Between scrolling through an endless amount of Facebook updates and digging through Google search results for paper topics and non-Wikipedia sources, college students spend a large majority of their time online. The Internet gives us access to resources we can't live without, but there are many more that we don't even know exist. Here are some sites that will make college life more affordable, productive, and efficient.
Half.com
www.half.com
Get your textbooks from half.com, a textbook rental website created by eBay. Renting textbooks is a cost-effective option that eliminates the need for selling books back or being stuck with them forever.
How it works: Search for the textbook you want by title, author or ISBN. Choose the duration of the rental and make sure to ship your books back when the quarter or semester is over.
Rate My Professor
www.ratemyprofessors.com
Avoid enrolling in a class with a professor you don’t like- read reviews from students so you can find out a professor’s teaching style, expectations, and course load before it’s too late.
How it works: Look up your professor by name or by school, and read the reviews- RMP has three general categories that weigh into a professor's overall score- Helpfulness, Clarity, and Easiness. You can check the professor's "hotness" too, if that plays a role in your decision during registration.
SelfControl
http://visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/
Prevent yourself from checking distracting websites by blocking them with SelfControl, which allows you to block certain webpages for a set amount of time.
How it works: Add distracting websites like Facebook or Twitter to your "Blacklist" and set a time limit for SelfControl to block your access. Be warned- even if you restart your computer or delete the app, the websites will still be blocked.
NOTE- For Mac users only
CollegeRuled
http://www.collegeruled.com/
Create a class schedule without opening Excel- collegeruled.com allows you to make a color-coded itinerary where you can specify when you have lectures, labs, and discussions.
How it works: Type in the name of your course, then add a date, time, and select a color for each class. You can add more lines for a longer schedule depending on how packed you like your day to be. Once you login through Facebook, CollegeRuled generates your beautiful color-coded schedule and you can save it to your computer.
DropBox
https://www.dropbox.com/
Sign up for 2GB of free Cloud data storage with DropBox and leave your flash drives at home. Use shared folders so you don’t have to keep emailing the same file back and forth with a dozen versions.
Alternative: Google Drive
How it works: Run the DropBox installer and save the program to your computer. Then you just drag and drop files and sync it to the Internet so you can access everything wherever you go!
GrubHub
https://www.grubhub.com/
GrubHub allows you to check for food delivery places in your area- perfect for the college student who doesn’t want to cook and needs a boost of energy during a study session.
How it works: Type in your address and what kind of food you're craving and GrubHub will locate restaurants within your area that do delivery. The search results show delivery costs, Yelp reviews, distance from your location, hours of operation, and the menu.
SSAMCAST
http://www.ssamcast.com
Study for exams and master complex concepts through SSAMCAST’s online courses. You can discuss and ask for help on difficult problems and work together with other users to find a solution.
How it works: Sign up with SSAMCAST and view courses by subject matter, teacher, or popularity. Use the Ask SSAMCAST feature to post questions that can be answered by other users, then choose which was the most helpful. Teach your own course by uploading videos, making quizzes, and starting discussions with a classroom of people all over the world!
What are your favorite websites to use as a college student? Share them and leave a comment below!
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