But college classes don’t have to be impossible this season if you consider some ways to stay positive and productive in the cold.

1. Stay Active

Put on your warmest sweatshirt, track pants, and tennis shoes, and get outside to take part in some fun activities after you finish your winter college classes for the day.

Many campuses make the most of extreme weather conditions by creating fun things to do. The simplest idea is to sled down a snowy hill; while the descent is pure fun, the trek back up to the top ensures that you get some exercise. This can not only ward off winter weight gain, but also increase the energy you need to make it through those winter college classes. Plus, exercise tends to relieve stress.

2. Get Social

It might be tempting to stay inside during the winter, leaving home only to attend your college classes. But socializing can help you gain the energy you need to make it through all of your winter college classes.

If you have time between classes, consider going to lunch with a friend instead of going home to eat. You can also warm up while socializing when you start the day with a hot cup of coffee or cocoa with a friend. You might even consider finding a classmate to trek with you through the winter snow as you cross your college campus to get to class. Then you can catch up on what’s been happening around campus while giving yourself a little incentive to go to class when it’s cold.

3. Don’t Skip Sleep

It can be especially hard to wake up for your winter college classes when they are scheduled early in the morning, since it is unusually dark during this time of year. But it can certainly be easier to wake up early when you get enough rest in the winter, making college classes easier to get to on time.

Consider going to bed an hour earlier than usual in the winter, as your body and mind may naturally feel more refreshed than usual when you wake up. If late night winter college classes, or the required homework, keep you from going to bed early, try to find a few minutes during the day to take a nap. Once you do it a few times and see the positive effects, you will start making extra sleep a priority that you build into your schedule so that it is eventually second nature to you.

4. Pamper Yourself

Winter is the perfect time to indulge, whether before, after or between your college classes. After all, it is the time of year when sleeping in and eating rich desserts both seem like normal activities. During any other season, you may be encouraged to stay away from such indulgences, but not during winter. College classes still exist during this time, though, and you still have to go, so why not make it a little more interesting? The following are some ways to pamper yourself before or during your winter college classes:

• Wear your warmest, most comfortable clothes, even if they are pajamas.

• Keep fragrant lotion nearby to battle the dry skin winter often brings.

• Shop for fun things to wear to winter college classes, like scarves and boots.

• Bring your favorite coffee or hot cocoa with you to your winter college classes.

Share your own tips for making it to your winter college classes in the comments section below!

A lot of careful consideration must go into registering for classes each semester in order to ensure that you stay on track with your degree program as well as experience, learn and accomplish everything that you would like to in these four short years.

Here are a few tips to help you get through the registration period stress-free and end up with a college class schedule that rocks.

1. Do your research.

Don’t wait until the last minute to start looking at what classes are available next semester. Class offerings are usually posted weeks in advance of the registration period, so there’s no excuse not to get a head start on this. In addition to browsing the course catalog, it is important to review the requirements for your major in advance, so that you can make sure the classes you plan on registering for will fulfill them and count toward your college degree.

2. Map out your schedule.

Once you have finished choosing your courses and made sure your desired classes fit the requirements for your major, map out your preliminary class schedule to make sure that it is actually feasible. This strategy will help you to make sure that none of the classes overlap and to see whether or not you’ll realistically have time to get from class to class. Creating a visualization of your class schedule prior to registration will also help to determine whether and when you will have breaks between classes for lunch and other daily essentials.

3. Have backups.

Unfortunately, unless you are an upperclassman with a very good registration appointment, you may not be able to get into all the classes you want. As such, it is always a good idea to come up with a list of potential backup classes – classes that you would still enjoy taking, would still fulfill the requirements for your major and would still fit in with your schedule – just in case some of your first choices fill up before your registration time.

4. Plan ahead.

Be proactive! Keep your eye on the prize! Don’t waste precious time and class slots by registering for courses that do not fulfill any of the requirements for your major or college degree program. Create a general plan or timeline for the next few years to make sure you complete everything you need to in a timely manner and stay on-track to graduate in four years.  While it’s always good to live in the moment, don’t make the mistake of forgetting about the future entirely, as you don’t want to be left struggling to complete all sorts of distributional and required credits your senior year of college. The bottom line is, when registering for next semester’s classes, keep the big picture in mind!

Remember these tips as you prepare for the upcoming class registration period at your college and hopefully you will be able to avoid potential pitfalls and create a class schedule that is not only enjoyable, but also strategic and prudent in keeping you on-track to fulfill all the requirements for your college degree.

In high school you likely had much less control over your own class schedule, so the option of dropping classes may be relatively new if you are a freshman. Here are a few things you should consider before deciding on dropping a class in college.

Do you really want to be taking this class?

If you are interested in the subject, go for it. Don’t let the prospect of a bad grade deter you from making the most of your college experience and learning as much as you can. Even if you feel lost in class or think the material is too difficult and may result in getting a grade that lowers your GPA, who cares? All that matters is that you are getting what you want out of this class.

High school may have been all about getting the perfect GPA to get into your dream school, but that is no longer the case in college. Even if you are considering applying to grad school, admissions officers would likely rather see you challenge yourself than get straight A’s by taking easy classes.

Is this class required for your major?

If the class is a requirement for your major, you’re going to have to take it at one point or another. If you think the problem is that you aren’t prepared for the material yet, then dropping the class for now may be the right decision – as long as you remember to register for it in a later semester!

If you think you’re as prepared as you’ll ever be, however, you’d be wise to tough it out rather than put it off. You never want to wait too long to complete your required classes, or you may find yourself off-track to graduate college on time.

Is there an option to take the class pass/fail?

Before you think about dropping a class altogether, you should be aware that you may have the option to take it pass/fail. This means that, rather than receiving a letter grade that may lower your GPA, you will either pass the class and receive credit or fail the class and receive no credit.

Each college has its own rules and protocols when it comes to taking classes pass/fail, so be sure to familiarize yourself with your school’s policies. There may be some restrictions, such as the number of classes you can take pass/fail and whether or not you can take classes in your major pass/fail.

Weigh the pros and cons.

Think about what you have to lose by seeing this class out to the end rather than dropping it, and compare it to what you stand to gain. Your GPA may be adversely affected if you stick with the class and don’t do as well as you’d like, but is that enough to outweigh the knowledge you are likely to gain or the perseverance and work ethic you are likely to develop from facing this challenging material head on?

In many cases, you will find that the potential benefits of trudging through the class outweigh the potential setbacks.

College is all about growth and facing new challenges. It’s good to struggle sometimes. You may just surprise yourself with how well you do in the end.

So rather than dropping a class outright at the first sign of troublesome material, weigh your options and consider all you stand to gain, rather than just thinking about what you stand to lose. In some cases, dropping a class may be the right decision, but try to save this option as a last resort for extreme situations.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you do not allow dropping classes to interfere with your progress and ability to stay on-track and succeed in college.

With languages from countries all over the globe being included in the foreign language curricula of colleges across the country, students can now study foreign languages from Mandarin to Creole without ever going abroad.

1. Swahili

Swahili is an important African language, but it can’t be found on every college campus. Universities and colleges with well-established African studies programs are more likely to offer Swahili coursework. American University and Northwestern University are two schools where Swahili is taught. Michigan State University also offers Swahili instruction – as well as an intensive summer immersion program abroad in Tanzania, where Swahili is a major language.

2. Catalan

Catalan is definitely not one of the most common foreign languages offered by colleges, but even this off-the-beaten-path choice can be learned at North American institutions of higher education. Columbia University and Stanford University are two schools that offer Catalan language and culture studies.

3. Serbo-Croatian

Serbo-Croatian is one of the foreign languages you’ll find at a college with a good Slavic studies department. Columbia University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Indiana University Bloomington are all worth looking into if learning Serbo-Croatian is your goal. Bloomington also offers intensive summer workshops in a variety of Slavic, East European and Central Asian languages, with language courses that run the gamut from Yiddish to Georgian, Azerbaijani, Turkmen and more!

4. Hindi

Hindi is one of the foreign languages that, like Mandarin and Arabic, is likely to become increasingly significant in the future, as India increases its importance on the global stage. If you want to learn Hindi, colleges like North Carolina’s Duke University, Syracuse University, New York University and Johns Hopkins University are colleges to consider applying to.

5. Macedonian

If you want to learn Macedonian, you don’t have to travel all the way to Macedonia – though there are study abroad programs available that provide full immersion in the country’s language and culture. One notable college with Macedonian language offerings within North American borders is Canada’s University of Toronto.

6. Creole

Haitian Creole might not seem like one of the most pressingly urgent foreign languages to learn, but you’d be surprised to find how many colleges offer courses in it! Indiana University, the University of Massachusetts in Boston and the University of Florida all offer Haitian Creole among their foreign language classes. Beware of the differences in Creole when searching for a program: York University in Canada, for instance, offers Jamaican Creole!

7. Icelandic

Reykjavik might seem like a world away, but there is no need to fly across the Atlantic to learn Icelandic — you can study this foreign language in college right here in North America. Then you can finally learn how to pronounce the name of the Icelandic volcano — Eyjafjallajökull — that caused all of that air travel chaos! If you want to make learning Icelandic your goal, the University of Manitoba should be on your list.

Other Languages, Other Schools

No matter what foreign languages you are interested in learning, odds are that you can find a college that offers coursework in them. If you can’t find anything in your area, distance learning is another option. Learning a foreign language was, for me, one of the most fun parts of college. If there are foreign languages you want to learn, you should definitely pursue that goal.

These 5 simple research tips can help you make the transition and successfully tackle college papers.

1. Get to Know Your Library

Taking a tour of your college library is one of the best tips I can give you, no matter how boring you think it may be. You’ll learn about the various services your library offers and get a tour of the different sections, as well as detailed information on how to successfully search for items.

I made the rookie mistake of skipping the library tour in my first year of college and spent the next three years wasting a lot of time trying to track down books for research. I finally got the hang of it by my last year – but I could have saved a lot of time if I’d gone on a tour at the start!

2. Write Down Every Source

There is nothing more irritating when writing a college research paper than seeing a great, usable quote or paragraph in your research notes – but then having no idea where it came from. I have spent hours poring through books that I read, trying to find the source for a great quote that I absolutely wanted to use.

Before you even crack open a book, write down at least the title and author on a list. If you find information that you want to use and cite in your research paper, you can always go back and fill in the other bibliographic information later.

3. Stay Away from No-No Sources

High school teachers tend to be a little more relaxed about sources, but in college things like Wikipedia or “Books for Dummies” should definitely be avoided.

If anything, such a source can serve as a useful primer to give you a basic introduction on a topic – and you can check the sources listed for tips on where to find more (and more reliable) information.

In general, be wary of internet sources unless they are reputable periodicals, academic journals or respected media publications.

4. Find Variety in Your Sources

College research papers are also different from high school research papers in that they are generally longer and therefore require a greater number of resources.

Get a variety of resources together to read before you start writing or try to develop a thesis. A great tip on how to track down more resources (after you’ve exhausted keyword searches in your library database): Check the index and works cited lists in the sources you already have in your hands. They can usually point you to similar resources.

Also, if your research paper happens to be on a topic about which a professor you know is an expert, it can’t hurt to ask him or her for some tips on recommended reading.

5. Take Notes, Notes and More Notes

Take notes! Your resources won’t do you much good if you can’t remember the information.

I always divided my resources into two categories.

The first consisted of those that I just wanted to use a bit of information from, which I would copy quickly into a document on my laptop, along with page numbers and other citation information.

The second consisted of those that had loads and loads of useful information, where I ended up putting a sticky note on every fifth page. These books I would set aside for a closer read, and I usually checked them out to take home with me so that I had them on hand as I was writing the actual paper.

While this is not an exhaustive list, tips like these can help you organize your work before you tackle college research papers –- and hopefully make the job a bit easier. The trick is to find out whatever research techniques work best for you, develop a system and stick to your guns so you can become a college-paper-writing pro and ace your classes.

From the way you sit to the things you eat, there are many elements that influence your energy levels.

If you are finding it hard to focus in class because you feel tired, there are a few quick tricks that can help you boost your energy levels.

Drink cold water.

One major cause of fatigue is dehydration. Most people don’t get enough water every day. It can be especially difficult if you are a college student who is always on the go. Make sure you have a water bottle with you at all times so you can stay hydrated.

If you need to perk up quickly, an extra-cold glass of water can also give you that extra zing of energy you need. Bored of plain water? Try adding lemon or – my favorite – a few slices of cucumber for a little extra freshness and flavor.

Take notes by hand.

Instead of staring at your college laptop screen like a zombie and typing your lecture notes without thinking (a surefire way to make you feel tired — and bored!), try taking notes by hand. The little bit of movement you get from writing can help keep your body in “wake-up!” mode.

What’s more, when you’re writing by hand, it will be more difficult to take down every single word the professor says. This might seem like a disadvantage, but it can actually make you a better note-taker because you will be forced to write down only the most important elements. Plus, the extra focus this requires keeps you alert.

Get moving.

In general, physical activity is a good way to prevent fatigue. While you can’t do wind sprints through the lecture hall, the physical act of writing by hand or simply shifting your position every so often can help you stay awake. And not to sound too mom-ish, but good posture helps, too.

Regular exercise has also been shown to increase people’s energy levels. From jogging to playing intramural sports, staying active in college can not only keep off the Freshman 15, but also help you stay awake in class!

Eat energy foods.

A healthy diet without excess fat and sugar can keep your energy high; however, there are also certain foods and healthy snacks for college students that can boost energy. Foods rich in Vitamin C, like oranges, are one, as studies have shown a correlation between Vitamin C and physical vitality.

Ready for the best news yet? Chocolate may be another energy-booster. Dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants, has been shown to aid the body in the release of endorphins, which can make you feel positive and energized. Now you have an excuse to keep a chocolate bar in your backpack at all times — and to grab it whenever you feel tired in class!

From putting away your cell phone to keeping your cool during classroom discussions, there are a few essential rules every college student should follow.

Remember, you and your classmates are paying for college. You’re probably paying a lot (or at least your parents are)! These pointers on classroom etiquette help make the classroom a positive place to learn – which means you maximize the value of your college education.

Do turn off your cell phone.

Get into the habit of turning your phone off. Ringing cell phones, buzzing cell phones on vibrate, the sound of text messages coming in, the sight of someone furiously texting while the professor is talking – all unnecessary distractions.

Some people hate turning their phones off because they want to be able to see missed calls (I know because I’m one of them). However, if your phone goes right to voicemail, anyone calling will assume that it’s off and will either leave a message or call back later. Trust me.

Don’t surf on your laptop.

Any college that once boasted about how its entire campus is wireless must be cursing that decision by now – I’m sure at least the professors are!

If you bring your laptop to class to take notes, then use it to take notes. Messaging with friends or catching up on celebrity gossip during class makes going to the class totally pointless. Don’t get lost in class because you’re overloading on distractions.

Do show up on time.

Showing up late is disruptive and, frankly, it can be embarrassing when you walk into a 200-person lecture ten minutes after everyone has settled in. This can especially be true if you happen to enter through the door at the front of the room where the prof is standing. I speak from personal experience.

Showing up late also hurts you, since you’ll miss parts of the lecture and any administrative details (like changed exam dates or assignment specifications) that are usually shared before the lecture.

Don’t eat.

Eating in class is annoying — the rustling wrappers, the sound of chewing — and just distracts you from the lecture. Plus, how are you supposed to take notes if you’re busy scarfing down a burger?

Some people would also say that drinking is a don’t, but I think it’s okay as long as you’re not slurping up the last drops of your soda with your straw. And, obviously, as long as whatever you’re drinking is non-alcoholic!

Do raise your hand.

Raise your hand if you have questions, and participate in class if your professor wants to have a discussion. You’d be surprised to know how much participating in class can benefit you.

Just make sure not to monopolize the discussion – be respectful and don’t interrupt your classmates. Some smaller schools with smaller class sizes may be more lax about raising hands but, as a rule, it’s best to raise your hand unless your prof specifies otherwise.

Don’t raise your hand when …

One time not to raise your hand is when you have to go to the bathroom. Your professor didn’t spend five-plus years earning a PhD to have his or her lectures interrupted by students needing to go to the bathroom. You’re not in preschool – just go!

Ideally, you won’t have to interrupt class by getting up and leaving and coming back, but if you do have to go to the bathroom, just slip out as quietly as possible. It’s one of the great liberties of college life — and great college etiquette to boot!

It may seem like you’re the only one having trouble tuning into your lectures, but rest assured that plenty of other students are having the same problem.

Whatever your reason for feeling lost in class, there’s probably a solution.

Overwhelmed by the course material?

This is an especially common problem among first year students who are facing their first college-level coursework. If you feel overwhelmed by weekly reading or homework, odds are that you’ll fall further and further behind until exam time is suddenly looming ahead of you.

Avoid this horror scenario by tackling the  problem ASAP. Visit your professor during office hours, talk to teaching assistants for help, form study groups or get yourself a tutor. Whatever your solution, institute it right away. It will only get more difficult and you will simply feel more lost in class as time goes on if you don’t deal with it now.

Having trouble fitting everything into your schedule?

If you find that your days are flashing by without time for homework (or class), it’s no surprise that you are feeling lost in class. One of the toughest aspects of college is time management. While high school is very regimented, college schedules are way more relaxed. Plus, it’s not like the school is going to call your parents if you skip class for a day!

College is when time management becomes a must. Buy a planner and make sure you set aside a certain amount of time each day for your studies. I found it easiest to make myself a daily schedule (despite my totally varying class times) when I was in school, getting up around the same time every day and including blocks of time for reading and college extracurricular activities.

Simply can’t pay attention?

One of the most common reasons students start to feel lost in class is simply because they keep zoning out. Many college classes are interesting, but others can be a total drag, especially if you’re trying to stay awake for a two-hour lecture.

One huge thing students should avoid in class is technological distractions: text messages, instant messages, email messages. All of these are surefire ways to get lost during lectures, and they all can wait until after class.

If you still have trouble paying attention, even with the cell phone off, there are a few things to try. Taking care of yourself physically can help ensure that you are alert during class: eating right, sleeping enough and getting exercise are all important parts of staying healthy in college.

If you still find yourself getting lost, try taking notes by hand (a personal trick of mine) – it requires more physical and mental attention than blindly typing and staring at a computer screen.

Dealing with personal problems?

Finally, some students find themselves lost in class due to personal problems. From a death in the family to financial problems, there are many stressors that can easily distract students from their coursework.

If you need to, speak to your professors about rescheduling exams or pushing back paper deadlines. Keep trying to stick with school, which can often serve as a welcome distraction from the troubles of daily life.

If you simply can’t focus on school due to personal problems, like depression, be sure to speak to someone. Your school should have mental health services for students that can offer advice and counseling. Feeling lost in class during college is perfectly normal, but there are instances when you may need more than simple tutoring.

If you feel overwhelmed as the semester is wrapping up, don’t panic! Almost everyone I knew in college (myself included) had difficulties in their first semester, but they started getting good grades when they learned how to make the most of the college system.

Talk to your professor during office hours.

Professors almost always have weekly office hours when they make themselves available to students with questions. If you have questions, don’t be too shy or embarrassed to go to the professor’s office hours. Professors will appreciate your effort and desire to do well in their course. Plus, this extra one-on-one time can help improve your relations with your professors.

Take advantage of teaching assistants.

If you’re at a big college where classes are huge and the lines outside the professor’s office hours are long, turn to your TA. Teaching assistants might not be at the top of the hierarchy of academic titles, but these grad students are probably pros with the undergraduate material you’re covering in class. In fact, they may have even taken the exact same class in their undergrad career and can be a big help in getting good grades. Most TAs are happy to help, whether you need clarification regarding a theory discussed during a lecture or want to bounce a paper idea off someone.

Get in touch with other students.

In every subject and course, some students will simply take more readily to the material than others. Talking to students who already have successfully passed the class you are in can help give you an idea of what to expect. Peer tutoring exchanges also can be helpful.

For example, if you’re an English lit whiz but a math doofus, a good tutoring exchange partner for you might be a math whiz with subpar literary analysis skills. You can also pay a student tutor, who will be way cheaper (and probably just as helpful for getting good grades) as a “professional” tutor.

Get a head start.

Whether you’re writing a term paper or facing a final exam, it’s always a good idea to get started early. Studying for a final exam is much more effective when you’re not rushing through the material and trying to cram everything in at the last minute.

Likewise, writing a research paper is pretty difficult if you save it for the last minute and are trying to speed read a bunch of reference books, formulate a thesis and put it all together in a well-worded essay while under time pressure! Avoiding procrastination is a necessary first step to getting good grades.

Find out what kind of learner you are.

Knowing what type of learner you are is also instrumental to getting good grades. Some people are visual learners and best learn by seeing, others are auditory learners and best remember something when they hear it, and still others are tactile or kinesthetic learners and best learn when they are moving and physically experiencing something.

Understanding how you learn can help you study in the way that is most effective for you. For example, I am an auditory learner, so I used to actually tape record myself reviewing vocabulary and notes for an exam and then listen to the tape. I also made up songs to help remember dates and events in history classes. (Of course, I only sang them in my head during exam time!) Once you figure out how you learn best, you can adapt your study style accordingly so that getting good grades is less of a challenge.

As the number of people who speak languages other than English increases, the need for translators and interpreters grows. From court proceedings requiring interpreting to businesses needing promotional materials translated into another (or several other) language(s), it’s a growing industry, both in the US and abroad. But where do you go for training as a translator or interpreter?

As it turns out, you go to Iowa. Starting in the fall, students at Northwestern College in Orange City will be able to earn a Spanish translation degree, making them only the fourth school in the country to offer translation as a major.

A Higher Degree of Linguistic Expertise

Northwestern’s Spanish translation major comes as an attempt to address the shortage of translators in the Iowa court system. Currently, there are only eleven class-A-certified interpreters in the entire state (including one of the professors at Northwestern), so there’s plenty of room for a few good experts.

The Spanish translation major doesn’t focus exclusively on legal translation, however. It’s a liberal arts degree, so it will expose students to a broad range of specializations, while at the same time paying close attention to the unique challenges faced by translators and interpreters.

If you wanted to apply your translation and interpreting degree to something other than the legal field, you have plenty of career options available. Skilled linguists are vital to many industries, so a Spanish translation major would open many doors as you begin your post-college job search.

Translating Education into Professional Success

At present, Northwestern plans to offer translation degrees only in the Spanish language. However, if the program is a success, it may encourage the addition of degrees in other languages as well, which would present many more job opportunities for those looking for a foreign language career.

The global marketplace is continually expanding, and the need for skilled translators and interpreters grows with it. More and more companies need experts to translate important documents or facilitate multi-lingual meetings, so a translation degree might  just might translate into a rewarding career.