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When you think about college for your student, you think about brick and mortar institutions. However, there are many non-traditional routes to obtaining a degree as well.  Online education offers flexibility and freedom to work while attending college. For some families, this is not only a necessity but a viable option.

In turn, your student should follow these tips to get the most from their college experience.

Set up an efficient workspace
An online education degree requires a certain amount of technical savvy in order to work. Your student must be generally comfortable with using the Internet and the computer. They should also should take the time to learn the technical capabilities of the system that the university uses for online classes. If they do this before classes start, they won’t be delayed in their homework by trying to learn the system.

Otherwise, they need to have a comfortable space for working. Make sure the seating is appropriate and that they have access to electric outlets when necessary. The area should be organized and allow them to spread out textbooks and papers for their use while working on homework assignments.

Budget your time
When you don’t have to show up to class at a particular time, it can be harder to dedicate the appropriate amount of time for your classes. But you must still set aside that time. Online classes are not designed to be less challenging than regular classes, so your student should commit to doing the homework and participating in online discussions. Often, professors will have forums or other means to interact with classmates set up to improve their online class experience. It is wise to avail yourself of these opportunities, as a means to show your proficiency to the professor and to demonstrate to yourself and other classmates what you are learning.

Be a strong class participant
Having the time to participate isn’t enough. You must be an active student. Your professor may assign you homework, including:

• forum discussion posts
• group projects
• research
• writing

The professor may require your student to watch videos or download files for reading. You must take the time to do it, so that you can get as much out of the class as you can.

When traditional college isn’t right for your student, an online education degree can offer your student opportunities that they might not have had. But once they have taken the opportunity, it will pay off toward their future. Online degree programs are an excellent alternative. Getting a degree, such as a masters in organizational leadership, from accredited institutions is comparable to a degree from a traditional university, but they afford more flexibility. However, online education isn’t just for graduate degrees; if the medium fits your student, do your due diligence before you commit. Not all online colleges are accredited.

I love books because, well, I just love books. They are some of my prized possessions. These college books are part of my collection because they are jam-packed with information about the college admissions process. Some of them are informational, and others help you relax and laugh during the process. Add these books for parents of college-bound students to your reading list. After all, who doesn’t like books?

1. College Bound and Gagged

Nancy takes the everyday aspects of the college admissions process and puts them into terms that parents can easily understand and relate to by using humor. And if that’s not enough, she sprinkles some of the best college admissions advice along the way by tapping into her own personal experiences and her network of college experts that she utilizes throughout the book.

2. POCSMom Survival Stories

Wendy David-Gaines, the author, is famous for exposing the cliches about college. After giving the cliche, she gives you the “POCS reality”. In her book, Wendy does this effectively by compiling actual parent stories. The stories (both from pre-POCS and POCS) are simple, light-hearted, often humorous and an easy read. But here’s the clincher–they provide parents with added insight into each individual situation.

3. How to Win Scholarships

The best part about Monica’s e-book is that it’s simple and easy to understand. If you follow her easy 10 step program, the scholarship process becomes doable for any parent and their student. You can sit back and hope that your student does all the work, or you can offer help and support by grabbing a copy of Monica’s book, reading it, and rolling up your sleeves.

4. Debt Free U

When Zac Bissonnette headed off to college, he had the funds to cover the tab. Bissonnette has seen the currently flawed system first hand. He’s a contrarian, and his book is packed with studies and statistics to back up his analysis. It’s a magical combination that college-bound students and their parents should read, even if there’s plenty of money set aside to pay the tuition tab. There’s no harm in learning ways to get the biggest bang for your buck and the best education available at the same time.

5. Why You’re Already a Leader

The author, Paul Hemphill, forces history to shout its powerful lessons about our least appreciated ability – leadership. A pre-teen, a parent, or a corporate exec doesn’t need to be trained for leadership because it’s already alive and pumping in your DNA. The proof is all here. Here’s the bonus feauture: it uses history as a motivational tool. Instead of stats and facts, you get more than 200 life-lessons from Gettysburg to help you succeed in any endeavor. What’s the number one quality admissions officers look for in a candidate for admission? Leadership!

6. Higher Education? How Colleges are Wasting our Money

The authors observe how conventional universities are coming to resemble for-profit diploma mills through inexpensive, Orwellian-titled “distance learning.” At Florida Gulf Coast University on the outskirts of Fort Myers, students in Humanities 2510 sit in dormitories or at home studying painting, sculpture, and architecture via online lectures. Adjunct professors with modest credentials answer questions by e-mail; telephone calls are not allowed. Multiple-choice tests emphasize dry facts and figures. Short papers are required, but students don’t have to attend performances or see art in person. In lieu of customized grading, instructors draw on “sample stock comments” they slap on student papers. “Humanities 2510 seems close to cramming for a quiz show,” the authors write. To readers, it might just seem like a rip-off.

7. Toward College Success: Is Your Teenager Ready, Willing and Able

This is a book to help parents of middle and high school students. This book prods parents to ask if their teenager will be ready, willing, and able to handle self-management, personal safety, roommate conflicts, personal finances, interactions with teachers, academic responsibility, and much more. Included in this book are numerous interviews with parents, college students, school counselors and advisors, law enforcement per- sonnel, teachers, medical personnel, and school administrators. At the end of each chapter are examples of how parents can prepare their teenagers for a successful college experience and turn their students into confident, reponsible young adults.

8. The College Solution

The second edition of The College Solution, which contains approximately 90% new material, is aimed at helping parents and teenagers become empowered consumers as they navigate through the college process. Billions of dollars are available to pay for college, but not everybody gets their share. It’s not always the families with the brightest students or the parents who are struggling financially who receive the most money. The College Solution shares the secrets of how you can capture some of this money for your own family. The book provides advice on such topics as financial aid, merit scholarships, athletic scholarships, admission hooks, the important differences between colleges and universities, college rankings, the best student loans and the latest online tools to evaluate the generosity of schools. O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use, proven road map for getting past the ratings, and finding the right schools at the right price.

9. The Happiest Kid on Campus

Harlan uses tips and stories from students and parents to show us real-life college experiences. While doing that, he covers all the topics from the summer before college, to moving day, to the first few months, to parents weekends. He discusses controversial topics like drinking, sex, eating disorders, and even campus safety, offering parents direction and advice on how to discuss and handle them if and when they arise. He gets you up to speed on texting, Facebook and Twitter and discusses how to use them to stay informed and involved in your college student’s life without being intrusive.

10. Getting In-The Zinch Guide to College Admissions

I’ve read plenty of books on college admissions. Some are so scholarly heavy that you need a degree to figure them out. Others are so shallow you can find most of the material in your teen’s high school handouts. Zinch’s book is neither of the above. It’s geared toward the student, but is also extremely valuable from a parent’s perspective. Zinch reminds the student that while the college process often involves the entire family, the final choice must be their own. I agree with this whole heartedly. Every parent should grasp this truth.

Back to school brings excitement and anticipation for most students. But this is a new year and a new environment with new challenges. This can lead to frustration and apathy after a few weeks of classes, homework and tests. The last thing your student needs is to start the year off in a slump. The first few weeks set the tone for the entire school year, which makes it important to avoid some common back to school  mistakes.

Procrastination is certainly at the top of the list: putting off homework, waiting until the last minute, and neglecting to stay on top of deadlines. Students who find themselves buried in homework sometimes throw up their hands in frustration and don’t do it. New schedules, new campuses, new classrooms and new teachers can raise your student’s frustration level.

Avoiding these back to school mistakes can start the year off on a positive note and help your student focus on what’s important: academics and the college prep process.

Hop on over to Zinch’s high school blog to see a comprehensive list of the biggest back to school mistakes you must avoid.

While Americans have been going to college for over three hundred and fifty years of our history, only within the past three decades has the landscape of higher education changed drastically.  Students today now have less of a chance of becoming hired for a job after graduation, yet more and more of them are entering into the college ranks.  How has the history of university studies changed in the span of a single generation? What was college like then and now?

Personal Computing

Perhaps no change has affected college life like the availability of computers.  In the 1980s, students could take computers to university, but only the wealthiest could afford them.  Indeed, many colleges may not have even offered computers to students, instead providing typewriters to compose lab reports and essays with.  Today, a computer is a mandatory part of any higher education program, and it is extremely difficult to go through college without one.  Teachers communicate exclusively by email to their students outside of the class, while more and more courses are moving to the digital classroom itself in order to provide instruction across time and space.  Indeed, it is now possible to get a complete university education in your own home with an Internet connection.

For Profit Universities

For most of American history, higher education has been a non-profit organization dedicated to improving student learning as well as generating research in order to advance knowledge.  Today, however, the financial side of colleges has drastically changed how students view their time in class.  For-profit universities offer certifications, associate’s degrees, and bachelor’s degrees for much less than state and private universities do.  Though many for-profit schools are not certified and some employers have been less than eager to accept graduates, one in four college students attend for-profit schools since the price tag is less and the time commitment is minimal.

Loans and Debt

On the student side of the higher education equation, perhaps no factor has changed more in the past thirty years of history than the financial commitment to attend a university.  Since these universities are non-profit and do not operate a business model that requires cutting costs, the price tag of attending a traditional four-year college has risen astronomically.  Tuition at Berkeley University in California was only seven hundred dollars per semester in 1980; today it is nearly fifty times as much.  This has resulted in trillions of dollars of student loan debt being lent out; more dollars are owed in student loan debt today than in credit card debt.  Few universities have taken steps to be cost-effective, furthermore, meaning that the cost spiral shows no sign of slowing.

Adjunct Instruction

Thirty years ago, the majority of classes on a college campus were taught by professors who had tenure, full-time employment, and had been with the university for several years.  Those days are long gone, however, as the business model has forced schools to recruit adjunct faculty to teach many courses.  Adjunct professors are paid hourly, given only a single class per semester, have no benefits, and may not be subject to a contract renewal at the end of the year.  The result is that many college professors are earning less at their job than minimum-wage workers.

Sports Spending

While collegiate sports have long been a means of fundraising for schools, the amount of money going into sports has ballooned.  The top-paid state employees in forty of fifty states in the US are football or basketball coaches, with most coaches earning more than university presidents.  The NCAA signs contracts with sponsors for billions of dollars, all the while refusing to pay athletes for their services to the school.

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Author Bio

Ryan Ayers is a writer who creates informative articles in relation to education. In this article, he describes how college has changed over the past few decades and aims to encourage further study with a Norwich University Online History Degree.

Today’s guest post is from a lovely lady I met at Blogher13 a few weeks ago. She’s written a book about attitude reconstruction and I thought some of her ideas might be helpful to parents and teens to alleviate feelings of stress.

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The college application process can feel overwhelming. Successfully completing this task requires breaking big jobs down into small doable pieces, dealing with the fear, keeping your thoughts constructive, and staying focused on what is in front of you today.

Find a buddy

Regardless of how involved your parents are in the process, find a buddy who also needs support and help each other. This will counter feelings of isolation. Decide how often you’ll check in to keep motivated, set up a regular time, and follow through. Offer each other appreciations for tasks completed and use this as a time to get clear on your next steps.

Outline your goals

Start the application process by outlining your goal in getting a higher education. Then identify potential schools that meet your qualifications. Assemble a list by going to the library, meeting with school counselors, or tapping into other resources, such as college guides. If this seems too daunting, do your research in small blocks of time. For example, make an appointment to talk with someone one day, visit a campus, or gather information by surfing the Internet for a half hour at a time (or even less). When your list is complete, select your chosen schools.

Make a checklist

Next, request applications from those schools. Make a checklist to keep track of each school’s submission deadlines and requirements. The checklist should include all applications, essays, recommendations, transcripts, etc. Fill out one application at a time, one question at a time, using pre-established work blocks.

Recognize when you are overwhelmed

Attend to what’s in front of you to avoid becoming overwhelmed. Whenever you start to feel anxious, stop and shiver like a dog at the vet or a leaf on a tree, all up and down your spine to move the fear energy out of your body. This will just take a minute or two, and though it seems strange at first, its effects are undeniable.

Address the stress in a positive way

If you realize that sadness, anger, and fear are just pure sensations in the body (emotion = E + motion), then you can give yourself permission to express those emotions physically and constructively. With just a bit of crying (sadness), stomping or pounding (anger), or shivering (fear) the emotion will move out of your body and you’ll be washed clean. It feels great and sets the stage for more clarity and the ability to take action.

While shivering, after shivering, and whenever you focus on the application process, interrupt your negative thoughts about how overwhelming this task is and replace them by repeating one or two personal truths that contradict your old thinking, such as “I can do this,” “I’m doing this for me,” “One step at a time,” or “I can do this.”

Do little steps each day. Keep using your checklist. As you proceed, praise yourself regularly for each little accomplishment. When you complete all the requirements, double check that each item is just the way you’d like. Maybe have your buddy or an adult read your final package before sending. Be open to feedback but make sure it feels right to you be implementing other people’s suggestions. When it feels complete (and before the deadline) mail it off, knowing you’ve done your best. Now let go, pat yourself on your back, and just wait to see what tomorrow brings.

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Jude Bijou, MA, MFT, is a respected psychotherapist, professional educator, and workshop leader. Her theory of Attitude Reconstruction® evolved over the course of more than 30 years working with clients as a licensed marriage and family therapist, and is the subject of her multi award-winning book, Attitude Reconstruction: A Blueprint for Building a Better Life. Learn more at http://www.AttitudeReconstruction.com. Take a free survey to determine what emotion is keeping you from being your best and learn practical ways to create the life your desire.

Getting ready for college or post-secondary school is a huge milestone in a student’s life and is the first real step towards adulthood. As a college student, you will be on your own immersed in schooling that will become your job for the next two to four years of your life. For the first time, rewards will be based entirely on what you produce and the time you are willing to commit to becoming successful. College really is a time that allows you to shape your future career, so it’s important to start preparing at a young age rather than at the last minute.  Here are a list of ways to help start preparing early for college in order to ensure a successful experience that will prepare you for your career:

1. Meet with your high-school counselor by the end of your sophomore year. This is a person you want on your team for the next few years you are in high school. Your counselor will ask what you envision doing beyond high school, your goals and vision for your future career. He or she will help you draw out a plan to reach those goals.  If you wait until senior year it could already be too late to get particular requirements you may need to attend the school of your dreams.
2. Research college degree requirements. Throughout high school, you may have the opportunity to get some college credit out of the way without even knowing it. At some universities, four years of a foreign language in high school will be enough to satisfy language requirements for your degree. Also, AP and honors classes can sometimes fulfill certain degree requirements, which will be very beneficial to you once you reach college so those classes will already be out of the way.
3. Develop a high school schedule with your counselor. Prepare, prepare, prepare. One of the easiest ways to have a smooth transition from high school to college is to prepare. Work with your high school counselor ahead of time to pinpoint what school courses you need to take and pass to fit those college subjects the best. Sift through options of high school electives that match with the specific degree you will be going for.
4. Get involved with extracurricular activities. Universities want to see students whom will involve themselves in campus life and have shown their dedication in the past. It is a great idea to get involved with clubs, volunteer work, or even sporting teams to prove to universities that you are able to manage your time with other events and work aside from homework.
5. Begin preparing for and completing the PSAT/ACT/SAT. As annoying as studying for a standardized test can be, it really is important to do well on these tests in order to get into the school of your choice. Many high schools have you take these in your junior or senior year, and all universities require one of these standardized tests in order to be considered for admission. It is important to note that some college degrees require a minimum score on these tests in order to be accepted into their program.

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Today’s guest post is written by Trae Lewis, a recent graduate of University of Colorado and a staff writer for CollegeFocus, a website dedicated to helping students deal with the challenges of college, including housing, finance, style, health, relationships, and transferring from a community college to a four-year university. You can follow CollegeFocus on Twitter at @CollegeFocus101 and Facebook at www.fb.com/collegefocus.

Starting August 1, the new Common App will be available for students to complete. The CA4, as it’s called, will have a few notable changes:

• The online experience will improve–The questions will be tailored to each individual student’s relevant information, with help available onscreen alongside each question. The app will offer continuous status checks so students can keep track of their progress; and the school code search has been streamlined.
• The Arts and Athletics portion of the application have changed–The Arts Supplement will be replaced by Slideroom.com for easy integration with the application. The Athletic Supplement will be discontinued and become a part of the application itself.
• There will no longer be the option to print and mail your application–You can no longer print your application and mail it to the colleges. Students can print to preview, but all applications must be submitted online.
• There will be unlimited edits–Recognizing the need to edit the Common App for errors or updating information, students can now make unlimited edits.
• Students can have three submitted essay versions–The essay can have a maximum of three submitted versions, allowing students to make corrections and updates.

The Common App has also improved how it collects the information from the student throughout the application process.

When August 1st rolls around, it’s a good idea to take a look, fill out the parts of the application you know will not change, and save it for later completion. Doing this over the summer allows your student has time to pay close attention to detail and become familiar with the application components.

To view a more detailed explanation of the changes for this year, check out C4: The New Common Application. 

When I come across a product or service that can benefit parents and students during the college admissions process, I like to pass it along. StatFuse.com is a FREE service to help in choosing a college.

StatFuse allows students to create a free account where they can calculate their chances to colleges (through the “Chanculator”), find recommendations to colleges, track their progress to specific colleges, and much more. Parents can now plan their students’ future properly with the help of these tools while saving money on applications and other unnecessary fees.

This company was launched by two Southern California students, Jeet Banerjee & Supan Shah (ages 19 & 17) who wanted to help their fellow students solve some of the problems they faced as high schoolers. These young entrepreneurs developed the algorithm and innovative tools offered on the website and are focused on keeping this website free so that it is accessible to all students.

When asking the co-founders what their plans in the future for this company were, they simply said: “Our goal is to let every high school student and parent know about our product and how they can benefit from it.”

While StatFuse is beneficial in the college process, it’s important for parents and students to remember that statistics may predict your chances, but the human factor is also important. Choose your college wisely: using statistics, preferences, academics and future goals.

When considering different ways to fund college expenses, some students and parents focus on federal loans, scholarships and grants. While these types of aid can provide the necessary funds to complete a four-year or graduate program, they are not the only options available.

Several banks and private lenders offer private loans for college, which are essentially personal loans that can be used for tuition and other college related expenses.  Even if a student applies for federal aid, a private loan can pay for expenses not covered by their government loan.

If you or your child has never considered private student loans, here are four reasons to look into this option.

Flexible repayment plans

If a parent applies for a private student loan to pay his child’s tuition, repayment begins as soon as funds are disbursed. Fortunately, this is not the case for students who apply for their own private loan.

For student who apply, repayment does not begin until six months after graduation from school. This is a plus, as many students need time to find employment and adjust to their new expenses. Of course, students do not have to wait until graduation. There is also the option of making in-school payments. In-school payments can reduces how much a student pays in interest and lowers his overall balance.

Fixed and variable interest rates

Some college students shy away from private lenders because many private loans feature a variable rate. However, fixed rate private student loans do exist. To find these loans, students have to shop around and compare rates with different banks. Fixed rate student loans are desirable because the rate remains the same for the duration of the loan, thus eliminating payment increase and decreases.

Option to add a cosigner

Because private funding is a type of personal loan, banks do require a credit check. Good credit is a criteria for private funding. This can be problematic for college students who do not have a credit history, or those with a limited credit history. But there are ways around this hurdle. Students who need additional funding can add a cosigner – such as a parent – to their loan. This increases the odds of approval, however, the cosigner must have good credit.

Use funds for anything

If applying for a private student loan, funds can be used for more than tuition. This type of personal loan is helpful for covering all college-related expenses, such as books, supplies, a computer, rooming and board, and transportation.

College is expensive, and unfortunately, some people put off their dream of acquiring a higher education because they don’t have enough in savings. But with the help of private student loans, college can be a reality.

A word of advice: Be careful about how much you borrow and gage wisely your ability to repay after graduation. With student debt rising to record levels, smart borrowing should ALWAYS be a priority.

McGill University-Canada

With American college tuition rising and families feeling the economic pinch, universities in Canada are becoming more and more appealing. Graduating with student loan debt is forcing students to look north to Canada for a more affordable education. That’s right–Canada!

According to the Institute for College Access and Success, the number of U.S. students at Canadian colleges rose 50 percent in a decade, and now about 10,000 Americans attend Canadian colleges. The institute reports that graduates from an American university can expect, on average, to carry more than $26,000 in debt; and 9 percent of those graduates default on student loans within two years.

Compared to American universities, Canadian colleges clearly offer a better bargain (costs for one year of tuition):

• University of Chicago – $45,945
• George Washington – $45,780
• Stanford – $41,250
• McMaster (Hamilton, Ontario) - $20,966
• McGill – $14,561
• University of Winnipeg – $11,115

The overall costs are significantly lower with the added benefit of American students allowed to use college savings plans and U.S. student loans. Many universities also offer scholarships as well.

Paul Davidson, President of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada stated:

“Undergraduate students that complete in Canada have tremendous access to the best graduate programs right around the world,” he said. “So, if you’re a student that wants to pursue graduate studies, a Canadian degree will serve you very well, indeed…. They also are a passport to good jobs.”

Moving out of the United States might just be the best financial decision your student can make. Leaving the country gives the student experience in other cultures and will prepare them to pursue a graduate degree outside of the country as well. Programs like medical schools in the Caribbean have a number of benefits that students should consider. Traveling outside the country can translate into saving some bucks in the long run.