myUsearch blog

Today, bloggers across the country will unite for Japan disaster relief. Below is the article we’ve prepared, but be sure to check out the Bloggers Unite event website as well. All donations made through this event will be matched by the Ogawa family.

When I first sat down to write this post, I was all prepared to write about how to plan a fundraiser to generate funds for the relief agencies that are providing direct aid to the people of Japan.  I had even come up with a few, what I considered to be, rather clever ideas for these fundraisers.  But as I started to write those ideas down, I began to think of all the students who don’t have the time or resources that would be required.   I found my thoughts turning to the images of the people of Japan that I have seen over this past month – not the pictures of incredible devastation, but the images of resilience and kindness that these people have managed to hold on to, in spite of their world being washed out from beneath them.  I began to wonder if there wasn’t something much simpler and more long-lasting that students – and everyone else – can do to help in this situation and many others.

Photo by Peter Mottola

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The bar of higher education has been set … at an all-time low by the regents of the university system for the State of Georgia. The system which runs all of Georgia’s public universities and colleges, has decided to not admit any illegal immigrants, or anyone for that matter, who cannot show proper paperwork.

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He was 18 months old when his parents brought him across the border in the dead of night, for what they considered a chance for a better life.  At eighteen months old, he could not persuade his parents to choose a different means to enter the United States.  His choices came later and those choices qualified him for admission to college.  It’s those choices and the motivation behind those choices, that I believe we need to look at when discussing whether or not to bar undocumented students from admission to college.

Photo by SAT Guru 

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Today we are taking a short hiatus from our normal college advice blogging to participate in Blog Action Day, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on a single day. This year’s topic: WATER.  

Which kills more people; lack of clean water, or war? That’s right, it’s water. What’s the most common cause of death resulting from unclean water? Diarrhea.

Photo by hdptcar 

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Greetings readers! It has been a scary amount of time since I last wrote. The shocking thing is our individual perception of time in relation to certain events or activities. For example, it seems very long ago that I wrote my last article. Yet, the oil spill seems so fresh and recent. As a Gulf Coast resident, I have been deeply affected and have felt a strong desire to help. I know that there have been lots of people from all over who have rushed– or wanted to rush toward– the Gulf coast in order to volunteer in some form. But what can you really do to help?

Photo by Mindful Walker

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‘Tis the season to start searching for “perfect” gift for the grad in your life.  That’s no small task.  Trying to balance the personal with the practical can be quite a challenge.   The key is to avoid procrastination.  Great presents rarely happen overnight.

 Photo by Judsond 

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Today is blog action day. Bloggers around the world will unite to speak out against one common cause: Climate Change

Whether or not you ‘believe’ in climate change is not as important as whether you can recognize the universal, moral imperative of consuming less. If you practice steps toward consuming less, you will improve your own health and lifestyle, and as a bonus, you’ll save the planet.

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myUsearch has just announced the winner of its scholarship for international and undocumented students: Student X. Student X, who must stay anonymous to protect herself and her family, was brought to the US by her parents when she was only five months old. After several attempts to become legal US citizens, her family decided that if they wanted to provide a better life for their children, they would have no choice but to stay in the country illegally. So, like the thousands of other undocumented students in this country, Student X grew up as a normal US student and came to know the United States as her home……until she graduated from high school and realized she was not eligible for in-state tuition or financial aid.

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Today we have a guest post from Kelsey Murray:

Kelsey Murray is a junior at the University of Oklahoma studying advertising. She also writes about news, trends and advice for college students at EduInReview.com, an educational resource helping students at all stages of the education process find student loans, scholarships, testing advice and more.

As a college student, I rarely pay attention to the news and politics. There’s nothing I can do about the drought in Eastern Africa and politics don’t typically interest me because they don’t apply to me. But now, with President Obama in office, things are starting to get a bit more interesting and applicable to me.

Photo by Jurvetson 

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College seniors have 3 things on their minds: Finding a job, getting some money, and building a future. There’s a catch though. If you don’t find the job, you won’t have the money to build your future. Momma’s Boy, Daddy’s Little Girl. Nicknames that show you rely on your parents in one way or another were not always cool… until now. Moving back home after graduation has been the latest trend for clear economical reasons and you’re not seen as a total dork either!

 College graduation picture by Miss Karen 

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Chelsea Lorimor recently won our scholarship contest, Why the SAT/ACT Doesn’t Measure Me. She is going to be a freshman at Mesa State in Colorado. She hopes to become a teacher and move back to her hometown Palisade, Colorado.

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The DREAM Act

The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act (a.k.a. DREAM Act) is a piece of proposed federal legislation that, if passed, would provide certain undocumented immigrant students who graduate from U.S. high schools the opportunity to earn conditional permanent residency. In order to be eligible, the students would:

 Dream Act photo by dreamactivist

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A report was recently published by the American Association of Community Colleges on the topic of distance education through community college institutions. The report said that enrollment rates for distance education have increased by 11.3% from fall 2006 to fall 2007 and an increase of 18 % over the previous year.

Photo by Chris Radcliff.

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The question of how federal policy might influence higher education is a pretty daunting and slightly difficult issue to respond to. There is no doubt that with a new President and a new cabinet, we are headed for some big changes in both our K-12 and Higher Education institutions. Like everything else with this administration . . .

 Obama photo by Steve Rhodes

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More and more college campuses are taking steps to become more green. Not only are colleges looking for ways to save energy and reduce costs, but many colleges also recognize that their environmental practices can have a big impact on a student’s college decision. These trends have encouraged many colleges to change their ways, but now a little friendly competition will give campuses another nudge. The America’s Greenest Campus contest has recently announced that they will offer prizes totaling $20,000 to encourage college campuses to become more earth-friendly. The website is keeping track of which colleges got more people involved in the contest and which college reduced the most carbon emissions per participant.

Photo by duygu.

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On February 17, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009- also known as the $787 billion economic stimulus package. The program is meant to jump-start the faltering economy and create jobs.

Photo by marcn.

But what does it mean for colleges, universities and the student who attend them?

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As our connections to the world become increasingly far-reaching and globalized, it’s more important than ever to provide education on issues from a broad perspective. Health is definitely one of those issues, and in response, more and more colleges are seeing the need to offer programs in Public Health to undergraduate students.

photo by ydnar

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Starting this fall at Susquehanna University in Pennsylvania, all graduates will be spending at least two weeks off-campus studying abroad in order to fulfill requirements for graduation.

Photo by Al Ianni.

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The new GI Bill effective in August will cover a veteran’s tuition up to the price of the most expensive public undergraduate institution in the state (based on in-state tuition), even if the student is at a private college.

In one part of the bill, called the Yellow Ribbon program, private colleges that cost more than the most expensive public option (or public schools looking to cover more tuition for out-of-state students) can develop a matching program with the Department of Veterans Affairs. The college would establish how much tuition they’d be willing to cover for how many students, and Veterans Affairs would also match that. Yellow Ribbon is meant to be a nod of respect to veterans, but how many colleges are actually likely to jump on board?

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Back to the Books?

The “R” word. We hear it every day. the recession has probably affected your employment situation in one way or another. How can you land a new job or hold onto the one you have in this economy? Competition is fierce and upper-handed employers pick and choose from top, experienced talent. There’s no time like the present to better your qualifications, so you’re heading back to college, right?  STOP.

Photo by just make it (gone again!) 

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