Believe it or not, free money for college isn’t only awarded to Einsteins and star athletes ‘ or those of you poor people who qualify for financial aid. There are plenty of opportunities for the ‘average’ college-bound student to take advantage of scholarship money. The biggest mistake to make, is to sit and wait, and not do anything about it in the hopes that someone will knock on your door and say, “Need some money?”

I just graduated in May, and now I am starting to pay back student loans. Let me tell you, it sucks. Having received my degree in Journalism from UCLA, I thought I would be in a good position to pay back my loans. Yeeeaaahhh…not so much. So now, after 4 years of tuition, room and board, I owe just over $115,000.

People say it all the time, but I will say it again…if I had it to do all over again…I would try to avoid the $1000 a month loan payment.

Here’s some common sense advice:

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With summer approaching next week, it’s time for you to get a job, and leave college behind. Don’t know where to start? Take a look at our list of “The 10 Best Sports Jobs for Non-Athletes,” straight from the COED Vault. You’ll be a zamboni driver in no time!

Check out COED’s 10 Best Sports Jobs for Non-Athletes here!

Finals are just around the corner. Job interviews are being had. Apartments in new cities are being looked for.

Holy sh*t. College is ending.

And I am having a serious breakdown.

1. What the hell am I going to do with my English degree?

2. When am I going to see my friends again?

3. Where am I going to live?

4. How am I going to support myself without the help of my dad (who I have totally wrapped around my finger, might I add)?

5. What am I going to do when the college life I have gotten so accustomed to is over?

I know that these are things most people thought about months ago (especially the job stuff!), but I am really bad at accepting reality. Like the fact that everyone can tell my Marc Jacobs bag is fake. I like to pretend that everything is fine. In my world, if I think something is true then it must be true. So for awhile, I pretended like college wasn’t ending. Instead, this was just another year leading into yet another summer. Read More »

Approximately one year ago I spent a weekend at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

To this day, I get emails from the PR group that runs the nightclub and other bars inside the hotel/casino complex. Ordinarily I don’t mind much. I like to remember my days and nights in the desert, and even look forward to planning my trip back.

But this week, it’s been two emails a day. About Paris effing Hilton’s birthday party this weekend. And I am slightly peeved.

I admit that I have a shameless love for some things poppy and tacky, we all have our vices. But Paris Hilton is not one of them. She most definitely is not about to inspire me to fly to Vegas when I can just wait for her to make an ass of herself in the Meatpacking District on her next trip to New York.

These invites got me thinking, though. Really, who is worth flying across the country for? If you’ve got to pick one celebrity whose birthday shenanigans you’d like to be a part of, who would it be? Read More »

The man in this picture is a piece of shit rapist.

And now, the whole world knows it.

When Morgan Shaw-Fox forced oral sex on fellow Lewis & Clark University student Helen Hunter, she had the option of staying silent. After all, he was a popular and well-regarded student. They were alone when he did it. And criminal rape cases - especially cases of date rape, or cases where the victim consented to a certain degree of sexual activity before saying the word “no” - are notoriously brutal and hard to win.

The burden of proof is always on the accuser, who is frequently subjected to vicious assaults on her character by defense attorneys and the media. Prosecuting a rapist can be nearly as traumatic as the experience of sexual assault.

So, yeah. For understandable reasons, many, if not most survivors don’t report being assaulted. Many, if not most rapists are never brought to justice.

But Helen Hunter did not choose silence.
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When clicked, the following pictures lead to galleries that could cause hot flashes and hyperventilation.

You’ve been warned!

Being the college graduate of the group, I think it might be time to get a little serious about the upcoming elections. There are a plethora of issues at stake, and while the media like to pose it as race/gender war, I tend to think the major issues teeter on fiscal responsibility and economic stability - I know, I am a buzzkill…sorry!

This weeks topic: the taxes. The tax code right now sucks. WTF we do about it is the major question. Of course, health reform is a large issue, but as the COED office’s grandfather (@ 25), as long as I can remember there has always been a need for health reform - but it never happens. As long as the economy is steady, it makes a great election talking point but then dies off. Yeah Clinton tried it, but it got pissed all over like a Girl Scout at R-Kelly’s house.

For those of you failing Econ 101, let me re-use a very famous explanation: Read More »

Recently, I found myself strapped for cash and needed a way to supplement my income. Like most people, I gave plasma until I had trouble tapping my bean without getting lightheaded. Not sure what to do next, I saw an ad in the paper for a job that seemed perfect…nude model.

I am not a hottie by any stretch of the imagination, but I didn’t think I was gross either. WTF! I decided to try nude modeling! The gigs were usually just a few hours, and they paid well above minimum wage. Why not?

I called a few local college art departments. ‘There’s a shortage of nude models,’ I was told. So, career advice Number 1: find an in-demand job. As a bonus, there’s no interview necessary - so stage fright isn’t much of an issue THERE. But the nudity-thing is a great deterrent for any competition.

During my first class, things started out fine. I walked in, disrobed, ignored the goosebumps forming on my skin (note to profs: turn up the heat - my nips were so hard I cut through the tension) and walked on to a platform in the center of the room as the professor gave me instructions for my first pose. It was pretty simple: I just had to sit still for twenty minutes. I could do that, right? Read More »