You Know You’re In College When…

We hear that Flashnotes users care about their school. Well we care about your school, too!

The problem is, we have a lot of users from a lot of schools. It’s hard for us to relate to everyone. Our solution? A student from University of Maryland put together a list to help us familiarize ourselves with his campus:

You Know You’re From UMD When…

• The only time you go to the library is during midterms or finals to party at Club Mckeldin.
• On a sunny day, you lay out on Mckeldin Mall rather than go to your class that is less then a hundred yards away.
• You’re completely obsessed with the Maryland state flag regardless of whether you’re actually from Maryland.
• You have sweat stains on your shirt going to class after walking up the hill before Stamp Student Union.
• You live at The View or Varsity Apartments but can never get your friends to party at your place because it’s too far away from South Campus and the bars.
• You get a parking ticket from DOTS because you parked in a parking lot 5 minutes before 4:00 pm.
• You thought that the R.H. Smith School of Business building was a 5-star hotel
• You can’t eat any food without putting Old Bay on it first.
• You scan and leave for every basketball game just so you can have a better chance to attend the Duke game later in the year.
• You’ve learned to accept the fact that “Fe” will never reopen but you still get excited when rumors stating it will open restart at the beginning of each semester.
• UMD Alert sends more texts to you then some of your friends and most of their texts are after the incident is given the all clear.
• You see a University of Maryland bus and want to jump in front and test whether you actually get free tuition if you get hit.

So now that we know all about University of Maryland, tell us about your university!

How to Get a Date With Flashnotes

Okay, so the title is a little misleading. You’re not going to actually be dating the company. But you can find yourself in love with our awesome marketplace…of love.

Not many people know this, but you can actually get a date through Flashnotes. That’s right my friends. That same wonderful website that allows you to buy and sell your college notes at your own price, is the very same site that can hook you up with your future Friday night plans.

Trust us, follow these easy steps and you can secure yourself a fine young lad (or lass) for a magical evening.

Men: We’re going to make this nice and easy for ya.

1. Post your notes under the subject “psychology”
2. Leave hidden love poems in the middle of your notes
3. Let all the beautiful ladies in your class know where to find your “psychology” notes.
4. Watch them all swoon over how wonderful your writing and academic prowess are 

Pro Tip- never date more than one lady at a time- apparently this upsets them.

Ladies: We’re going to let you use your most dangerous weapon: your mind.

1. This is a divide and conquer strategy, and we know you love strategizing
2. Gather all of your great tests from ALL of your classes
3. Convert these multiple choice tests into digital flashcards
4. Sneak in secret messages about how the author of said flashcards is the smartest chick on campus.
5. Men will start flocking to you, because let’s face it ladies: everyone needs a good study buddy

Are there dating sites out there? Yep. Are we a dating site? Nope. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t find love in some peculiar places!

This is really a win-win situation. You can make a ton of money by selling your course materials on Flashnotes; you can also use the money you earn towards a dinner for two. Oh la la!

6 Comfort Foods to Get You Through Finals

There are three necessary functions of the college student’s body: eat, sleep, study. During finals, it’s pretty typical to give up precious sleep in order to cram for the next big test. One thing we can’t live without, though, is some good food.

Food gives you the energy you need to power through those late nights. It’s also a nice distraction from staring at your computer screen for what seems like the 14^th straight hour. So, why not indulge a little bit? Here’s a great list of easy snacks/study foods that will make you feel great and give you that extra boost that you need to get through the day!

Pirate’s Booty– Healthy junk food? Yes, you heard right. Pirates booty is the perfect study snack! They’re baked rice and corn puffs, and you can get them in almost any flavor. The bag says “Thar be good”! How can you argue with that?

Baked Pasta– Make a super large batch of some bowtie pasta on Sunday night. Bake the left overs with some pasta sauce and parmesan on top. Separate the baked pasta into personal sized Tupperware and you have yourself an easy lunch for the rest of the week!

Baked Potato Soup– You can get this out of the can or make it from scratch. Either way, the carbs in the potatoes will give you that boost of energy that you need without the crash.

Chicken Nuggets– I am a personal advocate of eating chicken nuggets with everything. You can dunk them in BBQ sauce or roll them up in a tortilla with some Ranch dressing and lettuce. Healthy? No. Cheap and easy? Yes.

Quesadillas– Get fancy with this one. We’ve all made microwave quesadillas, so why not put a new spin on it? Throw some tomato sauce or an avocado on it (avocados are a super food)! Pro tip- chicken nuggets in a quesadilla is so unhealthy but so good!

Pizza- We all love a good pizza, and frankly, during finals it’s totally fine to binge eat a whole one. On a budget? Here’s where it gets good- make your own personal sized French bread pizzas from home and just reheat it when you get to campus. Throw together some bread, tomato sauce, cheese and whatever else your creative mind can come up with.

I am a firm believer in doing whatever you have to do in order to be successful. Sometimes, you have to make tough decisions between what’s good for you now and what’s good for you in the long run. That being said, I spent about 85% of my days on campus going from class to the library to class again. It was hell, but my comfort food got me through it. Does anyone else have any go-to comfort foods?

4 Ways to Milk Your Cafeteria Meal Plan

Although we’d really love to, we know that we can’t meet all of your needs.  Somehow you’ve got to feed yourself, put a roof over your head, wash your clothes every now and then, and replenish your bank account.  We can help with the money part, but what about the rest? When you’re paying for rent, transportation, tuition, nomming three times a day, and participating in on-campus activities, you need to get creative.  So what can you do every day to scrape by?

Well, the Flashnotes staff is proud to consist of 100% college graduates, and we know from experience that there is a direct correlation between dwindling dollars and creative survival techniques.  So, take our word for it.  And because noshing, nomming and gobbling are OUR favorite pastimes, let’s start with one of our favorite on-campus meccas – the cafeteria.

1.    Tupperware is your friend.  You have to admit that the thought has crossed your mind about five times since last week – and that’s because it’s a smart idea.  If you’re like me, and like most other students with a campus meal plan, you spend about $12 every night just for the right to step foot in the cafeteria for dinner and gaze at the options.  Unless you’re an athlete, you probably only ate about $6 worth of food at your last visit.  Bring that to-go container and fill ‘er up.  Enjoy the other $6 worth later when you’re huddled over your Orgo homework, thankful that your I-just-don’t-freaking-get-it rage is quelled with every delicious bite of late-night leftover spaghetti you cram into your mouth.

(Tip: This strategy usually works best when coupled with #2.)

 

2.    A “My, that goulash really brings out the green in your eyes,” never hurt anybody.  Some rules can be broken, and some can be bent.  The easiest way to bend a rule is under the gaze of a knowing smile and twinkling eye.  You know where I’m going with this: Make Bertha the cafeteria warden your BFF.  Taking food out of the cafeteria when you pay an entrance fee may be met with a raised eyebrow on some campuses, but if the powers-that-be say OK, then you’re in the clear!  I learned a lot from our campus cafeteria workers:  How to be gracious, how to show thanks, how to make delicious omelets (including the ever-elusive perfect flip) – and how to score free cookies. Bertha is one of the most important people on your campus – get on her good side, and your to-go potential is limitless.

 

3.    Make your meal mobile.  A plate of eggs, bacon and toast sounds messy until you put a little pizzazz into it.  Stack it, wrap it with a couple of napkins, and you have yourself a breakfast sandwich to go.  Most backpacks are big enough to fit at least five egg sandwiches – which means you’ve got breakfast covered for a week!  I’m high-fiving you in my mind.

 

4.    If you can can-can. There’s no shame in recycling.  In fact, it’s all the rage!  If whatever is bad for the earth is your enemy, than whatever is a friend to the earth is your friend (We learned that in Philosophy 101).  So collect those leftover cans on the table at the end of dinner and head to your nearest Trader Joe’s to cash in.   Don’t expect to be rolling in dough; at 5 cents per can, you would need 20,000 cans for every $1,000 you want to make.  If you got 10 cents per can, you’d need 10,000 cans per $1,000.  Still, money is better than no money. Plus, you’re helping our best buddy, Earth!

Here at Flashnotes we’re in the business of helping college students make money.  If you’re reading this, you’re probably already using us.  And if you’re using us, that means you’ve got an enterprising spirit and an intelligent mind, you resourceful young devil, you. Do you have any dining hall tips and tricks to save money?

 

(This blog was written by Flashnotes’ Community Coordinator Adriana. Show her some love!)