The Joys of Summer School

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Summer school can be hectic and stressful but you can get much needed hours quickly.  Some students need remedial instruction and others are looking for advancement.  Either way, you have to be ready for some furious action.

If you're using summer school for advancement and finishing school quicker, you could save money over your college career on many levels.  You'll start your new working career sooner and save on tuition, because rates climb every year by 5 - 10%.  If you need remediation, you get to take a class over to raise your GPA, and that can get expensive but it might be worth the effort if you land your dream job.

Your textbooks are cheaper in the summer if you rent them since the term is much shorter than a quarter or semester.  If you buy them, you'll pay the same and still face the risks when you  try to sell them back .  You'll appreciate the savings if you have other bills to pay.

The down side to taking classes this summer is "all work and no play".  You pay for the work instead of working for a paycheck....but the big paychecks will be sooner instead of later.

Anyone Needing Financial Aid for College?

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With college tuition going up by 5 to 10% per year, it's become increasingly difficult to find loans, grants and other forms of financial aid.  Check this site out for some great info -  89 Financial Aid for College Tips by StudentLoansForCollege.org.


Financial Aid can also come in the form of scholarships.  There are hundreds of thousand of dollars of unused scholarships laying around that go unused every year.  Start digging now. Most have been awarded but will go unused by the start of the fall semester.

My favorite financial aid is the "work/study" program.  My wife runs a museum on Murray State University's campus.  She has student workers through out the year to come in to help her with lots of duties.  They always have time to study while they wait for programs to end and lock up.  It's not a bad deal, actually getting paid to study and the university wants to help them.

Related articles

• Paying the Bill: Financial Aid and Your Decisions (education.com)
• Financial Aid Resources for Post-High School Education (education.com)

DIY Father's Day Gift Ideas

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Image by Getty Images via @daylifeFather's Day doesn't have the same glitz as Mother's Day but the DIY gift you make Dad will mean more to him than a new Odyssey Backstryke Sabertooth Putter....maybe.

My favs have always been a handmade greeting card and a kiss on the cheek.  However here are a few suggestions:

• You can't go wrong with cooking Dad's favorite meal.
• A cube of paper that you decorated by drawing on and Blinging
• A coffee tumbler that can be decorated
• Photo album of your favorite pictures of  Dad and the family
• Do a project with him like having Dad help you build a bird feeder for his backyard 
• Homemade fudge.  If you don't know how, buy some and wrap it up like you made it.

A DIY gift means you took the time to give of yourself and that you're thinking of Dad.  You could give him a DIY present and an Odyssey Backstryke Sabertooth Putter.

Related articles

• Fathers Day Gift Ideas to Fit Any Budget (couponshoebox.com)

College Book Renter's Ramen Noodle Recipe Winner

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Image via WikipediaCBR Ramen Noodle Recipes Winners
Congrats to Stacy Giltner - best recipe presentation and story telling.  We didn't have a category for this but were very amused with Stacy's story.  First Place went to Sheryl Schulte.  Contact marketing@collegebookrenter.com
with your mailing address' and we will send your iTunes gift cards.



Stacy Giltner Luck has it that there is one packet of ramen that the equally starving roomie (aka lump on couch) has not spotted. Flavor appears to be red with a picture of a sturdy cow. For the non-finicky palate of the starving college student this just means a cow can eat it, so can this student. Preparing ramen is a tricky ordeal as the kitchen is scanned for a clean pot, a bowl, and possibly a spork. The flies lead the starving college student’s eyes to the pile of dishes that have been abandoned ages ago in what use to be a sink buried under fuzz and debris. Cooking the precious package of ramen has now been ruled out. This clever student brainstorms the next plan – sifting through old Taco Bell bags scattered around the living room. The first bag of many is an immediate gold mine of hot and mild sauce packets. The ramen package is busted open and the taco bell bag becomes a serving platter for this delectable treat. The hard ramen is first dipped into the red sauce and then dipped into the seasoning. This crunchy little treat must be enjoyed quickly before the roomie awakes and sucker punches the student for not sharing this morsel.
Desiree Massey-FinkBest Ramen Noodle Recipe Contest

Ingredients: Two packs of Ramen Noodles, 1/4 cup of Stir-fry sauce, stir-fry veggies. Chicken, beef, or shrimp(optional), soy sauce

Directions: Boil ramen noodles as directed on package (do not add packet of spices), meanwhile in a skillet start cooking the protein of your choice (meat or fish) and when those are done take out of pan, set aside and keep any flavor drippings in pan for the veggies, cook veggies until tender. When the ramens are done, drain water and add to the skillet of veggies and protein. Add stir fry and soy sauce and mix together. add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy
Sheryl Schulte Taco Salad 1 package beef ramen noodles
1/2 pond ground beef
1 small tomato, chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Thousand Island dressing Mix all together and enjoy..keep refrigerated!!!
Kate Reeves Raman Noodle, Mozz Cheese, and Texas Pete Hot Sauce!
Ashly Winkle Ramen Noodle Salad Ingredients
1 (16 ounce) package broccoli coleslaw mix 2 (3 ounce) packages chicken flavored ramen noodles 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 cup unsalted peanuts 1 cup sunflower seeds 1/2 cup white sugar 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup cider vinegar 
Directions
In a large salad bowl, combine the slaw, broken noodles and green onions. 
Whisk together the sugar, oil, vinegar and ramen seasoning packets. Pour over salad and toss to evenly coat. Refrigerate until chilled; top with peanuts and sunflower seeds before serving
Priscilla BarnesBest Ramen Noodle Recipe Contest 
By: Priscilla Renne Barnes
Mexicano Rameno
Mexicans add a little spice to everything, and ramen noodles are no exception. 
Ingredients: 
• Chicken Ramen Noodle package
• Salsa Huichol 
• Chicken flavored bullion powder form (caldo de sabor a pollo by Knorr)
• One squeezed lime

*Amounts added to preferred taste
* Hot sauce and chicken bouillon can be found at most Wal-Mart locales
Wilmalynne Botley With boiling ramen noodles add an egg mix egg while in soup to separate egg then add sauce mix lawrys garlic salt and ground black pepper about 1 tsp of each. And it's perfect.
Alycia Drube Be careful to only use the amount of water as you want broth. While noodles are boiling add in an egg (egg drop soup style). If noodles aren't done boil it down a little, thicker is better. Then add packet of flavoring and a couple squirts of Sriracha sauce. It smells funny but tastes DELICIOUS!
Faith Jordan My mom makes this amazing salad but I have no idea where she got the recipe from. The salad part is just romaine lettuce and chopped green onions, the salad dressing is just 1/2 cup oil, 4 tbsp vinegar, one packet of the seasoning from ramen noodles mixed together. The topping is toast almond slivers in a skillet with seasme seeds, after add two packs of the crumbled ramen noodles (uncooked). mix it all together when you are ready to serve so the noodles wont get soggy from the dressing.

Related articles

• Cook Fast, Live Young: Six Ways to Spice Up Ramen Noodles (savings.com)
• Use Ramen in Every Meal Without Getting Sick of it [Food] (lifehacker.com)
• Ramen Snack Mix (eatingramen.wordpress.com)

Don't Do It

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If you know like I know when it comes to ordering and renting books from College Book Renter you will keep your money/credit cards in your pocket College. I ordered two books on a Friday paid 2nd day air shipping via UPS biiiiiiiiiiig mistake . I received 1 book the following Wednesday with a packing slip that stated 2 books were in the box but the second book had CNF scribbled beside it if you didn't know that means can not find.CBR requested email and phone number from me when was somebody gonna tell me they couldn't find the book. Meanwhile my professor has started emailing me assignments ( online class).I started calling Wednesday evening about my book only to get a bunch of bs excuses and that we have until Friday to get you your book.Thursday again no book and I was told to watch the tracking number for any updates because according to CBR UPS hasn't been doing a good job( not that CBR has taken too many orders and promised too many things that they can't deliver).So basically I was told to sit and babysit my computer on Friday watching the tracking #. Still on Friday no book nobody seemed to know where the book was CBR blaming UPS and UPS blaming CBR. CBR stated they would credit me $5 for shipping ( oh joy).Now the tracking has been updated and the book is now just leaving Arkansas( imagine that). So I could possibly get my book by Wednesday of next week after my assignment is due.Totally I've spent about 3 hours on the phone trying to figure this whole thing out.So CBR prices may be cheaper but as I stated before if you know like I know when it comes to College Book Renter don't do it!!!!!!!!