by: Jordan Dunham
There are a lot of reasons to consider taking college courses online. By far the greatest advantage of taking an internet college course is convenience. You can take a college course online from anywhere that has an internet connection. These days, with many wireless notebooks you can connect to the internet from almost anywhere which makes taking an online college course even more accessible. No more sitting in classes or being cooped up indoors. You can access your college course online from anywhere you want to.
Many people don’t think that they can find the time to fit in getting a college qualification with their other commitments. Taking a college course online can be the answer to this problem. You don’t have the same fixed schedule to attend classes when you take a college course online. You get to study at your own pace and at a time that suits you. It doesn’t matter if you want to do all of your college work in the evenings or at weekends, with a college course online you can do exactly what you want.
Many of the institutes that offer a college course online do not set any time limits for you to complete the course in. This means that you can take as long as you need. If you find that you are unable to study for a few days, weeks or even months there is no problem when you are studying your college course online. You simply start studying again whenever you are ready.
Another benefit of taking a college course online is that a large number of them do not have a formal exam that you have to sit at the end of it. Many of the courses are awarded based on the marks gained in assignments throughout the course. However, if the particular course that you want to take does require that you take a supervised exam to qualify then you will be offered a time and place to suit you.
There are no age limits for people who want top take a college course online. This is ideal for more mature students who don’t relish the thought of going back to college and being surrounded by students who are half their age. So if you are 18 or 80 you can take a college course online and obtain the qualification that you have always wanted. You are allocated a personal tutor who is available to help you with questions and help you work through your assignments and will mark your college course online or by post if you prefer. Some courses also have facilities for students to chat to others taking the college course online to exchange ideas and offer support.
by: Steve Gargin
There has always been a lot of debate as to whether an online college education is as good as a traditional college education. The answer to this is quite simple; there are good institutions that offer an online college education and there are bad establishments that offer an online college education. So, you need to do your research in the same way when you are looking for the best place to pursue your online college education with as you would an offline course.
Of course you are not going to particularly bother finding out about the location of the colleges that offer an online college education because it really doesn’t matter. However, a lot of the other points that you would consider before attending a college should also be taken into consideration before you enrol with an organisation offering an online college education.
The growth in the numbers of people pursuing an online college education has led to increased competition amongst institutions to attract students. The best way to assess the credibility of a site advertising the best online college education is to ask about the accreditation of its courses. Accreditation means that a governing body for a particular field has endorsed the course and this is extremely important in helping you to decide who to trust with your online college education. If a course is not accredited then you need to find out why.
There may be a number of courses that have not yet received accreditation from an appropriate association or governing body but still offer a good online college education. For example, the establishment may have applied for accreditation but not yet been assessed, in which case you can actually check with the particular body that they are in the process of assessing the application for accreditation. Another reason may be that there is no appropriate body that the course can be accredited to. This is less likely but is, nevertheless, a valid reason and does not indicate that the course offered is not going to be worth taking to advance your online college education.
If, however, you find that the online college education institution has been refused accreditation they are likely to try to tell you that accreditation is not important. This is quite simply untrue. An online college education from a non-accredited institution is not going to be viewed as highly as one from an establishment that is accredited. Choose where you gain your online college education from with care to ensure that you are not wasting your time and money by having an almost worthless qualification.
by: Jordan Dunham
Choosing a college degree can be a very difficult decision to make. There are many things to consider but it is important to decide on the right college degree for the type of occupation that you want to pursue. You may find that you do not actually need a college degree but that a certificate or diploma will be sufficient, or your chosen profession may require further study after a college degree such as medicine or law.
Certificates or diplomas require a shorter period of study than a traditional college degree and are usually taken by students wanting to pursue a career in an occupational field. Quite often a certificate or diploma can be taken before embarking on a college degree course.
An associate degree is awarded after completing a two-year college degree course. Some community colleges and other universities offer an associate degree program which allows you to transfer to a four-year college degree course after you have been awarded the appropriate associate degree. There are a number of occupations where a two-year college degree is recommended or required including:
• Administrative Assistant
• Automotive Mechanic
• Cardiovascular Technician
• Commercial Artist
• Computer Technician
• Dental Hygienist
• Drafter
• Engineering Technician
• Funeral Director
• Graphic Designer
• Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Technician
• Hotel or Restaurant Manager
• Medical Laboratory Technician
• Medical Record Technician
• Insurance Agent
• Registered Nurse
• Surgical Technologist
• Surveyor
• Visual Artist
• Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator
A traditional four-year college degree is the most frequently required qualification for a number of occupations. Some examples of professions requiring a four-year college degree in an appropriate discipline are:
• Accountant
• Computer Systems Analyst
• Dietitian
• Editor
• Engineer
• FBI Agent
• Investment Banker
• Journalist
• Medical Illustrator
• Pharmacist
• Public Relations Specialist
• Recreational Therapist
• Research Assistant
• Social Worker
• Teacher
• Writer
There are also a number of occupations that require a student to obtain a college degree that is longer than the conventional four-year college degree programs. These extended professional college degree programs include:
• Architect
• Biologist
• Chiropractor
• Dentist
• Diplomat
• Doctor
• Economist
• Geologist
• Lawyer
• Librarian
• Management Consultant
• Palaeontologist
• Priest
• Psychologist
• Public Policy Analyst
by: Jordan Dunham
College life can be a lot of fun but there are college and university exams that need to be taken. Unless you are the type of student who can sail through college and university exams with little or no effort, you're going to have to spend time studying hard in order to pass them. The stressful situations that college exams bring can hold you back if you do not learn how to handle it in a health manner.
You obviously must study before taking your university exams and you should make an effort to review all of the material that was covered in classes thoroughly. Many students get so anxious and worked up that they actually make themselves sick with worry and stress and are unable to recall the information that they studied. Does this sound familiar? If so, you need to find a way to help you relax or you may very well find yourself failing courses.
The sooner you can start preparing for your college exams, the better chance you'll have at scoring high marks. This may sound obvious, but with all the distractions that come along with college life, it can be easy to put off studying until the last minute. Doing this will cause a lot of unnecessary pressure and you're not going to help yourself if you approach your college course preparation this way.
You also need to make sure that you have a study schedule laid out when you're getting ready to take an exam. Lay out a schedule of the material you are going to study and follow the plan. Many college and university students don't remember to build ample rest time into their study plan and end up being too tired to accomplish anything effectively. The best way to prepare for college testing is in short sessions so that you're able to absorb all of the material.
Make sure you get enough sleep and eat properly. If you're not healthy and alert you are going to find your exams much more difficult then they would've been if you had taken proper care of yourself.
by: Charles Kassotis
Even if college is years ahead for your son or daughter, or if you aren’t sure whether you plan to go on for university study following high school or community college, it never hurts to set aside savings that can be used for this worthwhile plan when the time comes. College costs continue to rise each year, with some institutions increasing tuition rates by five percent or more. It’s a good idea to start saving now so your money can compound at a decent rate and bring in a profitable return for future studies.
1. Start a savings plan. Have an affordable sum deducted from your paycheck and placed directly into a savings account. Forget about the money except occasionally to check on interest rates and balances. Over time, it will add up, and after several years you will have a fair amount to apply to college expenses.
2. Set aside a portion of cash gifts. Instead of spending it all in one place or for several things, take ten or fifteen percent out of a cash gift and add it to your savings account. If you get $100 for a Christmas present, put $10 into your savings account and spend the rest. Do the same for any unexpected windfalls.
3. Contribute a portion from each annual paycheck increase. If you get a five percent raise, divert one-half percent to savings. Do the same for year-end bonuses or other cash gifts associated with your job. You won’t miss the money if you do this up front, and the savings plan will increase that much more rapidly.
4. Get a part-time job. Whoever is destined for college could tackle this option, placing most or all of the income into a college savings plan. The job might take just a few hours each week or over the summer, as well as Christmas and spring breaks. Have the college-bound person keep track of the savings.
5. Invest in a mutual fund or money market account. Request that relatives give savings bonds instead of candy or toys for holidays and birthday gifts. Use these, and part of the monthly allowance, to open a mutual fund account. Adding $25 monthly can make a difference over the long haul, especially if the stock or the fund performs well.
Odd jobs, inheritances, and small scholarships won in high school can go into the savings account as well. The important thing is to keep depositing money into the account, don’t take anything out, and be patient as you wait for the account to grow with interest to become the financial support you need to make college dreams come true. Even if you are unable to save all of your college costs, you can save a sizable amount that will go a long way toward paying that hefty tuition bill, book and lab fees, or general service costs.
by: Sintilia Miecevole
Once you are accepted into a college and begin taking classes, the next step is to decide on a major. Most college graduates change their major several times before they finally pick one and stick to it, so it is important not to get discouraged if you have a hard time deciding right away. However, there are some factors to consider beyond your general interests when you decide the subject on which you will focus your studies. It will take a lot of research and soul-searching for you to find a good and somewhat practical match for your interests and lifelong goals.
The first thing to consider when choosing a college major is what interests you the most. Some subjects are more financially lucrative than others, but there is no sense in studying a subject that will make you miserable once you begin working in your field. It is obvious that business, sales and marketing degrees tend to put you on the path toward financial wellbeing, but if you are not interested in the business world you will find that you do not enjoy your chosen career path. Rather than choosing something simply because of future financial benefits, try exploring a variety of options before locking down on one. If financial status is major goal, take a variety of science classes to see if those suit your fancy.
However, practicality should be considered when you choose your major. You should evaluate that reasons you are in college, and plan your course of study accordingly. If you are attending strictly to gain general knowledge and experiences, then choosing something simply because you are interested in it might be an acceptable way to go. If you enjoy reading and writing, getting a degree in English might be beneficial to you. However, English degrees are not quite as marketable as business or science degrees.
If you are unclear about your interests when you first enter college, rest assured that you are not alone. Many people look at their undergraduate experience as a way to get acquainted with themselves in an intellectual and a personal way. Take a wide variety of classes during your basic coursework, and you might find that your major finds you. If you tend to enjoy psychology classes more than anything else, you might consider majoring in the subject, especially if you plan to attend graduate school.
Keep in mind that you can always change your major. Granted, you may end up spending more time in college than you had originally planned, but if you look at it as a journey of exploration, you will find that you will learn more from your college years than you would if you had the get in and get out mindset. Once you finally decide on your major, you will feel confident that you will have made the right choice, and you will be able to learn more from your classes than you would if you were still unsure.
No matter what college major you choose, remember that you are not writing anything in stone. Once you graduate, you will have the freedom to choose whatever sort of profession that holds your interest. Recent graduates are all the same in that they have limited experience in any given field, even if they do have specialized degrees. If you are planning to attend graduate school, you will once again be able to choose another course of study. As an undergraduate, your main goal should be to learn as much as you can about everything that interests you, and to gain as much real life experience as possible. College is your last chance to explore the world without extreme financial responsibilities, so use your time wisely and learn as much as you can.
by: Bill Platt
There are two kinds of people in life: those who continue learning well past the last ringing of the high school class bell, and those who are trudging through life praying for retirement.
In my own life, 40 has finally arrived. Am I old? No. Should I feel old? Why?
School is twenty years in the past for myself, and yet, everyday is a learning experience for me. I am still learning astronomy and engineering from The Science Channel, and I am engaged in a daily pursuit of learning to be a better computer programmer.
I was one of those unlucky soles in that I graduated from high school in 1983. My choice career since 1979 was that of a computer programmer. In 1983, when I entered college, I was stoked. I was going after my dream to be a computer programmer.
Unfortunately, I was relegated to gaining my education from a two-year college, whose computer science teacher chose to live in the past. The college that was close to my home was my starting point in my college career, and they were stuck in the technologies of the 1960's and 1970's.
While in high school, I had been privileged enough to be able to have Personal Computers in the classroom. I was able to be schooled in computer programming on TRS-80's (fondly called Trash 80's by those who used them) and on the first Apple Computers to enter the marketplace.
The writing was on the wall. The future of computer programming was in the personal computer market. Yet, our instructor would only teach us Fortran, an already dying language. (By the mid- to late-1980's, nearly every major business had done away with those massive mainframe computers that relied upon the Fortran operating system.)
It was a very frustrating time in my life. I left college, disillusioned in the fact that I could not learn the kind of programming that I wanted to do in my life.
Move forward eleven years into the future. It was 1994 and Windows 3.11 was the computer operating system of choice. Now, that was a long time ago.
In 1994, I hooked myself up with my first personal computer, and then began the self-teaching process. In 2001, I began teaching computer programming to students who were paying for Adult Continuing Education courses as our local vo-tech.
For me, programming is an everyday learning experience. This past weekend, I was finally able to break through in my understanding of a concept that I had previously had a lot of problems in comprehending.
It was two days past my 40th birthday, and I had a major learning breakthrough. Even at 40, I am still young in heart and mind.
If I were to contribute only one thing to my youthful feelings that would be the fact that even at 40, I find time in my day to learn new things.
by: Sandy Baker
Should you get your bachelor degree online? For many people this would seem hard to do. Depending on the field of study that you plan to get, it can be actually quite welcoming and a great way to get in the education that you have always wanted. Sure, it isn’t easy but neither is college for that matter. The online bachelor degree programs are a good way for many to get the education that they need without having to get into a college that is set up traditionally.
There are many programs that are offered through online bachelor degrees. If you would like to know if any of the programs or classes that you need to take are available to you on the web, all you need to do is to log on to any of the various online schools and find out. This level of education that the bachelor degree is one that is advanced and will require much learning.
One of the aspects of online education that people do not understand is how you get the hands-on training that many fields require. While you may or may not need this in the bachelor degrees that you plan to get, you will find that information about this is easy to find at the online university’s websites. In most cases, the online universities will work with area schools, offices, or establishments to allow you to get your lab time in. This is convenient and affordable as well especially useful when you consider you will be meeting some of the people that you may work with once you get your bachelor degree.
You will benefit from leaning more about the online bachelor degree that you are after. You can easily find online colleges that offer the education that you are after in an online manner. See what they are, what their classes will include and find out just how well they will work for you. The online bachelor degrees that are offered are pretty wide-ranged too!
by: Laurie Hurley
“We have a science project due in two days and I don’t know when I’m going to get the time to finish it.”
“I did research on the internet for the social studies report until midnight last night.”
“We wrote the spelling words ten times before they were finally right.”
“I made flashcards for all of the multiplication and division facts in preparation for the big math test.”
Do you think the above comments are from students, committed to working hard to get good grades? Unfortunately, not. These are just some of the things I hear from parents who enable their children to take short cuts in school or who are too heavily invested in their kids’ homework and school assignments. Parents who feel the need to do the work for their children aren’t helping their children. “We” do not have a test or a project due, the son or daughter does, so why is mom or dad doing the work?
As a professional educational consultant and owner of a busy in-home tutoring service, I hear these comments at least three times a week from the clients I visit. My job as a tutor broker is to match qualified tutors with students. To make the best match possible, I meet every student and parent(s) in their home to get a better idea of the students’ academic needs, as well as personality and learning style. I interview the student, with the parent present. We talk about school, the subject in which they need tutoring and their study habits. What I discover is an increasing number of parents are more stressed out than the kids because they are doing the work for their children instead of teaching them good study skills and independence.
It is difficult to break the bad habit of doing too much for your children, however, the following suggestions might help:
1) Realize that not all kids have the potential to get straight A’s. Some parents believe that if their kids don’t get all A’s there is something wrong. Absolutely not true! A well-rounded student is one who tries their very best scholastically and is involved in social activities as well. Not everyone can achieve a 4.0 average. There is nothing wrong with a passing grade in all subjects, regardless of whether it’s an A, B or C.
2) Keep your expectations realistic. If your child is doing all of their homework every night, studying to the best of their ability and taking school seriously but not pulling all A’s, it is possible that they are just not capable of living up the high expectations you have for them. If one excels in reading and is less talented in math, accept that. Not everyone can be excellent in every subject.
3) Make sure your child has a healthy mixture of academics and other activities. A child who gets all A’s at the cost of having no friends or social outlets is definitely going to suffer for it down the road. When colleges look at a student’s academic record, they also look at extra curricular activities, volunteer work, involvement in sports or the arts. Grades and test scores are important, but so are being able to balance the good grades with a well-rounded lifestyle.
4) Teach your child early on to be independent when it comes to school work. In the primary grades, it is important to help your youngster establish good study habits. Sitting with them and guiding them through homework assignments, explaining or reading the directions to them is perfectly normal and acceptable. By third grade, they should be able to do their homework with much less involvement from you. Checking it over for them and pointing out errors for them to correct is a good habit. By fourth grade, homework should be reviewed by the parent. If there is a mistake, for example, suggest that they review their work again because you found three mistakes on pages one and two. Let them find the errors with limited guidance from you. Fifth grade and onward, they should be totally on their own.
5) Help your child establish a homework routine and provide a quiet place for homework. Some kids come right home and do their homework immediately. Others need to wind down and do it right before dinner. Others are productive after dinner. Tune in to your child’s most productive time and try not to deviate from an established schedule. They will get so much more done if homework time is defined for them. As they get older, changes will probably need to be made to accommodate other activities. The key is consistency. Provide the right environment for homework and studying. If you have children who are toddlers or younger, be mindful that it is distracting for a brother or sister to try to concentrate if the television is blasting or the other kids are being loud.
6) Communicate with your children’s teachers. Know what is happening in class and what is expected to be done at home. Be sure to attend back-to-school night and all parent-teacher conferences. Get to know the teachers and establish clear lines of communication with them. Be aware of how and where homework assignments, quizzes and tests are communicated to the class. Many teachers utilize a school website to post assignments, etc. Check the site regularly and ask to see the completed work. For older students, DON’T correct it, but instead make sure it’s done neatly! Know when the exams are and when big projects are due. This way, if your teenager informs you they are heading to a friend’s soccer game and you know a big exam is the next day, you can inquire as to whether they have studied. Knowing what is happening in a class is very empowering for a parent.
7) Encourage your student to think for themselves. Provide a dictionary, thesaurus, calculator and any other tools they may need to do their work. By fifth grade, if your child is still asking you how to spell words, they haven’t learned how to be independent. When my fifth grader asks me “How do you spell ‘special’?” I reply, “I don’t know, how you spell special?” She gets infuriated, but she knows I won’t tell her and she begrudgingly looks it up in her dictionary. I could have given her the answer, but then she would always ask me and not learn to do it on her own. After all, I’m not the one who has to take the spelling test or write the book report, she is.
If your child is consistently confused and always has questions about school work, your antennae should go up. One of three things is happening:
a) They are not asking questions in class when they don’t understand. Shyness, embarrassment, or drawing attention to oneself by asking a question is the most common reasons for not asking. Encourage your child to speak up and that it is “OK” to not know the answer to everything. Chances are if your child has a question, others in the class have the same one and are also too embarrassed to ask.
b) They are lazy or something else is going on that you may not know about. When any student, regardless of age and grade is over their head, it is common to just shut down and tune out. To this kind of student, there is no point in taking notes because they don’t get it anyway, so why bother? Homework is too confusing for them; they have scored poorly on every test, so why try? It is also possible that something else is bothering them. Have they recently changed schools from elementary to middle school or middle school to high school? Some kids don’t handle transition well. Has their group of friends changed? Have they suddenly become loners or too social? Tune in to your students’ behavior and talk to them about it. Elevating their self-esteem will do wonders and is often the cure for the lazy syndrome.
c) It is possible they might have a learning disability. A child who has struggled since the early grades might have a learning disability. For example, if your sixth grader is still reading at a third grade level or your ninth grader hasn’t mastered his math facts, there may be a legitimate problem. The best thing to do is talk to the school first. You have a legal right to ask for your child to be tested by the school. Unfortunately, due to budget cuts in education nationwide, this process is not always as easy as it should be. Talk to your pediatrician and ask for a referral for a qualified psychologist who specializes in learning disabilities.
Teaching your child to be independent will result in a much healthier relationship between you and them and a much more peaceful home life. I have heard from so many of my clients who have not fostered independence in their children that homework time results in tears, screaming and a general sense of rebellion and indignation from their children. This can be avoided by setting your children up to be winners – and that doesn’t mean straight A’s, it means they are capable and willing to do their best and you are capable and willing to accept the results.
by: Joyce Jackson
College can be expensive. Just because your degree is completed online does not make it cost any less. Education can be a budget busting proposition so here's what I found can help!
Apply for student loans. Head to your schools’ counseling office or to your local bank. Look for low interest and long duration payment plans.
The government offers several loans to students going to school. The cap of the loan is generally set by the school you are attending. These are great low interest long term loans that you should seriously consider. Here's the online info link: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
All loans must be paid back. However, the terms are very reasonable. The government agencies will determine the type of loan you are offered through several factors, including your income level. Some students are offered subsidized loans, in which the government actually pays the interest of the loan for them. Others are offered unsubsidized loans. Their interest accrues while they are going to school. Generally speaking, government loans are the best type of loan to take out because they are designed to benefit the student and usually offer the most reasonable rates and terms.
There are also grants available. Apply for as many as you can. A grant is a gift of money. You do not need to pay it back. The government offers grants of money to students who fall in the lower brackets of income level. Usually students must maintain a minimum gpa in order to qualify for the grant. The required gpa depends upon how much money a student (or, more often, a student’s family) has. The minimum gpa varies, but is generally in the 2.0-3.0 range. Grants do not have to be paid back. Check out some info as the same site for loans: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
Some students don’t qualify for government loans. Those who are not United States citizens, men who fail to register for the draft, and students enrolling in unapproved schools are not able to receive funding from government agencies. These students have the option of taking out private loans from individual banks. Bank loans require that the student has established sufficient creditor is co-signing with someone who has. These loans generally have a higher interest rate and less negotiable terms.
Make sure you also check out scholarships. A scholarship is an award based on academic performance, talent, or other factors. It may have certain requirements, but you do not need to pay it back. Students can learn about individual scholarships from their schools’ counseling office (or web site) or from online scholarship databases.
Apply for everything you can in order to see what you qualify for. There is not a grant or scholarship program you should overlook interms of pursuing financing for your education.
