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Trinity Western University is a private liberal arts university. The school, located in Langley, British Columbia, was recently rated by the Globe and Mail (sort of like the Canadian version of the US News and World Report publication) as one of the best universities in all of Canada.
Trinity Western University requires a handful of "core" classes for all college students to take.
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Welcome to your senior year in high school. You've been working over a decade to get to this point in your academic career, and now it has finally arrived. You've got a year full of easy classes, field trips, dances, parties, senior cut days, driving your car to school for the first time, and trying to make sure you don't lose touch with friends when you head off to college.
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Some people are not able to attend a four year college or university. Luckily there are business/trade schools located throughout the nation. Bradford School of Business in Pittsburgh is one of those business schools.
Rather Than a University
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When deciding on a college to attend, you may be tempted to start out at a university because you think the university will be superior to a community college. This is exactly what I thought, but I ended up attending a community college anyway. There were a few reasons I ended up choosing a community college. Community colleges do not have a drawn out admissions process that takes several months and a community college has smaller classes. I was accepted to several universities, but I’m so glad I chose a community college to start out with and here’s why.
1. Smaller Classes: Rather than going to a university and sitting with 30 – 40 other students, why not attend a community college and have classes with as few as 9 other students? I have four classes this semester, at my local community college, and none of my classes have more 10 students. In fact, my community college will not allow more than 15 students into a class. That’s something to heavily consider because if there are a lot of students, it may be hard to get the help you need from an instructor.
2. Cheaper Tuition: A community college is a great place to start out because the tuition is so much cheaper than it is at a university. At the universities I’ve looked at, you can expect to pay around $3,200 per semester, while at a community college you will pay around $1,000 per semester. Why pay that much for electives and other classes you don’t want to take (such as College Algebra), when you could pay much, much less?
3. Class Availability: Classes fill up quickly at a university. When attending a community college, you will be able to get the classes and schedule you wantt. At a university it is a constant fight to get into certain classes.
4. Instructors: 99% of the instructors I’ve had, at my community college, were more than helpful and did everything they could to make sure my semester was a good one. Because the class size is so much smaller, at a community college, you will have access to your instructors. Instructors are available for a one on one discussion and are happy to help you with any problems you may be having with the course.
5. Parking: Here’s a little secret that I learned about one of the biggest universities in America and it is also true for most other universities as well. Universities sell more parking tags than they have parking spots. What’s that mean to you? Well, it means you may not have a place to park. At most community colleges, you are just required to have a tag or sticker, but you are not designated to a certain spot. You can park anywhere on campus and there are always parking spots to be found.
6. Programs: Getting into the program of your choice, it much easier if you start out at a community college. For example, if you do a pre-major at my community college, you are guaranteed to get into that program at the university you will be transferring to. Why is that? That’s because you have proven yourself by making it through the courses at the community college and graduating. When you try to get into a program without going to a community college, you will have to take all sorts of tests, fill out several applications, and meet with advisors of that program just to see if the university will let you in.
7. Financial Aid: Colleges only have so much financial aid funds to reward. When attending a university, there may be a few thousands people competing for those funds. At a community college there are a lot of people who will be trying to get financial aid, but there will be a lot less of them and community colleges work very hard to make sure those who need aid receive it.
8. Smaller Campus: Getting use to a college campus is intimidating no matter where you go, but a community college campus is much smaller than a university campus. If need be, you would have no trouble making it across a community college campus for your next class. A university campus is a different story all together. A community college campus will help you get use to the campus feel.
9. Close to Home: The university you want to attend might be in a different state. You may not be ready to leave home, so why not start out at a community college that is close to your home? That way you can get your electives out of the way and when you transfer to a university you will have an easier time getting into your program of choice.
10. Get Ready: All and all, a community college prepares you for a university. If anything a community college saves you money. Many students change their mind a few times before finally deciding on a major. If you’re at a community college, all those changes will cost you a lot less.
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The choice of what to major in after you've earned that sacred admissions letter can be a daunting task. Chances are you have dozens of options in front of you and a lot of them could fit into your goals.
Although this article was written to appear before the start of fall classes, the information is relevant any time. - ca
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This is the season where many giddy high school seniors and their nerve-wracked parents are preparing for college. College is a wonderful experience, no doubt, but here are some tips for the college bound to make the transition a little smoother.
1.Do not bring 8 boxes worth of stuff to a dorm.
You Can Skip the Unmerciful SAT Tests and Still Get into Your Favorite College
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In 1964, I was "graduated", if you can call it that, second from bottom in my highs school class of 46 students. It is not that English, history, math or science were my enemies, but my family problems pretty much precluded my studying with any emphasis.
What College Admissions Officers are Really Looking For
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Admissions officers look at some specific information when they decide who wins and loses in the admissions game. According to Eric Pimberton, a former admissions officer at Boston College, there are several big factors that make or break an admissions decision.
Distance Learning is the Coming Thing
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Among other benefits, the Internet has made education available to people who cannot or don't wish to, attend regular college classes. So many colleges, universities and trade schools offer courses that researching and choosing among them may mean weeks or even months of work.
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Any college you go to there are easy and hard courses, as well as professors. Many times the professor is what makes the course easy or hard. The easy courses help take stress off of the student, but sometimes the course can be a little too easy.
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I am an online student with Kaplan University. My education is costing me and the government a LOT of money, but I intend to finish my undergrad studies and part of my grad studies with Kaplan. I like the school.
What College Admissions Officers are Really Looking For
Provided By: Associated Content, Inc.
Admissions officers look at some specific information when they decide who wins and loses in the admissions game. According to Eric Pimberton, a former admissions officer at Boston College, there are several big factors that make or break an admissions decision.
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Ten not-often-considered factors when picking a college
Deciding what college to attend, or even to apply to, usually involves some combination of school prestige, cost, and how good the tour guide was.
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Ten not-often-considered factors when picking a college
Deciding what college to attend, or even to apply to, usually involves some combination of school prestige, cost, and how good the tour guide was.
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When it comes time to select a major in college, many college students feel the need to choose between pursuing their passion and the ability to earn a living. Some college students face family pressure to major in an area that is a perceived stepping stone to a high paying job.
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Choosing to go to graduate school and to get an advanced degree in your chosen field of study can be a trying process. Not only is there the uncertainly inherent to anything you have never done before, going to graduate school entails becoming a part of the professional academic world in your chosen field.
There Are Many Resources to Help You Find Graduate School Options. .
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Psychology undergraduate students have a lot to worry about. They're getting ready to take the GRE, focusing on deciding what they want to do after college, all while keeping their grade point average up throughout the entire school year.
We all know that furthering your education can open up opportunities that you would not otherwise have. And there is no better way to further your career pospects than by earning a degree or taking college courses to refine and expand your skills. In fact studying for an online degree can revolutionize your future.
Unfortunately most people find it difficult to study when they need to earn money. So traditional college courses are not an option for many people. Or if they are, they are often much too expensive or time consuming.
Earning your degree online has changed all that. Distance education has been with us for many years, but the development of the internet has created an explosion in online study. Many people who have not been able to attend college to study for their degree now have the chance to earn a degree from home.
Advantages of Online Study and Online Degrees
First, studying for an online degree is incredibly convenient. Your classroom is your home office or living room and you can work on your online degree any time of the day or night -- on the weekend, before breakfast or in the middle of the night.
Second, when you study for an online degree you eliminate the tiresome and expensive commute that is part of traditional college study. Earning an online degree makes commuting a thing of the past.
Third, online degree students have access to a very wide range of resources. Not only can you use the entire internet as your library and research center, but most online degree programs make professors and teaching aids readily available. Correspondence takes place by email, and often students can participate in online forums with other students having similar interests or studying the same courses.
Fourth, there is tremendous variety. You are not restricted to courses offered by the local college. You can study for your online degree through a school down the street or a college on the other side of the world.
Fifth, you can usually work at your own pace. You are not locked into attending physical classes, so your pace of study will be much more flexible.
Sixth, your online degree course of study will usually be much less expensive than traditional classroom-based courses of study. Online degree programs do not involve classrooms, labs or physical buildings, so the costs are much lower.
Finally, there are many resources on the internet that can help you choose the best online degree course of study. Online degree directories list thousands of programs in every conceivable area of study, making your access to online degree information unlike anything we have known in the past.
For more information pay a visit to this Online Degree Directory
Article by by Rick Hendershot, Review-of-the-Week.com and courtesy of Article-Wiz Article Directory . Rick Hendershot is a writer and marketing consultant who also publishes The Linknet Advertising Network, offering advertising and link opportunities to online marketers.
We’re a couple weeks into 2008, and I’m making a different kind of resolution this year: to embrace the unexpected. Because life never goes quite the way we plan, does it?
Take your career path, for instance. A path is just that–one of many roads you might take. There’s no telling whether you’ll backtrack or walk the straightaway for miles. Because, unlike my street and countless others in NYC, a career path is not a one-way trajectory. You can go back and forth and in circles, too. It’s messy, just like the rest of life. Even if you have an idea what you want, it can still end up looking a lot different than the way you initially pictured it.
I was an interpersonal communications major in college because I like people and I like words. Did I know where that would take me? Not at all. But it’s been an interesting journey.
My first job out of college was waitressing; I needed a way to pay the bills while I figured out where I was headed next. Turns out I was headed to a microenterprise development organization, then a ministry to mothers of preschoolers, then an alumni office of a college I didn’t attend, then a law office, then a business forms company, and then I was out of work for a little while. Call it a breathing period.
In the midst of all this I applied to a graduate program in counseling, thinking therapy was where I was headed (as the practitioner–not the patient!). I wasn’t accepted into the program, which was a bummer at the time. I didn’t know which direction to go next.
But that closed path opened up a handful of new opportunities. I began writing for a small magazine, then editing, and it wasn’t long before I knew that I had found my niche. I didn’t wake up with the dread I had felt going to other jobs, and I was learning so many new skills.
I’m still writing and editing today, six years later. Maybe I could have known where I was headed years ago, but it’s OK that I didn’t know. I’ve had fun along the way. Like the Dixie Chicks, I’ve been taking the long way.
I don’t know what 2008 will hold for my career and my life, but I do know that the journey will be full of surprises.
Which path will you take in 2008?
By Dawn Papandrea and courtesy of CollegeSurfing Insider.
How important are grades, test scores, and extra-curricular activities to colleges? I want the breakdown in percentages.
If only college admissions were like a beauty pageant: 20% for personality, 30% for 10-second answer about dream to end world hunger, and 50% for how you fill out a swimsuit. It would make your life as a high school student easier because you would know exactly how you would be evaluated. Unfortunately, there is no magical formula that colleges use. We do know that academic ability as measured by grades is the most important factor in admissions. But many other factors carry weight too: test scores, honors and awards, recommendations, leadership, and extra-curricular activities to name a few. Our advice is to make grades your highest priority. Prepare for the standardized tests as much as possible. Get involved in activities that you enjoy. Spend time investigating which colleges match you and on your applications. This is not a magical formula, but it is a combination that colleges value.
Article By Gen and Kelly, and courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com
Provided By: Associated Content, Inc.
With the industry becoming more and more complex due to consolidation, advances in technology and supply chain management issues, owners, executives and managers are looking for highly skilled employees in order to effectively manage their operations.
The Certificate for Automotive Entrepreneurs and Leaders (CAEL) from the W.
With competition increasing by each passing year, many college applicants are looking into special programs that allow students to pursue a specific course of study straight out of high school. The merits of such programs have always been a point of discussion, but for the right student, a special program of study can enhance his or her college experience immensely.
Special programs are offered by large and small schools alike although there are some that are better known than others. Many of the programs have agreements with graduate schools, giving students a conditional acceptance to the graduate school and sometimes accelerating the time it takes to complete an advanced degree.
Is it for you?
Traditionally, special programs within a college or university tend to be more competitive than the application to the school alone. A student with a proven interest in the specific area of study will usually have a much greater chance of matching well with the program and securing admission.
Although acceptance into the program is what is likely on your mind, you should also consider that a student with only mild interest is setting himself up for a struggle, especially if the program penalizes students who quit.
Most students aren't in special programs and many don't have any idea what they want to study in college as a high school student applying. There is nothing wrong with wanting to explore different areas during college, and if you feel you still need to explore, then a special program might not be for you.
Read the fine print!
These programs are usually very enticing to attract top applicants. Before leaping into a specific program, do some research to find out if there are penalties for students who decide to leave the program. Some programs will allow students complete freedom, meaning they can remain in the program if they enjoy it, but are free to move to other areas of study within the university at any time without penalty while others might not award any degree unless you complete the program in full.
Beyond the contractual aspect of leaving the program, be sure to look into specific requirements for completing the program. Some medical programs, for example, still require students to take the MCAT and get a certain score, while others only require students to maintain a certain GPA to continue with the program. Moreover, each program will have its own set of required courses to prepare students for advanced study in that specific area. Identify these requirements when researching such programs.
Applying
As with all applications, you should begin as early as possible. This is especially important for special programs since they will usually require additional components on top of the standard application to the college or university. This usually means additional essays on the specific area of study, but can include on-campus interviews as well.
The best advice for applying to a special program is to show your genuine interest in the area of study. This doesn't necessarily mean that you have to do Nobel-prize winning cancer research to impress a medical program, although such activities do help if done out of genuine interest. Learn the specific benefits of the program and show the admissions committee that you would utilize the opportunity to the fullest.
I'm in!
After receiving responses from the schools you applied to, don't immediately enroll in the program that was the hardest to get into or the one you've heard the most about. Deciding where to go from a list of top schools and programs might be just as tough as the application itself. Think back to what you want to do and what you want to study. If you can't see yourself doing anything but medicine, business, engineering, or whatever your program might entail, then give the special program additional consideration.
Now review your options at the other potential schools. Could you study this same subject at the other schools? What are the rewards of studying the subject in the special program as opposed to in a general program at another school? Does the special program restrict your other interests heavily?
Applying to and deciding to attend a special program can be a tough task for even the most well-prepared high school student but the reward can be especially satisfying as well. To ensure success in the application process, research your interests and options in depth and learn as much as you can about how each program caters to your interests.
With hard work and good preparation even the most prestigious special programs are within reach.
Article by Anil Tanner and courtesy of PrepMe, a premium online ACT and SAT prep company.
Q. I am currently a sophomore at The University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. My goal is to get an M.B.A. from one of the nation's top programs. Now, I have recently applied to U of M's undergraduate business program and to transfer to the University of Chicago and Cornell University. If I attend U of M, I would major in business at the undergrad level. If I go to either Chicago or Cornell, I would concentrate in economics, which I like equally as much as business. Which route do you think will best prepare me for admission to a top rated M.B.A. program?
A. You've brought up one important factor in business school admissions, which is what your major is. However, here are some additional considerations: What are the majors of students accepted by your top choice business schools? In most cases, they are varied, which demonstrates that your major alone will not make or break your chances of acceptance. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the faculties and programs at the three colleges you are considering? How will your major fit with what you plan to do after graduating? A majority of business schools prefer that students spend time after graduation gaining real world work experience before attending business school. They highly value the skills that you learn and the perspectives that you gain in the workplace. Lastly, do you like being a student at Michigan? Understand that you should have very compelling reasons for undergoing the harsh upheaval of transferring in the middle of your undergraduate education. There are many other factors besides your major that business schools consider in admissions including grades, test scores, work experience, essays, interviews, and recommendations. Take all of these into account.
Article by Gen and Kelly, and courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com
Creative Writers Becoming Their Best
Provided By: Associated Content, Inc.
Western Illinois University is located in the heart of Midwest America in Macomb, Illinois. This liberal arts state school is a favorite among locals for its price and low teacher-student ratio. The Department of English and Journalism houses the Creative Writing Program.
Overview: What is the SAT?
The SAT is the most popular standardized test used for admission into colleges and universities in the United States. First started in 1941 as the Scholastic Aptitude Test as an IQ test, the SAT Reasoning Test of today has earned a place in every college going student's life. Oddly enough SAT no longer stands for anything; rather than deal with controversial acronyms, the College Board sidesteps the issue by not having SAT actually be an acronym.
The SAT is generally taken by high school students who will soon be applying to post-secondary colleges and universities, though the test is open to anyone over the age of 12 desiring to attend college or university in the US. All that is required is to pay the registration fee which can be waived in certain circumstances. After taking the test, students can elect to send their official scores to any college or university to which they would like to gain admission.
Students should be careful in taking the SAT multiple times, as the College Board will send ALL previous scores to these universities. For this reason, students should not take the SAT more than 3 times total, and should be careful to study between these tests to make sure each successive score report shows an improvement over the previous. There is an advantage to taking the test more than once, however, as many universities will combine the highest score for each of the sections across multiple test dates. For example, if you score 650 on the Critical Reading, 600 on the Math, and 650 on the Writing section the first time you took the SAT and 680 on the Critical Reading, 580 on the Math, and 660 on the Writing section many colleges will consider your total score to be the 680 for Critical Reading from the second time you took the SAT, the 600 for Math from your first SAT, and the 650 from your first SAT for the Writing Section.
Why does the SAT matter? Why is the SAT so important?
The SAT is required by many universities to be considered for admission. Though there are colleges that do not require it, all "brand name" universities and virtually all public ("state") universities do require it. In many cases, students can take the ACT rather than the SAT, and this decision often comes down to geography. Students in the Midwest tend to take the ACT and SAT, while students on the US coasts tend to not take the ACT at all.
Other than being required for admission to US universities, the SAT is important for the following reasons:
For some students, taking both the SAT and ACT is a great option because they can submit whichever of the two scores is better (based on their percentile ranking) which then lets them increase their odds of acceptance in college admissions. In general, taking both tests is highly recommended as students have little to lose but much to gain.
The SAT: Details about the Test
The SAT consists of three sections: math, critical reading, and writing. Scores on each section range from 200 to 800, with scores always being a multiple of 10 (i.e. 580, 720, never 645 or 643). The scores for each of the sections are added together for the composite score, with a 2400 being a "perfect" SAT score. Students do not need to get all answers on the SAT correct to get a perfect score. More details are below in the Scoring section.
In addition to the 9 sections that count towards the student's score, there is a 10th section that will not count but that the College Board administers to test questions for future SATs. This extra section does not count towards a student's score. During the test, students will not know which section will not count towards their final score so they should treat each section as though it does count. What is known, however, is that the essay, which is always the first section on the SAT, and Section 10, which is always a ten minute writing section, will always count towards a student's SAT score.
The SAT is administered 7 times a year in the United States, in October, November, December, January, March (or sometimes April), May, and June. The SAT is usually offered on the first Saturday of the month for November, December, May and June. Outside of the United States, the SAT is offered on the same dates as in the United States except for the first spring test date, which is either March or April.
There are 3 separate scored sections that comprise the Math score:
There are 3 separate scored sections that comprise the Critical Reading score:
There are 3 separate scored sections that comprise the Writing score:
How is the SAT scored?
Each of the questions within a section is ordered by difficulty, other than questions that follow the long and short reading passages which are organized with respect to where in the passage they refer. Thus a question referencing an early part of the passage will occur before a question asking about the passage's conclusion, regardless of difficulty.
Each question on the SAT is worth 1 point regardless of difficulty. Though most questions are multiple choice, 10 math questions require a numerical answer that the test taker must bubble in on his or her answer sheet. For each of the multiple choice questions, a correct answer will add 1 point to a student's "raw" score, an incorrect answer will deduct 0.25 points to the raw score, and a blank answer will yield 0 points. For the 10 math questions that require a numerical answer, a correct answer adds 1 point to the raw score and an incorrect answer is worth 0 points.
The total number of a student's correct answers (a student's "raw score") on a section gets compared to all other students who took that same test and converted to a "scaled score" from 200 to 800. We commonly think of this as grading on a curve.
Scaling is done to make sure that the same percentage of people on each test receive the same score to maintain consistency between SAT tests. This process of taking a raw score and computing the equivalant scaled score based on all students' performance on that test is what makes the SAT a standardized test.
For example, on one test date the test may be relatively easy so receiving 50 correct answers, 16 incorrect answers, and 1 blank on the Critical Reading section for a raw score of 46 (50 - (16*0.25)) on the Critical Reading section may be enough for an SAT score of 600, but on another test date the test may have been much more difficult and therefore the average student would have missed more questions. This means your raw score could be lower (say 44) but your scaled score would be the same, a 600.
The SAT Writing section is graded slightly differently than the Reading or Math sections, which simply have a raw score to scaled score conversion. The SAT essay is graded on a scale of 1 to 6 by two raters and their scores are added together for your SAT essay grade. This essay grade is then combined with your score on the multiple choice writing questions for your scaled Writing score from 200-800 based on a table the College Board uses.
The SAT composite score is just the sum of the scaled scores for each of the three sections.
On Test Day You should make sure to bring:
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This article was brought to you by PrepMe.com.
Article courtesy of www.careersandcolleges.com
