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How to Increase Concentration and
Retention with Music
Guest Entry By: Chelsea Wilson, @WashULaw | Submit A Guest Blog Entry
Getting an LL.M. from a top-tier American law school with a rigorous curriculum can be a very demanding project, especially when personal and professional commitments are factored in. For that reason, any strategy that lets a practitioner or student use time more effectively should generally be adopted. And one effective strategy is listening to music.
Listening to music can improve concentration and can increase information intake and retention. This is because music can actually reshape your brain.
The Science Behind Music and The Brain
The phenomenon by which parts of the brain are reshaped over time in response to changes in behavior, environment, and neural processes is called neuroplasticity. And while the brain is far more malleable in childhood, the neuroplasticity of certain components of the brain continues well into our adult years.
In a study conducted by the Stanford University School of Medicine, researchers found that:
“[M]usic engages the areas of the brain involved with paying attention, making predictions and updating the event in memory.”
They observed that when music from the late baroque period was played, the participants’ brains responded with heightened attention during the time in between each movement. For students and professionals, this indicates that listening to music may enhance the brain’s ability to focus and record information learned while preparing for the courtroom or studying for the classroom.
Also, an entire field of instruction called “Accelerated Learning,” developed by Dr. Georgi Lozanov and Evelyna Gateva, was created in part to find ways to incorporate music into learning experiences in order to gain the benefits of the increased concentration and retention that can occur.
The Music
Due to the phenomena, students and professionals alike would be well served to find ways to incorporate music into their lives, careers, and studies. To help you get started, we’ve put together a Spotify playlist so that you can try out the style of music used in many studies. The playlist includes works by Vivaldi, Bach, Beethoven and Handel, among others. Give it a listen during your workday or while studying, and let us know what you think. If you find it helpful, feel free to share this playlist with your colleagues, friends and/or family.
An Attention Enhancing Study Playlist provided by @WashULaw, an online LL.M Degree
About Chelsea Wilson:
The Community Relations Manager for Washington University School of Law’s Online LLM program, @WashULaw | Submit A Guest Blog Entry to MyMajors
The Community Relations Manager for Washington University School of Law’s Online LLM program, @WashULaw | Submit A Guest Blog Entry to MyMajors
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How to help your child prepare for
education beyond high school
Parents can begin to prepare their children for college early by
• helping them take the right junior high and high school courses based on the type of school they wish to enroll in after high school.
• encouraging them to maintain good grades throughout their high school experience.
• helping them decide on the right school by researching the school’s curriculum, the size of the school, the type of school, and a school’s affordability. Parents should also encourage campus visits.
• helping them obtain and complete admissions applications.
• assisting them with essays and preparing for admissions interviews.
Home Schooling
The first important thing is to have your homeschooled child contact the admissions offices at the colleges that interest him or her.
Different colleges have different requirements for homeschooled students, so be prepared to tailor the application package for each school. Most admissions offices will be interested in the level and intensity of the course work your child has completed. Be sure to find out whether the college requires a transcript of completed courses. Sometimes, colleges request a list of the books used and any completed course materials. Your child’s GPA will probably not matter as much as factors such as college entrance exam scores, personal essays, and interviews.
Many colleges find it useful to have a portfolio of the homeschooled student’s work. In addition to information such as grades and test scores, the portfolio might include writing samples, computer programming projects, awards, lists of books read, newspaper clippings about volunteer work, etc.
In addition, your child might want to consider enrolling at a local community college. Some homeschoolers find community college a good way to “try out? a college environment and to build a record of courses and grades beyond the home transcript.
You and your child can learn more through networking with other homeschoolers who are applying – or have been admitted – to college.
Information taken from Federal Student Aid:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parents.jsp
Please see the link above for additional information.
Financial Preparation
Financial Literacy
Financial literacy is the education on the management of personal finances and is an essential part of planning and paying for postsecondary education. You’ll find links to Web sites that provide information on money management, handling credit and debt, and information on consumer protection.
Saving
You should begin saving as early as possible. The average in-state tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students for 2008-09, before student financial aid was deducted, was $2,923 for a public two-year college and $13,298 for a four-year public university. Private four-year schools averaged $33,315 in 2008-09.
(Source: National Center for Education Statistics, Higher Education General Information Survey.)
Many state governments now offer innovative college savings programs. The College Savings Plans Network (an affiliate of the National Association of State Treasurers) provides information about these plans and links from their Web site to the many state plans.
College Savings Calculator
Use this handy calculator to determine how much you could or should be saving to meet college expenses, and how to maximize your savings efforts.
FinAid, an online financial aid resource, has a number of online savings calculators to help plan your savings and project your financial returns. They also can help you project college costs and student loan payments.
Tax Benefits and Prepaid Tuition Plans
For more information on ways to help finance your child’s education, including an education IRA, click here.
Borrowing
Another funding option is the Federal PLUS Loan program. Click here to visit the Funding section of our site, where we describe PLUS Loans as well as other federal loans, grants, and work-study.
Other borrowing options involve leveraging personal investments or your home’s equity.
More and more students and parents are using private loans or credit cards to finance postsecondary education. Because these types of consumer debt usually carry far higher interest rates than federal student loans, you should consider them a last resort. For information about sources of federal, state, and private financial aid, visit our Looking for Student Aid page.
Information taken from Federal Student Aid:
http://studentaid.ed.gov/PORTALSWebApp/students/english/parents.jsp
Please see the link above for additional information.
More information for parents can be found @ www.universityparent.com
Creative Outlook Magazine Cover Contest 2013
Creative Outlook Magazine kicks off 3rd Annual Cover Contest by offering $1,000.00 in Art Scholarships and Announces Inaugural Art Teacher of the Year Award.
Following a record breaking year in terms of entries and participants, the 2013 Creative Outlook Magazine Cover Contest began April 1, 2013 and is filling fast with new original, student art submissions. Featuring talented art students from around the nation, participants can upload (up to) five pieces of art or performing arts pieces to www.creative-outlook.com, add a short description of their entries and then, share via social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest) for the popular vote. In September, the top 10 submissions with the most votes will be entered into a final “Portfolio Review” where a panel of art education professionals will choose the winning submission and two runner-ups. The winning submission will receive a $250 art scholarship and be featured on the cover of the 2013 issue of Creative Outlook. The two runner-up submissions will also receive $250 art scholarships each. All three submissions and the artists who created them will be profiled in the magazine as well.
Along with the Cover Contest. Creative Outlook is also announcing the inaugural Art Teacher of the Year Award. Students can submit short blog entries of how their favorite art teacher has motivated, inspired and encouraged them to new artistic heights at www.creative-outlook.com/art-teacher-of-the-year. The Art Teacher featured in the top entry will receive a $250 professional art scholarship that can be used by the teacher for educational purposes. Like the Cover Contest, the Art Teacher of the Year will be profiled in the 2013 issue of Creative Outlook.
Both contests end September 1, 2013.
For more information, call 1-800-274-8867 or email at creative@mymajors.com.
About Creative Outlook Magazine: For 18 years, Creative Outlook has helped visual and performing art students connect to the top, accredited programs and schools throughout the country. A product of the MyMajors.com Network, Creative Outlook gives students the opportunity to find a major, find a college and find an arts-related career path. Creative Outlook is distributed annually in October and is available free upon request at www.creative-outlook.com.
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Tagged Art, award, contest, Cover Contest, Creative Outlook, scholarship, teacher
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Working While Studying: What You Need to Know
Following high school graduation, heading off to college is often the first major (and exciting) milestone in your life, but we’d be foolish to pretend it’s not also one of the most financially stressful experiences you’ll go through.
Given that your surname probably isn’t Kardashian, we’ll go ahead and assume you’re in the majority of students to whom money is an everyday concern. As such, you’re probably weighing up the pros and cons of picking up some part-time work around your already-busy study schedule.
Here’s the low down on the considerations you’ll need to consider on working while studying.
Paying Taxes While Working
Do you have to pay taxes on any income you earn while studying? If so, how much?
In reality, trying to answer these questions in full would result in a 50,000 word article which would probably look better as a hard copy, bound in leather.
The reason that we can’t cover everything in this overview article is that the rules governing income tax, eligibility and possible tax credits are famously complex and depend largely on which state you’re studying in (as well as how much you plan to work, where you’re working, what schemes operate in your area/company, your tuition fee and funding situation and a myriad other factors).
The best advice to contact your local IRS office directly to talk about your situation in real time, but the IRS website itself may be worth a look. They have a dedicated Student section here.
Taxes for International Students Studying in the U.S.
Things get a little more complex if you’re working in the US as a nonresident while you’re studying. This page serves as a good overview and is the best starting point for wrapping your head around nonresident tax, but as you’ll see, it’s mind-bogglingly complicated at times.
The key points to take away from it are:
1) You’ll need a Social Security Number if you plan on earning income in the U.S., which you can get at the nearest Social Security Office.
2) Despite the necessity for the SSN, you don’t have to pay Social Security or Medicare in all but the rarest of circumstances.
3) You’ll need to file an 8843 form in order to establish your status as a nonresident whether or not you’re planning on working. If you do start working, the employer will have you fill out a W-4 form which is fairly self-explanatory and sets you up for paying taxes to the US on any money earned while there.
However, as with resident taxation, there are a few variations on the rules depending on which state you’re studying in.
The Practicalities of Juggling Work/Study Life
Needless to say, you don’t want to have your part-time job impact on your studies in a way which affects your grades. After all, working your butt of to pay for your tuition only to flunk at the end of the course!
Being realistic, most “student jobs”’ aren’t particularly well paid so the temptation to put in more than part-time hours in order to rake in a substantial amount of cash at the end of the month is easy to fall foul to.
However, with proper budgeting and carefully working out exactly what tax breaks you’re entitled to, you should be able to easily work out exactly how much income you need in order to get by. Try to stick to this amount when picking up hours waiting tables or serving drinks, even if it means you have to forego some of the more pricey luxuries. A little bit of sacrifice now will pay dividends after college.
Home-based Work
If you get the opportunity to work from home (or from your dorm!) grab it with both hands. Such work is beneficial as it’s easy to slot it around your studies and can be lucrative if it’s within your specialty (as above).
Craigslist is a good source for this, particularly the local sub-sites, but do beware of scams. This cannot be understated; since working from home is as desirable as it sounds, plenty of cons abound but the good news is that they’re easy to spot from a mile away. There is genuine work out there (contrary to popular conception) but be prepared to sift through the dirt with a keen eye for the odd gem.
Putting Specialties to Work
Retail and service work are time-honored traditions for students and there’s nothing wrong with a bit of elbow grease. However, depending on what field you’re studying, it may be possible to gain work which is higher paid.
Let’s say you study at the New York Film Academy (NYFA), one of the top schools for cinematography professions. If you’re studying something technical such as video editing, which is largely coursework based (and therefore affords a more flexible schedule), you’ll have knowledge of a technical skill which can not only pay well but counts greatly on your resume. Naturally it can be slightly trickier to get work in your specialist field, but the rewards are more than worth it.
Best of luck, and happy studies!
*Note that the advice presented in this article is not intended to be taken as financial or tax advice. Seek professional assistance on specific matters before making financial decisions.
About New York Film Academy:The New York Film Academy was founded on the philosophy that “learning by doing” combined with best industry practices is more valuable than years of theoretical study for filmmakers and actors. This educational model allows students to achieve more in less time than at all other film or acting schools in the world. Get More Info.
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Home sickness and … food
Guest Entry By: Bellerbys College, UK | Submit A Guest Blog Entry
No matter how excited you may be about your new life as an international student, there’s always a certain level of home sickness that will cause students some distress. There are the friends back home, the family, the familiar places, the food… While we know this already, what the students don’t know is that they have the chance of experimenting something others just dream of. Any experience out of the comfort zone has the great advantage of making those who undergo it wiser and more mature.
It may sound strange, but to many, food can be a real cause of concern. So here’s a list of British dishes and foods that are explained so that anyone knows what “bangers” and “mince pie” is.
The Classic British breakfast
Photo courtesy: http://www.essentially-england.com/traditional-english-recipes-breakfast.html
Marmite
If you haven’t tried it already, you’ll either love or hate it. It’s as simple as that. This is a dark brown sticky food paste made of yeast extract; it has a powerful aroma, and is a bit salty. It is usually spread thinly on toast or eaten in combination with butter. It has a high concentration of folic acid, thiamine, riboflavin and B12 – so that’s quite healthy.
Bangers & Mash
Translated, that’s sausages, mashed potatoes and gravy.
The Sunday Roast
That’s roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetables and Yorkshire pudding – made of batter.
Mince Pies
photo courtesy http://www.mincepieclub.co.uk/
photo courtesy http://www.mincepieclub.co.uk/
Fish and Chips
No longer a surprise, yet a must have!
While these belong to the traditional menu, the variety of foods that can be found in the UK is really amazing. After all, London is known to be one of the most cosmopolitan European capitals, so if you happen to study here or pass by, you may want to try Brick Lane Market, a place where home sickness has no meaning. There are so many interesting people to be met and so many unusual, delicious foods from around the world to be tasted, that the familiar lunch from back home becomes a “weak” memory. On top, the prices are really affordable.
And should food not be a problem, but you might need some help with the peculiar British vocabulary, here’s a list of common words you might want to learn in advance:
• Bespoke – custom made
• Dodgy – suspicious
• Wicked – cool
• Whinge –whine
• Tenner – £10
• Fiver – £5
• Tad – little bit
• Bee’s Knees – awesome
• Chuffed – proud
• Knackered – tired
Studying in a different country can sometimes be tough. There’s a different culture you have to get accustomed with, a different style, a different language, but at the end of the day people are just people, and what matters most is the opportunity of combining college or university studies with those that “life” teaches. And it’s quite comforting to know that there are plenty resources dedicated to offering students useful advice and guidance.
About Bellerbys College:Bellerbys College provides university preparation courses for students wishing to study in the United Kingdom. More advice on what it is like to be an international student or what UK has to offer in terms of education can be found on their International Study Blog.
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6 Tips for Financially Savvy College Students
Guest Entry By: Danielle Maples | Submit A Guest Blog Entry
As a college student you’re constantly seeking out ways to save money. You check deals, clip coupons, and take advantage of free samples whenever possible; right? Yet, there are additional ways to save money that you probably haven’t considered. Read on for several exciting tips financially savvy college students implement to save money.
Enter Contests (On & Off Campus)
Entering contests is a great way to earn extra money between classes. You can enter daily sweepstakes online, participate by completing surveys, and enter classroom writing into professional competitions, such as the RewardIt blogger contest.
Additionally, college students have the unique opportunity to enter contents around their campus. Check billboards and college newspapers for offerings, and be aware that each major might offer specific contents for its upper-classmen. For example, at Utah Valley University in Orem, UT the Communications Department offers a newspaper-writing contest each semester that awards a full semester grant.
Image Via Columbia Cougars
Snag Free Online Offers
If you see a new product available at the store, chances are it’s available as a sample somewhere. There are websites you can sign up with to learn about great new samples that are becoming available on the market so that you can try a product before buying it.
Why not put your savvy social media skills to use? College students who sign up with Klout are frequently offered free samples, depending upon their online presence rating. For students who are addicted to Facebook and Twitter, this is a huge win.
Image Via Flickr by Slgckgc
Utilize Budget Apps Like an Algebra Calculator
Being a financially savvy student, you probably already follow a very strict budget. But you can always improve your budget, and how you track it, by using budget apps on your smartphone or tablet. Pageonce allows you to see all of your bank account, bill, credit card, loan, and other accounts all in one place. For students who visit Starbucks a few times a week, this sort of app will illustrate with pie charts how much of your monthly budget is wasted on lattes! And don’t forget to do it all using affordable cell phone plans.
Image Via Flickr by Rhodes
Socialize Like an Extreme Couponing King
What could be cooler than showing up to Physics 101 looking like a rockabilly diva? Shopping yard sales allows students to score excellent, unique items at rock-bottom prices. Also, yard sales train college students on the fine art of price haggling; a skill useful for the rest of your life. Yard Sale Search allows you to find sales one to 20 miles away in any U.S. city.
Image Via Flickr by Usedtobelost
Image Via Flickr by Kevin Dooley
Get Everything Cheaper Than Your Friends Do
Few things feel better than the schadenfreude experienced when a friend admits he or she paid twice as much for your smartphone or kicks. Using apps like RedLaser, college students can quickly scan barcodes and learn which nearby stores are selling an item for less. Why pay top dollar for an iPhone when you can get it cheaper two miles down the road?
Image Via Flickr by David Berkowitz
These tips can be added to your financial toolbox to help with your budget and save you money on a daily basis. Use them in conjunction with the steps you’re already taking to save money, and you’ll be a financially savvy student who rocks the freshest looks for less cash than anyone else.
About Danielle Maples:Danielle is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles. Expert from UCLA’s Facebook page: “For nearly a century, UCLA has been home to dreamers and game changers. People come to these sun-drenched grounds not to be famous or to win awards but to be great. They become innovators and influencers, groundbreakers and nation builders that move the hearts and minds of the world.” The one thing my fellow students and I couldn’t live without at UCLA was our affordable cell phone plans.
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Creativity. Where the only constant is change.
By its very nature, creativity is all about change. Whether adapting to it or being the force behind it, creative people are energized, inspired, compelled, and challenged by shaking things up. Embracing new ideas helps to power their evolution—both personally and as professional communicators and problem solvers. Things are changing fast in the area of design, and you need to be ready to take on those changes.
A new world of design, a new kind of designer.
Thanks to the explosion in technology, today’s designers have more tools to work with than ever before. More ways to reach more specific audiences. And more reason to make sure their skills are keeping up with all this change. Because a big part of being creative is staying relevant. Today, you need to blend the traditional design skills—things like color, design, typography and layout—with the interactive skills today’s technology calls for, today’s employers demand, and tomorrow’s design careers are built around.
The tablet is changing how people get their information. And how that content is designed.
You don’t have to look far to find a good example of how the field of design is changing —and what that means to you. Your tablet and your smartphone are transforming visual and information design. They’re changing how publishers and marketers reach their audiences. And it’s all working together to create new opportunities for the kind of designers who have the creative and technical skills to shape the user experience.
You need a new kind of education.
The Art Institutes is a system of over 50 schools across North America that prepares students for careers where they can create their tomorrow. In our new Designing for Tablets – Digital Publishing program you’ll begin with core design courses, then focus your learning on one of four elective tracks: web development, animation, sequential art, or journalism.
You can find out more by watching this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crZOwK7k4cQ
A new world of opportunity …
Communication is no longer a one-way street. And as it continues to become more and more interactive, it’s getting more difficult to draw a line between “graphic designer” and “web designer.” Employers are looking for designers who can design content for both traditional and mobile web devices–those who can make the transition from print to web. That means that you can’t just develop skills in one discipline; to take advantage of the opportunities, you have to understand the visual language of both.
… and a new program to help you take advantage of it.
In our new Graphic & Web Design program, you can prepare for a career where you use your imagination and technology to communicate. You’ll start with the basics like color, illustration, design, and image manipulation. After your first year, you’ll choose to follow the path of Graphic Design or Web Design.
Traditional, print-based Graphic Design focuses on areas like product packaging, posters, and interactive web media. Web Design focuses on screen-based interactive design and development.
Check out this short video for more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A97Mmjcu444
How will you evolve … and what will you create?
The sooner you choose a career path and get the focused education you need, the sooner you’ll be entering a creative world where change means opportunity. Start by exploring the programs we offer at The Art Institutes. Visit create.aii.edu.
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President’s Day: List of Presidents by College Education
Today is President’s Day.
Do you know your History of Presidents? MyMajors has your President Higher Ed History lesson covered!
What undergrad school has produced the most U.S. Presidents? (See below…hint: it starts with a “H”, and ends with an “arvard”)
Interesting Fact: Of the 43 men to have been President, 24 of them graduated from a private college, 9 graduated from a public college, and 10 did not graduate from a college. Except for Grover Cleveland and Harry S Truman, every president since 1869 has had a degree.
Also, check out this awesome infographic from Edudemic: The Education of U.S. Presidents
Who’s your favorite president? Are you attending one of the schools below? Give a shout out and rep your school on President’s Day!
Info courtesy of Wikipedia:
Posted in Counselor's Corner, Experts, Other, Student Bloggers
Tagged Colleges, Degree, majors, President, United States
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Top 10 ACT and SAT Tips
Excerpt from Be wise in planning and executing ACT/SAT testing | May 10, 2012 | By Meri Kock
1. Online registration is the way to go! Both ACT (www.act.org) and the College Board for the SAT (www.collegeboard.com) have fantastic websites to use for registration and so much more. They prefer online registration over the paper forms whenever possible, but you will need to have a credit card, debit card, or fee waiver voucher in order to pay for the test fees ($34 for ACT, $49 for SAT). In addition to registration and registration deadlines their websites allow you to see your scores quickly, order official score reports to be sent to colleges/universities, work on test preparation, order test preparation materials, and more.
2. To write, or not to write? The ACT has an optional writing portion where students are given a prompt and then a specific time period to write an essay based on that prompt. Since it’s optional, who should sign up for it? The answer is it depends. Check with the universities you’re planning to apply to for admission, and if they require it then take it. If they don’t, then why spend the extra $15.50 for the essay?
3. Should you subject yourself to SAT subject tests? The SAT has something called subject-matter tests covering 20 different subject areas. These tests are given on different test dates than the general SAT and have an additional fee of $49 per test. Who should take those? The answer, again, is it depends. Most universities do not require the subject tests, but some highly selective universities do. Additionally, some specific colleges of study within a university may require them. The best thing to do, as mentioned above, is check with your particular university. If they don’t require them, then why spend the extra money? If they do require them, then be certain to take them.
4. The best way to study for the ACT/SAT? Do your homework! If you study for your classes, do the best on your assignments and projects that you can, and really strive for understanding the material and not simply completing the assignments, then you’ve done the best possible preparation for earning high scores on these high stakes exams that you can.
5. But what about all those huge test prep books? Are they worth it? Frankly, yes, but only if you use them correctly. Many of my students invest a bunch of money in one or more copies of test prep books that are available at bookstores, and then use them to decorate their desks or bookcases. If you don’t open the book, it can’t help you. That’s the first mistake. The second mistake is they skip all the boring reading and go straight to the practice tests. Wrong, wrong, wrong. All that boring reading is there for a reason, so read it! The first few chapters will give you the general layout of the test, test taking strategies, information on the types of questions and content to expect, and the rules and regulations that the test administrator will follow. Knowing all of this in advance will help you go into the test from a place of knowledge rather than a place of mystery.
6. Isn’t online the way to go in the modern era? Yes, of course, there are a myriad of online test prep resources. If you purchased one of the behemoth books there was probably a CD or an access code for you to use for online test prep. Look for free resources; there are a bunch of them out there. Just make certain they’re preparing you for the most recent version of the ACT/SAT. I recently took the GRE and spent hours preparing for it through a usually reputable online resource only to find out that the GRE had changed formats a few months prior to my decision to take it and the online resource hadn’t caught up yet. The sections I had worked so hard on were no longer part of the GRE. Be careful, be aware, and be smart.
7. Do those prep courses that cost hundreds of dollars really help? Possibly. What I usually learn after a few of my students go through one of those courses is that the instructors are basically walking students through one of those big test prep books. Sometimes they’re giving them extra tips and test-taking skills, but if the student had enough self-discipline to work through the book themselves they may have learned the same thing. Please understand, I am not saying ALL prep classes are like that, some go much further in depth into subject matter, analysis of reading passages, and develop student’s academic skills farther than they were initially, but not all do that. Ask a lot of questions of the instructors and businesses about their strategies, approaches, materials used, and talk with friends/neighbors/classmates before writing a great big check.
8. Get yourself into the “zone.” Have you ever competed in an athletic event, performed in a recital or production, took a test, completed a project, and you were in the zone? Professional athletes talk about being in the zone quite a bit. You can get yourself into the ACT/SAT zone as well. Just think back to one of those times when you felt strong, confident, self-assured, and whatever you were doing came with ease and you nailed it, whatever “it” was. What things did you do leading up to that extraordinary display of your excellence? Chances are you prepared, practiced, rehearsed until it was second nature. You were rested, ate healthy foods, and took time to get your mind focused. A few deep breaths to relax, a few quiet words of self-encouragement, and an attitude of “look at how awesome I can be,” you were off to the races. Use that same strategy for the ACT/SAT and you’ll have a great start.
9. Know where you’re going before you get there. One of the worst ways to walk into the ACT/SAT is tired, frustrated, and angry because you got lost on the way to the test center. If you are going somewhere new and if you have the time, actually drive to the test location, find the exact building and hopefully the exact room, at least the day before the test. Having this level of familiarity of where you’re going will lower your anxiety level and take away one of the things that might go wrong. If you can do a practice run by the actual test location, be certain to leave significantly early enough to get to the test location on time. Early is better.
10. It’s a cliché for a reason. You know you’ve heard it a million times before, but people still say it because it’s true. Be certain to get plenty of rest, eat a solid breakfast that includes some protein, use the restroom before going into the test, wear very comfortable clothing, and go into the test ready to show off everything you know. Remember, you can take the test more than once, but relax and do your best each time. Things tend to work out in the end.
Posted in Counselor's Corner, Experts, Meri Kock
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Three-Year Degree Programs Shorten the Path to Rewarding Careers
Guest Entry By: Chamberlain College of Nursing | Get Info From Chamberlain College of Nursing | Submit A Guest Blog Entry
Three-year bachelor’s degree programs are gaining popularity as many students look for ways to enter the workforce faster. Though these programs are common in Europe and Canada, condensed programs are now attracting greater interest in the United States as students and education providers realize the unique benefits.
Students might identify three-year options as a swifter path to earning a bachelor’s degree, particularly as the value of a college education rises in the current marketplace. The median family income for those with a bachelor’s degree or higher was $99,716, compared with $48,332 for those with only a high school diploma, according to Trends in College Pricing 2011, a report detailing findings from the College Board’s Annual Survey of Colleges.
Some leaders in higher education are exploring three-year degree programs as a solution to growing workforce issues. Many professional fields are growing faster than students can acquire the necessary education to fill the positions, and three-year degree programs reduce the time it takes for candidates to graduate and enter the job market.
The healthcare industry, for example, is grappling with a nationwide shortage of workers in several disciplines, such as healthcare information technicians and clinical laboratory technicians, which U.S. News and World Report listed among its 25 Best Jobs in 2012. Three-year bachelor’s degree programs are available for prospective students looking to enter both fields.
Perhaps one of the most widely acknowledged healthcare worker shortages is registered nurses (RNs). More than half of the RN workforce is close to retirement, according to the American Nurses Association. This issue is to become more acute as the industry responds to the patient needs of a growing population of aging baby boomers and the demands of a changing healthcare environment. Three-year degree programs allow graduates to fill these in demand roles and launch a career in nursing before their peers in traditional four-year programs.
“As a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree becomes the standard requirement for many entry-level nursing positions, a three-year degree program is an efficient route to a desired career,” says Patrick Robinson, dean of undergraduate curriculum and instruction at Chamberlain College of Nursing. “A shorter program can be more intense with the same curriculum standards as typical four-year degree programs. However for motivated, organized students, the professional reward can be worth the hard work.”
Chamberlain offers a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree program that enables students to earn their degree in as few as three years of year-round study, instead of the typical four years with summers off. Mary Flemister, a June 2012 graduate of Chamberlain’s program, is currently employed as a nurse at a family practice in Virginia.
“It was important to me to find a program that balanced expediency with diversified classroom and clinical experience – Chamberlain’s year-round structure was ideal,” Flemister says. “I had transfer credits so I was able to earn my BSN degree in only two years – the same length of an associate degree program. However, I am more competitive in the job market because I earned a bachelor’s degree.”
Recent industry data illustrates that demand is mounting for degree programs with this structure. According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the number of three-year BSN degree programs increased from 31 to 230 between 1990 and 2010. This trend is expected to continue as factors contributing to the national nursing shortage escalate, and the industry necessitates BSN degrees.
About Chamberlain College of Nursing:At Chamberlain College of Nursing, we’re proud of our 123-year history and heritage. While we’ve said goodbye to the traditional white nursing caps of 1889, we continue to embrace and build upon the vision of our founders through the preparation of compassionate and knowledgeable graduates.
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