Posts Tagged ‘college student’

Crash Course Connections Ch. 7: Far From Campus

Thursday, July 31st, 2025

If I could recommend one thing to do during your college experience, it would be to study abroad. After spending half of high school in lockdown, travel in coming to college started to feel like a real possibility rather than just a Pinterest board of pipe dreams. Eventually, I stopped decorating my walls with vacation photos and started packing my bags.

Since there are so many positives to this experience, I’ll start with the negatives.

The hardest part of going abroad is uprooting your comfortable little life. You don’t realize how much you take for granted until you’re away from it all – being close to home, your friends, your favorite coffee shop, or even just being able to speak the same language as everyone around you. It takes adjusting, just like moving to college took adjusting. But by the end of it, you come out of the experience as a new, and likely better, version of yourself. You become more cultured, more curious, and more empathetic. More human.

The more you embrace unfamiliar people, cultures, perspectives, and experiences, the more you discover parts of yourself you didn’t even know existed.

This series is all about connections, so let’s get into the people you meet abroad.

Study abroad friends from Florence, pictured on our first group trip to Vietri Sul Mare.

My first time studying abroad was in Florence, Italy. I was lucky enough to go with one of my best friends, which made for the perfect travel buddy situation. I quickly made new friends, fell into a rhythm of exploring Western Europe, and soaked up every moment. I’m still close with the people I met in Florence. In fact, I’m probably closer to them now than we were during the actual semester. Something about traveling together either bonds… or breaks.

When you’re sharing cramped Airbnbs and catching 6 a.m. flights with a group, tensions flare. Sometimes for no reason other than everyone being tired and irritable. That’s when you learn: you need a certain disposition to just go with the flow when things don’t go as planned. Because they won’t. And if you can’t, the trip will suffer.

I’ve traveled with people I thought I could barely tolerate for more than twenty minutes. But then we came home, stepped outside of the travel bubble, and became completely different people to each other. Some friendships really do blossom after the fact, but not all connections are meant to last. Fleeting encounters, whether platonic, romantic, or something in between, are practically a hallmark of solo travel.

For my second semester abroad, I went to London. Not exactly a massive departure from New York, but it was European enough to feel like an escape. This time, I went alone. I didn’t know a single soul going in, which made it both lonely and liberating.

A walk down Tower Bridge from my semester in London.

At first, the idea of traveling solo scared me. There’s comfort in having people to help plan, navigate, and share the experience with. Going to Marrakech, Morocco, by myself pushed me to manage all aspects of the trip—budgeting, timing, safety, and decision-making. I got to spend my time exactly how I wanted, without having to consider anyone else’s needs. I could fully be me, or I could be someone completely new. How exciting!

Solo travel forced me to connect in ways I wouldn’t have otherwise. From the person in the hostel bed next to mine to the local sitting beside me in a café to strangers in markets and museums, I had some instant connections. There was Puck in Dublin and the group I met in Barcelona. I flirted with strangers, danced merengue with people I’ll never see again, and made memories that feel almost dreamlike now.

And that’s okay. Those light, transient moments are beautiful precisely because they’re temporary. They exist in their purest form: no pressure, no expectations, no future to complicate the memory.

Of course, I still try to exchange socials. Why not? We live in an age where staying in touch is easier than ever. But I also make peace with the idea that not every connection is built to last. Some people are meant to be shooting stars—bright, brief, and unforgettable.

My best friend and I in Paris, posing in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral.
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By Logan O’Connor

Logan is a rising senior at NYU pursuing degrees in Journalism and Politics. She grew up on Long Island, but always dreamed of living in New York City. When she’s not in class or at her favorite local cafe, you can find her wandering the city (film camera in hand) or baking up a storm in her kitchen.

For over 25 years, the Campus Clipper has helped college students in New York City—and later in Boston and Philadelphia—save money and succeed in city life. We offer a digital coupon booklet with discounts on food, clothing, and services, plus an Official Student Guidebook with real advice on how to navigate college life in a big city. Our internship program lets students build skills, earn money, and publish their own e-books. Follow us on Instagram andTikTok @CampusClipper, and sign up for ournewsletter to get deals straight to your inbox. To access the digital coupons, scan the QR code on our printed card—available in dorms, student centers, and around campus.

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Dreamland Ch. 4: You are not a sellout, you are just 20 years old

Thursday, July 3rd, 2025

Every college student struggles with time management, with classes piling upon classes and the additional pressure to build your resume with clubs, jobs, internships. They say every hour of your day should be spent investing in the rest of your life, which leaves nanoseconds for fostering hobbies and interests. But over time, it gets easier. I’m surely not the first to say to you that you should allow yourself free time; that in itself is investment in your future. If you have it figured out, congratulations. 

I do not.

It’s not so much that I overbook my time or even procrastinate. More often than not, I frontload my work and finish all my smaller tasks before the weekend. I take pride in my work ethic when it comes to my academic life, but the remaining time is no man’s land, a space where a million obligations orbit and eclipse one another. When I’m writing, I think to myself that I should be applying to jobs. When I’m applying to jobs or generally lengthening my resume, I want to be writing because it feels more meaningful. I often end up doing neither, and the idleness at once comforts me and tugs at my skin.

This is only a dilemma because my brain compartmentalizes these two activities — writing books, and working toward a good resume — as not only different things but polar opposites. There is a solid rationale here. I’m not pursuing creative writing as my full-time career, which means I have to find other things I’m interested in that suit me. That’s what I suggest everyone does. However, I find myself also separating the pursuit of stability and the pursuit of fulfillment and creativity. 

I end up prioritizing quantity over quality. In many ways, this works. You should apply to and try out as many things as possible to find what you like. But sometimes this habit decays into an ingrained psychology where what I’m interested in does not matter. Anything will do, as long as I am doing it.

Content warning: job application. Image Credit: https://www.verstela.com/blog/tips-to-get-your-job-application-noticed/

In practice, I haven’t done anything that I absolutely despise. Not yet, at least. But no matter what I do, I feel that I should be doing more, something better, something that plants a direct line to six figures by my mid-twenties. I don’t actually care that much about money, but that lack of care itself is a huge privilege that I might someday lose. Rent is so expensive everywhere, entry-level positions require master’s degrees, eggs are a million dollars, and I still haven’t made time to write today.

The more I spiral, the sillier and guiltier I feel worrying about problems that I created. Isn’t it so terrible that I can’t manage my time at a prestigious university because I get insecure sometimes? There’s no “but” here. It really is just silly. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t want to waste the amazing opportunities I’ve had by making no solid, practical plans for a job, but I also don’t want to waste my capacity to care about things outside of these plans. 

Like me, you may be a natural creative and plan to pursue something adjacent to that passion (or entirely separate from that passion, even) with your creative outlet on the side. Like me, you may not know which you should focus on at any given time, because each is unfulfilling in its own way, emotionally or financially. The best advice I can give you is to avoid thinking of your creative passion as lesser or smaller and instead let it run parallel to your practical pursuits.

I’m sort of stating the obvious here, I know, but it’s very easy to abandon parts of yourself when you grow up, and that abandonment begins in your formative years. In between classes and other obligations, you should be making time to tend to your lifelong dreams, even if they end up having nothing to do with your career. Don’t treat them as a waste, and don’t even treat them as a hobby. Treat them as sustenance, the very essence of you. 

And if you want some even better advice, make a schedule for each week. Life-changing.

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By Oshmi Ghosh

Oshmi Ghosh is a rising junior at NYU’s College of Arts and Sciences, pursuing a bachelor’s degree in English with minors in Creative Writing, History, and Entertainment Business. You can usually find her appreciating the simple things in life: tea with milk and sugar, a good book, and/or intensely competitive board games.

For over 25 years, the Campus Clipper has helped college students in New York City—and later in Boston and Philadelphia—save money and succeed in city life. We offer a digital coupon booklet with discounts on food, clothing, and services, plus an Official Student Guidebook with real advice on how to navigate college life in a big city. Our internship program lets students build skills, earn money, and publish their own e-books. Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @CampusClipper, and sign up for our newsletter to get deals straight to your inbox. To access the digital coupons, scan the QR code on our printed card—available in dorms, student centers, and around campus.

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Pitfalls of Chasing the Clock

Friday, March 8th, 2024

The countdown is never-ending, the countdown for the next test, for the next paper, for finals. During my practice, the timer does not stop. It consumes my efforts to have the fastest time and be the most efficient and skilled on and off the water. As busy college students, we are all familiar with the feeling of searching for time. What I’ve learned, and still am learning, is the importance of prioritizing, taking a step back, and recognizing what I want and need to accomplish and how much I have already done. 

There are moments during the school year when I’ve felt stuck in an endless cycle of completing a task and beginning a new one. Overwhelmed and unsure of where to start, focusing and using precious time effectively becomes difficult. Everyone’s way of coping and time management strategies varies, but for me, I found breaking down my work into smaller tasks and dedicating blocks of time to work on these more straightforward assignments is the best way to feel accomplished at the end of a busy day and set up to do it all over again in the morning.

Latin homework translations on the Amtrak

This strategy primarily works when I’m in season, and my weekends typically spent studying or writing essays are taken up by races. Instead of struggling to make up for the lost time, I find myself reading my assigned texts while working out for extra steady-state minutes or listening to news podcasts while walking to class. Multi-tasking has become a convenient way to finish simple tasks, and when I have larger chunks of time in my schedule, I can dedicate those to completing more daunting assignments such as drafting my close-reading analysis paper or studying for my Latin exam. Despite these time constraints, I always know I can meet any task and deadline and not crack under time pressure. I always remind myself to be kind to my needs and mind, knowing that my essays, projects, and homework assignments were completed with my best foot forward. 

Reading a Shakespeare play outside

Creating time with these means proves it’s not about going through the motions but setting intentions and feeling confident in the process. There will be days when you trip and fall, perhaps working too hard on one assignment and dedicating no time to studying for an upcoming exam, but there will also be days when you find your stride in your productivity, seizing rather than spending time in ways that are most beneficial to you. 

There is only so much time students have in a day. While it may be frustrating, it is crucial to remember that there will always be another day, another opportunity to begin again and seize the day with intention. By breaking down challenging tasks, there will always be a way to make time for yourself and truly enjoy college life.

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By Lecia Sun

Lecia is a student at Tufts University studying Classics and World Literature. When she is not reading, she can be found attempting the New York Times Games, trying out a new creative hobby, and dreaming about her next great bake. 

For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.  

At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.


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Chapter 1- From New Jersey to Boston: The Decision to Move to a City

Friday, July 30th, 2021

As a junior in high school, there were only a few things I was sure of. The first was I wanted to go to a college where I could major in English and writing. These were always the subjects I was most passionate about in high school and I wanted to study something I enjoyed in college, so this choice felt clear. The second thing I was sure of is that I wanted to study abroad, preferably in London. I had always been drawn to London for some reason. Perhaps it’s because the city left a lasting impression on me after repeatedly watching the 1998 version of The Parent Trap and Mary Poppins throughout my childhood. Also, as a prospective English major, it made sense to study abroad in the country where writers like Shakespeare, Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters lived. However, the gigantically glaring question that I had no answer to was this: where would I go to college?

I grew up in a town in New Jersey that is approximately a square mile and my graduating class was less than a hundred people. I had seen countless romanticized depictions in movies, books and TV shows about people moving from small towns to big cities, thus the idea of going somewhere totally different was intriguing to me. I wasn’t particularly keen on applying to any schools in New York City. It was a city I was accustomed to visiting at least twice a year and I never foresaw myself living there. It was simply too bustling for me. After doing some research, I discovered a few universities and colleges in Boston that piqued my interest. This eventually led to my uncle and I driving to Massachusetts to visit Northeastern University, Boston College, Emerson College and Boston University.

Campuses, Maps & Directions - About BC - Boston College
Boston College. Image Credit: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/about/maps-and-directions.html 

When we were not taking campus tours led by eager students, my uncle and I decided to wander around Boston and part of the surrounding suburbs, like Brookline. During our exploration of Boston, it began to dawn on me that spending a few days exploring the city and living there were two distinct things. While walking around Brookline one evening and peeking into various storefronts, I realized that if I chose Boston, I wouldn’t be a tourist in the city. If I ended up in Boston, I wouldn’t be staying in a hotel with a relative and returning home in a couple days. I would be living in this urban center on my own, which was daunting to consider, yet part of me was also excited to think of all the independence, activities and resources I would have at my disposal. 

Commonwealth Avenue, Boston University campus
Boston University. Image Credit: https://www.bu.edu/bostonia/winter-spring15/us-news-ranks-bu-37-of-top-500-global-universities/ 

I didn’t let my mind set on definitely going to school in Boston, though. I applied to colleges and universities in both Pennsylvania and New Jersey, so that I could be closer to home. Some of these schools even fit the idea of what I pictured a college campus to look like, with their green spaces, quads and stone facade buildings. As time passed after I submitted my applications and I was just anxiously waiting to hear back from all these schools, I subconsciously began to assume that I would most likely end up staying in New Jersey. I thought that the probability of me being accepted into the more competitive out-of-state schools was slim and it would be more financially feasible to remain in-state. Also, by the winter of my senior year of high school, everything started to feel real. I would actually be graduating, no longer see the same faces everyday and go to college. If I ended up going out of state, I would have to say goodbye to my family, which was beginning to feel like another massive change I wasn’t entirely prepared for. I was, and still am, close to my family and the thought of leaving behind this crucial support system was terrifying. 

However, on a fateful Saturday morning in March of 2017, I was shocked to be accepted into Boston University, especially after receiving a rejection from Northeastern two days prior. What was even more surprising was the financial aid package, which made BU a feasible option. Boston University certainly checked off a lot of boxes for me: I could afford to go, they had programs that interested me, I could study abroad, I would be guaranteed housing for four years, etc. Of course I was apprehensive about leaving home, but as the astonishment wore off in the following weeks, I told myself that I would regret not taking the opportunity to move somewhere new and experience being on my own. Therefore, with nervous excitement, I accepted the offer to begin my undergraduate studies at Boston University in the fall of 2017. 

Quick tip: choosing a school for either undergraduate or graduate studies is a pretty monumental decision, so you shouldn’t feel afraid to make inquiries. Whether it is sending an email to someone or posing a question when touring a campus, it will help you gather all the information you need in order to decide where to apply and, ultimately, what school to select. For instance, at the end of my campus tour of BU, I asked the tour guide about the study abroad program. It turned out that he had just returned from studying abroad in Geneva and he described the application process and what it was like living in a different country. Even though it was only one person’s account, I felt more confident in and curious about BU’s study abroad program after hearing someone else’s experience. It could also be helpful to make a list and prioritize what you are looking for in a college. What is most important to you: location, financial aid, research opportunities, study abroad options, housing, classroom size, campus lifestyle, etc.?

By: Monica Manzo

Monica Manzo recently completed her undergraduate studies at Boston University where she majored in English and minored in History. Currently, she is planning on applying for some masters programs in publishing. In her free time, she can be found either reading or adding to her pile of unread books.

For over 20 years, the Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC,  from the East Side to Greenwich Village. Along with inspiration, the company offers students a special coupon booklet and the Official Student Guide, which encourages them to discover new places in the city and save money on food, clothing, and services.  At the Campus Clipper, not only do we help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create wonderful e-books, we give them a platform to teach others. Check our website for more student savings and watch our YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during the Welcome Week of 2015.


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How to Live Stress Free and Musically: How Music Imitates Life

Monday, February 1st, 2016

Before I start, I’d like to give a quick shout out to the Campus Clipper. The Campus Clipper has been offering awesome student discounts in NYC, from the East Side to Greenwich Village. The company helps support students in so many ways, from their coupon booklet to their Official Student Guide. Now, on to the blog!

HOW MUSIC IMITATES LIFE

A lot of the people that I have been lucky enough to have in my life have either been musicians or music junkies. When I started college, I played guitar but not well. It wasn’t until my second semester of my first year that I developed a passion for the guitar thanks to Professor Kizzie. As my guitar instructor, he taught me the fundamentals of musical notation, listening to music and writing music. But often times, the conversation would turn from the notes on the treble clef to my future. Like a grandpa, he would sit back in his chair and ask the ultimate question anyone’s dad or grandpa might ask- “So what are you going to do with your life?” When the lesson took this turn, I would always be a bit flustered and reluctant to answer. How do I know what I’m going to do with the rest of my life? I’m an English major, isn’t that enough? It wasn’t until the second semester of my junior year that I was able to hear him ask me this without feeling like he just asked me how much I weighed. I was finally able to answer confidently, “I want to write.” There was a pause and the second half of my answer, “I want to play music too.”

violin-new

Coincidentally, this was the same lesson in which I mastered a piece by Bach, one of the most difficult pieces I’ve actually ever played. I think his point in asking me what I was going to do with my life was to get me to say what I really wanted to do. Until that day, I felt I wanted to just write because it was a reasonable use of my time, a way to make some money and it is something that I genuinely enjoy. His point was that he knew that I loved music as much as I loved writing and he said, “There’s nothing wrong with making it a part of what you do for a living, the money part will come eventually.” As far as how I plan to combine my love of writing with my love of music, I haven’t quite figured it out yet but I will eventually and so will you.

johann-sebastian-bach-4e33e4b36a6fe

~~~~~

By Janet Reyes

A few words from the Campus Clipper –

The Campus Clipper not only help our interns learn new skills, make money, and create these amazing E-Books, but we give them a platform to teach others. Follow each new blog post to read a chapter of our various books and to learn how the Campus Clipper can help you follow your dreams!

Craving student savings while you catch up on your reading? Click on the link to download the Official Campus Clipper Coupon Booklet! And check out our newest YouTube video showing off some of New York City’s finest students during this year’s Welcome Week!

 

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My love for travel

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

The trick to packing is to roll your clothes.   You can fit more if you roll and not fold.  Don’t pack white socks and Nike’s.   Unless you want your pockets picked.  Yep, that’s what makes you stand out as a tourist; white socks and Nikes.

It was the summer that I was excited about.  My friends and I were going to Spain for a month.  I met the girls at my summer job that year.  We were working at a midtown outdoor restaurant and lounge.  Everything was planned; we would visit Madrid, Valencia and Barcelona and we would stay in hostels.

In Madrid we had late night tapas; we dined mostly in the  outdoor restaurants for two to three hours, just as everyone else did.  No one was ever in a rush to leave and the waitress was never eager to bring the check over.  In Valencia we had paella.  We also found a decent hotel for a very decent price and indulged over selves in the luxury.  It was a nice break from staying in hostels; which were to my surprise, pleasing and extremely affordable.

Our trip ended in Barcelona, where we basked on the beach during the day and danced with the city at night.  We were standing in front of a cathedral on our last day; wearing white socks and Nikes.  It was a sunny and crowded day.  I was being tossed and turned and struggled to find my way through the crowd to reach my friends.  When I did reach the girls, I noticed that my friend’s backpack was open.  A few moments later we realized that she had been robbed.  Her money and driver’s license was gone.

We were told that we stood out as tourists because of our attire.  It was an unfortunate experience but we hoped that the culprit made good use of their new found fortune.  The experience didn’t frighten us too much or scare us away from traveling.  We chucked it up to learning and got better at blending in.

Traveling is just one of my great loves.  Not just family vacations and spring break, but visiting other countries, trying new food, and experiencing culture.  The pickpocketing experience was a lesson on safer ways to travel.  If you pack right, blend in and try not to look like a lost tourist, traveling will be much more rewarding.

Rona, Columbia University, School of General Studies

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Making Copies

Friday, February 10th, 2012

“Mak-ing cop-ies. College kid at the copy machine making cop-ies, but doesn’t have the mon-ey.”

If you’re familiar with SNL from the 90’s then you know I’m quoting Rob Scneider’s “Copy Guy.”

There’s no telling how many copies I’ve had to make for classes throughout my college career, and I don’t even want to guess how much it’s cost me. Printing off single sheets is pretty cheap, but the bill starts to add up when you have to make 30 copies of your 10-page short story for the entire class.

You have to be smart and a little stingy when it comes to making copies, or else you’ll have to start dipping into your daily bagel fund. You need to find a place with NYC student discounts! Not everyone has a copy machine in their apartment so, like me, you wait til the last second to make copies of an assignment and you’re forced to email a PDF to the place down the street and be at the mercy of their prices.

 

Spare yourself. Stop dipping into your bagel/coffee reserve, and go to Campus Clipper for their copy coupons.

What about résumés? You have to have copies of your résumé on hand for when you go to an interview or meet with a potential network contact. Your résumé is a representation of you on paper, so you want it to look good and feel good quality in order to impress anyone who looks at it. This week I had to print off a few copies of my résumé for a job interview and I truly wish I had some NYC student discounts to take the edge off the price. It’s worth the investment to get good copies made, but I’ve learned my lesson– use a coupon!

Making numerous copies on résumé grade paper adds up much quicker than regular printing paper, so cutting coupons before you make your copies will go a long way.

Paul, Auburn University 2012

Check out my blog and follow me on twitter!

Click here  to download the Campus Clipper iTunes App!

Follow Campus Clipper on Twitter or keep current by liking us on Facebook

Interested in more deals for students? Sign up for our bi-weekly newsletter to get the latest in student discounts and promotions. For savings on-the-go, download our printable coupon e-book!

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