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Is Community College Right For You?

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:16:07 +0000

If you are like most high school seniors, you’ve spent a good deal of time exploring what it takes to find the right college. Part of this process has no doubt been learning about private loans for college, college savings programs and financial aid and grants. Just trying to understand the financial part of the college equation can be a great deal of serious work!

During this research, you may have discovered that you just can’t find a way to pay for a traditional four-year degree at a college or university. You may also be worried that your grades are not going to be good enough to get you into one of the schools of your choice. The good news is that if you fall into these categories, there are still good options.

The community college system is diverse, works well and is more popular than ever. The inexplicable and continued rise in college tuition in the last few years has fed something a renaissance for community colleges. Also if you are thinking that only large communities and cities have community colleges, then guess again. The fact is that there are more community colleges than you might imagine, and the odds are good that there is one within driving distance of you.

Community colleges offer a great, if not fantastic, value for the money. When compared to the increasingly astronomical tuition rates at private and even some state schools, community colleges are nothing short of a bargain, if not a super bargain!

Attending a community college for two years and then transferring to finish your degree can save you a massive amount of money. Plus, if you don’t have the grades or the SAT scores to get into one of your top picks or any of your local schools, this could be a second chance!

If you consistently pull good grades in a community college, you should be able to transfer to a four-year university or college to complete your degree. You will also have more time to find the right college and look into financial aid and grants as well. Thanks to community colleges, thousands of students, of all ages, who could not otherwise attend college, have the opportunity to do so.

5 Key Ways You Could Benefit from Attending a Community College

Earn credits to transfer to a four-year college or university
Save money
Have additional time to investigate how to pay for college
Have additional time to explore what major you will choose
Gain access to knowledgeable facility, professors and instructors who can help guide your education and career path

These are only some of the ways that you can benefit from attending a community college. If you think the four-year university or college route is closed to you, then you should consider community college. In short, community colleges have a great deal to offer. Community colleges help countless people every year, and they can help you as well.

The Importance of Great Organizing

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 03:24:49 +0000

As you look to make the transition from high-school to college, you are probably feeling as though there is a never ending and maybe even growing “checklist” of things you need to worry about or check off your list. Don’t worry if you feel this way, as it is very normal and quite common.

When it comes to getting into one of your top college picks, you might not think much about your level of organization, but it is actually of paramount importance in the process. The more organized you are, the greater your chances of getting into one of your top college picks. The odds are higher for ultimate success in college as well.

If you haven’t been “much for organizing” in the past, now is definitely the time to change that. Studying for the SAT, meeting deadlines, writing essays, taking practice tests, evaluating your different college options, investigating financial aid for college tuition and direct federal student loans takes a lot of time, and that means a lot of organization is essential.

One of the single largest steps towards great organization is being willing to prioritize what is important and what is not important. Tackle this step first, and getting organized will become a great deal easier.

Sacrificing things that you enjoy doing in order to do something that you don’t like or find unpleasant is easier said than done. One trick is to start small with small sacrifices of things that you enjoy. Instead use that “recovered time” for something that relates to getting into the school of your dreams, or at least one of the schools that you like the idea of attending!

You could tackle this issue on a week by week basis. Here is an example of how you could structure your college prep organizing. You don’t have to use this exact model, but instead you can adapt this strategy for whatever works for you!

Week One-Spend more time studying for SAT

Week Two-Research colleges

Week Three-Get College applications

Week Four-Research financial aid related issues

Week Five-Make list of relevant deadlines

Week Six-Think about ways you can become more efficient and effective in how you use your time and make a list!

Each week look for ways that you can set time aside so that you can apply that time towards getting into college. As a result, you will become far more organized and also far calmer! Being organized has a benefit that few consider; being organized means less panic and that means better decision-making.

Many students “end up” at universities and colleges that were nowhere near their top picks for no other reason that a failure to get organized in advance. They had all the tools, the necessary grades, good letters of recommendation and maybe even good SAT scores, but they lacked proper preparation.

Think of getting into college like you would think about starting a business. You wouldn’t just try to open a business without preparing in some fashion, would you? You instinctively understand and know that a business, at least one with any chance of success, needs work and planning. If you invest your time in this fashion, you will be surprised by what you can accomplish.

Should You Stay on Campus or Rent an Apartment?

admin — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 16:38:04 +0000

You’ve probably given at least a little time to thinking about how to survive college, and if you haven’t, you should start doing so. One of the major decisions that you will need to make regarding college is whether or not you will stay in on campus or rent an apartment nearby. A lot goes into this decision. In this article, we will look at some of the pros and cons of each path.

Staying on campus means that you get the full college dorm life experience with all of its ups and downs and pros and cons. There are many good aspects regarding opting for dorm life, as you will be able to meet a lot of new friends, pseudo-friends, future enemies and acquaintances more readily than you would living in an apartment off campus. No doubt, adjusting to living in a new city or state can be a little bit easier if you are constantly surrounded by people that you might have something in common with, or at least in theory.

Yet, college dorm life can have a lot of downsides. One major downside is that it can be difficult to focus on your studies. Now if you are going to college to mostly appease your parents, and have opted for what you feel will be a pretty “easy” major, then college dorm life could very well be the way to go. This is even truer if you are mostly concerned with having a good time and partying. However, if you are considering a difficult major or want plenty of time to study, then you will want to reconsider living in a dorm.

Students who want to be able to study in peace may not find that living in a dorm is the best place to do this. No matter how studious you may, be there is no way to ensure that your dorm mates or floor mates will share your perspective on the value of peace and quite. The fact that people will surround you who have different majors and different course loads, means that they will have different study habits too. No matter what your perspective, this is a good point to keep in mind as it could influence your success level in college.

Renting an apartment gives your more control over your environment, and you may also enjoy more creature comforts. On the downside, you won’t enjoy the instant access to the campus and instant access to classmates.

Opting for an apartment doesn’t necessarily mean the end of your social life. In fact, depending on your personality, having an apartment of your own may actually help your social life. After all, college students love trashing other people’s places during parties!

If you do choose an apartment, you may have to find a college roommate and that can be a tricky proposition (but so is potentially getting “stuck” with a dorm roommate that you hate!) The bottom line is that there are pros and cons to both of these options. Ultimately, you need to think long and hard about what kind of person you are, how easily you make friends and what you want out of the college experience.

Community Colleges – A Great Option to Consider

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:20:35 +0000

One of the single most important parts of the transition from high school to college is being prepared. Clearly, you should work hard to find financial aid for college tuition and direction federal student loans; however, if you are unable to afford college or your grades didn’t allow you to get into any local colleges or universities, don’t panic. It is important to remember that you still have options for receiving an education.

Millions of people have successfully used the community college system. You can attend community college to receive further education and even transfer to a four-year college or university later on.

Here are two good books on the topic of community colleges.

Community College by Susan H. Stafford

Okay, you didn’t get into the college of your dreams or you just can’t afford to go. That doesn’t mean that you should just give up on your dream of getting a college degree. College graduates earn far more over the course of their lifetime than those with just high-school diplomas. This book is valuable in that it gets students and parents thinking about community college, which stands out as an important often overlooked resource.

Going to a community college can save you a staggering amount of money, and this book has most of what you need to know to begin the community college process. There are many misconceptions regarding community college, and Community College by Susan H. Stafford is rather effective at clearing some of them up. Another reason this book is a winner is that it doesn’t just state, “go to a community college” but instead gives you concrete reasons to do so. This is done by showing how community colleges can tie into creating new career and earning opportunities.

If you think that your college dreams are over, then pick this book up. It will remind you that you can, in fact, return to college at any age with very little money.

The Community College Guide: The Essential Reference from Application to Graduation by Joshua Halberstam and Debra Gonsher

The Community College Guide: The Essential Reference from Application to Graduation by Joshua Halberstam and Debra Gonsher takes a slightly different approach to community college than other books. Halberstam and Gonsher’s approach goes beyond making the solid case for community college and gets directly into the “nuts and bolts,” such as transcripts and financial aid concerns.

Anyone considering community college will find this helpful; however, you will definitely skip over some sections. At times the handholding might seem excessive, but ultimately there is no denying that this book is worth the effort, just be prepared to do some serious skipping and skimming. Any book that makes a case for the value and worth of the community college system is one that is worth reading and supporting.

Both of these books can help outline the community college experience and what it has to offer. Remember that you should be able to find a community college in your area. In addition, you will also find many dedicated people at your local community college that are eager to help guide you, so seek them out and ask for help!

Finding A Mentor

admin — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:19:39 +0000

You may have never considered finding a mentor, but it can be a very worthwhile and valuable experience. All of the issues that you are currently worried about regarding trying to find the right college can be brought into greater clarity if you can find the right individual to assist you. But how does one go about finding a mentor to help with college?

If you are successful in finding a good mentor, you will be able to gain the assistance of someone that can help you even beyond how to survive college. A great mentor will be able to help you with your career as well. The first step in finding this resource is to take a mental inventory of the accomplished people that you know.

You might discover that you already know someone that is accomplished and that you think would be a solid mentor. The main thing that you want to look for is someone whose opinion you respect that you believe will give you advice you can trust.

Since we are specifically discussing how to get into college, it is best that you find a mentor that has personally gone through this process. After all, you want good advice specifically on how to survive college, financial aid and grants, how to find scholarships and other college related topics.

As you take inventory of the people that you know or have access to, consider if there is one or two people that stand out. In fact, it may be possible to have several people mentor you in different ways. This is more common than you might think, as it is a very practical approach and option.

If you are having trouble finding a mentor, reach out to friends and family. For example, you might have a friend who has a parent that is a doctor, college professor, or who has an MBA or a range of other valuable academic experience. This presents an opportunity to get some experienced advice. Since you want to find the right college, experienced advice is a must.

Ultimately, there are lots of options for finding a mentor. In addition to asking your friends and relatives if they know someone, you can always ask your teachers and school facility. Two great people to talk to are your school principal and vice principal. They will appreciate your enthusiasm. Most likely, they have also attended graduate school. The odds are that they may know someone (perhaps a retired associate) that would be willing to mentor you. You never know what might happen if you find a mentor that is a retired school superintendent or principal with thirty-five years of experience!

Quite often people will surprise you in their willingness to help. Remember that your own preconceived ideas about what is and is not possible may influence your outcomes. If you believe that finding a mentor that will help you through the process of getting into college is impossible, then you are making your search harder. Be optimistic! People generally appreciate it when young people show initiative and indicate that they are taking something seriously, especially anything education related. You can use this fact to your advantage.

8 Reasons to Consider Out-of-State Colleges and Universities

admin — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 20:25:34 +0000

While parents may prefer that their High School graduate consider in-state colleges and universities, it is not unusual for students to push for an out-of-state experience. High-schoolers considering colleges often find out-of-state options alluring, to be able to spread their wings, especially if their college of choice holds the lure of prestige. Before restricting your sights on in-state schools, consider these possible benefits of an out-of-state college experience.

Specialized Programs
An out-of-state school may be a good thing to consider if the school specializes in a degree program not offered at a college near home. Some degrees – for example Zoology, Nuclear Physics, Veterinary Medicine, Contemporary Music, Nutritional Science, or Women’s Studies – are less commonly offered across the board.

Lower Tuition Costs
The cost for attending some out-of-state colleges may actually be less than an in-state college. For example, a California resident attending the University of California at Santa Barbara costs around $30,000. That same student may attend the University of Arkansas for around $26,000, Purdue University in Indiana for around $28,000, or the University of Kansas for around $23,000.

Greater Independence
Attending a school that is too far away to visit home regularly will require you to develop greater independence, life skills, and self-reliance. If you’re solely responsible for remembering schedules, making and keeping appointments, shopping, healthy eating, laundry, budgeting and bill paying, this gives you an excellent crash course toward confident adulthood.

Out-of-State Scholarships
In these very tight financial times some colleges are having difficulty keeping enrollment up and they may be offering more scholarship opportunities to out-of-state students. Some examples of this are Portland State in Portland, Oregon which offers scholarships to students from several of the western states entering degree programs that are not available to them in their home state. Michigan State offers scholarships to out-of-state pre-med students. Some colleges have scholarships for which all out-of-state incoming freshmen are considered. If money is an issue for you, this is definitely worth considering.

Finding The Right Campus Vibe
In some cases, the college environment may be a good reason for considering an out-of-state college. If a student has grown up in a town of 20,000 persons, enrolling them in a college with a student body of 30,000 may be too overwhelming (or it might be just what you want for a total change of lifestyle!). See what options suit your preferences in your home state and compare them with colleges in other states that offer the environment and opportunities that you want.

New Cultural Experiences
An out-of-state college may offer the student a new cultural experience. There are marked differences in the lifestyles of people from Southern California and Fayetteville, Arkansas, or people from New York City and Phoenix Arizona. A different area of the country will afford you the opportunity to experience new foods, different geography, and perhaps a climate change. Seeing snow for the first time is just as exciting for a Hawaiian student in Massachusetts as going to the beach in February for a New Englander studying in Florida.

Career Prospects
Your career choice may play a role in the decision to consider an out-of-state college, if you already know what path you want to take. With some occupations, the college where the degree was earned can be extremely important. Institutions like Harvard Law, John Hopkins Medical, or MIT for math and sciences may significantly impact job opportunity, but it’s also important to remember it’s what you do with your experience, regardless of where you study.

Employment While In College
If you will need to hold a part-time job, and that is increasingly an issue, consider the employment opportunities in the area near the college. Some states have been more heavily impacted by the down-turn in the economy, so part-time job opportunities may be more plentiful in another state.

College is a big step for the High School graduate and for mom and dad. Choosing the right college is a significant undertaking, with many things to be considered, but ultimately you want to find a place where you’ll feel happy, be able to pursue the academic and extracurricular activities that you’re interested in, and feel comfortable. When doing your college search, don’t ignore out-of-state options. Even if you pick one as your wildcard choice to apply, you never know, it might end up being your favorite!

Author Bio: Tal Baron writes for Smart Meetings, a corporate events guide for planning Boston conferences.

3 Ways To Improve Your Discipline and Get Great SAT Scores

admin — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:50:43 +0000

SAT prep is a lot more complicated than simply studying X,Y and Z. SAT Prep involves having great study habits as well. If you are going to get a great score, then it is necessary not just to study, but to study the right way and with the right materials and study aids. In this article, we will look at how you can improve your study habits. Many of the steps we will cover here are very easy, but you have to stick to them. In time, however, you will see a big difference in how much you accomplish during your study time.

1. Draw on Discipline From Other Areas

More than likely, you have more discipline at your disposal than you think. If you play sports, know how to play an instrument or have a hobby that requires focus and determination, then you already have a degree of discipline. Even playing video games, such as shooters and role-playing games takes focus and patience. You can tap into that discipline when it comes to your study habits. Now this isn’t an overnight process and it will take time, but once you’ve given it some effort, you will discover that you are making nice progress in the direction of being more disciplined with your study habits.

2. Set Aside A Designated Time to Study

Knowing that you will study specifically for the SAT at a given time every day will help you find the success you want! You may also want to consider mapping out what sections of the SAT you wish to focus on for a given day. Through good organization you will decrease your chances of not properly covering a particular section of the exam well enough.

Just as you set time aside to study for SAT prep, you may want to do the same for other aspects of college success. How to survive college and get into college may have a lot to do with the process of searching for financial aid for college tuition and financial aid and grants. Setting aside time for this part of the process is a great idea and could literally make the difference between being able to afford the college or university of your choice and not going to college at all! Discipline in this regard is really quite important.

3. Ask for Help

Don’t be shy about asking others to assist with your discipline if you are having trouble focusing like you should. If you have a friend that is far more focused and disciplined than you are, then see if he or she will help you stay on track. You may want to ask family members or even teachers to stay on top of your progress. While this might not exactly be pleasant, your main goal should be achieving a great SAT score. After all, you don’t want to waste all of those hours you spent on test prep tutoring, and finding SAT practice tests online.

The 5 Pros And Cons of Study Groups

admin — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 16:51:53 +0000

Forming a study group for the SAT has some big pros, but it also has a few cons as well. SAT preparation can be complicated and it’s a major step in your life. Pretending that it isn’t a big deal might be tempting, but it really isn’t in your best interest. If you take a “whatever” attitude towards studying for the SAT, you are doing harm to your friends as well, as you may influence their study habits and behavior.

It is vitally important that you realize with total clarity that despite what anyone ever told you, you are not competing against your classmates and friends on the SAT exam. This kind of thinking is primitive, foolish and highly misguided. Millions of students take the SAT exam every single year! The thought that you are competing against your friends is silly and you shouldn’t fall for it. If someone tells you that it’s a “dog eat dog” world and that this applies to the SAT, well, they just don’t know what they are talking about. Remember that so many students take this test that any actual competition between you and your classmates is beyond trivial.

Once you realize that there is no real, actual competition between you and your friends and classmates, the option of cooperation opens up. Why study alone if you have friends that are better at given subjects than you are? By cooperating with one another, it is possible to not just break down the SAT exam, but to also pull on one another’s strengths and help with one another’s weaknesses as well.

Study Group Pros

1) Learn more as you can break down the test and study materials and split them up.
2) Pull on one another’s strengths
3) Get help with your weaknesses
4) Learn to see the test and test questions in different ways
5) Pull on collective resources, such as study guides and so on.

Study Group Cons

Unfortunately there are some cons to forming a study group for the SAT. Let’s take a look a few of these cons.

1) There will be differing levels of seriousness among your friends.
2) There is a risk that your study sessions could deviate into socializing instead of working.
3) Not everyone will pull his or her weight equally.
4) Egos may get in the way and interfere with overall progress.
5) People may not stick with the study group long enough to get the desired results and to justify the time it took to start the group in the first place.

Whether or not you should form a SAT study group depends greatly on the quality of people that you can pull into the group. Even if you get great people in your group, you may still find that the group dynamic doesn’t work. In the end, you have to play this one by ear and see how it develops. However, if your SAT study group is successful, you could really benefit a great deal.

Ten Creature Comforts to Make Your SAT Exam Day Easier

admin — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 14:41:07 +0000

All that goes into the transition process from college to high school can be a little overwhelming. If you are thinking that the process as a whole is pretty complex, well, you’re totally right, as that is definitely the case. Yet, one important thing you should never lose track of during this process is the importance of holding onto your commonsense and applying it to as many situation as possible.

You’ve spent a great deal of time preparing for this exam and have researched many issues from direct federal student loans to why study aboard and even college student credit cards. The purpose of most of your studying and research is to be well prepared for college and for the pivotal SAT exam. The so-called “little things” can make a big difference in life.

Making certain that you are comfortable for your SAT exam is of vital importance. Let’s take a look at the small steps you can take to make sure you are ready to go for test day! Here are ten steps you can take that while help you feel better, more relaxed and more confident on your SAT exam day.

1) Wear comfortable clothing. The day of your SAT exam is absolutely not the day to worry about how you look or flirting with people you think are cute. This test is a very big deal. Wearing comfortable clothing will allow you to focus on the task at hand, namely getting a great score. This test factor is such a big deal. If you don’t have comfortable clothing, buy some!

2) Wear comfortable shoes. Having comfortable shoes on is so important that it deserves to be distinguished from wearing comfortable clothing.

3) Another important creature comfort is making sure you give yourself enough time to not just eat a quality meal before the exam but have time to digest it as well. It is difficult for your brain to work effectively until your food is properly digested.

4) Make sure you have access to healthy food and snacks on exam day.

5) Make sure that you are well hydrated.

6) If you need medication of any sort, make sure you have it on hand.

7) Don’t be afraid to be a little superstitious. If you feel that you have a lucky charm, a lucky pencil, a lucky baseball cap or a lucky whatever, now is the time! Anything that gives you confidence and calms you down is a smart move!

8 ) Some creature comforts involving avoiding certain things that cause you stress. In the period before your exam, avoid stress if at all possible.

9) Just as you should avoid stress before your SAT exam, you should avoid distractions. This is one time that you might want to leave your smart phone in your bag or backpack.

10) Chauffeur me! Driving can be stressful. If you can get a ride to and from your exam that is a great idea too.

Using Nutrition to Improve Your Test Scores

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:49:33 +0000

Around the nation, tremendous pressure has been placed on schools to boost their standardized test scores. Yet, little, if any, attention is given to nutrition. People who willingly admit and understand that cars perform differently and better when given the proper fuel somehow believe that this phenomenon doesn’t apply to the human brain.

Getting the best nutrition possible, especially when you are a child or a young adult, is amazingly important for what your brain can accomplish. After all, don’t bodybuilders boost their levels of protein in order to grow larger muscles? You need the right nutrition to achieve optimal educational performance.

You can’t eat tons of processed foods, fast foods, foods loaded with chemicals, sugar, artificial flavors and preservatives and expect to feel your best, look your best, or be as mentally sharp as you could otherwise be. No matter what you may have heard, your diet does impact how you look and how you perform in life!

With all of these facts taken into consideration, it is possible for you to boost your test score through the right nutrition, just like a body builder boosts his or her amount of muscle mass. Here is a key point to remember- your brain is amazing in many ways and, in fact, it is a singularly unique organ in your body. Why? Unlike the rest of your body, your brain, if taken care of and given the right foods, can continue to build new connections throughout life. Your brain can keep developing even in old age if you adopt the proper lifestyle and food choices early in life.

So what should you be eating? A lot of the foods you should be eating are familiar ones, such as fruits and vegetables. Also you should opt for organic whenever possible. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins, minerals and compounds that fight disease. The anti-cancer compounds found in fruits and veggies are no laughing matter and are the subject of serious medical and university studies. These foods will help you feel better, be more alert and have the nutrition you need to improve both your studying habits and your test score.

Essential fatty acids are also important for your brain health. Essential fatty acids are found in foods like walnuts and fish. Particularly good types of fish are wild Alaskan salmon and sardines. If you don’t like fish, there are fish oil tablets that will serve you just as well. The main point is to make sure that your brain is getting the nutrition that it needs for optimal performance.

By eating fruits, vegetables and nuts every single day, you will feel better, look better and likely boost your SAT score. Adopting an improved diet as far out as possible from your test date will be worth the time and effort.