You Sell Your Notes, Now It’s Easy to Sell Your Textbooks, Too!

Here at Flashnotes, we’re all about saving you money the logical way.

We know that college students are bombarded with options when it comes to selling back textbooks. Should you sell your books back to the school? How about Ebay? What about that weird guy in the van parked on campus?

No. Just say no.

We’re here to make your textbook buy back process 10 times easier. Through years of personal experience in college, Flashnotes can honestly say one thing about textbook buy back: ValoreBooks does it best.

ValoreBooks also has some of the cheapest textbooks around. You can save over 90% on over 18 million titles. If you had to choose between paying more for your college textbooks and paying less, which would you choose? Yeah, that’s what we thought. Take a second, make a logical decision, and buy cheaper course books.

ValoreBooks gets it- college is expensive! That’s why they give students the highest buy back rate online. That means more money in your pocket. So, unless you plan on using those old books as a pillow (like we’ve seen you do in the library- don’t pretend you didn’t drool a little bit when you fell asleep on your book), there’s no reason not to sell them back. Imagine how much money you could make!

Another reason we love ValoreBooks is their hassle free return policy. The 30-day money back guarantee is actually our favorite service that they provide. Here’s why:

You professor gives you a list of books to purchase for his/her class. Being the productive student that you are, you go out and purchase them all before class even starts. Once you see the syllabus on the first day of school, you realize that you won’t even need half of those books that you just purchased! Well, with ValoreBooks, you can pretend like your overzealous book-shopping spree never even happened. Just send them back for free, and it’s like you never spent the money in the first place. Genius.

ValoreBooks just makes sense: they save you money when you buy your book and they earn you more money when you sell your books back. That means more money in your pocket, and honestly we can’t argue with that logic.

Try it out for yourself!

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!)

15 Tips to Help You Decide Whether Grad School Is Right For You

For those of us who are not going to be doctors or lawyers, the choice of whether or not to go to grad school is often a tough one. Parents are telling you one thing, the economy is telling you another and you are just caught in the middle of an epic battle royale. This is a huge decision that ‘s going to change the rest of your life; you are going to have to live with the consequences of whatever choice you make right now. Are you nervous yet? Don’t worry- we’re here to help you. Here are 15 tips to help you decide whether grad school is right for you.

1. Think about why the subject of grad school even came up. If your school’s career counselor suggests it, it might be a good idea. If you just want to stay in school longer for the sake of being in college, it might be a bad idea.

2. Don’t let your parents make this decision for you. You’re an adult now. Your parents aren’t going to be the ones doing your homework and research papers for you, so don’t let them boss you around.

3. Do some job searching first. Grad school should really be an option if you can’t get a career. Do some serious job searching in your career field for at least a year. If you are still unhappy, then consider grad school.

4. Think about your 20’s- which will be gone after you get out of grad school. Do you want to live most of your 20’s slaving away in front of a computer screen in a library? Do you want to be emotionally distraught at least 5 nights of the week? Both of those scenarios are definite possibilities at grad school.

5. What will you be learning? If you will be learning something that you can’t find in a book, then by all means go to grad school. If you can gain this knowledge in an MOOC or by doing research online, grad school is not for you. Look at the course offered for your degree and make sure that you will be practicing the things you’re being taught.

6. Think about the monetary impact long term. Are you willing to be in serious debt for a very long time? Will this degree help you make more money that you ever thought could be possible? Are you the only one paying for your education or will you receive help?

7. Do you really need this degree? This goes back to  #1 and #5. Do you need this degree in order to get your dream job or are you just going to grad school because you want to learn more?

8. Think about what life would be like without grad school. Most of your life will be dedicated to school, so it makes sense to think about how your time could be spent otherwise. If you don’t continue your education, would you like to travel? Would you start a family or a career?

9. Research which schools offer the best resources for your major. If you’re going to spend a lot of time and money on this degree, you want to get the most out of it. Find a school that not only offers the best library and professors, but also the school with the most successful alumni.

10. Are you willing to move anywhere to continue your education? If the school you chose from #9 is out of state, think about your housing, food, transportation and tuition costs.

11. Think about an internship and grad school at the same time. One of the best ways to get through grad school is to pick up an internship so you can practice your skills. It will give you industry contacts as well as real world knowledge. The best part is that the internship could turn into a career once you graduate!

12. Ask your employer to pay for grad school. If you already have a job and are thinking about grad school, the first thing you should be doing is asking your employer to pay for it. Your employers will love that you have a highly trained skill set that will benefit their company. You might even be asked to help train your fellow employees!

13. Talk to someone actually in grad school. The best way to figure out if grad school is right for you is to talk to someone actually in grad school. They can tell you why they chose it, how their experience is so far, and how their career will benefit from it. This is valuable knowledge that you need to hear before you make your decision.

14. Look for scholarships. Do you want to be in debt? My guess would be no. There are thousands of scholarships out there that can help you graduate debt free- which is a very, very rare thing. However, if you search hard enough, you can do it.

15. Think about the amount of caffeine you will consume per day. Don’t like coffee, tea or energy drinks? Grad school is not for you.

Grad school is a huge step for everyone. In some cases, the choice to go to grad school is more important than where you attended undergraduate college. Have you already started the internal grad school debate? Do you have any unanswered question? Ask them here!

3 Excuses to Get Out Of Anything

I don’t have enough time in my day to do everything. Should I go workout or go study? Decision made. I’m playing Mario Kart.

Do you ever have too much to do so you just decide to give up and not do anything? Don’t worry- we’ve all been there. Here are some excuses we’ve devised to get you out of doing anything for the rest of your life.

“I’m sick” Teachers say this at the beginning of every single year: “If your sick, just don’t come to class because you’ll get everyone else sick”. It’s true. One person in my 75-person lecture was coughing like crazy and the next time we met for lecture only 25 people showed up because they were all sick. The easiest way to not go to class is to be sick.

“I forgot” Who cares if it was your only job interview in the last five months? You forgot. It’s fine- we’ve all forgotten something at one point in time. Your would-be-future-employer doesn’t care if you’re on time for your interview anyways. Simply tell them, “oops, I forgot”. The easiest way to not get a second interview is to tell people that you really don’t care how valuable their time is.

“That goes against my New Year’s resolution” This is the mother of all excuses that never fails. Go ahead- tell someone that your New Year’s resolution was to gain 15 lbs. They won’t question you when you eat the entire lasagna that your mom sent you that was supposed to last you a week. (We don’t know anyone who did that)

Next time you’re sitting at home on your throne of lies and don’t want to do any thing, make sure to pull out one of these foolproof excuses and watch your free time multiply.

If you have any other good excuses, please feel free to leave them below. Our social media manager needs some new material.

Brand Ambassador Spotlight- Heather

Want to know what dedication looks like? Take a good look at Heather.

This is Heather’s second semester as a Flashnotes Brand Ambassador on the Florida State University campus, and we love working with her. Her positive attitude and constant contact have made her a joy to work with and we think that deserves some recognition!

Heather decided to work for Flashnotes to expand her business network and further her academic career before she graduates. She seamlessly combines her goals of becoming a sports broadcaster with her Flashnotes job. Heather says that Flashnotes has given her experience with talking to strangers as well as networking on a national level, which is great for someone aspiring to work in the public eye.

“I am so thankful for the experience and opened doors that Flashnotes has opened for me”, she says. Well, Heather, we hope we can open a few more! Thanks for being awesome!

Has Flashnotes opened up any doors for you? Let us know!