We’re all guilty of reading trashy magazines from time to time (or, if you’re like me, each and every week!) – Now’s the time to put all of that celeb gossip knowledge to good use. Finally, your wallet will thank you for all those hours spent reading US Weekly and watching E!

Bluefly.com is hosting a contest called Closet Confessions. Every week, Bluefly.com posts a Closet Confession from a celebrity (complete with a tour of his/her closet and commentary about his/her favorite designers and to-die-for pieces). But, before Bluefly.com posts the confession, you will have six days worth of hints to help you guess who that week’s celebrity confessor will be! This week’s confession premiers on June 16th, 2010 – So, if you think you’ve got the eye to guess which celeb it will be, make your prediction and win $200 to Bluefly.com!!!!

Dying to share your closet confession just like these celebrities? You can! Share your style with the world: pick your favorite item, take a picture, and post it. Each month Bluefly.com will award $500 to the Bluefly.com user whose look has the most votes. So, go through your closet, get your glam on, pose for a paparazzi photo, and post it for your chance to be like the Celebrity Confessors and for the chance to win $500 from Bluefly.com!

Plus, don’t forget that Cardholders get $15 OFF purchases of $75 or more at Bluefly.com throughout the year!

Many popular shopping sites and major brands offer mobile versions of their search tools, which can be especially useful for students that are always on the go. One out of five shoppers said they planned to use their cellphones to complete purchases and comparison shop last holiday season, according to an annual survey by Deloitte, the accounting and consulting firm.

While searching for prices using a mobile device has been fairly simple, completing a purchase on-screen often involves clicking to the retailer’s Web site, which may not customized for a mobile phone’s tiny display. However, many online retailers are revamping the mobile versions of their content so that consumers can make purchases without serious difficulty.

If you have a mobile browser on your phone, check out some of the popular brands that enable searches, purchases AND discounts:

American Airlines – Simply visit American Airlines’ website (AA.com) from your mobile phone or PDA, and the website will detect your mobile browser and serve up the streamlined version of the website where you can:

• Book flights and use your American Airlines student discount via promotion code
• Locate fares sales and special offers
• Check-in and manage your American Airlines itinerary
• Check flight status
• Enroll in AAdvantage and manager account

Amtrak – With a customized content interface for each device, screen space is maximized and content is organized especially for handheld devices and mouseless navigation. Just type www.amtrak.com, Amtrak2go.com or amtrak.mobi from your web-enabled mobile device and you can:

• Make a reservation and use your Amtrak student discount via Card number
• Check train status
• Access your Amtrak.com and Amtrak Guest Rewards accounts
• Sign up for train alerts

A|X Armani Exchange – The A|X Mobile website offers the same features as their standard website, but is formatted to fit your mobile device. Plus, you can still access you A|X Armani Exchange student discount via Card number.

A massive jump in federal funding to for-profit colleges over the past decade has the Department of Education seriously considering some major cuts. As Bloomberg News reports, federal funding to for-profit schools (e.g. University of Phoenix) has jumped from $4.6 billion in 2000 to $25.6 billion in 2009.

In response, the Department of Education is considering tightening funding rules. The tougher rules, which are expected to be released for public comment in the next several weeks, would require ITT Educational Services Inc., Career Education Corp. and Apollo Group Inc.’s University of Phoenix to show that their graduates earn enough money to pay off their student loans. If for-profit colleges can’t meet the standard, they could lose federal financial aid, which typically makes up three-quarters of their revenue.

The new regulations would pull 300,000 students out of classes and eliminate 2,000 educational programs, according to a study commissioned by the Washington-based Career College Association, which represents more than 1,400 for-profit colleges.

The proposal would reduce opportunities for women and racial minorities who want to go to college, the group said. For-profit colleges have proposed alternative regulations that would require companies to disclose more information about students’ debt and job prospects.

Visit Bloomberg Businessweek for more details.

Last week we asked you to guess the 10th most popular college poster. With 33% of the votes, you guessed: The Great Wave at Kanagawa , c.1829

With 22% of the votes, the runner up was: Endless Summer

With only 11% of the votes, the actual answer is: Monkey Thinker – Steez

Thanks for all the votes! Better luck on the guessing next time! Don’t forget: for a limited time, Cardholder get 20% OFF everything at AllPosters.com.

Since the inception of commercial flying there has been a multitude of technological innovations making it easier for airline passengers to get through the airport, on the plane and on their way to their destination. Kiosk check-in, for example, has made it simple for those with only a carry-on to simply swipe their credit card or passport and receive their boarding passes right away.

Over the last few years American Airlines has begun instituting, at over twenty airports, mobile bardcode boarding passes that allow their passengers to simply show security and airline employees a scanable barcode stored on their cell phones. After testing this at a few airports, American started to roll out mobile boarding passes to more airports in hopes of expediting the check-in and security process, making flying less of a hassle for their passengers.

As with most innovative technology, there will most likely be glitches and apprehension in regard to the security, but as cell phones become more and more integrated into our daily lives through smart phone technology, the prevalence of these types of applications will increase. More airlines, including United, Continental, Delta and Alaska have already begun accepting mobile boarding passes as well.

The TSA (Transportation Security Adminitration) seems to be on board too, stating in their blog that “paperless boarding pass[es] will … prevent fraudulent paper boarding passes that could be created and printed from home”.

See the complete list of airports where American is currently accepting mobile boarding passes here. Interested in trying out a mobile boarding pass? Book a flight and let us know how it goes. And remember, Student Advantage Cardholders get 10% OFF flights worldwide with American Airlines!

For those of you that have read some of my blog postings, you already know that I am a graduating senior.  Well, it’s now time for me to end my journey at Student Advantage along with my 4 years at Boston University.  So what has the short time at my internship here with Student Advantage taught me, which I didn’t learn from college?  Well, there is a lot to be said about the differences between hands on work experience and in-class assignments.  I won’t bore you by going too much in depth, but to highlight one important lesson.

It’s all about initiative; an internship is only going to give you what you put into it.  An obvious statement, probably, but it’s true. The respect and experience you gain from putting in the extra effort makes all of the difference.  Not only do you have a great reference for future jobs, but the responsibilities you earn will only serve to increase your qualifications against competitors in the workforce.

So as I start the next chapter in my life I am so happy to have been given the opportunity to work with the great people here at Student Advantage.  For my last piece of parting advice, get an internship and the sooner the better!

- Alie D.

Well it’s that time of year again… spring semester is almost over, so it’s time for me to study for finals and then head home. It is so exciting to be nearly done with all of my classes, but it also leaves me sad because today is my last day as an intern at Student Advantage.

I started as an intern at Student Advantage this January. Before then, I had no prior internship experience and had never worked in an office before. Interning at Student Advantage has helped me gain many important skills that I will apply to all of my future endeavors. I was given the opportunity to coordinate projects with partners with support from my supervisors, analyze the performance of different brand marketing programs, find great deals for students, update the website and write for this blog. Student Advantage has opened many doors for me, and helped me get my summer internship.

Finding great deals for YOU has been a major focus of my internship. The discounts that you see on the Twitter and Facebook page were often found by Alie (the other intern) and me. I hope you were able to use some of the awesome discounts, and enjoyed them as much as I certainly have.

This is my last blog post, and I hope you’ve gotten a lot out of what I’ve written. Be sure to check back on the blog since Sam, Greg and Katherine will continue to write fascinating posts, and soon, new interns will be updating as well.

It has been an amazing semester!!!

-Jen

P.S. If you’re still looking for a summer internship, e-mail your resume to edv@cbord.com. Ed is currently looking for Partnership Development interns for this summer, so maybe you could be doing my job soon!

Mother’s Day is May 9th, which is just around the corner. Trying to find the perfect gift for the person who has loved you your entire life and holds you dearly to her heart can be difficult. If you’re a last minute gifter or you’re dealing with a serious budget, check out the 1800Flowers.com Spot A Mom Contest or send a FREE gift to the moms you know using Facebook.

Want to send your Mom to Hawaii? Here’s how:

• Tell 1800Flowers.com about your mother (or ANY mom you know and love). Share the imaginative, passionate and thoughtful lessons that she taught you.
• Daily prizes will awarded through May 2nd.
• Top 10 Lessons to be chosen by a panel of judges. Your votes will determine the Grand Prize winner.
• Grand Prize winning Mom receives a Hawaii vacation getaway and a year of flowers, plus a year of flowers for the story teller.
• Each lesson submitted will also have a chance to be featured in a future book by the 1800Flowers.com founder, Jim McCann.

See contest details at 1800Flowers.com. Cardholders also save up to 20% on Mother’s Day gifts this year!

A few weeks ago my computer crashed and I lost everything: my music, pictures, reports, and special programs I had downloaded. At one point or another, you or someone you know has probably lost important information from a computer breakdown; maybe because of a virus or perhaps a glass of spilled water. Most companies and computer specialists cannot do anything to save a computer from spilled water except hope that it dries out and works again.

**Dramatization of REAL events. This could happen to YOU…

Here are a few ways you can use your Student Advantage Card to help save you time, money and tons of frustration by protecting your computer in advance:

Back up your hard drive. By saving all of your files on an external hard drive, you can rest assured knowing that all of your important files will be safe not matter what happens to your computer. For a limited time, Cardholders can save up to 40% on select Lenovo accessories. Trust me, it’s worth the investment and peace of mind.

Update your files regularly. Keep your computer protected and up to date with all of the latest software and virus protection. JourneyEd.com offers great deals on new software, plus Cardholders save $10 on every purchase of $99 or more. Cardholders can also get Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 for only $59.95!

Download files only from trusted sites. When you download a file from a web site, be sure you know the source. This comment may seem like common sense, but when ignored can have disastrous impacts on your computer.

And last, but not least, avoid spillage when possible!