We have a phone in each lab. These phones are for emergency use. They are not for students to spend extended time on! Please ask your teacher if you can use the phone; it expresses courtesy to your teacher and to everyone else in the room.
One of the great things about PDHT is that you quickly acquire skills that are marketable. Most of our students work at part-time jobs. The reality of the 2000s is that students must work to pay for their education. However, your education is a priority item for the three years you are here. You cannot allow your part-time job to interfere in your education. You also can't expect the college to schedule your classes so that they do not conflict with your part-time work! Working full-time in the summer and at the Christmas break is better than working Thursday night, Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday all term. If you are planning on moving out of your parents' place, make sure you have enough room-mates to be able to pay the rent without working a whole lot of hours. You have at least 24 hrs a week of classes, plus at least 14 hrs a week of homework, plus 56 hrs of sleep a week. That doesn't really leave too many hours for your part-time job in term-time.
You have to buy some very expensive textbooks in PDHT. Why not read them?? It really amazes me that so many students are reluctant to read their textbooks! Don't wait for your teacher to assign the reading—go on, read ahead! Who knows what great information you may find out!! And why not go to Chapters or Multimags and pick up a computer magazine or desktop publishing magazine occasionally! Your work will improve and you'll get the tips and tricks that the professionals use. You can customize your portfolio so it doesn't look like an exact replica of everyone else's. There are super books at Chapters in the computer section, too. Why not teach yourself JAVA? Visual Basic? Hey, you'll boost your salary when you graduate, and in the meantime you'll boost your ego by becoming a genuine smart person. Isn't that what a college education is all about? (Well, aside from the partying!).