My Colleges and Careers

Good Morning!

If you have been following along lately, I recently mentioned that I have a Expert Profile on the My Colleges and Careers website.  Today I want to talk about some of the resources MCC has on their website.

On the MCC home page you will see three prominent tabs that you can explore.  (This site is a great place to start your college search)  If you are unsure about your career path, MCC has plenty of information for you to explore.

Research about a career:

The first step is to research a possible career choice.  The the MCC website has over 20 types of job categories that you can search through.  Please be aware that this is not a short process, it is going to take a little time to digest all of the information.

Identifying the training you will need:

Once a career path has been identified, MCC has done a great job putting together a list of credentials needed to enter the desired career.

Find the right school:

There is an extensive college list on the MCC website, many of which are online colleges/universities.  In a tough economic climate, online education is not a bad way to go.


This post represents only a small fraction of the information on the MCC website.  Check it out today!


EC

College Students Market Yourself

Hello all,

This is a post that I recently wrote for MyCollegesandCareers.com.  Check out my Expert Profile!

As you begin your college experience, you will find yourself bombarded with many situations.  Each situation will force you to make decisions, some will be more important than others.  It is important that DO NOT over commit.  Many freshmen will burn out after the first semester because they have committed to working on too many projects.

When you are prioritizing potential projects, please make sure you are involved in something that can help you excel once you graduate.  Over the past two years, I have taught more than 120 college freshmen, and I have come to the conclusion that many of them do not know how to market themselves.  There is a lot that a student can do during their four years of college that will help them find a job once they graduate.

If you are a freshmen education major, you will probably have an opportunity to observe a teacher in the classroom.  Your institution may call this your pre-practicum experience.  Take this opportunity seriously, and seek out opportunities to set yourself apart from your peers.  Your may even want to start with a volunteer position, but as you establish a reputation for yourself, you may be offered paying positions.  When I was doing my student teaching, I was giving a part time job working with the middle school Lego robotics program.  This was a paying position, and it paid well, probably 3-3.5 times more than any other job that I had during my four years in college.  I almost forgot to mention that I was offered a full time teaching gig before I finished my student teaching.  The investment of my time paid off!

Don’t be afraid to volunteer, not all the work you do needs to be paid for.  Think of it as an investment.  If you invest your time into the school system, more often than not, the school system will invest in you.  Be careful not to over invest, the world is imperfect, and some systems may take advantage of your willingness to give.

I hope this bit of information was helpful.  Please let me know what topics are you interested in hearing more about.  Feel free to view my profile, and contact me with you questions.  As always you can find me on Facebook and Twitter!

Good luck,

EC  

FAFSA and all that good stuff!

How many of you listened to Stan Ezekiel's FAFSA radio show? If you missed it you can click here, and it will direct you to The College Planning Group's - Plan for College Blog. Stan is extremely knowledgeable, and I would suggest that you contact him today if you have questions regarding the FAFSA. Better yet, contact him if you have questions with the college application process.

Below you will find a brief overview of the radio show:

- Why early college planning is important

Early planning for college is extremely important. Far too often students do not plan accordingly, and they either end up at a college/university that they don't like. Students may also find they cannot afford the college that they are attending, and have to transfer. It is extremely important that you fill out the FAFSA before the deadline, to ensure that you receive the maximum amount aid that you qualify for. When planning for college, students should take the time and visit each campus they are applying to. It is hard to make a decision on which school you want to attend if you don't get a chance to visit.

- Who is eligible for college financial aid? There are two types of financial aid, merit based and needs based aid. Merit based aid varies by institution, and determined by a combination of the student's SAT/ACT scores and GPA.

- Do all colleges give the same financial aid?

No, each college/university has a unique system when it comes from distributing institutional aid. I am not talking about state aid here, and I would suggest that you speak with Stan regarding specific financial aid questions.

- Should a family refinance their home to pay for college?

I don't dare answer this question, contact Stan!

- American Opportunity Credit

I didn't know about the American Opportunity Credit (AOC) until I listened to the radio show. If you have at least two students in college, check to see if you qualify for the AOC. If you qualify for the AOC, make sure you take that into account when filing your taxes.

As suspected, this overview doesn't come closing to covering the material in Stan Ezekiel's radio show.  Below you will find The College Planning Group's contact information.


Have a great day,

EC




http://www.thecollegeplanninggroup.com/
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Mini Preview #3 - How much helps is too much?

I hope that most of you reading this are planning on attending the QPAC workshop on Tuesday.  In order to best prepare I want you do come prepared to answer the following questions.  For those of you not able to attend, I am going to try and tape the workshop.


Do you sit down and help your student with homework?
How do you help your student?
Is your child confident enough to sit down and work on homework alone?
How much help is too much help?


Even  I struggle with the questions above when working with my students during a tutor session.  There is such a thing as too much help!  We will discuss the fine line that we should not cross during the QPAC session on Tuesday 2/15.

Looking forward to seeing you there,

EC

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Mini Preview #2 - Homework Time

We already discussed creating a specified homework station, but we have yet to talk about the importance of scheduling homework into the daily routine.

Do your kids play sports?
Do your kids participate in drama?
Do your kids participate in...?  

You can fill in the blank with almost anything!

Children need structure.   Having an organized schedule is a great way to incorpate structure into the life of your child.  How many of your kids have missed a sporting event or play rehearsal?  Chances are the answer is not many!  I wonder why?

Extra curricular events have a designated spot in our daily regime.  Homework should be just as important!

I am not saying to cut the extra stuff out of your life!  It is important to schedule around our everyday activities.  Each week get a calendar and write down all of the extra curricular obligations for the week.  Where there is "free time" you should schedule HW time.  How much time varies per child.  It is important that you understand your child's needs.  Once you create the schedule for the week, it is important that you help you child follow it.  It doesn't make sense to schedule HW time if there is no follow through.  Younger children may need more parent/guardian involvement to develop time management skills


Sometimes this is easier said than done!  Life is crazy at times, but keeping to the schedule is important.

Check out my QCAP workshop on 2/15!

Have a safe weekend,

EC
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Where to do homework?

Where do your students complete their homework?  Do they have a set area, or are they nomadic?

A majority of the research indicates that providing students with a specific location to work on homework, is a good thing!  Providing your child with a consistent work area provides structure which is crucial when you are trying create strong work habits.  For students that have difficulty focusing, it is even more difficult to get started on homework if their work area is constantly changing.

You know your child best, and can help him/her identify what area will be most conducive for doing homework.

The homework area should have:

Good lighting
Little distractions
Homework survival kit (all items that can and will be used on HW)

What are some other important characteristics should a homework area have?  Where does your child complete their HW?

I would love to have your input!

Have a great day,

EC

PS:  "Homework Without Tears" is a must read for anyone that struggles to get their kids to do HW!

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG

College Preparation for High School Students - Academic Checkups

SPECIAL GUEST BLOG by Rhonda Manns, College Admissions Consultant, www.A2ZCollegePlanning.com

Planning on a high school diploma is not something that should begin in the senior year of high school. There are specific requirements that must be met and within a certain time frame.

You don't want your college bound student to find themselves in their senior year only to discover they neglected to complete an English or math requirement and have no space in their class schedule to accommodate its completion (I’ve seen it happen!).

At least twice during your student’s high school career, he or she should perform an academic checkup – an evaluation of the current courses being taken, those which are completed, and whether they’ll be sufficient to achieve admission into the perfect college after high school.

Here are a few tips on making the most out of a planning session and academic checkup meeting with your student's guidance counselor or college admission consultant:

1. Transcript Check Up – There’s nothing worse than finding that you’ve missed a critical credit, or that your transcript contain an error (it does happen!). Your college bound student should have a transcript checkup to make certain all graduation requirements will be met. It is advised to implement this step in the early years of high school and again in the junior or senior year.

2. Recommendation Letters - In the senior year, students should begin to request recommendation letters from their instructors to have on file for submitting along with college admissions forms and scholarship applications. This is often a source of stress for high school students, who don’t know what to ask for or how to ask in such a way as to get a great letter. A college admission consultant can help students formulate a respectful and effective approach for recommendation letters.

3. A Selection of Colleges – By Junior year, students should be prepared to discuss colleges they are considering attending so the counselor or consultant can provide input on application submission materials, GPA requirements, and provide recommendations that will make college acceptance easier.

High school guidance counselors and college admission consultants have years of experience in helping students plan and prepare for life after graduation, and they can be an invaluable resource of information and assistance.  It is essential to communicate with him/her throughout the high school years so that your student's transcript is complete and the college application process goes as smoothly as possible.

Have your student schedule a meeting with the counselor or consultant in the early years of high school, and once again at the beginning of senior year. There will be less chance of unwanted surprises that might otherwise impede graduation and college entrance.