Choosing a College

David Faulkner asked:


It is a fact that the demands of modern day life can place extreme stress on an individual. A high percentage of people are now trying to balance the demands of employment, family and education equally without actually neglecting one of those specific areas of their lives. When it comes to getting a college education, it can be hard to fit everything in to a 24-hour day. The vast majority of students have to work to fund their education and have external demands placed on them as well. As a result, it is of the utmost importance that you find a degree with a learning pattern that suits you. Online college degrees provide a solution for this problem. However, you still have to look at all of your options and choose the best online college degree for you. If you follow the tips below, then you will find the perfect course for you.

1)Evaluating distance-learning courses can be very confusing because no two courses will offer the same program pattern. The first thing that you must do in order to find the best online college degree for you is to decide what you want from your education. Is there a specific subject that will enhance your chances of employment? What subjects did you do well in at school? What subjects do you enjoy? Brainstorming the answers to these questions alone will help you to decide what degree you want to do so you can move on to evaluating distance learning courses.

2)Bearing in mind that you could choose an online college degree from anywhere in the world because you don’t actually have to leave your home, find out about online schools and what they have to offer. Make sure that any courses you consider are accredited so that employers will recognize them. Never commit to anything until you have learnt about online schools.

3)Investigate the rules associated with the various online college degrees to ensure that they meet your needs. For example, you may want a part time course so you can remain in employment, or you may want a program that remains ongoing even if you cannot complete any classes in a certain semester. Evaluating distance-learning courses effectively is all about working out what you can put into it and whether the institution will actually understand and meet your needs.

4)Look at the course content. If you hate one method of learning then it is unlikely that you will motivate yourself to continue your education at home if your online college degree heavily features that method. This is essential research about online schools because you cannot change your mind once you are committed.

5)Lastly, when evaluating distance-learning courses, take the level of the course and amount of time required per week into account. If it is an advanced course and you are a beginner then the combination is not going to work. Similarly, if you can only afford to spend 5 hours a week on an assignment that needs over 10 hours then the course is not for you.

When choosing an online college degree, the most important thing to consider is your lifestyle. You have to choose something that works for you. By setting out your expectations in advance and looking for a course to fit the bill, you are more likely to find something to suit you than if you just browse and impulsively choose an online college degree that may work out to be completely wrong for you in the long term. Choose wisely for the best results!



Roberta

Unitek College asked:


A career as an emergency medical technician can be both exciting and rewarding. No other field allows you to be right there in the action all of the time, and helping others at the same time. If this is your chosen career path you likely won’t be disappointed.

When selecting a course to train to become an EMT there are a few things that need to be considered. Simply choosing the cheapest course, or the one that is closest to home, isn’t always the best idea. You may find that you have wasted your money; when you discover that the training didn’t prepare you for NREMT exams.

Luckily choosing the right basic EMT training course needn’t be difficult. If you know what you should be learning choosing the right program is actually quite simple.

Characteristics of an EMT Course

1. Length: When you begin looking at training options, you will find a wide variety of course lengths for emergency medical technician training. Your course may be completed in as little as 2 weeks, or as long as 6 months. Most programs provide about 120-140 hours of instruction time. With the actual class time being the same, if you can manage an accelerated 2 or 3 week course, then you enable yourself to get into the workforce faster.

2. Course Content: A good EMT program will teach you to assess, stabilize, treat, and transport patients. Basically you will be learning how to responds to emergency situations, and deal with them quickly to get the patient the care they need. The EMT training should include certifications in various areas of emergency medical services, and hands on learning element.

3. Hands-On Learning: Your EMT training will likely include some classroom time, but it should also include hands-on training. This element of your learning program will prepare you for situations that you will have to deal with everyday. Learning the theory behind emergency services is important, but without learning how to perform them as well, you may be lost when you do begin your career.

4. Certifications: When you go to take your NREMT test, at the very least you will need CPR certification. A good EMT training course will include advance CPR training, and should include other certifications as well. Glucometer, advanced airway, and I.V. maintenance are some of the other topics that should be covered in your training.

5. NREMT Certificate: When you are finished with your emergency medical technician training, the course provider should supply you with a certificate. This document is required to take the NREMT’s EMT – Basic exam. If your training does not provide this, then the provider likely isn’t a state-approved training facility, and their course should be avoided.

In your new career as an emergency medical technician, you will be required to provide emergency medical services on a daily basis. Getting the right start, by choosing a course that fits, is the key to learning to provide the best patient care. When it’s time for you to begin your training, use this guide to ensure that you find a school that will prepare you for your new career.



Earl

Keke R asked:


Choosing a college dilemma?
i really want to attend the same college my parents graduated from but my issue is my mom has a dislike for the school. i want to go there because i feel as if i would like it not because they’re alumni. always when i was growing up they made the chooses for the extracuriicular i should be in and i hated it. i now want to make a decision on my own.

Stacy

Paul Hata asked:


You have to consider that education is one of the most important investments that you will ever make in your whole life. This is why your parents save money in order for you to get in a good college and finish it. As a parent, you want your child to have the best education money can buy. With a college education, your children will be able to live a good life.

College education is required by many companies today in order to have a spirited workforce that will keep their company competitive in the world of business. Whatever fields your child chooses, you have to remember that college education will land them that job they want and also secure their future.

You also have to consider that the high paying jobs today requires a college degree. If your child doesn’t have a college degree, then the chances for them to find the job they want with good compensation will be very hard.

However, what if you can’t afford to pay for college? With the decline in today’s economy, just making ends meet is a challenge. So, you may now ask, what about your child? What happens to your plans in saving money for them in order to get in a good college?

One good way to get your child to a good college is by letting them play soccer. It is a fact that it may seem too good to believe that soccer can take your child to college. However, there are good colleges out there that offer college soccer scholarship. They send out scouts to different schools to evaluate different soccer players and offer the best soccer player a college scholarship. This is one of the best and the most common ways that your child can earn a scholarship.

If your child loves playing soccer, you should consider investing in this sport in order to improve your child’s soccer skills. Armed with good soccer skills will prepare them for athletic scholarship grants that many colleges are sponsoring. However, your child should be the best in the sport in order to get noticed.

You have to consider that soccer isn’t really a very good career choice for your child. The odds of getting a career out of soccer are very close to nil. You just have to think of soccer as a ticket for your child to attend a good college where they can learn the field they choose and prepare them for the future.

You should advice your child that being soccer pro will be a very hard thing to achieve and they should also study in the field they choose in order to let them have a second option on getting the job they want. You have to advice them that although they should work hard in their soccer skills, they should also work hard in their academics and study hard in order to prepare them in case they don’t make it as a professional soccer player.

When applying for a college soccer scholarship, you can get your child to be involved in the Olympic Development Program. This program will increase their chances in getting a college scholarship and will also let your child polish their skills in playing soccer. It is also recommended that you child should play for a good soccer club as well as in their high school.

Always remember that college soccer scholarships are sought by a lot of students. By having the proper skills and the proper discipline, your child will be able to play soccer in college and at the same time, earn their scholarship.



Philip

Chris Stout asked:


Life is about opportunities and options. The more opportunities you create for yourself in life, the more options you’ll have at any given point in time. Gaining control of your options and opportunities is the key to personal and professional success. Simply put, if you want to become master of your own destiny, then you need to go to college.

Here are the top five Reasons why should choose to go to college:

1. The undergraduate degree is the new high school diploma

There was once a time when college was entirely optional. Even today, smart, hard working people can develop excellent careers and stable lives without the aid of a university education. College is by no means mandatory, but when you’re ready to start building a career for yourself, you will increasingly discover that a college degree is a prerequisite for many entry-level employment opportunities.

Companies and organizations want to hire employees who illustrate commitment and perseverance. A college degree will show your future employer that you’re dedicated to achieving your goals in life. Whether it’s justified or not, a job applicant with a degree is going to be more valuable to an organization than an applicant who chose to forgo college. If you want to possess marketable job skills, higher wages and the stigma of being smart and qualified, then choosing college is the way to go.

2. College will satisfy and expand your curiosity

If you possess a general curiosity about how and why the world works the way it does, then you owe it to yourself to attend college. Education is a personal project. If you want to develop your mental faculties and increase your knowledge base, then you have to college. If you feel that you’ve learned all you possibly can in high school, if you think that there’s nothing else that you need to absorb, then don’t go to college. If you have a passion for improved understanding, then college is mandatory.

3. College is a process of continual maturation

College is freedom. When you attend college, you are free to live on your own, according to your own priorities. As you carve out your own custom tailored living and learning experience, you can’t help but grow as a person. College is a time for self-improvement and development, so if you want to grow and mature as an individual, college is the perfect playground for self-progress.

4. College is all about networking

In college, you have the unique ability to create life-long associations in a structured environment. Networking is important, but it can also be difficult. If you want to build relations with students and faculty members, you have to put forth effort. Unlike the real world, in college, it’s easy to combine your individual interests with supportive allies who subscribe to those same interests. Take advantage of this environment and build up relationships that will help you in the future.

5. College exposes you to things you would not normally experience

When you set about choosing your path through life, it’s important to remember that finding yourself is as much a process of elimination as it is a process of discovery. Just as you seek out interests and identities, you need to rule out certain life-options and mental frameworks that you do not agree with. College exposes you to new risks, rewards, people, places, ideas, lifestyles, eating habits and career choices. Exposure is critical. You can’t form a genuine opinion on something if you’ve never been exposed to it.

College is a place for you to improve yourself, to satiate your curiosities, to mature, to network, and to be exposed to new things. College is an important, irreplaceable experience in life. Going to college is highly recommended.



Jane

David Horne asked:


Location! Location! Location! Yes, this is the motto for buying real estate! However, it is a very big consideration that is often neglected when choosing where you will go to school. The weather can determine many things such as: The time spent outdoors, the difference between seasons, ability to play sports outdoors, snow, rainfall, heat, whether you will need air conditioning or heating where you live, ability to drive a car (eg. excessive snow falls or ice), what clothes you will take or need to buy, areas that are hit by natural disasters seasonally (eg. Hurricanes in Florida) will affect your time at the school.

The weather is a huge consideration for most people when it comes to choosing schools where there are extreme differences in the weather and seasons. You may have to endure months of snow and ice in some states which will reduce the amount of time that you can spend outdoors. This will be a problem if you are an athlete that plays outdoors.

The best advice here is to make a list of what you want; your preferences weather wise, and then check off each item as you look into schools. It shouldn’t be the only determining factor when deciding on schools.

When you are looking at schools it is extremely important to do some research into the schools location. The USA is a large and diverse country in that many states and regions will differ from each other quite significantly. You will need to research the following key points to see if this school is right for you based on where it is located: What state is the school in? Will you pay in-state or out of state fees? Is it in a big city? Is it in a small rural area? Does it have a good public transport system, if not you will need a car. Is it near a major airport? What is the driving distance from the school to the nearest shops? Is it near mountains, beaches or lakes?

Are you a city person or a country person? City life brings about both positive and negative attributes just as those associated with schools located in more remote towns. Often towns are called “college towns” in the sense that the life of the town depends on the business from the college population. Shops, bars, restaurants, movie theatres and so on depend purely on the college.

If you decide to attend a college away from the city then you may be able to experience more of the outdoor activities such as skiing, kayaking, camping or even hiking at a nearby mountain.

One common aspect of attending a small rural college is that you will experience a different relationship with your college professors. Often they will know your name and are more accessible to assist you with your own personal needs. When I was in college we would often attend social events, BBQ’s etc. at our professor’s homes. This would be less likely to occur at a larger city college.

Another key issue is the security factor associated with your college campus. You will tend to find that rural campuses take on a more secure feel due to their location away from the big city. Many rural college campuses are located in remote areas so their peaceful surroundings can give you that instant sense of security that is not found in the more congested city campuses.

Some of the benefits of going to a college in a big city include: Close to transport, close to a major airport, more bars and clubs, sporting events with professional teams, other schools near by, more social choices and options, close to government offices, competition from shops so there are more choices, close to major libraries thus making it easier to conduct research and find more resources for school papers, reports, thesis etc.

Some of the negative aspects of going to a college in a big city include: Potential for more violence and crime, more pollution, more traffic, more distractions, increased costs associated with city living, more noise, less likely to get to know your professors. You may be just a number to them. You may be intimidated by the size of the school

Your Checklist for Choosing Your College or University should include the following: City or country, in-state or out of state, weather, cost, number of students at the school, availability of funding, tuition fees, reputation, what is your sports coach like if you are an athlete, can you get a sport scholarship, what is the budget of your team, sports facilities, quality of residence hall or dormitory, food available in the dining hall, other fast food restaurants on campus, are there shops near by, fraternities or sororities, on-campus social events, homecoming, reputation of faculty and programs, job availability, religious affiliation, transport availability on and off campus, selection of majors to choose from, foreign exchange opportunities and student services.

Some schools have special areas of study that they specialize in and some schools try to maintain their reputation for having a great program in a particular field of study (eg. business). Some schools have graduate programs while others just focus on their undergraduate programs. Some schools are co-ed with both males and females attending while others are single-sex. Some have a stronger religious aspect than others. As you see schools can vary significantly and it is up to you to do your own research otherwise you may find that the school is not for you.

Not all colleges cost the same amount and each school will vary in the amount of financial aid that you may be able to receive. This is a big factor for many students and their parents when choosing a college.

Schools vary in the demographics of their students. You will often find a noticeable difference between the big schools found in the cities compared to the smaller schools found in the more rural areas. Obviously schools with small student population will take on a feel of being a big family where everyone seems to know everyone and what they have been up to.

You will find schools of all sizes with student populations ranging anywhere from as low as 800 students to well over 30,000 plus. This will come down to your own personal wants and needs when deciding on the size of the school. The bigger schools will obviously offer more options with classes, majors and resources.

If you desire the big football games or big basketball games then you may want to choose one of the well known big schools that have successful programs for these sports. If you are looking for an athletic scholarship for yourself, then you will likely find more competition amongst current and new students for those limited scholarships. It may be easier to obtain a scholarship at a smaller or less popular school in a more remote location.

Colleges in the United States are either funded publicly or privately. You will find that the public colleges are less expensive than private schools due to the fact that public schools are funded by each state.

You will find that private colleges are funded by higher fees, private gifts from donors, contributions from the corporate world and endowments. You will find that private schools are more expensive but you will also likely find that these private schools offer more financial aid in the form of grants and scholarships.

Private colleges are also likely to be smaller in student population size and are therefore more suited to those students looking for smaller classes and being able to develop a more personal student-professor relationship.

This is a very personal decision based on your own beliefs, values and needs. You will find colleges that are associated with a religious organization which will also require you to participate in their religious activities. There are also colleges that are associated with a specific religion but you will often find a wide range of students from varying religious back grounds who attend that college.

When searching the many “college search directory” sites you will be able to be more specific in selecting schools based on these religious needs. For some students the religious aspect of choosing their school will take on more priority than many of the other issues associated with college selection.

It is important to take some time in selecting your college. Going to college can often be a life-changing experience so you will want to try and get it right with your first choice. Good luck with your college planning and school selection!



Lewis

Tom Tessin asked:


Most students begin choosing a university they want to attend the summer before their senior year in high school. It is really important to begin researching and applying to colleges early on so that you will have all the decisions made when it comes time to apply in the fall. It is important to apply early because if you wait too long there may not be any spots left. So, here are a few things you will want to consider when it comes to choosing a college.

Academics

The biggest reason for kids to go to college is to get an education. So, the first thing you should focus on when it comes to choosing a college is the academics. Remember, that some colleges are known for their science programs while others are known for engineering, medicine, law, and others. Determine more or less what you want to major in and then choose a college based on this. It is important to make a list of your top three majors so that you look for a school that is good at all of these. The reason why is most college kids change their majors several times and you never know when you begin where you will end up!

Extracurricular Activities

You want to have fun while you aren’t studying, so it is important to find a college that has a great selection of extracurricular activities. This includes political clubs, intramural sports, and more. You want to have fun while at college and foster new ideas and friends. Extracurricular activities are a great way to do this. Plus, you can explore things you like in a safe setting. For example, you could join the Young Republicans or Young Democrats club. Join a sorority or fraternity, or play a sport! There should be a lot of options open to you so that you can make the best decisions for your college years.

Cost

Another thing you will want to look at when choosing a college is cost. Public institutions cost less than private ones, and generally a lot less. You could probably even cover your tuition at a public institution on your student credit card if you didn’t have any other funds. But, that is never the case with private colleges. They cost $20,000 or more per year and when you add up four years of college, not to mention post graduate studies, you are looking at some major debt. So, if there is a public institution that rivals a private one, then consider the cheaper option. You will find your student credit card limit goes a lot further when your semester’s tuition is only a couple thousand dollars.

Ranking

School ranking is also important. You want to go to the best school you can get into so you get the best education. That means you need to evaluate the schools you are interested in and see where they are ranked. Doing this will help you choose the best schools to apply to.



Betty

lemonlove asked:


Say you want to be a chef, but have never cooked…
You want to be an artist, but have never taken an art class…
You want to be in engineer, but aren’t good at math…
Major in music, when you can’t sing or play an instrument…
Be a secretary, but have no people skills…

can you? or is it too hard? thats what college is for right? you can major in anything, because you’re there to learn, even if you have Absolutely no previous knowledge or experience?
^the above are just examples^

Rhonda

Dr. Stephen Jones asked:


The process of getting ready to send a son/daughter to college can present many confusing choices. This is especially true if you are sending your first child to college. There are over 3000 colleges to choose from. Each college has its own unique offering of courses and activities. In addition to all of the mailings that are sent to home there are hundreds of college websites that offer information. Starting your college search in the 9th or 10th grade gives your student an opportunity to tour different types of colleges.

Each high school student should talk to college students and faculty to get a better picture of the level of community on their campus. Some students and parents look at the name of a college to determine where they will pursue an undergraduate degree. A student can go after the big name but maybe the college does not really have the major that they want. Some colleges are located in an urban city while others are located in a suburban or rural city. Not only must you look at the size of the college you should also look at how far it is from home.

Many parents and students get consumed with discussions about the cost of college. The price of college can range from $20,000 - $50,000 for public or private college education. Colleges are trying to move into the 21st century in terms of technological resources for students who are enrolled. For example, maintaining a wireless internet campus requires staff. The staff is hired to manage the college’s hardware and software. Students can use their laptops to complete class assignments and to send e-mails to their professors. Even if you have a family income over $100,000 you should complete the federal financial aid form. There are certain academic scholarships and student loans that require the completion of the federal aid form.

Choosing a college should be a students own decision. The college that their friend selects may not be for them. They are making an investment in themselves that could affect their career options. It is best to choose a college that fits their personal and professional goals. Your student can take a career test at their high school to get a clearer picture of a career that may interest them. These career tests are easy to complete and they provide a lot of useful information. Your son/daughter can sit down with their high school counselor and talk about a variety of careers. They should research the career and the types of jobs that completing a certain college degree will offer.

I If you are sending the first person in your family to college recognize that you are not alone. Attend a college night at your son/daughter’s high school or attend a college fair in your city. You will get to meet admissions officers who are more than happy to answer your questions. Make the senior year a time of joy rather than anguish. Meet with your college counselor early during the school year and you will develop an effective college search plan. Despite the initial challenges you will help your student to choose their college dream. Dr. Stephen Jones is author of the “Seven Secrets of How to Study.



Gordon