What they learned from Mr. Wizard or Bill Nye the Science Guy is about as much science as many students know—or want to know. But many colleges and schools have a lab requirement. And many students hate the lab requirement, almost as much as they hate freshman comp, math, and foreign language requirements. Too boring, too hard, too stupid: These are common complaints students have. But it doesn't have to be this way. We asked visiting expert Stephen Skinner, laboratory curator at the University of Arkansas, for his 10 best tips. 

1. Know what you're picking. At many schools, there's a broad variety of courses that satisfy the lab requirement. In addition to "hard" sciences, such as chemistry, physics, and biology, you might be surprised to anthropology, environmental science, and psychology also offer courses that can satisfy the lab requirement. Pick something that you like and that you wouldn't ordinarily have a chance to take. This is one of your best opportunities at college to make a requirement into an elective, something you choose to take because you like it. 

College students might be surprised to know that professors gripe with great regularity about "bad" students. These aren't the ones getting bad grades (the profs are happy to try to help them), but instead are the ones who quickly show themselves to be a royal pain in the butt. Of course, you're not one of these students—or are you? To find out, have a look at the 13 kinds of students that professors would rather not have in their classes:

1. The Tourist. This is the student who deigns to show up for class only when he or she feels like it and sends annoying E-mails to the prof, offering lame excuses, the rest of the time. "I had to console my roommate on the death of his cat"; "My grandmother's ill so we're planning her funeral"; "My frat's traveling to the international frat-fest in Daytona Beach." No excuse is too low.

Everyone is into transparency these days. You would think you would know all there is to know when you get a college syllabus filled with course rules, policies, learning objectives, grading procedures, even snow policy. Boy, would you be wrong. The important stuff is what the prof will never tell you. Here are 10 examples:

1. "Think you're bored? I'm spending most of this lecture thinking about what I'm going to have for lunch." It might surprise you to know that some of your professors are even more bored than you are. Imagine having to teach Physics for Poets for the 20th time—with 300 students who are only taking it to avoid having to take a real science course. Of course, you could help break the tedium by asking an interesting question or making a good comment. But why would you want to do that, since you could just as well sit back and enjoy watching the paint dry?

More than death and taxes, the thing people fear most is speaking in public. Needless to say, college students are not immune from this terror, which, for you psychology hounds, even has a name: glossophobia. Unfortunately, in college, it's not always so easy to avoid public speaking. Some schools have required courses in speech. And even in colleges where speech isn't a subject, there often is a broad variety of courses that incorporate presentations or reports–and sometimes full-length seminars–into the regular class activities. Still, there's no need to lose your breakfast (or lunch or dinner) over your upcoming presentation. Our 15 tips for improving your public speaking will make even a garden-variety speaker into a real Cicero:

1. Do your homework. Nobody can give a good presentation without putting in some serious time preparing remarks. Many gifted speakers look as if they're just talking off the cuff, saying whatever comes to mind. But, in truth, they've spent considerable time figuring out what they're going to say. You should, too.

4-Star Tip. It's always a good idea to try out your presentation on your professor (or TA) before giving it in class. Office hours work well for this.

Last week, we offered our seven best tips for college research. The response was overwhelming. And so, this week, we have eight even better tips for doing A-plus research. Here they are:

1. Embrace the zen of research. All research—especially good research—is a process that involves considerable uncertainty, doubt, recasting, and, often, the lack of quick or black-and-white answers. That's how discoveries are made. Get used to it. All of these are signs that the research is going well. 

2. Drive your sources (don't let them drive you). Always keep your investigation focused on the issue or problem you're studying. Just because some other guy makes some point—no matter how good it is—doesn't mean you have to include it in your paper, especially if the issue isn't really in the scope of your project. Keep in mind that you're the researcher here, so you're in charge of this thing. 

Once in a while you get hit with it: the 15- to 25-page research paper, also called the term paper or semester project. This is your chance to join the community of the 20 percent or so of college professors who are actually doing research. How do they do it? And how can you? Have a look at our seven best tips for doing research like a professor: 

1. Start from where you are. The professor has a research program; you have the course. Carefully consider all the assigned paper topics, trying to pick one that seems interesting to you and about which you think you'll have something to say. If the professor is requiring you to propose a topic of your own, scour all the course materials (e.g., lecture notes, readings, syllabus, handouts, discussion sections, and course bibliography) for possible topics. Then meet with the prof to see if your proposed topic is one you could actually do, given what you know and what there is to know. A bad topic will net not only weeks of frustration but a bad paper in the end. 

How you prepare for tests can count almost as much as how you take tests. Sometimes it counts more. That's because in most cases, the professor is actually expecting you to have thought out the answers in advance of the test, not just when you get your test paper. Since there are as many different kinds of tests as there are professors, what's the best way to prepare? Here are our baker's dozen of tips for excellent test preparation:

1. Spread it out. Make sure you divide your studying time over a number of days, rather than leaving it all for the night before. If you try to learn it all at one go, you could find yourself in the same position as that Burmese python in Florida who tried to swallow an alligator whole. The result: not so pretty (for either the python or the alligator).

A recent New York Times piece, "Students Face a Class Struggle at State Colleges," describes the dramatic shortage of places in classes at California state colleges. The crisis is nationwide: Public universities in economically distressed states—Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and Ohio also come to mind—simply don't have enough spots in many classes to accommodate a student population growing at 4.5 percent each year. What should students do? Here are our 10 best tips for finding places in closed courses:

1. Try an off-peak time. Consider taking the sections that meet at times students find most undesirable. Think late afternoons and evenings, 7 a.m., and Fridays. Go for the times that your cohorts would rather be doing anything else than going to class.

Many students starting college encounter something like this:

“ENGL1013 Composition I (Sp, Su, Fa) Required of all freshmen unless exempted by the Department of English. Prerequisite: ENGL 0003 or an acceptable score on the English section of the ACT or another approved test.”

It’s that most despised of all college courses, the freshman comp requirement. We wondered what could be done to tame this beast, and so we asked our friend Raina Smith Lyons, assistant director of the program in composition at the University of Arkansas, for her suggestions. Here’s what she had to say: 

For many collegebound students—and their parents—the race for money for college begins on New Year's Day. That's because the all-important Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) form should be submitted as close to Jan. 1, 2010, as possible for best consideration. But perhaps you haven't been thinking about financial aid for college at all. If that's the case, you're in luck. We've invited Tom Lustig, a seasoned expert from PNC Bank's Educational Loan Center, to share with us his 10 best tips:

1. Get a head start. Apply for financial aid as early as possible since award deadlines tend to vary from school to school and state to state. You can apply before you have been accepted. If you're planning to borrow, apply for aid at least two months early to be sure that there are no hidden "land mines" in your or your cosigner's credit records. In the event a loan application is denied, the extra time offers a cushion to take advantage of a "second look" process your lender may offer—or to find one that does.

Many students are heading back for the second semester of college this week. How the semester goes will depend heavily on the quality of the courses they've chosen. Many students will consult sites such as www.ratemyprofessors.com, their college's own evaluation systems (when public), and the general scuttlebutt from their real and virtual friends. But it's always better to size the professor up yourself by attending the first couple of lectures, then dropping the course if you think the professor is bad. But how do you tell? Here are our 10 surefire signs that your prof's a dud—and that you should get out while there's still time:

1. The professor is boring. Even in the very first classes, you can tell if the professor presents the material in an interesting way. Be especially alert for professors who stand up there and read large sections of the lecture from their notes. If it's a snoozer in Week 1, it's going to get excruciating by Week 15.

Many students think picking a college is just a question of SATs and ACTs, GPAs and extracurricular activities, the Ivy League and college rankings. And, to be sure, all of these can go into one's choice of college. But much more important than any of these is the "fit,"­the finding of a college where you will feel comfortable and thrive. To help you start your quest for the perfect college for you, we've invited visiting blogger Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at MIT and coauthor of the book Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, to share her insights:

If you are a high school junior, it's time to think about college. With more than 4,000 colleges to pick from, looking for the right college can seem overwhelming­—but it's actually an important experience because it will lead you to a deeper understanding of yourself as you gain confidence in your ability to make good decisions. The key is to take it one step at a time. Here are 10 tips to prepare you for a great college search experience:

New Year's offers everyone­—college students included—a brand-new start. And just in case some of you are still in the market for New Year's resolutions, we'd like to respectfully recommend that you make 2010 the year in which you resolve not to be a:

1. College tourist. Some students think they'll show up for class only when the spirit moves them. And when they do deign to appear, these students wind up zoning out anyway, never bothering to take a single note and even dozing off here and there. Being a tourist might be great in Europe, but when you miss 20 percent of the classes and all the info and hints the professor drops about papers and tests, your trip in college isn't going to be the yellow brick road.

After picking the college itself, picking a major is the biggest choice you're going to make in college. But as often as not, students have almost no idea what they're getting into when they declare a major. To help you be an informed consumer, here are 10 questions to ask yourself—and others who might know—before signing on the dotted line:

1. Why do I want this major? It's not at all uncommon for a student to pick a major because someone else—almost always a family member—thinks it's a good idea. Maybe that's what mom or dad majored in, or maybe they see the chance to turn you into the biggest earner in family history. But someone else's wishes really shouldn't dictate what you decide to do at college, not to mention, possibly, the rest of your life. That's especially true if it's something that doesn't interest you at all and that you would never have chosen for yourself.

Holiday time is family time. And family time, in many families, is apply-to-college time. Many parents, despite their best intentions, do more harm than good to their collegebound children during this anxiety-ridden time. So we invited visiting blogger Marilee Jones, former dean of admissions at MIT and coauthor of the book, Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond, to offer some advice to parents of children caught up in the college application maze. Here are her eight "guiding principles":

1. Understand the college admissions process for what it is. Many parents think of college admissions as a competitive battle to be won. But, in truth, it is a key developmental phase to be experienced. This is your child's initiation into adulthood and, at the same time, an important moment in parenting. Your job now is to become your child's "grounding cord"—the calm and confident adult who keeps things safe as your child is exposed to the judgment and serendipity of college admissions officers.

[For more on the process, see the Complete Guide to College Admissions.]