How to manage your time effectively while studying aboard?

Finding time for it all

As you will soon find out, there’s much more to college than studying. In fact, finding time for everything without neglecting the book may be the most challenging test a college student faces in America.

What to expect

The days when teachers looked over your shoulder with concern and nagged you about homework and tests are past. In many classes, especially at larger schools, you are just a face in a crowd of five hundred, a mere ‘number’ as the expression goes. Your teachers will assume you are sufficiently responsible to keep up with your work without individual attention. The structure of most college courses reflects this philosophy. Instead of daily-graded assignments and monthly tests, most college professors evaluate students solely on the basis of a mid­term and a final exam or a mid-term exam and a term project.

Homework, more often than not, is optional while reading assignments are longer and less structured. For example, instead of saying, “Read these 10 pages for tomorrow”, the professor will probably suggest, “Read this book before the next mid-term “. Just as often, the professor will not say anything about assignments but rely on the syllabus given to each student on the first day of class. This item, the syllabus, is invaluable. Keep it in a safe place. With class-work structured this way, the fear of falling behind could haunt anyone with the slightest of lazy streaks. The laid-back student may find himself approaching the mid-term or even the finals without having read or written anything. Needless to say, time management plays a major role in any successful college career.

How to stay on top

Self-discipline and organization are the keys to avoiding the pitfalls of procrastination. Listed below are a few clues to help you in the battle against putting things off.

Plot your time with a calendar

During the first week of classes, sit down with a calendar and the syllabus of each class. Mark each test, paper and assignment date, particu­larly noting those that fall within a day or two of each other. Such occasions are not uncom­mon and require extra planning. Dr. Lauren Cohen, who has been teaching study strategies for twenty years at the college level, recom­mends plotting your course of action on a cal­endar.

Set daily and weekly goals on a calendar. If something comes up unexpectedly, like a date or a touch of flu, borrow time from another day, even if it means getting up an hour earlier. Marking specific deadlines on a chart and making sure to meet them enhances one’s chances of accomplishing the task successfully.

Expect to spend at least two nights studying for any significant exam. Papers may require more time if research is needed. Also, allow extra time to type and print your paper, especially if computer resources are limited. Finally, don’t lag behind in your other classes while concen­trating on a particular one.

Work ahead in the others before favoring a particular class. Many students end up playing catch-up all year. You know the game the teacher explains one sec­tion, you read it two weeks later! By reading up on the assignments before class, the lecture content becomes clearer and easier to absorb. And, you are going to have to read the stuff anyway.

Attend classes to boost your GPAS

As in the case of homework, college professors assume students are disciplined enough to at­tend classes on a regular basis. While in smaller classes professors may be concerned with fre­quent student absence, few professors take roll and even fewer factor attendance into the course grade. But don’t let this lax attitude give you an excuse to sleep through your morning classes or bask in the sun on warm afternoons.

Class attendance is critical to college success. Copying notes from a more disciplined friend will not suffice. Notes should be used as an outline, reminding you of key concepts and theories covered in class. Borrowed notes will give you facts and figures but won’t paint the complete picture of how the facts and figures interrelate. So set the alarm, save the sun for the weekend and go to class with pen and paper in hand.

If you have time, read your lecture notes at the end of each day or at least, at the end of the week. Students, who do this as a routine, find that they don’t have to study as much come the finals week since the material is al­ready rooted firmly in their minds. According to the Ebbinghaus Retention Curve, you lose more than 50 per cent of processed information within one hour of leaving the classroom and you surrender 60 to 70 per cent within 24 hours. After 30 days, 70 per cent is gone. Re­viewing, rewriting and discussing class work is the only way to effectively counteract this phe­nomenon. The more you engage with the ma­terial, the more you retain. Simple.

Learn how to study effectively

Face the facts: colleges and universities are insti­tutions of higher learning for those who want to learn. Professors expect you to study. Parents expect you to study. You should expect yourself to study. Indeed, studying is a foregone con­clusion. Why not make the most of it?

Okay, now that you’re ready to hit the books with the right attitude, what do you do? First, find a suitable study environment. Some like soft music in the background. Some need com­pany. For most, however, a comfortable chair in a quiet room works best. Regardless of per­sonal preferences, make sure you are in a place free of the temptation to socialize. Dorm rooms, particularly when shared with a room­mate, seldom meet this requirement.

The basement of the library or an abandoned class­room is much more conducive. And, by the way, don’t fall asleep! Sleep is undoubtedly your biggest enemy. Twenty minutes of reading in bed and…You’ve gone under! One way to avoid sleeping when you want to study is to use breaks as incentives. Tell yourself, “I’ll chat with some friends after I finish this chapter”, or “After I finish my Chemistry, I can go out for some coffee”. Don’t break too often or you will frustrate your concentration and cause further distraction.

A seasoned time management ex­pert recommends working for 50 minutes fol­lowed by a break for 10 minutes. If you still have trouble getting things done or find your­self wondering, “What have I been doing these last two hours?” when you were supposedly studying, make a daily schedule. Figure out what you have to do in each class, calculate how long each task will take and set up a timetable, allotting time for breaks as well. Remember to highlight important points in the chapters you read. It makes studying before a test so much easier!

Avoid the inevitable

At one time or another, every college student tends to get behind in his or her work no matter how disciplined or diligent she/he is. A curious quirk of college life is that, come finals week, you’ll confront many students burdened with loads of work but with little time to com­plete it.

Although the struggle to stay afloat dragging nights (campus jargon for burning the midnight oil) in the sea of academics challenges every student, it should not be used as an ex­cuse to drown. Any student can put off his or her work until it reaches unmanageable pro­portions. Remember, any student can flunk. The successful student sees work not as a chore but as a means of testing his or her potential.

Pull an all-nighter!

Thus far, this chapter has preached the values of good time management. Indeed, nothing is more essential for sustained college success. But regardless of how diligent you are, there are going to be instances when time is simply not on your side. With so many extra-curricular activities happening on the campus along with the regular classes, most students find them­selves overwhelmed at certain times of the year.

Fear not! For times like these, college students around the globe have invented a new concept in last-minute studying: the all-nighter. For the most part, an all-nighter consists of staying up all night (or as late as need be) to complete a paper, finish a project or study for a test. But will-power will not pull you through the wee hours. From Tulane University in New Orleans to Oxford University in England, students have turned the all-nighter into an art form. Here are a few tips to help make you an all-night artiste.

1. Don’t go anywhere near your bed:

Sleep is your greatest nightmare when trying to pull an all-nighter. How to avoid dreaming away to glory only to wake up half an hour before your test? Stay away from your bed at all costs. If possible, stay away from your room. Study in your dorm kitchen or in the library. And if you can help it, avoid taking naps. Many a student has laid down to grab a few winks only to wake up a few minutes before test time!

2. Make an outline early on:

At 1.30 A.M., many a student’s thoughts start wandering to the sandy, spring-break beaches of America (most Ameri­can students who don’t have a summer course to attend and nothing better to do almost al­ways spend a good part of their summer vaca­tion at some beach or the other instead of pay­ing through their nose to visit their home country!). So, if you’re going to spend the whole night writing a paper or mugging a manual, it’s a good idea to have a rough outline of the paper you are to write or the time you are going to spend mugging up your portions for the morning test, before you start. A general outline will give your essay some necessary or­der.

This is essential since logical progression is one of the first things to go when the clock strikes twelve! If you’re studying for a test in the week hours of the morning, take notes. Writing down the material on paper will help your short-term memory recall facts and figures later in the day when you will need to go through them desperately as you feel totally blanked-out an hour before the test.

3. Give yourself incentives to keep going: Incentives work extremely well when you’ve still got six pages to write and the motivation to write only two. That doesn’t mean you have to put on formal attire. Other incentives, like telling yourself that a cup of coffee awaits you after you’ve finished another page, are always help­ful.

4. Don’t stress out: All-nighters are a part of col­lege life. Enjoy them. Revel in the fact that after a few years, you will probably never pull an all-nighter again at least not for studying pur­poses! The worst thing you can do is to get stressed out. Grab some food and drink and make a night of it.

Quick test-taking tips

1. Partial credit

Always submit whatever work you have done on the assigned topic. If worst comes to worse, write something down, anything…even if it’s your girlfriend’s phone number if you don’t know the correct answer. Partial credit has sal­vaged more than a few test scores, especially in science courses where the median score is often 40 per cent or lower. Remember that unless you are in MIT, you are probably not sitting next to Einstein II or someone of that caliber. They are all mortals like you and me, and all mortals make mistakes (excuse, excuse, excuse!).

2. Write clearly and neatly

No, this doesn’t mean using good handwriting (although some professors demand it). It means writing with clarity and purpose. The object is simple but contradictory: Get down as much as possible in the most logical fashion.

3. Always agree with the teacher

Unless you really know your stuff, don’t disa­gree with the teacher. Regurgitation, however boring, is your best bet come mark- sheet time.

4. Answer every question

Don’t spend two hours answering the first question when you have five more questions carrying equal weight age staring you in the face. Budget your time and make sure to answer most completely those questions that are worth the most points.

5. Don’t panic!

Getting all uptight because you can’t answer the first question is futile. Move on. If the rest of the test looks like Chinese when it’s sup­posed to be Spanish, do the best you can. Try rewording the questions so they make more sense to you. Chances are that other students are having the same problems as you! Excessive worrying only makes you less productive. If all else fails, refer to Tip # 1 and pray hard.

Setting goals for success the basic steps

Successful college students, regardless of the institutions they attend, use these five steps for effective goal-setting. Try them out and see how well they work for you.

1. Make a scale of your priorities

By now, you have established a certain lifestyle. Perhaps you are a student, an athlete, a musi­cian, a painter or a combination of all these. Without even knowing it, you have set priori­ties and lived by them. College is the time to look at who you are and contrast what you see with who you want to become. This does not mean you shouldn’t be yourself but rather that you should make room for growth and im­provement.

For example, if you were a painter in high school but want to become more of a student, now is the time to change. If you were not an athlete but want to learn tennis, now is the time to sign up. If you always wanted to hold a school office but never had the chance, now is the time to get involved on campus or in the community. By drawing up a scale of what is important, you will be ready to set some definite goals.

2. Set realistic long-term goals

Just saying you want to ‘do well’ in school is not enough. Everyone wants to do well. Be­sides, ‘doing well’ is not a measurable goal. So, what exactly is ‘doing well’? Is it getting straight an ‘A’ or a ‘B’? On a similar note, setting your sights on a 4.0 GPA when you never received above 2.0 in high school may be admirable but unrealistic.

In the simplest of terms, set meas­urable and reasonable long-term goals. Say to yourself, “I am going to get at least a ‘B’ in Bi­ology” or “I am going to get at least a 3.3 GPA”. Both of these statements are reasonable and measurable.

3. Set short-term goals

Without short-term goals, long-term ones are impossible to achieve. To achieve the long-term goal of an ‘An’ in Chemistry, this student needs short-term goals which would include:

1. Completing all lab assignments

2. Attending all classes

3. Finding a study partner

4. Completing course readings on time

5. Studying hard for the mid-term and finals.

Even though you may have trouble meeting all these short-term goals, following through on most of them will help you achieve your long- term aspirations.

4. Set social, personal & academic goals

Academics are only one facet of your college education. You should set social and personal goals as well as academic ones. For most students, socializing figures high on the priority list. Only a few years left before belly- flopping into the real world, right? Some of these social ambitions may include dating, hit­ting it off with your roommate, becoming more culturally aware or learning to feel more comfortable in social situations.

As with aca­demic goals, you must sub-divide your long- term social aspirations into short-term ones. Finding a steady date might be broken down into shorter steps such as going out with several different people or going to at least one party a week. Personal goals, on the other hand, may consist of balancing your checkbook each month, exercising regularly or eating a balanced diet.

5. Continually strive to meet your goals

Come to think of it, how few ever achieve their dream of becoming a Hollywood star, an Olympic champ or the CEO of a large corpo­ration. Obviously, no one is giving away free tickets to success. However, by prioritizing your objectives, by setting realistic long-term goals and achieving long-term goals, you will be surprised at how much you can accomplish! Remember famous one-liner: Tennyson’s “Its better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all”. Well, you know what he meant. Just go for it!

Getting along with your roommate everyday etiquette

Those with brothers or sisters know that living with peers takes compromise and effort. Mul­tiply the factor by five when you throw two people from disparate backgrounds into the same room. Scary stuff. Or is it? Instead of worrying about your future living partner, consider that she is as overwhelmed and un­sure about college life as you are.

Both of you will come to college minus the labels and titles you bore in high school forced to face hun­dreds of new challenges. While no one will ever say that you and your roommate have to be the best of friends, a congenial living situation makes freshman year easier and so much more fun. Here are a few rules of etiquette to help you along the way.

1. Get in touch before school starts

Confront your nervousness and curiosity by contacting your roommate before school. A phone call will serve as a stress reducer and give you a chance to coordinate belongings. Who’s bringing the stereo? What about the telephone and answering machine? Do you need two hair dryers? Hopefully, as you organize the details, some common interests will surface. If you learn that he was the high school quarterback, while you were president of the Physics Club, don’t panic. In a few weeks, you will enter school as two individuals with something very much in common…fresh status or in simpler terms, no status. Many schools do not release roommate names before school. In this case, you just have to wait until you arrive at school.

2. Don’t jump to conclusions

The first glimpse you will get of your room­mate may be amidst a collage of parents, sib­lings and suitcases pure chaos. Hold back judgments. Saying good-bye to relatives can be sad or embarrassing, depending upon the per­son. Don’t catch the First Impression Syndrome (FISX it effectively kills most potential friend­ships.

3. Prioritize your study hours

Much like fingerprints, everyone’s study habits are different. If you need silence for studying while your roommate finds it impossible to comprehend calculus without AC/DC an ami­cable negotiation is called for. Your offer to move to the library or study lounge could be exchanged for quiet hours after 9 P.M. Or offer your Walkman instead. Budget your time so you do not pull all-nighters that keep both of you awake.

4. Negotiate early…start with the phone bill

Voice your concerns early enough. Do you have pet peeves? Do you hate people who leave toe­nail clippings on the floor? It’s easier to listen and compromise in the beginning of the year than two months into the semester. Start with the telephone bill. Since one person probably has agreed to have the bill charged to his or her name, discuss payment procedures for the other person involved. How do you want to be paid, cash or check? Do you want the money before sending in the bill? While you are at it, air any other reservations you may have. What would be your reaction to your roommate’s friend calling at 2 A.M.? Do you hate people who don’t take complete phone messages? Do you like onions but not chives on your pizza?

5. Limit overnight guests

Be as flexible as possible with this one. If your roommate has guests from home or other uni­versities, offer to spend the night in a neigh­bor’s room. Of course, if the visitor is staying more than a few nights, explaining that he or she needs to bring a sleeping bag is more than acceptable. If you are the one with guests, make sure not to take advantage of the room. It’s not just yours. Overnight guests of the opposite sex present a special problem. This topic, often raising moral issues, should be discussed im­mediately and openly. Respect each other’s opinions and define policy clearly. Better to confront embarrassing situations before they arise rather than at 2 A.M. when you walk into a setting tailored for a Michelangelo painting.

6. Allow time to develop real friendship

When befriending another, sharing part of you proves crucial to a genuine bond. Al­though you may enjoy eating meals together or studying as a pair, no real friendship can prog­ress beyond small talk unless both participants open up. It takes some people more time to do this than others. Be patient. Speak honestly about your experiences and accomplishments. False displays of grandeur are unnecessary and unwelcome. Just as important, is a good lis­tener. It’s no coincidence that listeners have more ‘true’ friends than talkers.

7. Be yourself

Don’t try to change your roommate and she/he shouldn’t try to change you. Why? Because changing people never works anyway. If you do nothing else throughout your college years, be yourself and grant others that right. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to grow and become a better person. However, playing games and pretending to be what you are not only leads to unforeseen problems and low self- esteem. The odd thing is, more people will like you for who you are rather than for what you pretend to be.

Finishing courses faster

The AGRE gives you advanced credit. It can also help in quicker completion of courses. Universities like Pace University give credit to Aptech courses in computers, thus reducing your total credit requirements.

Multiple degrees. You can work towards more than one degree; say a combination of Engineering and Economics. This is, however, difficult to manage if you are doing an assistantship as well.

Laundry

Directions for washing

1. Fill cap to line for normal load.

2. For tough spots and stains, pour detergent directly on soiled areas and rub in.

3. For hand-washing delicate fabrics, add a little detergent to each gallon of water, then add item(s). Soak briefly, wash gently, and then rinse thoroughly. These washing instruc­tions, delectable in their simplicity, could seemingly be followed by any ‘Neanderthal’. Oh! But judge not lest ye be judged. In real­ity, laundry can be a most difficult en­deavor, as gleaned from the travails of one college freshman. This fresher had to learn the hard way one of life’s most important lessons.

Mummy’s tips

1. Read the label first:

Poor Katie MacDonald. During her freshman year at Washington, she was forced to send home her newly purchased and newly washed ski sweater to her seven-year- old cousin. Alas, it was even too small for the seven-year-old, so it became the pride of Katie’s dog, Tommy. Poor Katie. She should have read the label which would have succinctly told her that 100% wool sweaters are not machine washable (except for certain types which are specifically tagged as machine washable). She could have washed it by hand in cold water or sent it to the local cleaners.

But you don’t have to be a Katie. Thanks to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), all garments must carry care instructions. For example, the label inside a sweater must tell you if the garment is ma­chine washable, 100% cotton, etc. When packing for college, consider easy-care fabrics like 60/40 per cent polyester/cotton. Also note that although 100% cotton and 100% wool are in vogue, they often require extra care.

2. Make sure you have enough quarters before start­ing your load:

In high school, quarters are like any other medium of exchange; they are worth no more than two dimes and a nickel. In col­lege, however, quarters assume monumental significance. Ryan Durant, a junior at Stanford University, used to maintain a ‘special’ quarters cup. No one was allowed near it. You’re probably wondering why quarters are so pre­cious. Well, just about everything at college requires quarters: Soda pop for that ‘all-night’ paper, candy and gum for that three-hour seminar and yes, don’t forget the washers and dryers.

Don’t end up being the hall beggar. When you go to the bank, remember to request a few rolls of quarters. Ask for them when you’re at the grocery store. Bring some from home. And, heaven forbid, don’t go down the three flights of stairs without several in hand. Dryers and washers usually require two or three quarters a piece. Taking into account that you will be using about three washers and two dry­ers per usual 10-day laundry load, ten or more quarters should suffice. Not cheap, what!

3. Check your pockets:

“I wish I had a dime for every dollar my mom found in my jeans before washing them!” That was Aristotle, wasn’t it? Well, there are some things positively you don’t want as sparkling clean as your everyday duds. Your syllabus from your first Anthropology class for one or your latest calculus assignment or a picture of your new girlfriend or gum. So, do what mom has done for years empty your pockets before washing. It only takes a second.

4. Separate the darks and the lights:

This commandment also includes that all-important I separation of reds and whites. If you thought I we were going to beat this dead dog into the ground, you were pretty much on target. But in all seriousness, remember this rule: If you think some article of clothing is dark (and that it might run), don’t put it into the load along with the whites. For instance, blue jeans and coloured collegiate sweatshirts are dark. Believe it…new blue jeans have colored more under­wear than Fruit of the Loom!

5. Set the machine on cold or warm:

Most deter­gents are made to work well in all water tem­peratures, but not all clothes can take a wash with 100 degrees boiling water. The safe option is to use lukewarm water. Using cold water will not disinfect the clothes and if it’s too hot it may create new way-out designs with just about too many holes for you to sport in college!

Ac­cording to most moms and professional launderers, however, the HOT water setting on commercial machines should never be trusted. Not only will hot water coax your dark clothes to bleed all over their lighter peers, but it will in no time shrink a major part of your wardrobe. Commercial machines are set differently from domestic ones. The HOT setting on commercial machines may be akin to hell fire. So remember, cold is gold. Besides, it is always better to be safe than sorry.

6. Don’t overload the machine:

Big mistake. Sure, it is not going to kill the machine if you put in ^a few extra socks but don’t add a few extra towels! Almost every freshman gets to hear about at least one notorious washing machine explosion before the end of the first year.

7. Read the instructions on the detergent box:

Make sure you read the instructions on how much detergent to add to the load. When in doubt, it’s better to lean on the side of caution, i.e. use too little rather than too much. Too much soap can leave a film on your clothes. It can also irri­tate your skin. Usually instructions will tell you to add a cup of powdered detergent.

It is a pain to play the how-much-detergent-equals-a-cup game each time you use detergents. Pre- measured tablets and sachets are easier to use than liquids or powders but they also cost more.

8. Use bleach wisely: Bleach is the rich man’s washing tool. In other words, you don’t really need it. Granted, it makes your whites whiter but many a college freshman who runs out of bleach never gets around to spending extra money to replace it. Nevertheless, it can be helpful when used correctly. Use it only when washing white clothes. Also, remember to put it in the designated dispenser or to add it after the water has completely filled the machine.

Laundromats warn “Do not pour bleach directly onto your clothes or you might burn a hole right through them!” Besides, bleach when overused has a tendency to weaken the fibers of the fabric, causing many articles in your wardrobe to become hole-ridden at a faster rate. So, until huge holes in odd places are back in style, use bleach wisely.

9. Turn your patterned clothes inside-out before washing:

Ah, the mysteries of laundering! After the end of their first quarter, many a freshman finds the designs on his T-shirts fading into oblivion. If they only knew what mothers across the nation have known for years… to turn your patterned garments inside- out? By doing this, colours stay intense and designs intact.

10. Avoid theft: Woe to the guy or gal who finds the kid in his Calculus class wearing his favorite sweater. Indeed, theft is the favorite subject among college students and also among local thieves. When it comes to theft, washing machines are about the easiest prey around. College students tend to let their clothes sit for hours while they read the next chapter, watch the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football, kiss their new boyfriend ten extra times or catch up on a little shut-eye.

Next thing you know…K-Mart, that’s a superstore, here come! Many college students avoid theft by staying put in the laundry room and tackling home­work while their clothes wash and dry. For those impatient ones, setting a timer and mak­ing sure to pick up the clothes as soon as they are done makes sense.

Besides, leaving your clothes in the drier or washing machine after the time has expired is unfair to others who may be waiting to use the machine. You should also leave a laundry basket (with your name on it) on top of the washer or drier. Not only will this encourage your dorm-mates to put your clothes in a clean basket instead of on the dirty floor but it will also facilitate carrying your clothes up two or three flights of stairs.

11. Fold your clothes as soon as they leave the drier:

This hint should allow you to bypass most ironing. For some reason, unknown to science, wrinkles and the time immediately after clothes leave the drier are directly proportionate. If you fold your clothes as soon as they leave the drier, you will be assured of fewer wrinkles and spiffy- looking duds. It only takes a few minutes but will save you hours of ironing later on.

Ironing

1. Keep the bottom clean

You have washed your favorite shirt. It looks great. You iron it, even better. But wait! What are those spots doing on your perfect shirt? Oops, you forgot to check the dirty bottom of your iron. It could have been dust from your floor or starch build-up. Just know that when you use the iron, any debris on the bottom of the iron will become firmly implanted on your garment. So keep the bottom clean. Tissue pa­per will work fine. If that does not solve your problem, experts recommend cleaning your iron with a light grade of steel wool or sand paper.

2. Iron on top of a towel

If you don’t have a smooth, clean surface on which to iron, make sure to set down a towel, preferably a white one. At college, you won’t have room to store an ironing board. Improvise effectively. A clean desk with a few white towels covering it is probably your best bet.

3. Spray your clothes lightly with water, siz­ing or starch before ironing

Have you ever ironed a shirt for an hour and still had those awful wrinkles staring you in the face? Spray starch costs just a few bucks but works miracles. It will save your time and give your clothes that professionally ‘pressed’ look. In addition, spray starch will give your clothes extra body.

Sizing, which is located next to spray starch in the grocery store, may be even better. Apparently, this fabric relaxant gives you all the benefits of spray starch without causing starch build-up. If spray starch or sizing is not available, water will get out most of the creases though, it will not give your clothes body or that ‘crisp’ look. Silks and other delicate fabrics should not be sprayed with starch, sizing or water.

Take delicate fabrics to the cleaners. Pressing a formal dress at home is not necessar­ily a good do-it-yourself idea….let the pros han­dle the job so that the dress hangs around longer!

4. Use a steam iron

A steam iron is your best bet. If you have a dry iron, however, use it on the medium setting not on hot! The hot setting on a dry iron may stick to your fabric, scorch, and possibly, melt it. A steam iron, on the other hand, is more forgiving. Haruko Yaguchi, master tailor of forty years standing, uses a steam iron on even the most expensive garments. She offers a word of caution though: some areas in the country have ‘hard’ water. In these areas, fill your steam iron with distilled water. This will extend the life of your appliance and reduce chances of residue build-up on the bottom of your iron.

5. Iron the collar and the cuffs first

If you don’t want limp, anemic-looking gar­ments after three or four rounds of pressing, iron your shirts in this order: (1) the collar, (2) the cuffs, (3) the sleeves, (4) the back and (5) the front. Of course, you should iron the most important part of your garment last. Once you have mastered the shirt, you can ap­ply this formula in various forms to the rest of your wardrobe.

6. Don’t forget to switch off the iron when not in use

This tip is self-explanatory. Irons are hot. Really hot. If you don’t turn off your iron by mistake, chances are you will be calling the lo­cal fire department.

College Speak: Hot words on campus

West Coast

• Virtual: almost but not quite real (from ‘virtual reality’)
• Cholo: very macho
• Tag: to mark with graffiti
• Hook up: to get romantically involved with someone
• Random: weird, unexpected

East Coast

• Circle of death: a bad pizza
• Herb: a geek, loser
• Chip head: a person who’s familiar with computers
• Momaflage: to hide something that you don’t want your mother to see (combination of mom and camouflage)

Midwest

• Stoked: excited, pumped up
• Ken: a guy who often prepares meals
• Reality impaired: unintelligent
• 24-7: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Chog: someone from New England

South

• Jet: to leave
• Scam: to look for guys or girls cruise
• Kicks: shoes
• Home skillet: a good friend; also known as a dog.