College Magazine Cover

This is the college magazine I designed. I did it using photoshop, which I learned to use a few days ago.
I used a mid-shot of a student that I took myself, and matched the colour scheme with her clothes and folder; purple to match the folder and white to match the background and her shirt.
I included the date on top of the barcode, so it is similar to that of a real magazine.
I made the masthead bold and fairly bright so that it stands out, and I made the cover-lines both white AND purple, so that they contrast with each other, and so that the whole magazine isn't too plain.
I decided not to make the cover of my magazine too 'busy' as it may distract from the main image of the student, which I want to be the main focus of the cover. In the bottom right hand corner of the page I included a link to the school's website. I felt that this was appropriate as it is a college magazine.
The cover-lines I included were education related, such as Revision Tips, Exam Guide and Resources, which fit with the college theme of the magazine. I did have some trouble with the sizing of the text and being able to fit it all in without it looking slightly cramped but I just downsized the text to make it fit in.
The main coverline I used was 'Top 10 Tips For Success'. I used this as I thought about what would appeal to me and other students, and this seemed right as everybody wants to succeed. I made the barcode fairly small so that it is not the main focus of the cover.
I am happy with the finished product and thought I did quite well designing my first magazine using photoshop, as I was not very familiar with using photoshop to design things until recently.