U Chic: The College Girl's Guide to Everything

by Christie Garton

Overview

The ultimate girls' guide to college life, from UniversityChic.com - the #1 online resource and community network for college women.

UniversityChic.com is the #1 online resource and community network for college women, and now they've created the ultimate, indispensable instruction manual for crafting a fabulous four years of college: U Chic. Written by the group of young journalists and all-star students that make up the University Chic community, the book is filled with insider perspective and insight on all the topics young women want, from studying to love to health.

This is the funny, smart, and tough wisdom that college girls need to survive and thrive at school, straight from the only people who know - the women who have been there. It's not just about getting good grades, it's about having a great experience. U Chic covers everything young women will need to do both, as well other all-important topics like:

• College Bound: first week advice and tuning out the homesick blues
• Head of the Class: picking the right major, getting ready for finals, studying tips and tricks
• Love Life: love vs. hook-ups, long distance love
• Healthy and Happy: common campus ailments, staying fit on dorm food

U Chic has everything the ten million American college women need to be happy and successful at school, straight from a source they'll know and trust - girls just like themselves who got the grades, went to the parties, and had a blast.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402242328
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	04/01/2009
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Christie Garton, a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law, is an award-winning social entrepreneur. She has served as a columnist for the CollegeJournal.com, and been published in the Wall Street Journal.

Read an Excerpt

Excerpt from Chapter One: Getting Started

Put an End to Homesickness!
Allison Davis, Barnard College

I fear change—and college is a big change. So it was no surprise that I spent the majority of my summer before college freaking out about the thought of being in a new place without my friends, without my boyfriend, without my family. As if preparing for a coming storm, I went around buying everything that I could think of to start a "home" emergency kit—a stash of items that would remind me of home when I was stuck in a tiny dorm room. Why wouldn't I? In my mind, the dorm was that weird place that conjured up images of girls-gone-wild meets summer camp. I even went so far as to ask my mother to get custom-made bedding inspired by my bedding at home. Sadly, she declined, so to cope I instead bought dorm accessories with the same purple and gold color scheme as my childhood bedroom.

Well, despite all of my numerous breakdowns in the Target store, my first week of college was fine. I think I even had fun during first week's orientation! The wonderful thing about orientation is that they keep you busy with so many activities that you forget to be homesick. And most of these activities are the special kind of lame that have you instantly bonding with members of your orientation group just to survive. Voila! Instant friendships.

After the first week
But the real challenge during your transition to college is after orientation—your first unstructured weekend. I almost couldn't handle it. Who was I supposed to hang out with? These people weren't really my friends; I'd known them for only five days! And communal bathrooms? I was so over it after the first time some random guy caught me shaving my legs in the sink.

I just wanted to go home and see my best friend, watch a movie with my boyfriend, and pee in the privacy of my own bathroom. Between you and me, I almost did. I was about 5 minutes away from booking a train ticket home for the first weekend when I gave myself a pause. I realized that if I went running for the comforts of suburbia every time things became uncomfortable, I'd spend my college experience in a friendless black hole with nothing but my books to keep me company. So, against my instincts to cut and run, I decided to stay. Looking back, that decision was the best one I have made over the course of my 4 years at school. In fact, I met some of the girls who would become my best friends at school that weekend.

Once I started making more friends and building a life by taking risks and going out with new people, the homesickness went away. If you're concerned that you may, too, experience a difficult transition, there are several things you can do to make the transition a little bit easier and get yourself out of the funk a little bit faster.

Try some preemptive pep talk
Just take a deep breath and accept it: you are probably going to get homesick. It may vary in degrees of awfulness, but at some point, you are going to miss the people and places that you encountered every day for the past 18 years. Don't suppress these feelings: it's completely natural and pretty common. If you go into college thinking you are never going to miss anyone or anything, you are setting yourself up for a fall and may be caught off guard, unable to deal with the unexpected sad feelings. By taking the time to accept the fact that you may get lonely or begin to miss home a time or two, you can prepare yourself rather than being surprised by these feelings of homesickness. It may be hard to deal with these emotions, but it isn't impossible. This preemptive pep talk goes a long way.

It's OK to bring things that remind you of home, but don't bring home
Sure, bring a few pictures of your friends and family, your favorite stuffed animal, and maybe even a special tchotchke. (The ceramic pony my dad gave me when I was 7 will always be on my desk regardless of what anyone says.) They are even good conversation starters. It makes complete sense that you want to surround yourself with familiar things, but there is a limit to how much. Filling up your new space with remnants of the past makes it really difficult to enjoy the present. (Plus your roommate may not appreciate all your trinkets from home.) It is probably not a good idea to bring all of your yearbooks from high school, your collection of sweatshirts from old boyfriends, or that sweater you haven't worn since you were 7 but you swear you can still smell your first grade teacher's perfume on it.

You're in college to make new memories and develop into a well-rounded person. How to do this? Make sure your 8 x 10-foot cell of a dorm room has space for your new life. It will fill up before you know it.

************************************************

U Chic Tip! Relying on Old and New Friends
Melanie Harris, Virginia Tech

Let's say that you're having a difficult time and need to chat with your old friends for some support. Go for it. Don't hesitate to call your besties from high school, but do so only when you need to or have something particularly great to share—definitely not every day. I can't emphasize enough how important it is to work on building a new life, and you can't move on when you're too much in touch with your old pals. And really, it's not fair to be calling or texting them all the time.

As an alternative to calling old friends all the time, reach out to your new friends. The National Mental Health Association encourages students to seek support from a roommate or a friend from class. Friendships can help make a strange place feel more friendly and comfortable. Sharing your emotions reduces isolation and helps you realize that you are not alone. This way, you're working on making a new life for yourself and moving on in a healthy way. Before you know it, these new bonds and connections will change your whole outlook on the college experience for the better, and your old friends might happily end up wondering why you're not calling as often as you used to.

Table of Contents

Contents

Foreword

Welcome to U Chic: The College Girl's Guide to Everything!

CHAPTER 1-GETTING STARTED

Getting In

How to Survive and Thrive When in the Minority

Put an End to Homesickness!

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 2-SHARING SPACE

The Preliminaries

Bringing Some Sanity to Dorm-Room Chaos

A Fashionista's Tips on Fitting It All In

Sloppy Roommates? Simple Solutions

Making the Move off Campus

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 3-HEAD OF THE CLASS

Tips and Tricks for Making the Perfect Class Schedule

Which Major Is for Me?

How to Get to the Top

F.I.N.A.L.S.: Fudge, I Never Actually Learned Squat!

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 4-GETTING INVOLVED

Ditch the Dorm, Get a Life!

For the Future Madam President

Make a Difference

Tips for the Busy Student Athlete

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 5-TECH ETIQUETTE FOR A FACEBOOK AGE

To Call or Text: Communication Rules for Dating

Tech and Social Media Essentials

When It's Time to Unplug

Facebook's Dark Side

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 6-LOVE LIFE

The Scoop on the College Dating Scene

Long-Distance Love

The Dos and Don'ts of the Online Dating World

Is Love Possible in an Age of Hookups?

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 7-SORORITY CHIC

Going Greek 101

Life as a Greek

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 8-HEALTHY, SAFE, AND HAPPY

Dealing with the Blues

Sex Ed 101

Staying Safe on Campus

Preventing Theft on Campus

A Self-Confidence Boost

Staying Fit in College

The Dangers of Eating Disorders

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 9-SURVIVING TEMPTATION ISLAND

Over-the-Top Party Pals and Ways to Deal

Dangerous Dependency: Prescription Drugs

Facing Sexual Harassment on Campus

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 10-MONEY MATTERS

The Ins and Outs of Financial Aid

Finding Scholarships in Surprising Places

Avoiding the Credit Card Black Hole

Living Fabulously on a Budget

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 11-THE COLLEGE PERKS

Secrets for Landing That Hot Job or Internship

Using Summers Wisely

What To Do If You Don't Land a Summer Internship

The Ins and Outs of Networking

When to Go Abroad

Spring Break or Bust!

U Chic Essentials

CHAPTER 12-WHAT'S NEXT?

Getting Into Grad School

The Case against Grad School

Why I Chose Grad School

Moving In with the Parents: How to Make It Work

Say Bye-Bye to Graduation Anxiety

U Chic Essentials

Acknowledgments

Contributors

About the Author

About U Chic

Editorial Reviews

"Whether you're already in college, about to start, or have a loved one making the journey, this book is for you (or a great gift idea for them)! " - The Fashionable Gal

" U Chic makes a great summer read for young ladies soon to get their college career on. " - Clutch Magazine

Since my 26 year old daughter is a part time college student I gave this book to her and then asked her about a few days later. She told me that the book has some great insight to college life, especially from a woman's point of view. She said that she is learning a lot from reading this book and that it's an easy read and she would recommend this book to other women who are attending college. She gives it a huge 2 thumbs up and told me that when she is done with it, her one college friend wants to read it next.

The advice provided in this book is helpful to young women as it provides an accurate description of what it is like as a female college student today's society. Garton does a great job at categorizing topics and providing tips along the way, making this book an easy and fun read. This book is certainly worth reading in its entirety, and is also a great resource to have as situations or questions arise based on individual experiences.

Reading through this book, it feels like the advice and anecdotes could be coming from a big sister, an older cousin, an RA, or a friend who has been there and done that, not too long before you, because that is who the contributors are! So even if a young woman doesn't have a big sister or insightful RA to provide the answers, she has a start with UChic.

From health and finals to romance and sororities, this detailed guide of indispensable advice is from responsible, savvy college women.

From finding love on your campus to the dangers of over-partying, U Chic is your all-access pass to everything a pre-collegiette should know before heading off to school.

The "Everything" in this title embraces choosing a major and deciding upon grad school, but the decided emphasis is on all things social, including Facebook etiquette, online dating, partying, hooking-up, sororities, keeping fit, and staying safe. This friendly, big-sister-toned advice is packaged with a bright pink cover.

U Chic: The College Girl's Guide to Everything should be the gift of choice for any girl heading to college...Any women new to the college environment will find this a lively, involving discussion.

Garton's style is conversational, as are most of the snippets from current college students...high school girls looking for general college advice will appreciate this book.

From the Publisher