Even though these men and women are first and foremost legislators who shape the face of our legal system; many of us take for granted the "little" things they can do for us. I know up until a year ago I had only a faint notion of what my congressman did outside of legislating, but that all changed when I ran into consumer issue that even I could not fix. I soon found out that my local congressman was severely underrated; on top of representing my interests in legislature, he also provides me many other services.

The formative experience that made me realize how much I had underrated my congressman was when I had trouble consolidating some student loans. After numerous phone calls to both lenders with no results I reached out to Jim Jordan, my local representative. His office was able to get in touch with the right people and get the loans consolidated within a matter of weeks; saving me close to $300 a month. For more on how to use your congressman or woman to solve student issues check out WalletPop's guide.

On top of that helping you with student loan disputes they can also:

• Help with federal agencies such as housing, Veterans' benefits, Social Security and Medicare.
  Arrange tours at points of interest in DC.
• Assist with Passport and immigration issues.
• Nominate you for a U.S. Service Academy such as West Point.
• Help you get a Congressional internship.
• Provide you with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol.
• Congratulatory letters for birthdays anniversaries, retirements and more.
• Assistance requesting federal funding.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Underrated In America!

Of the many things that I find overrated, the single most highly overrated item has to be the college grade point average (GPA). Yep, that two-digit number that we slave over for four years, carefully weighing which classes we can skip and which justify an all-nighter, is, in the long run, worth less than a meal in the student union. I suppose many of you are already up in arms because of my devaluation of a college GPA, but take a minute and write down your cumulative GPA. Then write down how many jobs you've gotten as a result of your GPA. Go ahead... I'll wait. If the sum of these two numbers is less than 6 then I'm sorry, but I believe my case is made.

I wouldn't expect you to take my opinion that college GPAs are overrated. A 2006 survey by Collegegrad.com found that only 6% of employers think that a job candidates GPA is the most important piece of information about an individual. The survey found that the interview and work experience were ranked higher than GPA when determining an applicant's aptitude.

Don't miss the rest of our series on Overrated people, places and things!

Still not convinced that your GPA isn't the most important asset you picked up in college? Maybe Jon Morrow's account of why he wishes he didn't get straight A's in college will help you better understand why your GPA doesn't count for that much. In his experience, employers were far more concerned with what he did in school overall than just how well he did in the classroom.

Even though your college GPA is overrated, that doesn't mean you should necessarily skip college or zonk out in the classroom. If anything, this should serve as a wake up call to get involved in leadership roles on campus or to take internships in your field to make yourself more marketable. Don't kill yourself for a 3.3 GPA by memorizing formulas and definitions; instead, spend more time focusing on how the lessons you learn in class relate to real life. These actions will make finding a job after graduation easier for you than for Joe Schmo 4.0 with no experience!

A piece (subscription required) in today's Wall Street Journal discusses a wonderful trend that is emerging: go-getter college students coming up with their own internship ideas and then pitching them to non-profits and corporations.

I love this. There's something sort of repugnant about college students scrolling through internship opportunities provided by the school, looking for the one that will look best on the resume. Coming up with your own internship ideas requires a willingness to do research, creativity, and a strong work ethic -- all qualities that would be attractive to almost any employer.

Given that employers hired nearly half of their interns from the class of 2006, designing an internship on your own might also be a great way to position yourself for the job you want -- even if the company doesn't know they need it yet.

The Princeton Review has a helpful article on creating your own internship.