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Interviews are regaining a foothold in college admissions process
WILLIAMSBURG — Lucy King’s passion for the trombone was too big to fit on a college application. So she traveled to the College of William and Mary last month to tell someone about it in person. Education – Colleges and Universities – Admissions – United States – Counseling Services
Read more on Washington Post

FAFSA Verification Process Burdens Students, Colleges
While focus is often placed on simplifying the Federal Application for Student Aid, not enough attention has been paid to the lengthy and convoluted procedure following the application process, which leaves potentially eligible students without aid, according to a recently released report.
Read more on The Daily Californian

Finding Alternatives To The Traditional Classroom
While Loudoun has only seen one application for a charter school in the past five years, a new law passed by the state legislature could clear the path for more applications to come before the School Board.
Read more on Leesburg Today

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• Application
• They are now 414 colleges that accept the common application! Most of my schools accept it. #CollegeBound
• Personal Statements. Resumes. CV. (Honest assessment)
• Acing the College Application: How to Maximize Your Chances for Admission to the College of Your Choice

Read Ana’s article on this story here: www.examiner.com TYT Network (new WTF?! channel): www.youtube.com Follow TYT on Twitter: twitter.com Join the TYT Facebook Fan Page: tinyurl.com Follow TYT on Google Buzz: www.google.com Check Out TYT Interviews www.youtube.com Watch more at www.theyoungturks.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

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• Tuition-free Colleges – Discover 46 Top Colleges You Can Attend Free!
• Is a College Education Still Worth the Price? A Dean’s Sobering Perspective
• Thaddeus Steven College of Technology
• Tuition Rising: Why College Costs So Much, With a new preface
• What is the average college tuition for colleges in the Eastern United States?
• Are tuition for colleges payed in full at one time or is it payed in parts?

Fall kills Stanford student who loved to climb
Christina Chan was an experienced rock climber who never passed up the chance to scale mountains. She told friends after one arduous excursion, “It was like chocolate!” Chan, 31, a Stanford University graduate student, fell 300 feet to her death Friday while… Stanford University – California – United States – Education – Private Colleges and Universities

Read more on San Francisco Chronicle

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There are many scholorships for college students out there.  It’s just a matter of doing some research and you’ll be able to find scholorships that you may qualify for to help pay off your college expenses.  Today we’ll discuss a few of them and see if they are something you think you can pursue to help pay off the rising college costs.

If nothing else, make sure to register for free for this $10,000 scholorship giveaway for college students.  Registration ends soon so don’t delay!

The QuestBridge Scholars Program is a group that matches low-income, high achieving students with top notch colleges and universities who would otherwise not attend these institutes due to lack of financial aid.  While everyone is encouraged to apply, a great number of applicants who receive a scholorship offer through the QuestBridge application are a minority and/or have faced great obstacles to reach the high level of academic excellence that has made them stand out.  

The QuestBridge program is made up of a few essay questions that help the committee get to know the applicant as well as possible.  The application is designed for applicants to expose their strengths more transparent, giving them a better chance of landing a scholorship.  Students who are offered scholorships will receive scholorship offers from universities such as Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Brown, among other top ranking universities.  The scholorships are full-rides.  Even if applicants do not receive a scholorship offer in the first round, they still have a chance of being accepted regular admission with a healthy financial aid package.

The Walton Family Foundation scholorship offers scholorships worth up to $13,000 over the span of four years.  These scholorships are available to dependents of Walmart associates and the requirements are applicants need to have a minimum of 22 on ACT scores or 1030 on SAT scores with critical reading and math.  Another requirement is that applicants need to have proof of financial aid.  You can use tax return paperwork from last year for this purpose.

Finally, a $10,000 scholorship giveaway is held at FreeCollegescholorships.net about once or twice each month.  The great thing is that registration is free and that’s all you need to do in order to enter the drawing.  Be sure to register now for this great opportunity to win $10,000 in scholorship money to help pay off college expenses.  Good luck in your scholorship search.

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Many of you will now be at a stage in your education where you are thinking about going to college and/or university for the value that it may give to your future career direction due to the need for the further qualifications required for certain jobs in areas as diverse as sport and film and law and accountancy to prepare you for working in these areas.

Therefore, an admissions essay is written by a potential student as part of some college or university admissions processes in order to be able to filter out the best candidates. This is because an admissions essay can be invaluable for allowing the administration of the institution that you are applying to will then be able to get to know much more about an individual student than what more generic application forms can provide. 

And yet the rules in relation to the admissions essay are not absolute.

The importance college and university admission reviewers place upon a potential future student’s admissions essay can vary greatly from one institution to another. This is because whilst some institutions place little or no importance on the nature and scope of this kind of essay writing, others place much greatest importance on this kind of essay writing. Nevertheless, it has come to be commonly understood that liberal arts colleges place a great deal more importance on the value of an admissions essay than major universities – although, of course, there is no absolute rule. 

But what about the admissions essay itself?

Generally it has come to be recognised that the majority of colleges and universities that require an admissions essay from each of their potential future students will choose one or more topics for their applicants to write about. However, it is also to be appreciated that there are some other colleges and universities that have an ‘open topic’ policy in place meaning the applicant can write on any subject they choose – although some of the most typical topics include career aspirations, academic strengths and weaknesses, past experiences, along with the reasons for applying.

The writing of the admissions essy is clearly not a task to be taken lightly – it could be the difference between your getting into the institution you want to get into to further your career and having to resort to your second choice.

With this in mind, I would advise you to make sure that you make sure you deal with the following basic steps in your admissions essay regardless of the subject that you are planning to study (unless of course you are given guidance from your prospective institution that you clearly MUST adhere to) since you need to introduce yourself and explain why you are an appropriate candidate for studying your chosen subject at a given institution.

But what do you need to do for the admissions essay writing process?

When writing your admissions essay you may wish to consider the following areas -

Consider an appropriate theme – May be you could first make a list of all of your experiences and interests at first and then try to find a connection between the different items on the list – although of course you will usually need to emphasise why you should be accepted onto the course by distinguishing yourself as superior to other applicants in your admissions essay.

Use the appropriate tone – There is usually a need to be balanced or moderate, but with a serious and ambitious tone. Regardless of whether you are discussing positive or negative experiences, there is a need to sound open-minded and use a neutral tone. Moreover, you must not sound too casual or formal by portraying confidence with an active voice in your admissions essay.

Writing in the first person – Although most of us are taught essay writing that avoids using ‘I’, ‘we’, or ‘my’, you are encouraged to speak in the first person on your personal statement that may or may not be part of your admissions essay. This is because you must make sure your work sound personal and active – you should also avoid overusing ‘I’ and also include ‘my’ and ‘me’ along with transition words like ‘however’ and ‘therefore’.

Discuss your research interests – There is no need to include a specific and concise dissertation topic in your personal statement since you should only express yourself in broad terms within your field. You must discuss your research interests to compare the degree of similarity in research interests between you and the faculty member you wish to work with in your admissions essay. Of course admissions committees are aware your interests will change over time and so they do not expect you to provide them with a detailed description of your research interests but merely your academic goals relevant to the proposed field of study.

Unique experiences or qualities – All of us have qualities that may distinguish us from other individuals so may be look to make a list of all your qualities and think of how you have used them previously in your admissions essay. Discuss those that will make you stand out but are still connected to your chosen subject and even where you do not have many experiences related to your subject, try to make your other experiences relate to your chosen subject. By way of illustration, if you want to study psychology but only have experience working in a supermarket, find a connection between psychology and the supermarket that show your interest in and knowledge of the subject to depict yourself as unique in your admissions essay.

Faculty members – It may also be beneficial to state who you will be interested in working with at your chosen institution depending on the guidelines for admission essays – so do your research. This is because this will very often make it a lot easier for the admission committee to determine whether your interests match with the faculty members you want to work with. Remember to mention more than one professor because mentioning only one may decrease your chances of being accepted onto a course – also contact professors and find out if they are accepting new students before applying to help prepare you for this aspect of your admissions essay.

Volunteer and Job Experiences – Only mention volunteer and employment experiences that are relevant to your field of study or have helped you develop or acquire a skill necessary for your field of interest in your admissions essay – this may be useful in your personal statement accompanying your application regardless.

Moreover, before you even consider handing in your admissions essay to your chosen institution, I would advise you to run through the following checklist of points of consideration that you must consider whether you have effectively fulfilled -

(a) If you are already studying at a school, college or university, have you got feedback from one of your teachers on your admissions essay?

(b) Do you believe that the admissions essay you have written addresses the question or topic?

(c) Is your admissions essay positive rather than negative about you?

(d) Do you reflect your strengths to the reader in your admissions essay?

(e) Is your admissions essay written and expressed concisely?

(f) Have you used blocked paragraphs for your admissions essay have?

(g) Have you left a line between each paragraph to make your admissions essay look neater?

(h) Is the grammar and spelling you have used for your admissions essay appropriate?

(i) Have you personally proofread your admissions essay?

(j) Does your admissions essay discuss your goals and plans for the future?

(k) Does you admissions essay show how you are a good fit for the subject and the institution?

(l) What skills do you have to offer the institution in your admissions essay?

(m) Have you been formal in your admissions essay and avoided being overly personal?

(n) Have you avoided excuses for poor grades and bad experiences in your admissions essay?

(o) Avoided rambling and too much detail in your admissions essay in keeping with the word count?

(p) Discussed relevant academic, volunteer, and employment experiences in your admissions essay?

(q) Have you distanced yourself from what you have written to see whether your admissions essay is suitably enticing for a reader?

(r) Have you carried out research into this area on an admissions essay?

Then, having checked your work on your admissions essay against the points made in the above checklist, you should be much better placed to then produce something that is suitably impressive for the administration of a prospective institution.

Therefore, in looking to complete your admissions essay for college or university, this article should hopefully get you thinking in the right way about this kind of academic work. With this in mind, by understanding what an admissions essay is and how to produce one, you will then be able to expand on the ideas presented briefly here with the other resources you find useful including ‘The Secret Guide to Academic Writing & Study’ via http://www.academicfx.co.uk that provides you with practial examples and walkthroughs.

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Finishing a college degree could definitely help a person secure employment, retain and even get promoted in his current job.  However, for some older employees going back to school can be a bit awkward and at the same time difficult.  There are many responsibilities, like family and work which could serve as a problem when trying to finish a degree.  This is when getting an online college degree becomes an option.

Online college education is more flexible, allowing students to squeeze together time for family, work and studies.  Online students would eventually learn valuable time management methods and develop self-learning strategies.  However, the internet offers a lot of online college websites and online courses.  It could be overwhelming.    How do you start?  

Here are some easy steps that you could do to get started with your degree.

Step1.  Identify what kind of online degree program you are interested it.  There are schools that would offer associate and bachelor degrees.  There are also other online colleges offering degree programs in Master’s and Doctorate.  You could start by identifying what kind of post-secondary education or higher education you are after.  

Step 2.  To narrow things, also identify what field you will be specializing in.  There are surveys showing that main interests in online education would be in the field of business, healthcare, education and engineering.  

Step3.  After identifying what degree program you want, you could start with looking for schools.  There are different online schools and universities. Determine which online colleges and universities are offering your field.  When looking for schools, remember to check its accreditation.  Accrediting agencies like U.S. Department of Education and Council for Higher Education Accreditation are granting certificates to those institution that they have evaluated and passed their standards.

Step4.  You could have a few online colleges listed on your choices, you could narrow it down by looking on their fees, if they are offering any kind of financial aid,  alumni success rate and reputation.  It is better to call the college hotlines or offices to inquire about their programs and cost. Also, there are some online colleges that would still require face-to-face sessions between teacher and students.  

Step5.  You would have to secure forms from the online college and complete it. They would usually require your high school transcript of grades to be submitted along with the form.  If applying for financial aid, communicate or talk with school’s appointed person that will handle such affairs.  They would usually require additional paperwork for those applying for financial assistance.

Step6.  After enrolling, check the class schedule.  Some online college degrees would use asynchronous classes. With this kind of classes, students and instructors don’t have to be online at the same time to work on the course works.  Instructors would usually provide details and let their students work on it on their own time.  While there are also synchronous classes which would require students to be online on a specific period of time to conduct online discussions through teleconferencing, video conferencing or chatting

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There are several types of scholarship grants out there. And the best part is you can get it everywhere. You can get it from your school academic office, colleges and universities, local government, corporations, institutions, and the internet. But the bad thing is, in spite the availability of these scholarships, applicants seem to be discourage for certain reasons. Here are the common myths you need to know before getting discourage on applying for a college scholarship:

· Scholarships are for highly intellectual students only.

Most students are discouraged with the idea that all scholarship grants are reserved for ‘A’ students. This is 100% untrue. Although many scholarships offered everywhere have something to do with considering the academics performance of students, there are several factors that are also taken into great account. For this matter, scholarship grants can also be available for ‘B’ and ‘C’ students.

Many scholarships also have something to do with any field outside the norms of academic performance and grades. For example, there are scholarships for athletes, artists, performers, and so on. There are some scholarships that consider the weight of the applicants’ involvement in community development. The thing is you don’t have to be an Einstein to win a scholarship.

· Scholarships are only for the underprivileged

While there are many institutions that provide scholarships for the underprivileged, other scholarships do not fall on this condition. Many scholarships are granted for middle class or even for those who can afford. It is true that most scholarships are based on the need; there are some that aren’t. As a matter of fact, there are many scholarships that are based on the merits. This means that an applicant is not measured based on the financial capability but on academic proficiency and extracurricular activities.

· Scholarships involve money right at the application process

Yes, there are groups or institutions that will do all the work for you. They will find the most suitable scholarship for your need and they will process your scholarship application. Be warned that these might be scams. They do not intent to give you the scholarship you need but the money you earned. If you come across this, never give any payment.

· You cannot apply for several types of scholarships

The fact is you can always apply for several types of scholarships you think you are qualified into. Just make sure you give attention on the requirements and you are on the way in getting to a school you always dream of.

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How to Apply

For full-time undergraduate courses in British colleges and universities, international students have to apply through the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Applications Service), the centralised admissions body of the UK that acts as an impartial bridge between the prospective students and Higher Education institutions.

Over 325 educational institutions are currently a part of the UCAS scheme, offering over 50,000 different undergraduate courses, all of them recognized by the UK government. These include all universities (except the Open University), most colleges of higher education and a large number of colleges of further education.

Applications for admissions have to be submitted online at the UCAS website. You can apply from anywhere in the world. The completed form is stored at the website and you can update or print it as many times as you want until you decide to forward it to UCAS.

The application form requires information like choice of courses or universities, academic grades, employment history (if any), personal details, one reference from your teacher or tutor, and your personal statement.

The personal statement is considered the most crucial – and most difficult – part of the application form. This creative piece of writing is an opportunity for you to tell the university or college you have chosen why you are applying for the course and why they should prefer you over others. It should not be longer than 4,000 characters (including spaces) or 47 lines of text. UCAS recommends that you prepare your statement offline using a word-processing package using Verdana 12 points and then “cut and paste” into the form at its website.

You have to submit only one application form for up to six different courses or colleges. You can also track the status of your application from start to finish.

For postgraduate courses, part-time courses and distance education, you have to apply directly to the institutions.

When to Apply

In the UK, the academic year begins from September while the admission procedure starts exactly a year before that. Thus, the applications have to be submitted from 1st September preceding the September in which you wish to start the course. To give you a general idea, the application deadlines for the academic year beginning September 2006 were as follows:

Students from EU Countries: Students of any nationality applying from an EU country had to apply by 15 January, 2006. The closing date for applications to Oxford and Cambridge, and for applications to medicine, dentistry and veterinary science was 15 October 2005.

Students from Outside EU Countries: Students of any nationality applying from a non-EU country had to submit their application by 30 June, 2006. However, according to the UCAS, you should not wait until the last days of the deadline. The earlier you apply, the more your chances of bagging a seat on your chosen course. Because of heavy demand, some colleges and universities may not consider your application for select courses if it is submitted after 15 January. So apply by this date if you can, even if June is the formal deadline. Applying early will also give you enough time to take care of immigration and accommodation issues.

For art and design courses (Route B), all students had to apply between 1 January and 24 March 2006 for entry in September or October 2006. However, UCAS recommended applying by 8 March 2006 to avoid the last-minute rush.

Do You Qualify?

Each course that you wish to study would have entry requirements set by the concerned university or college. Before submitting your application, you should carefully go through them. These requirements are given in the college prospectuses as well as the UCAS website.

The entry requirements are described in terms of UK exams as grades or a Tariff point score. There is no official list of how these relate to qualifications from other countries. It is left to the discretion of the individual institution to decide whether your qualifications meet its requirements. The Tariff calculator at the UCAS website is a useful tool to get an idea of where you stand on the Tariff point scale.

Proficiency in English

Since the language of instruction in the UK universities and colleges is English, you need to prove that you can speak and write it well enough to take part in the lectures, tutorials, seminars and exams. If English is not your first language, most educational institutions will require you to prove your proficiency in the language by having a proper qualification or taking a particular test.

Many English Language Testing Certificate qualifications have been designed for this purpose like Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS) and International General Certificate in Secondary Education (IGCSE).

You should ask the university or college of your choice which qualifications regarding English proficiency are acceptable to it.

Entering the UK

To enter the UK, you need a valid passport. People from many countries need a visa too. If you fall in this category, you will have to fill in a form at the British embassy or High Commission in your country of residence to establish your eligibility for receiving a student visa. Once you arrive in the UK, you will have to show the offer letter from a UK college or university accepting you in a full-time course and evidence that you have enough money to pay for it.

Depending on the course, the tuition fee for international students would range from GBP 4,000 to a whopping GBP 21,000. It is advisable to get in touch with the British Embassy or British Council in your country as soon as possible to know about the documents you need and other requirements.

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1. Sallie Mae Finance American Dream Scholarship – Now the United Negro College Finance has teamed with the Sallie Mae Finance to provide scholarships to all African American learners coming from low-income families. The scholarships vary for $500 to $5000. Applicants should attend a 2- or 4-year university, college, or vocational school in the United States of America. Only the Pell Grant-eligible learners having American citizenship as well as are permanent U.S. residents may apply for it. The application deadline is April 15th. Besides, applications online are available. 2. The 12 Annual Signet Classics College Student Scholarship – In case you are a great fan of popular Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, then you are in luck! The current yearly Signet essay contest is supplying 5 high school seniors or juniors or with $1,000 scholarships (as well as the Signet Classics library for high school) for creatng a winning essay paper on this R. L. Stevenson classic. The 4 optional topics as well as other application peculiarities are presented on the Signet site. Entries should be postmarked by April 15th and handed in by the English teacher (who is able to only submit one senior and one junior essay.) 3. The National Candy Technology Scholarship – Also, sugar addicts seek no further! The college financing problems are over (or cut by $5,000) in case you may get the American Association of the Candy Technologist’s yearly scholarship for the confectionery technology. Applicants are to have a minimal 3.0 GPA, be a senior or junior, and major in biology, chemistry, or food science related area. The submission deadline is actually April 18th. In case you are applying for college financial aid through the school, the date of April 15th is actually the closing time to file the FAFSA in Delaware and Alaska. (The federal deadline term is June 30th, though a lot of states as well as private colleges and universities set their individual closing dates – thus, you must be sure to verify with your college’s financial aid office.)

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High school students applying to college today are more prepared than ever before, making the already stressful process even more competitive. One of the best ways to prepare for college is to get a taste of college life and academics. Many prominent colleges and universities from the East to West Coast including Northwestern, Yale, Stanford, UCLA, Georgetown, Tufts, and Columbia offer college preparation summer programs designed for rising high school seniors who want new academic challenges and the experience of real college life. College bound students will live and learn on campus prior to deciding where to apply or attend.

These unique programs are an opportunity for students to explore different subjects or get a head start on the major of their dreams. They will gain access to the very best instructors and study alongside not only other high school seniors from across the nation and around the world, but with current undergraduate students.

*Prepare for the college admissions process

*Learn at the university level

*Discover ways to balance time and study effectively

*Experience living in the diverse community of a college dorm

*Students gain maturity, motivation and confidence

For six weeks or so a student will take one or two college-level courses for academic credit, which could be transferred to the college they attend at a later time. Many of the schools also offer SAT prep workshops designed to help students boost SAT scores, admissions essay writing classes, tutoring and study skills seminars.

The programs are costly though and the application process is competitive. If dorm life and dining-hall food does not seem appealing, there are online learning opportunities to consider. Students can study for the SAT and other standardized exams in their own home, at their own pace, from many online practice tests, reviews, study guides and work with affordable tutors.

-Lara Cohn, Examville Blog Contributor

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