Michael Kirst's Blog, page 13

Steps to Take When Facing a Medical Emergency on College

BY KIMBERLY EVANS

One of the aspects that many college students, and even their parents for that matter, worry about is a medical emergency. This is a misplaced fear because most medical emergencies are manageable if you’re prepared and know how to handle these emergencies.

This guide will take you through some of the common medical emergencies you’re likely to face in college and the ways and means to handle them.

Know the emergency numbers

Every college will have a volunteer-driven emergency medical service comprising of student volunteers who are well-trained in first-response emergency procedures. Many of these volunteers will also have formal training or certificate as First Responders.

This service will be available 24 X 7, so you can rest assured that help is on hand if you ever face a medical emergency. Make sure you have the contact number of this service and know whom to talk to. Ideally, save this number on your phone and paste it on prominent places in your dorm/room, so others can access it for you.

Do your research

If you’re moving to a new city for college, take time to do some research about the medical facilities available in your neighborhood. Talk to different doctors and identify a primary care physician. If you can get recommendations from a doctor in your home city, that will work too. Reach out to this doctor in case of an emergency, as he/she can guide you on what needs to be done.

Get the emergency numbers

Make a list of the closest pharmacy, hospital, emergency room and urgent care clinics around your college. Save all these numbers on your phone and put them on your speed dial.

In addition, paste these numbers on your fridge and or any other prominent place so your dorm roommates and others can see it as well.

Have a first-aid kit

Build a first aid kit for yourself in your dorm room. Keep things that are essential for your medical needs. For example, if you are prone to wheezing often, have a wheezing spray as a part of your medical kit. Besides such specific items, have a few bandages, antiseptic creams, and a few over-the-counter medicines for common conditions such as cold and fever.

There are many websites that give you comprehensive information on what should go into your emergency first-aid box. Read through those listings and pick the ones that you believe you’ll need in an emergency.

But remember, a first-aid kit is never a substitute for medical help in an emergency. It is just something that can save you until you get help.

Build a social circle

One of the first things that help you when you go to college is a good social network. While this doesn’t happen overnight, you need to start taking concrete steps towards building a social circle.

Tell your closest friends and roommates about any specific medical condition you may have and tell them what they should do in case of a medical emergency. They should be able to help you in the event of an emergency.

If you have a local guardian, make sure you inform them as well, so they can be prepared. Share the contact number of this guardian with your friends and roommates and vice-versa, so everyone knows whom to contact in the event of an emergency.

Routine medical checkup

College is a busy time and you’ll always have more work than time. But that is no excuse to neglect your health. Make sure you have routine medical checkups and stay on top of your health, especially if you’re suffering from any specific medical condition.

Know when to contact your lawyer

Sometimes, medical emergencies will require the assistance of a lawyer, especially if you think it is because of the negligence of any company or individual. In such a case, make sure to pick a local lawyer. For example, if your college is in the city of Philadelphia, pick an experienced Philadelphia personal injury lawyer, as this will make communication and interactions easy.

Thus, these are some of the steps you can take to handle a possible medical emergency that may come your way in college.

 

Kimberly Evans is a writer, traveler and Internet chatter. She covers stories about businesses and lives that inspire her. Email: KimberlyEvansPen@gmail.com

HOW TO BUY YOUR FIRST PROPERTY WITH A MASSIVE STUDENT DEB...

HOW TO BUY YOUR FIRST PROPERTY WITH A MASSIVE STUDENT DEBT

BY JIMMY POPWORTH

 

Can you buy your dream house with a massive student debt?

The common wisdom is bleak: borrowers all over the country fail to live their American Dream because of student loan debts.

You can do things differently.

There are so many ways you can get around to buying your first property even if you haven’t cleared your student loan debt.

CONSIDER THESE STATISTICS

If you’re struggling to pay off your student debt, you’re not alone. Right now over 44 million borrowers collectively owe a total student debt of $1.5 trillion.

There’s more:

There is currently $31 billion student loan debt that is over 90 days overdue.
Almost 2.2 million borrowers of student loan carry a balance of approximately $100,000.
There are approximately $850 billion outstanding student loan debts among borrowers aged 40 years and below.

Considering the stats above, it’s not surprising that most people consider it an impossible feat to buy their own property before they have paid off their student debt.

You don’t have to wait until you can clear off all your student loan debt. That could take decades.

Take these 8 steps and buy your first property right away:

IMPROVE YOUR OVERALL CREDIT SCORE

FICO credit score is a commonly used credit score and it ranges between 350 and 800. The higher your score, the better your credit. If your credit score is 750 or more, you have an excellent credit, but anything below 600 will deem you a poor credit score.

Your overall credit score will determine, to a great extent, your chances of getting a mortgage and how low your rate gets.

A credit bureau will collect information about your past credit record and come up with a credit score. Your potential lenders will assess your level of risk as a potential borrower based on your credit score. If you spot any errors, immediately inform the credit bureau so they can correct it.

HANDLE YOUR DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIO

Many of the lenders assess the debt-to-income ratio to make credit decisions and determine the interest rate they will offer.

A debt-to-income ratio is the total percentage of your monthly gross income that is used to make your debt payments every month. This number is one way lenders will assess your ability to manage the monthly payments you make to repay your debt.

Consider these three ways to reduce your debt-to-income ratio:

Pay off all existing debts.
Increase your income.
Or both.


TAKE CARE OF YOUR PAYMENTS

The fact that lenders prefer to lend to borrowers who are financially responsible is a no-brainer.

Your past payment record is a vital component in determining your overall credit score. To make sure you always pay on time, set up an auto-pay in your account so that you will directly debit the funds every month.

Your recent payments will heavily influence your FICO scores and hence your future plays a more important role than your history.

Take care of these things:

Pay off all delayed payments
Never skip your payments
Automate your payments, so you’re never late even when you forget


FIRST GET A MORTGAGE PRE-APPROVAL

A lot of people make the mistake of finding a home first before getting a mortgage.

Get the mortgage first.

This way you will know what kind of property you can afford. Before you get pre-approved, your potential lenders will assess your assets, income, employment and credit profile among other things.

REDUCE YOUR CREDIT SPENDING

Lenders will also examine your credit spending or credit card utilization every month. A good number should be below 30%. Below 10% is a excellent number if you can manage it.

Let’s take for example you have a credit card limit of $10,000. To keep your credit utilization at 30%, you need to limit your monthly spending to $3,000.

Consider these tips for managing your monthly credit spending:

Monitor your credit spending by setting up an automatic balance alert.
Request your lender to increase the limit in your credit card.
Clear off all your credit balance more than once a month to limit your credit spending.


GET ASSISTANCE FOR A DOWN PAYMENT

Even if you have a student loan debt, there is a variety of assistance for down payment.

Here are some popular ones:

FHA loans: FHA loans are insured by the Federal Housing Administration. You can get an FHA loan at as little as 3.5% down payment if you have a credit score above 580.
VA loans: This is a $0 down payment mortgage available for select military spouses, service members, veterans, etc.
USDA loans: This is a 100% financing mortgage for home buyers with moderate to low income available to suburban and rural homeowners.

Keep an eye out for local, state and federal assistance programs that you can benefit from.

Although not common, you can also consider a lawsuit loan if you find yourself in the midst of a debt collection lawsuit for defaulting.

MERGE CREDIT CARD DEBTS INTO PERSONAL LOAN

Here are two ways to go about it:

Clear off your credit debt before you apply for a mortgage.
If you can’t do that, merge all your credit debt by turning it into a personal loan. This will considerably lower the interest rate.

As you can see, a personal loan will reduce your expense on interest over the term of repayment which typically lasts for 3 to 7 years.

Getting a personal loan will also improve your overall credit score as this is an installment loan. Meaning it has a fixed term of repayment. Therefore by turning your credit debt into a personal loan, you will reduce your credit spending and also diversify the type of debt.

REFINANCE YOUR STUDENT LOAN

When potential lenders assess your overall debt-to-income ratio, they will also examine your payment of student loan every month.

A smart way to reduce your monthly loan payments is by refinancing it. When your interest rate is lower, your lenders will consider this as a positive sign that your student loan repayment will be made faster. You can find refinance lenders for student loans offering low interest rates at 2.5-3% or less which is much lower than the private in-school loan or federal student loan interest rates.

The underwriting criteria and eligibility requirement vary with each lender, but generally it will include your minimum income, monthly cash flow, credit profile, and debt-to-income ratio.

A student loan refinancing will work with private student loans or federal student loans.

Follow these 8 strategies to manage your student loan debt, and you will be well on your way to buying your first property.

Jimmy Popworth is an online journalist, writer and web developer with an Associates Degree in Applied Science. His writing style is both informative and witty, and his tastes are eclectic.

 

 

3 Legal Pitfalls College Students Must Avoid

By: Susan Parker

College is undoubtedly one of the most memorable and exciting years in any person’s life. At the same time, this is also the period when you step out of your house and enter the “adult” world. You are mostly responsible for yourself, your finances, and even your actions. While this may seem exciting at first, it comes with a ton of responsibilities as well.

As you navigate through this real world, you learn what to do and what to avoid for a good life. While this can seem like the foundation for your future, it is equally important to stay away from certain legal pitfalls as they can have a lasting impact on your future.

Instead of going through the hassle of legal implications, hear it from the experts so you can save yourself from these problems. Three legal pitfalls you should avoid at any cost are:

DUI offense

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious offense in all 50 states. Though DUI may seem like a minor offense, especially for college students, the state laws, unfortunately, don’t see it that way. And for good reason too.

Research shows that when you drive under the influence of any substance, your cognitive functioning is impaired and in turn, this greatly increases the chances of a road accident not just for you, but also for other innocent drivers on the road. This is why the state views DUI as a serious offense.

Also, the legal drinking age in the United States is 21. So, if you’re caught drinking below this legal age, you can attract penalties for that as well.

In most cases, colleges also have a strict code of conduct and have the right to initiate legal proceedings against you that could range from a formal reprimand to expulsion. Even if the college doesn’t give you a severe punishment, this offense will go in your record and this can affect your future educational and professional life.

For some reason, if you’re caught on the wrong side of this law, it is important you reach out to a specialized motor vehicle lawyer who can help out of this conundrum.

Rental Lease

Most students tend to live in off-campus housing for at least one year during their college life. If you’re living in a rental place or planning to move to it soon, make sure you read through the terms and conditions of the rental lease thoroughly before you sign it. Once you sign the lease, the terms are binding on you and any violation can lead to legal implications.

This becomes all the more important when you live with your roommates because you become responsible for the actions of your roommates as well! In legal terms, this is called joint and several liability and all rental agreements lay down the terms of this liability.

Though this may seem unreasonable, it is perfectly understandable from the landlords’ point of view. They expect a few reasonable things from their tenants, regardless of the internal conflicts that happen between the co-habitants. They are definitely not interested in resolving any of the internal problems or politics between co-tenants and this is why they hold everyone responsible, even if one tenant violates the terms and conditions mentioned in the rental lease.

To avoid this legal pitfall, your best bet is to sign a co-habitation lease with the rest of your roommates to lay down in clear terms the responsibility of each individual. This will help you to stay away from the legal problems that arise from the actions of any other co-habitant of your place.

Online problems

Do you know that your social media posts can land you in legal trouble? Yes, what your post online, especially negative or derogatory comments, can not only lead to expulsion from your college but can also land you in a court of law. The seriousness of this legal pitfall is often overlooked by college students who believe they are safe because they have the highest privacy settings. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

While using social media, make sure never to post any violent, bullying, sexually inappropriate, or any other negative comment that can put you in legal trouble.

Thus, these are the three legal pitfalls that college students must avoid.

 

Susan Parker is a writer and tech geek. She volunteers for local environmental conservation programs and writes stories online about things that inspire her.

 

Identity Theft Protection Tips for Students

By David Gutierrez

 

Anyone can experience identity theft. In fact, more than 16 million Americans across all walks of life were victims of identity theft just in 2017. College students can be particularly at risk for identity theft.

Unfamiliar surroundings and new levels of responsibility can increase the odds that college students will experience identity theft. Fortunately, you can take steps right now to protect yourself from identity theft. Let’s go over some identity theft protection tips for students right now.

1.      Go Over Identity Theft Prevention Best Practices

The challenges represented by identity theft have been around for years now. This has given the experts time to develop best practices for protecting your identity, no matter where you are. Many of these tips are contained in Andy Michael’s Identity Theft Protection Guide.

Go over these strategies to familiarize yourself with the basics of identity theft protection.

2.      Be Careful with Identification Numbers and Passwords

Most people in the U.S. have a number of personal identification numbers and passwords to keep track of. You need to keep the following information private to reduce the odds that you will experience identity theft:

 

Social Security Number (SSN)
Credit or Debit Card Numbers
Driver’s License Number
Bank PINs

 

You should only share these numbers or passwords when absolutely necessary and when you are certain that you are sharing them with a legitimate organization.

3.      Avoid Public Wi-Fi Connections

Public wi-fi offers a great deal of convenience, especially when you’re in the middle of class or studying for a big paper. You might not have time to find a secure connection to research Napoleon Bonaparte’s campaigns or the importance of a diamond’s fluorescence. However, public wi-fi connections can allow anyone to see:

 

The Sites You Visit
Passwords You Enter Online
Emails That You Access

If you absolutely must use public wi-fi, you should consider using a VPN (Virtual Private Network). VPNs offer you private connections through public wi-fi, which can protect your personal information.

4.      Keep Private Information Offline

In the early days of the Internet, many people avoided sharing even their names with people they met online. Times have changed, especially with the advent of social media, which encourages connections with people online.

However, it’s still a good idea to limit the personal information you share online. Identity thieves can gather information that is posted openly on your social media profiles, which could help them crack your passwords.

5.      Stay Aware of Your Surroundings

Many individuals know they need to be careful about who can access their private information online. Identity thieves can also strike in the real world. You could discover your identity is stolen if you lose track of your:

 

Credit Cards
Driver’s License
Student ID Card

Identity thieves can also try to look over your shoulder while you are on your computer or phone. Keep track of what’s going on around you when you are entering sensitive information into any electronic device to protect yourself from identity theft.

6.      Use Protective Software on Your Electronic Devices

There are a number of different security options you can use to protect your private data across your computer, mobile phone, tablet, and other electronic devices. Antivirus and antimalware software, for example, can help protect you from:

 

Keyloggers
Trojans
Viruses
Spyware

Make sure that you keep your digital security software up to date, as viruses and other threats are constantly being updated. Maintaining regular updates can protect your information and help you avoid identity theft.

Protect Yourself from Identity Theft Students have many different concerns weighing on their minds. Identity theft must be one of those concerns in today’s world. Fortunately, you can protect yourself from identity theft by:

 

Protecting Your Private Information
Staying Off Public Wi-Fi
Monitoring Your Surroundings
Taking Advantage of Security Software

 

 

How Physical Activity and Sports Motivate Students

BY SYLVIA KOHL

 

Many studies conducted in the past showed that physical activity can significantly boost students` cognitive and affective foundation. Truth is that students can gain numerous benefits from regular physical activities. They will not just become better prepared for their sports competitions, but they will become more aware of living a healthy lifestyle. That will translate to successes in other fields as well, and the university students will be able to make better choices and wiser decisions and significantly improve their safety and wellbeing.

How Physical Activity and Sports Motivate Students

We all know that focusing on specific everyday tasks is not easy. Sometimes we have to juggle between different things and that lowers down our focus. Physical activity during sports helps students regain their focus and think about what matters most. Their energy levels get higher so they become more concentrated on doing what they do. There is an entire science behind various sports, so if you want to learn more, click here to get educated on the matter. So, what are the benefits of physical activity for students?

Character Building

The first major benefit that comes from physical activity is that it teaches students about ethical behavior and builds their character. This is necessary for the student to later function in the real-world environment. By engaging themselves in sports and exercising, students learn about work ethics. Sometimes in sports, they get to experience failure, but that will prepare them for the struggles in other fields of life. It motivates them to keep their focus and keep working to become better as an athlete and as a person.

Improved Brain Activity

Another benefit of physical education is that it increases blood flow and improves the activity of the brain. Oxygen levels get higher and blood pressure gets lower, which in turn increases the activity inside the brain over extended period of time. Besides, engaging in sports also increases a person`s confidence and self-belief. By regularly undergoing athletic challenges like playing team or individual sports, they will experience the value that comes from accomplishing different goals. This not only raises their performance, but also boosts their confidence to the highest levels.

Teamwork

The third big benefit of playing sports is that it also teaches young students about the importance of group work and collaborative thinking. These traits are very important for life outside sports, so students can acquire necessary skills that they can use later in their everyday relationships with other people. Finally, any physical activity discourages living a sedentary life. By engaging in sports and other activities, students will get indispensable values for their future when they become adults. They will avoid numerous problems with blood circulation, hypertension, heart problems and much more.

Discipline

 Flashy competitions and events are not all that there is about sports. In fact, they are merely a tip of the iceberg, a result of rigorous training that occupies most of the sportsman’s time. To achieve any degree of success in sports, one has to possess enough self-control and determination to train regularly, forgo other, more pleasant activities in favor of spending more time improving one’s results, denying yourself certain lifestyle choices. In the long run, all this teaches one the discipline necessary to get to the top in life. And the earlier one starts out, the better.

As we can conclude, physical activity indeed boosts the cognitive functions in students and helps them become better people. They get to learn valuable things that they can use in different aspects of their lives. Therefore, motivating students to exercise and take part in sports is of crucial importance for preparing them for the future.

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 8 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and she convinced that learning process doesn’t stop after years in school and university.

 

Want to write Better? Read More

Will Fitzhugh, The Concord Review

The extra-large ubiquitous Literacy Community is under siege from universal dissatisfaction with the Writing skills of both students and graduates, and this is a complaint of very long standing.

The Community response is to request more money and time to spend on sentence structure, paragraphing, voice, tone, and other mechanical Writing paraphernalia.

It never seems to occur to them that if students read more, they would know more, and in that way actually have some knowledge they wanted to write about. But reading and knowledge never seem to find their way into discussions of Literacy in Our Schools.

When teaching our students to write, not only are standards set very low in most high schools, limiting students to the five-paragraph essay, responses to a document-based question, or the personal (or college) essay about matters which are often no one else’s business, but we often so load up students with formulae and guidelines that the importance of writing when the author has something to say gets lost in the maze of processes.

On the one hand writing is difficult enough to do, and academic writing is especially difficult if the student hasn’t read anything, and on the other hand teachers feel the need to have students “produce” writing, however short or superficial that writing may be. So writing consultants and writing teachers feel they must come up with guidelines, parameters, checklists, and the like, as props to substitute for students’ absent motivation to describe or express in writing something they have learned.

Samuel Johnson once said, “an author will turn over half a library to produce one book,” the point being, as I understand it, that good writing must be based on extensive reading. But reading is just the step that is left out of the “Writing Process” in too many instances. The result is that students in fact do not have much to say, so of course they don’t have much they want to communicate in writing.

Enter the guidelines. Students are told to write a topic sentence, to express one idea per paragraph, to follow the structure of Introduction, Body, Conclusion, to follow the Twelve Steps to Effective Writing, and the like. This the students can be made to do, but the result is too often empty, formulaic writing which students come to despise, and which does not prepare them for the serious academic papers they may be asked to do in college.

I fear that the history book report, at least at the high school level in too many places, has died in the United States. Perhaps people will contact me with welcome evidence to the contrary, but where it is no longer done, students have not only been discouraged from reading nonfiction, but also have been lead to believe that they can and must write to formula without knowing something—for instance about the contents of a good book—before they write.

A nationally famous teacher of teachers of writing once told me: “I teach writing, I don’t get into content that much…” This is a splendid example of the divorce between content [reading and knowledge] and process [techniques] in common writing instruction. 

Reading and writing are inseparable partners, in my view. In letters from authors of essays published in The Concord Review since 1987, they often say that they read so much about something in history that they reached a point where they felt a strong need to tell people what they had found out. The knowledge they had acquired had given them the desire to write well so that others could share and appreciate it as they did.

This is where good academic writing should start. When the motivation is there, born from knowledge gained, then the writing process follows a much more natural and straightforward  path. Then the student can write, read what they have written, and see what they have left out, what they need to learn more about, and what they have failed to express as clearly as they wanted to. Then they read more, re-write, and do all the natural things that have always lead to good academic writing, whether in history or in any other subject.

At that point the guidelines are no longer needed, because the student has become immersed in the real work of expressing the meaning and value of something they know is worth writing about. This writing helps them discover the limits of their own understanding of the subject and allows them to see more clearly what they themselves think about the subject. The process of critiquing their own writing becomes natural and automatic. This is not to deny, of course, the value of reading what they have written to a friend or of giving it to a teacher for criticism and advice. But the writing techniques and processes no longer stop up the natural springs for the motivation to write.

As students are encouraged to learn more before they write, their writing will gradually extend past the five-paragraph size so often constraining the craft of writing in our schools. The Page Per Year Plan© suggests that all public high school Seniors could be expected to write a twelve-page history research paper, if they had written an eleven-page paper their Junior year, a ten-page paper their Sophomore year, and a nine-page paper their Freshman year, and so on all the way back through the five-page paper in Fifth Grade and even to a one-page paper on a topic other than themselves their first year in school. With the Page Per Year Plan©, every Senior in high school will have learned, for that twelve-page paper, more about some topic probably than anyone else in their class knows, perhaps even more than any of their teachers knows about that subject. They will have had in the course of writing longer papers each year, that first taste of being a scholar which will serve them so well in higher education and beyond.

Writing is always much harder when the student has nothing to communicate, and the proliferating paraphernalia of structural aids from writing consultants and teachers often simply encumber students and alienate them from the essential benefits of writing. John Adams urged his fellow citizens to “Dare to read, think, speak and write” so that they could contribute to the civilization we have been given to enjoy and preserve. Let us endeavor to allow students to discover, through their own academic reading and writing, both the discipline and the satisfactions of reading and of writing carefully and well.

In 1625, Francis Bacon wrote, “Reading maketh a Full man, Conference a Ready man, and Writing an Exact man.” These benefits are surely among those we should not withhold from our K-12 students.

The Concord Review, 730 Boston Post Road, Suite 24, Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

www.tcr.org    978-443-0022     fitzhugh@tcr.org

How to Decide if Graduate School Is Right for You

BY JORI HAMILTON

Remember your very first day of college? You may have felt nervous and out of place, unsure of where anything was, what your professors would be like, and who you’d become friends with. Now, four years later, it’s time to graduate, and it can be hard to believe how fast the time zipped by. While your classmates and pals are heading back to their hometowns or moving far away to enter the job market after graduation, you’re wondering if you should continue your education.

Or, maybe you graduated a few years ago and have been working since then, but you feel like you’d get higher pay or a promotion if you had a graduate degree. Many people in the workforce, tired of being unable to advance their careers, often resort to common resume lies, but doing so can present serious problems.

Instead, look into furthering your education by pursuing a graduate degree. In some cases, your employer might even be willing to pay for it, and you know that it will benefit your career if you can find the time to fit it in. Let’s explore why you may want a graduate degree, as well as the pros and cons of going after one.

Reasons for Attending Graduate School

Understanding how to get a graduate degree and what to expect from graduate school is important, but they’re not nearly as important as discovering why you want a master’s degree in the first place. Here are some questions to answer when deciding if graduate school is right for you:

 

Will your employer pay for graduate school? Alternatively, will they pay you a high enough salary to justify the expense of graduate school?
If they will pay for your education, what requirements do you have to fulfill? For example, you may have to work there for a certain amount of time after completing the program.
What will your job look like once you have your graduate degree? Is there a promise of higher pay or a better position? Will you advance more quickly?
Are there other ways to achieve more pay and higher status without going to graduate school?

You don’t have to be in love with your coursework, but you should have some level of investment or interest in it. Otherwise, you may fail your classes or drop out before you’ve earned your degree. By finding a driving “why” behind your choice to attend graduate school, you’re more likely to stick with it — even when your schedule and workload become burdensome.

Pros of Attending Graduate School

There are a lot of perks to attending graduate school. Put time and effort into researching graduate programs so you can enjoy these benefits:

 

If you’re already working, it’s possible that the college of your choice will waive your GMAT score (the test students take to determine eligibility for a graduate program) due to your work experience. This can lower the barrier of entry for a graduate program and encourage you to continue your education.
Depending on the school you attend, you may have excellent networking opportunities through your graduate program. For example, Oprah Winfrey taught a course at Northwestern about leadership. Attending classes taught by industry influencers can improve your reputation in your field and maybe open up doors you didn’t have access to before.
While research isn’t a mandatory part of master’s degree programs, some courses do require or allow it. If you want to research a specific topic, attending a master’s program that requires a thesis is an excellent way to dive into what excites you.

If you feel like you want to explore your education more, graduate school could very well be the best decision for you. While career advancement and a higher income are nice, you’ll get the most out of the program if you enjoy what you’re learning.

Cons of Attending Graduate School

On the fence about graduate school? It’s not for everyone, and it may not benefit your career quite as much as you think it will. Here’s what to consider:

 

Remember studying for your SATs? Passing the GRE, which is required for many of graduate programs, is harder. Before you even start your graduate program, you’ll have to spend time and money to study in order to pass the test. Note that some grad programs these days will also waive this test, much like the waiving of the GMAT, so do your research!
Graduate degree programs vary in cost, but most of them will cost you several thousand dollars — that could be as low as $30,000 overall or as high as $30,000 or more per year, as public schools tend to cost less than private schools. There’s also less financial help for graduate students than undergraduate students.
Graduate degree programs can be demanding. Grad students work year-round and complete the program faster than an undergraduate program, with a lot of condensed, hard work in a shorter time frame. If you have other responsibilities, like a full-time job and a family, you may have to sacrifice something you’re not willing to give up.

Ultimately, determining whether getting a master’s degree is worth it depends on your particular circumstances. Will it open new employment avenues that you’d be interested in pursuing? Would it enable you to earn more money and do things in your personal life that you’d be unable to do otherwise? Can you go to school while upholding your other responsibilities in life? Answering these questions honestly will guide you in the right direction.

While going back to school to pursue a graduate degree may do wonders for your career, make sure that you’re not simply trying to stay in college instead of moving on with your life. If that’s the case, there are a number of ways to stay involved with your school even as you start your career. On the other hand, if you’re in a field that requires a graduate degree even for entry-level employees, like STEM fields, you may not have a choice about whether or not to continue your education. Whether you’re opting to go to school or are required to, do your due diligence when researching schools, as there’s a lot of variety between graduate programs.

Bio: Jori Hamilton is a writer from the Northwest who is passionate about education and social justice issues. You can follow her on Twitter @HamiltonJori

5 Resume Tips Students Can Use to Land Their Dream Jobs

By McLean Mills

As a college student, it’s punishing enough that a few grammatical mistakes here or there on your term paper can cost you high marks. However, when it comes to your resume, the stakes are even higher. Just one tiny mistake can mean the difference between securing an interview for your dream job and having your application completely ignored. So, with this much on the line here are 5 resume tips that you can use to perfect your resume.

Use the power of the internet

The first thing you do every time you need to write a paper is probably open up a blank Word document and go from there. When it comes to your resume though, this probably isn’t your best bet. Instead, start by using the web to make things easier for yourself. Start by finding a well-designed professional resume template that you can download for free or use an online resume builder. Before actually writing the contents of your resume, read a few online samples first and even pull one up that you can reference. Once your resume is finished, consider asking an online community like Reddit’s to critique your resume. You can also get analytical feedback on sites like X and Y.

Take advantage of LinkedIn

One of the biggest mistakes college students make as they search for their first full-time job is not using LinkedIn to their advantage. Not only does LinkedIn unlock a plethora of job opportunities you can apply to, it also gives you the ability to build a relationship with recruiters and hiring managers who are going to want to connect with you through LinkedIn.

Even if you want to apply to jobs the good old-fashioned way, a recent resume study has found that simply including an active LinkedIn profile on your resume is going to give a huge leg up over the applicants who don’t because it shows recruiters that you’re serious about your job search.

Understand proper resume etiquette

Writing a resume is a lot different from writing a paper. There’s a lot of unwritten rules to resume writing that just don’t apply elsewhere. All your bullet points should start with a strong action verb, first person pronouns like “I” and “me” should never be used, bullet points should be kept to a couple of sentences tops, past tense should be used in almost all cases, one or two pages is preferred while three pages is too long, and the list of unwritten rules you should be made aware of goes on and on.

Be smart when it comes to your academic achievements

As a general rule of thumb, only list your GPA if it’s higher than 3.0 on a typical 4.0 scale. If your major GPA is higher than your overall GPA, it would be wise to list that instead.

Another smart thing to do, especially if you don’t have a lot of work experience, is to list out any important courses you’ve taken that are relevant to the jobs you’re applying for.

Get help if necessary

If English isn’t your first language or writing just isn’t your forte, don’t hurt your hiring chances by forcing yourself to write your own resume. Instead, get help. As a college student the first place you should really turn to is your college’s career center. If you have any family and friends that have found success writing their own resume, then turn to them for guidance as well. As a last resort, you can also turn to a resume writing service where professional resume writers can write your resume for you. However beware, not every company is going to do a good job, and an entire CNBC article has been written detailing what you should know before choosing a resume writing service.

Keep unrelated experience to a minimal

It’s natural to want to include everything you’ve ever done or achieved on your resume, whether it be that you won your collegiate swimming competition or that you were a part of your college’s book club. However the issue is, hiring managers often don’t care. If you’re applying to a job as a financial analyst, being a good swimmer or a book worm proves nothing when it comes to your ability to analyze financial statements and predict the stock market. With that being the case, only briefly mention activities or work experience that are unrelated to the job and always put yourself in the employer’s shoes when writing your resume.

Byline: McLean Mills is a career coach and previously worked as a college career adviser and hiring manager for Coca Cola.

 

 

 

CSM Software and Cloud Infrastructure for Educational Institutions and Students

By Leslie Wilder

 

In this digital era when every little information is now available on the Internet, the role that websites play is far beyond measurable terms. There is not a single industry that has been left untouched by the wave of the digital revolution. Educational institutions and their students are no exceptions.

For most educational institutions, the primary and most crucial mode of communication and marketing today is via their websites. Since students and aspiring candidates of higher educational establishments primarily search for details online, the complexities also keep growing for these websites. It, therefore, becomes extremely vital to support such online establishments with a robust system for managing  data.

Digital data, both structured and unstructured, is being generated at exponential levels today. But with the help of an advanced content management technology that supports dynamic website content, it becomes easier for educational organizations and students to keep this data organized.

The purpose of this article is to review some content management platforms suitable activities and online publications, and to suggest what is the best approach to host and use them on the cloud.

Best practices in hosting educational CMS

In theory, each company that offers Linux or Windows based web hosting service should be able to provide a decent hosted environment for educational and learning management systems reviewed below. However, there are few important things to consider.

Does the company you are about to host your educational website, CMS and IT infrastructure with has its own Cloud infrastructure? It is recommended to avoid hosting educational platform with any of the major clouds. Large commercial cloud infrastructure is expensive and charge a lot for data transfer. The best practice for hosting an educational website on the cloud is to approach any small or medium size service providers and to send them a list of technical requirements.
Always Compare Cloud services based on the resources they offer and most importantly on the technical support level included in the services. The so-called “Major Clouds” (AWS, Microsoft Azure and others) charge their customers for technical support, which is quite unfair considering the high prices of their Cloud infrastructure service fees. On the contrary, the smaller and medium sized Clouds usually provide technical support to their customers for free and charge only for any client-side Management services.
Consider using a Managed Cloud Hosting service. If someone offers “Server less Computing”, simply disregard the offering. Serverless Computing is phony term used by marketers to describe a “Managed Hosting” or “Managed Cloud computing service”. Using Managed Cloud Hosting service worth’s as the infrastructure provide which take responsibility on securing and managing the educational infrastructure, which lowers the management effort for the organization.

Moodle

Moodle has been around for almost two decades. The first release came in 2002. This comes to say that Moodle is very mature software, suitable for creating a whole educational ecosystem. It is an Open source CMS used by more than one hundred thousand educational and learning websites, 10 thousand of them in the U.S. Moodle is very well documented, which makes the system setup and management easy. Most web hosting providers offer the CMS as standard installation.

Chamilo E-learning system

The community behind Chamilo is related to the educational or the human resources sectors. It is an Open Source CMS launched in 2009. The mail features of this educational CMS are: Courses, users and training cycles; social network for learning; SCORM 1.2 compatibility and authoring tool; LTI 1.1 support; multi-institutions mode; time-controlled exams; international characters (UTF-8); automated generation of certificates; tracking of users progress; competence based training (CBT) integrated with Mozilla Open Badges; multiple time zones and more.

It offers third party implementations and links well with Joomla, Drupal, OpenID secure authentication framework and Oracle. Like Moodle it can be self-hosted on own Private or Public Cloud Server, which means that there is no vendor lock-in.

Claroline

This is another content management system that can be used for online collaboration and learning platform. Like those above it is also released under the GPL open-source license. Claroline allows educational organizations to create and administer courses and collaboration spaces over the web. Claroline is a software with a European origin and its main website is in French. It can be installed on Windows, macOS or Linux kind bare-metal server. If anyone wants to use it in virtualized environment it should be installed on Windows or Linux server as Apply macOS officially does not support installation on Virtualized environments. A suitable Europe Cloud Server solution for Claroline is HCE, a service that features High Availability (HA) by default. In short High Availability is an IT functionality which reboots automatically the server in case of OS failure or a failure of the underlying physical host. i is an excellent feature that minimizes any interruption of the educational and learning services.

Claroline has the following functionality: write a course description; publish documents in any format (text, PDF, HTML, video and more); administer public or private forums; create learning paths (compatible with SCORM); create groups of users; compose exercises (compatible with IMS / QTI standard 2); structure an agenda with tasks and deadlines; post notifications (also by email); propose home work to make online; view statistics of attendance and completion exercises; use the wiki to write collaborative documents.

The main interface of Clarolinein in French, but this should not discourage the English-speaking institutions as the CMS is good.

Dokeos

I like the Dokeo’s website and how they present their educational online software platform. However, the effort that Dokeos team made results in a $250/month license for “Training Centers” and $385/month price of the “Corporate” license, as listed on their website. Those licenses apply for groups from 1 to 50 users. Any educational or learning institution which has one thousand uses of the system should be prepared to pay $2300/month for the “Training” license and $1700/month for the “Corporate” one.

Dokeos is obviously a commercial project. For commerce purposes it is integrated with Shopify, a hosted commercial e-commerce software, which starts selling licenses at $29/month for a license with limited functionality.

Considering the high cost of Dokeos licenses compared to other Open Source CMS, the Dokeos is obviously not a preferred web-based system for educational activities. Still, its worth’s to be examined by any well-funded organizations.

eFront

eFront has been established as Moodle alternative. It has been launched in 2001, which means it has been around for almost two decades. eFront runs Linux and Microsoft Windows. In order for the software work properly the hosted environment needs to support PHP 5.1+ and MySQL 5+.

eFront has a community edition distributed as Open Source software and three commercial editions which offer more advanced features for educational institutions and enterprises. Paid versions come with full source code but only the community edition uses an OSI accepted license.

From web development point of view, a very good feature of eFront its native HTML5 editor. The community editions features the following functionality: user management; lessons, courses, curriculum and categories management; files management; exam builders; assignments builders; communication tools (forum, chat, calendar, glossary); progress tracking; authentication methods; enrollment methods; certifications; reports generators; extensibility via modules; payments integration through PayPal; social tools such as lesson & system history, user wall, user status and Facebook interconnection; customizable notification system through email; availability of different design patterns.

The eFront license commercial license for up to 1000 user’s costs $750/month, which makes it more affordable than Dokeos.

It worths taking the time to compare all those the content management systems created for learning and educational purposes. Planning the process of growing your organization’s online based educational activities is very important as it will help you to take control over the short term and long-term IT infrastructure costs.

 

Leslie Wilder a creative writer & blogger, who is residing in Nashville the capital of U.S. state of Tennessee, I’m also a self-proclaimed happiness junkie, and someone you would generally consider confident and well balanced.

 

6 Outstanding Study Abroad Programs

BY JANE HURST

As you are getting ready for your semester and figuring out what classes to take, you should consider a study abroad program. These programs offer you an experience of a lifetime. You can experience a different culture and learn a new language. There are many opportunities out there with study abroad programs. Here are six great study abroad programs that you can take part in.

 

IES Abroad Siena Summer – This program takes you to Italy for cuisine classes. Sienna is a small town located in the Tuscany region of Italy. You can immerse yourself in the food and culture of this medieval city. There are gelato laboratories, vineyards, restaurants, and dairies available to help you immerse yourself in Tuscan food. If you are lucky, you can travel to Sienna in July to witness the Palio. It is a famous horse race that takes place at the Piazza del Campo and has roots in the Middle Ages. So travel to Tuscan and enjoy the food and atmosphere of a wonderful city.
CIS (China International Summer) Program – The CIS program is located in Shanghai, China and it is focused on academic research. Every summer, the program invites a large group of renowned professors from top universities around the world to lead research projects. When you are not involved with research or your classes, you can explore country and the unique cultural experience it has to offer. This is a one-month long program available to high school and college students taught in English. One class even created and launched a remote sensing satellite from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center. If you are interested in spending a summer in research in a unique setting, this is the program for you.
USAC France: Lyon – This study abroad program takes you to France, specifically Lyon to study Art history, French language, and Francophone studies. This is a yearlong in-depth language arts program where you will earn credits for French and additional studies. You can enjoy a weekend skiing on the Alps or enjoy Bourgogne. You can tour Provence and visit the Mediterranean coast. You will enjoy the food and atmosphere of Lyon while you study French and other classes.
College Year in Athens – Imagine yourself on the island of Greece. You could be living there for a year with this program. You can focus on East Mediterranean and European studies while enjoying the culture of Athens. Field trips and other travels to parts of Europe and Greece are included in your tuition. If you are interested in Athens and want to submerge yourself in Ancient Greek history or foreign languages, this is the program for you.
ISA Study Abroad in Sevilla, Spain – You can study abroad in the fourth largest city in Spain. There are various courses and lengths of time you can spend in Sevilla. Sevilla is a modern city with traditional highlights. It is easy to get around by bike or metro. You will be surrounded by flamenco dancing and tapas bars as you study in Sevilla. You can spend time biking along the Guadalquivir River taking in the sights and sounds of Sevilla. The largest Semana Santa celebration takes place in Sevilla which includes 12-hour long processions during Holy Week. They also celebrate Feria de Abril which is a festival with food and traditional dance. Come celebrate with the locals while earning some college credits.
Uppsala International Summer Session – This is a summer abroad program that takes place in Sweden. Your courses will range from two to nine weeks. You will learn the Swedish language, history, and culture. You can wander around the botanical gardens and visit the iconic gothic cathedral in Uppsala. You can find prehistoric burial mounds in Old Uppsala and fantastic food and museums throughout the city. You will enjoy your intensive language study program over the summer in Uppsala.

 

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot. Follow Jane on Twitter.