Why engage the services of a private college consultant?
Independent college consultants are
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Contributed by Douglas Lee, Case Western Reserve (Class of 2016)
Finding a job is easier than you may think. Across the campus, there are many departments, labs, and other outlets looking for students for work. Try to find a job that suits you and one you can work up to 10-12 hours a week. It is awfully grueling to work 20+ hours a week while also handling a full course load. Also, remember to be a good employee. Work hard in your position, and especially in internships/research jobs. These first experiences may lead to full time jobs after graduation. Later on, it’s often who you know, not what you know.
Now, with all your hard earned money from your campus job, what are you going to do with it? You should open a banking account with a debit card to store all that money so you don’t have those Benjamins just lying around! Having a debit card may help curb your temptations and impulses because you can only spend what’s in your account. Try opening a bank that is local to your college town. You may have already opened a bank account back home, but if there aren’t many branches or ATMs around your campus, that account won’t do you much good.
Great, with a well-paying campus job and a bank account to store those $9.50/hour wages, the next step is to set up a monthly budget for yourself. Set up a monthly and weekly budget and keep track of your spending. It is very easy to lose track of your spending, with weekend outings with friends, local concerts, and great restaurants tempting you to empty your wallet. You don’t necessarily have to spend money to have fun in college. Be on the lookout for campus activities / economical outings that your school provides.
Remember to keep track of deadlines and paperwork to hand in. Your financial aid may decrease substantially if you miss those important due dates. You don’t want to lose your chance at those tens of thousands of dollars that you have already been awarded just because you forgot about a deadline. Also, you may not get to register for classes in time, which only leads to disaster. You never want to be in a rush for these financial aid matters because mistakes can be made in these situations, so make sure to be prepared.
This last tip may seem the most intimidating for students who have never applied for scholarships before. There are thousands of scholarships out there and they can range from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Don’t disregard the scholarships with smaller awards, as those will be easier to attain since they have a smaller applicant pool. Hey, getting $500 for writing an essay about a random topic, or spending a little time to fill out an application and including a resume to earn a thousand big ones sounds *For any Financial Aid Assistance, contact FAConsultant_Elisa@gmail.com. Follow our very own, Stephenie, on the Homeschool website, as a guest blogger this week at Educational Adventures. In the article blog titled, "Technically Homeschooled," Stephenie shares what it was like growing up in two diverse cultures, and becoming the Educator that she is today; with the drive to keep learning and educating herself. "With my mother’s sacrifices and encouragement in education and learning, I have technically homeschooled myself in many ways."
I know most students are preparing for their midterms right now. Getting ready for these exams do not need to be a painful process. Being a great test-taker is about learning how to maximize your time, so start planning now! Just a little bit of extra preparation will help you learn and retain more for test day. Read on and good luck!
1. Make the TIME to study
2. Use the TIME wisely
3. Apply the TIME well on the test
With just a little bit of time on your side, you will surprise yourself with how much you know and retain for test day. Your formula for finals success is easy: TIME x 3! • Read, read, read! (novels, not comics)
• Get a set of flash cards (SAT/ACT Vocabulary) and start on them early. • Read the newspaper. • Visit a news website such as NY Times, CNN and read the top stories. • Do crossword puzzles. • Write in a journal or as much as possible. • Solve logic puzzles. • Answer the SAT question of the day on-line. • Take the practice tests offered on-line or at your school . When it comes to college admissions, there are three pieces to the puzzle: your academic record, your personal record, and your standardized test scores.
The first two parts take years or even a lifetime to build, the third part represents just a few hours of a Saturday morning. And did you know that since March 2009, College Board's new policy allowed students to pick which scores a college sees, giving you even more control over how your scores are perceived? Some say that preparation doesn't really make a major difference and recommends students take the SAT only once or twice. But many people still believe there are strategies you can use to outsmart the SAT, particularly with the new score reporting policy. Here are the four tips these people cite most often: Make a calendar and start early The PSAT can be taken as early as freshman year. Students can start taking the SAT as early as sophomore year. Map out a plan by looking at the College Board's test dates, and then check your academic calendar and extracurricular schedule. Don't take the SAT the same week as your midterms. Next, plot out a week-by-week schedule where you review a lesson on a specific topic each week and do targeted practice in Math, Reading and Writing. Practice, practice, practice Use real SAT questions to practice your weaker topics. Stage a dress rehearsal and keep taking the SAT Lee Academia suggests taking a monthly practice test in realistic, timed conditions on a Saturday morning. Don't take the practice test in a quiet room at home—go to somewhere where there is ambient noise so that you'll practice with distractions. This way, when you go to the real test center, it will seem more familiar. Students raise their scores by an average of only 40 points on the second test. But if you have a very large sample—say, 10 tests —there is a good likelihood that one of those tests will be an outlier—that a particular test will fall on the high end of the test range. The test is an approximation, affected by many factors: whether the students happen to get more questions on topics they handle better, whether they guess better, whether they are more seasoned test takers, whether they got enough sleep and food, and the general testing conditions. Apply only to schools that let you select which SAT scores you report Under the new policy, some colleges may still require applicants to submit all test-taking attempts. If you take the SAT 15 times (which you shouldn't do), apply just to schools that let you hide your scores. If students band together in applying only to schools that let them hide their scores, that will put pressure on schools to give in to the score-choice policy. It is PSAT time again. If you haven't already heard from your school's guidance counselor, you should soon because students will register for and take the PSAT at their high school.
For many high school juniors the PSAT is a practice SAT, an opportunity to take an official test under timed conditions. But for top test takers the PSAT can mean big money in National Merit Scholarship recognition. Most schools have had a chance to distribute PSAT scores from last October’s test. Here are some ideas of how you can get these numbers to work for you.
Juniors Your PSAT scores will not be sent to colleges or used for admissions purposes, so use your scores to identify strengths and weaknesses prior to taking the SAT this spring. Sophomores You want to prepare for next year’s PSAT, especially if your current score is over 170 because with practice, you may be able to qualify for National Merit recognition in your state. Below are the most common areas for improvement:
Finally, use your PSAT results to set your expectations and future goals. If you are not a great test-taker, you probably aren’t shocked by less than perfect results. Try to match your PSAT scores to colleges that interest you and see how much you may need to improve. |
Stephenie Lee
Stephenie, having been a tutor/instructor/mentor since 1996, discovered her passion and founded Lee Academia Educational Consulting, LLC. after she left the dental and medical field. She loves teaching/mentoring and counseling her students. Her passion lies in educating others and helping them pursue their educational path. Today, certified in College Counseling and with more than 10 years of experience, Stephenie and her team continues to blog about current updated educational news and events. Archives
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