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Category Archives: high school
5 Budgeting Tips For High School Seniors Getting Ready For College (Guest Post)
Dave Landry Jr. is a financial consultant and economist dedicated to blogging and the creation of infographics in his down time. He has two young daughters who will be graduating from high school before he knows it, and will be sharing these budgeting tips with them as well. He hopes you find these tips useful for your own pre-college budgeting, or if you’re a parent, will give some of this advice to your children.
Congratulations, you’ve made it through high school! As you get ready for the next big step, it’s important to learn real world skills that will help you transition not only from high school to college life, but also from college life to the world beyond.
Budgeting skills are important in everyday life; learning how to manage your money before you’re on your own in college will keep you from overspending and finding yourself deep in debt. Below are some budgeting tips that will help you get started on to that path to financial security.
1. Learn to track your spending. The first step to creating a budget is to document everything you spend money on or buy. Whether you stick with an old-fashioned notebook and handwritten lists or choose to download spending tracker apps for your smartphone, track everything you spend for at least a month. It doesn’t matter if it’s as small as a pack of gum or a soda from the vending machine at school. While not strictly necessary, it would be good to include notes on your spending behavior, like how you paid for it, where you bought it, and why you bought it.
After a month’s documentation, you’ll have a better sense of where your money is going. If you use apps or a spreadsheet, you can quickly see how much you’ve spent on entertainment, car expenses, clothing, food, and school-related purchases. This will form the base categories of your budget.
2. Learn to develop a budget. Once you’ve established where you spend most of your money, start to set up a budget. The budget will consist of the major categories established during your spending, and will include a space for savings, emergencies, and income.
Ideally, you’ll create this budget on a spreadsheet, or using one of the free online budgeting tools or apps. Once you graduate from high school and enter college or the workforce, your budget categories will change and shift; using a malleable system allows you to customize and adjust as needed.
Establish spending maximums so that your spending doesn’t exceed your income.
3. Pay yourself (start saving). One of the important categories in your budget should be a savings account. Even though interest rates on savings accounts are low right now, putting money in the account is more about the practice and the act of creating an emergency fund, than it is about making your money work for you (even though it is a good idea to start thinking about investments and interest rates).
Whether you’re saving for a rainy day, or towards a particular big purchase like a post-graduation trip or a new car or college, getting into the habit of “paying yourself” and including it on your budget will serve you well in your adult life, when you won’t necessarily have alternative sources of financial assistance.
Learn to prioritize within your budget by putting money in your savings account before you spend any of your income or allowance on entertainment.
4. Figure out financial aid, student loans, and other means of paying for college. Most families will need to rely on financial aid and student loans to pay for school. As you, the student, will need to start paying back the loan as soon as you graduate (up to a six month grace period, or possible deferment if you are going to graduate school), it’s important that you learn as much about your options before taking out the loan. Don’t borrow any more than absolutely necessary for tuition, room and board, and other essentials.
5. Get a summer job. Now that you have a sense of your expenditures, and can project how much you need in order to fulfill all your bills and other costs, you need to start bringing in income. If you’re not already working a part-time job of some sort, consider getting one in the summer between high school and college. Previous work experience can help you get a coveted college job, which will help with bills that the student loan doesn’t cover.
Keeping to a budget isn’t as boring or challenging as it may seem. These are necessary skills that can translate into an opportunity to study abroad, buy that dream car, or have money on hand for an emergency, which greatly reduces stress in the long run. Learning to manage your money is a skill you’ll use for the rest of your life. You can also consider obtaining your education online through affordable programs that offer equivalents of in-classroom learning and degrees. Online degree programs also allow students to pursue their education at their own convenience, allowing them to work full-time to support themselves or a family if need be.
Now that you’ve got your budget under control, it’s time to focus on your grades. Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
Preparing for an Opportunity to Teach English Abroad (Guest Post)
Jeremiah Jordan is a teacher-turned-entrepreneur who blogs about business solutions.
When you teach English to a citizen or a child in a developing country, you can actually increase that person’s earning power by an average of 25 percent, according to The Guardian. In fact, your volunteer teaching efforts might actually make the difference between that person barely scraping by for the rest of his life or having a job with a promising future. While it’s almost certain that you could make more money teaching English in a first-world country like Japan or South Korea, the satisfaction that you’ve actually made the planet a little better by teaching in a developing nation may be worth more than cash to you.
Program Options
Unlike many other volunteer efforts that can be completed in a one, two or three-week time frame, English teachers are typically asked to make a commitment of a semester — about two months — to a year or more. For example, WorldTeach has teaching opportunities of various lengths, including year-long positions in India and Costa Rica, six-month-long semester positions in Ecuador and Namibia, as well as eight-week-long summer positions in China and Morocco, according to WorldTeach.org.
Preparing for Your Trip
Being away for the length of time required by most teaching jobs takes quite a bit of pre-trip organization. Unlike shorter volunteer trips where you can just ask a neighbor to take your mail in for a week, being away for several months means taking care of the following:
- If you rent or own a home and will be going away for several months or more, decide whether or not you want to sub-let your abode. If not, you will have to arrange for someone to keep an eye on your place. In addition, you may have to make special arrangements to pay your mortgage or rent, such as setting up automatic payments from your bank account, as TransitionsAbroad.com recommends.
- Have your mail stopped or picked up by a trusted relative or neighbor who can open it and inform you of any important information that may require your action.
- Oxford Seminars recommends appointing your power of attorney to someone you trust in the United States. You never know when you might need someone in America working on your behalf to transfer funds or to represent you in a legal matter.
- Set up an account with an identity theft or credit fraud protection company. If you are living halfway around the world from your home and you suddenly learn that you have become a victim of identity theft, it may be next to impossible to try to unravel the mess on your own, especially in a developing nation where phone calls could cost you a fortune. Having LifeLock protection can save you a lot of grief in the long run.
- Determine how you are going to handle any prescription medication that you take on a regular basis. Will you be able to get them through the mail or get a supply that will last you for your entire trip? You may need to speak with both your physician and your insurance company to see how best to handle this situation.
- TeachAway.com suggests getting health insurance that will cover any of your medical needs abroad.
- Do your homework on the country that you will be living in and do your best to be culturally aware. For example, if you are a woman who will be living in a conservative Islamic nation, try not to walk around in a top that shows too much cleavage or is too tight.
Want to improve your grades? Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
College Tuition Around the World (Infographic)
Source: Top10OnlineColleges.org
Give yourself the gift of great grades. Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
Six Reasons Why Art is Essential to Education (Guest Post)
Vera Marie Reed is a writer who has written several articles for education and career sites. When she is not spending her day reading a new book or writing, she loves getting her creative juices flowing by trying new artistic hobbies such as photography or painting.
Recently, education has been subjected to government budget cuts. A smaller budget leads to huge cuts within the schools, including teacher’s supplies, extra curricular activities, and classes not deemed essential. Unfortunately that means that many schools often opt to cut art education, including music, dance, and art classes. Although many school officials may not see art classes as an important part of a well-rounded education, students get significant benefits from all forms of art.
1. Students Develop New Skills
When a student wants to learn photography, painting, sculpting, or other types of art, they aren’t just learning the skills of that particular talent. Students also learn to think creatively, which is a skill that can transfer to other subjects. They become more descriptive and imaginative when writing essays. Art students also develop critical thinking skills which are important while learning math and science.
2. Motivation for Students
Getting kids to stay in school has always been an issue. They don’t feel motivated to go to class and learn things they don’t enjoy or think will be applicable to the real world. That’s why it’s important to allow them to explore subjects that are not only fun, but inclusive to all types of personalities. Students who are involved in art classes and extra curricular activities often find more drive for going to school every day.
3. Students Get An Outlet for Self-Expression
To say that young people, from elementary to high school students, have a lot of emotion would be an understatement. So many students feel the stress of needing to be successful at school, along with the pressures of fitting in with their peers. Without a proper outlet to express these feelings, they can end up feeling negatively about themselves and their school experience. However, art classes and extracurricular activities are the perfect outlet for self-expression.
4. Students Improve Test Scores
Those who are involved in art classes and extracurricular activities have been known to have higher test scores, better school attendance, and more recognition for academic achievement. According to a 2010 study, students who took art and music classes were much more likely to score high on the math, writing, and reading sections of the SAT. The better performances on the various subjects also correlated with these students attending highly rated universities.
5. Preschoolers Develop Important Skills
Preschool-aged students are essentially still learning their most basic functions. Students who take part in art and music activities from a very young age can develop spatial perception, critical thinking skills, and better communication. These are all skills that are vital for the growth of any young person. Just by allowing them time and materials for art every few days, you can ensure that these young students are gaining the skills they need in school and life.
6. Promotes Independence in Students
Art is one of the subjects that require the most independence. Through the self-expression and creativity involved in artistic endeavors, people learn to be more independent minded. There’s no homework to copy or test answers to memorize. Therefore, every piece of art they create is completely original and part of their individual growth.
Art in education is floundering due to budget cuts. However, the skills and emotional growth acquired through art is irreplaceable. For many students, the lack of art in school may mean cutting their path to success.
Give yourself the gift of great grades. Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
4 Ways to Survive School Even If You Don’t Have a Time Machine (Guest Post)
Alexandra Harmening is a recently graduated writer who loves avocados and is currently living 365 Days of Pride and Prejudice.
While trying to squeeze my undergraduate degree into three years, things often seemed more than a little bit hectic. I frequently informed professors that I was working on discovering how to be in two places at once. But that one never really panned out.
Sometimes it is hard to keep your sanity as a student. From homework to internships to some semblance of a social life squeezed in between, the undergrad years brim with busyness. Fortunately, there are four healthy habits that can help students survive school and still succeed, even without a time machine.
The author giving her graduation speech.
1. Jumpstart Projects
One of the only ways that I made it through school with my grades intact was starting papers and projects as soon as they were assigned. For my senior these this meant breaking ground on research six months early. For end of the semester papers, this typically meant checking out resources from the library during the first or second week of school.
Working ahead is probably the inverse of a common collegiate plague called procrastination. Where procrastinating leaves you sleepless and stressed for the last month of school, completing projects ahead provides time for editing, sleeping every night, meeting to consult your professor, time to print out the paper and freedom from stress during finals week. (In fact, finals week used to be my favorite because by then everything was almost wrapped up—well, except for exams. Sound crazy? I dare you to try it.)
2. Sleep
“There’ll be time to sleep when we graduate,” friends and I would tease as we typed furiously. Unfortunately, sleep is easily overlooked in the long list of assignments to check off during the day. But most of the time, it is easier to pause in the middle of a project, go to sleep and wake up with a fresh brain and new ideas in the morning.
Complex brain functions such as updating working memory, planning, attention, sense of time, dealing with novel situations and verbal fluency are dramatically affected by sleep-deprivation because the brain is forced to overwork, notes Jim Horne, PhD, who directed a sleep research laboratory at England’s Loughborough University.
“Sleep deprivation is bad for your brain when you are trying to do high-level [thinking] tasks” confirms University of California, San Diego researcher and author Dr. J. Christian Gillin. And sleep deprivation “may have serious consequences both on performance and on the way your brain functions.”
The lesson here: sleep is probably more valuable than we give it credit for being as college students. And in some cases, the key to success on that test tomorrow morning might actually be crashing on your pillow rather than enduring a caffeine induced all-nighter.
3. Know When to Say No
The trickiest thing about college for me was all of the amazing opportunities that sprang up each and every week. I wanted to grab them all in case it was the last time anyone ever asked me to be on the library committee or go on a hike or play in the pit orchestra for the spring musical or work as a part-time tutor or join student government or go out for coffee or—you get the picture. But one of the greatest life lessons that you can start learning while still in school is when and how to say, “No.”
Not to sound like a homework Nazi because it really is important to work towards a balanced life with fun activities and breaks, but there are too many possibilities to answer yes to them all. Unless, of course, you have a time machine.
Identifying your goals for coming to college is a realistic way to begin checking your list of commitments and deciding what are valuable priorities and what can actually be cut. This might be painful, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t ever be involved in amazing and enriching extracurriculars. It just means that you can’t be a member of every single school club or work three and a half jobs while taking 18 units.
4. After a Hard Day of Writing, It’s Good to Write Some More
When you’ve spent the last seven hours writing, memorizing, reading and then writing some more, it is great to relax with a little more writing. Yes, that does sound crazy, but if you are a writer, then you probably know what I mean.
The idea here is to make time for your passion because sometimes, in the midst of pursuing a degree in the subject you love, it becomes easy to forget why it matters and what there is to like about it.
For me, this manifested itself in scribbling out thoughts for my own blog once a week called My Year with Elizabeth Bennet. It was a great way for me to unwind and process while remembering why I was majoring in English.
Now, an engineering major might feel that sitting down to write is one of the most stressful activities I could suggest. But taking an afternoon to pull apart a VW Bug and then reassemble it on the roof of the dorm building might sound amazing. Finding a creative outlet, one that won’t be graded by your professor at the end, is a positive way to unwind and rest. It’s any kind of practical return to your first love that you can invent.
There is probably no one formula for success that any student at any school can download to automatically work. But remembering the basics or sleep, planning ahead, setting priorities and returning to your interests will hopefully help you to find an efficient balance for your college years. And maybe after graduation, you will have developed the skills to start building that time machine.
Give yourself the gift of great grades. Order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
The Best and Worst Educational Systems in the World (Infographic)
Eight Rules for Writing a Great Paper (Guest Post)
Lois Weldon is a professional writer at the dissertation writing service Uk.bestdissertation.com. She is an ESL teacher. Her hobbies are decoupage and writing poetry. She loves Marvel comics and homeschooling her 7-year-old son.
If you’re a college student, you’ve probably completed hundreds of writing assignments and become intimately familiar with the writing process. But writing does not stop with graduation – you’ll have plenty of opportunities to write even after you finish school. No matter how much writing you’ve done, it never hurts to learn a few tips and tricks to facilitate the writing process.
Does this look familiar to you? Read these tips before writing that paper! Photo by gudmd.haralds via Flickr.
- Make an outline. The importance of having an outline can never be overstated. An outline is a blueprint for your assignment. Developing an outline will help you organize your ideas, conduct better research, and estimate the word count for every section.
- Take note of the structure. When doing your writing assignment, make sure it has an introduction, a body and a conclusion. An introduction should introduce your topic and provide background information, while the body of the paper should contain the supporting evidence for your paper. Lastly, provide a conclusion by summarizing your argument and putting it in context. Remember: the conclusion is your last chance to impress your readers, so make it memorable!
- Ensure continuity of ideas. Imagine if your paper is all over the place – that is, you discuss a certain topic in one paragraph, then introduce an entirely unrelated topic in the next paragraph. Your reader will not be pleased. It’s important to maintain continuity so your readers will be able to follow your train of thought.
- Keep it objective. When it comes to academic writing, what really count are facts and relevant information. While your opinion does matter, refrain from incorporating it on your writing assignment. It is imperative that you present a clear and unbiased picture based on evidence and expert studies. Unless your opinion is being asked, don’t include it in the paper.
- Use bullets and numbering. In some academic writing, bullet points are preferable to long-winded paragraphs. This will allow you to discuss each point in an efficient and organized manner. Plus, it’s easier on the eyes.
- Take note of the word count. When writing your assignment, keep in mind that too few words means you won’t be able to express your ideas effectively, while too many words can lead to superfluity or duplication of ideas. If you are given a required word count, stick to it! In your outline, indicate how many words you should allot per section.
- Use examples. In a writing assignment, you must show that you understand the resources and materials you gathered from research. Use concrete examples to apply what you’ve learned and support your arguments. You should also make use of tables, statistics and figures in your paper.
- Cite your sources. When it comes to academic writing, citing your sources, especially when you’re borrowing an idea or theory, is a must. Plagiarism is a form of stealing and you don’t want to compromise your future just because you did not acknowledge someone else’s work.
For more tips on how to write a paper and much more, order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
Book Signing, NACAC 2013, and Congrats to Ted Fiske!
What a busy week it’s been! I had my first official book talk and signing for The Secrets of Top Students at the Columbia University bookstore, which was a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who attended!
My first book signing!
The next day I flew up to Toronto to join my publisher, Sourcebooks, for the 69th national conference for NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling). I met a lot of great people there. I must say, college admission counselors are an amazing group. They really care about helping students and giving them the best education possible.
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, where the NACAC conference took place. Love the woodpeckers!
I was also extremely fortunate to take part in the 30th anniversary of The Fiske Guide to Colleges, where I got to meet the man himself – Edward (Ted) Fiske. It’s really an amazing accomplishment. Sourcebooks honored him with a champagne toast and gave away several stacks of his books, which were gone in two minutes flat!
The champagne toast – Congrats to Ted Fiske for an amazing 30 years!
Tomorrow I’m giving a talk at the Stuyvesant Parents’ Association. Back-to-School is a busy but exciting time!
How to Succeed in School and Still Have Time for Fun (Guest Post)
By Jessica Socheski
After the pressure of SATs, advanced placement classes and university applications, many students are excited to start a new life in college and experience living in a dorm. But for college freshmen who want to do well in school, maintaining an active social life on campus might seem next to impossible.
Maintain your grades and your social life!
Fortunately, there are a few steps to college success that might just allow you to hang out with friends on Friday night instead of holing up in your room with your chemistry text. For students who care about their grades but are still hoping to enjoy the typical college experience, here’s how to succeed in college academically without giving up on your social life.
Plan Ahead
One of the most common failings of college students is neglecting to set up a plan. In what is often dismissed as harmless procrastination, a surprising number of students tend to do readings at the last minute or wait until the night before to complete an assignment.
But if you want to be free to go out with your friends, it is imperative that you do your work ahead of time! For example, if you have a break after class, pull out the textbook and finish the reading for the next class, right there and then. Being efficient is key to freeing up time to socialize.
Actively review deadlines and make certain you know when your assignments are due. When a project is on the syllabus, break the large tasks down into smaller pieces. Don’t be afraid to start work on your final assignment after the very first class session!
You can also look for ways to streamline and multitask whenever possible. For example, bring your laptop to the laundry room and keep typing that paper between loads.
Be Present in Class
A letter to future college students which appeared in the NY Times blog warns, “when you realize that there’s no detention or punishment for missing classes, when you discover that the professor’s lecture notes are online,” it will become much easier to habitually skip class.
Many students choose to cut classes on a regular basis because they need to study for an exam, want to hang out with friends or simply can’t hear the alarm telling them that their 8 a.m. starts in 15 minutes.
But class time is really some of the most important hours you will spend during college. Professors are experts in their fields, and the time you have to learn from them is valuable. Studying for the test later is much easier if you’re already familiar with the subject from lectures. Finally, you are probably paying thousands of dollars to be in this class – so you might as well get your money’s worth!
Engage in Homework Time
In addition to using the classroom to succeed and planning ahead rather than studying later, find an optimal place to work – and then get cracking! If you are studying at a school with a tempting campus, such as South University Palm Beach, you should probably do your reading at the library instead of a sandy beach. Your studying will be much quicker and more effective without a distracting environment. And when you’re finished, you can hop over to the oceanfront to enjoy a well-deserved break.
With these strategies for effective and more efficient study time, you can get the most out of your college experience both academically and socially!
Image from www.womansday.com
For more tips on how to rule in school, order your copy of The Secrets of Top Students today!
Stefanie Weisman 