Two Chicago-area community colleges are using zombies to urge students to consider their options before applying solely to four-year schools. Harper College and Elgin Community College, with some help from email provider Abeedle.com, are using a cartoon short featuring fictional high school seniors Lynette and Theo in a common predicament among the college-bound: to save money, or not to save?

In the short, Lynette goes to community college, is free of student loan debt, and uses the money she saved to become a filmmaker and purchase a sporty convertible. Theo, on the other hand, chooses the four-year university, and is depicted wandering around with the other “college zombies,” saddled with a large amount of debt.

This isn’t the first time the zombie hype has hit college campuses. The University of Florida recently posted a zombie preparedness plan on its e-Learning website, alongside more likely disaster scenarios. But this is a unique way to address the high costs of higher education and invite students to examine all of their options when considering where to go to school.

Enrollments at community colleges have increased by about 25 percent over the last year, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. The big decisions aren’t only about filling out those college applications, but figuring out how you’re going to pay for tuition at your intended school. If you’re concerned about how you’re going to cover the costs, consider a community college where you’d be able to complete your general education requirements and then transfer to a four-year college if you want that traditional college experience. Many community colleges and trade schools specialize in certain fields, so narrow down your college choices by your intended field of study, as well.

If you know community college isn’t for you, there are other ways to save. Compare the costs of in-state versus out-of-state tuition. Depending on your home state, you could still go to a state university that is far enough away that you get that “away at college” experience, while still enjoying the perks of in-state tuition. (In-state tuition is often half that of out-of-state tuition. Do the numbers!) Whatever you do, don’t assume that college is out of your reach because of the costs. While paying for college can take some creativity and persistence, it can be done, especially if you have some scholarship money padding that financial aid package.

Posted: under College Costs, College Search, Just for Fun, Tips.
Tags: College Costs, College Search, college tips, community college, Just for Fun, state colleges, Tips

Comments (0) Nov 20 2009

Although you’re probably ready to sit down and enjoy a big Thanksgiving meal, you may be feeling some dread about what you’ll be facing once you return to college after that turkey coma. Finals week. Many of you will have been procrastinating up to this point, falling behind on the study skills you honed in your high school AP classes to prepare for this moment. Luckily, it’s not too late.

If you’re really behind, chances are you may need to pull an all-nighter or two to catch up with your studies. Do it.  Even if you’re just a freshman getting used to your first year on campus, you should still focus on making your grades the best they can be. There are still a ton of scholarships out there if you’re a sophomore, junior, even a graduate student, so don’t assume the loot you won to pay for your first year is out of your reach once you complete your freshman year.

If you’re in better shape than I was in college, you haven’t fallen too far behind and actually have notes from most of your lectures. Make a list and check it twice of all that you need to do before finishing off the semester. Talk to your professors if things aren’t clear before final exam time to feel more prepared and more confident going in to those testing sessions. If you’ve been fairly responsible up to this point, you probably don’t need to be reminded not to cram, but don’t catch the procrastination bug now.

Here are some of our other favorite tips on improving your study skills in time for college exams:

• Stay focused. If you’re less distracted at the library, go to the library. Dorm rooms and apartments are full of potential time-wasters - TV, video games, snacks, chatty roommates. If you can’t study in silence, bring your books and headphones to a less distracting place.
• Figure out your learning style. What may have worked for you in high school may not be relevant anymore. You probably have more work to do, with more opportunities for distraction and non-academic related activities. Figure out how you manage your time best and what makes you the most successful learner, because the study method that works for your friend down the hall may not be the one that will work best for you.
• Keep everything. That syllabus you used as a coaster the first week of class? It could have some important information about final exam week buried in between the professor’s introduction and the required textbooks. File away every handout you get from every class, because they could be useful later. Toss them once the course is over and you’ve turned in that exam.
• Don’t panic. If this is your first experience with finals week, put things in perspective. Yes, you’ll need to do well so that you’re around for finals next semester, but panic will only stress you out and potentially cause you procrastinate even more. Focus, breathe, and take care of yourself. You want to be feeling healthy and alert when you’re staring down at that college exam, and, as prepared as you’re able to be.

Posted: under College Classes, College Life, Tips.
Tags: College Classes, College Life, college tips, study skills, Tips

Comments (0) Nov 18 2009

“So, you want to be a teacher?” Students pursuing degrees in the liberal arts are all too familiar with this question. It can seem at times like no one around you can fathom a career beyond teaching high school English or history, or some other subject that may have little beyond a name in common with your actual college goals. But the follow-up, “what do you want to do, then?” can also be a cause for uncertainty. The widespread assumption exists that four years of interesting classes inevitably lead to a lifetime of low salaries and limited career prospects.

However, that doesn’t have to be the case. In a commentary in the Chronicle of Higher Education, author Katharine S. Brooks shares some stories from her 20-some years of experience in career services of liberal arts education leading to career success, which is encouraging for students just beginning to think about how their degree can aid them in the job search. Examples she gives include a philosophy major whose logic class helped him score a perfect 180 on the LSAT, and a student whose knowledge gained in a film class helped him turn an internship into a job offer. Other stories abound. A liberal arts education is remarkably useful in all sorts of unexpected ways.

Her article focuses on encouraging colleges to provide better career services to liberal arts majors, but for students whose schools don’t yet offer these services, she also has good advice. Instead of simply taking your English degree and assuming you need to work in writing or publishing because that’s what you’ve learned to do, Brooks urges pausing to think about the skills you’ve learned and interests you have and trying to find meaningful connections among them. In the end, you’ll have a more complete picture of yourself as a student and as a potential worker. In addition to writing, perhaps your major has given you great skills with finding, interpreting, and evaluating vast amounts of information quickly. Skills like those can easily be applied to a wide variety of careers, and you can use your inventoried interests to focus your search.

Evaluating your interests and experiences is a must for students nearing the end of college, especially in majors that aren’t clear-cut paths to a particular career. Students in the humanities and social sciences have gained college experiences that can lead them in a number of different directions. In addition to adapting their interests and experiences to the corporate environment, they also have potential to further their knowledge of their field as graduate students, to enter into a public service profession, to earn a teaching certificate and become an educator, or to puruse their interests in whatever ways they find appealing. Which direction you choose depends less on the limitations of your major than on your personal preferences and abilities to seek out and seize opportunities-and based on what your degree has taught you, those should be quite well developed.

Posted: under College Majors, Tips.
Tags: college goals, College Majors, college tips, job search

Comments (0) Nov 04 2009

Still trying to choose a college, or perhaps a college major?  Now, more than ever, quality job prospects are likely to figure into that decision.  Work opportunities that come with a generous salary and great potential for growth, yet allow you to have the quality of life you want are the holy grail of employment and it’s understandable to want to tailor your college goals towards obtaining such a job.  To help make your decision a little easier, Money Magazine and PayScale.com put together a list of 50 lines of work that come with all of the features mentioned above, entitled Best Jobs in America.

CNNMoney.com has the results online already, with the print version appearing in the November issue of Money.  The full top 50 are listed in order (along with another 50 high-ranking jobs), with detailed descriptions available for the top ten, and additional lists of top paying, most job growth, and best quality of life also posted online.  This year’s top ten are Systems Engineer, Physician Assistant, College Professor, Nurse Practitioner, Information Technology Project Manager, Certified Public Accountant, Physical Therapist, Network Security Consultant, Intelligence Analyst, and Sales Director.  The top ten best jobs primarily consist of careers that may appeal to students pursuing medical or technology degrees, but students with virtually any academic interest are likely to find something in the list appealing.

To arrive at their selections, Money and PayScale started with career fields in which the Bureau of Labor Statistics anticipates growth 10% or more over the next decade and that require a college degree. They focused on jobs with median pay above $65,000 for workers with 2-7 years of experience and more than 10,000 positions nationwide and weeded out jobs that did poorly during the recession to arrive at a list of top 100 jobs.  To arrive at the top 50 and top 10, data from a survey asking 35,000 workers to rate their jobs on quality of life (flexibility, stress, personal satisfaction, etc.) was used, along with data on current employment, long-term growth, pay, security, and projected openings.  Finally, industry experts were interviewed to determine top 10.

Top jobs require different levels of training and candidates face different levels of competition. Many require additional training beyond a bachelor’s degree, ranging from one-year certification programs to PhD and possibly post-doctoral experience. These top jobs are also not entry-level positions, so workers starting out in these industries may not see high pay or low stress immediately.  So don’t get discouraged if the career you want to pursue isn’t on this list.  Ultimately, the best job for you will be one you like to do and are able to do well.  That’s also good advice for choosing a college major.

Posted: under College Majors, College Search.
Tags: College Majors, College Search, college tips, job search

Comments (0) Oct 15 2009

It’s a few months into your freshman year, and the homesickness may be setting in. Or you’ve found yourself at war with your first college roommate, who sneaks snacks from your cupboard when you’re hard at work studying in the library.

So much of what you learn before you head off to college is related to the more rigorous academics you’ll be tackling, or all the paperwork you need to fill out to make sure your financial aid application is filed completely and on time. These things are very important, and you will be faced with new adult-like responsibilities once you’re on that campus. But what about the things your guidance counselors don’t tell you?

Harlan Cohen, who wrote the book “The Naked Roommate, and 107 Other Issues You Might Run into in College,” has been making the rounds the last few weeks to inform college students - and their parents - that a few bumps in the road are normal. He describes the more realistic picture of the first one, even two, years of college as years of “discomfort,” and that students will come across situations they may not have been prepared to encounter: that overly-rambunctious roommate that stays up late and keeps you awake, or the fact that you thought it’d be way easier to make friends on a campus of more than 20,000 students, all around your age.

Cohen suggests that getting through those difficult times will only make you stronger. The bad memories you may think you’re collecting now will slowly become good memories, as one day we nearly guarantee you’ll be talking about the “good old days” of attending college. The uneasiness you feel now will subside, and you’ll start finding your niche. Take advantage of what college campuses have to offer, because chances are, there’s something for every kind of student, no matter how diverse their interests. Some of Cohen’s suggestions have included speaking up to disruptive or inappropriate roommates, taking care of yourself to avoid falling into a physical, mental or emotional slump, and forcing yourself to get our of your comfort zone somethings by joining a new student group or making connections with classmates.

Browse through our site for more tips on transitioning into that first year of a new college lifestyle and dealing with common roommate problems. Chances are the things you’re experiencing are pretty universal, and easily remedied with a little faith that things will get better and giving yourself enough time to adapt to a new life on campus.

Posted: under Just for Fun, Roommates, Tips.
Tags: campus life, college tips, Just for Fun, Roommates, Tips

Comments (0) Oct 15 2009

Community colleges are becoming increasingly popular options for young people looking to save money on their college degrees.  However, despite their initial college plans, community college students are statistically less likely to earn a degree within six years than students who enroll immediately in a four-year college or university.

A report released this week by Demos, a non-partisan public policy research and advocacy institution, looks at the role of financial obligations in college completion rates for community college students under the age of 24.  The report points to two things students can do to beat the odds and achieve their college goals:  enroll full-time and work no more than part-time.

One of the key findings highlighted in the report is that most community college students have thousands of dollars in unmet financial need, even after accounting for grants and student loans.  The lowest income quartile of students had $7,147 in financial need on average after grant aid, and $6,544 in need after accounting for all financial aid.  Virtually all students in this quartile had unmet need and 92 percent of these students still had unmet need after all scholarships, grants, and loans.  The overwhelming majority of students in the bottom 50% of family income had unmet financial need, averaging nearly $5,000 even after all financial aid.

Based on the substantial amount of unmet financial need these students had, it’s not surprising that most community college students worked through school.  The report shows 84 percent of young community college students worked while attending college in 2007-2008, and 61 percent of these students worked more than 20 hours a week, despite research showing that students who work fewer than 15 hours a week are the most successful academically.  Community college students are more likely than students at state colleges to work their way through school and to work more hours while attending school.  Of students who worked, 63 percent said they would not be able to pay for college without work, and 72 percent said they worked to help pay their college costs.

Community college students are also increasingly likely to enroll part-time, despite full-time enrollment being a key predictor of college success.  Over half of community college students enrolled part-time in 2007-2008, compared to 19 percent of state college students, and most of these students worked more than part-time, primarily at low-wage jobs that are unrelated to their major or field of study.  Just over half of students who initially enrolled part-time left college after 3 years without earning a degree or certificate, compared to only 14 percent of students who initially enrolled full-time.

This report adds to the growing body of research suggesting that borrowing heavily or relying entirely on income from work are not the best way to pay for college.  In order to succeed in community college or any higher education institution, students should strongly consider attending full-time and only working part-time.  To do this, saving for college or finding additional financial aid may be required.  Applying for and winning scholarships can become a major component of college success–not only can scholarships help students meet their full financial need, but students who earn scholarships are also more likely to earn a college degree.

Posted: under College Costs, College Life, Tips.
Tags: campus life, College Costs, College Life, college tips, community college, education study, Financial Aid, work and college

Comments (0) Oct 01 2009

Soon enough, financial aid application season will be upon us, and you’ll need to know how to navigate the process so that you don’t make any mistakes that could delay that application, and your funding for college. The first and important step will be getting ready to fill out your FAFSA, which the U.S. Department of Education starts accepting starting Jan. 1 of each year. If you take away anything from this blog though, remember this: FAFSA stands for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It should never cost you anything to fill it out.

The easiest way to fill out your FAFSA will be online, directly through the Department of Education’s website at www.FAFSA.ed.gov. In your research you may find sites that charge to prepare your FAFSA for you, like www.FAFSA.com. That site, run by Student Financial Aid Services, Inc., charges a fee of $79.99 to prepare and advise you about your FAFSA, and while studies have shown that professional help through the financial aid process does lead to some positive results and more generous aid packages, with some time and effort you can become a FAFSA expert, too, without the added cost. Your intended college’s financial aid office will also be happy to help you - for free - if you come across any roadblocks or feel like you’ve make a mistake when filing your FAFSA.

The Department of Education’s site will walk you through the FAFSA application process, even allowing you to come back to your application if you find that you don’t have all the necessary paperwork handy. While some students have reported feeling intimidated by the process, you won’t be awarded financial aid from your college if you don’t fill it out. And if you’re uncomfortable filing the FAFSA online, you can also submit the paper form through the mail. (This could delay your application somewhat, though.)

Remember that you should never feel forced to pay to apply for and receive financial aid. Also avoid scholarship search engines that charge you to come up with a list of awards you may be eligible for, and awards that come with large processing fees attached. Scholarship scams are unfortunately a common occurrence, but if you know what to look for, you should have a positive financial aid experience. Browse through our site for more information on filing your FAFSA, and conduct a free scholarship search to see scholarships you may qualify for to supplement your financial aid package - all without paying a dime.

Posted: under FAFSA, Federal Aid, Tips.
Tags: college tips, FAFSA, financial tips, Tips

Comments (0) Oct 01 2009

For students beginning to pen those college application essays, some good news appeared in today’s Inside Higher Education: several competitive colleges are shortening length requirements for the essays they ask their applicants to submit.  Along with the request for briefer essay responses, colleges are increasingly looking for informal and honest responses from students, welcome news to anyone who doesn’t view formal writing as their greatest academic strength.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has replaced a long-form essay (500 words) with several shorter and less formal essay responses of 200 words or less.  The University of Pennsylvania has taken an opposite tack, combining two separate essay questions into one, but reducing the overall amount of writing students need to do for their application.  Other schools that use the Common Application are also increasingly favoring shorter essay responses in their supplemental materials.

Whether universities ask for long essays or short ones, their admission officials seem to want similar things from applicants.  Rather than a carefully crafted application meant to highlight an applicant’s scholastic and extracurricular abilities, along with his or her impeccable grammar and excellent writing style, colleges are asking to actually get to know the student behind the application.   A number of application questions adopt an informal tone to solicit a less stilted and more informative response, even using humor (or the closest thing to humor one can expect to find in college admissions).  Some application questions go so far as to plead with the student to answer honestly and reveal some of their personality.  This represents a change from what most students have been told to expect when it comes to college admissions, and it also represents a conscious move by admissions into a system that can less easily be gamed by students willing to invest in coaching.

After a months long college search filled with research, campus visits, and correspondence, students already have a lot invested in each application they complete.  The intensity of the college application process often prompts students to stifle creativity and rely too heavily on outside help, in some cases employing college admissions consultants or intensive writing coaches (perhaps even ghostwriters) to help craft an application that reflects less what the student brings to the table than what those around the student understand colleges to want.  By requiring more informal responses and fewer formal essays, colleges hope to circumvent this problem, while getting a better sense of whether each applicant is a fit for their institution, which is what the application process is supposed to determine in the first place.

Posted: under College Applications, College News, College Search, High School.
Tags: College Applications, college news, College Search, college tips, High School

Comments (0) Sep 23 2009

As students begin the fall semester, news of the H1N1 swine flu virus spreading across college campuses is everywhere.  But whether the flu has hit your college or not, getting sick at school is a real concern and can quickly derail your semester.

Living far away from home, many college students aren’t well-equipped to take care of themselves and stay on top of their coursework while ill, especially if they contract something more serious than a cold.  While the flu’s getting all the attention now, other common illnesses can put students out of commission for days, or even weeks, causing them to miss class, miss work, and get behind on projects that are crucial to their success in school.  Missed work due to illness can even jeopardize your financial aid.  Part of taking care of yourself when you’re sick at school is taking care to minimize the impact of illness on your semester.

Beyond attending to your immediate needs (seeing a doctor, getting rest, etc.), the most important thing to do if you get sick is to contact your professors, preferably before you miss a class or an assignment.  If you’re really ill and need to miss more than one class or an important assignment, quiz, or test, the earlier you establish communication, the better it will go.  If you have a diagnosis, you can share it, but don’t go into the minute details of what your body is doing and don’t assume that because you’re sick with something verifiable, your professors will instantly cater to your every whim.  A doctor’s excuse doesn’t always go as far as demonstrated willingness to take responsibility for your missed work and to work with your professor to get caught up. Most instructors will be willing to provide you with information and course materials from missed classes, and depending on circumstances and how you approach the situation, they may allow you to make up work, as well.

If you’re going to miss a lot of school or you have professors unwilling to budge, contacting your academic advisor is a good step, as well.  A note from an advisor carries more weight than a call from a student, and if you lack the time or energy to address each professor personally and immediately, talking to your advisor can save you some time.  They can also give you advice and information on what to do about missing class, and help you keep from falling behind.

Finally, once you’re healthy, back in class and taking care of your missed work, there may still be other matters to attend to.  Even if you have tried your hardest, you may wind up with too much work to catch up in a class.  If talking to your professor and your advisor about incompletes and other options doesn’t bear fruit, you may need to drop classes or you may see your GPA suffer.  If you have scholarship awards or other financial aid, lower grades or less than full-time enrollment can have an impact on your eligiblity for these awards.  Be aware of the GPA and enrollment requirements for your scholarships and grants (even some student loans) and if you are in danger of not meeting them, talk to the scholarship provider or your financial aid counselor to find out your options.  Your financial aid office is also a good place to stop if illness has generated medical bills or lost income for you–they may be able to adjust your aid package to help you deal with these expenses.

Posted: under Back to School, College Culture, College Life, Tips.
Tags: Back to School, campus life, College Life, college students, college tips, student life

Comments (0) Sep 16 2009

The Obama health plan isn’t the only hotly debated controversy in which the of the social good is currently being invoked.  College rankings also fall into this category with the release of Washington Monthly’s annual rankings this month, which differ sharply from the better-known U.S. News and World Report rankings, and focus primarily on universities’ contributions to the “social good.”

Washington Monthly publishes two sets of rankings, one for national universities and one for liberal arts colleges, each year.  This year, the top three spots in the magazine’s national university rankings all went to schools in the University of California system: UC Berkeley, UC San Diego, and UC Los Angeles, respectively.  The top three liberal arts colleges were Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, and Williams College.  Amherst and Williams both appeared in U.S. News’ top three, as well, but rankings differed sharply for many of Washington Monthly’s other top schools, which included many state colleges, as opposed to the elite private colleges that dominate U.S. News.

A large part of the drastically different rankings comes from Washington Monthly’s chosen methodology, which asks as much what colleges are doing for the country as it asks what they can do for their students.  This is determined by looking at factors that include student involvement in national service, university involvement in research, and the social mobility attending college gives students.

The service index is achieved by looking at the number of current students involved in ROTC, the Reserve Officer Training Corps, as well as graduate participation in the Peace Corps.  Research is determined by the university’s production of PhD graduates, the number of degree recipients going on to achieve PhDs at other institutions, and other components such as research spending and faculty awards.  The matrix is slightly different for liberal arts college, as many don’t award PhDs and some don’t provide data for all of the research categories.  Social mobility is based on each school’s ability to enroll and graduate needy students, determined by a calculation involving the percentage of students who receive federal Pell Grants and the school’s undergraduate graduation rate.

Washington Monthly provides a more thorough description of their rankings system, as well as the rationale behind their decision to rank colleges, on their College Guide website.  Other magazines participating in the college rankings game include Princeton Review and Forbes Magazine.

Posted: under Back to School, College News, High School, High School News, Tips.
Tags: choosing a college, college news, college rankings, College Search, college tips, community service, Financial Aid, Graduate School, high school students, Tips

Comments (0) Sep 03 2009