It’s not hard to see what the blog is about. Surviving College Life is meant to give useful advice and information on getting through college life. You can find posts on a variety of topics, from social advice to financing and academics.
What to look forward to when visiting this blog
About the site design, the site is clean, sleek, and organized. The posts make good use of multi-media to gain reader interest. One nice feature is that each post is marked by a signature, so it gives off a more personal feel to it. It’s just nice to see one for a change. And you can also find standard blog apps, such as RSS feeders and links to social networking sites like Facebook.
The best thing about the site is that it has a wide variety of topics to choose from. And it can be said that the topic list presented on the blog is comprehensive when it comes to issues encountered during college. You have the academics, the student financing, social life, family life, and employment topics on the blog. Having a lot of topics to cover is difficult, and being able to do that is impressive. What is both interesting and logical was the post about if you slept through an exam. At first it seemed funny, but the advice given is sound, and some may find the information useful.
Areas for improvement
Surviving College Life is a pretty good blog overall. It has lots of topics that are of interest to different people in different college levels. The only comment that can be given is that it could explore the idea of having guest writers in the blog. Aside from the comments section, it would be interesting to see different viewpoints in the blog. Especially if the writers are experts in a certain field, say, student financing. Such entries could add more value to the blog.
For those who went through college, we all know how difficult it was adjusting to the new surroundings and way of life. Didn’t we all groped around for a guide to help us through it all? Well, that’s what That College Kid tries to be. The blog gives advice and information about college life. In the blog, you can find study guides, tools, and information about what you may experience in your college life.
What this site offers
What’s interesting about the blog is that it has a decent coverage of the common issues that students encounter in college. You can find useful information on student loans, scholarships, study materials, and living in dorms. For incoming freshmen, and even for upperclassmen, there should be information on That College Kid that they can find very useful.
As for the site design, it’s easy on the eyes. Site navigation is easy, and the archives are organized. Also, you have the basic RSS subscription if you want to follow the blogs. One thing though is that it could use some work on adding some social networking sites.
Other suggestions for improvement
As for the format of the blog, it could use multi-media to spice things up. Though the content itself is interesting, some people do need some visuals to get interested in the material. And as time goes on, reading plain text can be boring. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So putting some nice images or videos won’t hurt.
The content could also use some specifics. It can be more narrowed down to a specific course or college. In line with that, it could also use more bloggers from different universities and colleges to have their say. Though the general information found on the site is useful, specific information can be more appreciated by some people.
The name of Study Hacks can be called a misnomer, but in a good sense. When people think of hacking, what enters their minds is that of some form of cheat or workaround. That is not what Study Hacks is all about. What the blog provides are good, old, basic pieces of advice in keeping you organized and focused in your college studies. And that’s what’s great about the content of the blog—the advice given are so simple to follow that you wonder why you haven’t thought of them yourself. And the most important thing is, the advice given on the site works for most people.
What’s good about this blog
The tone of the blog can be quite serious. Not the boring kind of serious, but one that gets straight to the point and gives out the essentials. And that’s one way of showing what the blog is about, being effective and productive with time and effort.
The site is well-organized as expected. Navigation is made easier by the side links which are categorized by what you may need to learn. There’s a section to get started and additional links to proceed. One of the entries that make a lot of sense is the one about becoming exceptionally good. Basically, you just have to keep working to become great at what you do so that your skills and talents just can’t be ignored. It’s basic advice, and it makes a lot of sense.
There’s not much tweaks that can be suggested for the blog because it gets its message across effectively. It also has a healthy community of people commenting on the posts, so exposure among readers is no issue. Aside from comments, people can also email Cal Newport (the owner of the blog) directly for any advice or stories to share in the blog. Overall, the setup of the blog is very good.
Hack College aims to bring more of the web into the educational system, as what they claim in their About section. And they have been doing a good job at it. Aside from that, the blog also provides very useful and practical advice on getting on with college life. The topics vary, and most of the posts do make good use of technology, particularly the Internet and the free online options and resources that it provides for students.
What to like about Hack College
One thing that’s noticeable about Hack College is the tone of its posts. It can be called the voice of the current generation. If you want your posts to have some attitude and some sarcastic humor, then Hack College is for you. And they do add valuable information that any college student could use. For example, the post about getting your textbooks for free was very informative and most probably, not a lot of students know about those options. As they also say, there’s a need to work smarter, and not harder.
The blog’s features and network is also impressive. The blog has a UK version, where it deals with college issues that the Brits deal with. Also, the blog has its own podcast that is entertaining and informative as well. As for its network, there are links for guest bloggers to share content. So everyone is free to make a contribution aside from the comments.
What can be improved
Some comments on navigation need improvement. You’d need to scroll down to the bottom of the page to check out the navigation links for the blog. Another thing to note is that the topics are archived by date only. It would be nice to have the posts sorted out by topic for the reader to head on to what interests him or her the most. But all considered, Hack College is a fun and educational read.
This blog is as what its name suggests; it is a blog about clothing style and fashion at the college scene. Of course, the blog is targeted towards female college students. Men don’t generally care about fashion, and if some do, they would be the exception rather than the rule. Back to College Fashion, the blog was born because there was no blog before that addresses college fashion specifically. And that is what College Fashion has done.
What to like about College Fashion
There are several things to like about College Fashion. The fashion tips on this blog are wide and varied. You can find several fashion advice for different seasons and there are information about different get-ups and attires. Aside from those, you can also find posts about the latest, and somewhat controversial, fashion trends. One post that’s very attention-grabbing is the one where you’re asked whether or not you’re willing to wear a visible bra, or having your bra showing from your outfit.
The growing blog community is also noteworthy. Now you can find different blog writers from various colleges and universities in the US. This gives out a more localized view of college fashion and you also get a real feel for the current fashion trends in different colleges.
Suggestions for improvement
There really isn’t much to suggest to College Fashion. One thing that could be a nice addition is to have a fashion expert as a guest blogger and share some tips and advice. It would also be nice if they can have a make-over feature, where they’ll give a fahion-challenged student and transform her to a fashion diva. In line with that, a fashion advice column would also be interesting to see.
All in all, College Fashion is doing a good job at what it does—giving good fashion tips and information to college students.
