All posts by Suzanne Shaffer

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Merry Christmas to Parents of the College Bound

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Wherever you are in the college prep process, I know the obstacles you face and the struggles you have balancing parenting and college prep. One of the reasons I began my blog was to help parents who need help like I did. I know how hard it is to find the right advice, get the  best help, and find encouragement from other parents.

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I’m feeling especially festive this year and I would like to offer my Parents Countdown to College Crash Course FREE to those who take the time to leave a Christmas wish comment along with your email address here. I’d like to hear from all of you this holiday season and share some “parent-to-parent” love and goodwill. Merry Christmas!

 

merry christmas

 

P.S. I’m going to be a tad busy with these little guys for the next few days, so watch for an email early next week with your Christmas present (the Crash Course) attached!

careers

What Can Your Student Do With an Accounting Degree?

 

accounting degree

As a parent, it is natural to want the best for your child now and into adulthood.  You might be wondering which career path might suit him or her based on their strengths in school and life right now.  Some parents can tell from an early age whether or not their child would be successful in science, arts, or humanities.  There are others, still, who excel in mathematics and have not yet found a career choice.  If your child is older, you may find that he or she already has developed some skills in managing money.  

Perhaps he helps with the family budget or she already detailed out her moving expenses for the move to college.  This student can find success in a number of careers with this talent, and one of the most rewarding comes in the form of accounting. A degree in accounting ensures that your child is on the path to becoming financially successful in life. Despite having a seemingly narrow career path, there are actually a wide variety of jobs that this degree can apply to.  Here are just a few paths your child can take with an accounting degree:

Accounting

This is the most obvious choice, but certainly not to be overlooked.  An accountant is someone who prepares and analyzes financial records.  If your child has exceptional organizational skills, then he or she will be excellent at maintaining account books and keeping them up to date.  As an accountant, he or she can look forward to a high chance of job stability because accountants are always in demand.  In fact, he or she can look forward to gaining entry at every level of education from associate’s, master’s, and beyond!  Regardless, your child will have to gain a certificate called a CPA.  To earn his CPA, he will likely have to dedicate hundreds of hours to study, as it is a very difficult exam to pass.  However, with the help of CPA study materials, this is still achievable and well worth the effort. Achieving this distinction could see your child earning six figures very early on in their accounting career, so it’s definitely something to encourage.

Controller

Controllers are in charge of the accounting department in various organizations. They work above accountants and must manage where the money is going and making doubly sure that the department and company is accurately complying with tax laws.  A controller is also called a Chief Accounting Officer.  If your child is naturally ambitious, a natural responsible leader, he or she could ultimately become a controller.

Financial Analyst

A financial analyst is someone who makes recommendations to their employer based on macroeconomic and microeconomic research.  These people are natural visionaries who have the forethought to find patterns in data and develop a strategy that they can advise to their employer.  If your son or daughter is particularly good at analyzing, strategizing, and asserting this prediction with confidence, this may be the perfect career for them.  As you can see, a financial analyst strategizing more based on the big picture—such as national or global economic systems—while accounting may be more specific. Financial analysts can often find work in securities firms or investment banks like W Partners.

Tax Attorney

If your child has expressed an interest in law or has a capacity for debate, he or she can use their accounting degree to become a tax attorney.  In order to pursue this course, she will likely go on to law school and become a specialist in tax policies and liability as it relates to all matters of property and transactions.  As opposed to the above careers, a tax attorney will often work in a law firm.  A common specialty is in IRS issues.  He or she may likely represent a client during an audit and organize settlements.  A tax attorney often works with a public accountant, so it is possible that—if your child becomes an accountant—that he or she may choose to work at a law firm as well.

Regardless of which path your child chooses, your son of daughter will have to prove to be disciplined and dedicated to go this route.  Even those with a natural aptitude for this form of thought will have to work hard.  However, if she is will to go through the trials and study for years, she can become successful in using her accounting degree.

college guidance, college planning

Looking Ahead to 2017

 

looking ahead to 2017

With the Christmas season upon us and students on winter break, it’s time to start looking ahead to 2017.

First things first, take a look at scholarships with January deadlines. These should be at the top of your list to begin 2017. Make scholarship searching and applying a priority in 2017. Say you don’t need money for college? Everyone likes free money! The more scholarship money your student earns the less you will have to pay. Save for retirement. Take a cruise. Remodel your home. Wouldn’t you rather keep the money you saved and use it for other family expenses? It’s a no-brainer–every student should apply for scholarships.

For seniors, it’s time to buckle down. There’s no room for senioritis if you are applying to or been accepted to college. Colleges strongly scrutinize your senior year academics. Just because you’ve already applied or received an offer of admission, colleges can and will rescend it if they believe you’ve communicated a lack of commitment and purpose to academics. Start 2017 strong and finish strong!

For juniors, it’s SAT/ACT prep time. If you’re taking the test in 2017, you’re going to be staring the new SAT in the face: it’s going to be available in March 2017. Use the next couple of months to prepare for the test. There are free tools on line to help you study and consider hiring a tutor if you think it will help your student focus and prepare.

Don’t wait to register for these tests at the last minute. If you plan to take the tests in January, REGISTER NOW! And it it’s in the spring, register now to avoid late registration fees. For a comprehensive guide on these registration and test dates, click here.

For sophomores and juniors, it’s time to start thinking about college visits. Sophomores should plan preliminary college visits (visit some colleges to get a feel for college life and prepare a list of wants and needs). Juniors will be making visits to show the college they are interested. Sign up for the tour and schedule and interview. Colleges keep tract of these visits and it will give you an edge when your application is received.

With a new year, comes new challenges and college-related tasks. Planning in December will help you to hit the ground running in 2017.

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10 Study Abroad Statistics for You and Your Student

 

study abroad statistics

Many students will be making the decision to study abroad in the spring. If you’re on the fence and wonder if the experience is worth the cost, these study abroad statistics should help.

For many years, the benefits of studying abroad have been described in words like these: “It will completely change your life!” and “You will come back a new person.” But the exact long-term benefits were unknown. Now, though, the positive impact of study abroad experiences can be proven with study abroad statistics.

The Institute for International Education of Students (IES) conducted a survey to explore the long-term impact of study abroad on the personal, professional, and academic lives of students. Here are 10 interesting findings:

1. 95% of the students who were surveyed admitted that studying abroad served as a catalyst for increased maturity, 96% reported increased self-confidence, and 95% said it had a lasting impact on their worldview.

2. 87% of the students said that study abroad influenced their subsequent educational experiences. Nearly half of all respondents took part in international work and/or volunteerism since studying abroad.

The Erasmus Impact Study (2013) analyzed the effects of mobility on the skills and employability of students and on the internationalization of higher education institutions. The results of the study proved the benefits of studying abroad for the career development of mobile students. The study highlighted that mobile students are more likely to get managerial positions in their future careers and are less likely to experience long-term unemployment.

Here are some key findings.

3. More than 90% of mobile students reported that they improved their soft skills, including their knowledge of other countries, the ability to interact and work with people from different cultures, adaptability, foreign language proficiency, and communication skills.

4. Young people who study abroad are half as likely to face long-term unemployment as those who do not study abroad. The unemployment rate of Erasmus students five years after graduation is 23% lower.

5. 64% of surveyed employers said that graduates with an international background are more often given greater professional responsibility.

The world is becoming increasingly globalized, and international experience is one of the most essential components of higher education in the 21st century. Just take a look at these facts:

6. The global number of students who study abroad continues to rise with an annual increase of 10%. There were almost 5 million international students in 2014. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has projected that, with demographic changes, the international student population is likely to reach 8 million by 2025.

7. Several traditional source countries are working hard to increase their attractiveness to international students. China hosted nearly 380,000 foreign students in 2014 but has a target to attract 500,000 students by 2020; Japan is aiming for a target of 300,000 international students in 2020; and Malaysia wants to attract 250,000 foreign students by 2025.

The number of U.S. students going abroad keeps increasing every year, a growth pattern that is likely to continue.

8. The most popular destinations for U.S. students studying abroad in the 2014-2015 academic year were the United Kingdom (38,250 U.S. students), Italy (31,166), Spain (26,949), France (17,597), China (13,763), Germany (10,377), Ireland (8,823), Australia (8,369), Japan (5,978), and South Africa (4,968).

9. 68,798 American students were studying science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) in different countries around the world in the 2013-2014 academic year. Another 59,687 American students were studying business, while 57,067 studied foreign languages and international studies.

Why is study abroad essential?

We live in an increasingly globalized world. New technologies have led to the international integration of national markets and businesses. To successfully compete in the global marketplace, multinational and small businesses need employees with cross-cultural competence and knowledge of foreign languages.

10. A recent survey found that almost 40% of U.S. companies missed international business opportunities due to a lack of internationally competent personnel.

It is clear that employers are seeking candidates with study abroad experiences on their resumes. Students who want to work in our deeply interconnected world must study abroad.

There is no doubt that studying abroad will change your life. It offers you a chance to experience other cultures, make international friends, learn new languages, improve your job prospects, contribute to your personal development…and maybe even find the partner of your dreams!

Content for this article originally appeared on SmartStudy, study and writing tips for students, and was written by Ruth Kinloch, a private tutor, language lover and traveler. Read the original article for even more statistics. 

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10 Tips for Writing College Admission-Worthy Essays

 

admission-worthy essays

The average American student attends school 180 days each year. Multiply that by 12 years and, by the time you graduate, you get 2,160 compulsory school days. You would think after all that reading, writing, studying, test-taking, and amassing of extracurricular and civic engagements that writing a college admissions essay would be a breeze. For many, however, that could not be further from the truth.

Somewhere around seventh grade, American schools tend to shift from an emphasis on narrative and descriptive writing to expository and persuasive writing.   As the vast majority of college/university admissions departments favor narrative and descriptive essays, this creates an unfortunate situation for many college applicants.  Even advanced high school writers may find the college admissions essay difficult to write.

Here are the 10 most important writing tips I’ve gained from my years of experience helping students write admission-worthy essays. Follow them and you will be well on your way to writing the kind of essays that transport admissions officers to a time and place showered in such detail it is as if they have been personally invited into the past to experience your life first hand.

  1. Write in the Right Style

The first writing tip I want to share is to select the right writing style for your admissions essay. The vast majority of college admissions essays are personal narrative and memoir. Both draw upon real-life experiences to tell true stories in a fictionalized style that includes characters, plot, conflict, setting, and theme.

Personal narrative relays the storyteller’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences on a certain event. Memoir focuses on one particular moment or series of moments, centered around a theme and usually drawing certain conclusions. In personal narrative and memoir, you are both the storyteller and the main character.

  1. Know Your Voice, Use Your Voice

When we talk about voice as it relates to writing, we are talking about a combination of word choice, syntax, diction, character development, dialogue, etc. Given the importance of the college admissions essay, students tend to look for a different, more desirable voice. Don’t do this. Admissions essays are not about how smart, funny, or distinguished you sound. They are an invitation for you to authentically bear witness to who you used to be and to how you got to be who you are now.

Whatever voice you have been using up to this point is your authentic voice. Use it. Also be mindful that, unlike the spoken word, the written word is unable to convey inflection, body language, facial expressions, etc. This awareness is critical; for most of us, the college admissions essay is our first experience writing for someone completely unknown to us.

  1. First Write How You Speak, Then Edit

Often our speaking, texting, and social media “voice” differs from our academic or traditional writing style. We use this voice more than we write, so this voice tends to be our dominate, authentic, more honest, and less censored representation of ourselves. The first step of personal narrative and memoir style writing is to get your thoughts –in your authentic voice– on paper without edits from your internal academic writer. In other words, let your speaking, texting, and social media voice share your story.

This is just the first step since, for most of us, this voice in written form often presents as scattered, repetitive, fragmentary, and long-winded, qualities which can easily tank an admissions essay, even one with a highly compelling subject. The best way to showcase your authentic voice while avoiding these pitfalls is to begin by writing at least two drafts long-hand with little emphasis on punctuation and grammar.

  1. Make Every Word Count

Not all words have to make a reader’s hair stand on end. Each word should contribute, not distract. Words and phrases that rarely contribute include:  like, really, just, you know, and, actually, I guess, also, that, I mean, a lot, kind of. Not sure whether a word or phrase contributes or distracts?  Read the sentence aloud without the word. Avoid five-dollar words when a fifty cent one will do.

If admissions officers are reading your essays, you have already passed the smart enough test. Personal narrative and memoir style writing uses words to create images in the reader’s mind and to engage them. To achieve this, use descriptive words and sensory imagery when describing your characters and setting. Try replacing emotional qualifiers, such as angry, overjoyed, fearless, tender, devastated, etc., with brief action-reaction event descriptions that create the context for that emotion.

Remember, your goal here is to transport the admissions officers to a time and place showered in such vivid detail that it is as if you have personally invited them into your past to experience, to experience your life first hand.

  1. Don’t Forget the Middle

Everyone knows strong openings and closings are critical when constructing admission-worthy essays. Far too many people forget the middle is just as important. Unlike your high school English teacher, admissions officers are under no obligation to finish reading your essay.

Considering admissions officers’ hectic travel schedules and the sheer volume of essays to be read, there is a good chance that, if read, your essay will be read piecemeal over multiple sittings. If you are writing a 650-word essay, something compelling enough to keep the reader’s attention –or to make them want to return– needs to happen between 250 and 320 words.

  1. Backstory

To effectively craft a personal narrative admissions essay you will need to provide a back story. In addition to offering setting and context, the backstory plays a critical role in determining the degree to which the reader feels invested in you and your narrative.

The problem arises when the back story becomes the story. If you find yourself unable to tell the story you want to tell absent a significant and overtaking back story, then tell a different story. While not the easiest method, a seamless way to introduce a backstory is to weave it into the story you are trying to tell. It is worth noting some of the most informative and compelling backstories have been told in one sentence.

  1. Stay On Topic, Be Specific   

Admissions essays are not autobiographies, streams of consciousness, resumes, or opportunities to further address and/or explain that which can be contained in your application. They are also not invitations to reimagine what is being asked of you.

Most admissions essays ask you to describe, recount, explain, identify, or discuss an event, experience, time, or life lesson. Whichever you choose, begin by focusing on the specific details surrounding your story. Look for the stories within the story. If you find one, consider telling that story. Be specific, not only in the story you tell but how you tell it. Readers expect you to be as specific as you can usefully be. Watch out for generalities.

  1. Don’t Oversell, Don’t Undersell

While admissions essays are the perfect place to brag about your accomplishments, don’t oversell. Only brag if it’s worth bragging about. Nobody cares if you served Thanksgiving dinner to the homeless. They care if you started a take home food pantry at your school, so kids didn’t have to go hungry over the weekend.

Admissions essays are also not the place to undersell. If it took two years and a sit-in to start a Gay/Straight Alliance at your school, make sure that you include that detail, not simply that you started a GSA.

  1. Tell on Yourself

One of the biggest mistakes students make is to try and craft essays which show only their best qualities. Colleges and universities are not looking for perfect people. They are looking for authentic people. Authentic people are flawed people. Some of our most compelling stories are the ones that open with showing us in less than favorable light.

Throw in your lessons learned or what you have done to repair past wrongs and redeem yourself, and you have the makings of a compelling redemption story. Admissions officers have read hundreds of stories from kids who were bullied. They are dying to read the reformed bully’s story.

  1. Writing About Difficult Experiences

This last writing tip is a tough one. We’ve all had painful of experiences. Many of these experiences are difficult to talk about, let alone write about. However, sometimes, if there is time, distance, and healing between you and the experience, you can not only revisit the experience but also articulate it as an example of how even the most painful of experiences can be reclaimed, transformed, and accepted for what they are, the building blocks of our unique identities.

If you can do this, go for it. When done well, these types of narratives are the most impactful. Do remember you are seeking admission into a community for which the admissions officer is the gatekeeper. They need to know that, if admitted, not only will you be okay but your fellow students will be okay as well.

___________________________________

Today’s guest post is contributed by Chad Goller-Sojourner, a Seattle-based memoir and personal narrative essayist, solo-performer and founder of Bearing Witness: College Admissions Essay Writing Coaching he can be reached at www.bearingwitnessadmissions.com

campus security

What Parents Need to Know About Campus Security

campus security
photo provided by CNN

It happened again yesterday. Our college students were face-to-face with someone who wanted to do them harm. Ohio State responded quickly and forcefully by stopping the perpetrator and avoiding student fatalities.

At 9:55 a.m., the school sent out a campus alert reporting an active shooter incident.

“Buckeye Alert: Active Shooter on campus. Run Hide Fight. Watts Hall. 19th and College,” Ohio State Emergency Management tweeted at 9:56 a.m.

“Run, hide, fight” is a safety protocol for active shooter situations promoted by the Department of Homeland Security and other law enforcement agencies. It offers a plan of action for those who find themselves in the midst of a mass shooting: Your first defense should be to evacuate if possible. If not, the next course of action is to find a safe place to hide and stay out of view in silence. As a last resort “and only when your life is in imminent danger,” says DHS, you should take steps to incapacitate the shooter and “act with physical aggression.”

In an article posted by CNN, Ohio State President Dr. Michael Drake and others credited the school’s active shooter training and the campus alert system for helping the community maintain order while the scene was secured.

What should you know about your student’s prospective college in regard to campus security?

Not only are colleges running practice scenarios with campus police, colleges all across the country are training students for this type of threat. Ohio State students used that training yesterday morning. Some piled desks and chairs up against doors in classrooms. Others barricaded themselves in bathrooms and dorms.

Your student may not be concerned about this type of scenario but every parent today knows this is a possibility. It’s up to you to ask those tough questions during campus visits (preferably away from your student’s ears).

The American Council on Education published a list of questions parents can ask when discussing this issue with campus security:

  • Has the school done a full assessment of potential catastrophic risks, and does it have plans in place to address these risks?
  • Does the school have an appropriate emergency team in place? Do team members regularly participate in emergency preparedness exercises?
  • Does the school have multiple means to communicate with students, faculty, and visitors in the event of an immediate, ongoing emergency situation? Do plans exist to direct people to a safe location?
  • What communication and coordination networks exist among campus security leadership, local law enforcement, political officials, first responders, and health officials, both on an ongoing basis and in case of emergency? Is there a specific integrated emergency response plan? Do all the agencies who might be involved in emergency run drills on campus to prepare?
  • Is the training of campus security personnel appropriate to potential risks?

How should you discuss campus security with your student?

Discuss the importance of contacting you in the event of this type of action. Don’t, under any circumstances, call your student to check on him. A phone ringing can alert an attacker to his whereabouts if he is hiding.

The purpose is not to scare your student, but equip him with the information and the tools he needs to be calm during this type of scenario. In an article I wrote for Smart College Visit, I outlined three steps you should take as a parent to prepare your student:

1st-Arm your student with apps to help him get in touch with help if needed: MyForce (for iPhone, and Android) and OnWatch (for iPhone and Adroid).

2nd-Make use of cellphones. Suggest using social media or texting. Remind him to immediately turn his phone to silent/vibrate and keep it in hand to view updates from campus security while the threat is in place.

3rd-View this video from the Center of Personal Protection and Safety together with your student.

Before sending your child off to college, do your homework. Make sure that if something bad does happen, the incident and the students get the attention they deserve. If you know the plan and have assurance that the college has implemented specific procedures to facilitate it, you will worry less and sleep better at night.

admissions, essays

Step-by-step Guide for a Killer Essay

This post originally appeared on WorthPointe, a Dallas based financial group, and was written by a former Brown University football player, graduate and commencement speaker. His advice should be helpful when writing the college essay and scholarship essays.

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scholarship essay

All selective schools and and nearly all scholarships have more qualified candidates than they have admissions slots and available funds. Whatever school you apply to and scholarship you apply for, there will be a list of basic “qualifier” stats. Even if you are far exceeding the minimum qualifications, expect that other candidates are as well. To beat the odds, you need to stand out. For example, all 4.0 GPAs look the same on paper, so there really is no value in dwelling on raw stats like that. What you need is a story that makes you come to life and be memorable!

Here is my step-by-step guide to crafting and telling your story. It can be used to draft your story for a formal application essay, or for an interview.

Brainstorm.

Write your name in the center of a piece of paper. Now, list out some words that you or others might use to categorize you and put each word in its own bubble extending from the center. Try to cover as many aspects of your life as possible. Here are some examples: nerd; jock; musician; rich, poor or middle-class; trendy, race, sex and/or gender; city-boy; country-girl; religious; non-religious; single-parent home; suburban kid; inner city kid; writer; artsy; nationality or place of origin; etc. Be sure to think about these categories from the perspective of many different types of people.  For example, your parents might categorize you differently than your friends or people from different parts of the country or world.

Understand Why.

Now think about the things that would make different people categorize you in those ways. Under each category bubble, list the reasons you fit the category. For example, for “jock” you might list “softball team defensive MVP.” Remember most people won’t know all the different categories to which you can fit.

Find Your Peculiarity.

Look at all your categories and why you fit into them. Do any categories seem to not fit neatly with others? Would anyone be surprised you fit into one category if you were already in another? Focus on the categories you fit that seem most at odds with each other. For example, maybe you are a middle-class suburban kid who is an offensive lineman on the football team and sings in glee club. In this scenario, being white, middle-class and suburban isn’t that interesting. However, an offensive lineman who sings, or a singer who decided to go out for the football team? That’s pretty interesting. Any category you fit is potentially interesting or potentially uninteresting depending on the other categories you fit, so list as many as possible to start out!

Develop Your Peculiarity. 

Optimally, your story should challenge expectations about you. So, think about how people would expect you to act based on each of your categories. Pay special attention to the categories that stood out before and jot down some quick examples. Can you think of any ways you only partially fulfill expectations in that category? Can you think of ways you have behaved totally different than someone would expect? Can you think of reasons why people would not expect you to fit into a certain category? For example, imagine your family grew up enjoying cricket and soccer before immigrating from India to a middle-class suburban area. If your family was shocked that you played football, that’s interesting!      

Find Examples of Your Peculiarity.

Think of specific times or turning points in time when you have behaved in a way that was contrary to what someone would expect from someone in said category. Jot down those examples.

Rough Draft.

Don’t wait; immediately start drafting a narrative. In your backstory, describe all the reasons someone would expect you to be a certain way (in a certain category) and ways in which you are that way. Explain how you fit a second category that wouldn’t be expected from someone in the first category, or how you don’t fit a second category that would be expected from someone in the first category. Write out some examples in a narrative format.

The Lesson.

Now ask yourself what you learned from this. How did it impact you?  How did it make you who you are? Did it influence your goals for the future? What was the culminating event and what accomplishment came with it? Did it bring you to a totally different path than expected, or did your journey come “full-circle” in a way that led you back to something? Add the answers to these questions to your draft.

What You Want.

Jot down what you want at the end of the draft. You want to attend a certain school, pursue a certain degree or profession, work with a certain group of people, etc.

Tie it Together.

By now, your story should be apparent; it has an interesting twist and leads you to a certain lesson. Explain how that lesson has led you to your goal. 

The Elevator Pitch.

Once you’ve written out and edited your story, see if you can condense it to a short paragraph. Think of movie or book summaries you’ve read. This is very important, as you may need to tell your story several times throughout the process. You can even incorporate this summary into the beginning or end of your essay. Summaries like this help your story stick in the mind of the reader.

Nobody will remember your “qualifier” stats, but they will remember your story! Your essay readers and interviewers are going to be humans. Humans love stories — especially stories with surprises!

Scholarship Friday, scholarships

2017 Frame My Future Scholarship

Frame my future scholarship

Unlike most of the traditional scholarships, there are no essays to write, no grade or academic requirements—it is all about creativity. With the Frame My Future Scholarship, students are challenged to create a visual entry, whether it is a photograph, collage, painting, illustration, poem, short story—any single piece that demonstrates what he/she would like to do in their personal and professional life after college. Entrants are asked to follow the theme: This is how I Frame my Future.

Award Information

  • Five $1,000 scholarship awards
  • One $1,000 donation to Grand Prize Winner’s college/university

Eligibility Criteria

The 2017 scholarship contest is open to students who are:

  • Attending a U.S. college or university full-time for the 2017-2018 academic year (including community college, undergraduate, or graduate school)
  • A legal U.S. resident

How to Apply

Students can apply for the Frame My Future Scholarship by visiting this website: www.framemyfuture.com

The entry period is from November 1, 2016 to March 1, 2017.

Selection Criteria

Church Hill Classics will select 24 Finalists based on the creativity of the full entry, including the entry image and accompanying description (maximum of 500 characters). The full entry must:

  • Be your own work and relate to the theme – This is how I Frame My Future
  • Contain correct grammar and spelling

The 24 Finalists advance to a one-month public voting phase. The five entries with the most votes will each earn a $1,000 scholarship. The top vote-getter also earns the $1,000 donation for his/her college or university’s scholarship endowment fund. Each winner will also receive a custom diploma frame.

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About Church Hill Classics/diplomaframe.com

Church Hill Classics known online as diplomaframe.com is located in Connecticut, where for the past 25 years they have manufactured custom diploma frames for colleges, universities, and high schools.

scholarships

Top 5 Tips for Winning Scholarships

winning scholarships

The burden of college tuition is too harsh for a hard-working parent. No matter how much you planned your expenses and tried to save money for years before this moment came, you’re put in front a huge challenge: you have to invest thousands of dollars in a single year of education. The average annual tuition fees in a prestigious private college in the USA are $35,000, and state institutions charge around $25,000 per year.              

There are many families and students that cannot afford making such investment in higher education. That’s why the idea of a scholarship sounds incredibly appealing. The only problem is: scholarship programs are incredibly competitive. You have to try very hard to submit proper applications, achieve academic success, and commit to extracurricular activities if you want a chance to get into a program. The good news is: it’s possible. There are plenty of organizations and governmental programs that give opportunities to talented students.

The Benefits of Scholarships: High-Quality Education for Free

If you cannot afford high-quality education, then you would have to make peace with low-rated programs that don’t guarantee a bright professional future. The truth is, even the best universities don’t guarantee that, but a talented student has better chances to get noticed by recruiters if they pick Harvard, UCLA, or another reputable school.

The mere fact of gaining a scholarship is an accomplishment the student feels proud of. They start believing in their talents, and they have a motivation to expand their capacity. With that encouragement, students are pushed towards a better future.

Here are few examples of famous people who received scholarships:

  • Bill Gates won a National Merit Scholarship in 1973. He attended Harvard and became one of the most influential men of his time.
  • Edwin Hubble, a famous astronomer who played a critical role in the establishment of extragalactic astronomy, also received a scholarship. He was the brightest student at his high school. At the graduation in 1906, the principle of the school said: “Edwin Hubble, I have watched you for four years and I have never seen you studying for ten minutes… Here is a scholarship for the University of Chicago.” Hubble’s athletic skills also gained him a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford.

How did Bill Gates and Edwin Hubble get their scholarships? They were certainly among the brightest students of their generation, and that helped them get noticed. However, we have to keep in mind that there are thousands of students with similar skills and accomplishments.

How does one get noticed in all that competition? We have 5 great tips that can help a student get there. 

5 Tips that Lead You to a Scholarship

Start the Search as Early as Possible

The biggest mistake you could make is waiting. Start the search for scholarship programs before the start of senior year, and mark all deadlines in Google Calendar. Set the app to send you reminders at least a month before the application deadlines.

Focus on the scholarship your future college student is qualified for. Analyze the requirements very carefully, and encourage your son or daughter to meet them. No pressure is needed; only encouragement. Remember: you should never force your kids too hard. You need to motivate them to achieve goals they will benefit from.

Go Local

When you’re supporting your son or daughter to apply for scholarships, you should definitely encourage them to aim high. The National Merit Scholarship and other prestigious programs are worthy of a try. However, you should also be aware of the fact that the competition there is overwhelming.

Local scholarships, on the other hand, are open to much smaller groups of students. Conduct an online research and ask around: are there companies, NGOs, small business, clubs, and benefactors that offer scholarships on a local level? Teachers and guidance counselors have this information, so don’t forget to ask them for advice.

Unigo’s Scholarship Search tool can give you a list of scholarships your future college student is qualified for.

Make the Application Personal

A student has to showcase academic or athletic achievements in order to gain a scholarship. However, they need to show some personality, too. That’s why the application essay is so important. It has to be very unique, specific, and personal. Support your kid through all stages of completion. If necessary, invest in a writing course.

The essay has to explain why the student deserves that scholarship more than any other applicant. Great writers can write monumental essays even when they are inspired from the simplest experience. That’s the effect you want to achieve.

Edit, Proofread, and Be Very Diligent

You never send the first draft of a personal essay in the application. Never! That paper will need some editing and proofreading. When your kid writes it, advise them to proofread the content very diligently. Then, you can offer to check it out. The best thing to do at this point would be to hire an online editor. They will improve the quality and logical flow of the paper, so it will be ready to become part of the application.

Your kid should make sure to go through the directions for application once again and provide all necessary documents.

Don’t Get Disappointed. Don’t Give Up!

No one can guarantee you a scholarship. No matter how hard the student tries to meet all requirements and write the perfect essay, they might get rejected. If that happens, don’t be disappointed. Do not give up! Keep finding other opportunities and keep applying. Sharon Stone was awarded a scholarship to Edinboro University when she was 15 years old. If she didn’t get that scholarship, do you think she would’ve given up? No way; you can recognize a persistent person when you see one. Keep applying and keep trying.

Scholarship applications may seem overwhelming. There are too many opportunities to explore and essays to write. However, some people get the awards pretty easily. They apply and they win! That can happen for your kid, too. Devoted studying, exploring different interests, and a diligent applying process – that’s the key to winning a scholarship and working towards a bright future. Good luck! 

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Today’s guest contributor is Jessica Freeman, a professional journalist and a freelance content writer at the company Australian Writings. She focuses her content writing on education, career, success, and academic topics. You can follow her on Facebook and Google+.

career colleges, careers

Fascinating Career Paths to Discuss with your Student

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career paths

As a parent, you want your child to succeed in life. There is nothing strange or unusual about that. But how can you actually make it happen? For a start, it’s important to recognize that your child’s career is not something for you to decide on. You can support them and offer ideas during their education. But, ultimately, it’s something that they are going to have to work out for themselves. However, you should talk to them and be there to discuss options every step of the way.

They will need someone to share ideas with, so shouldn’t be completely out of the loop. As a parent with more experience of the world of work than your child, you could present some ideas. Make the career ideas you suggest appealing in some way. Show them things that could get them excited about their future career. You might not come up with anything that they end up doing. But you could inspire them or give them an idea that they pick up and run with. So, here are some ideas for career paths that are interesting. Discuss them with your son or daughter.

Stenographer

Stenography is a form of shorthand typing. It’s used to take down information rapidly when needed. It’s the kind of job, therefore, that requires a skilled individual. If your child gets the right training, this could be a good option for them in their career. It is used in a few different contexts. Court stenographers are used to take down everything that is said in the courtroom during a hearing. And they are also used to create live TV subtitles as well. It’s a job that’s a little unconventional, and that’s why it could appeal to your child. You can learn more about shorthand typing at http://shorthandshorthandshorthand.com/Speedbuilding.htm.

Dentistry

There are plenty of great career paths on offer in the world of medicine. But why limit yourself to the conventional options? Yes, being a doctor or a nurse or a surgeon might be prestigious.But dentistry can be just as interesting. As long as you don’t have a problem with poking around in people’s mouths all day, it could be the ideal job for your son or daughter. It’s very well paid, and dentists are always needed. It’s a legitimate medical field, but it’s one that many people don’t consider as a career option. If you ask me, that’s a mistake.

Film and Video Editing

These days, we are more reliant on films and videos than ever before. There is more of this kind of content around than in the past, and someone has to edit it together. Whenever you watch anything, there is an editing process behind it. Cutting together clips can be about telling a story or delivering information. But there is more behind that than you might think. It takes skills to deliver a narrative or a pile of information in a way that is interesting and captivating for the viewer. Many young people have a flair for it because they are used to working on computers.

International Diplomacy

Have you ever wanted to be the guy that strikes trade deals and does business with other countries? Those are just some of the things that international diplomats do. If you have an interest in world affairs and want to be a part of it, then you could do a course in international relations. You can find course details at sites like http://www.withmydegree.org/can-international-studies-degree/. It takes ambition and determination to get to the top in that world. And you have to start at the very bottom if you’re going to have any chance of making it all the way. However, it could be worth it in the end.

Land Surveying

Before civil engineering and building projects go ahead, the land has to be assessed. This is where the land surveyor comes in. These are professionals that are responsible for taking data and making a judgement. It requires a skillful understanding of numbers, as well as an ability to interpret complex data. On top of all that, land surveyors have to be able to negotiate and communicate with lots of other people. So, having people skills is important too. It can be an interesting and financially rewarding job, though.

Architect

We are not going to stop needing buildings anytime soon. And there are few jobs more rewarding them designing buildings that actually get built. This is exactly what architects do. They are the ones responsible for shaping the skyline and creating the buildings where we live and work. There will always be demand for people who are skilled in this sector. It requires a level of creativity, as well as a solid understanding engineering concepts. It’s certainly not easy to break into, but it is something worth introducing to your son or daughter.

Forensics

Anyone who has watched a cop show or a serial killer movie in the last decade or so will know a bit about forensics. You don’t have to understand it inside out to know that it’s very important when it comes to catching criminals. It’s work that has to be carried out by competent professionals, however. So, if your son or daughter enjoys science but doesn’t know which part of it to focus on, maybe forensics could be the best option. It allows them to put their skills to good use. Forensic scientists are always in demand, and the job pays well too.

Art Restoration

If your son or daughter has a flair for art, they could use this to their advantage when they are trying to find a career path. Art restoration is one of the most important activities out there at the moment. You can’t underestimate how key it is. If we want our art heritage to be around forever, it needs to be restored and maintained. To be involved in art in an active way doesn’t have to be about creating your own works of art. Bringing old works of art back to their former glory is just as important. So, this could be something to suggest to your art-obsessed child.