Oh College: 10 Things I Learned

It's that time of the year again where students are going back to the wonderful place that is college for the spring semester. I'm. So. Jealous. College was, simply put, the best, and I'd go back in a heartbeat! Life after college is wonderful too and all the excitement that came with getting a job, getting married, thinking about kids, and all that jazz, but there is something so fantastically wonderful about the college life. 
I got to reminiscing the other day about the things I learned while living the college life. Everyone tried to give me so much advice going into college, but let's be honest, I didn't heed much of it. I was 18, which translates to "all-knowing" to said 18 year old. Now that I am in the real world, I realize that I was not, in fact, a genius at 18.

Texas A&M, you were too good to us. 

1. Now that high school sports are over, there is no one making you go to the gym. They don't call it the "Freshman 15" for nothing. Make friends with the gym, preferably before the extra poundage shows up.
2. Studying should be treated like a job rather than a recreational activity. Sorry Dad, I should have listened. 
3. Ugg boots and shorts is the most ridiculous combination one can fashion. When it's 30 degrees in January, do not wear Nike Shorts and Ugg boots to class and consider yourself dressed. Just don't. Side note: for those who despise wearing jeans like I do, you're going to try the shorts in winter thing, and you're going to freeze. It won't be worth it. 
4. Getting to know the professor can actually make a difference come grades time. Also, professors are usually really, really nice.
5. Having to give a speech in front of your entire freshman communications class won't actually kill you. It almost will, but it won't.
6. Telling the cop you were speeding because you were late to class will never work. Even if it's true, you'll still get a ticket... and be late to class. 
7. There is no such thing as "popular" in college. Once you survive high school, the cool thing to do is to be yourself. Revolutionary and so refreshing.
8. Skipping class seems like the best idea ever until all of those "we discussed this exclusively in class" questions show up on the test. Then, not so much. 
9. Even though it feels like you have all of this responsibility and you are carrying the world on your shoulders, it's not all bad. The real world = responsibility. You'd gladly take those college days back in exchange for business meetings and utility bills. 
10. Spending $500+ on textbooks is painful, and you would have cut that bill in half had you rented the textbooks. College goers, check out Campusbookrentals.com to get up to 90% off the new price, free shipping both ways, and flexible rental periods. Coming from someone who spent thousands of dollars on textbooks, I am kicking myself for not discovering the renting world until my senior year. It's a game changer. 
What did the college life teach you?

Oh College... I Miss You, But I Don't

This time of year always has me feeling so nostalgic. Pool parties are coming to an end, back to school shopping is in full swing, and brand new 18 year olds are headed to complete the most amazing four years of their lives. College. It's just awesome. 

I just jumped on the bandwagon and downloaded the Timehop app (for my daily dose of nostalgia, of course), and I have been flooded with pictures of my old dorm room and sorority recruitment over the past few days. Take me back! I lived in the dorms freshman year, the sorority house sophomore and junior year, and an apartment with friends senior year. Each one was an awesome experience that I would love to relive in a heartbeat. The late nights with friends, ice cream binges in the sorority house while 25 of us gathered to watch The Bachelor each Monday, and sneaking in a lunch date on campus with my now husband... that's the stuff that made college for me. That's the stuff I miss so much. 

I'd say the thing I miss the most about college is living in the sorority house. I was a Delta Gamma along with my twin sister, and we met our best friends in that sorority. Call me crazy, but living with 50 girls under one roof was a total blast. Because no nostalgic college rant is complete without a few throwbacks...

So that's the part of college that I miss more than anything: the social part. The part I don't miss? The studying. Graduating and officially being done with studying for finals and cramming for quizzes was the best feeling ever. Finals week about made my hair go gray every time it reared its ugly head. Eeesh. 

The other part I don't miss? Paying for textbooks. As silly as it sounds, this was one of the most annoying parts in my opinion. The textbooks were extremely expensive, and half of the time, the professor wouldn't really even use it. I hated that I would foot the bill for a textbook and be unable to sell it back at the end of the semester because classes were "no longer using that edition". I would pay $150+ for a book and get $5 back. Pretty frustrating. I wish I would have known how much renting my textbooks could have saved me over the years!

For anyone going off to college this year, I encourage you to check out Campus Book Rentals! You could save 80% when you rent instead of buy! A few quick advantages to renting:

-save 40-90% off of bookstore prices

-free shipping both ways

-can highlight in the textbooks

-flexible renting periods

-they donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

After you are done with your book for the semester, you can also participate in Rentback to earn up to 4x more money! The Campus Book Rentals team will rent your book to another student, and then another, and then another, and each time it gets rented, you get paid. Check it out, college goers. 

 I was compensated for this post, but all opinions are my own.

What do you miss most about the college days?

 

Ring Dunk

This weekend Parker and I went back to Aggieland to watch his sister dunk her Aggie ring. Getting your Aggie ring is a huge deal, so when my sister-in-law called me with the date of her ring dunk, I immediately blocked it out in my calendar. Here is what dunking your ring entails: filling up a pitcher with beer, dropping your ring in, and chugging the pitcher until your ring is the only thing left.

Are you still there?...

Good, because this is actually a real thing, and we Aggies love it. Sister girl Bree made the family proud and dunked her ring in 36 seconds. Now all the Phelps kiddos have properly dunked Aggie rings!

Bree's group of friends before they dunked their rings

Those of you who know me know I don't really drink. I don't have anything against it and certainly don't judge those who do, but I can probably count on one hand how many times I have drank this year. When I do drink, it's a girly, fruity concoction. I hate beer. That said, I was definitely going to dunk my Aggie ring when I received it back in 2010. It's a tradition and I wanted to be a part of it. Here are a few throwbacks from my ring dunk. I dunked with Parker, my twin sister, and her now husband.

Ready to get it over with!

Mom and Dad have never been prouder, let me tell ya!

Rings are dunked...and I wasn't feeling so hot at this point...

I know this sounds like the silliest tradition, but it is a tradition we Aggies get so excited for. Receiving your Aggie ring is a milestone, and dunking it solidifies that accomplishment. It was a great experience and an honor to participate, but I would never voluntarily decide to chug four beers in a row again, that's for sure. :)

College Is Expensive, Books Don't Have To Be

College is expensive, and I think that is one thing we can all agree on. Whether you put yourself through college, your parents pay, or you take out loans, tuition is painful to anyone writing the check. You know what else can be expensive? Textbooks. I spent almost $500 my first semester on textbooks, and I wish I could go back in time and kick the 18 year old version of myself for paying so much. Why? Because I didn't have to. At Texas A&M, most students start out buying books from the bookstore and then wise up to the situation around their sophomore year. The secret? RENT! CampusBookRentals.com would have saved me a few hundred dollars that first year, and here's why I'd like to go back in time and knock some sense into baby Chelsea:

Why should you rent textbooks?

• you save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
• free shipping BOTH ways
• you can highlight in the textbooks...I was a major highlighter
• flexible renting periods to accommodate your semester
• CampusBookRentals.com donates to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

You know those professors who require a certain edition of a certain book, and purchasing the previous edition is forbidden? Don't worry, CampusBookRentals.com has the largest selection in the nation with 21 day risk free returns. Seriously, I so wish I would have known about this from the get-go.

Guess what other new and glorious concept has graced the world of college since I graduated? Rentback. Rentback is a new initiative that allows students to rent the textbooks they own to other students, which is awesome considering it will make them up to 4x more than they would with normal buyback options. So if you're like me and spent $1,000,000 on buying books your freshman year, Rentback just became your new best friend.

College is expensive, but books don't have to be. I wish I could go back in time and redo my freshman year. I could think of a few ways to use the extra $500 I spent now that I'm living in this beautiful thing called the real world. And just for fun, here are a few throwbacks from my graduation from Texas A&M almost 3 years ago. I'd like to go back now please.

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.