Institute, is open to high school juniors and seniors with a love of literature and flair for writing. Each applicant is required to read Rand’s novel of the same name then craft an essay of 800 to 1,600 words in response to one of three prompts. There will be 236 college scholarships distributed – one $10,000 first-prize award, five $2,000 second-prize awards, 10 $1,000 third-prize awards, 45 $100 finalist awards and 175 $50 semifinalist awards – to essay writers demonstrating an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of The Fountainhead.

All materials must be submitted by April 26th so if you are interested in this scholarship opportunity, you still have plenty of time to apply. For more information on this and other scholarship awards, conduct a free scholarship search on our site today!

Ah, the post-high school Facebook dilemma. We’ve all had it: These are people that you’ve known for a long time or could be people you grew up with but now you just don’t want to see the sixteenth picture of their cat or their statuses that no longer interest you in any way. What do you do?

If used properly, Facebook is a fantastic networking tool. Your “friends” could someday be job opportunities – after all, it’s who you know that gets you far! – so if they’re someone of future interest, stay connected. If they have potential but have a habit of posting things you just don’t need to see, however, there’s always the “Show In News Feed” option to uncheck. Or consider LinkedIn: This site is a great option for those you may see a professional future with because it’s built upon resumes and professionalism instead of “he said; she said” statuses and unnecessary selfie pictures. You’re working toward a career, a job and a future and your social networks should cater to the image you want the world to have of you and your passions.

There’s also the question of “Do I actually consider this person a friend anymore?” Over time, the answer may become “No”...but it’s not a negative: It’s just a different chapter in your life. If this is the case, unfriend them or remove them from your news feed (if you’re afraid to upset the person). People mature, change and move on – Facebook is great for keeping in touch but it’s really best for who you want to keep in touch with.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m all about social networking! I utilize Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and everything else I can get my hands on to promote my band, my work, my interests, my activities and my passions. With its groups and “like” pages, it can be a valuable resource for professionals but know when it’s time to refocus and reimagine who you are. You aren’t the same person you were in high school...and for most of us, that’s a great thing!

Mike Sheffey is a junior at Wofford College double majoring in computer science and Spanish. He loves all things music and has recently taken up photography. Mike works for an on-campus sports broadcasting company as well as the music news blog PropertyOfZack.com. He hopes to use this blogging position to inform and assist others who are seeking the right college or those currently enrolled in college by providing advice on college life, both in general and specific to Wofford.