Who am I? What does your personality type mean?

Have you ever thought about the sort of person you are?

Recently, I discovered a psychometric test commonly known as the Briggs-Meyer test. I may be waaaaaay behind the curve here but if you haven't done it I highly recommend that you do.

The test is 75% accurate. It gives you a four letter personality type from sixteen recognised types. The type of personality that you have can give a good indication of the careers you could try, and outlines your desirable qualities and also what you, for want of a better phrase, might want to work on.

Try the test here Human Metrics and come back and tell me what you are and if it's accurate for you. I'm really interested.

Me? I'm INTJ. This is the rarest group. For me as a female, it's even more rare. My good points are that I'm reliable, intelligent, and able to build systems to help others. I'm fiercey independent and capable. My challenges are that I'm not overly good at expressing my feelings and tend to assume everyone else is an idiot if they don't see things from my perspective. It's pretty accurate for me. I need to work on some stuff.

It told me that I should have a career as a scientist (probably too late for me), an academic (I'm working on it), or as a business consultant (which is partly what I do for a day job). 

It also says that if I was a Harry Potter character, I would be Draco. I disagree that Draco Malfoy is an INTJ (he's a bit of a bumbling idiot). Not everyone who has an evil mind is INTJ. Evil mastermind possibly, but Draco was never a mastermind, more an evil puppet. Anyway, I digress.

So please do come back and share. I want to see if any of you are lesser-spotted female INTJs and how many of you I need to convince that I'm always right about everything and you should listen to everything I tell you! :)

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Brilliant study tips - from me (and them) to you!

As part of my (ir)regular foray into sharing with you some of the wisdom I have built up after studying for both an under-graduate degree and a master's degree, I have passed on much advice; some of it good, some of it not so good. One of the things I have written about are study tips. In particular I have discussed best ways to meet deadlines, and reasons why students fail. 

I'm always conscious when writing these pieces that I might be throwing you a duff. After all, we all have our different ways of studying and learning and what works for me might not work for you. All I can do is tell you what worked and what I observed in others so you can make a judgement about whether it's worth your while trying it for yourself. Hey, I'm not the be-all-and-end-all of knowledge. Far from it!

In previous articles, the wisdom I imparted went like this....

1) go to lectures and seminars. Attendance is important!

2) Read the textbooks.

3) Try and predict what will be tested so you can prepare. The reading list is often a bit of a giveaway. Also, read the module handbook.

5) Pay attention to deadlines and don't be late with anything

6) Use your diary to keep track of exams and assignment hand-ins

7) Create a study time-table and set appropriate priorities

8) Speak to your tutor if things start to slip.

I don't think it was anything radical, but I wanted to make sure I was talking sense, so I asked our followers on Twitter for their best study tips.

Helen said "do the reading that's suggested."

Melissa said "Be prepared! Don't leave everything to the last minute. Read loads and research."

So there you go........they agree with me! 

There are no tricks to help you or short-cuts. Read, read, read, do your preparation, and don't leave it too late. Advice not just from me, but from some kind Twitter folk too.

If you've got any to add yourself, please comment below.

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Cheap University Textbooks from theBookPond.com

Here are some great textbooks that are on www.theBookPond.com right now! If you want to buy them, then please register with us and contact the seller directly. No P&P charges, no fees. 

The Study Skills Handbook Third Edition by Stella Cottrell
Available at The University of Middlesex, this book is in good condition and at £5 is cheaper than a major online book retailer, and there's no waiting around!

Essentials of Economics by John Sloman
Yes, you can buy this book at the same price online (£15) but if you're at Glasgow Caledonian, you can have this book now and save P&P charges. Go look!

The Law Student's Dictionary by J.E. Penner
For £14, students of Nottingham Trent can have their own copy tout suite.

Operations Management Sixth Edition by Slack, Chamber, Johnston
Way down in Exeter, there are a selection of management books available. Go take a nosy.

The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse 1509-1659 by David Norbrook
At York St John University for a bargain price of £5. Do you need this book?

Frank Lloyd Wright (Architecture & Design) (Hardcover) by Bruce Brooks Pfeiffer
Available at Brunel Uni for only £5!! Crazy talk.

There you have it. If you need any of these books, or more, please visit our textbook trading site at www.theBookPond.com and see if any of your fellow students are trying to sell the book you are trying to buy. Cut out the middleman!

Fresher’s guide to getting home in one piece after a night out

This is a guest post from David at TheUniPod.com

All the mums and dads at home are going to worry about their children at university; what will they eat? Will they be happy? Will they meet nice, new people? Will they be motivated to study? Will they get home in one piece after a night out? Hmm. 

When making your choice of university these are things which don’t even come into your mind, but come Fresher’s Week, and students will tell you that some of these are easier than others; bunging a pizza in the oven is classed as cooking in the student world and scoffing it whilst in bed with a DVD is an acceptable and rather content way to dine.  There will be a bit of studying and there will be a bit of fun. All students can confirm this, but getting home in one piece is quite often a blur for many and they sometimes won’t be able to tell you how they managed it. 

It’s easy enough to drink yourself into a merry state, let’s admit that, and when you’re at home in a familiar town getting home is freakishly embedded into your brain, even when severely intoxicated. I’ve got some news for you. Getting drunk in a new town during Fresher’s week may be great fun… up until the moment when you literally haven’t a clue where you are and you can no longer hear the buzz of the club or bar in the distance. Here are a few tips for getting home in one piece:

It’s a good idea to jot down not only your address but a couple of “landmarks” or directions on your phone and save them in the notes section. Or, take a photo of the information so that it’s easy to find if you’re fingers aren’t cooperating with your brain (it’s happened to all of us!). Jotting down “landmarks” is pretty funny if you’re in a group as you’ll almost feel as if you’re hunting for your university, but still feel safe as you know it’s hiding nearby somewhere.

Most university towns offer an ingenious taxi service scheme that could save you if you’re one of those incredibly generous people always buying rounds and end up with no money at the end of every night out. This is problematic, unless you sign up for this pre-paid taxi service that basically uses your card details to pay for any journey home that you need. This is a great one for reassuring the parents and also means that you can relax knowing that you’ll get home safely not only during Fresher’s week but for the entire university year.

Some universities, like Leicester, for example, really do care that you come back from a night out in one piece - almost as much as your parents - and they offer bus services from the student union to halls. This is a God-send if you’re attending a city university and don’t fancy stumbling down roads that seem to look increasingly unfamiliar on your way home back to halls. It’s also a cheaper option than getting a cab, so despite all the moans about university fees you’ll be grateful they sorted you out on this one.

If you’re a cheeky student from Sunderland you will even be able to take advantage of Station Taxis “free” lift home if you’ve run out of money. All you simply have to do is show your Student Union Membership card and then sign an account at the end of your journey as confirmation. The Student Union pay for the lift and then when you reclaim your Membership Card you simply pay them back.

These kind of schemes are becoming ever more common at universities, so be sure it’s one of the first things you check in Fresher’s week. Getting back to university halls or accommodation in one piece despite wibble-wobble-walking may be easier than you thought- this is something I definitely learned as a Fresher in my first year at university. With that being said I am not encouraging that binge drinking reputation we all seem to have as students! Enjoy yourself but also be safe!

How to market to UK students

Earlier this week I received a message from a TheBookPond user. They said they loved the site and it was a great idea but there are not enough books on there, and that I should do a marketing event at the local university to get more interest.

They're right. The site is a good idea, and there are not enough books listed on there, and I SHOULD do a marketing event at the local university. However, and I am grateful for all the feedback and interaction I get about theBookPond, I just don't have the budget to be able to market to students in the way that larger companies do.

Take my local university for example. The University of Hull is a great institution. There are around 17,000 students there. The student's union is one of the best in the UK and frequently wins various awards. It is also hideously expensive for small businesses to get involved with. A stall at the annual freshers fair costs hundreds of pounds. An official one-off event on campus costs hundreds in exhibition stand material alone, before you've even paid the students union for use of their space.

I could potentially spend hundreds of pounds and never see any return. Even if I get lots of students using the site, I won't make that sort of money back in site sponsorship or advertising. I have other things to waste my money on.

Marketing to students on campus without paying will mean I am banished from the campus forever. Marketing to students around the campus area takes time I just haven't got.

I did once go out and speak to students armed with sweets and leaflets. I got 12 email address. 12. We were out for two hours. Please don't tell me this is an efficient use of my time because my experience suggests otherwise. 

Please don't think that I am here all day long waiting for people to use the site. I have four children, I also work part-time (paid) as a copywriter and social media manager. I have to prioritise my family and paid work. As much as I'd love to spend time out there talking to students and drumming up interest in the site, it just doesn't pay back for me.

So I have to look at other methods. I have put leaflets and posters up around various universities as I have visited them. I have done at least Hull, Durham and Edinburgh. I get pretty good results from this. Sadly, the posters are all taken down at the end of term (or before if I'm unlucky), and I can't get to all 117 UK universities (and rising) every single term. I am not omnipotent, contrary to rumours.

I have put leaflets through doors in student areas in Hull and Durham. Again, this takes time and effort, but is fairly easy to do. But again, the numbers don't justify me doing this very often. 

I have also paid others to do this for me in other areas of the UK with mixed results. I have to rely on them doing the job I'm paying for and not just cashing the cheque and dumping the leaflets. 

Also, I have to consider that anything I do will have to be repeated at least every three years to catch the new students, if not every year.

A big draw to our site is via search engines. I know people are finding the site. Lots of people. I know these people are looking for places to sell their textbooks free of charge (because that's what the search terms indicate). But people aren't being brave and listing their books with us. I can't do much about this I'm afraid. People have to list them for there to be a large enough stock of books to give people the confidence to list them. I'm currently stuck in critical mass purgatory.

I try and get articles with back-links on authoritative blogs as much as I can. I have made some great connections doing this. But it's hard work again. The good blogs that target students are few and far between. There is no community in student blogging and marketing like there is in other blogging genres like parenting or fashion for example. Bloggers are often suspicious of being approached by someone they've never heard of before. I have other blogs. I know that getting content on to blogs without any form of payment is tricky. I am grateful to those that have let me guest post. But there is a limit to how much I can do this.

Did I ever tell you that once we were featured on BBC Click!? Are you sure? Anyway, we were. (Click on the box top right of this page to see it). This got us a mass of interest and registrations. And about 20 books listed. 20. This is the BBC for goodness sakes! Worldwide. 20!! What do we need to do to convince you to use the site?

Our best shot at getting the site publicised with minimal budget is through social media. We are on Facebook and Twitter as you may know. Twitter is easy peasy to do but gets marginal results per tweet. Facebook gets better results but is much harder work, especially when no-one's listing books to create something to talk about. I don't just want to spout nonsense on there - posting random pictures of cats in hats, or cute kids with humorous captions just to get the 'likes' up. Honestly, I would rather stab hot pokers in my eyes.

I also know that running competitions to increase page likes and retweets have excellent results (depending on the value of the prize offered) but that the new likers are mainly compers who won't hang around. I'd rather just give the cash equivalent to someone who's been genuinely using the site rather than a random new liker who buggers off again as soon as the closing date passes.

Right at the launch of the site all those years ago, I did a prize draw for £100 vouchers for all those who listed books by a certain date. We ended the draw less than 100 books better off, and some of those were mine. That's more than £1 a book to get it listed. Someone got a nice Christmas present with the vouchers, which is brilliant, but I can't be effectively paying people to use the site. It's madness.

So, students of the UK and other interested peeps, I need your help! I need to know if theBookPond.com was your website, what would you do? Bonus points if you're doing a marketing degree. 

What suggestions do you have of getting more people to a) Know about the site and b) feel confident enough to list their books with us?

See, once enough books are listed, the buyers will find the site, I promise. All our listings are individually indexed with the major search engines and plenty of people have found our site by searching for a specific title to buy, or through a more general term like "engineering books in Glasgow". We need more academic textbooks listed to attract those buyers looking to save cash. If we build it, they will come!

Any suggestions you could give me would be awesome because I am fast running out of ideas. And money. And the will to live.

I know this sounds like a negative article and in many ways it is, but I'd like to use it to turn things into a positive.

Thanks

From Miss Hopeful (and Jeff the duck)

:)

How to save money on costly utility bills

Today, we have a guest - Luke from The Student Blogger.

Hello ladies and gentlemen! I'm Luke, aged 22 and from sunny old Essex! As of June 2013 I’m a graduate of Birmingham City University from the Applied Performance course, from my experiences I decided to start blogging, of all my experiences from university life, from housing and money saving to day to day life. Hopefully this will help someone!


Here are Luke's tips for saving money on utility bills......



"Everybodys favourite word, BILLS, you take this for granted when living at home but you soon realise that everything costs money, from watching TV, eating, taking a shower and being able to see in a room which isn’t like a fridge freezer! Having to shell out so much money on them can seem a pain, however there are some things you can do to help minimise the amount you spend.

Use price comparison sites to ensure you're not paying more than you have to

(An average customer can save £100′s over one year just by switching to a cheaper company. Remember that new TV you’ve always wanted?)

Money Supermarket

uSwitch

Sites like these are your best buddy as a student, they will help you to find the cheapest tariff for your home, but remember to have those energy bills ready because you’ll need to input some figures to calculate the costs, or you can estimate your usage by home averages. You’ll often receive a discount for signing a longer contract however they may impose charges for leaving early, so always read the small print! Remember our guide on saving money whilst shopping? You can get cash back on your energy ‘shopping’ as well!

Turn down your thermostat

It costs more money to heat a home at a higher temperature and by turning your temperature dial down by just one degree, you could end up saving around 10% on your energy bill. That’s equivalent to about £55, which is a massive saving for something you probably won’t notice. It pays to be savvy!

Use your heating at night

It’s a well-known fact that energy is cheaper at night, so it makes sense to use the bulk of it then. Try to put off heating your house and your water until after 7pm, or if you need to have it on before, have it on a lower setting. If you find that heating is costing you too much, it may be worth investigating whether you can switch to another tariff, which suits your usage better.

Use energy saving light bulbs

Energy savers use less energy than traditional light bulbs to generate the same amount of light, however they can take a little while to warm up, so plan your light switch on time strategically! They can also save you a huge chunk your energy costs. Go out and buy some!

Don’t leave the light on

This is common sense. Though you might forget to flick the switch when you leave, there are no advantages to leaving the lights on; it’s bad for the environment and bad for your bank balance. Try leaving post-its by the switches and get into the habit of stopping and thinking before you walk out of the room.


Turn your electronics off

This applies to Xbox/PS3′s, TV’s, laptops, the whole lot! — if you are not using them, they are costing you money for no reason!




Save your washing up for one wash

A brilliantly popular money saving technique that seems too good to be true! However, rather than heating water in drips and drabs, it is far better to boil the kettle and fill a washing up bowl with water to do all those dirty dishes in one go. Go on, we’ll let you use us as an excuse to put it off for a little longer, just this once.

Shower, don’t use the bath!

Using the bath is far more expensive to showering, especially if you like filling yours to the top (like me!). Consider the bath a treat and hop in the shower to get clean, plus knock off those extra few minutes you spend in the shower each day and you’ll be saving yourself even more!


And if all else fails, stock up on lots of jumpers and blankets and be prepared to walk around in your duvet!"

Thank you to Luke for sharing those tips with us!

Beyond the student union building

As soon as you start at university you will be bombarded with information about finance, accommodation, and study skills. Every local pub will be vying for your custom, every local clothing shop fighting to get you to spend your money with them. The student market is huge with millions of pounds being spent in the UK alone. Students can easily use more than £2,000 a year on living costs alone, without even thinking about accommodation. With over 1 million full-time students in the UK at any one time, that is a lot of money up for spending. 

A lot of this money will be spent within the university itself, through its official accommodation agency and its various shops, bars and services. But on-campus businesses are not the only ones to cater to the needs of the modern student. There is life beyond the four walls of the student union building, or indeed beyond actual bricks and mortar. These are just some of the independent services that I have found over the last few years which could be of interest to you.

Job Shop

Forget about the university careers and job centre. Some employers can take advantage of your student status to get cheaper labour, which is fair enough. However, you should consider selling your services and skills to someone through StudentGems.com. This is a site where you can register your skills and talents (such as copywriting, photography, or web development) and find someone to pay you for one-off projects. Yes, they’re still wanting cheaper labour, but you’ll probably earn more than working in a local take-away and you can build up your portfolio in the meantime.

Accommodation

Official university accommodation is usually better quality than private accommodation, mostly, though it can be more expensive. There are alternatives to both university and private accommodation though. Through UniHomeSwap.co.uk, you can find another student to swap your rooms in your family house with. This won’t suit everyone, but is worth a look and could save you and your financial sponsors (i.e. Mum and Dad) thousands of pounds a year.

Art

If your university projects have the potential to earn you money, then you need to look further afield than the university campus. Although some universities have business development and start up facilities and resources to help you kick-start your fledgling business, these sometimes tend toward business in the science and technology sectors.  If your potential lies more in the art production industry, then take a look at BuyStudentArt.co.uk, who help sell your products to the general public on a commission basis.

Textbooks

Most universities have a bookshop and very handy they are too. They always have a good stock of the exact books your lecturers have recommended for your course. But textbooks are not cheap and honestly, you won’t use them that much, though it’s always better to have them than not come the essay deadlines. Try using a site like us, TheBookPond.com to buy your books from another student first. Or check out your department noticeboard for buying used books and other essential course items. 

Careers

Your university careers service is going to be one of the best on-campus resources available to you, even if you don’t realise it until the very end. Please use them. Don’t forget though that there are other companies to help you in your graduate job search. Most of us will have heard of milkround.com, but what about newer and smaller companies like giveagradago.com? Always worth a look to broaden your reach. 

What independent companies have you found useful that you would recommend to other UK university students?

The battle between e-books and traditional textbooks

I have said it before. I am a huge fan of traditional printed media. I think that certain publications will weather the storm that has been whipped up by the introduction and development of e-books, indeed some publications will thrive on it. However, I am more cynical about the application of technology to university textbooks.

This infographic below (totally borrowed by the way - Source: http://www.onlinedegrees.org/e-textbooks-vs-print-textbooks) shows how university/college textbooks fare against their up-and-coming e-book rivals. 

The one thing that rings true with me, and the biggest driver behind my development of www.thebookpond.com was the fact that real books can be re-sold. If you look at the price of buying a new book and then selling it at a reduced price, more often than not, it's a better value alternative to e-books or textbook rental. That's my thinking anyway.

What do you think? Do you agree with the facts on the infographic?

Some advice for new mature students

We're not all teenagers, you know!

Mature students have different expectations from university and are often looking for different outcomes from studying than younger students. For many mature students though, having life experience does not make attending university and studying any less daunting.


This is a guest post from Sian, a mature student who blogs over at offcumden.com.

Have you been accepted at university? Are you over 25?

Last year I was in the same position as you. Here is my guide to the first year of university as a mature student.

Fresher's week.

• I have to admit that I only went in twice in Fresher's week, to register and to go to a course outline lecture. I live a long way away from uni so I knew I wouldn't get a chance to join any of the clubs or societies. If you live closer, or even on campus, then there are so many activities that you can sign up for. There are loads of socials as well.
• I think Fresher's week is mainly aimed at settling people into university life and getting to know people on nights out.
• Be grateful that you are not 18 or 19 again. So many of them are having a really tough time away from home for the first time.
• Expect that people will be impressed by you having a car! It surprised me but I guess they thought I was the same age.

First few weeks of the first term

• Talk to everyone you can, in lectures, seminars, common room, toilets, wherever.
• Don't admit how old you are (unless you are asked obviously). I found that as soon as I admitted to being older quite a few people stopped talking to me! Luckily I had made some good friends by then so it didn't matter so much.
• Try and find other mature students on your course. I didn't have any doing the same course as me but there were others studying different subjects who were in the same college as me.
• Work out your timetable and stick to it. If you are anything like me then you will have children, housework and a husband to juggle as well as university. I made a timetable and stuck to it.
• If you want to talk to 18 year old boys, it seems the thing to learn about is Pokemon! Don't admit to having played it on your Game Boy though. It makes you look really old!

Expect the unexpected

• Your lecturer might accidentally show you porn on YouTube during a seminar. You know that he will ALWAYS check the link he is about to click on in the future. The look on his face will stick with you forever!
• When a boy turns up covered in red paint to a tutorial and smelling of booze, don't be surprised when he admits to having just woken up in bed with a boy and a red girl! To be fair, he did come to the tutorial, most people wouldn't have bothered.
• If you are studying more than one subject, don't expect that the departments will communicate with each other. Indeed, I have found the majority of administration to be frustrating and completely inflexible towards mature students.
• Don't expect the amount student finance have told you that you will receive is a definite amount. It can and possibly will change, especially if you have given them childcare costs.

Organise

• You have very little time. Make the most of all of it.
• Treat university like work. I am there 9-5. When not in seminars or lectures, I am in the library. This way I don't have to work in the evenings.
• If you drive to university then record your notes and play them to yourself on the journey. There is more chance that you will learn them then.

Relax

• Learning is tiring. 
• Juggling everything in life is tiring.
• Commuting to university is tiring.
• Make some time for yourself and grab every second that you get.
• Don't worry about housework, one day you will get the place straight!

Congratulations. You are going to have an amazing time. You will meet some great people. It is hard work but really is a fabulous experience.


Thanks to Sian for sharing her experience so far with us. If you are a mature student starting university soon, we wish you very well, and hope you have a good experience, even if it differs a little from that of the younger ones around you.