It's just a hop, skip, and a jump to finding your people. There’s a lot to consider when committing (or transferring) to a new university. Location, rank, and major offerings are all important but a school’s social atmosphere can also play a big role in your decision. Schools nestled in college towns encompassing cultures of weekend tailgates and diverse club events are easily appealing while smaller, modest commuter campuses often draw more skepticism than they do allure. How can commuter schools possibly hope to compete with those huge and lively campuses? On paper, they can’t. However, that doesn’t mean it’s any less possible to make friends and create fun memories there. No matter where you end up studying, here are some surefire ways to break into your university’s social sphere! Talk to your classmates No matter the class size or subject, it’s always possible to find someone to study with or simply relate to about the all-nighter you just pulled to finish the latest assignment. While it may seem difficult to take the first step and introduce yourself, you’d be surprised to discover how many other students are just as eager to make new friends; all it takes is turning around and saying “hey!” Take classes that relate to your interests It’s impossible to get to know everyone in a large lecture hall. But, over time, as I’ve enrolled in more courses that were tailored to my major or other interests, I’ve noticed that my class sizes have shrunken significantly. Moreover, I’ve also found that many of the other students in those classes were just as passionate about the course material as I was, which made talking with them so much easier. Whether it’s a major requirement or an extracurricular, I would definitely recommend enrolling in a course that relates to your interests during your time in college; not only is it a good way to sharpen your skills or practice your hobbies, it’s also an excellent way to find students who share your interests. Join clubs Though clubs generally have professional, academic, cultural, or philanthropic purposes, they also serve as major social hubs bringing students across disciplines together. It’s never too late to explore your university’s club options; whether you catch a general interest meeting or wander into a weekly meeting, joining a club can bring so much color to your campus life. Spend time on campus outside of class The easiest mistake commuter students can make is only staying on campus for the duration of their classes. I did this the first semester after I transferred to my commuter school but soon discovered that the more I lingered on campus, the harder it was for me to leave it. Just by being there, I was able to hear about so many new and upcoming opportunities or, more often than not, bump into classmates and grab lunch or study together. Keep up with campus news Even if you make the effort to speak to your classmates or explore your college’s extracurricular offerings, it’s impossible to truly be aware of everything that’s happening there. But, reading your school’s newspaper and the student bulletins peppered throughout the halls lets you catch up on anything you might have missed out on seeing. Starting fresh in a new school can be daunting but no matter the type of campus you attend, commuter or residential, it’s not impossible to find yourself and make new connections there. When it comes to it, there is no such thing as a true “social” or “antisocial” campus; friends can be found anywhere.                                                              WRITTEN BY Addie Joseph Baruch College in Manhattan After earning her ears at Disney, Addie moved on to study Journalism, Creative Writing, and Photography at Baruch College in Manhattan. She is interning for Macmillan Learning as a Student Ambassador, but in her spare time, you can find her tucked away in a café, crafting stories or editing photos and videos, with earbuds fixed firmly in her ears. Don’t be afraid to interrupt and say hello; she always enjoys meeting new friends (and perhaps indulging them with music recommendations too)! ... View more

Sometimes college can feel like the circus...   When I first started college, I found myself overwhelmed with how to use my time. I knew I should be doing more homework and studying, but there were always interesting events and club meetings I wanted to attend. I found myself struggling to find time for school, sleep, and a social life. I searched for and implemented several techniques that helped me juggle the busy world of college. Prioritize clubs. Find out how to get involved in university clubs and organizations that pique your interest. There’s a range of activities you can participate in from working on digital teams and publications, playing sports, or getting involved with activism. Participating in the things I felt passionate about helped me find friends with similar interests, which provided the perfect combination of school spirit and socializing. Take a break. It’s important to find friends who have similar interests and who can help you express those interests. However, it’s also important to take a break from your work and your friends. Relaxing is a key ingredient in the recipe for a busy schedule. I found that it helped to turn my mind off sometimes and focus on something simpler, something that didn’t demand a constant flow of energy. I found a quiet space out by a creek and I went there to doodle or write in my journal because that internal peace was necessary to keep up with a college schedule. Plan, plan, plan. Whether you prefer Google calendar, a leather planner, or a book of to-do lists, it’s vital to plan ahead. To successfully juggle school and social life, you have to really know your schedule. During my busiest semester, there was a time where I was penciling friends into my calendar because Thursday from 7 PM to 8:30 PM was truly the only time I had to chat. Keeping a calendar can prevent sticky situations. If someone wants to plan something, you’re already prepared and won’t end up scheduling a coffee catch-up during your chemistry midterm. Learn to multitask. Multitasking was one of the most helpful techniques for juggling schoolwork and a social life. Simple things like mailing a letter on my way to class or applying for a job in the doctor’s waiting room saved me little bits of time that I could use to catch up with my friends, the news, or club events. If my friends were busy, I read while eating dinner. If I wasn’t taking a break, and my hands could be doing more than one thing, they always were. Juggling between coursework and friends can be a tricky endeavor filled with decision-making. Juggling your responsibilities is all about prioritizing what needs to get done first and then completing it. It’s important to remember, however, that no time is wasted time and it’s necessary to catch up with friends the same way it’s necessary to study. Social knowledge carries as much value as school knowledge. So, while it may be difficult, finding that balance is integral to your mental well-being and all-around college experience. WRITTEN BY Sydney Bagnall University of Michigan Sydney graduated in May 2019 with a major in English Literature and a minor in Graphic design. She has a knack for all things creative. Originally from Pennsylvania, she enjoys biking on rolling hills and never misses an opportunity to stop and observe the sky. If you don’t find her vigorously typing, you can find her outside. ... View more

Stay organized and on task straight from your cell phone! If you’re like most college students (including me), you hate group projects. After all, what’s there to like? With incompatible schedules, lazy partners, and miscommunications, every end-of-the-semester project can feel like a nightmare. But in this world of technology, there are a thousand ways to stay connected and be proactive in your group work despite the issues that come with dividing the work amongst a group of busy students. To help you get through it, here three practical ways technology can help you get the grade you want on your next group project. Keep in Touch with a Reliable Messaging Service It’s happened time and time again -- one member of the group has an Android phone and the rest use iPhones, making text messaging clunky and unreliable. To stay on top of your group members, use an app like “GroupMe” to iron out the details of your project without having to communicate face-to-face and waste valuable time. By messaging through these apps, you’ll have a more solid record of your communication, reducing the chances of a message failing to send through the SMS method. If you have an announcement that all members of your group should know about, ask them to “like” the message to let you know they’ve seen it. Stay In-Sync with a Collaborative Work Space If your group project requires you to type a significant amount of information, you’ll want to keep your workflow consistent. Know exactly which group member is working on a specific section of the copy by using a collaborative word processor such as Google Docs. You can make comments on one another’s work, suggest changes, and even chat via messenger -- all through one program. Avoid the confusion of multiple documents and eliminate the compatibility and formatting issues that arise across different programs. Stay Organized with a Single File Destination Have a multimedia presentation to prepare? Organization is key with every project, but it’s especially important when you’re dealing with multiple files. In order to keep the confusion to a minimum, use a storage program such as DropBox or Google Drive to keep all of your files in one place that is shared and accessible to all members of your group. To take your organization to the next level, take the time to divide your files into subfolders, and even subfolders of subfolders. Avoid the clutter and label! WRITTEN BY Samantha Storms Hofstra University Despite her last name, this senior journalism and publishing student doesn't have dreams of becoming a weather forecaster upon graduation from Hofstra University. She is currently exploring her love of language as a Media Editorial Intern for the psychology team at Macmillan Learning. A true Pittsburgher through and through, Samantha enjoys knitting, listening to eighties pop, and searching for the best pho spots. ... View more

Make new friends, but keep the old! One of the biggest adjustments that incoming college freshmen face is not being able to see their hometown friends on a daily basis like in high school. A “long-distance” friendship might seem difficult or scary at first but practicing simple, thoughtful strategies will help you and your friends better survive the time apart. Talk to each other as often as you can. Smartphones make long-distance friendships much easier than they were in the past. Between texting, video-chatting, and conversing over various social media platforms, it is easy to keep in touch with friends who no longer go to the same school as you. In fact, if you communicate often enough, the distance between you and your friends may not seem as great as you originally thought. Be mindful of each other’s schedules. While keeping in contact is pertinent to maintaining friendships, constant communication between you are your friends is not required. As you become more immersed in your college community and your studies, you will find that free time is harder to come by. Being understanding of hectic schedules is an underrated yet crucial component to maintaining healthy friendships. Sending someone a “thinking of you” text message during periods where you may not be speaking as often will go a long way! Send each other birthday and/or holiday gifts. Social media is a quick way to stay in touch with friends, but sending a gift through the mail is usually a more memorable gesture. Be sure to swap on-campus addresses at the beginning of the school year so that you can buy something thoughtful to mail them when a special day comes up. It could take a week or longer for your present to ship to and be sorted by your friend’s school, so give yourself ample time to mail the gift out so it arrives on time. Receiving a present or even a greeting card is a great way to let your friends know that you have been thinking about them. Plan to meet up on breaks. Smartphones provide a simple way to consistently keep in touch with friends, but nothing beats being together. Usually, colleges have similar or overlapping break periods, whether it be for holidays or a mid-semester break. This is the perfect time for you to catch up in person! Grabbing a meal, roaming the mall, or even hanging out at home are all easy, low-cost ways to meet with your friends and talk about everything that’s happened since you last saw each other. Going to separate colleges and having different schedules is hard, but finally see each other in person makes the wait worth it. Starting college is an exciting new chapter in one’s life, but it comes with knowing that you will not be able to see hometown friends as frequently as you did in high school. Although it may not seem like it, having a “long-distance” friendship may actually strengthen the bonds you have with friends who go to different colleges. College helps to show you how much your hometown friends mean to you, even as you pursue different paths at different schools. WRITTEN BY Kelly Vena The College of New Jersey Kelly Vena is a senior at The College of New Jersey, where she is finishing up her English major and Communication Studies and French minors. She has worked as a marketing intern at Bedford, Freeman & Worth Publishers, the high school textbook branch of Macmillan Learning, since the start of the 2018-2019 school year. Kelly has been a writer since her senior year of high school, and her poetry has appeared in two publications as well as multiple editions of TCNJ's literary magazine. ... View more

Break the ice, make a friend! You're looking forward to a gen-ed course you signed up for the fall semester. Sure, it's outside your major, but you figure you'll spy at least one familiar face in the class. This one individual will be your go-to person to check about project deadlines, have study sessions with, and chat with before class. You strut into the classroom and scan the sea of faces for the one you can put a name to. Your stomach drops as it dawns on you that the familiar classmate you were hoping for doesn't exist here. We've all been there. So what now? Instead of making a dash for the back corner where nobody will notice you and your lack of acquaintances, try one of these 3 tactics to break the ice and meet new people. Give a compliment. Think about the last time someone you didn't know gave you a compliment. You probably came away from the interaction feeling pretty good, and likely with a positive connotation associated with the person who noticed something unique about you. Find someone who you'd like to start a conversation with and pick something you want to compliment them on. Something as simple as, "Hey, I really like those shoes- Where'd you get them?" can make someone's day. The important next step is to not stop there but to keep the conversation going. Ask about his or her major. Whether you're in a class as a part of your major, or you've enrolled to get outside your comfort zone, talking about academic interests is a great way to get the conversation ball rolling. If you and your new acquaintance share the same major, you can delve into topics, books, or research that fascinate you. Chat about your experiences with certain professors, projects, or classes. If you don't have the same major, this is the perfect opportunity to ask questions about a field you might not know a lot about. Talk about hometowns. The cool thing about college is that people from all over the country, and oftentimes the world, are sitting at the desks right next to you. With varying locations come different high school experiences, local activities, food preferences, and family members. The phrase "Where are you from?" may sound simple and perhaps overused at the start of anything new. But again, the point is to keep the conversation going from there. Maybe the classmate you're chatting with is from the next town over from your hometown, and you can talk about that burger place you've both been to, or old high school sports rivalries (just don't get too fired up about it). WRITTEN BY Haley Biermann Emmanuel College Haley is a rising senior at Emmanuel College where she studies English. She is an intern for the Macmillan Production Department at the Boston office. She loves people and dog watching at the Boston common, jamming out to folk-rock, and coming up with creative ways to sneak in reading time during the day. ... View more

Living vicariously through your online self. It is 11pm on a Tuesday night. Tomorrow morning is the big presentation you have been preparing weeks for and you make moves for an early bedtime. You set the alarm on your phone and plop right into bed. The room is nearly pitch black as you begin shutting your eyes. You are on your way into rem sleep when suddenly...vzzzzzzt; a notification illuminates the room with a piercing flash of light. Fully awakened and tempted, you check that notification of a Snapchat. But a Snapchat turns into a google search, then a twitter check, an Instagram gander, and before you know it, it's 3am and you're editing your Facebook profile picture. Many young adults and teenagers have fallen prey to their own devices-- it's the   Black Mirror Effect. While the   Black Mirror Effect   is something I merely coined based on the technological dystopian British program   Black Mirror, it describes our society's current dilemma; we have become entranced by technology and slaves to our screens. Here are some statistics: 95% of all teens (13-17 years of age) are actively online. In 2016, 81% of online teens have some sort of social media account, which is up from 55% in 2006. According to a recent study by the UK disability charity Scope, of 1500 Facebook and Twitter users surveyed, 62% reported feeling inadequate and 60% reported feelings of jealousy when comparing themselves to other users. Teens who spend more than two hours a day on social networking sites are more likely to report psychological distress. Instagram has proven to be the worst social networking site for mental health-related issues. Online games, dating apps, and social media in particular have negative effects on the happiness of Millennials and Generation Z. The increasing number of depressed, sleep-deprived hyper-texters measuring their self-worth by a Facebook post is frightening. Adam Alter, social psychologist and author of   Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked, mentions the effects of addiction on social media usage. Now do not misunderstand, screens are not the bane of existence. Screens have revolutionized the world. Calling friends and loved ones over video chats was not possible a few years back and today, we have opportunities to see a familiar face or "attend" an event. It's quite incredible that our devices can function as a remote, open your car, act as a GPS, count your steps, and even check your heart rate! There's power in revolution, but the problem with too much power is the lack of   self-control. The true culprit behind these addictive behaviors is a common feature of many social media apps--endless scrolling. As Adam Alter suggests, with the lack of   stopping cues   we have the ability to indulge ourselves into an infinite amount of scrolling. Without an endpoint, it is difficult to determine where and when to stop at any given moment. So how can we put a cap on screen usage? Is legislation over the top? Believe it or not, there is indeed legislation dubbed "Cinderella Laws" already proposed and up for debate in South Korea and China. While that is still just a debate, what can YOU do now? Here are a few thoughts to consider: Put it on airplane mode.   That way notifications, texts, and emails are not on the radar. When going to an event, such as a concert or festival, keep your phone in your bag.   Challenge yourself to not Snapchat or "go live" while you are at these events. Just live the experience without your phone. Pick a time of day not to pull your phone out. Dinner time would be a great opportunity to put the phone down. Set time restraints.   If 11pm is your bedtime, 9:59pm should be the last minute your thumbs touch that screen. Get an alarm clock. It may be "old school" nowadays but using your phone as a bedtime alarm can prompt temptation. Nothing wrong with a good old fashion alarm clock! There is bliss in unplugging yourself from the digital world and, as I have learned through my nights of sleep deprivation, getting a full eight hours will not only save you from dark circles and zombie eyes, but you'll ace that big presentation, improve your mental health, and open yourself up to "screenless" experiences. Go live without your phone, and   live   your life through your own eyes. Resources Abrams, Allison. "Mental Health and the Effects of Social Media." Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 5 Mar. 2017, www.psychologytoday.com/blog/nurturing-self-compassion/201703/mental-health-and-the-effects-social-media. Accessed 21 Aug. 2017. Alter, Adam. "Why our screens make us less happy." YouTube, uploaded by TED, 1 August 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K5OO2ybueM. Cottle, Julia. "Facebook and Mental Health: Is Social Media Hurting or Helping?" Mental Help, 15 Mar. 2016. www.mentalhelp.net/articles/facebook-and-mental-health-is-social-media-hurting-or-helping. Accessed 21 Aug. 2017. Dreifus, Claudia. "Why We Can't Look Away From Our Screens." The New York Times, 6 Mar. 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/03/06/science/technology-addiction-irresistible-by-adam-alter.html. Accessed 21 Aug. 2017. MacMillan, Amanda. "Why Instagram Is the Worst Social Media for Mental Health." Time, 25 May 2017. www.time.com/4793331/instagram-social-media-mental-health/. Accessed 21 Aug. 2017. WRITTEN BY Alyssa Del-Valle Macmillan Learning With a BA in Communications and Music and a "Mouseters" in all things  Disney, when not writing fabulous articles this native New Yorker is either making up songs in her head about her daily interactions, practicing voice overs for the next hair care commercial, or munching on Doritos she couldn't resist grabbing at her local bodega. The purple bag is hard to resist. ... View more

It's Y2K!...In Higher Education? It's the calm before the generational storm and while there may be a few that slipped through the threshold early, a major rush of Y2K born high school seniors will be applying to colleges and universities this fall (shocking, I know). This marks a generational milestone to hit quads all across the world, but raises a significant challenge to professors--how do you teach a generation raised during the technological revolution? Here are some facts that might surprise you about the incoming Class of 2022! Fact 1 Generation Z, also known as the iGeneration (iGens) are expert "multitaskers", and being used to consistent amounts of stimuli has them constantly occupied. Compared to the average of three screens utilized by Millennials, iGens use up to five screens at a time (i.e. desktop, laptop, TV, smartphone, and tablet). Fact 2 With the minority and biracial demographic on the rise, iGens are a   culturally diverse   group more than any other generation before. The rise of cultural diversity and social reform has greatly shaped attitudes within this generation, with the expectancy of even more social change to come. Fact 3 iGens are a very "big picture" group. The average person sees about 10,000 advertisements a day, but the ones that stand out are those with big pictures and few words. They embrace negative space and "less is more". Fact 4 iGens pride themselves on being self-taught through research done through search engines. 33% watch lessons online, 20% read textbooks on tablets, and 32% work with classmates online (Giselle Abramovich, CMO). Fact 5 The average teenager has an attention span of about eight seconds. Engagement is everything. Any of these stand out? It's no secret that this is an undeniably interesting group, but what does this mean for professors? Perhaps the straightforward solution would be to keep the classroom exclusively digital, converting to eBooks, and immersing students in educational technology. While this is forward-thinking it may not be the best solution. While it is true that many in this generation are born into a world of technology, iGens tend to lend their expertise to Temple Run or Candy Crush; educational digital platforms and tech tools fall on the back burner and are not picked up as quickly. The consensus:   engagement through scaffolding. When using the scaffolding teaching method, instructors promote problem-solving with guided support, allowing students to resolve problems in increments, and having the individuality to take over the task at hand. This method also reinforces communication skills and engagement, which many in this incoming class lack and need. The material may be complex but the teaching style doesn't have to be. Technology in the classroom should certainly be implemented, with the understanding that iGens are at different levels with educational tech just like professors; some may only know a world of Smart Boards and eBooks while others have had a mixed experience. There is no right or wrong teaching method but for a "first of its kind" group like this, keeping it active in the classroom is bound for excellent results. WRITTEN BY Alyssa Del-Valle Macmillan Learning With a BA in Communications and Music and a "Mouseters" in all things  Disney, when not writing fabulous articles this native New Yorker is either making up songs in her head about her daily interactions, practicing voice overs for the next hair care commercial, or munching on Doritos she couldn't resist grabbing at her local bodega. The purple bag is hard to resist. ... View more