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9 Ways to Save Money as a Student

Being a student is expensive. You need to pay for your tuition, supplies, accommodation, living essentials, and entertainment — all while only working a part-time job at the most. To stretch your funds as far as possible, it’s important to look for ways to save money. 1. Find Ways to Save on Textbooks Textbooks are one of the major expenses for students, but it’s often possible to pay less than full price. For instance, you can purchase used books (either online or from other students at your school), use comparison shopping instead of relying on your campus bookstore, rent from a textbook service, or borrow from the library. It may be worth picking up older versions of your books, provided you’re sure the changes are insignificant. 2. Stick to a Budget It’s difficult to ensure you spend only what you can afford unless you have a budget. Determine how much you’ll receive each month and allocate a portion of this to each of your activities. This will mean if you run out of money for fun, you’ll have to turn down social invitations — but at least you’ll definitely have enough food for the rest of the month. 3. Use Your Student ID More places than you may expect have discounts for students. Carry your ID with you wherever you go and always ask if stores have discounts, even if there’s nothing advertised. It may also be worth checking out businesses you know have student discounts first — your school should be able to provide you with a list. 4. Move Into Inexpensive Housing Living on campus may be convenient, but it tends to be much more expensive and lower quality than off-campus housing. Search for student communities near campus where you can share an apartment with friends or be matched with roommates. 5. Spend Less on Food Off-campus housing also means you’ll save money because you’ll lack a meal plan. You’ll save even more money by deciding what you’ll eat a week in advance and purchasing all the groceries you need. Lastly, avoid eating out too often, as this can deplete your food budget fast. 6. Take Advantage of Free Resources Your campus and student housing likely has a range of free amenities, such as fitness facilities and study areas. Campus may also hold interesting events that could be a great alternative to paying for entertainment in the evenings. 7. Keep Applying for Scholarships Many students are under the impression that they should only apply for grants and scholarships before they start university. In fact, you can apply at any time. It’s a good idea to search regularly, as you may find new opportunities, scholarships you didn’t see before, or options you weren’t previously eligible for. 8. Pay Off Your Student Loan Interest If you’re working while at university, it may be possible to make financial decisions that will help you save money in the future. One of the best things you can do is minimize your student loan debt by making payments while you’re still studying. 9. Set Up a Savings Account Another way to prepare for the future is to save money. Set up a savings or investment account to put away money you won’t touch. Typically, the more restrictive your access to the funds, the higher the interest you’ll receive. Bear this in mind when choosing an account that will work for you. Save money on Ontario Tech University residence by moving into 17Hundred. You’ll be living within walking distance of campus, meaning you’ll save on transportation costs. Plus, with your own room in a fully-furnished apartment, you’ll be much more comfortable than if you were living in dorms. Book a tour to check it out.

How to Make the Most of Group Projects

Many students dislike group projects because the grade they receive is dependent on other people’s efforts as well as their own. Plus, it can be difficult to work with other students, particularly if your professor assigns who is in your group. However, group work is crucial for learning to collaborate, which is a skill you’ll need frequently in your career, no matter what field you enter. Here are a few things you can do to make your group project a success. 1. Have an Introductory Meeting Instead of trying to dive right into the work, spend some time getting to know your team members. Simple icebreakers can help remove any awkwardness and help you feel comfortable around each other. After these introductions, decide how often and where you’ll be meeting. This needs to be convenient for everyone, meaning it may include a combination of in-person and online meetings. Also determine how you’ll stay in contact the rest of the time. Finally, you may like to assign someone the role of group leader. This person can ensure you stay on track and resolve any issues that arise. If no one else volunteers for the role, consider taking it on yourself for the chance to learn valuable leadership skills. 2. Decide on Tasks Divide the tasks for the project between all of you, making sure it’s clear what each group member’s responsibilities are. When choosing tasks, play into your strengths. Never ask for a task because you think it will give you the chance to show off if you’re unsure you possess the necessary skills: the rest of your group is counting on you. 3. Set Your Own Deadlines To finish the project by the final deadline, you’ll need to decide when to complete the individual tasks. There may even be some tasks you cannot start until others are complete. Create a schedule that is as realistic and specific as possible. 4. Be Flexible Use your meetings to discuss where you’re up to with completing tasks and how you can move forward. If a team member is struggling to keep up, consider how you could reassign a portion of the task to someone else to ensure you stay on schedule. 5. Respect Your Team Members Group projects can be especially difficult when personalities clash or people have differing expectations. Whatever happens, strive to be respectful of your team members. Be patient when someone has a different communication style to you, is unable to dedicate as much time to the project due to other commitments, or doesn’t produce work to the standard you’d like. You’ll gain much more from the experience if you search for solutions than if you become annoyed or frustrated. Key to a successful group project is having a place where you can meet up and work together on a regular basis. Although this needs to be near campus, dorm rooms are unsuitable because they’re too small to fit everyone from your group comfortably. A better alternative to an Ontario Tech University residence is 17Hundred. In addition to your spacious suite, you’ll be able to use our multiple study lounges. Book a tour to see where you could be living.

4 Tips for Staying Healthy on a Meal Plan

One of the biggest problems with meal plans is that unhealthy temptations abound. If you make unhealthy choices, you may gain weight, increase your risk of illness, and have less energy. In fact, a poor diet may even have a negative impact on your academic performance. For these reasons, it’s extra important to make sure you stay healthy while on a meal plan. 1. Eat Regular Meals Create a weekly schedule that allows you to fit your meals around your classes and other commitments. Making sure you have time for regular meals will prevent you from snacking — and since snacks are often unhealthy, you should find this reduces your calorie intake. If you know you’ll need to snack on some days (such as if you have many hours of classes before a long enough break to eat a meal), stock up on some healthy snacks, such as fruits and nuts. 2. Make Sure You Eat a Balanced Diet At each meal, make sure you eat a balance of fruits, vegetables, protein, carbohydrates (particularly whole grains), and fiber. At the same time, try to minimize your intake of fat and sugar. Some examples of healthy meals include Greek yogurt with granola for breakfast, a falafel wrap for lunch, and grilled fish with steamed vegetables for dinner. In addition to paying attention to the food you eat, consider what you’re drinking. You should be sticking to water during most of the day, keeping sugary beverages to a minimum. 3. Familiarize Yourself with Your Choices Make sure you know what food stations are available around campus, as some may offer healthier foods than others. For instance, steering clear of fast food locations makes it easier to avoid temptations. As well as exploring campus to discover the different dining options, you can find out what’s available by checking the campus life section of your university website. This will often include both the locations and the menus of eateries. 4. Choose the Healthiest Options At each of the dining stations, there will likely be a combination of healthy and unhealthy options. Wherever you eat, opt for the most nutritious items, such as dishes with plenty of vegetables. Also make sure you eat enough to feel full — that way, you won’t need to satisfy your hunger later with something less healthy. For instance, if you decide to eat a salad, you may like to top it with nuts or chicken to make it more filling (and make sure you choose a low-calorie dressing rather than something like ranch). Finally, if you’re craving dessert, choose something like frozen yogurt with plenty of fruit for toppings. Not only is it often difficult to eat healthy with a meal plan, it’s much more expensive than preparing your own meals. However, cooking for yourself doesn’t tend to be an option when you’re living in on-campus student housing. Oshawa students who want to eat a healthier diet and save money should move into 17Hundred. Our fully-furnished suites include a kitchen you’ll share with just one to four other students. Apply now to secure the floor plan you want.

A Guide to Digital Note-Taking

Many students are giving up their notebooks and pens and going fully digital. This is beneficial for numerous reasons, including less risk of losing notes, better search capabilities, and greater organization. To take effective digital notes, here are a few things you can do. 1. Experiment with Different Note-Taking Methods There are various methods for note-taking — you should use whatever makes the most sense to you. It may be worth experimenting with a few methods to figure out which that is. One of the most popular is the Cornell method. This involves dividing the page into three sections: two columns at the top and a space at the bottom. In one of the columns, write your notes from class. In the other, write cues — these are short sentences (such as trigger questions) that help you remember the substance of the material. At the bottom of the page, summarize your notes. Another technique is the sentence method. At the top of the page, write the topic of the lesson. Underneath, list the subtopics, following each with sentences describing the main takeaways. A variation on the sentence method is the outlining method. The difference is that, instead of writing full sentences, you summarize the points in bullet points. 2. Choose the Right Note-Taking Tool In addition to the regular word processing application on your laptop, you should consider using note-taking apps. These offer templates you can use to organize your notes using the above methods. Find out what’s available for the type of device you want to use and choose whatever you find the most user friendly. Although many apps have paid subscriptions available, you should find that the free version is sufficient for your needs as a student. 3. Use Colours and Pictures Many students use different coloured pens to take notes by hand — it’s just as easy to incorporate colour into digital notes. This allows you to organize your notes at a glance and helps you to find the information you’re looking for. An extra advantage of digital notes is the fact you can include pictures with ease. You may like to add pictures from your professors’ presentations, screenshots of diagrams you find online, and other graphics that will enhance your notes. If you want to include diagrams you draw yourself, either use a drawing tool or draw the diagram on a sheet of paper and take a picture. 4. Turn Off Notifications The one drawback of digital note-taking is it is easier to become distracted. The internet is just a click away; plus, you may be receiving notifications that draw your attention away from your studies. Constant interruptions make it more difficult to focus on what you’re learning and likely mean you spend much more time studying than is necessary. To avoid this happening, you need to be disciplined enough to avoid doing anything unrelated to your studies while taking notes. Turning off notifications will g o a long way to help with this. Switching to digital note-taking is just one way to up your study game. Another is to move into off-campus student rentals. Oshawa students who live at 17Hundred have their own room in a fully-furnished apartment as well as access to dedicated study spaces. We make it easy for you to study, socialize, and arrive at your classes on time. Book a tour to check out our student living community before you move in.

3 Considerations for Career Planning

When you’re starting university, major decisions include what school you want to attend and what major you’ll choose. Just as you start to feel comfortable, graduation nears and you need to decide on a career. To ensure you head down the ideal career path for you, think about factors like what kind of work you’ll enjoy, what will give you the lifestyle you want, and what will allow you to meet your goals. With this in mind, there are three main factors to consider when thinking about career planning. 1. How Will Your Career Fulfill Your Purpose? It’s important to think about your purpose now because it may have changed since you started university. The experiences you’ve had will have shaped you, and you will have learned more about the world, which may have changed your values and your sense of what matters most. Craft a personal mission statement for yourself that describes your identity and motivations. Use this to explore what you want to achieve and the impact you want to have on the world. Make sure you consider your skills and the possibilities open to you to ensure your ideas are realistic. Use all this information to start creating a plan of how to move forward. 2. What Kind of People Do You Want to Surround Yourself With? One of the factors you likely considered when choosing a university to attend was the other students. A similar consideration applies to your career planning. Since you’ll spend a large amount of time with your coworkers, it’s crucial to find people you can call friends and mentors. If you consider your own identity when choosing a career, you should naturally find that you surround yourself with likeminded people. 3. Is Flexibility Important to You? Some people want to work at a job with traditional hours to maintain the same kind of structure they’ve had throughout their school years. Others are willing to sacrifice some of their free time occasionally — such as if the work involves overtime, irregular hours, or even fieldwork in other locations — if it’s for an important cause . On the opposite end of the spectrum, there are people who desire as much flexibility as possible. They may want to work from home some days ( perhaps every day), choose their own hours to fit work around other commitments, or even work part time to spend the rest of their time on a side project that may later become a full-time business. Think about where you stand to ensure you take a route that matches the lifestyle you want. Your future career is just one major consideration during university. If you don’t love your current housing, you should consider where you can find better rooms for rent. Oshawa students should look no further than 17Hundred. You’ll have a fully-furnished suite in a student community with amenities including a yoga studio, dedicated study spaces, and a TV and games room. Apply now to make your life at university even better.

How to Navigate Long-Distance Relationships as a Student

It’s not uncommon for students who are starting university to want to continue their relationship with a partner who is heading to another school or will be living elsewhere for another reason. Long-distance relationships at university require some work, but they’re certainly feasible with the right strategy. 1. Set Some Ground Rules It’s important to discuss your expectations before you head off to university. Talk about what you want from the relationship, what would upset you, and your boundaries. Bear in mind that you may need to return to this conversation later, as life at university may be different than what you expected. 2. Commit to Open Communication Always be completely honest with your partner. Even lying about small things when your partner will never learn the truth will erode trust in the relationship. In particular, speak about anything that’s bothering you — addressing issues early will prevent them from becoming big problems. 3. Schedule Times to Talk Make sure you always find time to talk by setting a schedule in advance for when you’re both available. This will prevent either of you from feeling neglected by the other and allow you to fit time for your partner into your week without you needing to sacrifice other activities. The ideal time could be at the end of the night or some point during the day when neither of you have classes. 4. Arrange to Visit Each Other Depending on how far you are from each other, you may be able to meet up regularly on weekends or only a couple times each semester. Whatever the case, scheduling visits in advance will give you something to look forward to. 5. Prioritize Your University Life Although your relationship is important, your academics and other aspects of your university life need to come first. After all, choosing to attend university is the reason you need your relationship to be long distance. Never allow your relationship to interfere with your classes, homework, or extracurriculars. Most importantly, make plenty of friends at university. You’ll need people around you who will support you no matter what. Plus, you’ll be able to all hang out together when your partner comes to visit. 6. Encourage Each Other Be supportive when your partner wants to explore opportunities at university. Remember that your schedule to talk is not set in stone — if one of you wants to join a new club or has the opportunity to attend a social event at a time you normally talk, it’s better to find another time to catch up than to put restrictions on each other. Plus, having plenty of activities in your day-to-day life will help you cope with feelings of missing your partner. 7. Enjoy the Experience University should be a fun time in your life. Whereas it may be stressful at times, your long-distance relationship should have a positive impact on your student experience overall. You’ll need to be living somewhere with enough space for your partner to stay over during the occasional weekend. Whereas you won’t find that living in an Ontario Tech University residence, you will at 17Hundred. We offer fully-furnished apartments with spacious private bedrooms. Plus, we’re located just steps from campus and have all the amenities you need on site, including high-speed internet, package concierge, and housekeeping services available on request. Book a tour to see it for yourself.