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Going back to school after being away from the classroom for awhile may be frustrating at first. Don’t be scared of starting your education later on in life, or picking it up where you left off. Balancing priorities, your family, and the course material may be a challenge – so here are some helpful study tips that will help as you make the best of your study time.

1. Set aside time to study. Get a planner where you can write down when you will be working, when your classes are, when you have tests or school activities, or any other events that may pop up. This will be helpful because you can determine certain times to dedicate to studying. If possible, try and study during the same time each day, so that you can force yourself to get into a routine of doing so. If you are an adult learner, it is important to make sure your friends and family know your schedule and respect that you need time to focus on school. You’ve decided to improve your life by going back to school so be sure to keep others in the loop on your progress and success, and they should be able to understand your need for uninterrupted study time. When studying it is better to have a series of shorter study sessions distributed over several days than to have fewer but longer sessions.
2. Put it in your own words. There is a difference between memorizing and actually absorbing course material. Don’t just memorize the information and move on – you should be able to explain the main ideas and concepts of what you are studying in your own words. By putting the material in a context that you understand, you will have an easier time recalling it when you are taking a test or applying it in the real world.
3. Don’t try to learn it all. Select a reasonable chunk of material to study. Make a list or outline of the material that is likely to be on the exam and prioritize these subjects based on how important they are and how much more you need to learn about them. Spend the majority of your time familiarizing yourself with the subjects you are less confident about, and do it at the beginning of your study session when you have more energy and are ready to dive in.
4. Dress uncomfortably and sit at a desk. If you dress comfortably and try to study on a couch, you are apt to be interrupted more easily, be less focused, and therefore be less productive. You should sit upright at a desk and avoid dressing casually so that you can remain awake and attentive.
5. Chew gum. An informal study done by a Cornell University marketing professor has shown that chewing gum offers improved memory and concentration which may improve your test-taking abilities. Chewing gum may also help relieve some of the stress of studying and taking tests, and help you stay awake.
6. Seek support. Check with the other students in the class to get their perspectives on what important information will be on the exam. Suggest a group session where you share study guides and talk about the material out loud. Verbalizing the information is the key to storing the material in your long-term memory

Going back to school can be intimidating, especially if you are an adult learner. Don’t take on more than you can manage, and prepare yourself as much as possible!

Interested in finding the right school to further your education? Get matched now!

Think you have what it takes to make an impact on the gaming industry?

Well, Penny Arcade is rewarding one lucky student with a $10,000 academic scholarship.

Deadline: May 30, 2010

Requirements:

• Applicants must be a full-time student attending an accredited college or university in the United States during the 2009-2010 academic school year. (You must currently be enrolled in a college/university, therefore high school seniors are not eligible.)
• Applicants must have the intention to enter the game industry in some capacity
• Major: any field
• GPA: 3.3 minimum (on a 4.0 scale)

Scholarship application packet must include:

• Completed & signed application
• Two page letter
• Two current signed letters of recommendation
• Most current and official college/university transcript
• Photograph of yourself
• Must be postmarked by May 30, 2010

Winner will be announced and contacted in September 2010.

Here is the scholarship application. Good luck!

Nowadays, the total cost of elite Ivy League schools like MIT, Rice, Duke, and Amherst are approximately $50,000 a year, but luckily many students pay less due to their financial aid packages. Public state universities cost less, and may be just as good as the private ones. The question that comes up often with students and families is: will going to a $50,000 school mean that you will make more money over time (and therefore justify the cost?)

Many people assume that students who go to elite colleges will make more money than those who don’t. Payscale.com asked graduates to report their earnings, and it was no surprise that students from schools like Dartmouth, MIT, Harvard, and Stanford reported the highest mid-career median earnings.

A 1998 study by economists Alan Kreuger and Stacey Dale looked at more than 14,000 people who started at elite colleges (as defined by SAT scores) in 1976, and compared their earnings 19 years later to students who applied to elite schools but went somewhere else. Basically their findings showed that it didn’t matter where the students went, as long as they were capable of going to the elite schools. Their research showed that earnings were unrelated to the selectivity of the college that students attended among those who had comparable options.

However, one thing worth noting was that the earning power of students from lower-income families definitely improved by attending elite schools. Caroline Hoxby, a respected educational economist, found that graduates of more selective colleges earned more than those who went to schools that were easier to get into. “If we compared two men with the same measured aptitude, the one who graduates from a more selective college still tends to earn more over his career”, Hoxby said.

The study did not take into account parents’ income, or the student’s choice of profession. If you attend an elite school but don’t go for the right degree program, it is not going to boost your earnings that much. And remember, a student’s character, ability, career choice, and fate are important factors when figuring out which school to attend.

Regardless of where you get it, earning an accredited and quality degree is important and will help you earn more. Answer a few simple questions and get matched to a degree program today!

Source: BNET, http://blogs.bnet.com/career-advice/?p=751

Usually students in their senior year of high school apply for financial aid, by filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). At this time, most students have already decided which colleges they are applying to, and are making final choices about their academic future.

The U.S. Department of Education developed FAFSA4caster as an early estimator tool, because students should be researching and aware of their financial aid eligibility BEFORE their senior year of high school.

FAFSA4caster is not the financial aid application. High school juniors or seniors (in their first months of their senior year) should use this tool, as it provides them with more specific financial aid information. They can enter their information, and FAFSA4caster will estimate their financial aid eligibility. By doing so, they will already have this financial aid estimate when they start to look at potential colleges. It helps relieve some of the stress about whether or not they will be able to afford a particular school or not while they are conducting their college search.

FAFSA4caster also provides general information on financial aid, as well as helpful tips. You can also easily transfer your information from FAFSA4caster to FAFSA on the Web, once you are ready to officially apply for aid. It is meant to be a helpful resource to prepare students for their financial aid application process.

Applying for financial aid doesn’t have to be stressful! Start preparing today!

A study conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that in recent decades it is taking longer for students to earn their bachelor’s degrees. This trend is not across the board for all colleges, but rather is more common among students who enroll at less competitive four-year public institutions and at community colleges.

Data from the study shows that of the students who graduated from high school in 1972, 58% earned a bachelor’s degree within four years of finishing high school, which many consider to be on time. For students who graduated in 1992, only 44% earned their bachelor’s degree within four years of finishing high school.

There is a difference among the rate at which students complete their bachelor’s degree at public schools:

• At top ranked public colleges and universities, 55.5% of students finished their bachelor’s degree in four years
• At other state and local schools, only 34.7% of students finished their bachelor’s degree in four years.

People who want students to graduate more promptly need to focus on the schools’ budgets. Dwindling resources at less-selective public universities may be the cause for why degree attainment rates are lower than before.

There are links between school resources and the time it takes to earn bachelor’s degrees. In public institutions during the time of the study period, student-faculty ratios increased in overall public institutions from 25.5 to 29.8 students to 1 teacher. At the top ranked 50 institutions (and at private colleges), the ratios decreased meaning that teachers could pay more attention to each individual student, making the overall learning experience better.

Another factor increasing the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree is, with higher enrollment rates at schools the amount of resources per student decreases. The study found that for every 1% increase in a state’s population of 18 year olds, the time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree increases by 0.71 years. And for those students studying NOT at the top ranked 50 institutions the increase in time it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree is greater: 1.11 years.

One author of the study concluded, “That these increases are concentrated among students attending public colleges and universities outside the most selective, few suggests a need for more attention to how these institutions adjust to budget constraints and student demand, and how students at these colleges finance higher education.”

Check out more information on financial aid and ways to afford your college education.

Bridgestone’s 4th annual Safety Scholars Video Contest is now accepting video entries related to safe driving.

The videos must be 25 to 55 seconds long in length and address some aspect of automobile safety such as seat belt usage, driving defensively, or not using cell phones while driving, for example.

The top 3 filmmakers will each win a $5,000 college scholarship. Additionally, Bridgestone will broadcast one video on television as a public service announcement. The top ten finalists will also receive a new set of Bridgestone/Firestone tires.

Deadline: July 1, 2010

Applicants must:

• be ages 16-21
• be legal permanent residents of the 50 United States or District of Columbia
• have a valid driver’s license
• be enrolled as a full-time student in an accredited secondary, college level, or trade school

For more information and official contest rules visit the SafetyScholars website.

Or, apply here. Good Luck!

Need help filling out the FAFSA if you’re an independent student?

Watch EducationGrant’s how-to video for advice and tips!

Note: Please turn up the volume on your computer before watching.

Heads up to any of our readers who are paying off student loans: ECMC, a federal student loan agency, made an announcement last week that said the names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth for 3.3 million people were stolen from its headquarters about three weeks ago. No savings, checking or credit card information was included in the data, but if you are one of their borrowers, you can still be at risk for identity theft. So far, they haven’t found any evidence that the data has been used, but it’s better to take precautions now to secure your information.

How do you find out if your information has been compromised? Here are 3 options:

• Head to https://www.ecmc.org/register/Register.do and fill out your information
• Call ECMC at 1-877-449-3568
  • Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET
  • Saturday from 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. ET
  • Sunday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET
• Visit www.nslds.ed.gov, a national student loan database where you can log in and check on information about your loans

ECMC is also working with Experian to offer affected borrowers free credit protection and monitoring for a year. If you are affected by the data theft, you will receive a letter soon, if you haven’t already. You’ll need a code from this letter in order to activate your credit protection services.

What can you do to protect yourself in the meantime?

1. Keep in contact with your bank & credit card companies. Double check your existing accounts for any unauthorized purchases, and make sure no new accounts have been falsely opened in your name. Go one further and create new passwords & PIN numbers for your accounts, just to be safe. Make sure these passwords and PIN numbers are complicated and not easy to guess. Don’t use birthdays, years, names, phone numbers, or other obvious identifying information to create a new code.
2. Check your credit report. Like we said, no misuse has been reported yet, but it doesn’t mean you are in the clear. Run your credit report to double check that no questionable accounts or loans have been opened in your name.

The following scholarships are for minority students. The scholarship deadlines are approaching fast, so apply today!

1. CHCI (Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute) Scholarship

Deadline: April 16, 2010

The CHCI scholarship program is awarded to Latino students in the United State who have a history of performing public service-oriented activities in their communities.

Requirements:

• Full-time enrollment in a United States Department of Education accredited community college, four-year university, or graduate/professional program during the period for which scholarship is requested
• Demonstrated financial need
• Consistent, active participation in public and/or community service activities
• Strong writing skills
• U.S. citizenship or legal permanent residency

2. Google United Negro College Fund Scholarship

Deadline: April 16, 2010

Eligible majors: Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering

3. American Association of Colleges of Nursing: Minority Nurse Faculty Scholars Program

Deadline: May 7, 2010

AACN and the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future have launched a national scholarship program designed to increase the number of nursing professionals from ethnic minority backgrounds.

4. American Indian Science and Engineering Society

Deadline: June 15, 2010

The AISES Google Scholarship awards scholarships to American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian AISES members persuing degrees in computer science and computer engineering.

5. United Negro College Fund

Deadlines vary.

The UNCF website lists numerous scholarships, which all have different eligibility requirements. Find a scholarship you qualify for!

For information on other scholarships, visit: Private Scholarships