6 Things High-Achieving College Students Do During Semester Break

BY LORRAINE McKINNEY

 

The semester is over and it is time to relax. You can put the end of a semester behind you and laze around the house for a few months. You could do that, or, if you want to be a successful college student you can follow these six suggestions for what to do during your next college break.

 

1. Volunteer – Take this time to give back to your community. After all, your community helped shape you into the successful college student that you have become. Help other students by becoming a tutor. You could also mentor a high school student and help them keep on track with their studies. There are many volunteer activities out there waiting to be filled. Also, volunteering looks good on your resume.

 

2. Try something new – This is the time to try something new. Learn how to cook. Finally start playing the guitar. Build a bookshelf. Go on a nature walk and find out what local birds and animals reside near you. Visit a city you have never been to. New things are all around you just waiting to be discovered. All of these will help shape the person you are becoming. Learning something new helps your brain to stay in shape during your break.

 

3. Study something new – You can find many interesting things on online courses. Take a course on Jewish studies. Discover a branch of literature you have not read. If your major is English, delve into the world of science. There are many courses out there for you to discover. The more varied your studies, the more interesting you will be to future employers.

 

4. Independent study – Use this time to create an independent study either with your college or a local business. Decide what you want to get out of the study, and form a plan. Sometimes internships are too broad for what you want to accomplish. An independent study can help you narrow your focus and learn from experts in your field of study. Future employers will applaud your resourcefulness in creating an independent study.

 

5. Contacts – During your break you can call or write to former employers or a favorite professor. Ask them to write letters of recommendation for you. The more letters you have available, the better chance of getting a good job. Also, if you ask for the letters during break, professors will have more time to sit and think about what they want to write. Do not wait until the middle of a semester when your professor is busy.

 

6. Get ready for the next semester – While you might not want to think about school, this is the time to do so. You are not busy writing another term paper or reading another book that is due tomorrow. Sit down and think about what you want to accomplish the next semester. See if you can pre-order your books so you can look at them before your first day in class. Organize your schedule and make sure to balance study and down time. Prepare ahead of time and you will be less likely to cram for a test or stay up late creating a final project. This will benefit your mind and body and help you glide through your next semester.

To be a successful college student, you need to keep your mind active while you are on break. Instead of being a couch potato, learn how to cook latkes. Education comes in many forms. Take advantage of the time you have to educate yourself and broaden your horizons.

Lorraine McKinney is an academic tutor and e learning specialist.

Changing Your Mind at College ( Concerning Careers and Majors)

BY ANTHONY MASTERTON

 

It can be hard to come to terms with the fact that the career you dreamed about growing up might not be the right fit for you.

A good friend of mine spent two years making almost nothing as a sound engineer before coming to terms with the fact that he wasn’t going to be able to make it as a musician. Nowadays he’s an incredibly successful, classically trained, chef working in midtown Manhattan. Another friend was convinced they wanted to be an electrical engineer until they hit their third year of college, slogging through coursework, and realized they much preferred physics.

But how do you get from point A to point B – from recognizing that you’re unhappy or unsuccessful to actually pivoting? I can tell you as a tech entrepreneur, I ask myself this question half a dozen times a year, and many lean startup methodologies teach you to learn to recognize what isn’t working (fail often, fail early) and pivot: use the momentum you’ve built and pull forward what is working.

For my musician-turned-chef friend, he pulled forward his creativity, his desire to make existing arrangements his own, and his enthusiasm for experimenting with new compositions – to shift from music to cooking. The two fields are both creative outlets, with similar conceptual structures (ex: following sheet music vs. following a recipe).

Being flexible in how you achieve the type of life you want will keep you moving forward, even when you face blockers.  Let’s take another example, imagine that you always dreamed of saving lives as a doctor:
The Medical Doctorate

A doctor is in training for ten years (including residency programs). The training is extensive, exhausting, stressful, and can be expensive. But what happens if the process burns you out physically, mentally, emotionally, or financially? You don’t have to give up on a career in the medical field entirely, you still have options for saving lives, it’s not all or nothing.

Consider Becoming a Nurse

Comparatively, nurses only need a four-year degree to work in a hospital; it’s still a heavy course load and a serious degree choice. You may find that you enjoy having a more consistent and direct line to patients, and you still get to witness powerful moments and save lives.

Look Into Being a CNA

A CNA, or Certified Nursing Assistant, is a critical part of any hospital. CNAs don’t go to school for more than a few weeks, depending on the program, and they’re in constant demand. As a CNA, you’re trained to care for patients’ basic needs, like bathing, making sure they have water, and drawing blood for examinations. CNAs have a tough job, but an important one, and it’s one of the best short-degree jobs available.

Delve Into Healthcare Administration

Hospitals need to be managed just like any other large-scale operation. This is one of the most critical and impactful jobs within a hospital or medical facility. A healthcare administrator acts as a hospital’s manager, and if you’re interested in hospital work, a job as a healthcare administrator could be right for you. After getting a four-year degree, you could even set yourself apart from the competition by earning a Masters in HR Management degree online.

Life doesn’t have to be a linear path and, for most people, it won’t be. Take time to be self-aware, acknowledge what you want and what you enjoy. You can always pivot and apply the skills you’ve gained in new ways.

 

–Anthony Masterton is a young entrepreneur trying to break through in the tech world. When he’s not working on growing his young startup, he writes about everything from tech advancements to his own experiences as a young CEO. A self-starter, he likes to help others learn from his own successes and failures, as it’s always most impactful to learn from experience.

7 Student Tips To Build a Personal Website To Get a Job

BY JANE HURST

In this day and age, having a killer resume is not always enough to guarantee you will get a job. Employers today often look past the paper trail and onto the screen. Having a personal website that promotes your brand will enhance your chances of landing your dream job. Not all website are created equal, however, so here are some tips to make sure your website shines above the rest.

 

1. Take your time 

When you decide to create a website, keep in mind that this is not a one day task. Building a personal website that catches an employer’s eye takes a bit of time. Usually a good site can be done in about a week. The worst thing you can do is rush through the process.

 

2. Your words 

You are building a page about yourself, so you need to use your words and let your personality shine through. Be sure to take your time and figure out exactly what you want to say about yourself and your brand. If you rush this section it will be sloppy and future employers will not even take the time to peruse the rest of your site.

 

3. Introduction

This section is the most important part of your page. Employers will see this first. Make sure your wording expresses who you are and what you want to accomplish. You can use this section to highlight your resume or make it short and sweet and to the point.

 

4. Resume/Portfolio 

On this page you want to present your portfolio or a link to your resume. You can use images to highlight what you have accomplished, or you can use simple links and explanations. If you are a writer, you can use this page to link to published or sample articles. Employers are looking at who you are. They will understand if you have not published, yet. Show them an article you wrote for class or a sample your personal writing. The important thing is to show yourself through your work.

 

5. Links to Social Media 

If you look around you can find your best website builder to help you with the above tasks. A good website builder will also show you how to create links and boxes for your site. Some important links to remember are your social media sites. Providing links to these sites sends your employer the message that you are using them to complete and promote your brand.

 

6. References 

A reference page is a good addition to your personal website. If you have published anything or have been mentioned in any online articles, this is the place to include links to those articles. Also a list of people who know you and have shown an interest in your work should be included here. Professors, advisors, and employers are all good sources for references and they will show employers that you have stood out among your classmates and employees.

 

7. Proofreader 

The last step, and an important one, is getting people to proofread your page before you go live. They can double check phrasing, spelling, and offer critiques on your layout. Ask your professors if they would be willing to look at your personal website. A couple of family friends should also be included to give you a well rounded critique of the page. Once everyone has seen it and you have performed the necessary edits you are ready to go live. Do not forget to promote your page on your social media sites and keep it up to date.

 

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot. Follow Jane on Twitter.

 

How to Use the Internet to Study Wisely

BY ALEX HASLAM

The internet is the most powerful research tool on the planet, but as any fellow student will tell you, it can also be a distraction. If you want to stay productive, start with the basics and then build from there. A well-equipped browser will allow you to collect your resources in one place, and a reliable internet connection will let you work as quickly as possible to meet deadlines. Once you have the basics, you’ll also want robust tools to help you research, review, write, and focus.

As studies have noted, some of the best resources are the hardest to find online—so we’ve done the digging for you. Here are a handful of useful free apps and websites available to help you use your time online wisely and get down to the business of studying without the distractions.

Collaborate with StudyStack

Create free flashcards and share them with your study group, or use a deck from the database. StudyStack makes it easy to stay efficient and collaborate with other students. You can also use StudyStack to create and play games with flashcards so cramming doesn’t feel like a chore.

Edit with Grammarly

If you’ve been staring bleary-eyed at the same paper for hours, let Grammarly do the cleanup for you. This free writing assistant catches most simple spelling mistakes, sentence fragments, and significant grammatical errors. Advanced versions of Grammarly may be worth the additional cost as they also check for plagiarism and offer suggestions to align the writing to your audience.

Read with Gutenberg

When you’re scrounging for resources and access to books online, don’t forget about Project Gutenberg. It offers more than 57,000 free e-Books, many available for download or to read online. You’ll also find books in several languages including German, French, Italian, and Portuguese.

Review with Crash Course

Have you forgotten the basics of a subject and you need a quick review before you start cramming? Crash Course is a fantastic place to start. This free YouTube channel, founded by author John Green, breaks down complex topics across a variety of areas like statistics, history, computer science, and study skills. These bite-size videos are fun, dynamic reviews of concepts that get you prepared for a deeper dive.

Focus with Cold Turkey

Sometimes we all need a little help with self-control. Cold Turkey has your back with a free filter that blocks distracting websites and helps you impose time limits for studying online without surfing social media. There’s also a free version for writers that doesn’t let you exit until you’ve reached your selected word count goal.

Stay Productive with RescueTime

It’s said that awareness is the first step towards resolving a problem. RescueTime takes that to heart, monitoring your productivity online and producing weekly reports about how you’re spending your time and which apps or websites might be the most distracting. It also lets you set goals and alarms to keep you focused and give each activity a productivity score so you can track your improvement over time.

Alex Haslam graduated from the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah in 2017. Today she is a freelance writer who focuses on consumer technology, entertainment, and higher education.

 

How to Excel at College Class Presentations

BY ANTON LUCANUS

 It’s one of the aspects of higher education that students dread the most – class presentations. Trying to get our point across clearly, succinctly, and effectively can be difficult, but it doesn’t need to be. There are a few things to keep in mind when working on your presentation that can help make the entire process easier, and result in a stronger presentation overall.

If you find yourself struggling with presentations, in college, school, or even in work, some of these tips might help you get a handle on the situation. Here are some of the big ticket items to remember when writing and presenting your work.

Keep It Simple: Giving Yourself the Best Possible Start

 Starting a project is always the hardest part, and presentations are no different. If you’re presenting in front of your class, you’re likely all working from the same base understanding of a subject. Straight away this gives you an advantage when it comes to determining the information you need to cover in your presentation. To avoid a messy, aimless presentation that reiterates information that everyone already knows, you can omit broad and basic points entirely.

Take some time to brainstorm your ideas and choose only clear, specific points to focus on. Choose your angle, and be sure it’s something you can explore in detail. It’s sometimes difficult to find a balance between covering ground that’s too broad, or selecting something too niche and difficult to examine. Write out a list of your aims for the presentation, and from there decide which aims to prioritize over the others.

A good rule of thumb in any project is to keep it simple, for your own sake and the sake of your audience. Challenge yourself to write everything out in short, snappy bullet points and use those to form the basis of your slides.

Finding the Right Structure: Working Within Your Allotted Timeframe

 Once you’ve decided upon what information you want to cover in your presentation, it’s important to work out how you’re going to structure that information and how much time you’re going to afford to each slide and/or point.

Look over your bullet points from before, and break each of them down into further, more detailed points. This will help you get your ideas in order, and also get an idea of how long each point is going to take. Time yourself reading the points aloud, and try to round off to the nearest minute. Don’t be afraid to read them aloud to a friend or family member too, just to get an accurate idea of how it sounds to an audience. Sometimes when you’ve been working on something for a long time, you lose perspective on how it sounds or appears to an observer. That’s why it’s important to get second opinions from people outside your class, who can be impartial and unbiased.

This process can also help you to omit further information if you find it no longer flows well with the rest of the presentation, or if it takes up too much time that could be better occupied by other points.

Lay It All Out: Creating A Powerpoint Presentation

 So you’ve chosen the points you want to cover, and you’ve got a rough structure to work from. The next thing you need to do is build your Powerpoint presentation. This can sometimes be the most daunting step of all, because there are so many options and formats to consider. To make things easier for yourself, you can always check out some Powerpoint templates online. There are a lot of pre-made templates that lend themselves well to college presentations, so all you have to worry about it filling in your information.

There are some basic do’s and don’ts when it comes to making a presentation. Always devote your first slide to a quick run-through of the information you’ll be covering, to give your audience a brief overview of what they can expect. This can be as simple as showing the headings of each subsequent slide.

Remember, you don’t need to include every single sentence of your presentation in the Powerpoint. You can keep things brief and simple in the presentation, and elaborate on each point when speaking. This allows you to keep your presentation streamlined and visually-appealing.

It can be difficult in the beginning, but once you’ve practiced these steps long enough, writing and presenting information becomes second nature. And don’t zone out during the presentations of others, either. Not only can you learn from the information they’re presenting, but observing the presentation habits of others can help you improve your own. See what works and what doesn’t, and try to incorporate that into your own presentation style.

Learning good presentation techniques will help you in college, and later in life too. It’s always good to start practicing public speaking and getting into good habits, to allow you to communicate effectively and clearly throughout your career.

Byline – Anton Lucanus is the Director of Neliti. During his college years, he maintained a perfect GPA, was published in a top cancer journal, and received many of his country’s most prestigious undergraduate scholarships. Anton writes for The College Puzzle as a means to guide current students to achieve personal and educational fulfilment during college life. You can contact Anton via email at antonlucanus@gmail.com

 

 

 Freshman Mistakes You Should Avoid To Achieve College Success

BY SYLVIA KOHL

The first year at college is an exciting and unique experience that is likely to occupy a special place in your memories. However, how you spend it is also going to have a huge influence on the rest of your life – and even if you want to experience it in your own way, it may be a good idea to avoid some of the most common freshman mistakes that can both spoil your time in college and even have unpleasant far-reaching consequences.

1.    Relying Too Much on Junk Food

Cooking your own food may be quite a pain, especially when you barely have time to eat, let alone go for groceries, plan your meals and prepare them. However, freshman 15 isn’t called this for anything – students in their first year of college really tend to gain weight – it may be less or more than 15 pounds, but suddenly switching to pizzas and hamburgers will do it to you, especially if you don’t move around much (another thing many freshmen don’t find enough time for). If you cannot avoid junk food altogether, at least limit its share in your diet.

2.    Not Having Enough Sleep

What with a significantly increased workload compared to high school and newfound freedom, a freshman often feels that there are not nearly enough hours in a day. There are so many things to do: you have to find time for studying, revising for exams, doing homework, meeting new people, partying, working a part-time job, taking part in extracurricular activities and much, much more. With all these possibilities dangling in front of you, you are probably tempted to cut down on your sleeping time heavily. However, coffee and energy drinks can get you only so far, and if you try this kind of lifestyle for a while, you risk a severe breakdown that can put you out of commission for a long time and may even have a lasting effect on your health. So make it your rule to set aside time for sleep before you allocate it for anything else.

3.    Staying in Your Dorm

Suddenly finding yourself surrounded by strangers without a single familiar face around may be intimidating, especially for introverts, and it is all too easy to decide that staying inside is less nerve-wracking and better for your studies. However, while partying 24 hours a day isn’t the best way to organize your studies, the reverse is also true – if you spend the entirety of your time neatly tucked up in your dorm you won’t get the full college experience, not even close. So go outside, take part in a free campus event, join a club or greet the next stranger you meet – remember, you are not the only freshman who knows nobody around and is looking for new friends.

4.    Procrastinating

Procrastination is probably the student’s worst enemy. Compared to high school you are given a much greater degree of freedom when it comes to arranging your schedule, and many freshmen get somewhat high on the feeling, especially if they take part in too many extracurricular activities. Work piles up, it gets even harder to get started with it – until suddenly you find yourself surrounded by deadlines you cannot realistically meet. So make it a rule early on to deal with your workload methodically, without delaying it in favor of more enjoyable activities – and you will find yourself breezing through the amount of work other students consider unmanageable.

College life may be fun and doubly so for freshmen who are new to it all – but it is even more fun if you manage to learn from mistakes of other people and not your own!

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 8 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and she convinced that learning process doesn’t stop after years in school and university.

 

 

Summertime: Keeping Yourself in the Groove for the Next Semester

BY MELISSA BURNS

Summer is awesome: there is the sun, lots of free time, a bunch of opportunities to pursue and no studies to keep you busy. However, after a year of cramming your textbooks and hectic exams, it may be a little too awesome, and many students tend to get too much into the spirit of the things. So, if you don’t want to suddenly discover that the new academic year started a week ago, you barely remember what you did in the summer and have a raging hangover to boot, make sure you do the following to keep yourself on track:

1.    Prepare a Plan

Summer is one of those rare times when you have an impressive chunk of uninterrupted free time. At first, it may seem like a lot, but don’t let this impression fool you – if you go with the flow, it will be over before you know it. If you want to achieve any goals this summer, prepare a plan: list the things you want to do, consider which of them can realistically fit into this timespan, what can be done alongside one another. If you have a few goals, allot time to each of them and set deadlines – it will help you keep track of how well you follow your own plan.

2.    Stick to a Regular Schedule

Yes, we understand that few students can boast of having a schedule and sticking to it, but in summer most of us tend to lose any semblance of keeping regular hours. We stay up late, sleep in, go to parties, work random shifts and do all kinds of nasty things to our biological clock. It may be fun for a while, in a chaotic sense, but getting used to the more regular lifestyle, later on, is going to be a living hell – and we don’t even mention the accompanying stress and other health risks.

If you want to meet the new semester being at your best, make sure you sleep enough, have a comfortable place (to get the most of every hour of sleep), get up and turn in at the same time every day and don’t fall to temptation of catching up on your sleep after having a night out.

3.    Don’t Stop Learning

If you don’t have to attend classes, it doesn’t mean that you should stop improving yourself. Signing up for an online course you’ve always wanted to take but didn’t have enough time to will allow you to acquire skills and knowledge from outside the scope of your college education while keeping you disciplined throughout summer. When the next semester starts, you will just seamlessly move into it instead of going through a painful re-acclimatization to studies like the rest of your class. If you have learning projects from college, spread them evenly across the vacation.

4.    Replace Some Usual Summer Foods

We don’t mean to say that you should not eat anything but millet and celery – that would be the too cruel thing to do to yourself during the season of barbecue and ice cream. However, replacing some of the summer foods with their healthier alternatives at least part of the time will be a good idea for both your waistline and your general health. At the end of summer, you should be fitter and healthier than at the beginning, not the other way around!

And last but not the least – don’t forget to relax, unwind and recharge. Staying in the groove doesn’t mean all work and no play – you should maintain balance, and it will help you start the next semester ready to take on the world.

 

 

Melissa Burns graduated from the faculty of Journalism of Iowa State University. Nowadays she is an entrepreneur and independent journalist. Follow her @melissaaburns or contact at burns.melissaa@gmail.com

 

Using professors’ office hours to improve academic performance

BY ANNABEL MONAGHAN

Professors have a great wealth of knowledge that students should take the time to actually utilize. It’s important to understand that they went through many years of schooling, defending their thesis, and some even writing a dissertation to get to the point of speaking in front of students. They are educators at top of their field and the point of contact for many industry questions and opinions.

Professors are experts in their fields and understand what it takes to take their knowledge and share it with thousands of students throughout their lifetime. Their lifework is dedicated to teaching young professionals an entire industry in just four years or even just one semester. It may seem daunting sitting in a huge lecture hall and having a hard time understanding contents like every other student. That’s why it is incredibly important to utilize office hours. Professors have office hours specifically for students. They appreciate when students visit because their job as an educator is to make sure every student that wants to understand the content has the proper resources and understanding that they need to succeed in the course.

The key word in the last statement is want. Not every student cares enough to fully understand each chapter or even each course, but for the students that are passionate about their education, it can be entirely too frustrating when a concept doesn’t click immediately. By visiting office hours and asking questions, it can truly make a difference in the level of understanding a student has regarding a concept.

In a lecture hall with hundreds of students, each student is just an ID number of attendance, but in a professor’s office, a student is given a name to a face. Professors are able to build stronger professional relationships with students if they are able to spend the one on one time with them. If a positive student/professor relationship develops, it can be highly beneficial for both parties. Professors are able to call on that student in class more and have them engage more, thus the student may increase their learning ability in the class and begin understanding more concepts throughout the course.

After an exam is a great time to visit office hours and discuss missed questions to further prepare for the next exam. Students are able to understand what is expected on exams and how questions will be phrased. It lets the student understand more about what the professor is asking of them and allows the professor to understand what concepts are being misunderstood in class. If one student who normally performs well is having a difficult time understanding a theory or concept, there is a chance an even larger group of students do not understand the same thing. By simply asking a question, it may lead to an in depth class overview and discussion on the topic that will allow every student to gain more insight on the subject.

Even if students are able to understand the concepts, a formal introduction during office hours can be much appreciated. A student looking to increase their knowledge of subject can visit just to ask their professors intriguing questions about the industry, jobs, and other courses that may complement the one they are taking. As a result of their years of experience and how many individuals they work with on a regular basis, professors often have good connection in the field and can help determined students connect and network with potential employers before graduation.

 

Professors are not there in hopes that students fail contrary to some students’ attitude. Professors become professors to see people succeed in their chosen major and field. They want to be the ones that provide more than just a book of information on the topic. Professors want to impact the students with critical thinking skills and enable them research deeper on their own. Their goal is to have students understand what they are teaching and to light passion in students for their chosen field or industry.

 

Professors can provide intellectual insight on so much more than just their expertise in a field. They are there as mentors to students. When office hours are utilized correctly, they might even give students life advice on relationships, interview etiquette, or even discuss life insurance and similar topics. Professors are there to help students navigate the academic world and succeed after graduation.

 

Tuition is charged to cover the cost of education, and part of the education is having direct access to get individual lecture from professors if needed. It’s important to get the most out of college; by building healthy and professional relationship with professors, it can even help after graduation.

 

Instead of depending on personal knowledge and research ability on topics not so clear, students should learn to occasionally visit the professor that provided the information. The key to enjoying a course and making good grades may start with a knock on a professor’s door and a simple “Hello.”

Annabel Monaghan is a writer with a passion for education and edtech. She writes education and career articles for The College Puzzle with the aim of providing useful information for students and young professionals. If you have any questions, please feel free to email her at annabelmonaghanwriter@gmail.com. 

 

5 Steps to Finding an Excellent Tutor

BY MARY KACHARAVA

Hiring a tutor is one of the best things you can do for yourself. That’s a big step and one that can take your knowledge and skills to the next level. That’s why you want to be sure that you’ve found an excellent tutor.

If you don’t know where to start, these 5 steps will help you:

 

1. Know your options

• Check out sites like Craigslist (“lessons & tutoring” category). Craigslist tutors are easy to find, often have availability and are usually the cheapest ones. But they have the least amount of vetting. In fact, anyone can post themselves as a tutor on Craigslist. So you should be extra careful about making sure that the tutor is fully qualified and matches your needs.

 

• Find a tutor through a tutoring company. Going with a company with a good reputation like TutorZ ensures you find qualified and trusted tutors. It’s also convenient because you can narrow the tutor search by subject, location, and preferred interaction (in person or online). When you’re looking for the right profile look very carefully at ratings and reviews. Reading about other students’ experiences makes it easier for you to pick a tutor who matches your requirements.

 

• Spread the Word. Ask for recommendations from friends, classmates and teachers. Finding a tutor through a friend gives you the benefit of receiving information from a trusted source. It’s important to get insights into a tutor’s personality, skills, teaching style and methods, etc.

 

2. Figure out what you need

• Motivation. Working with a private tutor is a great way to keep you focused, motivated and persistent.
• Organization. Students who have better organization habits often perform better on assignments, get more done, and have more free time than their disorganized peers.

• Confidence. Tutoring builds confidence through individualized attention and support. Confident students are better able to perform under pressure and respond to setbacks. Greater sense of confidence can help you maximize your potential – and get the most out of your courses.

• Better grades. A tutor cannot magically improve your grades but he or she will help you break down the material and gain a better understanding of it.

 

3. Ask questions

 

Before hiring a tutor, it’s important to first talk to him or her. Ask questions, such as:

• How much do you charge?
• How many students have you tutored?
• Were you able to help them improve their grades?
• Do you make individualized learning plans?
• Where will the tutoring take place?
• What are your qualifications?
• Do you have flexible teaching methods?

 

4. Consider costs

Hiring a tutor comes with a serious price tag. Private tutors charge from $25/hour to $100/hour, depending on professional experience and qualifications of a tutor, type of tutoring (one-on-one, group or online tutoring), subject, frequency of the sessions, and your location.

For instance, online tutoring tends to be cheaper than in-person tutoring because tutors don’t have to travel to their clients. Carefully compare rates and find the best tutor within your budget.

 

5. Set up a trial session

Ultimately, the only way to truly see whether a tutor is a good fit or not is to have the first, full tutoring session. Make sure the tutor has expertise in your particular subject, is a good communicator, and can effectively explain concepts to you. It will cost nothing as reputable tutors do not require you to pay for a trial session.

You know you’ve found an excellent tutor if he or she:

• Identifies your areas for improvement.
• Tailors teaching approach to your needs.
• Communicates in a way that makes you feel motivated, enthusiastic and confident.
• Believes and has faith that every student can learn.
• Has references from reputable sources.
• Makes learning easy, rewarding, and fun.

May Kacharava is a tutor, blogger with a zeal for teaching and learning. She works for TutorZ, tutoring marketplace that helps students find, rate and review tutors-https://www.tutorz.com

https://www.facebook.com/Tutorz/timeline
Tweets by tutorz

8 Great YouTube Finance Channels for College Students

BY JANE HURST

 

As a college student, you need to learn to live within your means to prevent getting into a cycle of debt. The key to financial success is keeping track of how you spend money. You need figure out how to create a budget and stick to that. These eight YouTube Finance Channels will help you manage your money throughout your college career and beyond.

 

1. Hanging with Lee

Lee is also a college student, so his advice should hit home for you. He talks about everything from creating a workable budget to mastering proper grooming. Lee’s down-to-earth approach in advising you about budgeting and finances makes this channel both educational and entertaining to watch.

 

2. The Wild Wong

Wong has written books on finance and she offers quick, insightful suggestions for people trying to learn how to budget. Do you need to hire a tax pro? Wong will guide you through that. She also talks about a financial pyramid that will help you plan your budget. Also included is information about freelancing and money tips. If you want fast and good ideas, this is the channel for you.

 

3. Candice Marie

Candice talks about how to pay off debt quickly, which is important if you will be dealing with student loans. She also offers good tips on financing and becoming an entrepreneur. Candice talks frankly about debt and how she managed to become debt free. Her sage words of wisdom will appeal to college students and help guide them in their college careers.

 

4. My Fab Finance

This channel, recommended by finance experts like Earn2Trade, offers tips on how to create, stick to, and travel on a budget. So if you’re hoping to go on an adventure over your summer break, this is the perfect place to learn how to save money for your pending trip.

 

5. LaTisha Styles

LaTisha explains how to budget, both for personal finances and entrepreneurial ventures. She starts by talking about finding a skill and details the steps you’ll need to take to create your own business. Learning about creating both a personal budget as well as a business budget will certainly come in handy if you are planning to open your own business after college.

 

6. Life With Sarah

Sarah, whose videos offer tips and advice for budgeting, focuses on creating binders and notebooks. She also covers money-saving tips and offers a “questions and answers” section. So, if you are a student who thrives on being well-organized and could use a bit of help applying this to budgeting, this is the site for you.

 

7. Budget Girl

Budget Girl has walked the walk when it comes to debt. She is now debt free and wants to show you how to become debt free, also. She offers monthly budget reports, milestones, and tips for saving money. If you are not in debt, use this site as a cautionary tale. Follow her advice and you will remain debt free.

 

8. Well Kept Wallet

Deacon Hays want to tell you how to keep your money. Hays has videos about earning extra money to help keep you out of debt. He talks about creating a budget fast and developing a financial game plan. His site is full of ideas and tips to keep your money where it belongs – in your wallet.

 

Whether you are an incoming freshman or a graduating senior, these YouTube channels will offer good tips and information on maintaining a budget and living debt free. Both of those life skills will serve you on your path to your new career after college.

 

Byline:

Jane Hurst has been working in education for over 5 years as a teacher. She loves sharing her knowledge with students, is fascinated about edtech and loves reading, a lot. Follow Jane on Twitter.