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June 30, 2009

Choosing The Right College; Getting The Information You Need

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 3:20 pm

The most important part of the college selection process is the initial identification of colleges and universities which are most appropriate for you. Soliciting recommendations from your school counselor is a good starting point, but there are many other valuable resources you should utilize.

Most guidance offices and public libraries have a collection of “generic” college guides with general information about individual colleges and helpful indexes enabling readers to quickly locate colleges offering particular majors, programs, and/or activities of interest. In addition, guidance offices and libraries are frequently well stocked with college catalogues, college viewbooks, and videos. Spend some time reviewing them.

There is even more, easier to access information on the internet. One of my websites (.college-scholarships.com), for instance, includes a list of colleges by state with links to their websites and online applications, their toll free telephone numbers and email addresses, and more than thirty free online scholarship searches. Other sites let you search for colleges by major, location, and other criteria.

There are a number of magazines and college guides which “rank” colleges. Check them out, but do so with a grain of salt, as most knowledgeable educators consider their rankings and or evaluative methodology to be suspect.

In addition, there are at least a half dozen free publications which are mailed directly to students or distributed to guidance offices. While such magazines may be helpful in introducing you to colleges, bear in mind that they are supported by the colleges described therein, and even those that appear to “articles” about colleges are generally, in reality, advertisements written by the colleges or agencies compensated by them.

When you take the SAT or ACT - and I suggest you take them both as a high school junior - you will be asked questions about your high school grades and academic interests. If you indicate your willingness to allow the testing agency to release your name and address to colleges interested in students with your profile, you will probably receive a good deal of mail from colleges. Although there are no guarantees, particularly from the most highly select colleges, your chances of being admitted to the colleges which initiate contact with you tend to range from good to excellent. Students who review only the information sent to them by colleges with which they are already familiar miss an excellent potential opportunity to learn about institutions which may be a good “fit” for them.

Similarly, if you meet only with college admissions counselors (at your high school and at college fairs) from colleges and universities already on your list, you might miss out on some great colleges.

I Miss My Textbooks

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 2:47 pm

Most adults look back on their years of schooling either with a great amount of fondness or with relief that their days of learning have passed. Children, too, are usually either lovers or haters of school and everything that comes with it. As I moved up the education ladder from elementary school to junior high to high school and then to college, one of the only things that kept me excited to be in school was the textbooks. Crazy, I know, but for some reason there was nothing I looked forward to at the start of a new year more than receiving my textbooks for that year.

For me, textbooks were full of possibility. They symbolized everything exciting about the year ahead. Receiving my textbooks was like receiving a fresh start. I could forget about all of the hours of homework and toil from the previous year. My mind wandered to the year ahead and all that would happen during it. Most of my excitement surrounded the assurance that school meant spending time with friends, maybe even meeting new friends, and getting to stay after school for sports or other fun activities.

It is true that my love of textbooks had very little to do with the books themselves or even with the learning that would take place because of them. I was more excited about choosing how to decorate the mandatory covers that my private school teachers made us put on all of our textbooks each fall. Should I stick to something plain like the year before or could I somehow convince my mom that I needed, really needed, the newest, brightest covers for my textbooks? These were real questions that I had to answer as each fall rolled around.

Once I had received and decoratively covered all of my textbooks for any given year I would spend an evening or two just flipping through the pages of each one. I’m not sure why I did this every year. I guess at least a little bit of me was excited about the things the textbooks would teach me. I especially loved to look through my textbooks when they had been used by other students. Most of my classmates preferred brand new textbooks, but I preferred seeing the smudges and notes from years before me. I knew that at any time during the year when classes got boring (which they inevitably would) I could flip through my textbooks and let my mind wander about the students who had gone before me. What were they like? And did they hate math class as much as I did?

Maybe I was only fascinated with something as simple as textbooks because I was a child. I guess that makes it even more foolish for me to say that even now, many years outside of school, I miss my textbooks.

June 29, 2009

Choosing the Best Online High School

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:02 pm

What should you look for in choosing the right school? While there are certainly many items to check, the basics are:

1. Check accreditation. While a number of online high schools will claim accreditation, it is not the type that will be accepted by colleges and employers. An online high school should be accredited by DETC, CITA, AALE, or one of the six regional accreditors (that can be found at CHEA.org).

2. History. How long has the school been in existence? While new schools are formed all the time, having a longer tradition of offering courses, typically makes for better schools. Some of these schools have been open for decades as pre-Internet correspondence schools. This can be an advantage in producing quality programs.

3. Standard references. Is the school listed in one of the standard references like Complete Guide to Online High Schools: Distance Learning Options for Teens & Adults (Degree Press, 2007) or Bears' Guide to Earning High School Diplomas Nontraditionally (Ten Speed Press, 2003). Being listed is not necessarily a hallmark of legitimacy, but it helps.

4. Cost. Some of these online high schools are free public charter schools while others are quite expensive private high schools. The most expensive that I have come across is attached to a university in the south. Is there an advantage to paying more? Not really, but there may be an advantage with your program being attached to a university. However, being attached to a university most definitely does not mean that it must cost more.

5. Independent study or teacher-led. There are two basic types of programs. The first gives you the materials and you work through them on your own. The second provides you with a teacher, either one-to-one or similar to a classroom, and instruction is given. Neither is necessarily better than the other, but you should decide what sort of learning experience you need or want. There is a third option, more of a hybrid solution, and that is programs, like Laurel Springs School, that provides you with the amount of support that you, personally, need.

While this is only the beginning, it is a good place to start. You can also check out BestOnlineHighSchools.com for listings of schools.

I Made It Through With Calculators

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 3:29 pm

I was never one of those students for whom schooling came easily. On the contrary, there were several significant factors to which I owe deep gratitude for getting me through high school and then my years at university. The first and most significant factor that contributed to and I’d even say caused my eventual success in academia was undoubtedly my mother. She was a constant source of encouragement and confidence for me. Another source of inspiration for my studies came from my teachers. One math teacher in particular believed in me like no one else had. He would allow me to stay after school for an hour each evening and he would go back over the lesson from the day in order to ensure that I knew it well. He introduced to calculators to me and even purchased one for me because he knew I’d never own one on my own.

Calculators literally transformed my abilities to get through school. Before my math teacher, Mr. Jonness, got me a calculator and taught me to use it, my lack of natural talent and practice in mathematics brought me to tears almost each afternoon after school. I would head home and begin right away trying to do my math lessons for the next day. Hour and after I would sit in our dining room and struggle over problem after problem. My struggles in mathematics were enough to make me hate everything about school and the prospect of continuing my education.

Thankfully Mr. Jonness and his calculators entered my life just in time and I was able to learn the benefits of calculators and begin to make significant progress in math. Within a year of being introduced to Mr. Jonness and to the magic of calculators, my mathematics abilities had improved enough to wear I didn’t dread going to school each morning. I was never at the top of my class in math, but I was able to pass each class with hard with but few tears.

I think my childhood struggles with math, while they were terrible and heartbreaking at the time, served a great purpose in my life. I learned that hard work really does pay off and I saw how something as small as calculators could make all the difference. Mr. Jonness likened my life to a calculator and mathemetics to the world. He said that in the same way that calculators had made math easier for me, so my one small life could make the world easier and better for others.

June 28, 2009

Choosing The Best Accounting Schools

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 9:47 pm

Accounting is defined as the measurement of assurance about certain information in the aid of resource allocation for managers and other decision makers. The most popular and most commonly practiced branch of accounting is financial accounting. This branch of accounting involves processes where data is recorded, summarized, analyzed, organized, interpreted and communicated to others concerned. Many individuals are enticed to enter the accounting field because it can be a very lucrative job.

Accounting is a very exciting field. It presents many opportunities for growth and development. It is perfect for individuals who are fond of solving problems and who are comfortable with working with numbers.

So you wanted to learn accounting and become a professional accountant? Don’t know what accounting school is right for you? With the increasing number of schools and colleges offering accounting courses, the choice of accounting school can get really confusing.

The best thing you can do in choosing an accounting school is to first determine and preferably list down the things you are looking for in a school. After doing this, the next step is to weigh the pros and cons of each school to determine which one could meet your needs.

The next thing to do is to perform the actual search for the accounting school. You can start by asking people you know, particularly those who have taken up or who are currently taking up accounting. You can visit the schools, colleges or universities near your location. You should also make very good use of technology. The Internet is a very good place to search the best accounting schools. Not only will it save you time and energy, the Internet can also be a very convenient way to compare accounting schools. Most schools list down course requirements and curriculum on the Internet.

These may seem like very tedious tasks. Yes, it definitely would take some time, but you can never be too careful when it comes to your education. Below are other tips to find the best accounting school.

Be sure of the things you want to gain by enrolling in an accounting school. Do you want an accounting degree or do you just want to simply learn the fundamentals of accounting? If you want a degree in accounting then you must consider schools that offer accelerated levels of teaching. But if you simply want to learn accounting then this is not very important.

If you are busy or if you are already working, then it is highly advisable that you choose an accounting school that will give you the greatest flexibility. Do you want to learn from home? Then choose an accounting school that offers distant online learning and courses. Distant learning schools are excellent choices for busy individuals. If you do not want distant learning, then choose schools that offer night or weekend classes.. For sure there are many of those out there.

Choose the schools that offer the best financial plan. Most schools offer financial plans that will help you and other students afford the high cost of getting and education.

Getting the right accounting school is very important. It is the choice that will determine the learning that you will acquire and most probably your future in accounting. So weight your options very carefully. Perform a very good research before you enroll and take up an accounting course.

How You Can Prepare For Your GED

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 2:50 pm

To receive a GED diploma, you’re required to pass five tests covering writing, reading, social studies, science, and math. Altogether, the GED includes 240 questions, plus an original essay. Completing the entire set of tests can take nearly 7 1/2 hours.

A daunting task at first glance.

But it doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With some pre-test preparation, the experience can go much easier than you ever imagined.

First, let’s get a better idea of what’s included in the GED testing process.

The GED Language Arts, Writing Test is composed of two parts, and takes two hours to complete. In Part I, you’ll answer 50 multiple-choice questions. In Part II, you’ll write on a topic provided to you. The topic will be something you should have no trouble writing about, such as your personal goals in life or your opinion on a current event.

The GED Language Arts, Reading Test covers 40 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 65 minutes. The test requires you to be able to comprehend what you’re reading, and be able to interpret different passages.

The GED Social Studies Test is 70 minutes long and is composed of 50 multiple-choice questions covering U.S. history, world history, government and civics, economics, and geography.

The Science Test allows you 80 minutes to complete 50 multiple-choice questions based on life science, earth and space science, and physical science.

The GED Mathematics Test runs 90 minutes and is delivered in two parts, each with 25 questions. Areas covered include: number operations and number sense, data analysis, statistics, and probability, algebra, and geometry and measurement.

Now, the good news is that you don’t have to go in cold. Most libraries and bookstores carry GED preparation materials. In addition, most local testing centers also offer preparation programs at either a minimal charge or often no charge at all. You can also check with your local school district office to see if there are any adult school programs in your area that offer GED preparation help.

There are also some great Internet resources that can help you get a jump on the GED. For instance, at GEDonline (.gedonline.org/) you can take the official GED Practice Tests developed by the GED Testing Service, grade them online, and study using online interactive practice lessons. It’s a great interactive community of people who are all after the same thing … success taking the GED.

You can also take the complete GED Preparation Course online through Steck-Vaughn’s Gedpractice.com (steckvaughn.harcourtachieve.com/en-US/gedpractice). This is a free service provided by Steck-Vaughn to help familiarize you with the types of items you’ll see on the actual GED test. Answering the practice questions and getting feedback can help you get a feel for the kind of reading, thinking, and problem-solving skills you’ll need to pass the GED test.

Then there’s GEDforFree (.gedforfree.com) where you can take a complete online GED Preparation Course for free. This two-hundred page course, presented as an online class, is designed for adults with a ninth-grade education or higher. The information provides you with a solid foundation in the GED topics, includes helpful tips and strategies, and even includes links to the official practice tests presented by the GED Testing Service of the American Council on Education (ACE).

Don’t let the idea of taking the GED intimidate you. Even though it can sound overwhelming, you have access to a wealth of resources that can help make sure you’re well prepared and your goal of attaining your GED is a successful one.

June 27, 2009

Choosing A Degree?

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 7:53 pm

College, and the pursuit of college degrees, has changed immensely in the last couple of decades. Just a few short years ago, on virtually every U.S. higher education campus a college freshman was generally 18 years old, a senior 21 and courses were all taught live and in groups in campus classrooms.

Now the learning options, as well as the student demographics have changed considerably. Many baby boomers, and even seniors are returning to campus to retrain for a career change, to return to work after their children have left the nest, to complete an interrupted degree, or just to get out of the house and work those dormant cerebral muscles.

To accommodate these folks, especially those who still work a full time day job, colleges and universities started offering night and weekend courses, CLEP testing, and course challenges. For someone who hadn’t completed their formal higher education training but had lots of real life work experience in her or his desired field of learning, this was a boon. Now he could test his way into credits for courses with which he’d gained familiarity just by working in the field. With the advent of online courses, an Internet savvy homebound student could pursue her degree from the comfort of her own home and often around her own busy schedule.

In the United States today, there are more than 1000 online degree programs available, with thousands more non-degreed courses as well. A business management student, for example, has a choice of 39 different fully accredited colleges and universities that offer a Bachelor’s degree without once setting foot on campus.

Champlain College in Burlington VT, for example, offers certificate as well as degree programs that can be taken online at any hour of any day. Students can earn Associates in Science degrees on the Web in accounting, business, forensics, telecommunications, e-commerce, software development, management, international business and others. Many of these same majors lead to an online BS degree as well.

Larry Bird’s old stomping grounds, the Terra Haute campus of Indiana State, offers an online Associates in aviation flight technology and several Bachelor’s degrees in business, criminology, human resource development, and even part of its nursing training. Here students have a variety of off-campus ways to graduate - not only via the Web but also through videotapes, live TV and the more traditional correspondence courses.

Regis University in Denver offers an incredible array of online courses, leading to certificates, two and four year degrees and even graduate programs. Here you can earn your BA in business administration and go on to earn your MBA; you can complete a computer networking certificate program and expand your education to a BS in computer information systems and then an MS in computer information technology. You can earn your undergraduate degree as well in education, international management, finance, marketing, public administration or non-profit management.

Choices now abound when you make the determination to get your degree. Neither your age, your stage in life, your schedule nor your inability to commute need be a factor in your securing your longed-for degree. If you want it, you can earn it.

How to Win More From the Casinos

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , — admin @ 5:39 pm

It may be for the excitement, it may be for a vacation but it is the dream of going home a big winner that keeps us going back to the casinos, but are there ways other then cheating that can help you take home more cash? The answer is yes.

Believe it or not gambling at on online casino is a great way to gain experience so that you can win some big money in the casinos.

May online casinos besides having games as low as 50 cents, also have practice rooms that are free. You are given some play money to make your bets, but no real money is exchanged.

These practice rooms are available for most of the different casino games like poker, blackjack, roulette and baccarat.

This is a great way to gain experience. Not only do you get to play, you also get the experience of playing against other people instead of a computer. This allows you to learn how to watch their betting habits to look for patterns. This may not be so important in a game like roulette or craps but in poker this is almost as important as the cards you are dealt.

These patters are called tells. A tell is when someone gives away their hand by an involuntary action.

Some common tells are the way players arrange their cards, or playing with their chips when they have a good hand, or rubbing their face when they are bluffing

In a practice poker room you also get the experience of learning how to watch your money, without losing your shirt when you make a mistake, which will happen at first.

On of the biggest problems with learning to gamble in a casino is that the dealer and the other players are not forgiving. By this I mean let’s say you are playing roulette, a first time player may not know that until all winnings are placed on the table you may not take your winnings. Getting a warning from the dealer the first time you play can be embarrassing and unnerving to a new player.

So by playing in an online casino at first you will learn the rules, procedures and the etiquette for playing in a land based casino.

If poker is your game it is a little different, most games depend on luck and all you really need to know if the basics, but poker is totally different because you are playing against other layers that know all this information already. when you feel confident enough then go to the casino and find the game you want to play and spend some time watching the other players. You want to find a table where all the players are less skilled then you. This will give you the edge, but make sure you watch carefully. Many times players will do things to make themselves look worse then they really are to give the other players a false confidence.

Then as you see yourself getting better and better you can move up to higher stakes tables and against better players.

Once you get confident and see your skills increase so will your bank account.

June 26, 2009

How to Win at Multiplayer First Shooter Games

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 10:36 pm

The way most first player shooters score kills is simple to understand the harder it is to make the kill the more points you get. This means that if you kill someone with a knife you will get more points then someone using a chain gun, but running around with just your knife out is a big gamble unless you are extremely skilled at the game. This method of play will usually just make you the biggest loser.

One way to get a good score is to take a long range weapon like a sniper rifle and camp out near the enemy camps spawn point. By doing this every time someone on the opposing team gets killed they will instantly revert back to the spawn point and you can shoot them, then they will disappear and then reappear and you can shoot them again.

You get fewer points like this, but it is the same principal as playing roulette in the casinos, it is easier to get many smaller wins, rather then one big win.

When using this method try to pick your location using your head and do not just take a gamble on your sniping spot. You will want to have the advantage of height, but sometimes if you can get a good shot and be in a lower location it may be the last place someone looks for you. Many of the newer first player games allow the sun to be used as it would in real life. So going up a hill and having the sun at your back will give you a natural advantage in the game, and allow you to snipe from the same spot for a longer time before someone finds and kills you.

Another way to get a higher score is to work as a team with other players. Most people playing a First Player Shooter are playing alone with the goal of running around and killing everything that moves, but if you and some friends are playing you can use each other as in real combat. Now that you have other people watching your back as a unit you can be a more effective killer in the game, an example of this is that in some of the delta force games you can take a helicopter and if your friend is flying it you and another friend can man the chain guns and you can cover a bigger area, and deciding on a plan before starting the game you can develop a good strategy as a professional gambler or Online Poker player would allowing you to focus on 1 thing instead of many different aspects of the game.

Many times I would jump into the pilots chair and other players would jump in and I would circle the enemy camp but the players in the back of my chopper would not attack instead they would jump out or just wait for me to land instead of helping me attack from the air. So instead of increasing our chances of winning by working together they just wanted to be a team of 1. This will decrease the chances of our team winning the game, just like a player at a blackjack table can make all the other players lose by making bad decisions when it is that players turn.

Formulating a good strategy, playing as a team and using all available tools at your disposal you can not only win more games and get more points, you will also have a better online gaming experience, and this applies to playing first person shooter games and gambling in online casinos.

Choosing A College Major

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: — admin @ 4:18 pm

Once you are accepted into a college and begin taking classes, the next step is to decide on a major. Most college graduates change their major several times before they finally pick one and stick to it, so it is important not to get discouraged if you have a hard time deciding right away. However, there are some factors to consider beyond your general interests when you decide the subject on which you will focus your studies. It will take a lot of research and soul-searching for you to find a good and somewhat practical match for your interests and lifelong goals.

The first thing to consider when choosing a college major is what interests you the most. Some subjects are more financially lucrative than others, but there is no sense in studying a subject that will make you miserable once you begin working in your field. It is obvious that business, sales and marketing degrees tend to put you on the path toward financial wellbeing, but if you are not interested in the business world you will find that you do not enjoy your chosen career path. Rather than choosing something simply because of future financial benefits, try exploring a variety of options before locking down on one. If financial status is major goal, take a variety of science classes to see if those suit your fancy.

However, practicality should be considered when you choose your major. You should evaluate that reasons you are in college, and plan your course of study accordingly. If you are attending strictly to gain general knowledge and experiences, then choosing something simply because you are interested in it might be an acceptable way to go. If you enjoy reading and writing, getting a degree in English might be beneficial to you. However, English degrees are not quite as marketable as business or science degrees.

If you are unclear about your interests when you first enter college, rest assured that you are not alone. Many people look at their undergraduate experience as a way to get acquainted with themselves in an intellectual and a personal way. Take a wide variety of classes during your basic coursework, and you might find that your major finds you. If you tend to enjoy psychology classes more than anything else, you might consider majoring in the subject, especially if you plan to attend graduate school.

Keep in mind that you can always change your major. Granted, you may end up spending more time in college than you had originally planned, but if you look at it as a journey of exploration, you will find that you will learn more from your college years than you would if you had the get in and get out mindset. Once you finally decide on your major, you will feel confident that you will have made the right choice, and you will be able to learn more from your classes than you would if you were still unsure.

No matter what college major you choose, remember that you are not writing anything in stone. Once you graduate, you will have the freedom to choose whatever sort of profession that holds your interest. Recent graduates are all the same in that they have limited experience in any given field, even if they do have specialized degrees. If you are planning to attend graduate school, you will once again be able to choose another course of study. As an undergraduate, your main goal should be to learn as much as you can about everything that interests you, and to gain as much real life experience as possible. College is your last chance to explore the world without extreme financial responsibilities, so use your time wisely and learn as much as you can.

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