The goal of education is to fully prepare students to work with a business by preventing and dealing with loss. Loss can be taken from almost everywhere in a business but the most safeguarded area is finances. Finances are spread out through payroll, insurance, production, and more. Students that are interested in entering the field qualified should gain a bachelor’s degree or higher. Certificate and associate’s degree programs are available but the most common entered programs are at the bachelor’s degree level and the master of business administration level.

Students that can’t give a full four to six years to education can begin with a certificate or associate’s degree program. These programs allow students to step into the industry as consultant or financial managers. Schooling covers how to clearly identify business, financial, and insurance risks. Through the process of learning risk evaluation students are able to minimize risk and help the business gain higher monetary returns on financial decisions. A beginner’s course is risk assessment. This teaches students how to work with major business decisions by first examining potential risk factors. Students should expect to learn how to mange risk based on thorough examination of uncertainties. Although working through a certificate or an associate’s degree program is effective at entering the industry to become a risk manager most employers and careers require a bachelor’s degree.

In order to work with both individuals and businesses students should step into a bachelor’s degree program. Upon completion of a four-year degree students can expect to understand how to forecast risk, prevent financial loss, and generate effective plans to stabilize a business if it suffers a loss. An in depth education is to be expected as a typical program centers on risk management theory and techniques that help students comprehend loss and its effects. Economic theory, global business procedure, and business law are the focal points of education. A financial forecasting course teaches students how to develop strategies to implement in future risk situations. Examination of forecasting applications, earnings, and cost predictions prepare students to create workable strategies. Other courses within a bachelor’s degree include:

* Employee Benefits
* Corporate Risk Management
* Individual Financial Planning
* Business Communication

Risk management at the administration level needs to be entered by first completing a master of business administration with a concentration in risk management. Students learn advance procedures to handle general liability, property insurance, casualty insurance, and loss. Courses tackle management principles to prepare students for advanced jobs. A doctorate in risk management develops students understanding so they can teach and enter executive roles.

Learning how to help a business prevent loss by effectively controlling risk is a skill that is highly pursued. Study how to control risk by completing an accredited program today. Accreditation is provided by agencies like the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (http://www.aacsb.edu) to qualifying programs. Schools and colleges that can provide students with a quality education may qualify for full accreditation.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

Renata McGee is a staff writer for PETAP.org. Visit http://www.petap.org to locate Risk Management Schools and Colleges providing the education you’re looking for. PETAP.org, your Partners in Education and Tuition Assistance Programs.

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You just finished four important years in your life, and you’re about to start another four. Before you consider anything, you need to realize that your life is your own, and you need to do what’s best for you – not your parents, teachers, or friends, but you. It’s a great idea to ponder your future, and more importantly, how that school will help you achieve your desired future.

First off, think about which type of school you can get into. It’s a great idea to apply to a large array of different schools. For example, you should apply for some that you would love to get into but aren’t sure if you will, some that you are pretty sure you’ll get into, and lastly ones you’ll know you can get into.

Although academics and your studies are a significant part in the decision on where you want to go, you have to consider some other important factors. Only apply for the schools you would like to go to.

Consider the location of the eligible college. Do you want to live close to home, or far away? When will you be able to visit your family? If you’ve never been away from your family for a long period of time, you can be surprised at how much of an impact they have on your life.

With so many different schools, you will certainly have quite the huge selection. Just remember that only you can decide for you. It may be nice to take the advice of your parents, teachers, or friends, but you need to go with what your heart is telling you.

Lastly, debate the size of the school you want to go to. Do you want to go to a huge school, small school? Some schools have well over forty thousand people, and depending on your lifestyle and personality, that just might not be for you.

It’s a tough decision to make, but in the end, only you can make it. Research the schools, get a feel for them, and talk to others that went there. This will help you make one of your most important decisions in your lifetime.

Ryan Sachs has been writing about college for the past four years. He also likes to write about science-related subjects, such as how to use pH paper to test the pH levels in various substances.

Ryan Sachs

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With each passing school year, textbooks for college get more expensive. If you are planning on, or are currently attending university or college, you know that your textbooks are one of your biggest yearly expenses. Data shows that the average costs of course textbooks ranges in the area of $800 per year. Now add on to that an average yearly increase in cost of about 6%. Ouch! However, since your books are obviously an essential component of your education, there isn’t much you can do but fork over the money. Right? Well, you do need to spend the money, but there may be a few ways to cut your costs a bit.

Clearly, the best way to save money on your college books is to borrow them. Generally speaking, colleges and universities will have a fairly good stock of anything that is required reading. These books can be used on premises. Having said that, managing to be one of the long queue of students that want to borrow that actually gets what they want can be next to impossible. Maybe changing your study schedule could help, however. Find the off times that other students are busy with fun or other tasks, and see if the textbooks you need are on the shelf then. This may mean late evenings or weekends if your library is even open at these times.

Another thing you can try if you are struggling for money is to have a chat with your course professor. Professors have books. Lots of books. And at some point they may have acquired a copy of one of the textbooks you need. If so, see is they will allow you to borrow it for the time being. Doing this might help in another way as well. It could be that the entire book isn’t necessary for the course, but just a few chapters are. If this is the case, you may be able to make an arrangement with another student who has already purchased the book, and just borrow it from them for the time you need it. Or again, check to see if your college library has it. Either way, you can read the relevant chapters without having to pay the cost of the entire book.

Textbooks for college are expensive, but if you get creative, you just may be able to cut down on the expense just a little bit. Every penny counts, right?

Check out eMiscellany.com where we have a huge selection of informative articles on a variety of subjects including textbooks for college.

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The eight US Presidents that went to school at Harvard are:

1. John Adams – 2nd President of the United States (Harvard class of 1755)
2. John Quincy Adams – 6th President of the United States (Harvard class of 1788)
3. Rutherford B. Hayes – 19th President of the United States (Harvard Law class of 1845)
4. Theodore Roosevelt – 26th President of the United States (Harvard class of 1880)
5. Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) – 32nd President of the United States (Harvard class of 1904)
6. John F. Kennedy (JFK) – 35th President of the United States (Harvard class of 1940)
7. George Walker Bush – 43rd President of the United States (Harvard Business class of 1973)
8. Barack Obama – 44th President of the United States (Harvard Law class of 1991)

Rutherford B. Hayes (law school), George W. Bush (business school), and Barack Obama (law school) are the three men that have received graduate degrees and not undergraduate degrees from Harvard before going on to become President of the United States of America.

With eight alumni boasting the privilege of holding the highest office in the land Harvard has the high water mark when compared to any other university. In fact, the only group that has put more people in the White House is the not so prestigious grouping of US Presidents that did not attend college at all, of which there are nine.

The nine US Presidents that never enrolled in college are:

1. George Washington (1st President)
2. Andrew Jackson (7th President)
3. Martin Van Buren (8th President)
4. Zachary Taylor (12th President)
5. Millard Fillmore (13th President)
6. Abraham Lincoln (16th President)
7. Andrew Johnson (17th President)
8. Grover Cleveland (22nd President)
9. Harry S. Truman (33rd President)

Of the nine names listed immediately above the most curious to onlookers is probably that of Harry Truman who despite having high schools and a college named after him (Truman State University) Truman has the unique distinction of being the only twentieth century President to never go to college. President Truman was a two term Democrat President that was in office from 1945 to 1953 and will in all likelihood go down in history as the last man to hold the title of leader of the free world without a college diploma. The story of why Harry Truman did not attend college is because his poor eyesight kept him from attending West Point and financial constraints due to his modest upbringing preventing him from pursuing a degree anywhere that he would have to produce tuition.

Harry Truman became arguably the most influential twentieth century US President despite never receiving a degree from Harvard or anywhere else and perhaps instead of that seeming like a fluke it should serve as motivation to all folks that regardless of college admission letters and financial means any American can make a difference.

Rick finds alumni classifications fascinating and thinks it’s particularly interesting to ponder how many people in the oval office have put Harvard University wallpaper on the desktop background of a computer that sat on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. The answer to that question is probably somewhere from zero to two and in all likelihood is zero as Obama and George W both just went to grad school at Harvard.

If putting up Harvard University computer wallpaper is something of interest to readers of this article they are encouraged to visit Rick’s website to check out a wide assortment of choices. In fact, that offer stands for all colleges and not just Harvard.

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Are you an engineering student who is looking for a seminar topic to present? Or looking for a good project to execute in your final year? Being and engineering graduate I know the difficulty associated with presenting a seminar in front of your professors and colleagues. In your busy academic year, you hardly have the time to invest in making a good presentation or even in choosing an interesting topic. And when the deadline for your presentation is over and you are sweating in the seminar hall with your presentation which is missing many vital points, you will be wishing you had some source to obtain a ready made seminar data.

The last one year saw the development of many websites offering seminar topics and other presentation materials to engineering students. And most of them are administered by engineering students, may be for helping out their fellow juniors from the trouble of making a seminar or making a little income through pay per click programs. Whatever the reason may be, these websites are good sources of information. You can search these websites for seminars and presentations on various engineering topics like electronics, mechanical, computer science, medical engineering etc. These websites offer data that are down-loadable for free. These are ready made presentations which you can either modify if you want or directly present in front of your audience. These websites make the tiring job of preparing for a seminar very simple.

But like everything this too has a bad side. The down-loadable seminars offered by these websites are either been presented by other students of the previous years or are directly copied and sorted from other websites. Though they help to make a quick presentation, the quality of the content and its accuracy are questionable. Also is it expected from an engineering student to do a presentation that is not really his own? No, what is expected from him is to find resources, modify them, learn them and then present them. People attend seminars to learn something new, not to discover what is already discovered. Especially for a final year project, students have to come up with their own ideas, not someone else’s. Having easy availability of ready made seminars and presentations cease their ability to research and question, the essential qualities which are expected from engineers. It is these abilities that make people engineers and help them to invent something new, or modify what was already invented.

But on the bright side these materials are a good source of information. They contain various presentations taken in different colleges and universities all around the globe, which otherwise would be very difficult to access. Since most of them were already presented, they will be containing all the data you need to prepare for your presentation. You can download all the data you need, study them, make your own changes, create points, add something of your own and present them. This will reduce the pain of research and at the same time helps you to present a credible seminar.

See a sample site providing engineering Seminar Topics and Electronics Seminar Topics visit 101seminartopics.com.

My address is:
Mejason John.
#15cd, Rodeo Street
Cochin, 682 017
e-mail:cryon2007@gmail.com
Mob:9447843026

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Brown University has the distinct misfortune of consistently receiving the worst ranking amongst Ivy League schools in the highly regarded US News and World Reports rankings that are released annually. In the Best Colleges 2010 edition Brown came in at the number sixteen overall spot in terms of the most highly prized category of National Universities Rankings. For the 2010 rankings Brown finished one spot behind fellow Ivy League school Cornell University. Unfortunately for the good folks at Brown being affiliated with such a prestigious group as the Ivy League means accepting the reality that when competing in an objective ranking system with such highly regarded institutions at least one member will have to come in last place.

Being a top twenty American university (and in this specific instance a top sixteen university) is certainly no small feat. In fact, the case can easily be made that all of the top tier schools are outstanding institutions of higher education that provide tremendous resources for the brightest students on the planet. Parents all over the world would love to be able to give their children the opportunity to attend the top universities in America.

Brown University, located in Providence Rhode Island, has a storied history that dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days in a time before the United States of America even existed. Founded in 1764 by Baptist, Brown University has been both a proud member of the Colonial Colleges (recognizing the nine oldest North American institutions of higher learning) and the Ivy League which formally adopted the Ivy title only as recently as 1954 to distinguish the athletic conference in which eight academically focused members compete.

The eight schools that make up the Ivy League along with their 2010 US News and World Report ranking are:

1. Harvard University (tied for number 1: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
2. Princeton University (tied for number 1: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
3. Yale University (number 3: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
4. University of Pennsylvania (number 4: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
5. Columbia University (number 8: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
6. Dartmouth College (number 11: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
7. Cornell University (number 15: 2010 US News and World Report rank), and finally
8. Brown University (number 16: 2010 US News and World Report rank).

As evident by the co-number one spots (this year Harvard and Princeton) there are ties in the rankings. Also of note is the fact that clearly the Ivy League schools do not simply make up the entire list from positions one through eight. Sprinkled throughout the top sixteen spots are well respected non-Ivy League schools like:

• Stanford (number 4: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
• Duke (number 10: 2010 US News and World Report rank),
• Washington University in St. Louis (number 12: 2010 US News and World Report rank), and
• Johns Hopkins University (number 14: 2010 US News and World Report rank) among others.

Over the past ten years the US News and World Report rankings for Brown University have fluctuated while remaining in the teens during the last decade. Although Brown holds a ranking enviable by the vast majority of schools the position in the back of the Ivy League pack has led to some schools (like Brown) questioning the importance and validity of the rankings.In terms of addressing the concern as to the importance of these national rankings the only assertion that can be stated with absolute certainty is that no one knows exactly how big of a role these rankings play in terms of influencing which schools top students choose to attend. In an ideal world all students would have unlimited resources and the ability to become intimately familiar with the curriculum and environment of every college before making informed decisions about which settings best suit their personalities and meet their needs. The reality is that this utopia simply will never exist and for most prospective freshmen the closest they will get to understanding what programs are available is through what they learn in publications like the annual US News and World Reports rankings. While schools that are less than satisfied with their current ranking are more than happy to argue that the rankings are irrelevant the truth of the matter that these schools are at best in denial about the influence these rankings have on highly competitive teens that have been raised in an environment that instills a mentality of constantly striving for the highest grades and best test scores.

Regardless of how parents, students, or admissions offices feel about ranking colleges there are two points that are clearly indisputable:
(1) the debate over the ability of these rankings to accurately measure subjective issues will continue for quite some time and
(2) these rankings are here to stay.

The report derives its results from current attitudes of veterans as revealed from a number of government studies. In the educational year of 2007/2008, undergraduate veterans and servicemen who gained federal tuition perquisites were 15% more expected to attend college on a full time basis and 9% expected to attend a 4-year public college as compared to veterans and service men who did not gain the tuition benefits in any way. The report shows that in the same educational year, 43% of veterans and the servicemen attended 2-year public colleges, whereas 21% took classes in 4-year public institutions. Astonishingly, a stunning 13% part of the enrollment was into the private for-profit and non-profit colleges.

According to a survey, nearly half of the fresh veterans and servicemen referred to college tuition and fees as a highly influential factor in making choice for college enrollment. The GI Bill provides veterans of the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq with sufficient assistance to get enrollment in the most classy state universities and colleges.

The report, which derives its data from numerous government studies, bases its results on the understanding of recent veterans. In 2007-8, undergraduate veterans and service members who gained federal tuition benefits were 15 percentage points more anticipated to get full time enrollment in college and nine percentage points more likely to enroll in a four-year public college as compared to veterans and service members who did not earn the benefits. That year, around 43 percent of veterans and service members got enrolled in two-year public colleges, while 21 percent attended four-year public institutions. Private for-profit and nonprofit colleges both had around a 13-percent share of the enrollment.

Another government study shows that about half of recent veterans and service members surveyed referred to cost as a key factor in determining the college they want to attend. The new GI Bill, which was implemented on August 1, offers veterans of the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan with sufficient assistance to get enrollment in the most classy state universities and colleges.

According to Alexandria Walton Radford, the author of the report, these prolonged benefits are expected to push veterans to look for admission into more costly colleges chiefly if those institutions show openness to their demands.

As open as the report was, it fails to consider the influence that the prolonged tuition benefits could have on enrollment in private institutions and at the same time doesn’t take into account of any issues confronted by veterans transitioning into the education network; neither does it extend proposals as to the way colleges can be turned into more “veteran-friendly”.

Sheila Danzig is founder of Degree.com, http://www.degree.com and Career Consulting International, http://www.TheDegreePeople.com and BG Publishing International. Danzig holds a Bachelor’s degree from Hunter College of the City University of New York, a Masters degree from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, and a Doctorate from Universidad San Juan de la Cruz where he is currently a professor. Danzig has co-authored a paper on the acceptance of the 3-Year Indian degree which has been published at IMMIGRATION DAILY among other publications worldwide. The books she has written include, One Year to Your College Degree, The Big Book of College Scholarship and others.

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It is known to be one of the prominent universities in India and is considered among the largest universities in the world with students exceeding to more than 300,000. It a pride of India since it offers high standards in teaching and research.

Wishing to cope with the demand, in early seventies it initiated a new organization pattern which was based on the multi-campus concept. South Camus started in year 1973 with postgraduate programs in some departments of the Faculties of Arts and Social Sciences in a rented building. The construction of the East and West Campus followed then. The former is developed with the University College of Science while the West Campus will have an eye on Engineering and Technology.

The current Chancellor of the university is the Vice-President of India and Deepak Pental is the Vice Chancellor. Its former Vice Chancellors are: Dr. Hari Singh Gour which was the first Vice Chancellor and founder of University of Sagar, Professor Moonis Raza, Professor Singh and Professor Saroop Singh.

The University is also known for its distinguished alumni and faculties. The faculties of DU includes: Arts, Ayurvedic and Unani Medicine, Commerce and Business Studies, Education, International Discipline and Applied Science, Law, Management Studies, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences, Music and Fine Arts, Social Studies, Technology and Undergraduate Courses. But the faculties in Economics, English, Science and Hindustani Classical Music are the most the popular.
At present there are more than 80 colleges under the University of Delhi. The university is equipped with modern facilities that cater to the needs of every student. It has amenities in order to provide comfort to the students as well as to the school administrators and faculties. A bank and a post office are present in the school premises. There is also a Railway Reservation Counter and a D.T.C Bus Pass for the use of the University community. The University built Guest House that can be used by the University staff and administrators to house their guests. There is also a fine Coffee House that provides mouth watery foods. The University employees run the University Cooperatives that sells everyday items on discounted prices. Comprehensive health services are being provided by the WUS Health Center of the University. Other facilities are the Computer Center, University Science Instrument Center and the University Press.

The University has a very large population of students. However it is able to give the best services to all its students. The University made it a point to make their students active both in academic and non-academic subjects. It has a very active sports program that has updated facilities in basketball, archery, cricket, swimming and many more. Each college is required to have a Sport Program and because of hard work and dedication some of its students were proved to be outstanding in national and international levels. Delhi University also organized a Culture Council to promote cultural activities. DU believed that student governance is a vital part in a student’s life; they helped students organized a student council called Delhi University Students Union (DUSU).

It is no wonder why the Delhi University has been considered one of the best universities there is. It’s a university that would surely give a gigantic stepping stones for great success to their devoted students!

http://www.delhi-university.in

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Plus…I really like college students.

It’s one of the greatest times in life. When do any of us ever get to hang out with hundreds of friends for four, five…dare I say…six years? It’s like going to camp..except they give you homework and you have to read 800 pages a night.

So if I could sit you down, with a slow drip of coffee being shared between us (intravenously or by the cupful if you prefer), and share some ways that I believe you could not only make the most of your time in college, but really, really enjoy it and succeed at it – here’s what I’d say…

1. Meet people.

One day you’ll walk across a stage, and a very smart looking man or woman in a really nice, long, black gown will hand you a piece of paper that says “Bachelor” (even if you’re a girl!) on it. You’ll graduate from college. Do you know what you’ll remember most?

The relationships you’ve made.

My advice is to meet everyone you can. Be friendly. Smile. Talk to people (not in class…that could be dangerous). Go to places where people hang out and hang out with them. Your friends are what make college special.

Some day you’ll come back to campus as an alumni and the place will feel weird. It will feel different. That’s because all of the people that you were friends with during your college years aren’t there. It’s the same college, but different people. It’s the people that make your experience unique. You are going to make friends that you’ll have for the rest of your life.

Like I said earlier, I work at a University. My boss (yes…he’s smarter than me) is a good friend that I went to college all four years with. It’s been a great relationship for all this time. I don’t know of any other place you create these types of relationships at this age. So get out there. Get busy meeting people.

2. Talk to your professors.

This one continues on with the theme of number 1. Go ahead and do everything you can to meet your professors. Make an appointment with them as soon as it is possible in their schedule. I have discovered that I learned so much more from a professor when I had some kind of personal relationship with them.

Professors are people to. Respect their time and make sure you communicate clearly with them. Don’t waste their time with excuses for not doing the work or simply not showing up to class. The goal here is to establish some type of relationship.

Whenever I think about a subject or content I learned in college it is tied to the face of a professor. If I think of learning German – it’s McKinney; if it’s creative writing – Nelson; if it’s communication – Jackson. My knowledge came from a person more than it came from a book.

One of my favorite movies is Orange County. It’s a story about a high school senior that wants to get into Stanford. He’s enamored with the writings of a certain professor there. When he finally has the chance to meet the professor and sit down and talk with him, it changes his entire perspective. While those types of conversations might be rare in your experience because you go to a large University – seek them out anyway! They’ll be some of the best memories you take from your time in college.

3. If you need help ask for it.

One of the reasons you’re in college is because you don’t know everything. If you can learn to admit that, you’ll be ahead of most freshmen at your school.

Independence messes up most teenagers in that they want to do everything by themselves. So when a moment comes when they can’t do something or don’t know something, there’s an inner struggle. I encourage you to put the pride aside and ask for help.

If you need help in class, get a tutor. If you need directions to the financial aid office, ask for them. If you don’t know how to complete an application for an internship, look for someone who does.

Your school will have people that can proofread your papers, help you learn how to do your laundry the right way, and even give you some good advice on how to stay in shape (because we all need our health!).

Look at it this way: You will become smarter if you ask for help when you need it. If you don’t ask…you’ll remain ignorant. I’m not advocating that you shouldn’t try to find things out on your own. But there comes a time where you’ll discover that learning happens better in the context of “we” and not just “me.” And you might also discover that the best way to meet people is to simply ask, “Hi, would you mind giving me a hand with this?”

4. Get some sleep.

One thing that you have in common with every other person in the world is that each person needs to sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, bad things start happening to your mind and body. I know this is difficult to hear, and I’m probably beginning to sound a bit parental by saying this, but go to bed.

I’ve pulled my share of all-nighters. I’ve had to study, cram, write, and just get it done. I’ve also stayed up too late because I kept losing at Halo and had to play just one more game. Either way, it messed me up for the next day. My body had to play catch up. I wasn’t sharp. If you string enough late nights together, you are not going to be the learning machine that you need to be.

I know you’re young and invincible. But sleep is so necessary. Research says that a night of sleep deprivation is like being mentally impaired by the legal blood-alcohol level. When you don’t get adequate sleep, you’re body ages faster. Sleep also helps to relieve stress…so if you’re stressed out – you may simply need a good nap.

Ultimately, getting enough sleep is a matter of prioritization. Just because you CAN stay up, doesn’t mean you SHOULD stay up. You need to be mature enough to know when you need to get some sleep so that you can be an effective college student.

5. Get organized.

Everyone needs a plan to accomplish all of the things that are required of you in college. It is extremely easy to start living from event to event, assignment to assignment when you’re neck deep into your semester.

My number one piece of advice for getting organized – get a calendar and stick to it, live by it, and look at it everyday. Now there’s lots of types of calendars out there. I like to use Google Calendar. It’s online and I can access it from anywhere. Since I spend a fair bit of time on the computer, it’s always handy. Plus, I’ve got it linked up to my email and the datebook software on my Palm Treo. But that’s my way. I made a choice one day that Google Calendar was going to be MY calendar. You’ve got to decide and stick with it.

Some colleges will provide you with a paper-based calendar like a planner. This may include dates of important events for your college, key deadlines, and class schedules. If you are pen & paper minded, this may be the route for you. I also recommend the Moleskine planner. It’s smaller and easier to carry.

Once you’ve chosen your calendar, you need to get busy putting EVERYTHING into it. That’s right. Put every assignment, every deadline, every part of your extensive social commitments. Remember, you don’t want to be surprised. It’s a horrible feeling to realize that you had a vital paper due yesterday. At the beginning of each semester, sit down with all of your syllabi and fill in that calendar. Set reminders a few days before big projects come due. This will also help you to see when you will have difficult weeks with lots of obligations so you can get cracking ahead of time.

Now that you’ve chosen a calendar, put all your information in it, you’ve got to manage it. At the start of each week, look over the week ahead. KNOW WHAT’S COMING! If you only look at each day as it arrives, you’ll miss opportunities to be excellent.

That’s the beauty of being organized. It creates space for you to do your best work. You know when something is coming and you make the appropriate time to do your best.

6. Have a lot of fun.

This is one of the best parts of college. You are going to have a ton of fun…especially if you follow the other pieces of advice in this article. College is one of the funnest experiences you will ever have. You are living with a lot of other like-minded people who are in the same situation that you’re in. It’s like Survivor (especially in the school cafeteria), but no one gets voted off the island.

I laughed a lot in college. I liked to hang around people who made me laugh and didn’t take themselves so seriously. There were lots of events to attend. My buddies and I would take some great roadtrips during the breaks. There is a lot of freedom to do a lot of things while you’re in college. I chose to have as much fun as was humanly possible.

The other benefit of having fun is that it makes incredible memories. I can remember some phenomenal pranks that have become lore at the college I attended (I won’t say what it is or my own level of involvement because the statute of limitations has yet to expire). While I didn’t play sports in college, I was an intramural animal.

Also, I don’t want you to get the impression that all of the fun occurred outside of the classroom. When you discover what you’re unique strengths are and land in a major that falls in line with your passions, learning becomes tremendously fun. I can remember projects and classes that I really enjoyed and looked forward to them. I think there were some professors who really made learning fun.

I guess with any aspect of college you can make the choice to have fun or to stress out. I encourage you to choose fun – even in the midst of hard work.

7. Get involved.

During the first semester of college, I joined a fraternity. I had to do some really silly things (I have fond memories of onions and “thank you sir, may I have another.”) to join this group, but it changed my entire college experience. When you arrive on campus, there will be a lot of ways that you can get involved in college besides going to class.

Your college has multiple organizations that are centered around social or academic themes. There are clubs and councils that are always looking for new members. You may have a bent toward student leadership and I encourage you to jump in and apply for those positions. It has been proven that those students who get involved in extracurricular activities have a better college experience. They also have a stronger attachment to their school when they become alumni.

I can remember our graduation day from college. When it came time to announce the valedictorian for our class they introduced a student whom none of us recognized. Now don’t get me wrong here…I want you to do all that you can to get good grades and pass your classes. But for our graduating class – the person with the best GPA was an anonymous person. He wasn’t involved in anything. We didn’t know who he was.

Now hear me out. My GPA wasn’t stellar, but I did graduate with a 3.6 in all of my major classes. Not bad. But I also was the Student Body President, was in a fraternity, joined many clubs, worked Security, and lived in a dorm all four years. I wouldn’t trade that for a four-point-whatever and be anonymous.

8. Handle money wisely now.

Right off the bat I must tell you – watch out for credit cards. It is the easiest thing in the world to get suckered into a credit card offer and start charging things on the plastic. Here’s the catch – you have to pay it all back – with interest.

My advice to you is to avoid the credit card route at all costs while you’re in school. I know that it’s probably unavoidable, so just use them for emergency purposes. Get a card with a LOW limit. Pay those things off every month. If you find you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t be using them. Most college students leave college with debt. There’s the necessary kind that comes from student loans. But it’s really hard to graduate in a financial hole because you have credit card debt.

With the money you do actually have, I think it’s wise to learn how to budget. Start a savings account. Learn how to balance your checkbook and do that every month. Bounced checks are no fun. The goal here is to live within your means. You may not have as much as other students. That’s alright. You are a college student and you’re supposed to be broke.

If you are in desperate need of cash, go to your college’s career center. They typically have a listing of odd jobs that students can do to get some income. Another thing you can do is to benefit from the ability to borrow rather than own. You don’t have to personally have everything, just know some of the people that do. When you live in a dorm, you begin to understand how easy it is to share. I remember that I looked better in my roommate’s sports jacket than he did. Don’t be a mooch. But learn to share what you have with others and you’ll find that they’re more willing to share what they have with you.

If you spend less money than you bring in…you’ll be in good shape.

9. Learn to write well.

One of the lessons I’ve learned from Scott Ginsberg is that “writing is the basis of all wealth.” I think he’s on to something there. I would add that writing is the basis of your success in college. While you are a college student, you will read A LOT. But you will also be required to write A LOT. Your writing skills are a KEY factor in how your work will be perceived by a professor.

You can have the best content in the world, but if you aren’t able to deliver that through good writing, your work will get lost in the translation. I am surprised how many college students can’t spell, don’t know how to structure a sentence properly, and use poor grammar. If you struggle with writing, then I encourage you to re-read #3. You must get this one down.

One of the reasons that I started this site (CollegeStudentsRule!.com) is to help college students become better communicators. If you can write better, your work will be better. If your work is better, your grades will be better. I realize that you may be the best person in your class at text messaging…but those little acronyms don’t hold up too well under a professor’s scrutiny.

Along with writing, I would encourage you to take a typing course. The computer is here to stay and if you are typing with two fingers, you’re wasting time. I think that you should work to be able to type at least 60 words a minute. Faster would be even better. Can you type without looking at the keyboard? This is a skill that won’t only benefit you in college, but in the workforce as well.

One final note on writing well is in regards to proofreading. Please don’t type out a paper and print it out and turn it in. Think in terms of drafts. If you turn a first draft into a professor, he or she will know that it’s a first draft. This post that I’m writing won’t be published until the third or fourth draft. It would be even better if you could get someone else to proofread your work. That person will probably catch mistakes that you can’t see.

10. Get out of the country you’re in.

This is an idea that is becoming more and more realistic in our day and age. At our University, opportunities to study abroad are growing each year. We also offer short-term mission opportunities to other countries. There are so many ways for students to experience other cultures.

Our world is becoming more globally focused. In some ways it’s shrinking. Companies are branching out across national boundaries. Any type of experience you can have outside of your home country will benefit you in your career and perspective on life. If you can get somewhere…go for it. You are young and you don’t have many of the responsibilities yet that could tie you down to your local geographical area.

I understand that some of you may have difficulty (financially or otherwise) getting out of your country. If that’s the case, find ways to learn about other cultures (watch the National Geographic Channel). But nothing beats actually going there and walking on foreign soil and being immersed in another culture.

11. Keep growing.

It may seem obvious to you that you would be growing since you’re in college. But I meet a lot of college students who gain knowledge, but don’t gain growth. I guess I’m talking about maturity. There are many experiences that you’ll have in college that can help you to grow up if you’ll let them.

Current research says that adolescence is being pushed farther out – to the mid 20’s. They are calling it delayed adulthood. Many young adults are simply pushing back some of the major decisions: marriage, career, home purchasing, etc – to later in life. But being young doesn’t mean you have to be immature.

There are many ways to grow outside of the classroom. Life has a way of providing it’s own type of classroom. Each of us has an opportunity to grow emotionally, relationally, spiritually, psychologically, and physically. Take the experiences you have in life and spend time reflecting on how you can use those to become a better person. Growth isn’t an automatic process. It takes work and it takes time. Use these exciting years in college to develop yourself.

It’s exciting to watch Seniors walk across the stage at graduation and remember what they were like when they came in as Freshman. There is so much potential that is wrapped into each one. I love being apart of the process of unlocking that potential during their time in college. That’s why I’ve written this article. If there’s something here that you find helpful, then I’ve succeeded. As with any list, there’s so much more that could be added.

Tim Milburn develops student leaders through his organization, Studentlinc. Please visit Studentlinc at http://www.studentlinc.net. You can subscribe to the Studentlinc blog by following this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/studentlinc. Also, check out Tim’s latest project College Students Rule!

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Basics Part I

There are three types of financial aid for college: grants or scholarships, loans and work-study.

Grants and scholarships are free money that you do not need to pay back.

Most grants and scholarships come from the federal and state government or from the individual college.

Loans need to be paid back after college.

There are many loan programs available from the federal and state government. Most of these loans have fairly low interest rates. There are also private loans available although these generally have a higher interest rate.

Work-study is a job offered on the campus of the college.

Basics Part II

Need based aid vs Merit based aid

Need based aid is given by all colleges to students who have need. Anyone who can’t pay the full cost of the college has need.

A form called the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) determines the amount of need for federal grants and scholarships. Many highly selective colleges also require a form known as the Profile form The FAFSA form is filled out after January 1 of the year the student will first attend college.

The FAFSA and Profile forms ask questions about the income of the parents and student using information that you gave on your tax returns. These forms also ask questions about the amount of money you have in savings or investments. The Profile form is more detailed than the FAFSA form. Once these forms are completed the government uses the FAFSA form to determine how much your family can pay for college. This is your expected family contribution or your EFC. Your EFC is the same regardless of the cost of the college. Similarly the individual colleges who use the Profile use that form to determine what your family can pay for college.

Your need is the cost of the college you are looking at minus your EFC. For example, if you are looking at a college that costs $20,000 a year and your EFC is $5,000, your need at that college is $15,000. If you are looking at a college that costs $40,000 a year your EFC is still $5,000. Your need at this college is $35,000.

Merit-based aid includes scholarships typically for students who have good grades or have some other special talent such as athletic or musical talent. Most highly selective colleges offer little or no merit-based aid.

Finally, in looking at colleges you should ignore the cost of the college. Yes, you read that right. Ignore the stated cost of the college when you are first deciding which colleges to investigate further. You will see why later in this article.

So now you know the basics. Now comes the fun part: How to save money by asking the right questions.

Questions to ask the colleges

Question 1- What percent of my need do you meet?

Remember that EFC, or expected family contribution that the FAFSA determined? Some colleges will meet 100% of your need. Need again is defined as the cost of the college minus your EFC. So what does it mean if a college says they will meet 100% of your need? It means that once the FAFSA or Profile form has determined how much you can pay for college, the college will pay 100% of the rest of the bill.

Colleges will typically meet the need you have using a combination of grants, loans and work study. Most colleges will award work study and loans first and if there is a need after that, the remaining need will be supplied by grants. The colleges will typically have a standard loan and work study amount that they award and you should ask about what these numbers are when investigating the college.

Let’s see an example of a financial aid award from a college that provides 100% of need with a student who has an EFC of $5,000.

Total cost of college $40,000

Expected family contribution $ 5,000

Need $35,000

Financial aid award

Work study $ 2,000

Loans $ 4,000

Grants $29,000

At a college that meets 100% of your need you pay $5,000.

But what happens if the college doesn’t meet 100% of need? Many less selective colleges don’t pay the total amount of need that their students have. Let’s use the example of our imaginary college from above only this time assume that the school only provides 90% of need.

Total cost of college $40,000

Families expected contribution $ 5,000

Need $35,000

This college only provides 90% of the $35,000 need or $31,500. Thus, your out of pocket expenses are the $5,000 EFC plus an additional $3,500 for a total cost of $8,500.

This example makes it easy to see why a school that meets 100% of need is often a better financial aid deal than a school who doesn’t meet all of the families need.

Many of the most expensive private colleges meet 100% of the students need while cheaper public colleges usually meet less than 100% of the need. This means that for many students it can be cheaper to go to an expensive private college than to attend a cheaper state school. Until you know what percent of need the college meets, don’t eliminate a college from consideration just because it is expensive.

Question 2- Do you have merit based aid?

Many colleges that don’t meet 100% of a students need do offer scholarships for some students. If your student is near the top of the application pool for a less selective college they may get some money if they qualify for merit based aid. Thus, in some cases, if the student is willing to look at a less selective college, they may get a better financial aid package. Here are some questions you should ask if the college provides merit aid.

How many merit awards are available?

What is the value of the merit awards available?

What are the qualifications to receive one of these merit awards?

This works even for families that don’t qualify for need based aid at all. If your student can qualify for a merit based award you won’t need to pay the full stated cost of the college.

Question 3- How is financial aid determined after the first year?

Some colleges have a policy of providing good financial aid for the first year and then substantially reducing the grant aid in the following years while increasing the loans. You should ask the college in which you are interested how they determine financial aid after the first year and what the average loan is after the first year. While it is typical that the amount of loans will increase each year if the increase is substantial you will want to take that into consideration.

Question 4- What is the average loan amount at graduation of those students who have loans? This question will give you the best indication of the amount of loans that this college requires compared to other colleges in which you may be interested. Although most students will have some loans when they graduate, you don’t want this amount to be any more than necessary.

Question 5- What is your policy regarding outside scholarships?

Most colleges will subtract money earned in outside scholarships from your financial aid package. Some colleges will reduce the loan burden by the amount of the scholarship, but other colleges will reduce your grant money. If the college reduces the amount of loans you have to take out that is a benefit to you. There is no benefit to you if the college reduces the grant aid.

Question 6- What is your packaging policy?

Most colleges give a financial aid package that includes grant money, loans and work study. But each college combines this money differently. Specifically you want to know:

What percentage of an aid package from your college is grant vs. self-help (loans, work study)?

The greater amount of grants versus loans and work study the better for the student.

Do you have a preferential packaging policy?

Preferential packaging occurs when a college gives a better financial aid package to a student with a stronger academic profile than to another student with the same financial need but with less academic credentials.

Question 7- What is your four year graduation rate?

What difference does a college’s four year graduation rate make? This is an important question that many people never consider. Another way to phrase this is, How many years of college am I going to have to pay for? If the college has a high four year graduation rate, you will most likely only have to pay for four years of college. However, if the college graduates most students in six years then you can plan on paying for six years of college, not four.

Conclusion

Now that you know something about financial aid, including the questions to ask each college you are considering, you can make an informed decision in paying for a college education and hopefully also save some money.

Todd Johnson, a lawyer and college consultant, is the principal college admission consultant for College Admissions Partners. Todd provides personalized service to help students and families through the complete college admissions and financial aid process. He can be reached through the website College Admissions Partners

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