Pinterest: #CreativeCover 2013
Author Archives: Meghan
Pacecar’s Favorite part 2: #CreativeCover
I love animals. More importantly, I love cats. And by love I really mean obsessed.
You might start to see a trend in my blog posts during the #creativeCover contest.
This is my week’s favorite: “Bright Eyes”
Of course everyone’s favorite time in a Cat’s life is when they are kittens. Small, cute, cuddly, little fluff balls! This is when they tend to have bright, bold, and blue eyes. This photo displays it perfectly. As soon as I saw this photo I fell in love!
The voting isn’t completely up to me or the rest of the MyMajors team. It also relies on you! So go and vote for your favorites and who you’d like to see on the next Creative Outlook Magazine cover!
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Pace Car’s Favorite #CreativeCover
We are now accepting entries for the #CreativeCover 2012 contest for Creative Outlook Magazine! We are receiving entries daily and they are all outstanding.
Everyday I get to pick a few of my favorites and tweet, retweet, and share as much as possible! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on the most recent submissions.
Take a minute to browse through the submissions and vote for who you would like to see on the cover.
Here is one of my favorites so far:
Remember to vote, and vote wisely! Winner will receive a$250 scholarship and their art on the cover of College Outlook Magazine! Entry deadline – September 1, 2012
University of Colorado Denver uses MyMajors to help students
For many young people, their journeys from high school to college lack signposts. They often enter college without majors in mind – much less knowing the jobs they want after graduation.
These students have to learn to Just ASK! That’s a clever career counseling activity at the University of Colorado Denver. ASK stands for Assessing career paths, Searching for jobs and Knocking on doors of the best companies.
That’s where Jonne Kraning comes in. Kraning is director of the CU Denver Career Center, which helps students select majors, develop career plans and get those first jobs.
The center has, for years, relied on MyMajors for that key step of assessing what major is best suited to each student.
“It’s quick, it’s direct and to the point and it gives us a real starting point with students,” Kraning said.
“If I could only have one piece of technology in our career center, I would probably pick MyMajors.”
A goal of the CU Denver Career Center, and colleges nationwide, is to keep students in school and on track to graduate – clearly good for all involved: the student, the college and parents.
According to the American Institutes for Research, a group whose work includes educational assessments, 30 percent of college freshmen do not return to the same colleges for their sophomore years. And some never return to college, often because their studies lack focus and they’re not sure which way to go, careerwise.
And, much to the chagrin of parents, students who stay in school without majors are more likely to take extra time to graduate. In fact, only 36 percent of third-year students without declared majors graduate on time.
A NEED FOR DIRECTION
The Career Center at CU Denver aggressively reaches out to students in need of majors and good career options. It publicizes its free services on campus through advertising and career fairs.
When a student comes in for help, Kraning starts with a personal interview of 20 to 25 minutes.
“They talk about their hopes and dreams, about what they are good at and what they have noticed about themselves,” Kraning said.
Then the student completes a MyMajors nine-part survey to assess personality, interests, strengths and potential majors. Students also report their grades in specific subjects so the center can measure students’ proficiency.
Formal assessment testing usually validates what students may have felt was right for them all along.
“I have found that 99 percent of the time the pattern that comes up in MyMajors is the same one that came up in our conversation,” Kraning said.
The MyMajors assessment is perhaps most effective because it measures both interest and achievement. The correlation between these two is extremely important in determining a person’s career, as well as the likelihood of success in a field of study and career. Comparing students’ interests to their grades is the key proprietary method to find real opportunities for future college grads.
For example, a student with an interest in engineering, who also makes good grades in math, is a good fit. Without proficiency in math, that major would be difficult for any student to pursue.
REACH OF MYMAJORS.COM IS GLOBAL
MyMajors.com research covers more than 1,800 majors and 40,000 pages of career information. It has helped more than 525,000 students from the United States and around the world select suitable majors.
In 2011, MyMajors.com had more than 3 million website visits and 173,000 completed Interviews, said Bill Gaier, vice president of business development at MyMajors. And he expects traffic and interest to continue to grow due to a competitive job market and the need to quickly and efficiently find majors that lead to good jobs.
At CU Denver, which has an enrollment of about 16,000, the innovative Just ASK! career counseling campaign doubles as an invitation to succeed.
So, for Kraning and each of her undeclared students, it starts with a simple conversation and the quick and easy MyMajors assessment.
“MyMajors is simple yet powerful, and really helps us, as well as the students, figure out what needs to be done,” she said. “We love to see students with passion and purpose, pursuing things they like, and are really good at as well.”
Introducing Advisor Andrea!
I’d like to introduce our newest academic advisor Andrea from Ottawa University in Overland Park, Kansas. Andrea completed her Master of Arts in Education with a concentration in Curriculum and Instruction in May 2011. She started her career at Ottawa as an enrollment advisor and was quickly promoted to an Academic Advisor, where she works specifically with online adult students helping them reach their academic goals and become OU graduates. She enjoys spending time with her family which is soon to be plus one more! Hot cheetos (and anything spicy), dark chocolate, and cute cuddly kitties are amongst her favorite things. Andrea also enjoys reading Harry Potter and the Twilight series. Even if she has to go alone, she won’t miss a midnight premier!
Posted in Meghan, z- Blog-a-saurus Rex Team
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Welcome Kellie!
Please welcome our new Academic Advisor blogger, Kellie Woodle from the University of North Florida! She will be sharing her advice with the MyMajors world about advising freshman and sophomore college students and how she professionally guides them towards choosing their academic dreams. As an enthusiastic runner and Dave Matthews fan, you won’t want to miss her posts. Check back for her upcoming entry!
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Welcome Yenisey!
MyMajors.com is happy and honored to have University of Miami Academic Advisor Yenisey Cabrera join our bloggers! Her bio states she is “privileged everyday with the opportunity to help guide students…” and MyMajors.com is sooooooo happy to be a venue for her mission! Be sure to check back for her entries on the blog as well as the MyMajors Student Newsletter!
Posted in Experts, Meghan, z- Blog-a-saurus Rex Team
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Pace Car’s Top 10 Christmas Movies
During the Holiday season an easy way to get in the spirit of things (besides cakes, pies, and ham) is to cuddle up and watch a movie. I’d like to share my top 10 favorite Christmas movies of all time!
10. White Christmas
9. Polar Express
8. How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated of course)
7. It’s A Wonderful Life
6. A Christmas Story
5. The Santa Clause
4. Home Alone (All of them)
3. Miracle on 34th Street
2. Elf
And….drum roll please….numero UNO IS…
1. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
So, after all your hard studying and preparing for finals pick up one of these movies and relax!
-Happy Holidays Everyone
Posted in Meghan
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MyMajors Launch!
It’s here…Finally! After a lot of hard work by the MyMajors team we have an entire new look and feel to the website; including the parent, student, and counselor blog section! I’m hoping this portion of the site will bring much conversation and interaction between our featured bloggers and MyMajors visitors.
Our featured student bloggers are some of the most creative high school and college kids yet and come from all over the world! They make their own videos, post photos, and share some really funny stories that will keep you entertained for hours. I know you will have a blast reading their blog entries about visiting Paris, being the school mascot, riding bikes in Canada, as well as applying to International Universities, and the importance of going on campus visits. I’ve had such a great time working with each one and getting to know their personalities!
Our counselor bloggers have given us very helpful and reliable information for fellow counselors, parents, as well as students. Be sure to read their blogs about jump starting your school year!
Please check back for new entries, make comments, ask questions, and share with your friends. And don’t forget to take the quiz, find a college major, do some research, and hang out on our site. Whatever you need, we got it!
Thanks,
Meg
P.S Here’s one of my favorites videos from school tube!
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TIME OUT! THIS IS AWESOME!
I have been coordinating this blog thing FOREVER! I can’t believe that it is actually happening … and our MyMajors.com bloggers are so creative and FUNNY!
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You Don’t Need Cash to Pay for College
By Howard Freedman,
President of Financial Aid Consulting
www.financialaidconsulting.com
Who ever said that you need cash to pay for college?
This couldn’t be further from the truth when you consider that few families have the cash to pay for college or a house or a car or other big-ticket items. That is where the prudent use of governmental credit programs, scholarship and grant searches and debt relief programs provide painless remedies to defray college expenses.
Two of the biggest stresses for families are money and majors. The two issues can run in tandem. Be willing to see preparing for college as a part-time job. Be diligent with paperwork and time management. Remember deadlines are key, especially when seeking financial help.
Sadly, many families give up or go on a guilt trip when they are confronted with the fact that they did not or could not save for college. What they fail to realize is that there are many other unique financial resources that are only available to college bound students. These resources are not based on a family’s credit scores but focus on the student and their futures rather than on the parent’s financial history.
It all starts with the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), a form required by all colleges for federal financial aid. Fill it out early starting January 1 of each year based on estimates that can be adjusted later.
The power of the FAFSA is in the results known as EFC or Expected Family Contribution. The EFC is derived from detailed calculations based on a family’s income or certain assets. It defines the amount that a family should be but may not be able to contribute to the cost of a student’s education. The college subtracts the EFC from the cost of attending a college to derive the amount of unmet financial need that the college will try to satisfy.
But what happens if a family does not have their Expected Family Contribution despite what the numbers indicate?
Families with Adjusted Gross Incomes of $32,000 or less may qualify for an Automatic Zero EFC if certain criteria are satisfied. Families participating in means tested federal benefit programs {SSI, Food Stamps, Free and Reduced Price School Lunch program, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) or Women, Infants and Children (WIC)} or filing a 2011 IRS form 1040A or 1040 EZ or IRS form 1040 but are not required to do so to be eligible. This also applies if the student’s parent is a dislocated worker. The Automatic Zero EFC defines the student as being the most needy and eligible to receive the most grants, subsidized and low cost loans and work study.
Other families may qualify for the Simplified Needs Test. The benefit of this test is that only income and not assets are used to calculate EFC. Adjusted Gross Income of $49,999 or less in addition to similar criteria as the Automatic Zero EFC calculations qualifies the student to have a lower EFC that are not impacted by normally reported asset values.
Families with EFCs exceeding these thresholds should be prepared to notify the financial office and, if necessary, appeal a financial aid award based on information not reported or requiring further explanation. Colleges use a processed known as PJ or Professional Judgment to adjust the EFC if circumstances warrant.
Stafford Loans — A student receives a $5,500 Stafford loan by completing a FAFSA. Part of the loan can be subsidized (Uncle Sam pays the interest while in college) with the other part being unsubsidized (interest accumulates). The beauty of this loan is that it is not based on a parent’s credit. Fixed amount, income based and graduated repayments options are deferred until 6 months after graduation. Stafford loans increase to $6,500 for the student’s sophomore year, and $7,500 per year for the junior and senior years.
Perkins Loans — These subsidized loans have a 5 percent interest with repayments beginning 9 months after graduation. These are normally granted to the families with the lowest EFCs.
Parent PLUS Loans — These loans are available for parents to pay any remaining balance. This loan, however, is based on a parent’s credit. When parents are denied a PLUS loan, the student can receive an additional $4,000 in unsubsidized Stafford loans their freshman and sophomore years. This amount increases to $5,000 for their junior and senior years.
Federal Pell Grants — The grants offer up to $5,500 per year to families earning less than $30,000 per year. The maximum grant and earnings threshold administered by the federal government is more than $5,550 but could change due to impending federal legislation.
Federal SEOG (Supplemental Educational Grants) — These grants are administered by the college and not the federal government. Grants range from between $100 to $4,000 per student per year.
Work Study — This part-time employment helps finance the cost of the college education. Employment may be at the institution or outside organizations. Work study is assigned as part of the financial aid package.
Scholarships — They are available to those who take the time to explore them rather than letting them just happen. They are not all based on scholastic merit but can include, family backgrounds, affiliations, athletics, ethnicity, major, corporate sponsorship, skills, community service and so on. Scholarship searches can be as easy as using key words to explore the Internet, checking on reputable free scholarship search sites or just by asking about local or college specific scholarships for which you are interested.
Loan Forgiveness Programs — The federal government offers loan forgiveness for teaching, public service jobs and more. Check http://studentaid.ed.gov for further information.
Finally consider the military, AmeriCorps, Vista, Peace Corps and other options are ways of earning scholarships and educational assistance while learning about the world.
Now that you understand why you don’t need the cash in hand to go to college, now is your time to go for it!
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