The College Application Process: What You Need To Know

So you want to go to college, but the process to apply seems way too overwhelming. You picture piles of confusing forms and documents and no understanding of how to even begin.

The college application process is exactly that: a process, a series of steps, and there is a lot to know:

Step 1: Find Your Schools of Choice

When graduating from high school or even for a student entering out of community college, it is not necessarily apparent to him which field he would want to major in as this may seem a low priority item to consider. However, taking the time to think about and research a possible major of interest can streamline the first step in the application process.

Step 2: Begin With Narrowing the List

There are hundreds of colleges, institutes and universities nationwide and worldwide, each offering a variety of majors or fields of study. Some schools have a stronger emphasis on one particular field than the next. Choosing a selection of sc…    » Read entire post

College Bound: Are You FULLY Prepared?

Attending college is one of the several very important decisions you make in your lifetime, and with any important decision, being prepared is necessary. However, being prepared can mean a variety of different things. It is crucial to look at “preparedness” for college bound students in an in-depth manner: Are you physically prepared? Are you mentally prepared?

Physical Preparation Checklist:

Prerequisites:

Have the requirements been met for your chosen or intended courses of study? Making a thorough check of all your prerequisites can alleviate potential back-tracking and frustration, especially if one happened to fall through the cracks.

Expenses:

Have you considered all the different types of expenses you will incur while away at school? Higher education is extremely pricey, and, while there are seemingly so many things to pay for, getting a full-time job is quite the undertaking when immersed in full-time study. Budgeting and …    » Read entire post

Save Time By Making Time: A Student's Guide to Time Management

As college students hustle from one class to the next, eat, sleep, study, work on assignments, how they manage their time can become a very legitimate factor in academic performance and ultimately, in life. Any kind of poor planning in this regard can lead to very undesired results such as missed assignments, lower test scores, missed classes, little rest, and lots of stress. The importance of good time management habits in one’s daily routine should be key.

There are several aspects to consider: Managing time is a matter of determining a motivational emphasis for what one is doing, enacting an effective method of prioritizing, and addressing the bad habits, i.e., procrastination.

Finding a Motivational Emphasis

At college, a student’s ultimate goal is to be enlightened to greater knowledge, gain further understanding of the field they have chosen to pursue, and graduate with a degree. However, this goal is based on a more broad spectrum of time. In o…    » Read entire post

Food for Thought: Nutritional Health on Campus

Many people have commonly suspected that it is almost impossible to have good nutritional health at college. All you can eat fast food dining facilities, late night food binges, caffeine cravings, its no wonder why some skeptics claim the theories of the Freshman 15 and the Sophomore 20.

However, gaining weight is not the only thing that can come as a result of poor eating choices. Studies have shown that diet and nutritional health can greatly impact your energy levels, focus and concentration and overall cognitive abilities. According to the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi, there are 3 major factors linked to cognitive development: nutrition, genes, and environment.

Facts About the Impacts of Poor Nutritional Choices

Diets High in Sugar and Saturated Fats

The hard-nosed truth about fast food diets, diets consisting of high saturated fats and sweetener having such a negative impact on our overall health now a…    » Read entire post

Adult Education and Its Advantages

When was it decided that higher education be handed down traditionally to people graduating from high school? Primary and secondary education is most obviously reserved for the youngster, but why is higher education most commonly reserved for the young adult? Was it decided that adults beyond the age of 25 no longer had a malleable cognitive ability to retain the amount of instruction offered at a university level? NO WAY! Was it that when a person reaches the age of responsibility, they are indentured into the swift current of the workforce in whatever entry-level position they are given in order to provide for themselves or for their family, and if they miss the window of opportunity for college, they are forever out of luck? Some might think it so.

Since “tradition” has taken its seat among the higher of education, setting a definitive model of a college student, any college enrollee over the typical age of 24 is now officially labeled “non-traditional,” and the myt…    » Read entire post

Mental Health Crisis Among College Students: What's the Cause?

Years ago, attending college seemed a vibrant time of learning, growing, socializing, and networking among students. Mental health among the college youth was not a cause for growing concern. Now, with the rising issues of violence, unexpected academic pressures and substance abuse, college life could be described by some as the pathway to adolescent anxiety, depression and even suicide and in increasing measures.

Crisis Defined:

A study done by the Student Advisory Committee to the Illinois Board of Higher Education uncovered that based on the 94,000 students they surveyed in 2006, 67% of women and 55% of men reported feelings of hopelessness; 47% of women and 38% of men reported feelings of depression so severe they could not function and 10% of women and 8% of men considered suicide. Another survey conducted by the American College Health Association reported that nearly half of all college students reported feelings of depression so severe they could not fun…    » Read entire post