Category Archives: college guidance

admissions, college guidance, college planning

5 Simple ways to prepare for college in high school

 

high schoolGetting ready for college or post-secondary school is a huge milestone in a student’s life and is the first real step towards adulthood. As a college student, you will be on your own immersed in schooling that will become your job for the next two to four years of your life. For the first time, rewards will be based entirely on what you produce and the time you are willing to commit to becoming successful. College really is a time that allows you to shape your future career, so it’s important to start preparing at a young age rather than at the last minute.  Here are a list of ways to help start preparing early for college in order to ensure a successful experience that will prepare you for your career:

  1. Meet with your high-school counselor by the end of your sophomore year. This is a person you want on your team for the next few years you are in high school. Your counselor will ask what you envision doing beyond high school, your goals and vision for your future career. He or she will help you draw out a plan to reach those goals.  If you wait until senior year it could already be too late to get particular requirements you may need to attend the school of your dreams.
  2. Research college degree requirements. Throughout high school, you may have the opportunity to get some college credit out of the way without even knowing it. At some universities, four years of a foreign language in high school will be enough to satisfy language requirements for your degree. Also, AP and honors classes can sometimes fulfill certain degree requirements, which will be very beneficial to you once you reach college so those classes will already be out of the way.
  3. Develop a high school schedule with your counselor. Prepare, prepare, prepare. One of the easiest ways to have a smooth transition from high school to college is to prepare. Work with your high school counselor ahead of time to pinpoint what school courses you need to take and pass to fit those college subjects the best. Sift through options of high school electives that match with the specific degree you will be going for.
  4. Get involved with extracurricular activities. Universities want to see students whom will involve themselves in campus life and have shown their dedication in the past. It is a great idea to get involved with clubs, volunteer work, or even sporting teams to prove to universities that you are able to manage your time with other events and work aside from homework.
  5. Begin preparing for and completing the PSAT/ACT/SAT. As annoying as studying for a standardized test can be, it really is important to do well on these tests in order to get into the school of your choice. Many high schools have you take these in your junior or senior year, and all universities require one of these standardized tests in order to be considered for admission. It is important to note that some college degrees require a minimum score on these tests in order to be accepted into their program.

 ______________________________

Today’s guest post is written by Trae Lewis, a recent graduate of University of Colorado and a staff writer for CollegeFocus, a website dedicated to helping students deal with the challenges of college, including housing, finance, style, health, relationships, and transferring from a community college to a four-year university. You can follow CollegeFocus on Twitter at @CollegeFocus101 and Facebook at www.fb.com/collegefocus.

 

college costs, college guidance, college planning

Oh Canada–heading north for affordable college

 

mcgill university
McGill University-Canada

With American college tuition rising and families feeling the economic pinch, universities in Canada are becoming more and more appealing. Graduating with student loan debt is forcing students to look north to Canada for a more affordable education. That’s right–Canada!

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the number of U.S. students at Canadian colleges rose 50 percent in a decade, and now about 10,000 Americans attend Canadian colleges. The institute reports that graduates from an American university can expect, on average, to carry more than $26,000 in debt; and 9 percent of those graduates default on student loans within two years.

Compared to American universities, Canadian colleges clearly offer a better bargain (costs for one year of tuition):

  • University of Chicago – $45,945
  • George Washington – $45,780
  • Stanford – $41,250
  • McMaster (Hamilton, Ontario) – $20,966
  • McGill – $14,561
  • University of Winnipeg – $11,115

The overall costs are significantly lower with the added benefit of American students allowed to use college savings plans and U.S. student loans. Many universities also offer scholarships as well.

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college guidance, college majors

4 Reasons to consider a Human Resources degree

 

human resourcesWhen it comes to choosing a program or degree, it’s difficult to prioritize. The best degree is both a job trajectory that your student wants to pursue as well as a degree that employers value when hiring.   However, that combination is sometimes elusive.

One program that has seen a great deal of popularity in the last decade is human resources management.  Many colleges offer specialty certifications in HR, such as the well-known program at Stritch.edu, and your graduate to-be will have plenty of choices if they choose this to go down this path.

Why choose a career in human resources?  Here are 4 reasons for consideration:

1. Companies will always have a need for human resources.  Companies can’t run on machines alone. Although in some industries, automation is a trend, someone still has to be around to ship the products or monitor the machines. A human resources team is needed to pay those employees, manage benefits, handle staffing, etc.  Human resources teams may stay lean in tough times, but they’ll never go away; they’re just as essential as upper management in ensuring that things get done, and HR often picks up the slack where other departments don’t.

2. Human resources departments have jobs for all skill sets.  You might think that you need to be a “people person” to work in human resources, but not all HR staffers spend their time working on direct employee interaction.  HR is now a major technology user itself, for functions like payroll, promotions and review processing, and employee monitoring tools like internet censoring and time cards.  Some HR teams have entire technology teams within them.

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college guidance, college planning, tech gadgets

How to maximize laptop battery power

 

laptop batteryLaptops were once fairly rare possessions, but they have become very common these days. Students are issued these devices to further their education in some schools. People of all backgrounds find them necessary for working on the Internet or for their employers remotely. However, knowledge of how to care for these devices has not spread so quickly.

As a result, many people spend far too much on new laptop batteries. These sources of power can actually last much longer if people would use them properly. Some education about laptop battery usage could save you or a friend a lot of money and a lot of hassle in the long run.

Following are five suggestions to help prolong and maximize laptop battery power:

1. Manage Your Power Settings

You may not know it but you are in charge of how much power your laptop uses. You can exercise this control significantly when you alter the brightness of the screen. You can memorize the steps to find this control or simply type screen brightness into the search bar that appears when you click on the Start menu in the lower left-hand corner. You can make the screen bright for when it is in use and program the computer to dim it whenever a certain amount of time goes by.

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college guidance

5 Tips to Stay Out of Legal Trouble in College

 

legal troubleThe college years are often a period of growth and change for a young individual. Gaining knowledge, skills, and experience to prepare for a career and adult responsibilities takes dedication and hard work. College students must stay focused on their studies, while still maintaining an active social life. Staying out of legal trouble in college is important for getting on the path to a bright future and a successful career. There are five important tips that college students should keep in mind to avoid legal trouble in college.

Pay Parking Tickets on Time

Parking can be tough for commuting students on many college campuses. A lack of available spots in lots can often cause students to simply take the first spot that is available. Campuses strictly enforce parking rules and regulations in order to make a fair system for everyone. It is important to purchase a parking permit that allows one to park in a designated lot. When parking tickets do wind up on the windshield, students should take care to pay them up as soon as possible. Unpaid tickets can result in a car being booted, which is costly for students. Paying citations and parking in permitted areas is the smartest way to avoid trouble with campus parking enforcement.

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admissions, college guidance, college majors, college planning

4 Reasons to Consider a Business Degree

 

business degreeNarrowing down the best major is often difficult. Some students choose the wrong path and end up regretting their degree program. Likewise, other students choose degree programs with limited job opportunities. Choosing to enroll as a Cardinal Stritch business management student, for instance, can open the door to several career opportunities in the future. If your student is on the fence and can’t decide between a business program and another degree, here are four good reasons to pursue a business degree.

1. Better Job Security

There is no guaranteed way to avoid a job lay off. However, obtaining a business degree can provide greater job security. Education level can impact unemployment, as well as the type of education. Business is an in-demand degree, with many graduates able to find stable employment upon completion of their degree.

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career colleges, college guidance, college planning, community college

Is community college the right choice?

 

community collegeMany young people dream of going off to college—leaving home, living in the dorms, exploring an exciting new city, and exercising new found independence. Because of this, community college is often an over looked option.

However, in our struggling economy, going to college isn’t just a rite of passage. It’s also a strategic investment that will affect our children’s financial success and achievements for the rest of their lives. Like any other investment, parents and students are looking to minimize costs while maximizing their returns. For some, community college can be a great way to accomplish this.

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college guidance, college planning

Summer activities for next year’s high school seniors

high school juniors

There is nothing more tempting to your student after finishing junior year finals, than to close his laptop, stow his books and vow not to think about anything school-related until the last week of August rolls around. The bad news is, senior year takes a little more planning than students want it to and getting a head start can make the fall and spring less stressful and more enjoyable. The good news is, much of what your student might want to tackle can be fun — especially if she plans ahead. Here’s are three things to think about during the summer after junior year, along with three ways to hopefully make them a little more fun.

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college guidance, college planning, organization, parenting, social networks, technology, test prep, tutoring

Tech resources for the college-bound

 

tech resourcesTonight’s #CollegeCash Chat was centered around available tech resources for the college-bound and their parents. Following is a short transcript of the questions and answers with all the links I provided. As a parent myself and a parent advocate I understand the frustration with the college admissions process. It’s my hope that you will find some tools here that will make the process easier.

Q. Is there a lot of technology out there that benefits students and parents when it comes to college? 

  • We now have online sites for just about every part of the college admissions process and stay organized
  • Multiple apps are also available to help parents and students while they are on the go
  • Smartphones and portable devices like the iPad have made the college prep process easier

Q. Are SmartPhones necessary for our kids leaving for college? 

  • Every college student needs a smartphone–here are some features you should look for: http://bit.ly/151BUJj
  • Smartphones help them communicate, socially interact, store and process information, and enable social networking in class
  • An added bonus to the smartphone is the ability to stay in touch with parents via facetime, texts, and location apps

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admissions, college guidance, college planning, essays

How to Make a Winning College Application Video Essay

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video essay

Today, I’m reviewing a book entitled “How to Make a Winning College Application Video Essay” by Max Kiefer and Rosa Wolfe. This book is written by parents for students: “We are a husband and wife writing and filmmaking team who have worked together so long that finishing each other’s written sentences is literally our stock in trade.”

In the beginning text in the book, they talk about the emergence of the video college application essay:

UTube officially arrived in 2009 when Tufts University invited applicants to submit an optional one-minute video. Tufts’ director of admissions, Lee Coffin, made this decision after being so impressed with a student video he famously remarked, “I thought, ‘If this kid applied to Tufts, I’d admit him in a minute, without anything else.’ ” With or without Tuft’s paradigm-changing decision, in the Internet age the college admissions video was inevitable. For a generation that has grown up swimming in social media, for whom images are a critical adjunct to communication, it’s hard to imagine that videos would not eventually become an element in the college sweepstakes. George Mason University, William and Mary, and St. Mary’s College have also begun inviting video submissions. More schools will surely follow. In any case, providing the colleges to which you apply with a DVD or a link to a short video essay won’t hurt. You don’t need to ask permission. If a college doesn’t want to look at your video, they simply won’t… but there’s every chance they will.

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