Learn to Learn for Online College

Effective study skills and strategies are the basis of effective learning. They give you an opportunity to approach learning tasks systematically and independently. By always using good study habits—learning to work smarter—you will work like and become a successful student.

Learn To Learn

Learning is a very personal matter. There isn't one study/learning skill or strategy that works for every person in every situation. Therefore, learning to learn strategies are about learning what you know, learning what you don't know, and learning what to do about it. Your repertoire of study/learning strategies will:

enable you to take more responsibility for your own learning

allow you to spend your time effectively and stay on task

help you select the best approach(s) for each assignment or task

• provide you with the knowledge and skills needed to begin, follow through, and complete

assignments/tasks

• present you with access to a variety of content and reference materials
  
• give you the confidence to know when and who to ask for help

Know Yourself

Begin by honestly assessing your strengths and weaknesses in basic college skills—reading, writing, listening, and mathematics—and study/work habits such as as organization, time management, concentration, listening, and note taking.

Next, identify your learning style preferences. Many factors affect learning, but consider whether you learn most effectively by reading, by watching, by listening, or by doing? You must also become familiar with your instructors teaching styles to help you adapt your learning style to the best advantage.

In addition, consider when (Are you a morning person or a night owl?) and where (Do you concentrate best in a bright room with noise or in a cozy, quiet corner?) you are at your best for learning.

Manage Your Time and Life

The first step in learning to manage your time—controlling your own life—is to identify what your goals are and then to establish priorities to help you reach them.

Analyze how you are using your time. If you aren't spending time on your priorities, you must make the necessary adjustments or you won't reach your goals. If school, learning, and good grades are a priority, then you must make and follow a schedule that gives a significant amount of time to go to class and study.

Improve Your Concentration

As a good student, you will not necessarily study more than a poor student, but you will definitely use your study time more effectively.

Learn to keep your attention focused on the task at hand—concentrate. When you are in class or ready to study, give it your full attention.

And remember, how well you learn something, not how fast you learn it, is the critical factor in remembering. You must "get" something before you can "forget" it.

Know What Study Means & How To Do It

Learning takes more than just going to class and doing homework. It is really a four-part cycle:

preview>>class>>review>>study

When you establish a learning-cycle routine you will be able to learn more in less time with less stress.

Develop A Thinker's Vocabulary

English is the richest language with the largest vocabulary on earth. Each of our words is a symbol that represents an idea or object. Your ability to understand the meaning of the words others use and to select the right one(s) to communicate your ideas, information, and feelings is very important to effective learning.

To develop a thinker's vocabulary, you must become sensitive to words and develop strategies for unlocking the meanings of new words and a process for remembering the new words and their meanings.

Become An Active Reader

Did you ever fall asleep while playing tennis or when watching your favorite television show?
Probably not. How about when you're reading?

Probably so. What makes the difference?

If you are actively involved, physically and mentally, you stay interested and committed. When you become passive, you rapidly lose interest and drift away.

To learn from study/reading material, you must be an active, thinking participant in the process, not a passive bystander. Always preview the reading and make sure you have a specific purpose for each assignment. Read actively to fulfill your purpose and answer questions about the material. Keep involved by giving yourself frequent tests over what you've read.

Become An Active Writer

Writing that accurately expresses your ideas demands not only writing skill but focused attention, critical thinking and active involvement. Only if you become actively involved in the writing process will you be able to communicate your ideas clearly.

Your writing must have:

• a purpose,
• a controlling idea or thesis,
• organized development of your idea with major and minor supporting details, and
• a logical conclusion.

Build Listening & Note taking Skills

Accurately listening to a lecture and deciding what is important are two skills that must be mastered before you worry about how to write the information in your notes. Again, being an active rather than a passive participant is the key to your success.

Taking good notes demands that you :

• prepare for class,
  
• become an active listener,
  
• distinguish major from minor points,
  
• use a note-taking system,
  
• participate in class, and
  
• review often.

Know How To Study For & Take Exams

Exams are your way to show a professor how much you've learned. Preparing for exams will give you a better understanding of the material, lower your anxiety, and improve your scores.
Find out as much as you can about the exam, study and review the material over a period of time (use the night before as a final review not a cram session), pace yourself during the exam, and always go over your graded exam with your professor.

Master Every Course

You can't get something for nothing. You can, however, get nothing for something and that's exactly what you will get from any course if your only investment is money.

True education is not about cramming material into your brain. True education is the process of expanding your capabilities, of bringing yourself into the world.

Professors can merely set the stage for you to create learning through your own action.

Top Tips for Success for Online College

1) Location, location, location...

Serious about getting work done? Find a good location that lets you focus on your work that needs to be done. And reading or studying in front of the tv is not a good place.

2) Make It a Habit: Do Coursework Every Day

Cramming is not conducive to understanding and retaining large amounts of information. Time on your courses each day is the best way to learn. Use the time between classes to stay on top of readings.

3) Help Exists! Seek It Out and Improve Your Grades

Whether you're an 'A' student or a 'D' student, you can strengthen your skills. Check out SDS' Learning Skills Services. Get to know your professors and tutorial assistants. Use study guides and help centres.

4) Write It Down

Use a day planner or wall calendar. Plan time for coursework. Plan ahead for assignments and exam periods.

5) Get Energized - Eat, Exercise, Sleep

Fatigue and stress weaken memory and comprehension. Eat properly, exercise regularly, and get adequate sleep.

6) Perform Like a Pro: Go to Class Prepared and Take Thorough Notes

Don't miss class. Someone else's notes aren't going to be as good as having gone to the lecture yourself. While taking notes, listen for emphases and examples. Questions after the lecture? Go to your professor's or tutorial assistant's office hours. Learn as you go and you won't find yourself unprepared the night before an exam.

7) Lectures and Textbooks: What's the BIG Picture?

University learning requires understanding how pieces of information fit together to form a "big picture." Use course outlines, tables of content, and headings and subheadings to organize information.

8) Do Something to Remember Key Information

Be active! Generate examples, create mnemonics, make summary notes, identify key words, highlight textbooks, or add margin notes. Improve your memory by being creative and interested.

9) Think You'll Remember Key Points? Prove It.

No matter how well you understand something, without practice forgetting will occur. Before a test, recall information without looking at notes or textbooks and by doing practice questions.

10) Be Test Smart

Don't lose marks because of test-writing errors. Use strategies to tackle different types of tests (e.g., multiple-choice). Read instructions, budget time to marks, and do less difficult questions first to build confidence.

Ten Tips to Survive Online College

1. If you haven't already registered, try not to schedule back to back classes. You'll wear yourself out besides missing the best times to study--right before and right after class. But if you are taking online college then it works around your schedule a lot better.

2. Begin the first day of class. Know what's expected of you Take notes from the first day even if it's routine stuff you think you already know.

3. Establish a routine time to study for each class. For every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours outside class. Studying for each subject should be at the same time, same place, if possible. Study includes more than just doing your homework. You will need to go over your notes from by class, labeling, editing, and making sure you understand them. Study your syllabus daily to see where you are going and where you have been.

Be sure to do reading assignments. (Don't put them off just because there's not a written assignment.) Read ahead whenever possible. Prepare for each class as if there will be a pop quiz.

4. Establish a place to study. Your place should have a desk, comfortable chair, good lighting, all the supplies you need, etc., and of course, should be as free of distractions as possible. It should not be a place where you routinely do other things. It should your study place.

5. Do as much of your studying in the daytime as you can. What takes you an hour to do during the day may take you an hour and a half at night and that is not very fun when attending college online.

6. Schedule breaks. Take a ten minute break after every hour of study. If possible, avoid long blocks of time for studying. Spread out several short study sessions during the day.

7. Make use of study resources on campus. Find out about and use labs, tutors, videos, computer programs, and alternate texts. Sign up for an orientation session in the campus library and computer facilities. Get to know your professors and advisors. Ask questions. "I didn't know," or "I didn't understand" is never an excuse.

8. Find at least one or two students in each class to study with. Studies show that students who study with someone routinely make better grades. You will probably find yourself more motivated if you know someone else cares about what you are doing in the class. Teaching a concept or new idea to someone else is a sure way for you to understand it.

Studying in a group or with a partner can sometimes become too social. It is important to stay focused.

9. Study the hardest subject first. Work on your hardest subjects at a time when you are fresh. Putting them off until you're tired compounds the problem.

10. Be good to yourself. Studying on four hours of sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is a waste of time. Avoid food and drink containing caffeine just before or just after studying. When taking online college it is easy to forget about taking care of yourself so amke sure to plan things out to avoid stress.

Paying Off Online College Student Loans #5

By soyouwanna.com

5) Learn How To Survive Default

Here's a step for all of you who are currently getting your kneecaps smashed by a large hairy man named Vito because you refused to pay your loans. The fact is that you can still pick yourself up and beat this thing (though we do not recommend that you attempt to beat Vito… have you learned nothing?).

All you have to do is contact your loan holder and agree to make six on-time $50 payments. (The amount can even be lowered if you make a reasonable case.) At this point, you become eligible, once again, to apply for additional federal loans and grants. Make six more on-time payments and you're out of default. You get welcomed back to your pick of payment schedules and even the options of deferment and forbearance. Just don't ever screw things up again - not even we will be able to help you at that point.

If you need additional help with a defaulted loan or other general loan headaches, contact your school's financial aid office, or get some free booklets on loan repayment:

• U.S. General Services Administration Consumer Information CenterS. James Consumer Information Center - 6CP.O. Box 100Pueblo, CO 81002(Ask for the "Direct Student Loan Consolidation" and "Paying For College" booklets.)
• Federal Trade Commission's Public Reference BranchRoom 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Ave.NW Washington, DC 20580 (Ask for a booklet called "Knee Deep In Debt.")

We're sorry if this SYW has been a little too "real life" for you, but we hope that it's helped clear up some of the murkiness surrounding student loans. And when you're forgoing that shopping spree to make a monthly payment, just remember that you'll be out of debt one day.

Just think how happy you'll be when your kids go through the same misery…

Paying Off Online College Student Loans #4

By soyouwanna.com

4) Learn Ways To Delay Your Payment

This step is about delaying your payment today, but paying more interest in the long run.
ConsolidationDefermentForbearance

Consolidation

Consolidation is a path that over a million graduates take each year. It basically consists of bunching all your separate student loans into one big loan, and then paying off that mother loan. If, for example, you're getting three bills in the mail every month for the three different types of loans you took out and each bill asks for $300, you're paying a grand total of $900 each month.

If you simply can't afford to shell out close to a grand each month, consolidate your three loans and it'll act as if it were one loan - and you'll only owe $300 a month. Some people also choose consolidation because it's easier than keeping track of multiple student loan bills.

The downside of consolidation is, of course, the fact that it'll take longer to pay off your consolidated loans, and you'll end up paying a lot more in interest. You could, in the worst case scenario, end up paying three times your original loan amount. Also, if you plan on eventually going back to school and taking out more student loans, consolidation could mess up your chances for interest subsidy benefits on your future loans.

To find out more about loan consolidation, including whether you qualify for it (you may not), contact your lender or turn to the following resources (if appropriate):

Sallie Mae (800) 524-9100
USA Group, Inc. (800) 382-4506
Citibank (800) 967-2400
Federal Direct Consolidation Loan Info Center (800) 557-7392

Deferment

If you find that you simply can't keep making monthly payments, no matter how small, you can choose to defer your loans. This means that for an amount of time that's negotiated between you and your lender, you won't have to pay a cent. Interest, however, will continue to accrue if your loan is unsubsidized ("subsidized" means that the government will step in and take care of the interest.)

Not everyone qualifies for loan deferment - you must contact your lender and prove that you are currently trapped in financial difficulties before they'll give you the forms to sign. Our advice: practice your hysterical voice.

Forbearance

Forbearance is a three-month break from your loan repayment, but unlike with deferments, you don't need to be reduced to eating gruel to get it. Just call up your lender and state your case: you need a couple months to put a down payment on an apartment, your dog needs surgery, you're getting married and you don't want to wear a garbage bag.

Your lender doesn't necessarily have to grant you forbearance, but if your reasons for requesting one are reasonable, then you may get one.

Paying Off Online College Student Loans #3

By soyouwanna.com

3) Learn About Repayment Options

What happens if you don't pay
Options for paying

What happens if you don't pay

Before we get into the various loan repayment options, let's take some time to dispel some of the clever schemes we know you're plotting for getting out of your expensive situation:

• Moving. Just because you move doesn't mean that the loan people won't find you. We're not going to get into their clandestine and evil tactics; just realize that not only can you not hide, but that you shouldn't even try. Changing your name doesn't work either.
• Ignoring your monthly loan repayment bill. Even if you got into a nasty fight on the phone with your lender's customer representative and have decided to teach him a lesson on manners by refusing payment, you'll soon discover that it's in your best interest to drop your grudge. Here's a scenario of what happens if you choose to completely disregard your student loans:

1. The first monthly bill arrives in your mailbox. You put it on your desk and forget to pay.
2. A second notice arrives in your mailbox. It accuses you of being a delinquent. (You achieve delinquent status the day after your monthly repayment is due and it's not in the lender's hands.) You scratch your head, add that notice to the growing pile on your desk, and turn your attention to the Victoria's Secret catalog that accompanied the notice.
3. Two weeks later, you'll start getting phone calls and more notices. You lender is required to make at least four phone calls and send four of those letters before sending a final demand letter (about 5 months after the loan payment was due). This letter will tell you that unless you pay up now, a default claim will be filed on your loan.
4. After a default claim is filed, your lender will turn your case over to a guaranty agency and you'll get a nasty phone call from them. If you don't negotiate some sort of deal within 60 days, your guaranty agency will report you to the national credit bureaus.
5. Now the fabulous life you dreamed of leading starts to crumble around you. You'll be ineligible to receive credit cards, an apartment, or a mortgage for a car or house. The government has the right to deduct money straight from your income, and it's unlikely that you'll ever date again. We'll tell you how to survive a default later, but it's still not a pleasant way to live a life.

Options for paying

Here's the general deal on loan repayment: After graduation, you'll get 6 months of freedom from loan repayment. If you're smart, you'll use these 6 months to get a job. When loan repayment begins, you'll pay at least $50 a month (unless you're in forbearance, deferment, or your lender agrees to a smaller amount) until your entire loan (plus interest) is paid off. In any given month, you can opt to pay off more than your monthly requirement without penalty. You have to pay off your loan even if you aren't satisfied with the education you received and can't do jack squat with it. So you went to med school and ended up starting an Internet company? Tough cookies - you still gotta pay.

Here are your four main payment options. Keep in mind that you can switch from one to another, depending on your financial status:

• Option 1: Standard Payment. If you land a good job out of college and can afford to make steep monthly payments, go with the standard payment schedule. Under the standard payment, you'll have finished paying off your debt within 10 years, and you'll have the best interest rate. This is the quickest way to pay off your loans, but it also requires the highest monthly payments.
• Option 2: Graduated Payment. This is the payment method for people who get out of college expecting to make a modest but steadily increasing wage. The payment requirements will start off gentle, then increase every couple of years for the next 10 to 30 years.
• Option 3: Income-Based Payment. If you're in a commission-based or seasonal business (say, selling houses or selling ice cream from a truck), your income probably vacillates. So your monthly payment bill will be proportional to the amount you are currently making and you'll get up to 15 years to pay it all off. The good news is that you will always be able to pay your loans. The bad news is that if you have a particularly good month, you never get the chance to enjoy it.
• Option 4: Long-Term Payment. With this schedule, you'll be allowed to pay the least possible amount per month for 10 to 30 years. If you're a procrastinator by nature and this schedule sounds like it's your cup of tea, here's the catch: by the time thirty years is up, you may have paid double the original amount of your loan. This payment plan has by far the worst interest rate.

If you need to hear some numbers before making a decision on a payment schedule, contact your lender. (If you don't know who your lender is, contact your school's financial aid office.) Talk to a customer rep and ask them all the questions you want.

Paying Off Online College Student Loans #2

By soyouwanna.com

2) Consider Wiping Out All Your Loans With Some Do-Gooding

Unless you die, you won't be able to get away from paying off your loans… but you do have the option of paying them off in the form of service. This is called loan forgiveness and you'll have to do more than say you're sorry. The government decided that it'd take care of your debts for you if you'll agree to put some time into one or several of the following programs:

Volunteering loan forgiveness
Law school loan forgiveness
Med school loan forgiveness
Occupational or physical therapy education loan forgiveness

Volunteering loan forgiveness

• Americorps. If you're willing to devote a year of your life to volunteering for Americorps, you'll be rewarded with $4,725 to spend on your college debts, and a stipend of up to $7,400. That doesn't sound much like volunteering to us, but hey, we didn't write the dictionary. For more information, visit the Americorps website or call them at (800) 942-2677.
• Peace Corps. Go traveling with the Peace Corps and you'll get to defer most of your student loans until after you leave the program. Not only that, but you may even get some of your loans reduced (maybe as much as 70%, if you're lucky!). Call (800) 424-8580 for more details.
• VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). VISTA, which is all about community development and ending poverty, homelessness, and illiteracy in the United States, will pay off $4,725 of your loans if you join in on their cause for at least 1,700 hours. Call (800) 942-2677.
• Military Service. Be on your way to complete loan forgiveness and buff up at the same time! If you join the Army Reserve or the National Guard after graduation, you can receive up to $10,000 to pay off your loans. If you're the sort of person who doesn't mind the occasional brush with death, ask to be stationed in areas of hostility and you could get even more money.
• Teaching. If you like to get your summers off, then sign up to teach full-time under certain conditions and your loan will be completely forgiven. Your options are 1) to teach special ed, 2) to teach in a school that services kids students from low-income families, or 3) to teach in a designated teacher-shortage area.
• Social Services. If you're a full-time provider of early intervention services for the disabled, employee of an agency that provides services to families of low-income communities, a full-time nurse or medical technician, or a full-time law enforcement or corrections officer, your loan can be completely absolved. Restrictions (that involve the date your loan was made) apply. You should contact the various agencies or organizations for more details.

Law school loan forgiveness

If you've just been through law school, it's likely that you owe between $80,000 and $125,000 in loans. No wonder you chase ambulances. Fortunately for you, more than 30 law schools in the U.S. allow loan forgiveness to students who take on public interest or non-profit positions. For a list of these schools and more information, visit the National Association for Public Interest Law.

Med school loan forgiveness

National Health Service Corps offers a program in some states that will help you pay off your colossal med school loan and give you an annual salary in exchange for practicing medicine in underserved areas. This is an OUTSTANDING deal, so check out the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Community Development website or call (916) 654-1833.

Occupational or physical therapy education loan forgiveness

When you apply for a job in the occupational/physical therapy field, ask about your employer's loan forgiveness package. Because there is such a high demand for occupational and physical therapists, many hospitals and private health-related organizations will offer to pay off some of your student loans if you agree to lend them your valuable expertise.

If you've just read through all your options and you 1) don't qualify, 2) hate helping people, or 3) want to make money immediately and not 5 years down the road, that's fine too. Just continue to step 3 to learn about some more traditional repayment options.

Paying Off Online College Student Loans

By soyouwanna.com

Take a look behind you. Do you see it?… In the far distance - but quickly catching up-are your student loans. That's right, all those loans that you saw only as figures on paper are coming up fast and they're screaming, "Remember us? Pay us off! PAY US OFF!"

If this personified vision of your student loans doesn't chill you to your very core, then how does this make you feel: If you're the average American student, you owe about $17,000 in loans after graduation.

Quadruple that amount if you're the average grad school graduate. Some students naively believe that they can outrun or ignore their loans, but they're gonna screw themselves over down the line: lenders are sticklers about being paid back, anal about timely payments, and prepared to completely mess up your credit history.

Now are you feeling scared? Take comfort in the fact that the majority of higher education graduates are in the same boat. Nevertheless, student loan repayment is a big, complicated deal. We'll help you decipher the messy jargon and figure out a plan of action.

1) Figure Out Who You Owe And How Much You Owe

If you're like most students, you went through college or grad school idly aware of the fact that you were spending a whopping amount on your education, but not really knowing (or caring) how much it was, where the money was coming from, or how you'd eventually pay it back. We hope you enjoyed those years, because now it's time to pay for them. The first major task to tackle is to figure out who you're paying and how much you owe.

You can find the answers in all those notices that your lender(s) and your school's financial aid office have been sending to you. If you were wise enough to keep most of your notices, then start sorting through them and answer the following questions:

What types of loans did I take out?
How much do I owe in total?
Who is (or are) my lender(s)?

What types of loans did I take out?

Many types of loans exist. Some of the more popular ones are Stafford, Perkins, HEAL, and PLUS loans. You won't have to worry about PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) because that one is your parents' responsibility (suckers!), but mostly everything else is your burden now. Take time to go through all the contracts you signed (and kept a copy of, we hope) and make a list of the loans you have.

How much do I owe in total?

The Department of Education - which decides how much and what types of financial aid you're eligible for - may have offered you $8,000 in loans per semester, but you (or your parents) may have decided that you only needed to borrow $5,000. One way you can figure out how much you actually borrowed is to take a look at the contracts you signed - they should have the dollar amount spelled out to the cent.

Another way is to take a look at the notices that your lenders have been mailing you each semester (which tell you how much you borrowed and how much you now owe).

If you come across the financial aid reward letter that lists all the financial aid you're eligible for, be careful not to mix up grants with loans. Grants such as the Pell Grant, the SEOG (Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant), and others do not have to be paid back. It was free money. Rejoice!

Who is/are my lender(s)?

Here's how it usually works: You choose a bank to put up your money, you sign all sorts of forms, then the bank hands you the money in semesterly installments. Usually - but not all the time - the bank then turns around and sells your forms to Sallie Mae for the same amount. Sallie Mae may is no country bumpkin; officially known as the Student Loan Marketing Association, Sallie Mae was established by Congress to generate money for students to borrow, and it is one of the largest loan providers in the country. By selling off loans, banks gain more money to lend other students. What this means for you is that you're now in Sallie Mae's hands.

Sometimes Sallie Mae will decide to turn around and sell your loans off to yet another loan provider (what are you, a two-cent whore?). In this case, the new lender is now responsible for getting you the money you need for school (and getting it all back from you when you graduate). So even if you started off borrowing money from the bank, you could end up owing Sallie Mae, or even Sallie's inbred two-fingered cousin.

All this transferring is done without your permission, but you are informed of each transfer. The amount that you borrowed remains the same, so if you know how much you owe, the only thing you have to do is figure out who you owe it to. Your latest records will tell you who.

If you've thrown out all your notices, contracts, and documentation, you may have just read through all this with a look of sheer horror on your face. Gotcha! While you really should've kept better track of your records, this is one time where you can get away with being a mess.

All you have to do is contact your school's financial aid office and ask them about your record. Even if the office can't help you, they'll be able to get you in touch with your state's loan guaranty agency, where you'll be clued in on your debts. Believe us, someone will have a record.

Of course, without any personal records, you won't be able to effectively dispute dates, amounts, or other screw-ups, so if you're still in school, start keeping track of all your records.

Scholarships for College

Undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships are forms of aid that help students pay for their education. Unlike student loans, scholarships and fellowships do not have to be repaid.

Hundreds of thousands of scholarships and fellowships from several thousand sponsors are awarded each year.

Generally, scholarships and fellowships are reserved for students with special qualifications, such as academic, athletic or artistic talent.

Awards are also available for students who are interested in particular fields of study, who are members of underrepresented groups, who live in certain areas of the country or who demonstrate financial need.

The best way to search for scholarships and fellowships is to use a personalized search, like the FastWeb scholarship search, that compares your background with a database of awards. Only those awards that fit your profile are identified as matches.

There are several free scholarship databases available online. With more than $3 billion in scholarships, the FastWeb scholarship search is the largest, most accurate and most frequently updated scholarship database. If you supply an email address, they will notify you when new awards that match your profile are added to the database.

You can even submit an electronic application to some of the scholarships listed in the FastWeb scholarship database, saving you time and money. FastWeb also includes a college search and numerous other student resources.


In addition to the FastWeb scholarship search, you may want to search one of the other free scholarship search sites. It doesn't take much time to search and it's free. To find small local awards that aren't listed in any book or database, look for notices posted on bulletin boards at your school's guidance office, the public library and outside the financial aid office at nearby colleges and universities.

You can also search for scholarships using your favorite web search engine by including the word "scholarships" with your search keywords.

College alumni and other private scholarship sponsors occasionally establish scholarships with esoteric eligibility requirements, such as a scholarship for left-handed students. Although there aren't many of these unusual scholarships, they often attract a lot of attention because of their slightly offbeat nature.

The most prestigious scholarships and fellowships also attract a lot of attention because they are among the most lucrative and competitive awards. Many colleges also offer full tuition academic scholarships.


Average students often ask whether there are any scholarships available to students who don't have a 4.0 GPA. There are many scholarships for average students that focus on qualities besides academic merit. There are also many community service scholarships.

Most scholarship search sites do not allow children under age 13 to register because of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Unfortunately, this prevents parents from finding out about scholarships for students under age 13. FinAid has compiled a comprehensive list of college scholarships for students under age 13 and in grades K-8.

Don't waste your money on fee-based scholarship matching services. You won't get any better information than you can get from the free services available on the Web.

Once you've identified the scholarships for which you are eligible, FinAid has many good suggestions on how to maximize your chances of winning a scholarship.

Scholarships that sound too good to be true usually are. Learn how to recognize and protect yourself from the most common scholarship scams. The number one tip: If you have to pay money to get money, it's probably a scam.

It is important to ask the school's financial aid office about its outside scholarship policy, since this can affect how much you benefit from winning a scholarship if you are receiving need-based student aid.

A portion of your scholarship might be taxable. Usually amounts used for tuition and required fees are tax-free, but you should review the rules to ensure that you report the scholarship correctly.

The most reliable information about the number and amount of scholarships can be found in the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a statistically representative survey of undergraduate and graduate students conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) at the US Department of Education. FinAid also presents an analysis of the number of scholarships in the major scholarship databases, reporting the precision and recall of each database.

Students who are awarded scholarships often need additional financial assistance. See the Loans section for information on student and parent loans. To find out about contest, grants and other aid options, visit the section discussing Other Types of Aid. The Other Types of Aid section also provides information about scholarships for students with specific interests or abilities.

How to Get a Degree Fast #2

From Thomas Nixon

Credit by Testing

The other possibility is testing. It is possible to earn your degree completely through testing alone. Whether this is the best choice for you depends on your testing ability. There are colleges that will give you academic credit for taking, passing, and scoring above a certain level on tests. So which tests? Some possibilities are:

· GRE www.gre.org
· CLEP www.collegeboard.com
· DANTES www.dantes.doded.mil
· ECE www.excelsior.edu
· TECEP www.tesc.edu

The GRE provides the most bang for the buck.

If you can pass the general (versus the subject-area) exam at the 80th percentile, you can earn thirty semester units. That's for one test. Even if you don't meet that target, it is still possible to walk away with sixteen or twenty-four units. That's a lot of credit for one day's work.

Need the different options laid out in excruciatingly, wonderful detail? Lawrie Miller, creator of the BA in Four Weeks website, has provided a unique resource that spells it all out for you. If you stick to BA in Four Weeks framework, you will be able to earn your degree rapidly. He did it, and he provides the necessary information for you to do it, too. While it does rely on your ability to pass tests, the usual needed score is always reasonable.

The actual time that it can take you to earn a bachelor's degree using the portfolio/testing/already earned units method depends on whether you actually need to study for the tests. If you've done significant reading in U.S. history, it shouldn't be difficult to pass the "U.S. History 1" and "U.S. History 2" tests to earn six units. However, you may decide that you need further study to pass "American Literature."

My guess is that most folks, using the method above, could earn a college degree within a year. If you require significant additional studying, perhaps in two years. Either way, significantly faster than the usual four or five years for a traditional college degree.

Proof that it is never too late to earn a college degree.

How to Get a Degree Fast

From Thomas Nixon

Get Credit for Knowledge & Experience

Ask a twenty-year-old college student if they want to stay in college forever, the answer can be a resounding, "Yes", (perhaps with an optional "dude" thrown in). Ask a forty-year-old how long they want to stay in college and most respond that they want to finish yesterday.

Different points in life. Different priorities. Most folks of a certain age are earning the bachelor's degree at this "late" date in order to enhance their careers.

Earning a degree quickly is easy. Anyone can do it. The problem is whether you should. If you are eighteen, there seems little reason to hurry life. It will come rushing at you soon enough. However, if you are thirty-four and know that you need that sheepskin to get your next promotion, there are ways to speed up the process.

It is possible to start from scratch and earn a bachelor's degree in less than a year, in some cases, much less than a year.

Part of this will depend on how good a test-taker you are and how much time you have to invest in making this happen. The other factor is how many units that you already possess.

The first thing that you must do is choose a college that accepts unlimited credit, allows portfolio assessment, and gives credit for the numerous testing options. The following three universities, all offer something that is exceedingly rare:

· Thomas Edison State College (New Jersey) http://www.tesc.edu/
· Excelsior College (New York) http://www.excelsior.edu/
· Charter Oak State College (Connecticut) http://www.cosc.edu

They have no minimum residency requirements and you do not have to take any classes with them in order to graduate. Graduation can occur through a combination of: 1) portfolio assessment; 2) examination; and 3) any units that you may already have.

Portfolio Assessment

Portfolio assessments provide you with the opportunity to prove that you already possess certain knowledge. Caveat: having a job does not prove anything. Any school that says that they will give you academic credit because you've been performing a certain job for x number of years is almost certainly a diploma mill. Portfolios do not show time, but rather ability, however you may have learned it.

For example, do you play the guitar? If you can prove that you play the guitar to a standard achieved after taking a guitar course at the university level (of which there are plenty), that skill could net you an easy three units.

Distance learning expert Dr. Steve Levicoff earned his bachelor's degree at Thomas Edison State College. He amassed an astonishing ninety-eight college credits using portfolio assessment. Since the average college degree is about one hundred twenty units, this gives you some idea of the possibilities. He was able to prove knowledge in such diverse areas as "Folk Music in the United States," "Advanced Radio Production," and "Society & Sexual Variations."

Some evidence that you can use to prove knowledge includes earning professional certificates and licenses, speaking a foreign language (other than English), or writing a book or series of articles.

To be continued...

Paying for College

Welcome to the guided tour of Paying for School. On this tour, I will take you through steps you need to consider or complete when planning to pay for your education. You can leave the tour at any time to find out more about a subject by clicking on the highlighted text.

Ten Steps to Paying for School:

1. Find out as much as you can about schools you are interested in attending. Request information on the costs of attendance, and try to calculate your school expenses.

2. Save money now to pay for school if you haven't already done so. View the Start Now! Saving for College and Introduction to 529 College Savings Plan web casts for more information. Also consider educational loyalty and affinity programs.

3. Discuss options for paying for school. Also, talk to your high school counselor about applying for local or private scholarships. View the Paying for College web cast for more information.

4. Request information and forms on financial aid, and complete admission applications.

5. Apply for financial aid. Start by completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid), which will help determine your need for financial aid. You can get the form from your high school counselor or a financial aid office of a school you are considering attending. View the Understanding the FAFSA web cast for more information.

6. Complete any other aid or admission forms required by the school.

7. Review the Student Aid Report (SAR). This will summarize the information you completed on your FAFSA, and will include your Estimated Family Contribution. Reviews the SAR to make sure it is correct, and send it to the financial aid offices of the schools in which you are considering enrolling.

8. Review your award letter. The letter, which comes from the school's financial aid office, will let you know what kind of financial aid, and how much, for which you qualify.

9. Consider the financial options outlined in the award letter. These options may include: grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study programs. Accept or reject all or part of the award package, and complete any other forms required by the school.

10. Reapply for financial aid each year you are in college or postsecondary training. If you filled out a FAFSA the year before, you will probably be eligible to complete the shorter Renewal FAFSA.

University of Phoenix Online Cost

How our costs compare.

While the cost of attending a private college today is over $20,000 a year at many schools, the cost of attending online college courses at University of Phoenix Online is less than half that. When you factor in the value of your time, our online program becomes an even better investment. At University of Phoenix Online you can complete your degree a lot sooner than at other universities, which means you can realize the return on your investment a lot earlier as well.

Flexible and affordable ways to pay

In addition to competitive tuition fees, we offer the advantage of paying for online college courses one course at a time, rather than an entire semester or year at once. This can help you manage your cash flow and personal budget. Another option is to pre-pay your tuition to guarantee that your rate will not be raised for the duration of your program.

Many companies will reimburse part or all of their employees' tuition for online college courses. Numerous financial aid options are also available, even to individuals with high income.
Refund policy.

Because our online college courses are designed for working adults, we realize that unforeseen circumstances can arise that might require you to interrupt your studies. As long as you notify us prior to the first day of instruction that you won't be able to attend a scheduled class for which you have paid, we will refund 100% of the tuition collected for that course.

In the event you are forced to leave a class midstream, there are a number of options available to you, both academic and financial. Naturally, how much of the class has been completed and the academic progress achieved will influence which options will be suitable for you.

Low-cost financing and financial aid available.

University of Phoenix Online participates in financial aid programs for its online college courses, including the Federal Stafford Student Loan, the Federal PLUS Loan, and the Federal Pell Grant. We do not charge our students for processing financial aid applications. For further details about your eligibility, and to receive application forms, please call and speak with an Admissions Counselor at 1-800-660-6846. Or fill out our Information Request Form and we will contact you ASAP.

Paying More For College, Getting Less

By Sheryl Silverman, Online NewsHour

As students at the nation's public colleges and universities return to school this fall, they will pay more for an education that in some cases will offer them less.

Due to the sluggish economy and state budget deficits, many students will pay record-breaking tuition increases to help universities compensate for cuts in state funding.

States are low on cash due to increased spending on programs such as welfare and health care, while taking in less tax revenue due to the high level of unemployment and the slowdown in the business sector.

"The states are responding to the budget crisis by passing major cuts on to colleges and universities, and colleges and universities are responding to these reductions by passing on the cost to students and families," said Patrick Callan, president of the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. "This is all happening at a time when student financial aid is not keeping pace with increases in tuition."

More than 25 state colleges or university systems increased their tuition between 10 and 20 percent. Four colleges raised tuition by more than 30 percent, according to a survey conducted last month by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

The highest percentage tuition increase of the 75 schools surveyed was at Northern Arizona University, where tuition for in-state residents rose from $2,583 to $3,593. At the City University of New York, tuition for residents increased from $3,200 to $4,000.

Noteworthy Changes

Even with the extra money from tuition hikes, however, budget cuts are still visible on campuses nationwide.

The University of California system will have to wait until 2005 to open their new campus -- a year later than planned. At the University of Missouri, students can expect larger classes, limited course availability and restricted library and recreation center hours as a result.

Many schools have reduced costs by offering fewer sections of certain classes, making it harder for students to take the classes they need to graduate on time.

"There is a negative impact on quality of learning experience, some cases make it harder for students to get courses they need to graduate on a schedule they might have otherwise had," said Thomas Hardy, executive director of the Office of University Relations at the University of Illinois.

With a 5 percent tuition increase, modest by comparison, the University of Illinois has had to offset its shrunken budget with approximately 800 cancelled classes, fewer faculty teaching assistants and a decreased number of administrative staff.

"Everybody involved is feeling the effects of a tight budget, but we are doing a very good job keeping our eye on the ball and we remain focused on having a high level academic program," Hardy said.

This year, the enrollment at the University of Illinois' three campuses, plus online students, has swelled to an all-time high of 70,000 students, making reduced staffing even harder on students and their families, especially those waiting for financial aid to be processed.

Financial Aid

While financial aid has offered relief to many students in the past, only 14 states increased their spending in student grant aid by more than 10 percent, and 17 states decreased their total aid, according to a report released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

At the same time Massachusetts decreased its aid by 24 percent, tuition went up by 24 percent. In Missouri, tuition increased by 20 percent, but the state decreased financial aid by 5 percent.

"The cumulative effect is a major assault on college affordability," said Callan. "This comes at a time when unemployment is high, personal income is basically flat, and college-level education and training is a requirement for most well-paying jobs."

The Pros and Cons of Online College #2

The Cons

1. The cons. The internet, wonderful invention that it is, has allowed more scams than ever before to flourish in the vast anonymity of cyberspace. Just like anything else you find on the WWW, you must investigate your chosen school before you enroll, and definitely before you pay anything.

There are literally thousands of web sites offering “accredited degrees without study.” You pay them a substantial sum; they print out a diploma with your name and mail it to you. Employers are catching on fast to this hoax. One column writer applied to and received a degree in the name of his cat. The owner of this particular degree mill was caught and jailed—and now operates his “school” from prison under a different name.

I repeat: never send money to an online school unless you’re sure it’s legitimate. If a degree is offered, but no course outlines, degree program descriptions or faculty list is posted, it’s probably a scam.

If you can’t tell from the web site, e-mail the owner/president and ask if you can contact a few of their students to find out about their experience. Most of the time, a simple Google search for “school name” + “fraud” will generate plenty of information.

2. Limited subject matter. There are some things you just can’t learn through e-mail. Would you trust a doctor with a degree from a distance learning institute?

Careers requiring hands-on experience generally aren’t offered through online classes, or if they are you must enroll in a “mixed” program that requires periodic on-campus attendance. However, the range of degree programs offered online is extensive and still growing: you can receive A.A.S. or B.S. degrees in business, management, graphic design, just about any IT field, criminal justice, education, and more.

But if you want to be an airline pilot… you’d better start looking for a flight school.


3. No social interaction. If you’re the type of person that has to talk to someone every ten minutes or so, distance learning is not right for you. Even if you’re not that type of person, distance learning might not be right for you. Social isolation is one of the most difficult factors that must be overcome in an online environment.

You will never meet any of your classmates or your professors face-to-face, and you have to be prepared for that. There are a few things you can do to minimize the impact of lack of interaction: enroll with a friend, join a meeting group with similar interests, or just make sure you have plenty of family and friends around (as long as they understand that sometimes, you have to do your school work).

4. Self-discipline is a must. It’s easy to log on to your virtual classroom, glance at all the assignments posted, and say to yourself, “I’ll do them tomorrow; I can catch up.”

It’s also easy to tell yourself the same thing every day; until you reach the end of the semester and find that you have 50 projects and papers due in half an hour. Remind yourself that even though you aren’t going anywhere, your school work is a priority.

There will be days when you have to make yourself sit down and participate—and there will be days when you really can say, “I’m all caught up; I’ll skip school today and catch up tomorrow.” Just make sure that when tomorrow arrives, you follow through.

5. No immediate feedback. In a traditional classroom setting, you raise your hand and ask a question, and the professor answers you. In a virtual classroom, you e-mail your professor with your question and wait until he or she has the time to reply. Most online teachers are great about responding to students, but it can sometimes take up to a day.

That’s why procrastination is not an option, because if you’re deep into a project and run into a snag close to the end, by the time you get your question answered it may be too late.


The Colleges
Ready to sign up? Following is a list of links to some of the most popular and successful online colleges. There are, of course, many more. Also, your local community college or university may offer partial or full online degrees. Check with your nearest college for details; and if you combine online and traditional classes, you may get the best of both worlds.

The Pros and Cons of Online College

by Sonya

Are you considering taking online classes to earn your college degree? Distance learning is an excellent way to fit higher education in to busy modern lifestyles… but do you have what it takes to attend a virtual classroom? Learn about the advantages and disadvantages to online degrees.


Is distance learning right for you?

These days you practically have to have a college degree in order to make a decent living. But for those already in the workforce, parents who have small children at home, or even high school graduates who aren’t financially able to leave the nest, there is a new alternative to the ol’ college campus: online learning.

Many universities have developed degree programs students can enroll and participate in entirely through the internet, without having to set foot in a classroom. Some schools even exist solely in cyberspace.

But as with any learning situation, there are advantages and drawbacks to undertaking an electronic course of study. How do you know whether distance learning is the best choice for you? Read on to find out what’s hot and what’s not about online colleges.

The Pros

1. You get to stay home. This is a major selling point for distance learning. “Attend class in your pajamas!” “Study from the comfort of your own home!”

It goes without saying that not having to drive to campus, fight for a parking spot, wade through a sea of students, rush from class to class, choke down cafeteria food (who wants to eat like a high schooler again?) and take a chance on showing up on time only to discover your professor didn’t, is a big bonus.

For parents, online schooling can be a godsend. No scrambling for a sitter or paying outrageous daycare prices. And the pajama thing is nice, too. Your classmates won’t care if you show up naked (though this practice is not recommended, especially if anyone else lives with you).

2. Learn at your own pace. Sure, you have to turn your assignments in on time. But distance learning classrooms are not nearly as strict as traditional colleges, and the professors will often give you more leeway in meeting due dates.

They understand most online students need more flexibility, or they wouldn’t be online students. And no more stammering through answers you’re not sure of when the teacher calls on you; with distance learning, you get to ask the questions.

Course scheduling is flexible too. You can take as many or as few classes as you want; skip a semester; withdraw and re-enroll if you find yourself unable to devote as much time to a particular class as you’d like. With no set class times, you don’t have to worry about being late or missing out on instruction. It’s always there for you to access when you can.


3. Attend class anywhere. Anywhere you have internet access, that is. If you own a laptop with online capabilities, you have a portable classroom you can take with you. Most libraries have computers with internet access as well, for when you need to research something or just want a change of scenery.

If you’re working, explain to your employer that you’re taking online classes and they may allow you to do some of your classwork on the job.

4. Fits busy lifestyles. One of the biggest excuses people give for not getting a higher education is: “I don’t have time for college.” The good news for parents, members of the workforce, and social butterflies is that you can make time to work toward your online degree.

If you carry a part-time course load, generally one hour a day (or night) is enough to satisfy class requirements and study time. Full time programs require a bit more effort, but if you are careful about staying on task and getting the work done, three to four hours a day is sufficient. Anyone else have a complaint?

5. Tuition assistance. The same federal, state and private programs that provide loans and grants for traditional college are also available for most distance learning classes. If you would qualify for financial aid at a brick-and-mortar college, chances are you’ll get the same consideration for online schools.

The Benefits of Online Education

Perhaps nowhere has the Internet's impact been greater than in the world of online education and distance learning.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of students taking distance education classes more than doubled between 1995 and 1998 and is expected to continue growing at a phenomenal rate.

Why are so many people flocking to online classes? What advantages do Internet-based courses offer?

Convenience

Probably the greatest benefit of online education is the incredible convenience that it offers. Unlike a traditional class, online courses usually don't have regular meetings (though there are still due dates for assignments and exams, and you may have scheduled meetings or "chats" occasionally).

As a result, you can do your schoolwork and studying based around your schedule. No more 8am classes, no more 4-hour lectures... heck, you could wear your underwear to "class" and no one will ever know. After all, it all takes place in front of your computer, on your time.

This obviously has huge implications for students who have jobs, a family to take care of, or both. Instead of trying to juggle your classes around a 9-to-5 job or your son's soccer practice, distance learning gives you the flexibility to take your classes when you can fit them in.

It's still a challenge, no doubt -- but at least now you'll have options.

Unlimited Offerings

When it comes to local schools and colleges, a student in New York City has far more programs to choose from than someone living in Bismarck, North Dakota. But when you're taking classes online, geography doesn't matter anymore!

If a course or program isn't offered in your area, you can almost always find an online school that offers a comparable distance learning program. You no longer have to be at a disadvantage because you live in a remote or less-populated area; thanks to the Internet, everyone (around the world, even!) has the same opportunities at their fingertips.

Greater Communication

"Wait -- how can there be more communication in an online class if I never actually see my teacher?" It may sound strange at first, but you'll often have more opportunities for more direct communication with your teachers (and classmates) in an online classroom.

Instead of being limited to asking questions during class or office hours, you'll have direct access to your instructors via email or message boards. This can be especially helpful for students are normally a bit shy or reserved in a traditional classroom setting -- online, you can take the time to develop articulate questions and responses without worrying about your nerves getting in the way.

It's important that you use this opportunity to speak up -- if you don't speak up when you need help in an online class, it's a lot easier to fall behind and slip through the cracks.

In just a few years, the Internet has turned online education into a multi-billion-dollar-a-year industry; the majority of colleges and universities now offer some form of distance learning as part of their curriculum.

And with the benefits we've listed here (and a host of others), it's easy to see why online education has become so popular.