******Updated January/2011!******

 

The best laptop under 1000 dollars?  We've been asked that question a lot lately.  So, following the success of our previous article lovingly entitled Top 10 Tips For Choosing a Budget Laptop For Students we decided to further help out our student brothers and sisters and compile a list of 5 awesome laptops that conform to our suggestions and still remain as budget-friendly as possible.  If you're as cheap as us, then you love nothing more than getting something super sweet for super cheap.  Money saved is money available for pizza and beer.  Amiright?  Anyway, onto the list!

Our Top 5 Laptops Under 1000 dollars:

#5 - HP Pavilion DV5-2040 14.5-Inch Laptop (Black Cherry) - $770.97

What we love about this laptop:

• HP Software Extras and Support come standard
• Excellent Medium Size at 14"
• ATI Graphics Accelerator
• 4GB RAM/500GB Hard Drive

Comes with a ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 Graphics adapter and pre-loaded Windows 7 64-Bit Premium.

Welcome back to University, everyone! We hope you all had a great summer to relax and save some cash before coming back to school (although many of us might have it blown by November!) and hitting up books and parties.

Speaking of parties, we want to speak to y’all about being safe on campus; more specifically, we want to speak to the ladies (although, boys – you’re welcome to read and forward on to your college-age lady friends!) about some alarming facts and a few tips to stay streetwise while taking in the perks of University life.

 

First, we’ll scare you straight with some crazy facts regarding assaults on ladies attending post-secondary studies:

Here's our top 6 study websites for University and College students!  Study websites are quickly becoming the top alternative to textbooks and class notes when it comes to exam/test/quiz cramming.  Many students are visual and/or auditory learners so watching video tutorials and graphic representations of their material helps them learn more quickly, and effectively.  Starting with #6, here is our list of the top study websites....

 

 

#6 - Cosmeo

Powered by the Discovery Channel, this fully featured study site has tens of thousands of lessons, videos, and pictures aimed at students in the K - 12 range.  While lacking more advanced topics, this site is still an excellent resource for all of the basics that many first-year classes cover making this site still relevant to any post-secondary student.  The only real con besides the lack of advanced material is that Cosmeo is a pay site. ($9.95 / month)

#5 - Wikipedia

The largest and most popular online encyclopedia is and always will be an excellent resource for just about anything you could possibly study.  While not accepted as a verifiable, scholarly resource in most University or College classes, Wikipedia is an awesome way to get a general idea and history of any given subject.  Most major topics have been thoroughly edited and fine tuned to be condensed, no-frills, information sources.

Returning to University or College after summer vacation can be hard for some students.  After the first couple of weeks you should fall back into your old routines and habits, but here's our Top 5 tips to help you get there faster!

#5 - Be Ready

Just like mom and dad did each summer during your primary and secondary years, go Back-To-School shopping for any supplies you're going to need for the fall.  If you have labs, you're going to need lab notebooks and possibly even some safety equipment.  Check your class websites for any updated outlines and use those to determine what you'll need.  Once classes start you'll have less to worry about if you have all the paper, notebooks, pens, pencils, etc. that you're going to need.

#4 - Keep Your Stresses at a Minimum

Try to take care of any outstanding issues before classes start.  Bills, debts, unfinished errands, etc.  Anything that will weigh on your mind and can be finished or taken care of should be done before classes begin.  The less that you have to worry about during your period of adjustment to your new classes/schedule, the better!

#3 - Do Some Research

Research everything you can about your upcoming classes.  Their location, main topics, assessment structure, etc.  Go to RateMyProf and try to get the lowdown on your prof's.  Try to find some of last year's assignments, exams, etc. for better study preparation.  Any information you can find will lessen the number of surprises you'll face, making more time and room to deal with the ones that you can't prepare for.

#2 - Start a Schedule

As hard is it may be, try to begin your sleep schedule at least one week before classes begin.  Sleep is an integral part in effective learning so the faster you can get your body on a stable sleep cycle, the better your chances will be for attaining that high GPA we all dream about during that sleep!

#1 - Start Reading!

If you haven't opened a book since your last final, now's the time to get back into it.  Your body has been on vacation and so has your mind. Start exercising your brain by doing some basic preparation for your upcoming classes.  Use Wikipedia or Google to find articles or information on your upcoming classes' topics.  Even mediocre preparation will prevent the shock that new material can bring to an unprepared mind.  You'll ease into your classes rather than struggle to keep up with them right from the start, and we all know how that feels.

Good luck this Fall!

--Blueboy, CollegeForums.ca Team © 2010