posted by Carleigh on Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Today's blog comes with a special offer from our friends at CampusBuddy.
Howdy, blog readers. The question of the week: Why do you use Cramster? Whether it's to get ahead, stay ahead, or get-some-clarity-in-your-too-full-to-focus-head, Cramster helps you get through your classes with higher grades.
What if you could see the future and choose your classes according to how easy or hard the professor grades?
Enter CampusBuddy, a website that connects you with fellow students and classmates, provides reviews of professors and even grants access to official class grade distributions at your school. Armed with Cramster and CampusBuddy, you could rule the world (or maybe just your academic career).
The sweet deal: By being a Cramster member, you can get CampusBuddy's Academic Edge for free.
How it works:
1. Email CB@cramster.com with the email address you use to log in to Cramster.
2. We'll send you a link that will allow you to create your free Academic Edge account.
Don't wait, this offer is only good through the end of September.
Questions? Leave a comment below and we'll follow up asap.
related topics: Just for fun, special offers
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posted by Levi on Friday, July 30, 2010
As students, we are constantly told education is the most important investment they can make. Recent global cuts in K-12 and higher education lead me to question just how valuable governments find degrees.
The economy sucks. We've seen it on TV, read about it in the paper, heard about it on the radio and now students are going to feel it in the classroom. Governments looking to balance budgets seek outlets allowing them to easily save money.
Perhaps public education is viewed as a privilege. Maybe legislatures find slashing education budgets the least controversial way to save money. I don't know for sure, but what I do know is that educational institutions around the world are feeling the financial strain of a growing student population and tighter resources this year.
Over the last 6 months protests have been held across college campuses, on state capitals, and in digital diaries as frustrated students voice their opinions the best way we know how.
In the United States, individual state deficits have been the culprit of the most recent cuts. California, for example, faces a looming $20 billion budget deficit. With officials scrambling to balance the state's finances, students recently organized a series of demonstrations across several University of California campuses.
Internationally, students are responding to funding shortages presented by their governments. Colleges and universities in England face £1.4 billion in cuts, which led students and staff to organize a protest at 100 United Kingdom institutions. The budget cuts could leave up to 200,000 prospective students with no place in the universities. Similar protests were seen in Germany, Scotland, and the Netherlands.
With no end to budget cuts in sight, students are searching for the best way possible to optimize their degrees. Allow us to be your companion to a better education. Make the most out of your Cramster account next semester.
Have you seen or participated in any demonstrations? We're interested to hear how these cuts have impacted your educational plans.
related topics: education
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posted by Levi on Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Fall will be here before you know it! Want to know how to prepare yourself for the upcoming semester? We have some easy ways you can earn Karma Points to get the fastest answers to your homework questions.
Yes, yes… I know we're entering the final sprint of summer. And Fall homework is the LAST thing you want to be thinking about right now. But as Henry Hartman once said, "success always comes when preparation meets opportunity."
So, plan for success next semester by building your Karma Point account this summer. Here's how:
Update you're My Cramster profile
Did you know a few simple changes to your profile can earn you Karma Points? Something as easy as adding a profile picture, setting your Daily Question preferences or telling us how you Cramster can earn you 10 points each! Do a complete profile update and you'll be up to 50 Karma Points richer.
Participate in the Homework Help section
Karma Points aren't just a name, they represent a practice. Helping others is a selfless act, but we want to reward you for it. Answering someone's posted question can get you up to 140 Karma Points! Now that's a nice thank you for help.
Karma Point Bonuses for Gold or Platinum Members
The easiest way to guarantee you have Karma Points to ask questions is by having Gold or Platinum membership. Gold members have a monthly bonus of 500 points, while our Platinum members get a hefty 1250 points. These points can be used to get faster answers when you need it most.
Choose your way of earning. Just remember, there is no limit on how many points you can earn. Check out the points these members racked up on our Karma Point Leaderboard.
related topics: Karma Points, My Cramster
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posted by Levi on Friday, July 09, 2010
Now that you've had some time to check out the new Cramster, we want to hear from you! And one lucky Cramster Fan will win some Karma Points.
First things first: Thank you to all the Cramster fans who have given us feedback! We love to hear from Cramster members to find out how they are using the site and how we can make it even better.
For everyone else, we'd love to hear what you think! You can't leave comments on blog posts yet (still transitioning!) but there are plenty of other ways to get our attention:
Email feedback@cramster.com
Give us a shout out on Facebook
Tweet your love
And now for the fun part: To win 30 Karma Points, send out a tweet with the hashtag #Cramster.com telling us what you think about the site. We'll randomly select a winner Monday at 5PM PST. The winner will be notified via direct message, which means you need to follow @Cramster to be eligible.
Good luck!
related topics: Cramster updates, Just for fun, twitter
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posted by Levi on Thursday, July 01, 2010
We've updated Cramster! A new Karma Point System, revamped My Cramster page, and enhanced Q&A Board are a few of the highlights. And, yes, we had some bumps, but our team worked LATE to get it up and properly running.
Whew! June 29th, 2010 was one long day here at Cramster. We had been designing, testing, and planning the launch of our newly redesigned website for quite some time now. But, as we've all experienced before, no matter how thought out a plan is, one little hiccup can stall an entire project.
Now, without boring you to death with the details of what happened, we'll leave it at this: we expected the transition to be simple and seamless but it took much longer than we planned. For that, we deeply apologize.
Through the combined efforts of our engineering and product teams, we worked late into the night to work out the major bugs and got the site up! We're still working on some small issues and would greatly appreciate feedback if you catch one (click the little blue "feedback" button on the left of your screen).
So, what has changed?
Karma Points are now more important than ever. Not only have your points increased by 10X, their purpose has changed a bit. Think of them as Cramster's currency. You can earn, spend, or use them towards a number of features. Earn points by answering questions in the Homework Help section. Spend them in our rewards shop on items like Amazon gift cards and iPods. Or use them to get quicker answers to questions when you need it most!
You're in control of question response time. Need your question answered faster? Simply offer more Karma Points for it. For any subject, you get to decide how important time is in getting a correct answer. Choose to get it in less than 2 hours, 2-12 hours, or 12-24 hours.
Go Gold or Platinum to get the most out of your experience. Our premium members have the added benefit of guaranteed Karma Points every month. Gold members get 500 monthly bonus points to use towards questions while Platinum users get a whopping 1250!
Alright, enough with the reading… get out there and explore the site yourself!
related topics: Updates
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posted by Carleigh on Friday, June 25, 2010
For most of you, summer began a few weeks ago when you emptied your locker or cleaned out your dorm room. But the official start of summer was marked with the Summer Solstice on June 21.
I know what I'll be doing this summer:
No, I'm not going on a nautical vacation. But I will be saving this image as my desktop wallpaper. Does that count?
Island vacation or not, I LOVE summer. Cheers!
related topics: Just for fun
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posted by Carleigh on Monday, February 22, 2010
(A message to the perfectionists)
Expectations are a large part of higher ed. Especially when straight A's are all we've ever known as high school students. But college is (usually) a whole new ball game. Depending on the prestige of your university and how high your professor's expectations are, your grade will usually be measured on a new scale with a higher degree of information.
My experience has been that in high school, some teachers are very generous in terms of reminding students what is due the next class, what their grade is, all while spoon feeding them a jar of mushed carrots. In college, my experience thus far has been treating the syllabus like a best friend and noting important details of information that professors briefly mention every chance that I get.
College is when high school valedictorians experience the first B's of their lives. Standards change from university to university, but college is also where students who were once huffy about receiving a B are now bowing down on hands and knees, in thanks for their passing grade. So how do we as college students keep high expectations for a grade, all while not working up to something that disappoints us in the end?
1. Work hard for your grade regardless. Don't bet that you will get an A in your first college course just because you got straight A's in high school.
Like I said, it entirely depends upon your professor, the course and the school. Some have higher expectations than others. And it's usually the courses with higher expectations that are more interesting and allow students to do better, because they are challenged and there is pressure to succeed... Which in this context is positive.
2. Know all that you are capable of, and push your capabilities further. The process of growth in college is really interesting to see after each course and the progression that was made throughout that whole semester. It's one of the best parts of the college experience, seeing yourself being challenged and taking that experience and turning it into something that is beneficial to your intellectual and personal growth as a person.
By pushing yourself harder than you know you have been capable of in the past, you will look back and feel accomplished. And you will look forward, feeling as if you can take on any challenge set before you.
3. Ask for help when you need it from teacher's aids, professors themselves if they are up for it, and classmates. By asking the hired professionals for help you are allowing them to do their job in helping you be a successful student, and by asking classmates you are allowing them to explain their thought processes of what they have learned in the course, which is beneficial to the both of you.
4. If you are in a situation where you have a pretty good grasp on the subject matter and you know of a classmate who is struggling, offer them help if you are in a position to do so.
This gives you an opportunity to take what you've learned and explain it out loud, helping you and your peer more fully understand the subject matter.
5. Learn something, and don't worry about grades. By actually enjoying the material of the course, obtaining new knowledge and understanding will be enjoyed and not taken for granted. Working hard and learning something is all that will matter by the end of the course, as long as you do those two things.
6. If at the end of a course you are not satisfied with your grade, and it's not relevant to your interests and major, think about how valuable that C in chemistry is going to be to future employers when you are majoring in English. This is the eye-opening point all must come to when receiving an unsatisfying grade.
7. In the beginning of each semester make a list of goals you would like to set and keep for that quarter in terms of study habits, and then narrow it down to specific goals for each course. Brainstorming and being intentional about working hard at the beginning will set yourself up for hard work and a motivating beginning to the semester.
8. At the end of the semester, document how you handled each of the goals, and learn from mistakes so you can improve next semester. College is about learning what works and what does not.
9. And just remember, if anything, that satisfactory or average grades are not the end of the world.
Writing about this topic makes me wonder if our standards in education have been set too high, to the point that some students are unsatisfied with an over average B letter grade. But at the same time, high expectations have taken us to the moon, and to find scientific discoveries, and uncovering realities in Literature, History and Language. So to resolve this issue, work hard regardless of what the transcript says. That will be the most rewarding realization when you receive your diploma.
This article was provided by Brittany at SavvyStudent.com, a site that helps students discover ways to pay for their college education with private student loans
private student loans and other resources. They also provide information regarding alternative ways to celebrate college, so students don't have to think about a private college loan
.
related topics: College know-how
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posted by Carleigh on Thursday, February 18, 2010
My heart really goes out to these high schoolers.
You've applied early-decision to your dream school, and you've been waiting by the mailbox (virtual and physical) with crossed fingers for a congratulatory email or letter ever since. You check your inbox for the 100th time and BAM! Acceptance email appears. You feel great, you laugh, you smile, you shout the good news to your parents in the other room.
Until you receive another email a few hours later. One that informs you that the acceptance email you received was sent by mistake.
That's how it played out for a couple hundred GWU applicants a few days ago. And according to this article, it wasn't the first time a university has made such a heart-breaking error.
Perhaps some letters are better suited to snail mail-- sure, it's slower and less efficient, but it's also less likely to accidentally blast hundreds of students with the wrong letter.
related topics:
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posted by Carleigh on Monday, February 08, 2010
I know you're out there, Subject Enthusiasts! This post is for you....
You get top ratings on the Q&A board and could CramChat for days. Ever thought of turning your obvious gift into dough? Moola? Benjamins? Cheese? Call it what you will-- there is money to be made.
Enter UniversityTutor.com, a site that allows you to create a profile, set your hours and price, and score tutoring jobs.
Why I like it:
It's easy to get tutoring jobs. Sign up in and a create a "tutor profile" on the site in minutes. Once your profile is live, nearby students and parents can contact you for jobs. Keep 100% of what you earn and schedule your own sessions - you don't pay a commission to any tutoring company.
Here it the link if you want to try it out.
Why I love it:
When you are your own boss, you set your own hours, work location and hourly rate. What's not to love?
Have you used University Tutor to get work? Have you been tutored by a University Tutor? How many times did I use the word 'tutor' in this post? Leave comments below!
related topics: Student budget
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posted by Carleigh on Monday, February 01, 2010
If you read my post about Ranker, you already know that I like lists.
My latest find? CollegeGrad.com's list of top entry level employers -- something that may be helpful for recent (and future) college grads!
Top Ten Entry Level Employers of 2009:
| Company |
Projected Entry Level Hires
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| 1. Verizon Wireless |
13,198
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| 2. Enterprise Rent-A-Car |
8,000
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| 3. Internal Revenue Service |
5,000
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| 4. Progressive Insurance |
4,200
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| 5. DDP Holdings |
4,000
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| 6. Teach For America |
4,000
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| 7. AT&T |
3,428
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| 8. Deloitte & Touche USA LLP |
3,051
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| 9. Hertz |
3,000
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| 10. Federal Bureau of Investigation |
2,950 |
It's always good to know who is hiring. Now... go!
related topics: Jobs
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