College | Not Limits

Getting into the College of Your Choice

Many freshman high school students do not know which college they want to attend. To increase your chances of getting into the college of your choice, you have to begin preparing in your freshmen year of high school. The first step is to meet with your guidance counselor.

You may not know what college you want to attend or what you want to do. However, if you know you want to go to college, that is enough. Your counselor can help you choose a curriculum to meet most college program requirements.

The next step is to study hard and maintain the highest GPA you can through high school. Set a goal for at list a 3.5 GPA. If you find that you are struggling with any subject matter, make sure you get help. You can take advantage of many free online web sites that offer course and practice material for almost any subject matter.

You may have to study hard but you will also have to work in some school activities. Do not over do it, but choose a couple of activities. These will look great on your future college application. Always remember that your grades come first. You do not want to be so involved in activities your grades suffer.

As you begin high school and discover new courses, you may be closer to finding what you want to do as a career. Usually by the senior year in high school, most students have a clear idea of what they want to study in college. This will usually determine which school you will choose. If you have maintained your grades and do well on the SATs, you should have a good chance of getting into the college you want.

You preparation and hard work will pay off in the end.

Tips for College Success

You may have been a wonderful student in high school. You also may have been popular among students and teachers. When you start college, none of those things will matter. In college, you are just another freshman.

College life is exciting; however, it is not easy. There are numerous distractions and staying focuses can be difficult. Make a commitment to keep distractions to a reasonable limit.

Initially, you will want to familiarize your self with the campus and you will want to meet new friends. This is fine as long as you remain focused on your studies. It is easy to get behind in your college work. Once you get behind it is difficult to catch up.

Stay organized and study each of the course requirements. Make notes of deadlines. Organization in college is one of the keys to success. Keep a large wall calendar or desk calendar. Make notes of the deadlines and always try to stay ahead.

Make a point to meet your college professors. Discuss any questions you may have regarding the syllabus for the course. If you have difficulty in class, do not wait and try to figure things out on your own. You professor is there to help you. You can also take advantage of free or low cost tutoring. Do whatever you can to stay on top of your studies.

You can enjoy college life by keeping a balance between your studies and social life. If you stay ahead in your studies, you can enjoy more time socializing. Save socializing for the weekends after you have completed all of your required course work.

Use your first year to focus on your studies and to ease into college life. There will be numerous opportunities to have fun once you have established a good a good study routine. Keeping up with course work will translate to less stress.

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

College is not High School

College is a big step. You need to leave high school behind and begin acting like a responsible adult. You are responsible for making the most of your college education. You need to behave in a manner that is appropriate.

You may want to be popular in college, but your education should come first. If you waste precious study time hanging out with friends, it will be your fault if you fail a test or miss an assignment.

College professors expect you to come to class prepared. If a reading assignment was assigned, you should have completed before attending class. Most professors will eagerly help you if you are struggling in class. However, you cannot expect your professors to help you if you are sleeping in class. This is one of the biggest complaints of college professors.

Many college students are late for class or skip class. You should show up for class on time and show up for every class. Unless, of course, you are deathly ill.

Another complaint of college professors is that students often leave class to go to the restroom. Surely, you can do this before class or after class. Unless you have bladder control problems, once you are in class, you should stay in class.

For some reason college students prepare to exit class at least five minutes before the class is actually scheduled to finish. The professor may still be lecturing and student are shuffling papers and closing books. Wait until the professor dismisses class and then gather your belongings.

Your are in college and you are an adult, learn to act like one. College life is very different from high school. You can skip class and you can be late, however, neither of those is recommended. Take charge of your education, attend class regularly, and do not use class time to catch up on sleep.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: High school, Higher education, Student

Applying for College Has Changed

There may be a few colleges that still use old application methods; however, most have switched to using the technology of the day. These days most information is transmitted electronically. Colleges have embraced technology in efforts to reduce spending. College budgets have become tight and saving money is required.

These days, you can search for the college of your choice online. The Internet is a vast resource of free information. You will quickly located colleges for your program of study. You can visit the college web site and complete a quick form to request additional information.

There is always an application fee, so you want to wait until you have decided which colleges you want to attend before completing applications. Review the college web page for information and review the information the college will send you through the mail.

Once you have chosen at least three colleges, you can go to each college web site and complete the online applications. You will submit the fee online as well. The colleges will require your high school transcripts. Most transcripts can be submitted electronically. This is the preferred method. However, if you high school is unable to transmit your transcripts electronically. If your high school is unable to submit the transcripts electronically, then submit a request to have them sent to each of the colleges you applied.

If you do not receive a written from the college acknowledging your application, you will want to call the college. If you are applying to a college that is difficult to get into, you will receive a request for additional information and requirements. Some colleges may require an admissions essay or letters of recommendation.

The digital age has made applying to multiple colleges much easier. Online applications are more common and you can find most information about the college on the college web site.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: College, High school, Recommendation letter

College after High School is not for Everyone

New GI Bill transferability options to take ef...

Image by familymwr via Flickr

Many high school students have no idea what they want to do after graduation. Many are not interested in attending college immediately after graduation. Attending college when you are not ready for it usually ends in dropping out. Some students just want a break from the toils of studying, writing essays and taking tests.

For most, the attitude toward college will change after their first job. Once young people get the first paycheck, they quickly realize college may be the answer. However, if you do not know what you want to study, you may want to attend your local community college.

Community colleges offer a wide variety of degrees and technical certificate programs. In two years, you can have a career that pays a decent salary. You may also give yourself the opportunity to discover your passion. Millions of students have attended community college and eventually went on to earn Bachelor’s and Master degrees.

You can also spend your time earning an Associates of Arts degree, which is a general studies degree. This degree is transferable to upper division colleges. This allows you to continue your education while you are sorting out your career path. Since you take a wide variety of courses, this may help you decide on a field of study.

Many high school students look forward to attending college. Many others are just not ready. There is nothing wrong with you if you are one of the latter. You just need more time to sort things out and find your way. Attending community college will expose you to a wide variety of possibilities. You may discover a program that you may never have considered or did not know existed. This is what you may need to help you choose a career that you will enjoy.

There are many paths that can lead to success.

Filed Under: College, Education Tagged With: Bachelor's degree, Community college, High school

Life in the Dormitory

The college dormitory experience is usually pleasant, although the rooms are quite small. Getting used to dorm life is not always easy. Especially if you have never been away from home. You will more than likely have to share a dorm room with a person you have never met. Unless, you and a friend are attending the same college and requested a dorm room together.

You must be prepared to be flexible. Many colleges do try to match up students with similar interests but they rarely get the personalities to match. If you end up with a difficult roommate, you can always request a transfer. You may have to wait a few months or until the next semester.

The problem with having a roommate is your study habits may differ. Some people like to study with loud music and others need complete silence. Fortunately, most students today are attached to their MP3 players. If your study habits are not compatible, you may have to spend a great deal of time at the college library.

After a couple of months, you and your roommate will have learned each other’s habits and you will find ways to compromise. It takes time to get to know your roommate and sharing a room is very personal. If you snore, your roommate will hear it. If your roommate has a touch of gas, you may hear it and smell it. Your roommate will witness things that only your immediate family was privy to.

You will probably be anxious and worried about what kind of roommate you will have. Once you break the ice, you should be able to get a long quite well. Once you graduate college and start your career, you will encounter many different work situations that require you to find ways to get along with others.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: Digital audio player, Dormitory, Roommate

Setting College Plans in Motion

Students at Washington High School at class, t...

Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr

If you plan to attend a college that is difficult to get in to, then you will want to make sure you plan ahead. You should choose at least three different options for school. If all the schools are competitive then always have a fourth or fifth alternative.

You should make your choices in your junior year of high school. You can seek the advice of your guidance counselor when picking the colleges. During the summer months before you begin your senior year, you should visit the campuses of the colleges you chose. If possible, set up appointments with the college advisors of each school.

Once you have visited each of the colleges, you can then decide on the colleges you are sure that you want to attend. Over the summer, you can write a resume. You will use this to complete your college applications. You will also want to create file folders for each of the colleges your are going to apply to. This way you can keep all the information organized. You will also want to write the application deadline on the outside of each folder.

Once your senior year begins, you will want to start working on the applications. You want to complete them carefully and above all, be neat. Make sure you visit your high school advisor to discuss your college choices. You advisor is there to help and will give you valuable insight to completing your applications.

Most deadlines are in February, but this depends on the college and the program. For example, nursing programs accept applications three times per year. Completing applications takes a great deal of time, and if you have to write essays, it takes that much longer. Make sure you start early, so you will have all of your applications ready by January.

Filed Under: College, General Tagged With: High school, School counselor

Reducing College Expenses

The economy and the rising cost of higher education have parents and students searching for financial solutions. If your child wants to attend one of the state universities, you may be in luck. Even if you do not have the money to pay for four years of college, there is a solution you may want to consider.

In most states, state universities give preference to students that attended a state community college. Many parents and students have realized they can stretch their education dollars by attending a community college for the first two years. Your child can then transfer to an upper division state school for the remaining two years.

This gives parents additional time to set aside funds and to find additional resources to pay for college. Your child can attend a local community college and live at home. The only money you have to come up with is tuition and books for the first two years. Your child can apply for grants and scholarships to reduce the costs for added savings.

You can further reduce the costs by shopping for used books. Many books have several editions and the difference between editions may be a handful of pages. Your child should check with the instructor to see if an older edition is acceptable. Older editions sell for fraction of the cost. For example, a new textbook may cost $150 and a used book may cost $112. A later edition used book will only cost $50. You can save a few hundred dollars in the first school year.

Attending a community college for the first two years and purchasing later edition used books will save a tremendous amount of money. You can put the money you save aside to pay toward the final two years at an upper division college.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: Community college, Higher education, Upper division college

Choosing A College Requires Research

Choosing a college is not as simple as it seems. Many students have chosen colleges for other reasons than the colleges academic programs. Sometimes students choose the college their parents attended or they may want to choose the same schools their friends are attending. Often, students will drop out because they are not enjoying college or the college is not what they thought it would be.

Students should determine their choice in colleges based on the academic program, course selections and the size of the college. While many students want to attend a major university because of the size and popularity, many students would prefer a smaller college with more individualized attention.

Students should first research the academic programs and course selections of several colleges. Most of this research can be done on the Internet or by requesting a college catalogue from each of the colleges selected. Most colleges provide the information online and each academic program has its own Web page. The pages contain most of the information a student will need to determine if the academic program is what they are looking for.

The Web page or college catalogue will provide information on the size of the college, how many students attend each year and the number of available dormitory rooms. The information will give a student a good idea of what campus life will be like at the college.

Collecting this information will allow the student to narrow their college choices to at least three schools. The student can then begin the application process. If the schools are within a reasonable distance, it would be advisable to visit the campus.

For academic success, it is important for a student to find the right school to meet his or her needs. Researching each potential college will help the student make an informed decision.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: Choosing a College, College, Student

Making College Choices

: Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Is the time fast approaching for you and your student child to start making college choices? For some families, this can come way too soon, and for others…not soon enough!

Of course college is a big step for any student to contemplate making. Deciding what courses to take in college, whether it is an online or traditional college, should be approached with the help of mom and dad. There should also be a lot of thought placed into what major the student will take since their decision will impact four very important years of their lives. College majors can of course be changed, but it can delay the time towards graduation. By making these choices together as a family, parents can offer their insight and their own experiences for the child to help in making a decision.

To decide on what college is right for your student, talk with them to see where their interests lie. What do they want to pursue? What colleges offer them the class choices and majors that will help them reach their goals? For example, if you want to work while you are going to school, taking online classes is your best option. What interests you? Do you have a passion for art degree like design or photography? If so, consider enrolling in an online photography degree program, for convenience while you are working.

You should also speak to college counselors and high school counselors to get information on deciding which institution will best fit your child’s needs. The high school will have academic information that will help narrow the search to see what colleges will accept their grades. The colleges will be able to help you in deciding whether or not your child meets their requirements and if they will be able to come into the college without additional academic evaluation.

The decision to make a college career is a very serious one, but one that should be made with thorough research and knowledge. Although it’s a serious time, it’s also fun and can prove to be very enlightening as you enter into that journey.

Filed Under: College Tagged With: College, School counselor, Student