Off-campus: The Coffee Shop

Second only to the library, the coffee shops near campus are a popular place for students to go and pretend to study.

A Case Study

Every one of these places will have a girl who's laid claim to a table with her psychology book, laptop, notebooks, and highlighters in six freaking colors.

She will then spend approximately 50 percent of her time on Facebook updating all 1,012 of her friends that she is at the coffee shop studying, 30 percent of her time texting, 10 percent of her time looking at tops on Forever21.com, and 10 percent of her time reading the same page in her textbook over and over.

Inevitably guys will show up at this coffee shop and notice said girl. Then they will either a) drink their coffee nearby and puss out, or b) engage in a pathetic attempt at conversation and then later make a request to be the girl's 1,013th friend on Facebook.

Where to Get Ripped Off

A student new to college might ask, "Where should I go for my coffee fix?" If you live in a college town like Athens or Ann Arbor, there will be approximately eight coffee places per block. Starbucks is the natural venue of choice for the average student. BTW, did you know their logo is a mermaid spreading her two tails behind her ears?

Liberal arts majors and "activist Annie" types will likely want to find a local mom and pop favorite that serves Fair Trade coffee, because they like to think they are helping Bolivian peasants by paying $1.50 more for the same thing.