Distance learning has special challenges. You will probably never see or meet the teacher. You won’t have classmates. You don’t have a campus full of people studying the same thing. But you can succeed! Plan on it! Follow the simple tips below, and you’ll do better in your learning. They may seem pretty basic, but they’ll help keep you focused and on track.

1. Set goals

Goal #1: “I will succeed in this course.”
At the beginning of a new course, look through the materials. Break the lessons/assignments into manageable chunks. You might not have time to do
a full lesson in one night, so plan for how much you can do, then stick to it until
you’re done.

2. Establish a regular study/learning schedule.

Keep a calendar or journal with your study goals and important dates clearly
marked-and look at it every day (a calendar can’t help you if it’s closed!).
Determine what time is best for you to study. Is it after dinner on Wednesdays
when your partner is at bowling? Is it Saturday mornings when the kids are at
soccer?
Take breaks-walk around and stretch. Drink some water or have a light snack. If you’re studying nutrition or health topics, you know how important this is!
If possible, have a dedicated study place with all the supplies you might need (computer, paper, pens, calculator, etc.)
Pace yourself. Don’t over extend yourself. There’s a reason it takes several years
to graduate from traditional university. You’re in this to learn, not just to get a certificate, so make sure you’re learning, not just racing through the materials.

3. Talk about it! (more…)

The college application process is daunting as it stands, and now students are facing another obstacle in putting their best foot forward to the college admissions departments. Students profiles on their favorite social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace may now play a roll in the admissions process. Only a few schools are admitting to it, but if you have a profile that you may not want a college admissions director peeking at, read on.

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but is it worth your future?

The Daily Collegian – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently completed a study that found that 21 percent of college admissions departments now use the Internet to look at the online profiles of potential students when reviewing applications.UMass Dartmouth looked at the policies of 452 college admissions departments to determine how many of them included Web sites like Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, and Livejournal as part of the application process. The study also found that 26 percent of these colleges are using Google to research prospective students.

These practices have become widely used by potential employers, but now many colleges and universities are using the technique to learn more about students. SAT scores, GPAs, letters of recommendation, and essays are no longer the only things being considered for acceptance by many schools. (more…)

Paying for college has become increasingly more difficult, as the college tuition fees have increased faster than the rise of inflation. At the same time financial aids from traditional sources such as federal government and the schools have dwindled. Hence, winning a scholarship from private sources has become an important way for college and graduate students to make up the different.

In order to find the free money to fund you college study, you need to take the initiative to search out the scholarships for which you are well qualified. Nowadays, many scholarship programs are published online, making it easier for you to find the up-to-date information and submit the scholarship applications quickly. This article will outlines some tips that can help you to find the scholarships you are qualified for using the powerful tool, the Internet.

1. Start To Search For Scholarships As Early As Possible

All scholarship applications have their own deadline and normally before the second semester start. Many scholarships programs are awarded in first-come-first-served basis. They many stop accepting more application submission even before the deadline if there are too many applications being received already. Hence, you should start to hunt for your qualified scholarship as early as possible; it’s never too early to start searching for college scholarships during your sophomore or junior year of high school. (more…)

PRESS RELEASE Spellings Announces Academic Competitiveness and National SMART Grants Data Results Over 360,000 students nation-wide benefiting from these new grants U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced the first year national data results from the Academic Competitiveness (AC) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART) Grants.

Results show that in the first year, $233,038,410 in Academic Competitiveness Grants were awarded to 299,089 students nation-wide, and $195,544,735 in National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grants were awarded to 60,976 students.

“Math, science and critical foreign language skills are the new currencies in our global economy, and we must continue to work hard to inform students about the money available for them if they take classes in these fields,” said Secretary Spellings. “These grant programs will not only enable more students to attend college but also better prepare our students for a globally competitive workforce.” (more…)

Do you waste time? Are you lazy and indolent or are you continuously on the go, using every minute to the maximum?If you are in the first category, there are a lot of very obvious things you can do to improve, but in this article I want to concentrate on those of us who are already using our time constructively and examine how you can squeeze even more from your day.

You may think that your life is so full that this is impossible, but I recently ran an inventory of how I used my time and realised that there was still some room for improvement. Here’s what I discovered.

Timespace #1 – For years I avoided doing any kind of exercise. It was pretty easy for me, I had been skinny all my life and even though I wasn’t too fit, I was still the right weight. As I got older, though I realised that I had to take my body a bit more seriously. (more…)

#5: Piling Up ‘Incompletes’ on Your Transcripts and/or Taking Too Long to Complete Your WorkBefore you enter a graduate program you should know what the average length of time it takes to complete the program. Generally, the more structured the program the less time it takes. Unlike professional graduate programs such as law, medicine, and business, no degree is guaranteed at the end of several years of coursework. Traditional graduate degree programs with a required thesis or dissertation component have been characterized by less structure, fewer formal classes, more self-motivation and independence.

In spite of an academic environment with less direction and more responsibility, your goal from the very first day of graduate school is to build a professional career. In graduate school your measure of success is not grades; getting all As doesn’t mean anything if you have not developed excellent research skills. (more…)

Many people with ADD find it very difficult to stick to a four-year program at college and to get their degrees. College can be hard for anyone when there are 5 papers due all on the same day. But you have the added handicap of being easily bored and quickly finding distraction. So, though it’s no cakewalk for any college student, getting your degree can be particularly hard when you have ADD.

How can that be helped?

Find a school that will work with you and your ADD. Most colleges require 15 credits to be classified as a full-time student, but most will also allow you to take fewer credits, though you’ll only be classified as part-time. If this isn’t a tax issue for you or your parents, being a part-time student with fewer classes to worry about may be a solution for you. (more…)