The Nerd’s Word: You Can Be Absent, Just Don’t Be Absent-Minded About It
Regardless of how good a student you are, how detail-oriented, hard working, or diligent, you can be certain that you will miss a class at some point in your academic career. And likely many more than one. There are many reasons for missing classes, ranging from illness and emergencies to hangovers and a desire to sleep in. Why you missed class matters – to you. If it was for irresponsible reasons, your absence signals that you need to take a closer look at your obligations and priorities. What do you do after missing class? Do you just show up at the next class and start fresh? What about material that you’ve missed? Do you talk to professors? Here are seven things that the Nerd suggests you do when you’re absent.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
Finals Promotion!
We’re doing our “Final Exams $10.00 off Promotion.” Starts today (April 19th) and ends on May 10th. You can purchase NERD at the NERD store!
Good luck with all your exams and remember to study hard, get adamant sleep, and eat brain foods (almonds, spinach, flax seed, eggs, etc.)!
Be Good! – wade
The Nerd’s Word: How to Succeed as A Student-Athlete and Not the Other Way Around
For collegiate athletes, playing a sport began as fun and turned into a passion. If you are one of the lucky few that can take their passion to the next level, it will be a challenge to strike a balance between athletics and academics, but a worthwhile one. Maybe you can hit a running jump shot, sink a 50-foot putt, or lay down a perfect bunt, but you will need the grades to continue showing off your skills in college.
If you have dreams of turning pro, that’s great. But you should know that, out of all the high school football players in the country, only 0.09 percent go on to play professionally. For high school men’s basketball players, only 0.03 percent make it to the pros – so you better be a superstar before you decide to put the game ahead of the books. Most Division I schools have an academic support system set up just for student athletes, or at least a contact person who can steer them in the right direction to get the help they need. If you are a student-athlete in need of some guidance, the Nerd is here with some pointers on how to get your career on the right path – whether you future lies in the office or on the field of play.
from the Campus Socialite Keep Reading >>
Introducing NERD’s Facebook Page’s “Picture for a 4pack” Giveaway
We’re happy to announce our new facebook monthly giveaway: “Picture for a 4pack.” At random, once a month, NERD will pick a day that the contest is available. We will inform our fans by updating our faceobook status on that particular day. The first two people to post a picture, on our facebook page, of them studying while drinking a NERD, get a free 4pack. The rules are simple:
1. You must be studying in the picture
2. You must have a NERD can in the picture
3. You must post the picture on NERD’s facebook page
4. You are not eligible to win a 4pack if you have won one in the last 4 weeks
The Nerd’s Word: Take the Lead in the Classroom and Become a TA
Most college professors effectively manage classrooms, but often need the help of teacher assistants. Teacher assistants help their professors with much of the work, allowing the teacher more time for instruction, administration and lesson planning. TAs provide instructional and clerical support for their professors and assist students in learning class material by using the teacher’s lesson plans and providing students with individualized attention.
Regardless of your major, having a TA position is fulfilling and allows you to learn something from your instructor and the specific course you taking in a whole new light. A teacher assistant role looks great on resumes and is an excellent experience to discuss in future job interviews, so how can you secure the job? All the Nerd to be of some assistance with a relatively simple four-step process…
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
The Nerd’s Word: Center Your Focus on Your Campus Career Center
You may find it surprising, but many college students know little or nothing about a wonderful career resource that’s right in their backyard: the career center. Most every college or university has a career services office whose sole purpose is helping students like you with career-related issues. But despite the career services offices’ best efforts to market themselves, surprisingly few students take advantage of their expertise. And that’s a shame — because, as many recent (and not-so-recent) college graduates can attest, the career services office could well be the most important resource on your campus when it comes to helping you envision and plan for your future. The Nerd is here to inform you why a visit to your school’s career services office can be so beneficial. Here are seven not-so-obvious reasons.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
The Nerd’s Word: Be Selective with Your Electives
Trying to decide what electives to take in college can be difficult. And whenever you try to ask someone his or her opinion, the usual response is to take what you like. That advice may work for some classes, but not for all of them. If you haven’t already taken, for instance, a sociology class, how are you going to know if you like it? While you may have electives within your major (in some majors you have to take a certain number of prescribed, or required, classes, with two or three electives within the major as long as it’s a course within your field) many programs leave room for a certain number of free electives. These credits basically mean you can take pretty much anything you want. While your college may stipulate exactly what the boundaries on your electives are, many give you free reigns: in other words, the electives you take are up to you. The main purpose of free electives is to give college students an opportunity to explore, but where to turn first? Allow the Nerd to navigate you through the uncharted territory of choosing the best electives to suit your college experience.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
The Nerd’s Word: Tutor Others, Reward Yourself
Throughout my years in college, I used to tutor fellow students to earn extra money and improve my own understanding of teaching. Looking back, I realize that tutoring was not only a profitable endeavor, but also a gratifying experience. Being able to impart knowledge on my peers and seeing how they were able to improve their academic performance was psychologically rewarding. If you are looking for a way to get some cash and you believe that you have the skills to teach, then offering tutoring services might be for you. Tutors are always in demand on all college campuses, however to become an effective tutor please let the Nerd first spell out some of the characteristics that you will need to bring to the table.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
The Nerd’s Word: Study with Others, Your GPA Will Thank You
Have you ever noticed that when you explain something you’ve learned in class to a friend, you begin to understand it better yourself? This happens because when you explain, or teach, an idea, you need to actively think it through. And by thinking more deeply about what you’ve learned and then explaining it to someone else, you begin to understand it better. Studying with others in a small group is helpful to everyone because, as in the example above, you think out loud, share ideas, and learn from one another. It is said that “two heads are better than one,” so while studying alone may work well for things such as memorizing facts, sometimes you’ll need to understand more complicated ideas. And rather than memorize facts, you’ll be required to apply facts to solving problems. Effective study groups involve hashing out lesson materials together—explaining concepts, arguing about them, figuring out why one person’s answer differs from another’s—and in the process, you learn more than you ever would have studying by yourself. Read on to see why the Nerd is a huge fan of study groups…
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
The Nerd’s Word: Distractions are Everywhere! Keep Them Out of Your Head
There’s no doubt about it, some of your classes and course material are so mind-numbingly boring that it’s painful. College students have always felt this way. Chances are, that agonizingly dull 80-year-old physics professor made his students suffer just as much 50 years ago. Students have always been bored, and they’ve always found ways to block out a professor’s lecture or to procrastinate on their homework and studying time. However, there’s a big difference between the bored students of yesteryear and the Generation Y college students of today. These days, the number of technologically advanced and tempting ways that students can ignore their academic obligations have skyrocketed. So with so many fun ways to avoid your work, how can you be expected to pay attention? Learning how to pay attention in such a gadget enriched environment is not an easy task, even for the best students. But the thing is, if you’re going to succeed in school, you need to learn how to resist temptation and pay attention. Unless you plan to pull an all-nighter every time you have an exam or essay assignment, you’re going to have to learn how to sit down and do your work, no matter what.
from the Campus Socialite. Keep Reading >>
