"Hi, do you come here a lot? What classes are you taking? We've never met but I've spent a lot of time on your facebook page." This is the sorry state of male communication with women in college. Guys are relying on e-mail, facebook and text messages to communicate with girls in college because doing it in person is much harder.

Lacking strong communication skills, many guys drink while socializing with women in order to feel more comfortable. But why do they feel uncomfortable in the first place? Some would say it’s natural and there’s nothing that can be done about it. But although rare, there are men who always feel relaxed and confident when meeting women. The truth is that the majority of college guys have underdeveloped communication skills.

Making matters worse is the acceptance of this poor communication with women. Most college guys spend no time improving their social skills because they don't think it's a problem that has a solution. Because a majority of college men have bad communication skills with women, looking at the guys around them for answers only reinforces the thought that there's no room for improvement. Men commonly believe that women are attracted to money, looks, and fame, and if you don't have these than you're left out. Most guys think that there is no hope if a girl doesn't find them physically attractive from the beginning.

The truth is that the ability to effectively communicate is the single most powerful skill a guy can have when socializing with a woman. And the good news for guys is that this is a skill that can be learned and perfected. Turns out that the same reason a guy finds it difficult to meet a girl and get to know her is why he would find it difficult to play the saxophone in his school's music concert. He doesn’t have a teacher and he's never practiced.

No one can walk, speak, or play an instrument at birth. They have to learn these skills and communication with women happens to be a skill that few guys have taken the time to learn. But just as your college professors teach you about English, math, and science, there are men who can teach you how to communicate with women.

My roommate freshman year in college was one of these men. He was not particularly good looking, he was not an athlete, and he was not well known in school. But after spending 20 minutes at a college party or any social function, he had girls and guys standing around him smiling and nodding their heads. For reasons I could not explain at the time, women seemed to like him more than any other guy in the room. He was very comfortable talking to strangers and while most guys would be nervous starting a conversation with a girl they did not know, he found it to be exciting. I remember telling him that he naturally had the social skills that so many guys wanted. "You need to teach this stuff," I told him. But he wasn't interested in teaching. Fortunately, I was.

Many top CEO's and self improvement guru's, such as Tony Robbins, commonly say that the best way to learn something is to model a person who is doing it well. When I was a kid I wanted to become a better hockey player so I copied the way Wayne Gretzky always kept his head up when he skated. In the same way, I began to model my roommate's social behaviors, focusing on his body language, the things he said, and how he responded to questions and disagreements from women.

Modeling a successful person however, is only half the equation. Few people know that although Gretzky was naturally gifted he also practiced 8 to 9 hours per day as a kid which enabled him to dominate in the NHL. If a college guy wants to improve his communication skills with women, he has to practice.

How do you practice your communication skills? Start being much more social. After learning from my roommate I started communicating with women as often as I could, frequenting social functions and talking with 5-10 girls every time. I began to see clear patterns in their responses. Certain things I said or did constantly produced positive responses while other things always produced negative ones. This social practice, along with the modeling of other socially successful men, resulted in my ability to communicate very effectively with women. I have used this new social skill to form fulfilling friendships and to attract incredible women into my life.

I want to share with you three important communication patterns I saw with girls that can make you a much better communicator.

1. If you want a better response from a girl, you have to ask better questions. What is your major, how old are you, where are you from, and what dorm do you live in are questions that have one-word non-emotional answers.

   If you want a girl to be more interested in your conversation you need to her to feel emotional about something. What excites you? What are you passionate about? What is one of your happiness memories? How does (the subject she's talking about) make you feel? These are questions that make every girl pause and go into an emotional state, allowing for a deeper and more meaningful conversation. Contrarily, in the beginning of a conversation, you should never ask women about their problems or initiate negative topics. If you do, they will begin to feel negative emotions and they will link them to you.



2. Don’t excessively compliment girls or compliment too quickly upon the first meeting. Most guys think that complimenting a girl will make her like them but the opposite is true. Complimenting a girl too often during a conversation or as soon as you meet her subconsciously indicates that you have no inherent value. You are relying on your compliment instead of your personality to make the girl interested in you. This is unattractive to women because they will see your compliments as a disguise for your lack of personality.


3. Don’t change your opinion just so it matches with the girl you’re talking to. If you tell a girl you love to play baseball and she says she finds the game boring, many guys would quickly change their opinion to match the girls, with a comment such as, "Yeah, it can be really slow, I don't play that much anymore." This is unattractive because women are attracted to strong minded men. Disagreeing with a girl when her opinion differs from yours is always more attractive then agreeing with everything she says.

The problem for college men is that it’s much easier to find a music professor who can teach them to play the saxophone than it is to find a communication coach who can teach them to attract women. The internet abounds with websites teaching men how to "seduce," "pick up," and "get hot chicks" but these resources are solely focused on the art of the one night stand and leave out the millions of guys who want to learn how to meet, communicate, and hang out with a girl on their campus they're attracted to.

This problem along with the urging of my many friends who I had been giving social advice to for years, led me to create ListenActAttract.com, a website dedicated to teaching men in college how to attract women. Many college guys feel lost when they see a girl they would love to meet. Other guys settle for spending time with a girl who is interested in them rather than pursuing the girl they are really attracted to. ListenActAttract.com was made for both types of guys.

A problem that so many guys have finally has a cure. Communication with women. First find a teacher. Then practice. Life just got a lot more fun.

Ryan Clauson
Director
Listen Act Attract

Everybody has their own reasons as to why they should live on or off campus. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages that make both a viable solution for where to live while at College. Here's a quick comparison to give you the ins and outs of both sides so that you can make an informed decision on what choice is appropriate for your life.

Living on Campus

The biggest advantage of living on campus is that all of your needs are paid for. Whether that means through grants, loans, or your parents is a different story, but here and now it's already covered in the same bill that your tuition is.

• Living on campus means you're right near your classes so waking up late is often not serious enough of an distance to prevent you from sprinting to your class in pajama's before it's too late.


• There's three or more meals a day available to you and a majority of your friends will be all around you instead of being a good distance away.


• The dorms are a great place to meet new people in College. Some of these people will turn into life long friends.

Living off Campus

Living off campus gives you more freedom and more responsibilities.

• You'll be able to decide exactly where to live and what to eat on a day to day basis.


• Your car will be parked right in front of your house, making it easy for you to come and go as you please.


• If you wanted to, you could entertain a large number of people at any point and even drink if you're of age.


• Living in your own apartment or shared house will usually cost you more, but it can be much larger in space and more private (in some cases) than the cramped dorm rooms.


• Your own place means new responsibilities, such as cleaning up around the house, paying utility bills and being a responsible renter.

But both situations have their down falls as well. Consider the fact that if you're not working and living on campus, you can still make do as you don't necessarily need a car or to pay rent but if you were off campus you'd need a job or a loan. However, if you're 21 or older, you might not be able to drink in your dorm if your school is a dry campus and the chances of your car being that close by or even having parking available may be nonexistent. Unfortunately in both situations you'll be presented with the possibility of annoying roommates, moving out just lets you buy your privacy directly.

There are positives and negatives to both sides of the situation, just make sure that you know the full details of what you're getting into and whether or not the benefits out weigh the requirements.

Navigating your way through college can be a difficult and exhausting task for a lot of college students. The ongoing bombardment of tests, thick accented teachers, and hard to meet deadlines is enough to drive anyone crazy. With that said, it is important to add something else to your already packed to-do list: Leadership experience. This will help you immediately and you will see the long-term rewards of this as you try to apply for a job and when you actually become part of the work force.

Most of you are sighing and squirming as you read the above text because it would mean another addition to your hectic schedule. While there is some reason to be pessimistic about this, if you really look into it and spend a bit of time researching what exactly you want to do, it can actually turn into a fun and rewarding experience that will complement your busy schedule and not necessarily wreck chaos on it.

How exactly can you acquire that invaluable leadership experience?

Many colleges offer a plethora of clubs and organizations on campus and are open to all students. This is a great opportunity to meet people who are like-minded and is a great time to network while in college. The good thing about these clubs is that since there are so many of them, you are almost guaranteed to find something that will suit your style. In the rare case that something that you are interested in is not available, you will have the option to start your own club.

Do you enjoy making hard decisions that will affect the student body as a whole? Do you have a passion for politics and consider it a possible career path? Join Student Government and attain great communication and leadership skills that will most assuredly help pad your official resume when you are ready for a job. If helping fellow students and guiding them on the right path is more your style, join the Peer Advisory Board. A group of students who dedicate themselves to make sure freshmen are off on the right foot and attempt to keep everyone out of trouble and following the right path to a college degree. This can look very good on a resume and will allow you to attain valuable life knowledge while giving you the satisfaction of helping other people.

All in all, involving yourself in your College or University will allow you to gain valuable transferable workplace skills like decision-making, organization, communication, teamwork, and critical thinking skills. All of these are invaluable assets that most employees seek in potential hires. These skills will be the perfect compliment to your class work and will allow you to become a well-rounded individual that any company would love to have in their ranks.

Although religion is not on the state schools’ agenda it is nonetheless a part of many students lives. For those students who have more of a religious background and faith, sometimes it may be hard to cope with religion and College. Luckily, there are usually religious based groups or clubs on campus available for students to join. This is a good place to meet fellow students who share the same faith and beliefs.

When you go to college, for many young people, it is their first time away from the family home and so it can be a bit of a shock for anyone. It is even more of a shock if you come from a religious background and hold a strong religious belief yourself. Many students appear to run a bit wild during their first taste of being away from home and this is quite disturbing if you have firm ideas regarding what is, and what is not acceptable behavior.

The first thing you should know is that almost everyone feels unsure of themselves when they start college – it is just that people have different ways of dealing with their insecurity. If you are religious then it is highly likely that you will spend time in prayer and reading your bible (or other sacred text if you are not a Christian) in order to deal with the situation.

Sometimes religious students can feel quite isolated, especially if you have no inclination to keep partying and indulging in heavy petting or pre-marital intercourse. If you also steer clear of alcohol and smoking then it is often the case that you become the butt of fellow students’ jokes and pranks. Rather than helping you to loosen up, this behavior is more likely to make you go further into yourself and this can make college life very difficult.

If you do have a strong religious belief and want to stick by the teachings of your faith while you are at college then it is a good idea to find out what sort of support would be available while you are there. Most colleges for example, have access to a chaplaincy service or local ministers and imams and it is a good idea to make sure that you have the details in case you want to access these services.

Ministers, whatever their persuasion know how difficult it can be when you first get to college; they also know that it is not easy for a religious person to find their niche in the new set up. It is good to be able to go to someone and know that they will understand how your are feeling – they are probably used to dealing with students who feel just the way you do and will be able to pray with you and advise you on how best to deal with both other students and your own feelings. Once you know that help is at hand it is often more easier to find your own way through things and enjoy the rest of your time at college.

The FAFSA deadline is one of those deadlines that sneaks up on you and is here before you know it. This is surely a deadline you won’t want to miss and if missed, could easily cost you thousands of dollars in possible financial aid disbursement.

While getting the application or renewal in super early won’t significantly increase your financial aid, why wait? The one unfortunate thing that does slow down the application for financial aid is the fact that those applying must wait until all proper income taxes have been filed. Since most people seem to wait until the mid-April deadline, this brings a flood of FAFSA applications submitted shortly there after. Just make sure your calendars are properly marked, as the FAFSA deadline is not something you will want to miss.

The Federal FAFSA deadline is June 30.

However, the deadline for your state or school may be different from the federal deadline and additional forms may need to be filled out. Check with a financial aid administrator at your school about state and school sources of financial aid and deadlines.

When you submit your FAFSA on the web, be sure to print out the confirmation page and store it for your records. This page has a confirmation number with the exact date and time the form was received and is your proof that you did indeed file on time.

State FAFSA Deadlines

To see your specific State’s deadline, see the list below. If your State is not listed, then schools within that State each have their own set deadline so check with your financial aid office.

Alaska - must be received by April 15.
Arizona - must be received by June 30.
Arkansas - For Academic Challenge, must be received by June 1. For Higher Education Opportunity Grant - June 1 (fall term) and November 1 (spring term).
California - For initial awards, must be received by March 2, 2008. For additional community college awards, must be postmarked by September 2, 2008.
Connecticut - must be received by February 15.
Delaware - must be received by April 15.
District of Columbia - must be received by June 30.
Florida - Applications are processed by May 15.
Idaho - must be received by March 1.
Illinois - For 1st time applicants: September 30, 2008. For renewing applicants: August 15, 2008.
Indiana - must be received by March 10, 2008.
Iowa - must be received by July 1.
Kansas - must be received by April 1.
Kentucky - must be received by March 15.
Louisiana - must be received by July 1.
Maine - must be received by May 1.
Maryland - must be received by March 1.
Massachusetts - must be received by May 1.
Michigan - must be received by March 1.
Minnesota - must be received by 30 days after term starts.
Mississippi - MTAG and MESG Grants: September 15, 2008 and HELP Scholarship is processed by March 31, 2008.
Missouri - must be received by April 1.
Montana - must be received by March 1.
New Hampshire - must be received by May 1.
New Jersey - June 1, 2008 if you received a Tuition Aid Grant in 2007-2008 All other applications - October 1, 2008, for fall and spring terms; March 1, 2009, for spring term only.
New York - must be received by May 1, 2009.
North Carolina - must be received by March 15.
North Dakota - must be received by March 15.
Ohio - must be received by October 1, 2008.
Oklahoma - must be received by April 15.
Pennsylvania - All 2007-2008 State Grant recipients and all non-2007-2008 State Grant recipients in degree programs: May 1, 2008, all others: August 1, 2008.
Rhode Island - must be received by March 1.
South Carolina - must be received by June 30, 2008.
Tennessee - For State Grant: March 1, 2008, for State Lottery: September 1, 2008.
West Virginia - must be received by March 1.

Spanish is one of the more popular Foreign Languages

For some majors, a foreign language is beneficial. International relations and politic students would find nothing but use in studying a foreign language. It can open the door to getting a job, for those taking these courses, in a foreign country with the tongue you studied. The same can be said for any international business majors. While most international employees you may meet while working abroad with an international business degree probably speak English, foreign people always appreciate those attempting to speak their language. It could even be a deciding factor in impressing a CEO into creating an important partnership.

However, studying a foreign language in a college made up of English speakers doesn’t always help. You are integrated into the language for 2 hours a week and surrounded by familiar language the other 166 hours. Many students complain that it is because of this that they feel studying a foreign language in college isn’t a good idea.

Most College students now days have taken two, maybe three years of foreign language in high school and see little benefit to go on learning the language further. Major hesitations among college students taking a foreign language in College include time, dedication and grades. Taking a foreign language is far different than any other course. There is strictly no room for slack and falling behind and not doing the class work, as once your behind in a foreign language class it is very difficult to catch back up. Of course, there are quick learners out there, but a foreign language is easily more demanding than most other electives.

Taking a foreign language is a good compliment to most majors. Take business majors for example; A student with a business degree paired with a minor in a foreign language makes a great candidate for international business and studies. Are you looking for a career that requires you to travel? This could be your ticket to travel all around the world for the company you work for.

If you can honestly dedicate yourself to learning another language…go for it! You will reap many benefits far beyond College and really separate yourself from a crowded job market.