This Paper is Going to Take Me ALL NIGHT

Despite our best planning efforts, college students are notorious for pulling all-nighters for numerous academic reasons such as cramming the night before a big exam or to finish a 20-page term paper. While such evenings should be avoided at all costs, some students are known to lose a night of sleep at least once a week. Here are some tips on how to pull a successful all-nighter.

1. Location. Location. Location. At AU, you have a number of places to study. The library is an excellent place to pull an all-nighter, with your choice of four floors (including the basement), a quiet floor, tables, cubicles, and free use of computers. This year, the library has also added group study rooms and booths on the first floor. Larger and more rowdy groups tend to head for MGC, which is also open 24 hours. If you choose to stay in the dorms, each floor has a lounge and study rooms to move to when your roommate wants to go to sleep.
2. Create the perfect environment. If you work better with friends, try to find someone else in the same desperate situation. You can keep one another accountable (focusing on your work, not Facebook). Many students also like to listen to music while studying. Either create a great playlist ahead of time, or use free online sources, such as Pandora.
3. Set goals and reward yourself. While an entire evening may feel like enough time, it will go by quickly, so use your time efficiently. Create a To Do list or outline at the beginning of your homework session with small, measurable goals. As you complete each goal, check it off the list and reward yourself with a short break, cup of coffee, or trip to the Eagle's Nest.
4. Stay nourished. Hydration is one of the keys to staying focused during an all-nighter. It's easy to only drink coffee and energy drinks, but these will add to your need for water. Drink water for added stamina. Also, nourish yourself with healthy snacks. Limit carbs and sugar to avoid a crash and aim for protein for a consistent energy source. Crunchy food like cereal or nuts will also help you to stay awake and focused.
5. Maintain your morning rituals. Pulling an all-nighter is difficult during the night, but even worse the next day. After spending an entire night in the library, try to set aside an hour in the morning to go home, shower and change. This will help to wake you up and remind your body that you are starting a day.

Once you pull a successful all-nighter, you may want to do the same for all your major assignments. Remember that it's best to do your work at least a few days before it's due, leaving ample time for planning, editing, and rewriting. So try to plan ahead and only use all-nighters as your last option.

Finals: Start thinking about them now!

Even though we may be barely through midterms, finals are going to sneak up on you before you know it. Start planning ahead now to do your best and make it through finals week sane.

1. Mark your calender. It's a good idea to have a calender with everything you have due anyways, but finals week is especially important. You need to know now if any of your finals are going to overlap, it can happen. And if you have two final papers due the same day, you're probably not going to be able to write both of them the night before. (Another good thing to note, is when you are going home. Chances of getting any work done once you are home are very low.)
   
2. Meet with your professor. For many classes professors provide review sessions and reviews for the test. But equally as often, they don't. If they don't you need to find out what information you're expected to know, and the best way to do that is meet one-on-one with your professor or send them an email. They'll appreciate you're forethought and help you do the best you can on your final.
3. Get the best environment possible. Do you have special needs as a student? Maybe you need more time or have a hard time reading the test. If you need accommodations, there are a couple places you can try. The Academic Support Center and the Disabilities Support Center. Both have friendly staff that are willing to help you any way you can, you're professors are also very accommodating.
4. Start studying now. Even if it's just marking up sections, or reviewing information from the beginning of the semester, starting now make it easier to do better later.

Those are some tips to making sure you do the best you can, the first semester of finals is always the toughest. If you can manage to get through these without too much trouble, you'll find that it'll get easier and easier every tear.

I have to think about next semester?

Now that everyone’s fallen into a nice rhythm of classes, it’s time to think about next semester. Before the panic sets in, take a few deep breaths. It’s not as scary as it sounds.

The first step for preparing for next semester is making an appointment with your academic advisor. Advisors are a great source for helping you muddle through the registration process. They can provide you with a worksheet that lists the requirements of your major. They can also help you figure out the timing of when to take certain classes. Every semester that I’ve gone to talk to my advisor she’s made sure that I’m on track to graduate on time.

The next hurdle is making everything fit together in a nice, neat schedule. The registrar’s website has the schedule of classes. There’s several sections of most lower level classes, so you should be able to find a section that fits your life. It’s always a good idea to have a few backups just in case something fills up.

Now that you’ve got your options, you’re ready to go! Almost everyone logs in to the AU portal to register at midnight on their registration date. If you can’t log in right at midnight, relax. You and a whole bunch of other people are all trying to log in at the same time. Give it a few minutes and try again. It’s a fairly straightforward process from there. The system walks you through the steps.

Keeping Organized

Midterms are coming, you have a presentation, two group projects and a paper.

AHH!

It is easy to stress over the amount you have on your plate. The best way to overcome this is to manage your time appropriately and all will be well in the world. How you may ask? It’s actually pretty simple once you get the hang of keeping organized. Follow these steps and you’ll be sure to not pull out your hair.

1. Get a planner. Actually write down all you have to do, whether it is homework, dinner dates, or exams, have them make it in your day-to-day planner. It helps to see what you have coming up in an organized manner. You can see if you have a busy week coming up or if you have time to start on that paper due next week. Just staying on top of your work is an easy way to be as stress-free as possible.
2. Get rid of your distractions. You won’t be productive if you are constantly checking facebook. Find a quiet place to study where you won’t be tempted to talk to a friend, watch TV, or surf the Internet. It might even be a good idea to turn off your phone (crazy…I know).
3. Have a clean study place. Having a cluttered study space is very welcoming for distractions. If you clean where you are studying before you study there, then your mind will be more at peace and you can focus on the task at hand.
4. Color code…and I am not talking about outfits. Color code your notebooks and binders so you make sure you grab the right book before going to class. It is easy to mix up notebooks and folders when you may have multiple books per class. This isn’t like high school where you can run back to your locker. Keep your school supplies organized.

Keeping organized is a great way to not feel overwhelmed when work piles up. It helps to prioritize and recognize that you may need to sacrifice a Friday or Saturday night once in a while. Remember that stressing is counter-productive. The hardest part of college is staying on top of your work and not falling behind. So if you can get that, then you’re definitely ahead of the game.

Fun in the City Without Getting Shot

When I was exploring colleges in cities, more specifically DC, my high school best friend announced her plan to buy me a bullet-proof vest for graduation. (To be fair, I bought her a pail and wished her happy cow-tipping in Middleofnowheresville, Pennsylvania). I got that reaction a lot: “You’re going to get shot!”

I’m happy to report that my four years in DC have been bullet free. Being in a city is fun and exciting—there’s always something to do. But my friends weren’t totally crazy—city living has its dangers. I think that the amazing benefits far outweigh any risks involved. There are some very simple things you can do to stay safe and enjoy the district.

• Don’t walk around by yourself at night. Really this is a good tip if you’re in a city or busy cow-tipping. There’s safety in numbers, plus it’s more fun.

• Pay attention to what’s going on around you. This doesn’t mean that you have to be crazy paranoid and think every person is out to get you. You should just be aware if there are people around you.

• Stick together when you're drinking. If you’re going to drink, make sure you know who you’re with, and how you’re getting home. Don’t go home with someone you don’t know. When I go out with my friends, regardless of what happens while we’re out, we all leave together.

• If you get stuck in the city somewhere and you don’t have money for a taxi, don’t worry! If you tell the taxi to go to Public Safety, they will pay the driver for you. The cost gets put on your bill, but it’s better than wandering around the city at 3 AM or trying to walk home from downtown.

Take full advantage of what DC has to offer. Don’t let people from home scare you into staying on campus. Use your common sense and you’ll have an unforgettable 4 years.

Fun in DC: U Street

One of the best parts of DC is there is something for everyone, each neighborhood has it's own personality and something you can't find anywhere else in the city. One of my favorite areas of the city is U Street. There are great concert venues, fun places to eat, and many places that are must sees before you graduate.

What should be at the top of your list is Ben's Chili Bowl. A place renowned for not only it's

chili, but it's famous patrons. If you visit the diner you can see photos covering the walls of people who came before you. A frequent visitor is Bill Cosby, who for the longest time was the only person who ate free. The Obama's have been added since their move to DC.

Busboys and Poets is another venue worth stopping by. They frequently have interesting performers: slam poetry, go-go, anything you can imagine! The food is some of the best in town, and the environment is unbeatable.

Their are several musical venues, another is the Black Cat which attracts musicians from across the country. Once a hub for jazz, the Black Cat has changed with the neighborhood around it and hosts a variety of genres and artists. More recently The Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, The Killers, Tegan and Sarah, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have performed at the Black Cat.

A couple of my personal favorites on U street are Twins Jazz and Tabaq Bistro. Twins has great jam sessions on Friday nights and good cheesecake to go along with, it's a great environment and it's very cozy and intimate. Tabaq Bistro is absolutely delicious Turkish-inspired food, and one of the best views in the city. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth making the trip at least once while you are here.

Dupont Circle

Dupont Circle is arguably one of D.C.’s most vibrant and diverse neighborhoods. If you are itching to get off campus take the red line to Dupont Circle. There is plenty to do there during the day, as well as at night for all ages.

Wondering what you and your friends should do for Halloween? Dupont is home to many embassies that on Halloween let down their gates and welcome trick-or-treaters (the candy is usually themed for that country!) The Tuesday before Halloween is the annual Drag Race. Thousands of people line the street to watch 100 elaborately dressed drag queens in high heels run for two blocks. After the race, you and your friends can take pictures with the drag queens—it’s a guaranteed good time.

On Fridays and Saturdays Kramerbooks & Afterwords Café is open 24 hours. This isn’t your average Barnes and Noble book store. Kramer’s has become a D.C. landmark in its own right. It’s an artsy institution with bangin’ food and the frequent live entertainment.

Dupont is also a safe haven for the gay community. If you couldn’t tell by the Drag Race, Dupont really embraces the homosexual community. Apex is popular gay bar/club that has college nights on Tuesday. This means free cover and 18+.

A popular place underclassmen tend to go to is Café Japone. Japone is also 18+ and it gives a fun club atmosphere. It is also easy to get to from the metro.

Every Sunday until 1:00 p.m., local farmers sell their fresh produce at one of the country’s largest farmer’s markets. During peak seasons, as many as 30 farmers set up stands to sell everything from meat, fruits and vegetables to bread, potted plants and soaps.