Time Management – Putting You Ahead of the Game

Time management is one of the most critical issues facing college students, so you can’t wait to get there to get it under control.  It is also an imperative for being an effective employee.  If time management is a challenge for you, get a planner/day timer and start using it.  Begin with the end in mind!

College students who are seniors and facing graduation and the workforce in the next 2-3 months, you should be in “full pursuit” of that 1st full time job.  Attending college job fairs on campus or in your local area are good options and are all well underway.  Don’t forget those career-finder websites, but remember that if you use a headhunter service, ask about the fees!

College juniors, you may not be ready to secure that first post-graduation job, but attending job fairs is quite beneficial from the experience perspective.  Get out there and see who is hiring, who might have internships for senior year, and the projections for hiring next year.  Get business cards from those whom you are interested in maintaining contact.  It’s a great way to build a relationship!

High school juniors, do you need to register for the SAT or ACT?  The opportunities are diminishing for this year, so manage your time effectively.  Seniors, many of you are in wait mode and anxious for acceptance letters.  But that doesn’t mean you are on cruise control.  Grades need to stay strong, and if you are undecided about those colleges, be sure to do your homework evaluating the programs at each and making note of potential scholarships once accepted.  Need to connect your natural abilities to a major area of study?  Contact me.

Managing your time can put you ahead of the game, not just in the game.  The competition is steep out there, so begin with the end in mind!  Eye on the prize!

Critical Questions for Funding a College Education

This week we have a Guest Blog written by Mike Dailey, owner of College Authority in Connecticut.  Mike has 25 years of experience working with families and college funding strategies.  He has spoken at many high schools and brings great insight to the college process.  While he is based in Connecticut, the Internet makes business anywhere a reality.  I hope you will enjoy his perspective and expertise!

Financial aid is a critical piece of paying for college for most families, and even if it is not, why are you spending unnecessary dollars?  Unfortunately, paying for college can be an extremely complex and convoluted process with colleges having different financial aid forms and filing deadlines. On top of that, there are formulas used to determine a family’s eligibility for federal aid and a college’s need based financial aid and non-need aid, scholarships and grants.  Colleges typically do not explain how the formulas are derived but they can easily be determined college by college if you know how to look up their aid statistics. Knowing this information puts the family in the driver’s seat to understand their aid eligibility and to appeal their aid package if they feel they have been shorted.

Between now and January, seniors will be submitting applications and financial paperwork will need to be filed with your institutions of choice.  Have you considered these questions:

  • How to make college affordable regardless of our income level
  • How to maximize our family’s eligibility for college financial aid
  • What are the little known funding sources available even if we don’t qualify for need based aid
  • What to do we do if the value of our 529 college savings plan is down by 25-40%
  • How do we pay for college without sacrificing our retirement
  • How do we pay for college even if I lose my job in the next 12 months
  • How do we determine exactly how much money we’ll need to pay for college expenses
  • Are there colleges that offer the best shot of getting a good financial aid package
  • Is it possible to attend an expensive private university for less than the cost of a state college

Feel free to email us for a complimentary phone consultation by visiting our website: collegeauthorityct.com

I want to say a special Thanks to Mike for sharing some of his expertise and taking the time to provide some very important questions for consideration.

College Search

This is a really critical time for juniors and seniors in high school who are college bound.  Juniors need to be actively engaged in a plan and a process of managing timelines of tests and prep programs, exploring options and building their “Full Student Package.”  Seniors, you are applying to colleges and universities.  So, for all of you, I encourage you to visit the CollegeWeekLive website and explore colleges and universities that are part of the site.  As a site member, they provide great tools for students and parents as well as virtual tours, live chats and tons of information.  It’s free so sign up today!

http://www.collegeweeklive.com/index.cfm?

The clock ticks and calendar waits for no one.  Don’t miss an opportunity!  Capitalize on your options.  Need help understanding options and clarifying direction?  Contact me.

Working Backwards

In spite of the highly publicized expense of college, the numbers of applicants is growing at an astounding rate.  The need for an education beyond high school is recognized, but the importance of preparing is often overlooked by the demands of a daily grind.  Too many times, students find themselves short of an opportunity because of a lack of planning.  So make a plan to plan backwards!  Start with the end in mind.

Juniors, you know you need to take the SAT, ACT or even PSAT.  You may even need a prep course to fine tune those skills or techniques for taking tests effectively.  Target your date of an exam, work backwards and allow enough time for taking that prep course.  Your plan may even include a follow up test with prep course in between the first “baseline” test.  Either way, the entire plan needs to be driven by the target date of submitting college applications and having test scores available.  It typically takes about 3 weeks to get scores after you sit for the SAT, ACT, or PSAT.

Seniors, you must have your timeline established.  You are in final test opportunity mode with only two fall dates left to register for the SAT and three for the ACT.  You’re also in college visit mode and completing applications.  The Common Application went live on-line the first week of August for those 2013 applicants, so essay questions are posted.  This is the time to begin planning your essay!

Although it is critcal for juniors and seniors to be carefully assessing their timeline, it is not too early for sophomores and freshman to begin their plan.  By building your plan with the end in mind, you can guard against missing deadlines and create great opportunities to build your “value” as a university applicant.  You also begin to establish a plan of behavior that pays big dividends as you navigate time management in college.  Work backwards…it works!

Need help?  Click here to contact me.

A Word to the Wise

Over the coming weeks, college students will begin to report to campus.  Freshmen will enter a whole new phase of life and upper classmen will be anxious to return to friends and a lifestyle different from living at home.  Therein lays the message for today.  Consider it a Word to the Wise.  Wise because you have gained enough knowledge and experiences to get you there, but are you wise enough to maintain?

Freshmen attrition rates have been written about in publications for almost 40 years with rates of 13-33% at institutions across the country.  So, in addition to national norms of 6 years for a 4 year degree, the rate at which freshman drop out is alarming.  I can bring it even closer to home and say that in my years as a principal, I have known or known principals in which six of their valedictorians or salutatorians have not only dropped out after freshman year, but lost significant scholarships.  Why this disappointing ending?

For some, economic issues are the culprit, but for many more the issue is time management.  Living at home you have boundaries set by parents and a system of checks and balance.  You also have a daily class schedule that has established timeframes and expectations for every minute of your 7 hour school day.  But college doesn’t run that way.  No one tells you to get up in the morning, no one tells you to go to class, and no one tells you to do your homework.  It’s all on you.  Wow!  That’s a shift!

It seems so natural, but it’s not!  Yes, turning 18 and becoming more independent we are expected to become more “adult” and with that we are expected to make good decisions and demonstrate adult behaviors.  But when you are surrounded by so many new choices, new friends, and new opportunities, the lure to manage time wisely is challenged and therein lies the making of a freshman catastrophe and ultimately a statistic for freshmen attrition.

Wisdom is not just the academic, it is also experience.  Students who have been successful demonstrate an ability to manage their time wisely.  So for those of you going off to college, take a few minutes as the semester begins and evaluate your schedule, evaluate available time, and establish a routine for study habit development.  Protect that time, manage your time wisely and your success!

Getting the Biggest Return on an Education

When you evaluate the cost or investment in something, sometimes we humans can be a bit short sighted.  So when it comes to evaluating the cost of a college education and your investment of time, you want to make sure you invest well and provide good marketability for yourself.  You also want to reduce the potential of debt after graduation.

There is an excellent article, The Best Values in Public Colleges that ranks 20 of the best universities and reasons for the rankings.  I point this out because there is an additional factor to pay attention to in these numbers and it isn’t printed.  The last column on the chart identifies “Average debt at graduation.”  This is important…many states, like Florida, offer academic scholarship dollars to in-state students based on GPA.  But even with those dollars, the “Average debt at graduation” for students at University of Florida is $16,013.  Maybe your most economical and major specific institution isn’t in-state.  Look at all of your options.

By doing some work up front, you can explore careers, majors and schools that are interesting, make sense and are a natural fit for you.  That’s where I can provide you excellent guidance and steps to creating an effective plan for college and career direction.  Those steps help to lead you to a great college experience, on-time graduation with a meaningful degree that is marketable in a career path geared to your satisfaction and reward.

Getting the biggest return on an educational investment means:

  • Graduating on Time
  • Reduced or No Student Loan Debt
  • Marketable Degree
  • High Degree of Satisfaction in Career Path

Click here for more information on creating a successful high school and college to workplace plan.

Click here for the full article and table – The Best Values in Public Colleges.

Handwriting on the Wall

For the past couple of weeks I have directed my subject matter to high school and college students who need to address their plan for the up-coming summer.  However, parents need to take note as well.  The value of creating a plan now provides increased opportunity for desired experiences, but it also provides increased opportunity for valuable profile or resume’ material.  Additionally, with applications to universities increasing, building value in you is a great way to separate yourself from the rest of the pack.

Whether you are a high school student applying to universities or a college student applying for a job, there is a common factor for both.  Universities, like employers, are looking for the “right fit” individual.  While you don’t come with a guarantee, they want to have some sense that you are a good investment for them.  So they are looking for people who stand out from the others in some way.  And as resources for universities are cut through state budgets or private foundations due to the current economy, the cost of college will increase.  The handwriting has been on the wall for years and the trend will continue.

In January of 2009, the Wall Street Journal ran an article, “States Weigh Cuts to Merit Scholarships.”  The article addresses the state programs that provide scholarships to students based on GPA, test scores and class rank.  But the trend over 5 years was indicating a tightening of criteria due to budget shortfalls.  Some states were even considering eliminating state funded scholarships.

Then in July 2010, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported the gaps, caps and enacted budget efforts to move toward balanced budgets.  In doing so, K-12, undergraduate and graduate programs experienced serious financial cuts and program impact.  The outcome was increased tuition and decreased scholarship opportunities.

Most recently, the Sun-Sentinel posted an article, “Bright Futures Scholarship Program Faces $100M Funding Cut.” While most of the article addresses the criteria of eligibility being debated as well as the number of students being affected, there is an alarming statistic regarding the increase of tuition.  In 2009, Legislature authorized Florida state universities to increase tuition 15% per year until they reached the national norm.   State by state you can Google search for your state name followed by the words, “cuts to higher education budget” and the story will be repeated.  In an effort to balance budgets, states are continuing to cut funding to education and universities are included in the casualties.

The costs to be educated will continue to escalate.  The trend is clear.  So while part of the plan has to be about your financial plan to pay for college, part of the plan has to be how you create the best possible you as that individual that is separate and unique from the rest of the pack.  That individual is created through class performance, athletic performance, and community service and leadership opportunities.  It takes time to accumulate those experiences and it takes commitment.  Planning helps to make it happen.  The debate over scholarship criteria will continue and will change.  As will the entrance criteria at universities.  Your efforts to create a “Complete Student Package” must remain constant.  The handwriting is on the wall.