Archive for the 'College Success' Category

Take the Time You Deserve Before the School Year Begins

Since the last month of summer vacation is rolling quickly around the corner, take advantage of the time and relax. For some of us, school starts in less than a month. For others, there’s only a little time over a month before we’re back to the busyness and focused attention that a school year brings.

Here are a few things you can do before the school year appears:

1. Take a mini vacation. Whether you go near or far, now is the time to get away before you don’t have time to do so. There are some advance ticket and last minute ticket deals out there, so do your research online and take advantage of the fabulous discounts.

2. Catch some extra z’s. Allow your body to get some rest. The school year sometimes bring around a schedule, which causes you to pull some all nighters. Resting up now will give your body the reserve fuel you might need in a month or so. Even though your body needs the rest, make sure you don’t overdue it. Going to bed at 4 a.m. and sleeping in until 1 p.m. will make it more difficult to adjust your sleep schedule around, especially if you have morning classes. 

3. If you’re not familiar with your school, stop by the campus or building now to find your classes. Not knowing where you are going on the first day only adds anxiety to your first day of meeting new instructors and classmates.

4. Find something you are interested in reading. If you’ve been hanging out all summer, your brain might have gotten used to limited activity. Get it up in gear with starting to read more often. Pick up a last minute summer book, pick up the newspaper, or pick out your favorite magazine.

5. Spend some extra time with friends and family. During the school year, it sometimes becomes a challenge to balance school, work, and your social life. Fit your loved ones in now while you have the time. They’ll be sure to understand when life get busy soon. 



Published on Friday July 30, 2010 in Broadcast, College Success and Life Management. 0 Comments

The Dream Purposeful Phenomenon Tonight at 9 p.m. EST

Join Mignon Brooks, the Collegiate Career Coach and founder of Dream Purposefully Empowerment Services this evening at 9 p.m. EST for an online discussion on how to make tough decisions and turn challenges into opportunities.

Click on the link below to get involved:

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/create-the-career-of-your-dreams-phenomenon

Published on Tuesday July 20, 2010 in Broadcast, College Success, Dream Purposeful Phenomenon and Life Management. 0 Comments

Strong Teams Win Championships

The other day I was talking to my oldest, high school age, nephew about working on group projects  in school. Although there’s a bit of an age range between us, he described his group project experiences to be very similar to the group project experiences I had in high school. There was always at least one student who did nothing, another one who partially participated, and one or two who did most of the work.

That setup does not work well in the workplace because your colleagues do not want to pick up your slack, and your employer could possibly give you a poor evaluation or terminate you because of your lack of participation. Prepare to excel in group projects well before college and when you get into your career field.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has his or her own particular strength. The leader of the group, which is usually obvious in the beginning of the process, should get each member of the group to write down what part of the project interests him or her most. If the interest in each person is identified, that’s usually also that person’s strength. People want to work on things they are good at doing.

Let each person create their own task list for their portion of the project. Set a deadline for the entire group to get together and present that task. These two simple steps will get the project completed without some people participating and others not.

In the workplace, everyone must participate. Employers notice if someone is slacking and who is apt to take the lead role in group projects. Practice being a good team leader now, so you’ll be an excellent team leader in the future.

Published on Friday July 2, 2010 in Broadcast, College Success, On the Job and Professional Skills. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Financial Aid is Not Free

One day I was talking to one of my students outside of the classroom. He was not performing well in class, and I was offering him tutoring services from myself or the tutoring center. He said one of the main reasons he was not performing well was because he worked a lot.

While I was talking to him about options of balancing between his job and school, he said, “I’m not paying for school anyway.”

I said, “Oh really? What methods do you use to cover your tuition?”

He said, “I’m on financial aid.”

I said,” You do know you have to pay financial aid back….don’t you?”

“No I don’t,” he said,”that’s why it’s called aid.”

Let me dispell the financial aid myths for you right now. This stuff can be extremely confusing for both students and parents. There are three types of financial aid and there are huge differences between each of them.

1. Grants: This is the free money you aren’t responsible for paying back. This free money is usually awarded if you get a scholarship, you have exemplary grades, or you qualify to be in extreme need of the money based on you or your family’s financial situation. You can also get a grant if your employer provides tuition reimbursement.

2. Most students take out loans without even realizing that they’ll have to pay this money back. Popular loans are from Sallie Mae, Stafford, Perkins, and Plus loans. Approximately six months after graduation, the loan companies start sending you bills for the money you owe. The interest rates on these loans are usually rather low. The ideal behind them is that when you graduate, you’ll be able to find a job and pay them back. The loan companies tend to be flexible in working out payment plans, as long as you are responsible in paying on time.

3. Another way to pay for school is to find out any work study your school might have to offer. They don’t normally pay too much, but it’s at least something you are paying off gradually while you are in school, instead of the lump sum you’d be asked to pay six months after graduation.


Published on Monday June 28, 2010 in Broadcast and College Success. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Grand Finale for High School Grads

High school seniors are about to say goodbye to their high schools and move forward along their journey in life. Each student going their own unique way, brings many seniors excitement. But how sure are these students in the choices they have already made or are about to make for their futures? 

It’s very common for students to go off to college or a career after high school and not really know what they want to do. As a high school freshman, I was a criminal justice major. I wanted to be a criminal attorney. How did I pick that career? It was simple. I liked detective television shows (Law and Order), and I figured I’d make a lot of money being a lawyer, so I thought it was a perfect match.  Come to find out, it was the worst match ever. I hated all of the legal classes, and I was scared to even work in a field that dealt with crime.

Then I became a journalism major because I loved to write. I did work in that field for a few years before becoming a professor and then a business owner, but it was well worth the experience. However, changing majors towards the end of my senior year cost my single mother a lot more money and cost me a lot more time. I ended up taking classes throughout an entire summer to make up for the change.

My story is common. The only twist is that some college students just stick with the distasteful major, and then try to find a job in something else upon graduation.

What can you do avoid this pitfall as a high school graduate? Take these three tips to help you along your way:

1. Network and get to know people in the career field you are choosing. Asking them questions about their careers will give you the inside scoop of what it’s really going to be like in that field.

2. If you are unsure that you’ve chosen the right major, change to undecided and take your required classes in the first two years of school. Mix in a few electives with your schedule and try some classes out.

3. Hire a career coach.  A full assessment of yourself and what fulfills you will be helpful for your career and all the other areas of your life as well.

Published on Monday June 7, 2010 in College Success. 0 Comments