Category Archives: college guidance

college guidance, college planning, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: College Prep Peer Pressure

 

college prep peer pressureLast month, I was speaking with an interviewer about college prep peer pressure in the context of how it relates to the stress factor. Parents need to factor in peer pressure when they think about how your student will react to it, how it will affect his college choice, and how the stress surrounding it can affect his emotional health.

How do students react to peer pressure about college?

Students react to peer pressure in different ways. There is positive peer pressure—the kind that causes your student to excel to compete with other students. There is negative peer pressure—the kind that causes your student to make poor choices based on other people’s choices or example.

How does peer pressure affect your student’s college choice?

Peer pressure can have a strong effect on where your student wants to apply to college. It can make him feel like he needs to apply to an Ivy just because his fellow students are applying. It can cause him to want to apply to a college because a friend or boyfriend is applying. Peer pressure can have a profound effect on your student’s college choices if you don’t guide him to be self-serving and wise when making those choices. And not only are the students pressured by their peers, but parents feel pressure as well from other parents who brag about their students college choices. Additionally, parents often apply pressure toward a particular college during the selection process. This puts added stress on the student and can often cause the student to choose a college that he is not interested in just to please his parents.

How will the stress surrounding peer pressure affect your student’s emotional health?

Every parent knows the affect peer pressure can have on your student. Students feel less successful than others who are applying to prestigious colleges. Students can feel depressed about their own college choices when they stack them up against other students. The battle intensifies once college decisions begin rolling in and other students start talking about where they will be attending.

The bottom line: Beware of the college prep peer pressure and do your best to negate it. Encourage your student to be an individual and follow his own path.

Read Wendy’s post: Peer Pressure Sabotages College Prep

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from parentingforcollege to pocsmom.com and vice versa.

admissions, college guidance, college planning, college prep, mom approved tips

Mom-Approved Tips: Other College Blogs I Love

3 Comments

 

1383208_93464262It’s easy to get college information overload online. Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and others are shouting “Read Me! Read Me!”. But let’s face it, we only have so much time to assimilate college information and even less time trying to decide what to read. And that’s where I come in. I know who has the best college related blog posts and where to find them.

Apart from mine (shameless plug), these are the other college blogs I love. Sign up for their mailing lists, follow their blogs and soak up all the relevant information they provide. Because who wants to read every single post from every single college expert? And . . . who has the time?

Planning for College-The Ugly Blog

Paul Hemphill, an independent college counselor is famous for his “no bull” advice to parents. He doesn’t mince words and tells it like it is. He’s on the parents’ side, always and exposes some unknown truths about colleges and how they handle admissions.

The College Solutions Blog

Lynn O’Shaughnessy blogs about everything related to college prep and admissions. She is an expert in the area of college admissions, has written books on the topic and also a course to parents called, “Cutting the Cost of College”. You will find accurate and up-to-date information on her blog.

College Financial Aid Advisors Blog

Jodi Okun blogs about financial aid. She’s an expert with the FAFSA and advises parents on all areas related to financing college. As an added bonus, Jodi hosts a weekly chat on Twitter (#CollegeCash at 5PM PT).

College Prep Examiner Blog

Wendy David-Gaines (POCSMom) blogs at examiner.com about college prep and the latest college news. Her advice is directed towards parents and you will find all topics on her blog: admissions, financial aid, scholarships and college news.

TeenLife Blog

Sponsored by TeenLife Magazine, this blog offers college news, parenting tips, information about summer programs and gap years, along with all sorts of information about college prep.

Smart College Visit Blog

This blog is jam-packed with all sorts of tips and advice for parents and students involved in the college prep process. It offers scholarship tips and parent tips along with advice for all aspects of the admissions process.

admissions, college guidance, college planning, college prep, college visits, mom approved tips, parenting, Top 10

T is for Tuesday, Top 10 and Tips

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top 10 tipsIt’s Tuesday. It’s not hump day. It’s the day before New Years Eve and time to reflect on 2014. And nothing says Tuesday more than Tips. Put it all together and you have Tuesday’s Top 10 Tips from 2014.

Tip #1: Insist your student graduate in 4 years or less

Did you know that at most public universities, only 19 percent of full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years? Even at state flagship universities — selective, research-intensive institutions — only 36 percent of full-time students complete their bachelor’s degree on time.

Nationwide, only 50 of more than 580 public four-year institutions graduate a majority of their full-time students on time. Some of the causes of slow student progress are inability to register for required courses, credits lost in transfer and remediation sequences that do not work. Studying abroad can also contribute to added time and credits lost when abroad. According to a recent report from CompleteCollege.org some students take too few credits per semester to finish on time. The problem is even worse at community colleges, where 5 percent of full-time students earned an associate degree within two years, and 15.9 percent earned a one- to two-year certificate on time.

Read more . . .

Tip #2: Be wise—apply to backup schools (but make sure those schools are ones you want to attend)

Being admitted into your first choice school is a challenge and not a guarantee. No matter how positive you are about your application, no matter how hard you’ve worked to be an ideal applicant, it is important not to assume that gaining admission to your top choice for college is a sure thing. But don’t get dejected or cynical! Here are three ways to increase your chances of being accepted by applying to backup schools.

Read more . . .

Tip #3: It’s never too early to prepare for college

How early is too early to prepare for college? We’ve all seen those movie clips where the parents are agonizing over the right preschool to prepare their kids for the right kindergarten, the right grade school, and the right college preparatory school. These overachieving parents are convinced that college prep begins at birth. They take it to a whole other level elevating college jerseys into full blown college prep. But just how early is too early and how far should parents go when preparing their children for college?

Read more . . .

Tip #4: It matters very little where your student goes to college

Much is debated about college names and prestige, especially among parents. It’s logical that parents want their kids to have the best opportunities available. It’s illogical that they place more value in the name than in the education itself. But so many parents encourage their kids to make illogical college choices. Where you go to college is not as important as you might think.

Read more . . .

Tip #5: Don’t neglect the college visit

A few years ago, I wrote an article for Smart College Visit about the importance of the college visit: Don’t Pick a College Sight Unseen:

As a parent of two kids who attended college, I learned a very valuable lesson: never pick a college sight unseen. The rules that apply to any major purchase are even more important when making the decision to invest thousands of dollars on a college education. You would never buy a car without test-driving it, or move into a home without taking a walk through and getting a home inspection. Based on my experience with both my kids, I can tell you that your teen should never accept admission to a college without getting a feel for the campus and campus life.

 Read more . . .

Tip #6: Know when to hold ‘em; know when to fold ‘em

In just a few short months, your student will be making college decisions by the May 1st deadline. For some families, it’s easy. For others, it’s emotional and gut wrenching. If your student got into their dream college and the money is there, congratulations. If your student was waitlisted, or there’s a financial issue, or they didn’t get an offer of admission to their first choice college it’s time to examine the deck. By doing this, you can help your teen make the best decision.

Read more . . . 

Tip #7: Practice tough love

Parenting is easy if you give into your child’s every whim, never be consistent with discipline, or simply don’t pay attention. Parenting children who strive for excellence in everything requires some tough love. And tough love is not easy; especially when it comes to the raising a motivated, educated, and successful student.

How do you, as a parent, raise a child that’s motivated to strive for excellence where their education is concerned?

Read more . . .

Tip #8: Listen to college podcasts

Every day I grab my trusty iPod and head to the mall to do my 2.5 miles of walking. I hate walking. To me, it’s boring and a waste of my time. However, it’s critical to my health and every day I tell myself it’s just something I have to grin and bear.

But then I discovered podcasts. Not only are they great when exercising, you can listen when you’re cooking dinner, commuting to work on public transportation, eating your lunch, or any other time that you are performing daily tasks and want to make them more productive.

Read more . . .

Tip #9: Don’t ignore the FAFSA

The most important advice I can give parents is: don’t ignore the FAFSA! Many parents are misinformed when it comes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). They believe that they make too much money to qualify for any kind of financial aid—and they decide not to file. That is the worst mistake you can make. I encourage every family of a college-bound senior complete the FAFSA (and complete it before February 1).

Read more . . .

Tip #10: Teach your teens the value of money

Before you send your teens off to college, they need to learn about the value of money. Ideally, it starts at an early age; but if you haven’t started, there’s no time like the present!

When your children are away at college they are going to be responsible for their own spending (and saving). There will be offers galore from credit card companies because college students are their biggest target market. If they hook them while in college it usually means they have them for the rest of their lives.

Read more . . .

admissions, college guidance, college planning, college prep, parenting

Are You Thinking About College During the Holidays?

 

holidaysGo ahead. You know you are. You try and shove it to the back of your mind but it’s there–lurking in the distance. Even if your son or daughter has completed their apps and received early acceptance, there is so much more to do. But don’t let the to-do lists and the looming deadlines spoil your holidays.

Before you start your holiday baking, finish wrapping your presents, and gather around the tree with your family, here are just a few tips to help you deal with the college prep stress:

In the Charlie Brown Christmas, a song rings out, “Christmas is time is here; happiness and cheer”. If only. Unfortunately, the holidays for most are anything but cheerful. We have replaced holiday cheer and happiness with stress. And if you’re a parent of a college-bound teen, add all the tasks involved during school breaks and your holiday stress goes through the roof.

Add to the stress of the holidays and the entire family could combust. Never fear…help is here! Here are 3 tips about stress and how to deal with it.

Mom-Approved Tips: Stop stressing about college rejections

It’s that time of year. As the New Year approaches and regular admission dates loom in the very close future, parents begin stressing about college rejection. Although not as much as their kids do. Probably the most stressful time of senior year is waiting to hear from the colleges and dreading the wrong response. Why does this happen and what has caused everyone to be so stressed?

Mom-Approved Tips: 6 Stressful college tasks (and how to keep from freaking out)

It’s no surprise the middle name of college-bound teens is “stress”. According to a recent survey, 76 percent of college-bound students say they are stressed. If you live with one, you’re stressed too; and not just you, but your family as well. Granted, there are plenty of reasons to be stressed. And plenty of reasons why it’s impossible to avoid feeling stress (try as you might).

Wednesday’s Parent: 5 Tips to help with application stress

There is no greater stress than application stress. Every component breeds stress: standardized tests, GPAs, the essay, and even the recommendation letters. It’s no wonder students are feeling the stress when they start the application process. As a parent, it’s difficult for you to watch the stress levels increase as it gets closer to application time. And when stress levels increase with your student, the family stress goes up as well.

Need more tips? Head over to Wendy’s blog and read: 7 Holiday Stressbusters

 

admissions, college guidance, college planning, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: A Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell as Sweet

 

a rose by any other nameThose famous words from Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet (a rose by any other name would smell as sweet) aren’t just about romance. They can be applied to college—yes college. Go to any parents meeting (especially with senior parents) and the name dropping is everywhere. “My son got accepted to Stanford. My daughter is applying to Harvard. My son has been offered a scholarship to Princeton. It’s impossible to avoid it and it’s impossible to not let a little jealously and insecurity cross your mind as you hear about other children’s accomplishments.

But wait. Does it really matter WHERE your son goes to college? Some would argue with me. Is a big name college like Harvard or Yale able to offer a better education than say Mary Hardin Baylor (a small liberal arts college in Texas)? Is an Ivy League college going to ensure your son or daughter a starting salary above those who graduate from the University of Texas or Colorado State? Some would say yes.

Personally, as I’ve said multiple times: where your son or daughter goes to college is not as important as how they choose to take advantage of the education. When my daughter was in Boston, she knew many Harvard students that simply skated by in their classes and told her “the hardest thing about Harvard is getting in.” She took classes offering her hands-on experience in the business community and a senior level course that gave them actual real-life marketing experience helping startup companies. And this was from a small liberal arts college.

Bottom line: it’s not about the name, it’s about the amount of effort your son or daughter puts into the education. Your son can go to a big name college and if he doesn’t apply himself, the education is a waste of your money. With college, as in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

Read Wendy’s post: Savvy Shoppers Have an Advantage in the College Process

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Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from parentingforcollege to pocsmom.com and vice versa.

academics, admissions, college guidance, financial aid, parenting

Mom-Approved Tips: Insist Your Student Graduate in 4 Years or Less

 

Did you know that at most public universities, only 19 percent of full-time students earn a bachelor’s degree in four years? Even at state flagship universities — selective, research-intensive institutions — only 36 percent of full-time students complete their bachelor’s degree on time.

Nationwide, only 50 of more than 580 public four-year institutions graduate a majority of their full-time students on time. Some of the causes of slow student progress are inability to register for required courses, credits lost in transfer and remediation sequences that do not work. Studying abroad can also contribute to added time and credits lost when abroad. According to a recent report from CompleteCollege.org some students take too few credits per semester to finish on time. The problem is even worse at community colleges, where 5 percent of full-time students earned an associate degree within two years, and 15.9 percent earned a one- to two-year certificate on time.

graduate in 4 yearsWhat is lost when a student doesn’t graduate in 4 years?

MONEY! My good friend, and college counselor, Paul Hemphill of Planning for College put it into perspective recently. (See chart to the right). It’s not just the cost of the education that your student loses, but the earning potential over the additional year or years. Nothing speaks louder than cold, hard numbers.

What can parents do to ensure on-time graduation?

It’s not a difficult task, although the numbers might speak otherwise. Taking control of the process and making a plan will go a long way in ensuring on-time graduation

Show your student the numbers—Nothing speaks louder than showing your student a loss of thousands of dollars in earning potential if they don’t graduate on time.

Help them plan their major and degree plan, ensuring it can be done in 4 years—Help them plan, ask questions of their advisors, and have solid discussions about their career and/or major.

Encourage AP testing and dual-credit courses—With AP testing and dual-credit courses, a student can enter college with multiple credits out of the way. The cost of these tests and courses pales in comparison to the cost of a college credit and extra money paid if they don’t graduate on time. It’s conceivable that with the right planning, a student can graduate in less than 4 years.

Attend community college for the basics during the summer before college—Not only will your student get some courses out of the way at a cheaper rate, they will enter college with credits under their belt.

Use some tough love—Explain the importance of graduating on time and explain that you will support them for 4 years only. After that, the cost is on them. Nothing motivates a teen more than realizing they will have to pay for college themselves.

Below is a neat little graphic (courtesy of Paul Hemphill) breaking it down for you.

graduate in 4 years

career colleges, careers, college guidance, college planning, Uncategorized

Stay Employed With These College Majors

 

college majorsLook to the future and what do you see? Flying cars? Steampunk kids riding hoverboards? Downtrodden dystopias with Harrison Ford-alikes running around in long brown overcoats?

Well, while these visions of the future might never happen, one thing is certain – some jobs will be obsolete, so you have to make your education count.

It’s a tough call to make. But some jobs will always be vital, no matter what era we live in.

So here are a few future-proof college majors for you to study, whether we move into a glistening or a downbeat future.

The children are our future

Despite declining birth rates in the western world, the need to look after and understand the needs of children is greater than ever.

But that doesn’t exclusively lead you towards childcare. For high wages and the chance to work out your brainbox, try studying for a degree in child psychology. Relative to other medical fields, psychology itself is in its relative infancy, making the possibilities for unique advancement high.

Knowing the inner workings of a child’s mind will never go out of style.

Digital love

You can see the impact of the internet on businesses already. As high street stores close their doors and indie retailers struggle to stay afloat, internet giants like Amazon dominate the marketplace.

The future is now in the digital world. As the tech for the internet unfurls before us, the reality is clear – the net is going nowhere.

As such, there are now countless avenues of study for a life in the digital world. Web development, computer programming, app design, game design – the list goes on. Some colleges even offer the chance to study the cultural impact of the web on society.

Not only is the world of the web putting convenience at our fingertips – it’s giving us the jobs of the future.

Get arty

We’ve all dreamed of it in some form or another – wearing a beret on the south bank of the Seine, Paris, you pen your latest novel, pursing a cigarette between your lips and living the life of the moody artiste.

But the successful artist – be they pretentious poet, literary heavyweight, beard-stroking filmmaker or agent provocateur raconteur – is usually one in a million. Yet however precarious a career as an artist might be, it will never go out of date. While the modes of distribution might change, the need for art won’t.

A degree in fine art, illustration or any other creative subject, won’t guarantee you a job straight off the bat. However, many people learn to combine a side job with their artistic aspirations. Creation may not pay amazingly – but it’ll never age away.

college guidance, college planning, Wednesdays parent

Wednesday’s Parent: My Daughter Chose a College by Location

1 Comment

 

college locationDoes location matter when it comes to choosing a college? For some students, it’s all about the location. For others, the location plays a key role in narrowing down the college list. My daughter chose a college by location: Boston. It was the number one factor on her college list.

Where did we start?

We started our search by creating a list of colleges in the Boston area. Because Boston is a college town with more than 100 colleges and universities to choose from we had a very long list—some in the city itself and some in the surrounding suburbs. We used the College Board’s site to start the search by location. Then we added other criteria like majors, college size, financial aid, along with other important statistics like graduation rates and student debt figures.

How did she choose?

Once we had the list, she did her research by delving deeper into the college culture, student population and acceptance rate. She chose some in the city and some in the surrounding suburban areas. Each of these choices met the other important criteria: majors available, merit aid awards, and graduation rates.

What did we learn?

We learned that it’s perfectly acceptable to choose a college based on location, as long as you delve deeper into the college and what it offers. We didn’t use location as the sole deciding factor, but colleges who were not in the desired area did not make the list. We found the perfect college for her in the suburbs of Boston—offering the major she wanted, the college size, and the merit aid she needed to avoid high student loan debt.

If your student seems to make an illogical college choice based solely on location, remember that you can work with it if you do your research and add the other important criteria.

Read Wendy’s Post: 3 Ways to Consider College Location

___________________________________________________

Wednesday’s child may be full of woe but Wednesday’s Parent can substitute action for anxiety. Each Wednesday Wendy and I will provide parent tips to get and keep your student on the college track. It’s never too late or too early to start!

The bonus is on the fourth Wednesday of each month when Wendy and I will host Twitter chat #CampusChat at 9pm ET/6pm PT. We will feature an expert on a topic of interest for parents of the college-bound.

Wednesday’s Parent will give twice the info and double the blog posts on critical parenting issues by clicking on the link at the end of the article from parentingforcollege to pocsmom.com and vice versa.

college guidance, college planning, college prep, websites

Campus Steps: A Free Resource for Students and Parents

 

campus stepsCampus Steps, the first free platform for students, parents and counselors to connect, communicate and navigate the road to higher education, launched recently. The company is being incubated by Campus Explorer, a leader in college recruitment technology in partnership with developers from Learning Core, which provides integrated school communication and content delivery systems.

Campus Steps addresses the nation’s broken college preparedness system. Nearly 75 percent of high schools lack online counseling technology solutions that can fundamentally improve the success of college and vocational school-bound students. For every 477 students, there is just one counselor and the average student receives less than 30 minutes of college counseling over their entire high school career. According to the American Psychological Association, high school students are now considered the most stressed-out age group with 80 percent of their stress related to workload.

“Students lack the critical support they need to find the right college or vocational school,” said Mark Eastwood, general manager, Campus Steps. “Campus Steps brings transparency and empowerment to the college admissions process. Just as adults use Linkedin to manage their professional profiles, our goal is for students to use Campus Steps to manage and track their academic profiles.”

Campus Steps hosts multiple online and mobile ready apps to easily allow a student to keep tabs of their academics, search colleges, apply for colleges and communicate with their counselor via text or email. The platform matches students to colleges based on a database of more than 8,500 public and private four-year universities, community colleges and trade/vocational schools, regardless of their academic level, socioeconomic background or location.

Key apps for students include:

  • High School Resume – Students track academic info and accomplishments with a mobile friendly, easy to use tool. The Resume Score shows where a student stands compared to the national average.
  • College Matching – Discover new colleges with the personalized matching technology.
  • My College Goals Manager – Students create a college goal list and manage their application process all in one place.
  • Student Resources – Articles, resources and guides answer all college related questions.

Campus Steps also helps counselors better manage their workflow through setting appointments, automated messages and tracking their students’ college search and application plans.

About Campus Steps

Campus Steps is the first free platform with powerful apps for students, parents, and counselors to connect, communicate and navigate the road to higher education. The platform currently has 150,000 users and democratizes access to higher education, regardless of a student’s academic level, socioeconomic background or location. Based in Santa Monica, Calif., the company is being incubated by Campus Explorer, a leader in college recruitment technology in partnership with developers from Learning Core, which provides integrated school communication and content delivery systems. For more information, visit www.CampusSteps.com. Follow us on Facebook @CampusSteps and Twitter @CampusSteps.

admissions, college guidance, college planning, Guest Posts

Mom-Approved Tips: Be Wise-Apply to Backup Schools

 

Being admitted into your first choice school is a challenge and not a guarantee. No matter how positive you are about your application, no matter how hard you’ve worked to be an ideal applicant, it is important not to assume that gaining admission to your top choice for college is a sure thing. But don’t get dejected or cynical! Here are three ways to increase your chances of being accepted by applying to backup schools.

backup schools
Photo Courtesy of Andre Lüd

Why You Should Apply to Backup Colleges

Rather than be overly confident or too doubtful during the college application process, try to balance your reason with your desire by applying to more than one school. The responsible way to deal with the possibility of being rejected from your first choice is to apply to backup schools. Applying to more colleges and keeping your options open will only increase your chances of being accepted somewhere. Since it is possible that you’ll get in to a backup school over your ideal school, it’s a good idea to take the time to consider several colleges that you’re interested in attending.

The Number of Colleges You Apply to Matters:

Application fees can be costly, but it’s a good idea to invest your time and funds on more than just a few applications. For most students, anywhere from 5-7 applications is a good number. If you under-apply, you run the risk of not getting in anywhere; if you over-apply, you may get overwhelmed and unable to complete the whole process.

Although quantity is vital in increasing your chances of getting in, the quality of your applications also affect your chances of being accepted. Many state schools have one application portal for every school location, which makes applying to more than one school easier. Regardless of whether you’re interested in public or private, try to apply to a manageable number of colleges without overexerting your energy.

Applying to the “Right” Colleges for You

When choosing backup schools to apply to, think thoroughly about major options, location, tuition fees, and each school’s unique application process. If you’re undecided about your major or open to changing it in the future, apply to schools that have many strong programs.

Even if you’re not adventurous, try to picture yourself living in more than one college town. Consider affordability and look for schools that have good scholarship or work study programs. Research what schools like in an applicant and how they accept students to see if you’re their ideal candidate. For instance, if you’re a poor test taker but have a high GPA or write great application essays, apply to colleges that rely more heavily on the latter.

Photo Courtesy of Minh
Photo Courtesy of Minh

Bottom line: widen your educational horizons by keeping an open mind. When you apply to several schools, you give yourself the opportunity to have a variety of options or the chance to be surprised by your acceptances. It’s likely that the “right” college for you picks you rather than you pick it.

Due to intense competition and circumstances beyond your control, you may not get in to the college of your choice or be able to afford it. If you’re serious about higher education and gaining a degree, then be wise and apply to backup schools. If you want to make the best of your college experience, be open and pro-active during your application process.

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Javaher Nooryani is a writer and editor based in Denver, CO. She has a BA in American Literature & Culture from UCLA and a Masters in English & American Literature from NYU. As a former private tutor and college prep advisor, Javaher is passionate about higher education and is happy to share her knowledge on CollegeFocus, a website that helps students deal with the challenges of college. You can follow CollegeFocus on Twitter and Facebook.