How to select a college

Choosing a college can be a very personal and at the same time, extremely stressful decision that not only teens but even their families need to make. However, the process on how to choose a college need not start and end with the name brand schools and institutions. In fact, there are a lot of schools out there for you to pick from, some of which are less known and others are known, all of which are worthy of your interest and attention. To help you out, here are a few pieces of advice that can guide you during your search for the perfect school that will work best for you.

Start with who you are and why you will go in the first place

You have to examine yourself first and the reasons that you have for going to college before you proceed with your search. Why will you go in the first place? What strengths and abilities do you have? What about your weaknesses? What do you expect out of life? Is it something intangible or a tangible one? Discuss these things with your family, friends, as well as the high school counselors while asking these questions. Those who know you well are the ones who can help you best when it comes to these crucial situations.

Bigger is not always better

Many of the good colleges hold a population of less than 4,000 for an excellent reason. College is that time when students will want to explore, and a much smaller community can be more conducive to the coveted internal exploration. What matters is not the number of people, but everything lies in the people themselves and the type of community where you will learn. Most of the bigger universities have their established honors colleges for similar reasons.

Your success cannot be guaranteed with a name-brand college

Consider the people in your life who are fruitful and happy and ask if and where they attended college. Inquire about the famous people. For sure, you will discover that life’s success has less to do with the chosen college compared with the opportunities and experiences encountered when in college, combined with personal traits and qualities.

Graduate schools and employers are after the most outstanding experience and skills, not the college pedigree. When it comes on how to choose a college, you need to ask about the student outcomes and you will be surprised to learn that most colleges outperform the name brands and the Ivies even if you have not heard of them in the past.

You need to be fit to go to college

The most important but usually overlooked factor to consider on how to choose a college is if you qualify for it. Picking a college only for the reason that it is where your best friends are going or because it has a high rank on the list does not mean who you are and who you are going to be. College is a match that you need to make based on what you want to be after you graduate, not a prize that you have to win. Looking for a good fit will require lots of time and sheer thoughtfulness.

Take into account these simple tips on how to choose a college in order to find the best school that will help you achieve your dreams and goals in life!

How to Choose a College

How to Choose a College choosing

Choosing a college

Federal Perkins Loan

The Perkins Loan is a federal government student loan available for students attending an accredited college or university. Students have to be in their initial undergraduate or graduate program and need of financial assistance to graduate or complete their studies. To determine if you’re qualified to receive a Perkins Loan, students have to complete the FAFSA or Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

You will receive an EFC score from the Department of Education, which will certainly determine how much a student is eligible to receive in federal government financial aid. Pupils that are unable to contribute $0 will certainly have a score of 0 while a student that can pay will have a score rating of 3,000. The range for an EFC score is between 0 and 3000. As a student if your score in the lower EFC rating range you will be eligible to receive a Perkins Loan.

The college/university is the loan provider of the funding. The lending procedure is straightforward. First, the federal government will disperse federal funds to participating schools, who after that lend this money to attending students. When the student had finished their program or is not enrolled, they will indeed start to make the payments back to their school, which will then send out the borrowed funds back to the federal government.

There are several benefits with the Perkins Loan that includes affordable interest rates and pleasant lending repayment terms. The Perkins Loan rate of interest is currently at 5 % and is variable, which means it can fluctuate throughout the duration of the funding. Despite the fact that the rates of interest are variable, it is still affordable when you compare with other private financial institutions. Another advantage of this financing is that it provides enough friendly repayment terms. Students have the option to select from several repayment options that suit their needs.

A student that can get a federal Perkins loan can directly obtain the funds from his/her choice of college. The fund is subsidized in which the federal government pays for the accrued interest while he/she is enlisted in the college.

To make an application for a Federal Perkins Loan you need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as well as a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The MPN is a lawful document revealing the debtor owes a financial obligation to a school. The note includes info about the interest rate on the financing, the repayment plan and minimum rates of repayment; scenarios for deferment and forbearance, cancellation regulations; credit report agency reporting; late charges, attorney costs, collections prices, and also default consequences.

What are the advantages?

The benefit of such funding is that there are no insurance or lending source charges to pay, there is a nine-month grace period while the other government lending is only six months. There is 5 % rate of interest and the payment period is pretty long (10 years). Furthermore, Perkins Loans are qualified for cancellation for teachers who are willing to teach in teachers short areas and who teach math, science, bilingual education. If you participated in Peace Corps Volunteer your would not pay back your loan; it will be canceled. Below is some requirement for federal Perkins loan.

1- The student should in need of financial assistance
2- He/she ought to be signed up in the school that participates in the financing program, at least, half time.
3. The student must be a United States citizen – or he/she can be the permanent resident.
4. He/she has not to have the default on any past loan.
5 He/she need to have adequate grades

Finally before taking the loan, it is critical to consider what your wage was making potential will be after you graduate. Keep in mind that you will be in debt of at least for $50,000.00 before you even enter the job market. Consolidation can help a bit in reducing your rate of interest, but it will not be of much aid if you can not afford to pay your loans.

Federal Perkins Loan Information photos

Federal Perkins Loan interest rate example

Federal Perkins Loan

Setting personal goals

Setting goals is a powerful tool in personal progress whether in your professional or general life. Setting goals will help you clarify what you want to achieve and give you steps on how to get there. If you want to succeed, then you must set goals that are achievable. Without this, you may easily lack direction and focus.

Goal setting allows you to take control full of your life and also provides a benchmark for determining if you are succeeding or not. However, to achieve your goals, you need to know how to set them. It is a process that starts with a consideration of what you want to accomplish, and it ends up with plenty hard work.In between, there must be very well defined steps that will help you accomplish what you have set. In this article, we are going to give you six rules of goal setting.

1. Think about the bigger picture.

When setting goals, you need to ask yourself some important questions about what you want to achieve. You also need to ask yourself if the goals that you are setting are achievable or not. Many people usually set goals that are nor realistic and attainable and at the end, they end up blaming themselves thinking that they have failed. Reflect on the bigger picture by property accessing your strengths and weaknesses and then come up with realistic goals that are achievable.

2. Determine the type of goal that you are setting.

Goals can be long-term and short-term. If you want a long term goal, when you must come up with measures that will ensure that you don’t get disrupted in the way from achieving it. On the other hand, if you goals are short term, then you must come up with a plan that will help you make them in time. Short terms goals must have very realistic and concrete plans otherwise you won’t be able to achieve them.

3. Set goals that will motivate you.

When you are setting goals, it is vital to establish those that motivate and inspire you. This means that you set goals that are important to you. If you set goals that you have little or no interest in then chances of you achieving them are very slim. . Set goals that relate to high priorities, this will help you focus.

4. Be SMART.

Setting goals that are SMART Means setting goals that are: Specific, attainable, relevant, measurable, and time-bound.

• Specific: To achieve your goals, they must be very clear and well defined. Generalized and vague goals do not provide sufficient direction and can waste your time and energy.
• Measurable: This includes setting goals that you can easily monitor and measure the rate of success. For example, if you have set a goal of reducing your expenses, you need to come up with plans that can enable you to know how exactly you have performed.
• Attainable: Make sure that you set goals that are realistic and achievable. If you set goals that are not attainable, you will erode your confidence and demoralize yourself.
• Relevant: The goals that you set must flow in the direction that you want your life and career to follow. By doing this, you will develop the focus that you need to help you achieve when you want.
• Time-bound: Your goals must have deadlines. When your goals have a time limit, the sense of urgency will increase thus helping you to achieve them much quicker.

5. Come up with an action plan.

To increase your chances of being successful, you must come up with an action plan that will help you plan all steps needed to help achieve your already set goals. By writing out all necessary steps and then crossing each when you meet, you will come to realize that you are making real progress toward achieving the ultimate goal. This is crucial especially if you have set a long term goal.

6. Stick with them.

Goal setting is an ongoing activity that requires commitment, focus, and hard work. It is vital to have reminders that can help keep you on track. You also need to review your goals periodically and make some changes if need but make sure that the result remains the same.

Setting Goals gallery

Setting Goals

Setting goals

Setting goals worksheet

Smart goal setting

Steps to Hiring a New Employee – team smiling with handshake

Hiring new employee is a very challenging task. In most cases, some human resource managers end up hiring people who do not have the ability to deliver the required services to the company. It is an important process which involves a chain of events whose outcome directly affects the kind of employees who will be hired. It is never a single event- it is a process. All companies would wish to hire people who will boost the performance and the productivity of the company at all costs.

There are both local and international laws which outline the criteria under which the recruitment process should be conducted. For instance, employing kids is prohibited by statute. You need to know the law in its totality to avoid any chances of being taken to court. Most employment standards indicate the number of hours any employee should work, minimum wage, retirement age and taxation just to mention a few. All your actions must be within the law.

Hiring mistakes

There are some factors that you must avoid at all cost to get the right employees. As you design your steps to hiring a new employee, you need to know that all the hiring mistakes fall into two broad categories: hiring an individual who should not have been hired or not hiring individuals you ought to have employed. To avoid being in such a situation, you need to consider the following key elements:

Impression; in most cases, employers use only one characteristic or attribute to make decisions which have always been a major setback in the recruiting process. Of course, the first impression tells a lot about a person. However, it must not be used to make the final judgment. This process should be conducted in an open-minded manner. For instance, you may judge someone to be unqualified due the negative attributes they portrayed on their first day, yet they could be qualified and fit for the job.

Hiring yourself; some employers fall in love with their personality and admire people whom they assume are like them. If a company has all employees with the same level of reasoning and thinking, then it becomes almost impossible for it to succeed. Try to recruit people with different personality, thinking and creativity. It will be easier for such a company to progress and eventually reach.

Rush-to-hire; business is very dynamic and at times, there could be an increase in the level of demand. Relaxing or ignoring certain stages in the recruitment standards will make you ignore certain factors which are essential in this process. Stick to the set standard despite the increase in demand.

Poor communication; failure to ask the right questions or to hear what the candidate is saying will only lead to misinterpretation of the recruiting process. During interviews, some employers only focus on what they expect to hear from the candidate. You need to have an open mind and be sure to keep the expectations of the job succinct.

Necessary steps to hiring a new employee

Now that you have known all that you should avoid, you need to develop a comprehensive, professional and efficient hiring system. More importantly, you need to stick to this system at all cost. You need to:

Develop recruitment plan; define both the nature of the job and the selection procedure. You need to know the reason why you have to hire; identify whether the position is permanent or temporary; the position profile; give a clear job description; identify people who should make a hiring decision; determine how the new employees will be absorbed, etc. It should be a comprehensive hiring game plan.

Define the job; be sure to list all the necessary qualifications, performance expectations and the behavioral requirements of the employees. This will act as a clear guideline which you will use to evaluate the candidates.

Determine the expected output; you need to review personal attributes of all candidates. This will ensure that all the new employees will be able to meet all the requirements for the job besides being integrated into the business culture effortlessly.

Time to hire; you need to know the exact time to hire employees. This will avoid chances of having the excess manpower. You should only hire when there is the need for additional labor.

Do you have a recruitment plan? A good plan will attract qualified candidates for the position you shall have advertised for. You must highlight selling features of the vacant position. You should have an explicit advert which states all the details of the job.

Collect applications; manage all the requests and let the human resource department weed out those candidates who do not meet the mark. You need to have an honest and genuine human resource team who will be fair and have the capability of making a sound judgment based on the qualification of the candidates. Screen all candidates to get the best who will be invited for an interview.

Interview; at this point you need to confirm whether the candidates are qualified for the position by assessing their behavior and skills, general character and attitude. Conduct a thorough interview to select those who deserve the job.

Although the following steps to hiring a new employee may look simple, some employers find it tough to adhere to it, and they end up hiring unqualified individuals.

Steps to Hiring a New Employee photos

Hiring process checklist

Recruitment process flowchart

Recruiting new employees