Different Types of Student Loans

Image by Laura Taylor

Image by Laura Taylor

Paying for college can be a real challenge. The price of attending a college or university can be daunting for some people, especially since tuition rates are steadily rising.

If you happen to be faced with a hefty price tag that you’re not sure you can afford, don’t give up hope. College is a possibility for every person willing to seek out financial aid and other options that can help to pay for college. Fortunately, when there are still costs that you can’t cover, you can apply for a student loan.

Student loans come in many different forms and understanding your options can prove difficult. With a little time and patience, you can come to an understanding of student loan options and make the choice that’s the best fit for you and your future. Click to continue reading…

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Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges

Is college worth it? Forbes says, most of the time, no. Unless you happen to make it to the top of their America’s Best 650 Colleges annual list.

Forbes’ America’s Best Colleges list is annually updated and one of the many ‘best college’ lists available to prospective undergrad student. It looks to answer the simple question of “What schools are worth going to?”

Forbes looks at the economics of being an incoming student and ranks the top 650 American universities by their expected return, i.e., how much your degree is likely to give back compared to the amount of money it cost. The specific values which are evaluated are quality of professors, career prospects and post-graduate success, graduation rates, student satisfaction, and student debt. A schools reputation is not directly taken into account, though it could influence the other values, but the student reputation (measured by the frequency of winning prestigious and competitive third-party awards and percentage of students continuing on to earn a Ph.D.) is considered.

The specific measurements and methodology was created and conducted by the Center for College Affordability and Productivity on behalf of Forbes. The complete methodology is available in a detailed 16-page document (PDF).

The big problem “best” lists have is how frequent they change.

Rankings

College Being decided to compare this year’s Forbes list with the list from five years ago to see how the rankings have changed and which colleges continue to make the top of the list.

The Ivy League: Princeton University continues to be at number 1. Yale University and Columbia University have each moved up a few spots and are in the top 10, Brown and University of Pennsylvania moved up a lot and are now in the top 20. Dartmouth College and Cornell University improved a lot and are at 34 and 51, respectively. Harvard was the only Ivy League school to drop in ranking.

Honorable Mentions: MIT, Stanford, and University of Chicago also hugely improved their rankings and are now all in the top 20.

Notable Schools

Hampden-Sydney has been high on the Forbes rankings since 2008. Hampden-Sydney (about 1,000 students) is a small men’s university in Virginia and has been around since 1775, before the American Revolution. Hampden-Sydney College courses include sciences, fine arts, English, foreign languages, government, religion, math and computer science. The school ranked 4 in Forbes 2010 Best Private Colleges in the South list.

Boston University has improved its ranking and is now in the top 100 American schools. BU is a large private university in New England. Its strengths include a core curriculum of education, a varied program of study with 18 different schools or colleges, a diverse student population, and Division I sports.

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Associate’s Degrees Are Worth A Second Look

Over the last several decades an increasing amount of pressure has been placed on college students by parents and academic advisors and educators to forgo the Associate’s degree and instead pursue a Bachelor’s degree. As a recent graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science, I can tell you that when I was in college at a traditional large university and expressed some interest in obtaining an Associate’s I was discouraged by my college advisor. And I understand why:

  • Advisors know that your earnings potential with a Bachelor’s is much higher. That’s a legit reason.
  • Advisors also know that universities typically charge more per hour, not to mention they keep you paying tuition twice as long or longer for that Bachelor’s. That’s a little shady.

The truth is that with some majors, Click to continue reading…

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Different Ways to Fight Off College Stress

As we get a taste of college life, so many things change. Whether we like it or not, we have to go with the flow and adhere to these changes in order to fully grasp the new chapter of our lives.

College and Stress

Majority of college students have to blend in a new environment, deal with new challenges and meet new people. For some, the transition from living with the family to being on your own and independent seems scary at the same time exciting. And then there goes the demands of school works and college activities, plus the social life. All of these tasks and responsibilities spells one word – STRESS.

Let’s face it, college life is a stressful time. Stress highly affects one’s mental and physical harmony. That is why, it is vital to take some time to alleviate and get rid of those stress-causing things. Each one of us has a preferred means of dealing with stress. Here are healthy ways to battle stress that are applicable to college students. With the following techniques, you don’t need to spend money for over-the-counter pills.

Go for healthy diet.

One may have big appetite during high Click to continue reading…

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Top Culinary Schools in North America

The mystique of international cuisine is well-known, but not every chef-to-be can afford to move overseas and seek the tutelage of a world famous European chef. What’s an aspiring but continentally constrained chef to do? The good news is that there are many phenomenal and well-respected culinary schools right here at home. Here we’ll survey some of the top-tier programs and review some of the unique and interesting opportunities each one has to offer.

4. Le Cordon Bleu

Le Cordon Bleu has been around and teaching future chefs for over 100 years, and over that time has garnered and impressive reputation for turning out quality graduates and numerous internationally known stars. Renowned chefs  Mario Batali, Giada De Laurentiis, Simone Beck, and even Julia Child all graduated from Le Cordon Bleu (interestingly, Jeff Probst—of Survivor fame—also graduated from Le Cordon Bleu!). Le Cordon Bleu is a multi-campus school with locations in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, Orlando, Pittsburg, Portland, Sacramento, Scottsdale, Seattle, and St. Louis. This means that wherever you live, there’s a Le Cordon Bleu near you, ready to help you enter the world of professional culinary arts. The Boston school, in particular, has recently been receiving high praise for its educational quality.

3. The International Culinary School

The International Culinary School at the Art Institutes is another well-known and well-respected multi-campus American culinary school, with locations in the cities of Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Diego, Denver, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minneapolis, New York, Portland, Philadelphia, Nashville, Washington DC, Houston, Seattle, and others. One of the unique features of the International Culinary School at the Art Institutes is its focused association with the Food Network. This special relationship means that the quality of curriculum and faculty is top-tier, and allows the school to bring in some of the stars of the Food Network’s programs to mix elbows with its students and offer career and culinary advice.

2. The French Culinary Institute, New York City

Want to learn to prepare and serve traditional French cuisine, but can’t afford to move to France and learn from their native chefs? Look no further than the French Culinary Institute, New York City. Voted Best Vocational Cooking School in America in 2010, and called “the finest cooking school in America” by famous chef and writer Anthony Bourdain, this school has a well-deserved reputation, known internationally as offering one of the top culinary programs outside of Europe. The French Culinary Institute, New York City is a part of the International Culinary Center.

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