There’s plenty of advice available to parents about when to have The Talk with their children. (If you’re a parent reading this, you undoubtedly know which one I’m referring to, and if you’re a child reading this and you don’t, well, ask your mother.) But as your son or daughter gets ready to make the transition from high school to college, there is another talk you should have with them that goes beyond your expectations for him and her while they’re away. Arming your child with the basics about college life is important, and will help him or her with this large life change. Let’s look at some of the things you might want to discuss before you unload their […]

I’ve been back in college for two quarters. I (re)started at the end of November – just after Thanksgiving – thanks to my school’s quarter system, where each block is ten weeks long, rather than the traditional semester system. (They’re doing away with that system this coming fall, but that’s not particularly relevant to this discussion.) Anyway, I’ll be taking two classes this coming summer as well: Internet Marketing and Advertising & Promotion Management. Both of these courses require a textbook, and if I were to purchase those books from the campus bookstore, new, they’d cost me $341.65 before tax. Needless to say, I’m put off by that prospect. After all, I’ll only be in these classes for ten weeks. […]