3 Ways to Finance Your UK College Education

BY SYLVIA KOHL

College education provides you with the knowledge necessary to build a successful future. Of course, you can learn on your own by studying books, but there are important lessons that only attending a college will provide. The guidance you get from professors can help you break down the limitations of ‘formal knowledge’ and develop your creativity.

Sounds great, right?

However, achieving all this is possible only if you find a way to finance your college education. This may not be easy, but if you know where to look, you will be able to fund your studies and get a good start in your professional life.

There are many types of higher education financing available to aspiring students in the UK. Each option has its own pros and cons that you’ll need to consider in order to pick the one that would be best in your particular case. Note that some of them are available to international students as well as UK residents.

Three most efficient college education financing methods are:

1.      UK Scholarships

You can find many UK scholarships offered by a variety of organizations. They differ greatly, so you’ll have to study the terms of each very carefully.

Note that only some of the scholarships are full (tuition fees +accommodation +allowance). Even if they are, you will be provided with a detailed list of items they cover, such as textbooks, educational trips, etc. Some of them come with highly restrictive terms that you will need to obey in order to keep the financing.

Pros:

• You get free money to fund your college education.
• Being a scholarship student ups your social status on the campus.
• You might get other benefits in different educational programs.

Cons:

• Requirements for scholarship eligibility are very high.
• You must meet high standards of grades and some additional requirements to keep your scholarship.
• You have to research dozens of scholarship options personally.
• You must be accepted by the educational establishment that offers the funding.

2.      Loans

Please note that you don’t have to look for specialized student financing as there are some great short term loans you can use to fund your college education. This would be a great option for those who plan to work as well as study and don’t want to get into a huge debt.

The greatest benefit of this financing type is the freedom you get with the funds. You decide how much money you need and how you want to use it. You also don’t have to stick to one specific college or course.

Of course, you’ll have to pay back the loan, but smart financial planning can make this a relatively easy task.

Pros:

• You can use the money however you see fit.
• You don’t have to meet high eligibility standards or have some special talent.
• You don’t need to keep your grades and achievements high.

Cons:

• You have to give the money back with interest.
• You need to be eligible for a loan.
  (Requirements for students are rather lenient)

3.      Grants

UK student grants are another useful type of college education financing that you won’t have to pay back. However, like scholarships, obtaining these funds won’t be easy.

You’ll need to apply to the financing organization directly and prove that you are a ‘deserving case’. This does not necessarily mean that you have a financial need. You also need to show that you have talent and have already achieved some outstanding results in your chosen field.

Pros:

• The money is free and you won’t get into debt.
• Some grants are large and allow certain flexibility with how to use the funds.

Cons:

• Eligibility requirements are extremely high.
• You may have to provide special reports on how the money is used and deal with other paperwork.
• Financing can be reviewed and withdrawn if you fail to show the required results.

 

Author’s bio:

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 7 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and beta-testing. This writer chose news about the increasing role of IT usage in colleges and schools as the most common topic for her articles.

Digital Badges Grow To Display Student Skills

Student Success Digital, Verified and Less Open Digital badges aren’t replacing the bachelor’s degree any time soon. But a growing number of colleges are working with vendors to use badges as an add-on to degrees, to help students display skills and accomplishments that transcripts fail to capture. (Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 9) via ECS

Urgent Need to Redefine ‘college and career ready’

Ted Dintersmith & Tony Wagner, Prepared for  Market Watch

Well-intentioned national K-12 education goals are jeopardizing the futures of millions of kids. Our stated goal is making all kids “college and career ready.” The reality, though, is that we’ve turned schools into college prep factories, leaving the vast majority of kids ill-prepared for career or life.

Our society views college as the gateway to the American Dream — something all kids should aspire to. From the words of our presidents to our T-shirts and hats, we equate college attainment with success. The better the college, the better the person. No college degree, and you’re a second-class citizen. Reflecting these biases, college readiness now dominates high-school curriculum, K-12 standards, and standard-of- learning assessments.

But here’s the problem. The content our kids study to become “college ready” is largely useless in careers, or life. We push them to perform tasks in the curriculum to make it easy to rank order them for college placement.

This all-consuming focus leaves little time for learning the competencies needed for career or citizenship. Even worse, the majority of kids who trust our advice to pursue college are getting disappointing outcomes.

The content our kids study to become “college ready” is largely useless in careers, or life.

In our science classes, core concepts get lost in a sea of definitions and formulas. Kids study electricity by memorizing Ohm’s Law (a staple of AP Physics) without understanding the science. Consider the hapless MIT students who, at their college graduation, couldn’t take a lightbulb, wire, and battery and light up the bulb. Huh? What if all kids — not just those in Career/Technical Education — learned electricity by taking apart fuse boxes, helping a master electrician wire a house, and building a wind turbine to produce electricity for the local grid? This learning is valuable to everyone, whether they become master electricians, Ph.D. research scientists, or normal adults coping with home electrical issues.

But hands-on learning doesn’t lend itself to standardized testing, and is viewed by academic elites as a grubby, blue-collar distraction. So Ohm’s Law it is.

High school math revolves around drilling on the low-level procedures (think factoring polynomials, trig identities, integrals by hand) that permeate the SAT and ACT tests. If we relegated these tasks to a smartphone app, students could learn math with real career value, like statistics, data analytics, estimation, math modeling, algorithm development, financial literacy, social media optimization, and computer programming. Our priorities have consequential career opportunity costs for all kids. And it’s tragic when algebra (something few adults ever use) keeps someone from getting their high-school diploma and they end up homeless or in jail.

In English classes, far too much time is spent memorizing the parts of speech, grammar rules, and the terms and techniques for the kinds of “literary analysis” done in college. None of these activities help students to learn to organize their thoughts, write well in a variety of genres, and deliver effective oral presentations. Yet these are the skills that employers tell us are most lacking among young adults.

For much of the last century, college was an affordable path to a good job.

But today’s world is different. For every 100 kids who start college, just 25 get degrees and attractive jobs. Some 45 drop out, and another 30 graduate but end up under- or unemployed, reaching the end of the college rainbow only to find a pot of rejection letters and debt. But our unquestioned embrace of colleges has given them carte blanche to jack up tuition for courses stuck in the Dark Ages. Meanwhile, millions of high-quality jobs in our country go unfilled, as our schools churn out “college ready” kids with no employable skills.

Employers are recognizing the disconnect between college and career readiness. Google, for instance, changed its hiring strategies after Laszlo Bock, senior vice president of people operations, analyzed their data and found no correlation between job performance and an employee’s GPA, SAT’s, or college pedigree. Google now considers an applicant’s ability to collaborate and to perform authentic job-related challenges. Now, they hire many new employees who never went to college.

Our education goals have lost touch with what matters most — helping students develop essential skills, competencies, and character traits. It’s time to reimagine the goals for U.S. education, and hold all schools — from kindergarten through college — accountable for teaching the skills and nurturing the dispositions most needed for learning, work, and citizenship.

Let’s set our overarching goal as producing students who are “life-ready,” and treat colleges as one potential means to this end.

Ted Dintersmith has a Ph.D in engineering from Stanford, was a top-ranked venture capitalist, executive produced the acclaimed film “Most Likely To Succeed,” and went to all 50 states in the last year advocating for education change. Tony Wagner is an Expert In Residence at the Harvard Innovation Lab and a Senior Research Fellow at the Learning Policy Institute. They are co-authors of “Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era.”

9 Tips For College Students with Disabilities

 

BY MEGAN LAUMAN

Back to school time is just around the corner, which means that it is the perfect time to start preparing for what’s ahead! Tangram life coaches have assembled the following tips to make the transition to college seamless for students with disabilities.

 

1. Determine if college is the best option for you. Sometimes traditional 4-year college is perceived as the only option for young people to be successful, but the truth is that college isn’t always the best option, and certainly not the only option. Depending on your learning style, existing skills and interests, and your goals, you may consider alternatives like community college, trade schools, apprenticeships, or 2-year programs.
2. Do your research. When looking at colleges, be sure to learn about the disability services offered at each potential school. Some colleges may have paid programs that offer additional support for students who sign up for the service. If you plan to do a college visit, call the school’s Office of Disability Services in advance of your visit to schedule a meeting with a counselor so you can learn what steps need to be taken and what paperwork needs to be filed to take advantage of the available resources. Knowing about the resources offered by each potential school will help you make the best decision.
3. Assemble your support team before you leave for college. College may be all about independence, but all students need support systems in order to succeed, no matter their ability. Who will be on your support team? Parents? Siblings? Reliable friends? A professional, such as a life coach or therapist? Be sure to have these key players in place so your transition to college will be smooth.
4. Enroll in Vocational Rehabilitation. Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is a state-administered program that supports people with disabilities in preparing for, obtaining, and retaining employment. While the name and processes may vary from state to state, each state has a similar operation. If you are enrolled in VR services in your state, be sure to tell your counselor if you are heading to college. VR may cover the cost of some supports at the college level. Once you graduate, be sure to inform your counselor if you intend to seek employment so they can get you on the right track as far as support goes.
5. Get to know FERPA. FERPA is the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. This is important to know because it defines what information can be disclosed about students, and to whom the information can be disclosed. Under FERPA, a parent’s rights to view educational records transfer to a student once the student turns 18. Colleges may require signed releases from the student giving permission to share educational records with certain persons. More information on FERPA can be found from the U.S. Department of Education.
6. Communicate your needs. To receive services offered by the Office of Disability Services at your college, you will need to have a diagnosis. Once you have registered with this office, the college will tell you what accommodations they offer and what you’re eligible for. It’s the student’s responsibility to take advantage of these accommodations and to communicate with professors about the accommodations they are receiving. Make appointments to speak with each of your professors during the first week of school. They can help you understand what the class will be like so you can determine what types of supports will be necessary for you to succeed. Don’t wait until you hit a bump in the road to communicate your needs.
7. Use technology to your advantage. There are hundreds of excellent tools that exist for students, many of them free. Look into websites, apps, smart pens, and other adaptive technology that can assist with taking notes, reading text, studying, and meeting deadlines.
8. Learn about available resources. Not only will the Office of Disability Services at your school offer plenty of handy resources, but there will also be resources offered through other campus entities as well. Schools typically offer free tutoring through their different departments and also may have a writing center where you can get help writing papers. Colleges want their students to be successful, which is why they offer an abundance of resources to make that a reality. Academic advisors and disability services counselors should be able to point you in the right direction for both on- and off-campus resources.
9. There’s more to college than academics. Academics are definitely an important part of the college experience, but don’t forget that college is also about preparing for adulthood in other ways—building independent living skills, earning real-world experience through internships, fostering relationships and connections by joining interest groups on campus, and so on. Identify opportunities that will encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and grow as a person.

 

About Megan Lauman 

Megan Lauman is a behavior consultant for Tangram Life Coaching, where she provides behavioral support services to individuals with disabilities.  She assists in the implementation of services for young adults with learning differences, such as ADD, ADHD, Asperger’s, social anxiety and other challenges. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of Indianapolis and a master’s degree in Social Work from Indiana University. She is a licensed social worker and has spent her career working primarily with children and young adults.

 

How Be Successful In College While In Foster Care

BY SYLVIA KOHL

Everyone should have equal chances to obtain higher education. Children that grow up in foster care often lack knowledge about their rights and special opportunities, thus losing their chance to continue their studies after high school. Bear in mind five tips, mentioned here – and you will reach your goals in higher education and become a successful student in college. Let’s start:

Reason #1: You Can Get Special Government Scholarships

You might not know it, but there are many scholarship opportunities for foster youth. Scholarships do help a lot when it comes to the higher education. However, not many potential students know where to find them. Among the most popular foster children scholarship programs one could name Horatio Alger Scholarships, Foster Care to Success and Sponsored Scholarship Program – and though these funds and programs mostly provide partial scholarship, their financial aid could still be of use for those who really want to study.  Are you one of those who live in foster care? U.S. Department of Education released a Foster Care Transition Toolkit that allows foster youth to find out the ways of getting higher education and build a successful career afterwards.

Reason #2: You Can Find Mentors

Financial aid is not enough when it comes to achieving important life goals. Proper emotional support is also very important as well as a smart advice, offered in time. That is when mentors and mentoring organizations come in handy. As an example, one could name Boys and Girls Clubs of America and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. Reach out – and you will be surprised how easier your life will be with someone experienced and willing to help nearby.

Reason #3: You Can Join Clubs

Remember, once you are finally enrolled in university or college, one of the most exciting parts of your life just begins. And though the studying process itself is quite complex and interesting, college is not just about education. It’s also about communication and getting friends for the whole life. That is why it could be a wise choice to join a club or a fraternity. Here you can find some ideas where to start from.

Reason #4: Seek Opportunities

Perhaps, if you were fostered, it was a child custody lawyer that changed your life once, but now it’s all in your hands. You would be surprised to find out how many programs from US Department of Education (Upward Bound, Gear Up, Talent Search) are there that can help you with your college admission. If you apply for one of these programs, you will become much more skillful when it comes to writing essays and CVs for your admission process.

Reason #5: You Can Make Use of Additional Sources

Nowadays higher education became much more available due to the overwhelming amount of information in open access. Online libraries, offline libraries, special websites with professional data – make use of them while you study and there won’t be any troubles. Of course, it is also important to learn how to find sources that can be trusted, but this skill comes along with experience.

Author’s bio:

Sylvia Kohl is an IT teacher with more than 7 years of professional experience. Her main spheres of interest are e-education and beta-testing. This writer chose news about the increasing role of IT usage in colleges and schools as the most common topic for her articles.

Is high student loan debt always a problem?

With student loan debt piling up for millennials, there’s been mounting concern of a loan crisis. But Constantine Yannelis, a former fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, makes the case that many of those loans are a good investment. Along with Adam Looney from the U.S. Treasury, Yannelis writes in this month’s SIEPR Policy Brief that the vast majority of borrowers with high debt are in a good position to pay it off.  And the research done by the pair holds a few lessons for policymakers considering loan repayment programs.     Read More

4 Things To Do in College To Ensure Your Future

By Oksana Sbitneva

Many people perceive college as a time for reveling in one’s newfound freedom and trying to make the most out of youth before one irrevocably joins the workforce. However, it is also a crucial period in life when you create a foundation of all your future success – or failure. And while having a really good time can leave some pretty pleasant memories, preparing for the future should take precedence.

Here are 4 things you should do when at college – because you probably won’t have a chance to take a shot at them later.

1.    Build Connections

One of the most important assets you may acquire is connections, acquaintances, social ties – and college is one of the best periods in your life to do so. The importance of a well-established and wide social network can hardly be overestimated – especially if you really go out of your way and get in touch with people outside your immediate circle of interests and activities. Later on they may help you find a job, get a contract, provide a valuable insight, get you in touch with the right people – free of charge.

2.    Acquire Additional Skills

Perhaps now you believe that your chosen major is going to become a basis for your future career – but don’t be too sure. Life sometimes takes unexpected turns, and you may be incapable of finding the right job, or get disappointed in your chosen path, or simply find other interests. Use the time of relative lack of responsibilities to acquire additional skills, preferably from other fields of knowledge.

3.    Work towards Your Professional Goals

Don’t perceive your college years as a respite before adulthood when you can afford not to think what you are going to do with your life. The best thing you can do now is to build a plan of what you intend to do in the next ten years and work towards fulfilling it: what job you are going to look for, what skills you will need and so on. Absolute majority of successful people aren’t geniuses: they simply set up a goal and steadily move on towards it. So, if your dreams involve having a time of your life in Dubai or something along these lines, you may want to plan ahead.

4.    Find a Job

Getting a job to pay a part of your college expenses will go a long way in establishing your financial stability. Firstly, the less college debt you have, the better. Secondly, having a real job works incredibly well in building up self-discipline, determination and people skills.

You may ask: when am I going to find time for all this? The answer is simple: if you really want to, you will. If you want something done, ask somebody who is already busy, as the old saying goes – paradoxically, but the less time you have, the more efficiently you are forced to use what little you have. Don’t neglect this principle, and you will be amazed how easy it is to drop things that don’t really matter.

Author’s bio:

Oksana is a student of English literature department and a freelance journalist. As a current student she is interested in trends in education and she would like to share her experience with community.

Should You Take Your Car to College?

by Jane Hurst

When the time comes to leave home for college, if you have a car, should you take it with you? This is a question that many students face. Yes, it is great to have transportation, but sometimes, it may be best to not take your car. There are many things to consider before you take your car with you to college, beginning with school rules. It may be that the school you will be attending doesn’t allow students to have cars. Other things to consider include:
Parking
One of the first things to think about is where you are going to park your car. Some schools may not have student parking available. You may also not be able to park near your dorm or apartment. It may be that you will not only have to pay for parking, but that you will have to park so far away that you will end up walking a lot anyway. Another consideration is winter. If you do have a parking area, but it is not covered, you will end up doing a lot of shoveling and scraping.
Expenses
As a student, you are not likely to have a lot of discretionary income. You may not even be able to afford to have your car with you. In addition to the regular expenses that come with owning a vehicle, there could be added costs that you can’t afford, including parking fees, higher insurance rates because you are driving more, etc. Don’t forget that people will be asking for rides everywhere, and often not offering to pay for gas, so you will be spending more there as well.
Where You are Driving
You need to think about where you will be driving your car. If there are a lot of places to eat on campus, it is unlikely that you will be making many trips to the grocery store. It is the same with entertainment and socializing. Of course, if you want to make trips home or to see a boyfriend or girlfriend, you will appreciate a vehicle rather than having to pay for another form of transportation. Maybe you have a friend who operates a motorfleet. Ask them about doing a comparison on motorfleet quotes, and if they can lend you a vehicle if you need it.
Other Modes of Transportation
Are there a lot of ways to get around near the college you will be attending? If there are buses, subways, etc., there may actually be no need at all for you to bother taking your car to college with you. If it is a small area and everything is near the campus, there is also no need to have a car, because you can easily walk everywhere. In fact, you may be wasting a lot of money because you will be paying for a car that you really don’t need to use. It may be a better idea to just leave the vehicle at home if this is the case.
Other Drivers
If you do decide to take your car with you to college, you need to keep in mind that people are going to be asking to borrow your car. You will need to set up clear rules as to who is and is not allowed to use the car, where they can take it, how much gas they need to put in, etc. It is actually probably an even better idea to just not let anyone use it at all, especially if you don’t have coverage for occasional drivers. If you choose to lend your vehicle to someone, make sure that you know them well, that you trust them, and that they are legally able to drive your car.
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!

 

Lower State Tuition Does Not Just Help Wealthy Students

A report pushes back against the idea that state subsidies lowering tuition at public four-year universities disproportionately benefit students from wealthy families, reports Inside Higher Ed. The research, released under the Brookings Institution’s series of Evidence Speaks reports, finds appropriations from state and local governments used to offset educational costs at public institutions are smaller for students from higher-income families than for those with lower incomes. It also makes the case that low-income students are well represented across types of public four-year universities, including very selective universities, where they represent a quarter of enrollments — a far higher proportion than is the case at most elite private universities.

RealClearEducation

How to Prepare Yourself for the Next College Year

By David Gutierrez

With the summer break in full swing, the question of how to best prepare for the next college year is getting more and more urgent with every passing day. If you want to be ahead of the game come September, you’d better start using your time more responsibly right now. Here are five tips on how to be in top shape when college starts.

1.    Start Browsing Your Textbooks

Try to get the necessary textbooks as early as possible. Thus you won’t have to scurry around looking for a crucial textbook when the next term starts and, what’s more important, will be able to start reading up for at least some of your subjects. Reading textbooks in summer may sound hardcore, but it will give you a head start on your studies – you will be better prepared and have less to read during the college year.

2.    Have a Proper Vacation

A lot can be said about the benefits of learning in your spare time, but too much of a good thing can sometimes be, well, too much. You may cram all summer and even learn something, but if you suffer from burnout the first week of September, it will hardly do your studies much good. Therefore, having a good rest is as important for your long-term success as reading up. If possible, make sure it is a proper vacation – go somewhere for a change of place, book vacation rentals on the Outer Banks with your friends, for example, and spend some time actively enjoying yourself.

3.    Learn Touch-Typing

If you cannot touch-type yet, set aside some time to learn it. You are going to do a lot of typing in college and, most likely, later in life, and knowing how to type without looking at your hands can seriously improve your productivity. Summer is the best time to do it – the first weeks after transitioning to touch-typing you are going to type excruciatingly slow, so it is better done when you don’t have any urgent work.

4.    Get a Job

College costs a lot of money, and every little bit helps. Nobody expects you to sweat blood, but a reasonable amount of paid work done in summer and fall will go a long way in paying your college debt and, in addition to that, teaching you some important lessons about discipline.

5.    Do a Financial Check

Do you have a financial plan for the year ahead? Do you have sources of income? How much debt do you have? How much are you going to spend and on what? Are you going to rely on credit cards? Decide all these matters in advance so that you don’t suddenly find yourself completely broke.

Preparing to the next academic year is much more complicated than simply cramming and reading the assigned materials. You should create a proper mindset, put your finances in order, restore your physical and mental well-being. The next year isn’t going to be easier than the previous one – prepare for it well.

David Gutierrez has worked in the field of web design since 2005. Right now he started learning Java in order to get second occupation. His professional interests defined major topics of his articles. David writes about new web design software, recently discovered professional tricks and also monitors the latest updates of the web development.