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My dad was telling me that colleges will look to see if you have a Myspace or Facebook and that that could affect their decision on whether they pick you or not over a different person with the same grades and activities as you. Is this true?
This is a great question. I'm glad you asked it, and I'm glad your dad was thinking about it for your sake. Every student who is applying to college and has a Facebook or Myspace profile needs to know about this! Not all colleges look at your online profiles, but the truth is that some do! Follow the well-known saying's advice, "It is better to be safe than sorry." When the time comes for you to apply to colleges, you need to be very careful about how you have presented yourself online. Check out the article from the last issue of My College Guide, called "Your Face Is Out There - Facebook & College Admission" for ways social networking sites can be used to your advantage or to your disadvantage.
How should I answer this question? "Briefly state your purpose for which you want to pursue your degree from this college."
This is a task that just about everyone applying to college will have to complete: the writing of the application essay! There is no way I can tell you how you should answer that question, and there is no way I would tell you! But I hope I can give you some tips on how to get started.
First, instead of thinking about the "right answer" to this question, think about why you really do want to go to this school. Have you heard great things about it? Do you have family or friends who have gone there before you? Does the school have exactly the program you want? Do you love the campus? The school traditions? If you don't know why you want to go to this school, you need to do more research. Really think through why this school is a great fit for you. If you can't answer this question in your own mind, you won't be able to believably articulate it on paper.
Second, follow the directions. If a question says "be brief," then be brief! If it says "one page," then write one page. More is NOT necessarily better. Don't try to fit your life story into one paragraph. Make sure you answer the question that is asked, no more, no less.
Third, put yourself in the position of the person reading your answer. They read hundreds, maybe thousands of these. Why should they be impressed by your essay above others? Is it your honesty? Humor? Articulate thoughts? Commitment to the school you are applying to? Passion for your area of study? Sell yourself in an honest manner; be memorable!
Finally, take your time. This is not something to rattle off and send in! Write a first draft, then come back to it a few days later, and so on until it's just right. Read through it over and over for mistakes; an automatic spell-check is NOT enough! Give your final draft to one or two other people (English teachers can be great help) for their suggestions.
Happy Writing!
I'm a sophomore in high school and I'm highly interested in early childhood education. I love to work with kids in the summer. However I'm worried with tough economic times, that the salary wouldn't be enough to survive comfortably. However I'm reluctant to stray from this area. Should I be worried?
This is a good question to address right now, with our economy struggling in the U.S. It is true that teachers don't usually make a ton of money. There are other professions that aren't among the highest paid as well. If you are on a career path to one of these, you may have concerns about your future. Should you be worried?
First, let me say that many, many people in this country live on teachers' salaries, or salaries that are in a similar range. You have to learn to live within your means, follow a budget, and possibly live in an area where the cost of living in low. Yes, you can "survive." The question comes when you talk about "surviving comfortably." To you, if this means eating out several times a week, driving brand new cars, and taking big trips, then you need to reconsider your profession. If you want to live a certain lifestyle, and you are not willing to budge on that lifestyle, then you need to make enough money to support yourself. But, if you really believe that you are good at working with children and feel led that way, I certainly hope you will follow that path. Good teachers are so difficult to find, yet so necessary. Or if you are following another career path that is not among the highest paid, and you really, really love what you are going to do, I hope that you are able to continue that path and learn to live within your means.
If you are able to finish college with very little or no debt, you give yourself a huge head-start. Try to find financial aid, scholarships, and other programs that will help finance your education. You can also look into work-study programs that offer great on-campus jobs for students. Once you graduate and get a job, consider taking courses towards a graduate degree while you are working. Typically, the more education you have, the better your salary will be.
So what can you do right now? As I said before, do everything you can to finance your education with scholarships, grants, and college savings. Learn to live on a budget right now. Ask your parents to help you set up your own finances on a limited basis, and take a financial class for students. Create good money habits now, and you will not need to worry so much about the future.
I'm a sophomore in high school. How soon can I go about looking for and applying for scholarships? Is it too early for me to do that or would starting now be beneficial and mean less stress when I'm a senior?
It is never too early to start looking for scholarships. Some scholarships are even available to high school freshman and sophomores! Even if you can't apply to all of them yet, at least you will have a good idea of what is out there by the time you can apply. You can also begin writing application essays that answer common questions like, "What are your goals in life?" or "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Thinking about your answers to questions like these gives you a great head start to submitting a great essay.
So where do you begin to look for scholarships? Start in your guidance office. Your guidance counselor should have great information to get you started. Look in your community; businesses and organizations offer many scholarships to local students. Normally, you would apply for scholarships offered by your college of choice, but since you are a sophomore and probably haven't chosen a college yet, you'll have to wait on that one. Finally, spend time with your nose buried in scholarship guides. You can find them online or in your local bookstore. There are thousands of scholarships out there, you just have to find the ones you qualify for!
Check out the article "Financing your College Education" from the 2009 issue of My College Guide. Click on the "2009 Articles" tab in our home page menu. Good luck!
Is a work experience very necessary to get into Ivy leagues or other really good universities? Apart from grades and SATs, are they very particular about extracurricular activities? Is a student who gets good grades, gets a good SAT score, but isn't too involved in sports or extracurricular activities or a work experience still considered a potential candidate?
Work experience is not necessary to get into good schools. If you do have a job, you can make it a very positive part of your application, showing that you are responsible, learning new skills, able to work with people, etc, but you don't HAVE to have a job in order to demonstrate these things. Having a part-time job in high school can be good, but it should never interfere with your grades. And if you need to choose between having a job and being involved in extracurricular activities, choose the activities - you will have a job for most of your life!
Schools look most closely at your grades and test scores, so yes, they are extremely important. After that, schools will look at your extracurricular activities along with the rest of your application. Even if you get good grades and test scores, it will be very difficult to show that you are a well-rounded person if you aren't involved in anything else. But before you think you have to go out and join every sports team your school offers, remember that there are hundreds of activities to get involved in BESIDES sports. Check out clubs of every kind, and if you don't find one you like, start your own. Look into school activities like newspaper, yearbook, debate, or music - just to name a few. Volunteer in your community by serving at a food kitchen once a month or helping tutor kids at your local Y. I can't even begin to list all the opportunities...
You don't have to go crazy joining every activity in sight. Carefully look at your options and choose a few things that really interest you and sound like fun as well. Activities aren't meant to burden you - they are meant to be fun and give you new experiences all at the same time - something you look forward to! Even if you haven't been involved much in the past, it's never too late to start something new. Good luck!
I am currently a sophomore in high school. I would like to either study civil engineering or meteorology. What are some of the best schools to attend in the tri-state area of Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia for each mayjor? Also what are a few good jobs you could get with each mayjor? Thanks
What do you write in college application essays? Can you write an essay about your experiences in extra-curricular activities? Or do you list your extra-curricular activities? Also, is there a limit to how many recommendations you can get from your teachers? If not, is it better to get a lot of recommendations from your teachers? Even if the recommendations are not well-developed, it's better to have lots, right? Thanks.
Great questions! You can really do a lot with a well-written, interesting essay. If your grades are good but not fantastic, you could push yourself over the edge to acceptance with a great essay. And even if your grades and scores are great, presenting yourself in a poor essay could really hurt your chances for acceptance.
The best essays discuss something meaningful in your life and show a passion for the subject you’re writing about. If the essay deals with some problems you’ve overcome, it should be insightful, show that you’ve reflected on what you went through, and it should share what you’ve learned from those problems. For instance, if you had a personal challenge that affected your grades for a time, briefly share that challenge along with how you have worked to become a better student since then. Overall, a good essay is well-organized, interesting, and helps the reader get a good picture of who you are.
Make sure you answer the essay question on the application, if they ask a specific one. If you feel that your activities experiences were very important in your life and had a great impact on you, then yes, write about that. The college wants to know you a little better – what has been important in your life, what has changed you, people who have had an impact on you, how you have become a better person, etc. Don’t list your activities in an essay; schools can read about them elsewhere in your application.
As far as recommendations, just submit the number the school asks for. Make sure they are quality recommendations; more is NOT necessarily better! Just like in an essay, schools want to find out something about you from a recommendation that is more than just facts or “I think this student should go to your school.” You DO want your recommendations to be well-developed, clear, and concise.
A few final tips: get a parent or teacher to read through your essay to find ways you could improve it, and make sure you don’t have any spelling or grammatical errors. Good luck!
What is a double major? Are there certain requirements for what you can double major in?
A double major just means having two majors. Sound simple? Unfortunately, it's not. You can pick just about anything you want, from chemistry and physics to biology and English. Keep in mind, however, that a double major in biology and English may take longer than a double major in chemistry and physics because the course requirements are so different. Besides picking your majors, you also need to figure out if you will get one degree (a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science, for instance), two separate degrees, or a combination degree (such as a B.A.S. - a B.A. & a B.S.).
If you do choose to double major, make your college counselor your best friend! First, meet with your counselor to find out about your school's policies for double majors and to create a plan for your college career. Then, meet regularly with your counselor from your freshman year on to make sure you are taking all the right classes and staying on the right track. Also, communicate frequently with your major departments (if they are different). Make sure you are prepared for the amount of work and dedication it takes to double major. Good luck!
Can one defer a year with an Early Decision acceptance?
Usually the acceptance is for a specific semester and you cannot defer it. However, you could ask the college if they will. If you have interesting or unique plans for your year off, they may consider it.
What is the difference between priority and regular decision? Also, what are majors and minors? If I want a bachelor's degree does that subject have to be my major or can it be my minor? Do colleges generally offer the same minors as majors? Should my minor be a more specific subject within my major or at least related in some way?
Priority decision is just another name for early action or early decision. In other words, you apply to the school by an early deadline, and you hear back from them earlier than you would if you applied “regular” decision.
When you go to college, you will have at least one major—that is, an area that you specialize in (and what your degree is ultimately in). So if you want to be a preschool teacher, you might major in early childhood education. If you want to be a fashion designer, you might major in study fashion design. Whatever your major, that is the area in which most of the classes you take will be. So if you’re a government major, you may have to take at least 10 government classes (or 30 credits) to graduate.
A minor is a lot like a major, except you take fewer courses in that area—usually 4 or 5. All colleges have majors. But depending on where you go and what you major in, you may not be required to have a minor.
Usually, schools offer the same majors and minors. Your minor isn’t within your major—it’s an area separate from it. That said, students often major in something related to or helpful for their major. So if you want to be a political consultant, you might major in political science but minor in business management. Alternatively, you might minor in something totally unrelated to your major. That’s OK — the most important thing is that you choose areas you’re interested in.
Good luck!