Don't mess with a college student during finals...

First watch this:

 Breaking news: Finals are stressful.

Okay, so that's not breaking news...but it is funny how that is not really being taken into consideration by the people who filmed or posted this video.

While some people are making fun of the girl in the video for having somewhat of a freakout in the CSUN library. I can see where she was coming from. During finals I have noticed that many students are somewhat on the edge. We all - or at least most of us - are stressed out. Some finals are worth a significant amount of our grades. The real problem I see here is that people weren't being considerate of another student. I know that breathing loudly isn't something that should be freaked out about, but the girl in the video seemed like she was annoyed about people talking loudly as she was trying to study. When you're in the library to study you expect silence, or else you would've gone to a place like Starbucks. I know I have had my moments when I want to go up to someone in the library to tell them to shut up.

Finals are a time when college students are at risk for breaking down. Just earlier this week Virginia Tech had a shooting. I'm not saying this is connected to finals, but it very well could be. People are more stressed out. Students start pulling all-nighters, loading up on caffeine, and in some cases some partake in illegal activities to help them. I know people who have done drugs and taken medication such as Adderall or Ritalin to help them concentrate or stay awake. This really concerns me. It is a common practice in college now. I think the use of drugs like this and people freaking out should be taken into consideration when planning finals. Finals being worth so much of a student's grade may be easy for the professor but it is harming students in ways that sometimes are not reflected in grades. That honors student you think is the perfect student? Well yeah, they could be on a steady diet of Adderall and Starbucks. This is just one of the problems college students are facing.

Video on Ritalin and Adderall use:

On another note, I also think it is wrong to film someone and post it online without their consent. I'm sure the girl in the CSUN video doesn't appreciate it.

Journalism Scholarships

It's the time of year when many if not all students are stressing out about college applications. Another thing to add to the stress is wondering about how they are going to pay for scholarships. Fortunately, there are scholarships available to transfer students who are pursuing journalism as their major. Of course, in order to receive a scholarship it is important for the student to be in good academic standing and it helps if they have a portfolio of what they've written available. Some scholarships will ask for writing samples.

Here are some of the scholarships available:

One scholarship available is from the Inter-American Press Association. They give an annual $20,000 award to support journalists between the ages of 21 and 35 who wish to study in and report from a foreign country for one year. US journalists will spend a year studying and reporting in Latin America and the Caribbean. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is December 31st.

The William B. Ruggles National Right to Work Journalism Scholarship is a $2,000 scholarship that is given to a journalism major who "demonstrates the potential for successful completion of the educational requirements for the degree, and an understanding of voluntarism and the problems of compulsory unionism".  The deadline to submit an application for this scholarship is December 31st.

And last but not least...Google, the Online News Association, and the Associated Press have announced that they will be offering a $20,000 scholarship to six journalism students for the 2012-2013 school year. In their press release they stated, "The program is targeted to individual students creating innovative projects that further the ideals of digital journalism. A key goal is to promote geographic, gender and ethnic diversity, with an emphasis on rural and urban areas." The requirements listed on the website are as follows:

• Be a U.S. citizen
• Be a minimum of 18 years of age
• Be currently enrolled full time at an accredited U.S. post-secondary institution pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree. (College graduates returning to school are eligible to apply and must provide an acceptance letter from graduate institution.)
• Have at least one year of full-time undergraduate or graduate study remaining
• Have minimum grade point average of 3.0
• Be at least a college sophomore at time of application
• Be available for in-person or remote interviews with selection committee if selected as a finalist

 The deadline to submit applications is January 27th 2012.

In order to be taken seriously as a journalist it is important to be trained properly and have the skills necessary to look professional. Getting a degree is essential. There are many ways to get a degree without ending up with a massive amount of debt. Some scholarships require essays, some just ask you to fill out an application. Don't give up. Everyone can go to school.



You can find many more scholarships here and here.


And some relief for those of us who will have to take out student loans...