College | Not Limits

Creating an Organized Dorm Room

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The best way to find something is to check the last place where you put it. That’s easier to say if things are neat and organized, right?

Well, if you are getting ready to send your child off to college, the best thing that you can do for them is to help them create an organized, well-structured dorm room so that they can find what they need, when they need it.

Organization is the key to good managing and good structure. How can they have a space that’s accommodating and functional at the same time? Here’s how:

- Make spaces multi-task. That means if there are cubes used for storage, stack those cubes atop each other so as to take up less floor space and increase the storage space. You can also do this with televisions and other electronics that they have in their rooms. Place as many things atop each other that’s feasibly possible.

- Make the storage space under the bed and along the walls. Use hooks, tapes and curtains to make spaces more functional. You can use the bed space to store drawers and boxes for clothes and shoes.

Have fun with the room too by brightening it up with fun colors and pictures. Hang pictures above the bed, the television and on the back of the door. Use these same spaces to hang car keys, book-bags and purses. You can also get entertainment inside your little room. Go to www.direct.tv to learn more about your options about this.

The dorm rooms in many colleges are small and house no less than two students at a time. Unless of course that student is the residence manager, they will have a roommate with whom to share their space. With this type of living arrangement, things can get pretty cramped and unorganized quickly. If your student learns to create an organized space, the next four years of their lives can be a little easier in the habitation department.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: Area, Dormitory, Space, Television

Balancing Studies and Family

Whether you’re achieving secondary education online or at a local university, you’ve probably started to feel frazzled and frayed. Are you wondering how you’re going to get through it? Millions have felt the same way and luckily there are ways to get through this challenging time.

The words “I’m going to earn my degree “ are easier said than done, right? No one tells you how hard it is to do it. The best way to find balance between school and family is to form a plan. Start out by waking up 30 minutes to an hour earlier each day. This alone time allows you time to study, read email, or do chores without interruption. Set aside time for homework each evening. If you have small kids, put them to bed a little earlier to give you a little more quiet time. A housework chart that includes family members can help.

Instead of tackling all your studies on Saturday, try to do a little each day, so your weekends can be spent with your family. Keep track of daily to-do items on a list, but don’t stress if something gets moved to the next day. Put the most critical things at the top of your list each day to ensure nothing important gets left undone.

There are some things you can do to keep your family from feeling neglected. Set aside one evening a week during which you don’t do any schoolwork at all. Schedule weekly movie nights and have picnics in the living room or weekly ice cream dates. The break will be good for you and for them.

Filed Under: College, Education, General Tagged With: Family, Housekeeping, Study Bible

Getting Good Letters of Recommendation for College

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A key component of pursuing your college education is obtaining recommendation letters. Keeping a few pointers in mind will ease the anxiety of this part of the application.

How and Who to Ask

It can be tempting to ask distant acquaintances who are powerful or influential to write your recommendation letters. However, these people don’t know you and so can’t speak to your true qualities, making your application seem insincere. It’s much better to choose people, like teachers or coaches, with whom you’ve worked closely and who know you well.

Once you’ve chosen your recommenders, give good instructions. Let them know your concrete goals for your education so they can work that into what they write. And make sure they know when the letters are due and where to send them. You’ll also want to provide stamps and envelopes to make things as easy as possible for the people writing the letters, and to make sure that the letters are sent to the correct location.

Staying Polite

When asking someone for a recommendation letter, ask politely. A recommender has to take time out of their schedule to write you a letter. Most teachers will say yes, but don’t assume it’s anyone’s duty to do it. Also, give your recommender enough time to write a good letter. It’s unfair to ask the day before a letter is due.

It’s OK to send the occasional reminder. Some people are absentminded and need the added push. Just don’t nag, and make sure you ask politely. And of course, send your recommenders thank you cards. It’s a nice gesture that shows that you appreciate their efforts.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Arts, Graduate school, Recommendation letter

The College Classroom Isn’t What it Used to Be

Smartboard 680I Interactive Whiteboard Package...

Image by AV Hire London via Flickr

Gone are the days of the traditional college classroom where students wrote down their notes on paper and professors used old teaching methods and tools such as chalkboards. Now students and teachers alike are moving along with the times and using more modern and technological tools such as interactive whiteboards.

The interactive whiteboard is very similar to the traditional whiteboard in many ways. Teachers are able to write out whatever they need for the days or weeks lesson and erase it as needed. However, it is also much more advanced. In addition to being able to post important instructions, lesson plans and schedules, professors are also to use the interactive whiteboard to access new teaching tools. Professors are also able to save information and use it at a later day and time if there is a need for it.

One of the biggest benefits of using the interactive whiteboard is the professor is able to access important sites on the internet as well as show clips from the television from news clips or other television shows that are relevant to the class. This opens up a whole new world when it comes to teaching and what sort of materials professors have to choose from and many students appreciate the broader range of materials that are accessed.

Students are also reaping the benefits as this new tool reaches students with different learning styles. While some students benefit from traditional learning methods, other students need a different approach. This whiteboard is able to cover all styles so no student is left behind.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Education, Interactive whiteboard, Whiteboard

Moving Tips for Grad Students

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Recent college graduates on their way to professional school know that the next several years are going to be filled with financial hardships. Though some schools offer their students a chance to work as an assistant teacher or researcher, the stipend is usually only just enough to live on. Therefore, if you are a grad student, it is important to keep your costs low.

One of the best ways to reduce your living expenses is getting a roommate. Atlanta apartments are filled with single people looking for someone to help share the cost of living. You might even find a friend with whom you can build a lasting relationship. It’s worth looking into if you want to minimize the proportion of your income spent on housing.

If you are moving, you might want to look into getting a moving company. This will allow you to have your stuff moved without having to worry about finding transportation for it yourself. Also, if you break something while trying to move your own goods you have to replace it yourself. However, if a moving company breaks it, they’ll foot the bill. The upfront cost is higher, but it’s a safer, and much less stressful, option than getting friends and your own truck.

Your move to grad school can be a dream come true. With forethought and planning your move can be seamless and inexpensive. You just have to think about the bigger picture when you are making the big move.

Filed Under: College, General Tagged With: Atlanta, Business, Graduate school

Selecting Your Courses for Your Success

Regardless of what you decide to study as you work your way through college, you will want to look at the courses you will be taking. Some schools do not give you any optional choices for your degree of study and others have just a few courses that all must take and all the rest are optional up to the number of credits you need to graduate.

If you are given choices then this article is for you. There are six basic steps you will want to follow when you are choosing courses on your way to graduation.
1)    Make sure you have the core or basic knowledge classes. They will give you a good understanding of the basics and the general principle concepts of your specialty.
2)    Now you can take courses in the area that you were interested. These become your area of specialty. You will want to ensure that your specialty has economic merit after you graduate and not just be fun. Studying a specialty that will not pay you afterwards can be very frustrating.
3)    Broaden your thinking by taking corollary classes which will strengthen your specialty area.
4)    Take classes that will constantly increase your research, writing and speaking skills. Employers are always looking for individuals who not only know their specialty but are able to communicate that expertise to others.
5)    Sharpen your skills by seeking out ways to practice your skills during college. Find a job in the field, tutor other students or create your own labs or assignments that incorporate your specialty. Clubs are great for this.
6)    Always keep an eye on your graduation requirements and verify that you are moving forward towards your degree.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Education, Student, United States

School Is What YOU Make Of IT.

A school had a group of students who graduated. They excitedly walked across the stage receiving their diplomas and then went out into the big, bad world.

All of the graduates went through the same program and they had mostly the same teachers and classes. Nevertheless, when they graduated one student secured a job paying about $68,000 and another was able to get a job paying only $23,000. The average for the whole class was about $36,000 which is not bad for a starting wage from a bachelors program.

The question that stands out is why did the one get a job for $68,000 and the other could only get one for $23,000. That is a big spread.

The answer could only be application. The one student took every class and applied himself to understanding it. He studied and asked questions and helped other students to understand the material. The other students knew this student would know the answer and asked him questions, thereby reinforcing the difficult concepts further into his mind.

The $23,000 student showed up at class, sometimes. Sometimes did the homework, labs and tests. He barely passed his classes and was barely able to graduate. When his potential employers made inquiries into his scholastic abilities they found he barely coped. He is now paid what he earned.

The school is not the only determining factor of how well graduates do when they finish school. The graduate himself or herself can make more of an impact than which school they attend. Place yourself into the right school and then work hard at your studies. The reward is not really grades but the economic and professional stimulus you receive when you are done.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Graduation, School, Student

Selecting College Electives

Regardless of the declared major, all colleges and universities require a number of elective courses to be completed as part of the degree program. Electives are usually those courses outside of a student’s major field of study and should be chosen so as to compliment the education provided. Most students have difficulty selecting electives and will often simply take whatever courses are available to fill in empty time slots during their schedules. However, with a bit of foresight and some planning, you can choose college electives that not only compliment your major course of study, but will also be interesting and enjoyable to you.

Most colleges require that your electives be chosen from a number of different course prefixes. The prefix in a course number indicates what department that course is a part of. If you are a math major, but also like to read, you may be able to choose an elective in literature or pop culture. If you like movies and are interested in the theater industry, a course or two in film history or drama may provide you with an interesting elective. Students who are interested in exploring alternative religions or the history of civil rights will also be able to find electives that satisfy the curiosity.

Another way to select a great elective is to look at any other classes offered by professors you have enjoyed in your required courses. For instance, if you find a particular lecturer fascinating, ask them what other courses they teach. You may even find a new interest or hobby. Through the selection of several elective courses from various departments, some students may even realize that there are subjects far more interesting to them than the majors originally chosen. Taking your electives early provides amply opportunity to explore a number of fields of academics, lessening the chance that you will end up changing your major late in your college career.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Colleges and Universities

The Task of Moving Away From College

For many students, college seems to fly by. Many college students leaving college are truly baffled at how fast four years can pass them by and and many more are baffled at how much stuff they have accumulated over the years. For most students the first year at the dorms is a thing of the past by the middle of their first college summer. Whether moving into a shared apartment or a shared house, certain things are accumulated or inherited through past roommates or relatives. By the time the last year rolls around, many students find that they have enough furniture to furnish their own first apartment, once they leave college and find their first real-life job.

Normally, these possessions would be divvied out to the remaining friends they have in college, but since economic times are tight many students choose to hold on to their accumulated furniture and possessions instead of buying new furniture, which may prove too costly. When leaving college students must decide how they wish to move their belongings and how they plan to pay for that move. Many college graduates who do not have jobs waiting for them choose to store their non-essential belongings near their college apartments, so they do not have to endure the cost of moving their furniture twice. If the student is lucky enough to find a job before graduating then they have the enviable task of getting a few moving quotes and moving swiftly into their new home near their new job. Surprisingly, moving is not as bank breaking as many assume and there are plenty of reputable companies that can help students when they need to move their belongings. As with any move, the task at hand for these college graduates is deciding what to keep, what to throw out and most importantly, where it needs to go.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Apartment, Furniture, Student

Making your Dorm Room Feel Like Home

College dorm rooms are small and you will have a roommate. If the college notifies you that they have assigned you a roommate, contact the person as soon as you can. Find out what they plan to bring to college. You both can work together to decorate your dorm room.

This way you do not duplicate items and you both can stretch your dorm room-decorating budget. You do not have to spend a lot of money trying to make your dorm room comfortable. You are not going to have a great deal of space anyway.

You can choose to bring posters, framed pictures and family photos. You will also want some extra storage space. You can buy an inexpensive decorative footlocker. You can use it to store your personal items and you can buy a lock to keep your things safe. This is a great place to store a few emergency food items. Eventually the food and money runs out before the month is up.

A microwave is a necessity in dorm life. Check with your roommate if they are bringing a microwave. Also, make sure you check with the college to make sure microwaves are allowed. Even if they are not, most students violate this rule.

If you are a coffee drinker, forget buying expensive coffee drinks. You can buy a bulk size can of powdered coffee drinks. You can heat water in the microwave to make your coffee drink. If you have a meal plan, you can get coffee in the cafeteria.

Most new students show up with too many things. You are working with a small space and you want it to be comfortable and not cluttered. Check with your roommate so no items are duplicated. If you do not know who your roommate is yet, you will have to wing it.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: Coffee, Dormitory, Roommate