In Picking the Right College for You, Part 1, we were discussing the types of colleges and universities out there. There’s quite a lot to choose from, so the best thing you can do is find the right type of education and setting that fits you and proceed from there. We already covered liberal arts colleges, the Ivy League, residential colleges, honors programs and research schools. Now let’s focus on some other types of schools.
If there is one demographic that is highly sought after by colleges and universities around the country, it’s the first-generation college students. Because the financial aid process is so tragically unclear and never certain, first-generation college students are likely to stay close to home and attend a public university. In most instances, this is just fine. However, limiting your applications to schools close to home can be risky because you won’t know what the financial aid package will be until you are admitted. In other words, don’t hesitate to apply to your dream school just because it’s too expensive on paper. Although the process seems tedious, don’t let it break your spirit. Move forward, continue pursuing your dreams . . . (more…)
Once upon a time, YouTube was a place to watch silly videos. Now, about ten hours of video is uploaded to the site every minute and many of those videos are actually news. A Google search of “news blog” brought up over a billion hits. Many people like watching or reading the news on the internet, rather than watching it at five o’clock — It’s just more convenient. So, are journalism programs implementing new media (online videos, websites, blogs) into their curriculum?
A master’s degree at 52? Taking art history classes at 65? These ages don’t sound like the traditional college student, but then again, baby boomers are never the type to stick to tradition. Baby boomers are conventionally defined as anyone born between 1946 and 1964, and the U.S. Census estimates more than 75 million people fall into this generation. Yet as their age increases, more and more boomers are bucking retirement and hitting the books.
Not all of us are born into a life of silver spoons and trust funds and thus, we middle-class folk only dream of attending private colleges or universities.
But that old adage of public universities being cheaper than private schools has recently been thrown out the window.
Online degrees are especially convenient for those who want to back to college or work while they are in school. If you’ve decided you want to get an online degree, now comes the difficult task of choosing which program is right for you. With a smattering of commercials and advertisements for every online college possible, how on earth are you supposed to choose the right one?
With college applications at an all-time high and fierce competition for top-ranked schools, many students are turning to admissions consultants to gain a competitive edge. But before you pull out your checkbook, make sure you understand what an admissions consultant does …..or should be doing. (more…)
When choosing a college, there is no substitute for experiencing the college first hand, but unfortunately campus visits can be expensive and time consuming. If you’re not prepared, you may end up wasting your time. So, before you hop on a plane to visit your college or university of choice, make sure you’re prepared to get the most of your campus visit. (more…)
After interviewing several current college students about what they should have thought about when applying to college, one piece of advice constantly came up: location, location, location. But there’s more to location than a zip code. Here are four important things to consider when choosing your college location.
Choosing a college is sometimes very simple. Some students choose their dream school before they are even in high school and others have dozens of scholarships to choose from. But for most people, choosing a college can be very frustrating. Here are a few tips to help you with the college hunt.
Have any of you tried to search for colleges by visiting a college search site? If so, you already know what I’m talking about, skip to the recommendations below. But if you’re still a search engine virgin, look before you leap. Here is what is happening…. (more…)
Some people choose to follow in the footsteps of their parents and apply for the same university that their parents (or another relative) went to. Some students have known what university they have wanted to go to since they were in junior high. Most, however, spend time in their senior year of high school looking online at college websites – and when part-time jobs and extra curricular activities are involved, that free time is a precious commodity.
There’s an old piece of advice–when times are good, prepare for the bad, and when times are bad, prepare for the good. Along these lines, with a recession predicted (and maybe already here, especially in some parts of the U.S.), is this the right time for you to go back to school?
We all see the college rankings published by corporations, such as U.S. News and World Report, Princeton Review and many more. Are these fair and honest? Do they have the best information to rank a school? Are they influenced by money?
I cannot answer these questions, but I do know that I’d rather learn about a college from students, professors, and others who are ACTUALLY part of the college. It’s just like buying a TV. I want to take advice from people that have actually experienced what I’m looking for.
Most students don’t even think to ask whether their school is regionally or nationally accredited, but this can be a huge mistake. Intuitively, you would think that nationally accredited programs provide more than regionally accredited programs; however, this isn’t necessarily the case. Both accreditations have their ups and downs and both are recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. So make sure to read this article so you don’t kick yourself later.
If you have come to this website, it’s most likely because you were searching for a college on the internet. And if you haven’t figured this out already, there are a lot of crappy sites out there. But don’t worry, there are actually some good ones too. There are about a handful of online resources that provide an unbiased matching process. (more…)
A recent pilot program in New Jersey took a group of single parents and 117 of 128 women graduated and graduates achieved an average pay increase of 14%.
Deciding which college meets the wants, needs and demands of you and your parents and your future career aspirations can be a daunting task, to say the least. Everyone wants a school with a strong academic reputation but what about a good social scene, scholarship opportunities, and even the alumni of a school? There are many questions to ask yourself before saying “I do” to any U.
