Attention college kids: Summer may be “so close, yet so far” for some, while others are already basking in the sweet sun, but just to remind you: You’re still a student, and you can benefit from these cool Web sites.



lulu.com

We’ve all been there – putting effort into those grueling semester-long projects that are the bane of your absent social existence. Be it an autobiography for your writing class, an architecture portfolio or even sorority recruitment records, it seems that at the end of the term, all your hard work is either lost and forgotten, or … No, it mostly ends up lost and forgotten.

But the creators of Lulu have decided that “everyone has the right to publish [and profit].” Preferring the term “publishing on demand,” Lulu allows users to upload and create almost whatever projects they can think of, and gives the opportunity for anyone in the world to purchase it, putting 80 percent of the profits into the pocket of the owner. Some examples include photo books, dissertations, compilations of short stories and poems, cook books and calendars.

A cool idea to try soon is to have a fundraiser using Lulu: Upload a compilation of your organization’s work and sell it online. Another moneymaking idea is to upload your complete semester’s notes for a class and have it ready for future class-takers to use as a resource (“But professor, it’s not plagiarism if I paid for it!”). Lastly, you can even have your semester project published before you turn it in for credit. Remember, “good looking projects = good looking grades.”



allbystudents.com

Speaking of semester-long projects, All By Students (ABS) Notebooks started as a class project business plan at Northwestern University. The idea was simple: to target a company’s marketing efforts into a freebie for students that aren’t a Livestrong-esque bracelet or branded paperweights (who actually uses those anyway?). ABS gives millions of dollars worth of free school supplies to college students across the country.

What? Free stuff? Now you’re listening. ABS signs an exclusive contract with all of their schools giving them rights to university brands, making their multi-subject notebooks look like something you’d buy in a bookstore, without the outrageous price tag. What’s even cooler is that ABS gives the first eight pages of the book to the school for free to put whatever pertinent information on it (events calendar, eating options, football game schedules, you know, the important stuff).

It’s free to you because ABS sells advertisements to companies relevant to students on the subject dividers and back cover. The ads are not overwhelming and are useful too ($1 off any Kotex product? Yes, please.). If your school is not receiving free notebooks yet, visit allbystudents.com to request distribution for the spring semester.

The second part of this Web site is the school-specific student resource page. Allbystudents.com is a page that has student bloggers writing about campus life and involvement; anyone can become a member and practice their writing skills. Also, if you’re looking to make a little extra cash, they hire campus sales reps to bring in new advertisements (Trojans, convince La Barca to give discounts. And Bruins, get Diddy Riese to give free samples. That’d be amazing.).



campusbookrentals.com

Oh yay, another textbook rental site! (Cheers to sarcasm!) But before you roll your eyes, this Web site deserves a little extra attention. Not only does this site offer a Netflix-like service for textbooks that allows you to rent reading material, but they also offer textbook scholarships to college campuses nationwide. They randomly select 10 students per year to receive free textbooks for an entire semester. The only way to qualify is to enter your name in the drawing on their site. But even if you don’t win a scholarship, renting your books is a much smarter idea than trying to sell them back at the bookstore for pennies.



There you have it; three new Web sites to add to your favorites tab online. If you end up using one of these sites, leave a comment online here. (Or if you win the scholarship, come talk to me. I’d like to show you my class schedule.)