a. Materials
Before anything, you should figure out how much money you want to spend. You're a college student, poor, you have no money...dont try this. We spent around 90 dollars in Home Depot alone just for the materials. First of all, the top piece of wood (aka plywood) should be one of your first concerns. We used 8x4 maple, which is about the most expensive and best quality. You can also use oak (which is also expensive), or you can pickup slab of pine. Pine is the sturdiest one you could find for a low price. Also, I would get at least 3/4". Pickup some 2x4 of 8 foot length, the table needs 5 total. For the legs you can use 4x4's but we chose to nail together 2x4's because 4x4's look really gross. So buy those accordingly. Also pickup screws and nails. Nuts and bolts were used to attach the legs, so if you are going that route you better have a drill and bit too. By the way, while your in Home Depot...it is funny to provoke a question of "what are you guys building?" from an employee. Your answer brings about a confused and then happy response.

b. Tools
Basic tools - hammer, tape measure, level, saw, screwgun. We used a regular hand saw which wasted at least 2 hours and too much energy. If you have an electric skilsaw...godbless. If you dont have an electric screw gun, you're basically up a creek. Did I say basic? I meant basic if you are a homeowner...or living with one.

c. Construction

We used screws to hold most of it together. Screw the 2x4's into the plywood. This should give you a frame. Make sure you screw the 2x4's together as well. Use the two remaining 2x4's to go the 8 foot length underneath the table, to protect against warping. If you are smart, plan where you screw in, so you dont have screws in the middle of your table. Cut the legs so that the total table height is around 30 inches (standard ping-pong table height). Drill through the 4x4 and the corner of the table so you can attach the legs with the nut and bolt. We used 2 bolts per leg, one out of each side. The end result is a sturdy-ass table. Have your girlfriend dance on it to make sure.