Whether you’re  a student in school, or you’re a professor wanting to make sure that a student didn’t plagiarize their paper, there are some great resources online that you can use.  The best thing about these is that they are free.

Like many other software platforms, there are so many open source platforms that you can take advantage of.  There’s no reason to pay for something if you don’t have to.  A quick example is Microsoft Office.    This alone can easily set you back $150.  If you download Open Office, it’s going to cost you nothing!

Listed below are a few free plagiarism checkers that you should check out online when you want to check some paperwork.

#1 ScanMyEssay.com: When you do a search for, “free” online, you’re going to get a lot of companies that show up in the results but the only downfall is that they aren’t free, but instead its going to cost you a few bucks a month, or whatever that price tag may be.  ScanMyEssay scours over 10 billion resources, show comparisons of potential errors, as well as links them, making the reports very easy to read.

#2 AcademicPlagiarism.com: This is a good site because it allows students to scan their documents just to make sure that everything runs clear.  Its always a best bet to try at least 3 different resources to ensure that your essay comes off at 100%.  There have been times where students write a legitimate essay, but the checker detects some copying, when you didn’t mean it in the first place!

#3 DocCop.com: DocCop won a top 100 resource reward for having one of the best plagiarism checkers on the market.  Basically, you’re going to send them your paper and they will send you back a report deciding if there are errors or not.  It can scan .doc, .docx, as well as .pdf files.

#4 Plagiarism.com: Where else to go but Plagiarism.com?  They have a sub page designed for college students themselves, but it looks as if anyone can use it.  Simply scroll down to the bottom of the page and input your name, address, as well as the text.  It will start the scan and give you back a report.  The unique about this test is that it allows you to check your own form of writing.

#5 Google: Yes, the power of Google can give you some mighty fine results.  Just take a snippet of your article / essay and throw it in the search engine.  If you put quotes around it, you can see if anything matches.  If it does, there’s a good chance that something else is floating around on the web.

Its not too common to hear about people transferring from one college to another.  This is completely normal.  If you find yourself in this situation, you’re soon going to realize that there are a lot of questions that you may have.  Today, let’s focus on a few FAQs that you may have in regards to your transferring, as well as your GPA.

When I transfer, will my GPA transfer as well?

99% of the time, you’re going to find that your new school is going to start your GPA from scratch.  What they are going to do is basically mark down the classes that you have taken in the past.  They will more than likely show as “completed” on your report card / schedule.

What happens when I go from the community college to a university?

Since community colleges offer 2 year programs, you’re probably working with a local University that is going to take up your credits.  Many students think that their GPA is going to transfer over to the University.   Again, when you start a new school, you will basically start fresh with your GPA.  Yes, your credits will transfer, but your GPA will not.

My GPA is bad, will that hurt me with transfers?

Every college will have its own policy.  Many colleges will want to see a C+ or better.  While some are willing to swing a little bit, you’re going to have to refer to the admissions office when you’re transferring your classes.  A lot of those classes may or may not transfer.  What you’re also going to find out is that again, if you had a 2.7 in College A, when you transfer to College B, it will start at 0, no matter what classes transfer over.

When it comes down to your GPA, your GPA will never transfer, but your classes are.  Just picture every new adventure basically as a clean slate when you’re ready to start the transfer process.

Again, if you have any questions, it doesn’t hurt to check with your admissions office just to make sure that you’re getting all the answers answered correctly, as they all vary from college to college.

On Friday, I wrote about Should I Rent My College Textbooks?   I didn’t really go into detail on how you can rent them.  Since the market is fairly new, I wanted to point out some questions that you may have in regards to renting your books.  Not only can it save you money most of the time, it’s going to save you a lot of stress.

Back in the day, I had to go out, purchase my textbooks and then proceed to sell them back to the college bookstore like a dummy.  First off, I made a few dumb mistakes.  I was purchasing my books from the college bookstore which is a huge no-no, as well as selling them back to the bookstore, which is another huge one.

When you’re looking to rent a textbook online, the process really isn’t that hard.  The following step by step instructions should get you on the right path to getting a book that works best for you.

1.  I recommend Chegg

This is the only textbook rental service that I recommend.   They have the best prices and what you’re going to find out is that they have the best selection as well.  If you’re looking to rent your textbooks, you’re going to want to start here.

2.  Register on the site

You will want to create an account there, because you’re going to find out that you will more than likely rent a book each semester.  Its a lot easier to store everything, so that you can log in, purchase, and not have to fill out your contact form each and every time.

3.  Search for your books

The best way to know that you’re getting the right book is by searching for the ISBN.  This is the number that is located on the book.  You can generally get this from your professor, or you may find it on your college syllabus.  Most professors will give you a few days to get your book.

4.  Rent your book

When you’re ready to rent, you will be able to choose particular increments.  You can rent by the semester, quarter, or even days.  Each price is going to be different.  The thing I like about is that its easy to send the book back and they plant a tree every time you make a purchase!

5.  Return the book

When you’re done, make sure you return it before the deadline to avoid any type of late fees.  You will be able to get a mailer that they sent in the first place.  Throw it in there and mail it back.

Renting isn’t that hard and its going to save you a lot of money.  As I mentioned in that previous post, make sure that renting makes sense.  You may find that its cheaper to purchase used sometimes, rather than rent.

A few years ago when I went to college, I wasn’t even able to rent my textbooks.  Once I saw this concept pop up, it was one of those things that I thought about, “Why didn’t I think about something like that!?”  It’s such a simple concept and what I had found is that it works really well for college students, but will it work great for you?

1.  Start comparing textbook prices

The first thing that I would do is start by comparing textbook prices.  You’re going to want to know how much the book is going to cost, compared to renting.  There’s a great textbook search page that I had created that you can use to find the best prices for your textbook.

Now, to show you what I mean, I wanted to create you an example.  This example is as of July 23, 2010.

The book I’m going to compare is Physical Examination and Health Assessment (ISBN 1416032436)

• On Chegg, you can rent this book for $39.99 for the semester.
• On Amazon, I can purchase it new for $81.96 or used for $53.99.

Now, if we take the difference ($53.99 – $39.99), you’re going to get a difference of $14 saved if you rent, but let’s say that you purchase the book for $53.99 and sell it after your semester for $37.  It really only set you back $16 for the book.  Now, you’re going to have to gamble here, but it can pay off.

2.  Do you want it for reference?

Most of the time, if you want to use the book for reference in the future, you will more than likely want to purchase it.  If you want to sell it back, count on getting at least 70% of the value back.  Make sure that you sell quick because if a new edition comes out, you will be stuck with it.

When I was in college, I had found that I kept roughly 30% of the books that I had purchased.  There were a lot of books that I didn’t want such as my Math and English ones.  If you’re going for nursing, programming, or whatever it may be, it may be a great idea to keep them laying around.

3. Every book is different

When you take that example up above, you’re going to find that other textbooks that you compare are going to be completely different.  Some are going to be a no brainer, while you’re going to find that others are going to make you think a little longer.

As long as you use your homework, I will tell you that both renting at places like Chegg work fantastic, as well as purchasing used on major outlets such as Amazon.

Credit: Flickr

When you’re ready to start up your college year, there are some items that you’re just going to need, such as a laptop or a desktop.  You’re going to find that if you don’t have an item such as these, it’s going to be awfully hard to get things done in your class.

Now, if you haven’t purchased a computer yet, or you’re thinking about buying one, you’re probably wondering which one is going to work out the best for you.  Both laptops, as well as desktops are going to have their advantages, as well as disadvantages.

Let’s take a look at which one is going to work the best for you.

The Desktop Computer

THE PROS

• It’s going to generally be more powerful.  You can choose from a lot more options.
• The price tag on a desktop in today’s world is generally a lot cheaper than a laptop.  You’re generally going to get more for your money.
• You can hook up dual monitors and get bigger screenage, even though you can hook your laptop and make it run like a laptop.
• You don’t have to really worry about it being stolen.
• It’s less likely to be dropped or become damaged, since you won’t be moving it around as much.

THE CONS

• You can’t take it to class.  Many people love to take their laptop in the library or even class to take notes.
• These desktops are going to take up a lot more space in your dorm room.
• If you want to lug it around, it’s going to be harder to bring it home when you do come home.
• The laptop computer

THE PROS

• It’s great to bring to class.  Since it’s going to be easy to port around, you can take it to the park, library, and more.
• Grab a smart phone and get Internet access just about anywhere.  Take advantage of the free WiFi.
• You can do just as much on a laptop, as you can on a desktop.
• Pick up some monitors and you can turn your laptop into a full blown desktop computer.

THE CONS

• Laptops generally are going to cost you a little more money and you will find that you can’t get as much.
• When you bring it out in public, you will have to worry about its safety.  You’re more than likely bound to lose it.
• You can easily drop it and if its dropped, you can kiss $500+ goodbye.
• I’ve also found that a laptop can be a huge distraction if you’re using it during class.