Being Prepared for the Information you Must Submit with College Scholarship Applications

To help ensure you aren’t made crazy by the application process for college scholarships, you need to be prepared. There are certain things that you must provide with them. Many of them are going to be repetitive as you apply for more and more such scholarships. Others will be specific only to a particular application. By having those items you will need to offer again and again readily available though you can make the process easier for yourself. You will get those college scholarship applications done in less time too.

The information on a college scholarship application is going to be basically the same. They are going to want to know your name, address, phone number, and other personal information. Where you attended high school as well as previous college information will be asked. Make sure you have the dates and addresses for such enrollment available. If you have military experience you will also need to have that information on hand.

There are plenty of special skills you may have to offer. All of that information needs to be listed on your college scholarship applications. By developing a list of them you won’t have to worry about leaving out such information on future college scholarship applications. You may be asked about volunteer work and activities that you have taken part in.

Once again a detailed log of all of them will make copying them into the application even easier. Make sure your master list of all information is correct so that you can avoid mistakes on your applications for scholarships. You will also find you are less likely to put off completing such applications when you don’t have to dig around for the information or the documentation to complete them.

Should you be someone that is pressed for time, you can still feel good about your efforts to find money for college. Your decision to complete these applications is a great step in doing so. Being able to get several college scholarship applications done in a single afternoon though because you are prepared will also help you to get the most out of the time you do have to commit to this process.

The fact that you can often complete applications for college scholarships online makes the process simple as well. You can complete your lists on the computer and save them. When you need to make changes it is very easy to do it and then to save the updates. You can also copy and paste the information when you have online applications to complete. This is much faster than writing it all down again and again.

Personal references are needed on most applications for college scholarships. You do need to make sure you have the permission of individuals to use their contact information though before you just list them. Having their name, address, and contact information written down will ensure you can always access it quickly.

There are some other documents that are often asked for when you complete college scholarship applications. One of them is a personal narrative. Make sure you follow the instructions though. Many of them want specific guidelines or a specific word length. You can have some basic points you wish to cover written down though and then modify the structure to fit the requirements.

You should have at least five letters of recommendation available as well. Make many copies of them so you will have enough for all of the college scholarship applications you wish to complete. These letters of recommendation should be from family friends, teachers, employers, and others that know about you as a person and why you are deserving of funding for your education.

Another piece of information you may need to provide are your transcripts. They may be required from high school as well as other colleges you have attended. The need for them will depend on the college scholarship application requirements. Many of them now will simply ask you to have official transcripts sent to them if you are a finalist for a scholarship award. Others do want an unofficial copy though turned in with the college scholarship application so have such copies ready just in case.

Doing School Work on the Computer

While the increased usage of computers in our daily lives has possibly created a more   productive overall use of our time, it has also introduced us to forms of entertainment that can quickly consume great amounts of time and attention. When factoring in school work to the computer usage equation, the possibilities of wasted time are vast. School work is not always the most conducive activity for keeping a person focused.

Doing school work on the computer is an exercise in both time management and staying on task. With the click of a mouse button an hour of study time can be lost to a game of solitaire or a quick search of websites. Distractions abound on a computer, too frequently an Instant Message will appear asking for a fraction of your time. A notification from the speakers tells you  have an email waiting and a pop-up bubble tells you an RSS feed has appeared that you need to check out. A 10 second glance at an email can quickly become 30 minutes as you go from link to link reading the latest news.

An additional noted effect of the increase of work done on a computer is the inability to have legible hand writing. With the majority of written work being typed instead of hand written, reports have shown an exponential decrease in quality of penmanship. While this may not seem important at first it can be a symptom of an even bigger problem and can teach children that doing things the "old fashioned" way is not important when in fact it also has it's time and place. The act of studying and doing school work tends to become monotonous and the brain seeks for ways to distract itself. Whether that be staring at a picture for a few seconds or listening to music. This need for stimulation does not have to be a negative thing however. A quick distraction may allow a student to more readily absorb information once they go back to schoolwork.  Working on a computer especially requires occasional breaks where the student takes their eyes off of the computer and gives them a break.

On the other side of that coin is the increased productivity gained from using computers for school work. The ease of typing out a paper often allows for better thought transmission and more detailed work done than traditional hand writing. The ability to easily go back and reword a thought or expand on a thought allows for students to more fully realize their potential. Along with ease also comes a saving in time by working on the computer. It is most of the time quicker to type a paper than to write it out by hand so typing allows a student to get more done in a shorter period of time. Studying on a computer allows a student to have multiple avenues of teaching at their immediate disposal. Alternative views are easily found and questions can be quickly addressed by online dictionaries, encyclopedias or specialized websites. With the addition of the internet there is hardly a question that can be posed that an answer cannot be found for. Of course we do have to pay attention to where our children go on the internet and teach them which sites are best to find answers on. Just because something is online does not mean that it is true.

Whether or not to allow our children to do their work on the computer has become a matter of great debate both among parents and among teachers. It has great potential as a learning aid but many are afraid of the dangers contained at the same time. Also some worry about the potential for cheating when there is so much information readily available. As technology advances this debate will only become more and more pronounced. For the time being though it's an individual thing and it up to each parent and school to decide for themselves.

Calming your child fears about starting a new school

Starting a new school year can be one of the hardest times in a child's life. To an adult it doesn't seem like much in the grand scheme of things but we've gotten older and forgotten how much fear is involved. It's a big step going into a new school where you don't necessarily know anyone. There are two main times when this happens to a child. The first is when then move up in grade and the new grades are housed in a different school and the second is when the family or the child moves to a completely new area and the child is starting a brand new school for the first time. Both times are stressful for the child but there are things that we as parents can do to help them get through it.

The first situation is a little bit easier to deal with because there's a possibility that some of your child's friends might be at the new school with them. This help make the transition into the new school a little bit easier. Sometimes they'll even be in the same class which helps even more. If there's more than one school for them to go to like there are in bigger areas most of the time you'll be notified during the summer which school and class your child will be attending which gives you time to help your child adjust. Encourage them to talk to their friends and see which school they'll be going to and if they have any classes together. This gives them a chance to start talking about any fears and gives you a chance to alleviate them. Next learn a little bit about the school and point things out to them so that they begin to see it as an adventure rather than something scary. Finally, if there's a before school meeting with the teacher be sure to take your child. This gives them a chance to meet the person that will be teaching them for the following year and can make them feel a bit calmer about the situation.

The second instance is a little harder for a child to deal with. Not only are they going to a new school but they are in a new area and may be apprehensive about being able to find their way around. The first thing that you can do is decide how they'll be getting to school each day. If they'll be walking to school find out where it is and have your child help you plan a route to walk. After it's planned have them walk it a couple of times for practice so that they feel confident about how to get there. Another way that you can help is by encouraging your child to get to know the neighborhood kids. There's a good chance that some if not all of them will be going to the same school and meeting them will mean that your child won't start school surrounded by strangers as there will be some familiar faces. Find out what kind of activities are available at the new school and talk about them together so that they can have something to look forward to.

Most of all just let them know that your always there to listen to their fears and concerns. No matter which of the two situations it is the simple act of listening can have a great impact on your child.

Community College Advantages

If you happen to be fortunate enough to live in a community that has a community college you should really make the time in your schedule to check and see what kind of classes they can offer that can help you advance your education and your career. You might be amazed at the different types of courses you can take even on the community college level. I know that I have found some of the courses that are offered and the degree of learning that takes place to be quite impressive. I think that many people who have in the past disregarded the important role that community colleges play in providing an affordable venue for learning will be quite amazed as well.

Community colleges have an undeserved reputation for inferiority when this could not be further from the truth. A good many of the nations nurses are products of community college educations. In many states, the associates degree nursing programs are quite rigorous and provide more clinical experience than most bachelor's degree nursing programs. This means that students graduating nursing school with an associates degree in nursing are often better prepared to deal with patient care than those who have the 'superior degree'. This by no means is meant to disparage B. S. Nursing students at all. In fact, most hospitals will not even consider you a candidate for an administrative nursing position unless you have the Bachelor's degree. This is only meant to point out that associates degree programs can be quite competitive and inclusive despite common misconceptions.

Of course there are other benefits to learning on the community college level, at least for the first two years of your education. One of those benefits that speaks volumes to me is the fact that teachers in community colleges are dedicated to teaching. They are not working on their own research or books. They are there for the purpose of helping you achieve your goals, which means you aren't an interruption in their pursuit of their own goals.

Community colleges also offer an excellent buffer for students who may not have been on top of their game academically in high school or those who are returning to college after a long absence from academia. You won't find the large auditorium classes on the community college level that major universities are famous for offering. You also won't find that teachers do not have time for their students. There is a lower teacher to student ratio in community colleges so that professors will have time to address the needs of students.

Another benefit is that even if you do not go on to get your four year degree after completing your community college education you will find that your earning potential is significantly improved over those who do not have at least a two-year college education. Research also indicates that students who complete a two-year degree program at a community college are more likely to finish and get a four-year degree than those students who begin their educational experience at a four-year university.

There are a few problems that can be associated with a community college education and you should take note of these so that they do not become a problem for you. First of all, some universities do not accept many of the courses that are offered on the community college level as transfer credits. Make sure that you know what courses are required for the university that you are planning to transfer to in order to avoid this. You also may find that you are limited on the courses you can take and the times in which they will be available. Make sure that you have all the limited courses well ahead of time so that you aren't taking another year of classes in order to graduate.

All in all, a community college education can be just as enlightening as a university education if you enter into the process with an open mind and a willingness to learn. I hope you take advantage of this much less expensive option before moving on to university courses if possible.

Assessing your Chances of getting a College Scholarship

There is plenty you can do in order to assess your chances of getting a college scholarship. By starting out early you won’t be in such a pinch to do everything at the last minute. You can use this additional time to help you take a good inventory of what you have to offer. This way you won’t overlook things that you should have included when you apply.

What is your current GPA? Now don’t panic here as not every college scholarship out there is only offered to those with a 4.0. While a strong GPA is encouraging it is only one part of the equation. Do your best to continue to increase our overall GPA though if you still have a semester or two left of high school. If you have a low GPA then it is a good idea to include information about why.

For example you may have experienced the death of a family member or other circumstances that make focusing on your studies extremely difficult during that period of time. If you didn’t take high school seriously at first but then something happened that changed it, write about it. Such revelations can make a tremendous difference in the way in which the review board evaluates your college scholarship application.

What activities have you taken part in at school? Document all of them so you can show your involvement. You want to do the same with community involvement as well. This all shows you to be a very well rounded individual. As you go through that list, write a separate area where you put down the skills you have acquired as a part of these activities.

This is very important so don’t overlook this information for your college scholarship applications. You will find that a person with only academic success isn’t going to be the one to get the scholarship. What will be looked at is the balance that a person has. If you haven’t been involved too much though now is the time to start adding more activities through school and the community to your list of accomplishments.

Are you able to perform well in a particular sport? If so, you may want to look into these types of college scholarships as well. There are more requirements but you can find out about them with the various scholarships offered. This can more than make up for a low GPA so keep that in mind too.

Any awards you have won at school or from the community need to be documented as well. These are things that not everyone will have and so they really help you to look great during the review process with college scholarship applications. If you are applying for specific need college scholarships then have that information readily available. You may need documentation of your heritage or of your financial status.

By taking the time to fully assess your chances of getting college scholarships you will be able to get more out of your time. You will be able to review the criteria and decide if it is worth applying for or not. This means you will get more completed applications in the mail. The search for college scholarships you meet the requirements for can be time consuming. Do your best to be prepared for it though and not to become frustrated.