While reading books online is not always the most comfortable it is the cheapest. I would highly recommend buying all the books you can in electronic format if they are free. It also makes taking notes easier since you can copy and paste excerpts. The first two recommendations are for E-Books.

1) Book Yards has 16,045 E-books, 40,335 external web links, 4,197 news & blogs links, 384 videos, 376 E-book links and access to hundreds of online libraries for your reading pleasure. All of which is free.

2) The Education-Portal has done a review of the top 40 places to find full length texts online (all free). In addition they have reviewed the top 9 places to find free audio books. For those of you with a walk or ride to class it might be useful to listen to the reading you forgot to finish.

3) If you cannot find the free version of the book you are looking for you may want to look into buying the E version. Often times the electronic version is cheaper and you will not have to pay for delivery. However, I would shop around before making a choice. Amazon.com and eBooks.com are two great locations for finding online books.

4) Next on the places to find cheaper books are the online used re-sellers. It is best to shop around when looking for expensive text books. However, when it comes to those $10 paper backs for your Philosophy or Lit class make sure you remember to weigh in shipping because sometimes those are not worth buying online. Also, make sure you pay attention to when your books will be arriving and when your first quizzes and tests are. It�??s great to save money but not at the expense of grades.
a. Half.com or eBay.com
b. amazon.com
c. Abebooks.com

5) There is also Affordabook which will query the book you are searching for and tell you which of the above locations has the best price. The only problem is that sometimes Afford A Book cannot find your book on the others websites. If Afford A Book cannot find it make sure you go to the site and double check. Also, Afford A Book does not take the quality of the book into consideration in it�??s query.

6) The campus book store (also known as overpriced, marked up, hell). When going to your campus bookstore make sure to check if there is a USED version available. Just because you are going to the book store doesn�??t mean you have to buy a brand new version.

7) Lastly, check with your professor. Sometimes they can put the texts on reserve at the library for the class to use and sometimes they know of other public libraries which you can borrow it from. Also, if the publishers have just released a new version of the text book you can ask your professor for the older version of the syllabus. This way you can buy USED books without getting off track and lost in the page numbers. Most of the time the book content and class structure do not change and professors are more than happy to help out students in need.

#1 JollyJohns Free condoms are offered in name brands such as Durex, Trojan, and Life styles. They also come in different themed packs (i.e. fun pack, sampler packs, and lubricants) along with different quantities (7, 15, 25, 30, 50). Shipping is also free.

#2 CondomUSA Offers packages of 10 Durex condoms, a very small variety, however shipping is also free unless you would like to get them faster than the standard delivery offers.

#3 Trojan Only offers one free sample that will be shipped to you in an unidentifiable package so that others are not notified of what you have �??bought�??

#4 PlannedParenthood Check with your local Planned Parent Hood. In addition to offering free condoms they also offer free birth control pills to girls in high school. PPH offers may change given the state and clinic, so make sure you check the local site, call, or visit to find further information. Further more local AIDS and health clinics often offer free condoms.

#5 ClubCondom You get 25 Durex enhanced pleasure condoms. However they charge $7.99 for shipping

#6 RipnRoll Offers 12 free condoms or other products such as lubricants on check out. While you have to make a purchase to receive the condoms you do receive free shipping on the entire purchase.

I would like to remind all our readers that condoms are not 100% effective and it is important to look into the contraceptive method that works best for you. For more information on safe sex and contraceptives call or make an appointment with your physician. Also, Planed Parent Hood is a great resource.

4) Textforfree.net - does not offer the ability to receive txt mssgs and you have to know your friends service provider to send a text mssg

3) Txt2Day.com �?? does not offer the ability to receive txt mssgs, but seems like a reliable service and you do not need to know the service provider on the other end of the line

2) 811.com �?? does not offer the Ability to receive txt mssgs, but you do not need to know the service provider for your friends and you can send pictures, ring tones, audio & video messages, along with jokes and other sorts of friend spam.

1) TxtDrop.com �??The site allows you to send text messages without knowing the service provider of the receiving number. Additionally if you download the widget you can receive response text messages to you e-mail. Lastly you can post one of their widgets in your MySpace or personal website so viewers/friends can send text messages to your phone.

So, whether these sites will be useful or not is up for debate. I personally have found it to be of great importance in my life. While online texting can also be done via e-mail I have a tendency to confuse which address I send it to and in the end they never go through. So here are some uses I have thought of, some personally inspired.

1) in the event of a painful class where texting is the only means for you to stay awake.
2) You leave your room/house without phone and have no means to text the lunch buddy that
you�??ll be late/early/not showing up.
3) break your phone often and continuously have limited means of communication
4) While not personally inspired I have heard of instances of friends geting angry parental phone calls for exceeding texting limits
5) Lastly, free text messaging, think of all the change you�??ll save

Requirements:

1. 1) Open to students starting college in 2008 or 2009
2. 2) Financial need based, requiring a household income of less than 100,000 dollars
3. 3) Must be attending an accredited US college or university

What do you have to do?

1. 1) Complete the myUsearch college matching process
   All students have to complete this process - even students that have already decided where they will be going in the fall. I know this is annoying, but the scholarships are funded through the profits of the myUsearch matching process. When a student goes through the questionnaire and gives the company permission to forward their information to their matching schools, colleges pay myUsearch to be connected to those students. If students do not complete the questionnaire, myUsearch will not have profits to direct to the scholarship program. The questionnaire just takes a few minutes, so it�??s a small price to pay to earn $1000 for school.
2. 2) Answer these questions in 1000 words or less:
   What has been the most frustrating part of your college admissions process? Why is it important for colleges and universities to change this? What suggestions do you have for colleges and universities to try to relieve your frustration and the frustration of your fellow students?

Last year�??s college acceptance rates were reported to be more competitive than ever. This scholarship is a way to give students a forum to voice their frustrations with the application process. The company hopes this scholarship will start the dialogue needed to convince schools to make some changes.

With 4 applicants and 4 days, you have no excuse not to apply for this scholarship. To find out more, visit the myUsearch scholarship page.

• DoMyStuff.com - very popular marketplace focusing on online and offline tasks
• Cha-Cha - mobile search engine platform where you get paid to answer simple questions
• StudentFL - new student focused outsourcing marketplace
• ProgrammerMeetsDesigner - marketplace focused on web design and development
• Undertool - marketplace focused on offline jobs (some requiring more technical skill)

This three-part series will cover how to find scholarships, how to choose scholarships to apply for, and how to compile competitive scholarship applications. The purpose of these articles is to help students better understand the scholarship process in order to become stronger scholarship applicants.

Part 3. How to Compile Competitive Scholarship Applications

Now that you have learned where to find scholarships and how to choose which ones to apply for, this final segment will teach you how to compile competitive scholarship applications so you can stand out among the pool of applicants. As with choosing which scholarships to apply for, you have to first have a strong sense of self�??who you are, your goals, your motivation�??in order to develop a strong foundation for scholarships. Since a scholarship is a financial investment in your potential to succeed, it is important use your story to show that you are worth their time and money.

Beyond knowing yourself though, it is also important to understand the scholarship organization�??s perspective�??have you demonstrated the core values of the organization through your experiences and opportunities? Will you be a strong ambassador for the organization�??s mission? Do you have the potential to succeed academically and give back to society? An organization is looking to help their scholars succeed in college so that they can further develop their strengths and skills to help the community. If you can understand their perspective, it will allow you to take your profile and show them how you are the perfect fit for their scholarship

How does a scholarship organization gauge your potential to succeed and give back to society? They want to support students who can succeed academically, so it is important to do well in school. However, that doesn�??t mean they are just looking for students who are 4.0 valedictorians and have perfect SAT scores. I had neither and still had tremendous scholarship success. Many times I get asked by students, �??Are there scholarships for a high GPA or SAT score?�?? While scholarship organizations look at grades and test scores, they are looking, more importantly, to see if you are active in your school and community. This means going beyond just attending a few club meetings here and there but actually taking an active role and developing your leadership skills as well. If you can find activities that you are passionate about and put your time and energy into them, you will have a much easier time writing your essays.

Many scholarships will ask you to describe your activities or your goals in an essay or short response question. Most students simply describe each step and stay on a surface level that anyone who is knowledgeable about that subject could replicate. The students who win scholarships, however, go beyond just the surface and instead dig deeper into why they participated, how it changed them, or what they learned. This goes back to the idea of knowing yourself. I always included personal stories and anecdotes into my scholarship essays to help them get to know me better. In order to be competitive, your application must be extremely personal�??include vivid, personal examples from your life to show rather than tell. That way, scholarship organizations see not only the skills you�??ve learned by participating but also your capacity for learning and success through showing how the experience shaped you.

When you show the deeper aspects of your personal story�??which I like to describe as �??taking a step forward by taking a step back�??�??you will have much more success with scholarships. Remember to follow the instructions carefully, include everything they ask for, and above all, be honest and personal.

As you apply for scholarships, realize that your personal story is worth telling and never underestimate the impact of sharing it in your applications. I had great success with scholarships because I approached the application process with the steps described in each of these three sections. If you can learn and apply these lessons in your own life, you will have a stronger foundation for your scholarship search and a head start on your path to scholarship success.

About the Author

In the spring of his senior year of high school in 2006, Samson Lim created Sam�??s Scholarship Kiosk, a scholarship resource website that provides students with an insider�??s guide to the college scholarship process. After applying for over 75 scholarships throughout high school and winning 18 both locally and nationally, Sam set out to help students better understand how to find scholarships, how to choose scholarships to apply for, and how to compile competitive scholarship applications. Today, Sam continues to work with students through workshops on scholarships and essays, speaking to audiences about overcoming adversity to achieve success, and creating materials to help students better understand the scholarship process. For more information, please visit www.scholarshipjunkies.com.