“…lifestyle change. Here it’s nothing but studying. They like to compare our program to two full-time jobs.”

Holy shbugushnick! That’s awful. No time for a social life or any school organizations? The discipline to buckle down and engross oneself into the material seems necessary in such an environment to maintain a steady and passing grade.

“Often times I find myself feeling guilty when I stop studying on Fridays at 8:30pm, you start to feel a ‘separation anxiety’…” I can’t imagine feeling guilty. Maybe knowing that I’m setting myself up for a bad grade. Okay, that might inspire guilt in some students. She says that while taking eleven classes she’s got very little time to worry about much else going on in the world around her and it leaves most “spare” time to figure out what to do next in her incredibly crammed and stuffed schedule.

Is there a difference in the style of testing that goes on in grad school when compared to the undergrad tests you have taken?

“The biggest difference in testing isn’t the type of testing. It’s the quantity.”

She compares some of the courses she’s taking to a crash course in each respective subject. Tons of studying and information shoved at the student and then they’re tested to see how much of the shoved info was retained. “Its surprising how much of it stays.”

Anyone curious for some studying techniques in grad school?

“Repetition, repetition, repetition. One way is reading from books, then notes, then writing notes on my notes, comparing book to notes, and then ‘pimping!’ I have a close friend…who I study with ALL of the time and we “pimp” each other: asking random questions to each other that we find important for tests…”

Pimpin’ ain’t easy, folks. Neither is studying in grad school. However, these techniques seem to be working for Ms. M. here. Quizzing one another seems like a viable option and especially when you’re being tested everyday of the school week. One test a day? Pretty heavy. Any studying at any time would probably be vital to securing a passing grade.

As far as advice on choosing a school to get your respective grad school degree at, Rebecca has this to offer: “My advice when it comes to picking grad schools is don’t look at names. Go small and walk the campus.” When working in a certain profession the name of the school you went to probably won’t matter. She goes on to illustrate that a smaller campus is more beneficial when trying to establish a good relationship with faculty and professors. The smaller the campus, the more tightly knit the community will be. It could even make classes more comfortable and enjoyable to attend.

That’s all for this one on one, ladies and gentlemen. Join me next time when I go toe to toe with some sort of different aspiring scholar. Feel free to use these study techniques and advice when choosing your next scholastic establishment.

STUDY HARD!

We’ve all heard people talk about how dangerous playing video games can be. But this is not going to be your layman’s article claiming video games can cause violence or create addictions. These issues may be real, but we are here to talk about something else. We shall study the dangerous effects of modifying your game system, which enables players to burn games off the internet and play them to their heart’s content. Free of charge. I know. Great, right? WRONG! For the gaming companies, who toil for hours on end creating adventures for you to enjoy and puzzles for you to solve, this is far from happiness for their hearts.

And to the American justice system, it’s illegal. So much so that someone could get a decade in prison as punishment for such a heinous deplorable crime against humanity. 27-year-old Matthew Crippen (a student of the California State University school system) was accused of modding game systems like the X-Box 360, Wii and Playstation 3. All he wanted was beer money. Well, maybe.

Of course we’re all aware of other cases involving pirating different media. Has anyone really forgotten Napster? DVD’s and music pirating is widespread practice. Dangerous and illegal, the business persists, from the suburbs to college campuses. The MPAA and music industry have done their best to crackdown on these “criminals” through commercials and other visual media that warn potential pirates and prosecutions.

Crippen was charged with two counts of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and could face up to 10 years in prison. Prison! Holy smokes. He was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who raided his home and seized the offending systems. Now I know lots of you college kids out there might do this, but there are some serious consequences. Is it worth the risk? Just to have the chance to play some games without paying for them?

Some people wonder if this needs to be enforced by the government at all or if it should be the responsibility of the manufacturer to pursue these sorts of cases. In other words, is it okay that your taxes are going to pay people to raid homes to capture someone who is modifying a game system that is, after all, his or her private property? In Crippen’s case, it doesn’t appear that he was creating or selling pirated games. Is the problem that he was allegedly making a profit from selling the modded systems? Ah, the loopholes of the American justice system. What if he gave them away for free? Aw, man. We’d be best friends. And is what a person does with the modified system their own responsibility? Does the actual modding of the system really prove a crime here? Is copyright getting out of control? Or is this a necessary action by the U.S. Immigration and Custom’s service?

Hope something is set in stone here by the courts. For me? I’m saving up my quarters for my next trip to the arcade.

STUDY HARD!

How’d you like college?

“Bleh. Liked it but not necessarily my major.”

Meet Cora. No, that’s not her real name. She asked for a certain amount of anonymity. Why Cora? ‘Cause that’s the first name I came up with when I searched my short term memory for interesting characters from movies. Thanks, Astro Boy. She is one of many young students of America (and dare I say the world?) that has had trouble deciding her life’s path. Cora is a young woman from Southern California who earned her degree at UCLA. She actually said she “hated” her major.

Yes, she actually said that. Apparently the professors and teachers didn’t let the students really savor or sponge any information. More of a get in, learn, and get out mentality. “Some things were complicated in only a matter of weeks.” Who hasn’t had that class that went just too darn fast for them? Lots of people have trouble keeping up in classes. Especially the classes they hate. Like Cora for example:

“I was a chemistry major but I loved my Latin American studies minor.”

These are the little classes that got her through the day. Or rather, the six years she spent studying.

“I think it’s how I survived being there.”

Is anyone else thinking what I’m thinking? Why pay thousands of dollars (and continue to do so after earning a degree) to study something that you hate? Perhaps that was too strong a word. I’m pretty sure Corina (I’ll change a character’s name anytime I please) enjoyed the subject to some degree but found classes difficult. Still, the question leaps to mind:

Why didn’t you major in Latin American studies?

“Because I transferred in as a chem major.”

Ah, the limitations of earlier decisions in schooling. Deciding what path your life will follow is no easy feat. As long as you can find a discernible  source of income without hurting anyone in the process I say, have at it.

Why did you focus on chemistry?

“Because I initially just got interested in it and I wanted a challenge.”

A defining cause. Public health in Grad School is Cora’s next goal (try and keep up, folks). She likes to conquer the goals she sets for herself. Is there a Discipline 101 anywhere?

What would you LIKE to do?

“I’m looking at what is going on in the Central American community in terms of health and inequities. I really want to do cross comparisons of people’s health in the US and back in the homeland.”

Nice work. All I can say is STUDY HARD!

Ashley is an art student way out in Bloomfield Hills, MI. What’s she doing there? She attends the Cranbrook Academy of Art. Sound ritzy or prominent? It is. She declares, “I am a Masters of Fine Arts Candidate in Metalsmithing.”

Interesting major. While studying for her Bachelor’s degree in California she was practicing her metal work and producing one of a kind pieces of jewelry. She continues her studies and work over at Cranbrook. I asked her to share a little about her school with us.

“All of the departments here are open to contemporary ideologies of art including interdisciplinary explorations and material openness. The school in general is the only dedicated Graduate only Art Academy in North America. It has ten departments and a really fantastic history with both the Booth family and the Saarinen family.”

Turns out, the Saarinen and the Booth families are very important people in the up and comings of Cranbrook. The former birthing the architect and co-designer of the school and releasing upon the world the designer of the Tulip Chair. The Booths, Ashley goes on to explain, held onto roots in a newspaper in Detroit and used a large portion of the profits of the newspaper to found the Cranbrook Educational Community. I asked her if she felt that her work will flourish or grow there:

“I know that it already has and that it will continue to do so. In my department in particular, one of the explorative emphasis (is) on materiality and the effect of material on concept. Becoming aware of this is enough to let me know that I have a better awareness of what I’m doing in my studio practice.”

So it seems like Graduate school and school in general helps an artist further their work. I inquired about what she looked towards doing after graduation.

“There’s the hope and dream, and then there’s the practicality. Our field is flooded. We’re taught to believe that we’re each individual snowflakes. But the truth is: there’s a blizzard outside. Ideally, I’d love to be a functioning, eating studio artist abroad (where my field is more developed). But in all actuality I know that I’ll have to suck it in, work my butt off, and hold on by the skin of my teeth to get by. There are two parts of every artist. The part that wants to express their views and opinions of the world and the part that wants to eat.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Glad I didn’t try. Now, where’s my grad school app? I need to…

STUDY HARD!

Ever thought about studying around your own custom major? I know I did. Then I realized I was already almost complete with mine so it was just easier to take the predetermined degree. If you’re planning on designing your own curriculum I’d advise you to start early. Talk to the dean of the department you want to hang around in and decide which classes would benefit you the most. And to help inspire you, let’s talk to someone who actually did it…

“I’m still doing my custom major. I’m going to Greece in a month to continue my major.”

Says Dolores, a student at Redlands University in California.

“My major is titled (for the moment) Writing and Making Things: Art for Children and Everyone Else.”

Awesome. Apparently she started with her own major as a freshman in school. She could argue that it began as soon as she realized that she could write and draw. So, according to her, when did she start her education?

“…Like, when I was nine.”

She goes on to elaborate that it may have more likely began while taking Russian Literature and Post-Modern aesthetics classes. Also, these were taken during her freshman year. Coincidence? I think not!

“I realized the importance of creation and the significance in struggling societies.”

Dolores approached the heads of the art department with a curriculum she designed herself consisting of various studio art classes, art history classes, and general ed courses. The higher ups signed off on it and she was on her way learning what she wanted.

So how exactly does a major in “writing things” or “making” said things carry one across an ocean? Apparently, if you do your research, you could possibly find programs all around the world that fall into your curriculum. And they could legitimately educate you in ways that you fancy.

In Greece, Dolores found a program that can be summed up as an art commune that wonderfully and fortunately issues college credit. Whodathunkit? But that’s not the only place she’s been.

“Well, I went to Poland, Latvia, Estonia, and Russia last May to do street art and research the childhood art academies.”

She’ll be studying poetry and ceramics while working with artists in Greece. who will in turn provide insight and expertise along her journey. As luck would have it she’ll be included in the student art show at the end of the term. Always a good thing for an artist to exhibit work. And after all is said and done where does she hope to be?

“I want to take a role as an artist to work with children as they practice art and encourage the importance of procedure. Really, I’ve based almost everything I do on Augusto Boal and his Theatre of the Oppressed.

Impressive. Studying abroad on a major she made up. Now, THAT’S…

STUDYING HARD.

Europe (and pretty much any major metropolitan area) is a geographic and economic hot spot for all things high-end and creative. Seems like more often than not these things are expensive so you know you’ll make a buck (or Euro as it were) if you’re good at what you do. So, have you already applied to the school you want to attend?

“I’m applying to Istituto Marangoni in Milan, Italy,” says Catherine. A high school graduate from southern California studying in Italy? I smell a sitcom! Or at the least a CW drama full of teen heartbreak and frivolous dramatic prattle. Where’s my popcorn?…Actually, let’s just try to learn more about Catherine and her college plans.

While she is working part-time to cover a small portion of her tuition and travels, Catherine prepares for life on another continent. She’s got her ambitious eyes set on a hearty, good ol’ fashioned Fashion Styling degree…so to speak. “I’m really excited to study abroad! I need to start learning Italian ASAP,” she goes on to elaborate on her as-of-yet unprepared state of linguistics.

The school’s got open enrollment but a hefty price tag of 12,000 euro. This pretty much equates to a whopping 17,180 dollars on United States soil. Not to worry: her parents are generously footing some of the bill. Reportedly some private American universities have a bigger bill to fill so it just might be a bargain to study the arts across the proverbial pond. Boy, did I miss out.

What’s life exactly like over in the Italian country of…uhm, Italy? She doesn’t know. It’s okay though. She is young and confident. Aside from humidity and dry heat filling the air in and around the country she expects that life will be good as long as she learns to do her own laundry. She does admit that she wants to research the economic and living conditions in the country before leaving. What about the job market for a fashion designer?

“I’d want to intern for a senior stylist and work my way up while attending school. Milan is a great city to study and work in fashion since it’s currently the #1 fashion capital of the world. There are several amazing up and coming designers so competition is fierce.”

Well said. She is apparently aware of the marketability of studying and working in and around the area of her school. In researching her chosen career path and the promising school she wants to attend, Catherine has apparently already begun to…

STUDY HARD!

For those of you who forget your notes or need to move an essay to another computer, there’s one available jump drive that puts the “grenade” in “data transfer.” Pull the pin and begin a download, kiddos. And this pretty fresh looking jump drive is just the beginning of all the useful gadgets and gear at thinkgeek. But wait, something useless is grabbing my attention.

Oh, em, jee. This is just silly. However, so necessary. How will this awesome text-abbreviating and bbq abbreviation-satirizing apron not help you study? All kinds of nerds are “bbq-ing” all the time in those cramped dorm rooms of theirs. But it’s time to put your serious face on, folks. Let’s take a gander at some of the highly regarded, heavy hitting hardware on this here site.

Wish there were as many screens on your computer as there were keys on your keyboard? Then check this out. And what nerd-oriented, super-consumer site would be complete without some clever t-shirts? You do need to be decked out in fresh threads when you start a new term on your respective campus. Using your sassy apparel you can assure your vast and ridiculous knowledge over all your other classmates regarding all things geek: Star Trek, Binary code, the correct design of the chemical compound known only as “caffeine.”

How about Chewbacca riding my back or Yoda riding my back or sleeping inside the deceased and smelly innards of a Taun-taun? Don’t show any of these to any potential mates you meet. Unless they’re dressed like Princess Leia.

Now that your dorm room is truly decked out for the new year in a true nerd, geek, and dweeb-like fashionably unfashionable sense, you can pursue your computer science degree. Get ready for classes with an overabundance of the Y chromosome and use all your new swag to…

STUDY HARD!

The New Year looks great! Or at least niche-sexy and a bit bloody to boot. Thank Totallynerdcore.com for they are the harbingers of this calendar joy (or horror). They’ve released their 2010 calendar for all you horror movie aficionados which is classy, nostalgic, and sexy all rolled into one date-organizing, paper chart of awesomeness.

Starting with their 2007 calendar which was released YEARS ago (try and guess how many), they’ve been releasing products to decorate your geeky room.

The calendars actually come with a Lord of the Rings-like horde of dates important to all geeks and dweebs and any other synonym you can think of. They note various convention dates; major movie releases; birthdays of famous genre actors, writers, and directors; as well as key fictional happenings: like the date Kirk met Spock.

Nerd-sexy calendars and photo shoots have become all the rage lately. Olivia Munn of ATOS (Attack of the Show) fame just did her first Playboy shoot earlier this year with huge press at Comic Con San Diego. Anyone who doesn’t know who she is shall be delighted to know that she’s a tech/gadget/web-video/television show host for the network G4.

Hopefully someone was foresighted enough to purchase you, the socially awkward Highlander fan, a calendar of such epic proportions for Christmas or one of them eight crazy nights. No? They ain’t expensive if you haven’t already made the jump. Shoot. Why not get the whole collection? There are some pretty clever images. If you don’t right away get the jokes or references then this was apparently not the gift for you. Ask someone nerdier (my New Year’s resolution is to make that a word) than yourself to explain the visual cue.

If you’re not the biggest sci-fi, comic book, or horror movie fan then I guess you could get down with the silk screened shirts they’ve got available on the site. And given the pictures, I guess you don’t have to be too nerdy to appreciate these calendars.

STUDY HARD!

The answer is men. Or more accurately, it might be their nerdy objects (insert your own joke). You ain’t gonna find a nice man out there. Well, that might be exactly where you find a nice man. Someone TOO nice. You ain’t gonna find them tough dudes with their big trucks over here. Just us meager individuals with our Toyota Tercels from ten years ago and legos.

Or so the stereotype goes. Seems that recent studies find that the women who actually do steer clear of the more academic majors do so because of (amongst other reasons) the lack of desired suitors that lay therein. Now, girls. Apparently, you’re looking for a man but you might want to rethink basing your education on that desire. Pants a little too hot for you, ay?

Who says nerds aren’t hot? Urkel didn’t do it for you? Too far back? I’m not sure who today’s nerd icon is-OH! What about Screech? Nothing? Well, there’s gotta be someone out there playing with his Star Wars figurines that tickles your fancy, ladies.

Unfortunately (maybe?), this is leading to a male-dominated field. This means more product or consumables that are geared towards the man in you or at least the Star Trek collector in you. Think there’s too much cleavage in World of Warcraft for a nerd’s own good? Too bad there isn’t a woman’s point of view in the game design arena. Apparently, (at least according to the article) it’s because all you women with your positive influence were scared of the nerds.

But the fact is a lonely geek’s smelly apartment could use a woman’s touch just as much as computer science may be in need of some. Insert your own joke here.

Now, back to my comic book collection…

STUDY HARD!

Any feedback for me on this one? How many nerd stereotypes do you feel is too many? Begin communication!

What’s the Twitter Peek? The Twitter Peek is a device designed solely-SOLELY (I’ll lay off that emphasis making writing tool) for creating and using a Twitter account. I.E. you can only Tweet with this device.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Why is this a thing? Beats me. All I know is that it’s real and you can own it if for only $100 dollars of the American persuasion with a six month contract or service plan or some such nonsense. Feel like ballin’ in these hard times? Get that oh-so needed lifetime service package for the low, low price of-Holy Moley. That’s preposterous.

Two hundred bones? It boggles the mind.

And yes, they’re serious. Maybe it became painfully evident that Twitter had to start making money somehow. And it seems there may actually be a market for this item, though. No, I’m NOT kidding. Who may need one of these horrible wastes of plastic and electronic wizardry? Probably your elders who want to know what tweeting is and feel using that device will be easier than learning on a computer.

Or those who feel that buying a smartphone or really any phone that’s internet ready or capable is too expensive…Yes. That’s really their targeted group of consumey consumers.

And so college consumers and studentstuff readers I leave you with this: this is not “stuff” you need to spend money on. Do you have a cell phone? Do you have a computer? If you answered yes to either of the previous questions don’t buy the Peek. Unless you REALLY, REALLY gotta compulsively shop–I can’t even finish that cynically. Oh, I spoke to soon.

Now, please if you’re gonna tweet, do it in a money saving and less plastic producing way. Not that I’m the biggest green-freak but this is a pretty awful waste of money that will be useless come next year. Now, get back to texting in class.

STUDY HARD!