August 10, 2010

Everyone has their own ideas about how, when and even why seniors should submit their college applications. Take a look at the reaction of admission professionals to a student who submitted his application only three hours after the application became available. In this case the early bird will have to wait with all the other birds to have a chance at getting the worm.

Wondering if your Child is Being Adequately Prepared for College?

Wish you Could Afford a Private School Education for your Child?

Join Us For an Informational Open House Meeting

On Thursday, July 29, at 7pm, your invited to join our Informational Seminar for The New College Preparatory Academy.  You will meet Dr. Kuni Beasley, the Academy’s founder and current Dean, and Debbie Elder, the Executive Director. They will share the vision behind The New College Preparatory Academy, and how it works in a local setting.

Location and Map to the Event

The meeting will be held at the home of Mary Beth & Jerry McNamara, 519 Little River Court, Richmond Texas  77406 (click on address for link to a Google Map).  Light refreshments will be served.

The Best Decision you Can Make for Your Child’s Education — Find Out More!

We encourage you to attend and bring your student (grades 6-12).  We’re confident that you will be excited about the difference The New College Preparatory Academy can make for your child!

Spaces are Limited so Reserve your Spot today!

To RSVP, or to ask any questions, please call our tollfree number: 1-866-429-5951.

I recently saw a commercial on TV that really set me off.  It was for a women’s multi-vitamin, and the tagline was “There’s complete, and then there’s most complete.”  This is the kind of blatant misuse of the English language that gets students in trouble on the SAT all the time.  Isn’t MOST complete actually less than complete?  Imagine you’re an astronaut (yes, I know, some of you out there reading this actually ARE astronauts… bear with me) and the Flight Director comes into the briefing and says, “For this mission we’re going to send you up in the most complete shuttle we’ve got.” Time to head for the door, right?  It’s like being mostly dead or a little bit pregnant.  Most complete is not complete.

I tell my family on a regular basis that specific words in the English language have specific meanings.  Every time I hear someone say that a book is ‘entitled’ I cringe… (Really…? Entitled to what??  Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness???) A good vocabulary is essential to not only doing well on the SAT and ACT but also in life.

Making a Waitress Cry

I was having lunch many years ago with a colleague of mine from Great Britain, named Paul Wofford. We were at a little pub in Georgetown just outside of Washington, D.C. and as he placed his order for fish and chips in his heavy, cockney flavored accent he also ordered two bottles of wine – one for each of us.  God bless the British and their wonderful customs… but I digress.  The waitress, probably a student at George Washington University, giggled and said, “That’s so cute!  You mean a glass, right?”   Paul’s face immediately became clouded.  He stood up, and in a voice that was anything but quiet, exclaimed “Last I checked, Love, we INVENTED the [expletive omitted] LANGUAGE!  I said bottles and I meant bottles!”  Everyone in the restaurant turned and stared. The little waitress stammered an apology, spun around and ran into the kitchen.  Two minutes later the manager appeared and asked us to leave.  We ended up eating at McDonald’s instead.

Lexiphany… huh?

It was funny at the time, it’s funnier to me now, and it illustrates a point.  Specific words have specific meanings. Superior command of the English language is important and, at the risk of sounding lexiphanic, it makes your conversations more saporous and engenders ataraxia, especially while writing an admissions essay. For those of you who may accuse me of sciolism, or allege my writing pleonastic, it is without jactation that I assure you I regularly enjoy studying vocabulary until lippitude.  [grin]

Note:  To view in full screen mode, find the tool bar below the video and click on the button with the 4 red arrows.
 

To find out more about the Discover System and how we can help you plan and pay for college. Email us at info@college-financial.com or call (281) 822 -6200.

It is a personal choice whether one seeks employment with or without a college degree. But, does a degree really matter?

Sheryl Decker, director of career services at Brown Mackie College – South Bend says, “A degree is the most important investment you can make in yourself. America is not a manufacturing society anymore, and education is key to obtaining employment in today’s increasingly competitive marketplace.”

Martha Schottelkotte, director of career services at Brown Mackie College – Cincinnati concurs. “At every orientation session, we challenge students to look at education as an investment in future earnings and income potential,” she says. “Their success depends on how they decide to invest in themselves.”

“The earning potential over a lifetime is vastly different with each level of education achieved,” says Schottelkotte. “It translates to a potential of an extra $300 to $400 a week, which goes well beyond keeping a cell phone turned on. Students begin to think in terms of paying off loans, taking a vacation, or saving for a down payment on a house. It speaks to a difference in lifestyle that a degree offers.”

A bigger paycheck is not the only reason for getting a degree. Both Schottelkotte and Decker note additional benefits a degree offers. “A degree enriches their lives,” Schottelkotte remarks, “and self-esteem grows from the sense of accomplishment.”

The college experience opens doors to more than book learning. “Our students get hands-on laboratory experience in our many different programs,” says Decker. “Challenges are built into the coursework. Students are exposed to experts in their field of study, and given excellent networking opportunities.”

Student enrollment across the country reflects the diversity in the workplace itself. “We’re seeing kids out of high school in class with some who have worked at a factory for 30 years,” Decker notes. “With so many plants closing, people find themselves starting over with a new career path.” Schottelkotte adds, “Our students are real people with real-life commitments looking for the means to take their lives to the next level. An associate’s degree can be affordable, in both financial investment and time commitment. They come to college to increase their marketability, raise their chance for promotion, and of course, to earn more money.”

For more information on the benefits of a college degree, visit BrownMackie.edu.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

“Forget U.S. News’s academic rankings and Playboy’s party-school list. For some prospective college freshmen, here’s the important question: Will I make more money if I go to Harvard, or if I go to Harvey Mudd?

PayScale, a site that collects data on salaries for different professions, argues that it can help students answer that question. Today the company is releasing an updated, gigantic data set on the salaries of graduates from hundreds of universities and colleges, as well as salaries and career choices broken down by department/major. READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE

To be honest, part of me wants to agree with this measure.  After all, college is a serious investment of time and money. However, part of me also wants to argue that there is more to life than getting the biggest salary. I’ve known too many people who had great paying jobs but only lived after 5:00 pm and on weekends.  I’ve also know people who have graduated from colleges that are not even “on the map” and have risen to lucrative salaries at the top of Fortune 100 Corporate America.

Bottom line:  Averages are only useful if you want to be average.  Proceed with caution and take into consideration all the tools available to you. Then build a life that is above average.

In his February 19, 2009 article, Mossberg writes:

“… there’s a new, free Web site that, while overseen by paid editors, is built on lively content submitted by current students at the colleges. The information isn’t just words and numbers, but includes numerous photos and videos for most schools. You also can create a small social network of people interested in the same schools or who share other common traits.

In other words, this is a college-information resource built for the age of YouTube and Facebook.

The site, Unigo.com, costs nothing to use and supports itself with ads. Although it’s only a few months old, it already covers about 250 colleges and universities, and claims to average dozens of student-created reviews, photos and videos for each college. Its sophisticated search engine lets applicants comb all this material to find just what applies to them. For example, Unigo would let you see all content relevant to an Asian-American female applicant with conservative political views.” READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE

Give it a try and let us know what you think?

Click on the picture to register for one of our upcoming workshops

or

Call (281) 822 – 6200 or email info@college-financial.com

If you are the parent of a student preparing for the SAT, you have to see this…

My friend, National SAT Prep Expert, Dr. Kuni Beasley of NEW American School has a solution for scoring higher on the SAT that atually makes sense…

While other “experts” try to get you to spend big bucks on courses that take around 6 weeks to complete (they’re trying to re-teach students high school!), Dr. Beasley has created a system that is GUARANTEED to increase your student’s SAT score by at least 100 points!

And the real sweet part of the deal…

His system is on video and takes less than two hours to complete!

In this day and age when students have less time than ever, that’s a huge bonus! In less time that it takes to watch most movies, your student can have all the information he or she needs to get an extra 5 points on the ACT

So click the link below to get more details, and if you talk to Dr. Beasley, make sure to tell him I sent you…

Click HERE To Find Out More