Top 10 Tips For College Campus Visits

Top 10 Tips For College Campus Visits The following piece was written by Rachel Korn. Rachel has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is a former University of Pennsylvaniaadmissions officer, as well as the founder of her own admissions consulting firm. In your search for your right college, there is no better single piece of data to collect than how you feel with your feet on a campus. Heres how to maximize your visits:1. Research beforehand. Visit school websites to get information about their scheduled visitor activities and plan ahead. If you have to pre-register for a tour, an information session or an interview, do that well in advance, especially if you will be visiting at a busy time - during high school breaks and in the summers. Investigate how to visit more than one school in a day, too (many people do). If you will be in a city like Boston, for example, with 60 colleges and universities in and around it, you could definitely visit 2 schools in one day with the right planning. 2. Dress the part. You are interacting with the admissions office. While you do not have to dress up and you should definitely wear comfortable shoes for walking, you should wear clothes you would wear to school nothing too revealing. Your wardrobe is noticed. Dont make admissions officers uncomfortable talking to you.3. Take advantage of everything official offered. Attend information sessions; take campus tours; visit classes; lunch with students. All these activities are critical to build a well-rounded understanding of a school. The information session, with an admissions officer, will give you the facts and talk about the schools particular admissions process, and the tour and other interactions with students will give you the feel of the school. You get both the intellectual and the emotional experience.4. Ask questions. This is a unique chance to learn take advantage of it. Since no one knows you and since the admissions staff and student volunteers have probably heard it al l, there is a 99% chance that you cannot embarrass yourself. At the very least, collect student and staff e-mail addresses for questions later. If you are shy and prefer just to listen on tour, you can always pull the tour guide aside afterwards to ask. Same goes for the information session. If you have questions for the admissions officer but prefer not to speak during the presentation, you can ask the staff member afterwards or return to the admissions office later to speak one-on-one.5. Try to meet your admissions officer. You may have the chance to meet the person potentially reading your application and the applications from your area. It would not hurt to make a connection and show your seriousness if you have questions specifically for that person. Caution: if you have nothing intelligent to ask, though, it may be unwise to have the admissions officer called from his/her office to meet you. Make a positive impression with thoughtful questions.6. Check our facilities you hope to use. Think about your goals. Do you want to major in a science? Try to visit a lab. Are you interested in the performing arts? Drop by theater spaces.7. Go off the beaten path. Once the official offerings are over, dont leave yet. Stop random students to ask questions. Collect more opinions than just those of the tour guides who generally love their schools. This is especially important if you did not like a particular tour guide - try to understand if the person is representative of the school or if actually, there are many other kinds of people there like you. You can go to a student union or a major walkway and stop students. If doing this with your parents would feel embarrassing, try to send your parents to a caf on campus for an hour and venture on your own. They can do their research, you can do yours.8. Take notes. If you will visit several schools, jot down your impressions on each visit to differentiate the schools later. Libraries, dorms, cafeterias and sports complexe s will become frighteningly similar by the end.9. Keep an open mind. It may be that the specific dorm you see is not your taste or perhaps the tour guide is a bit strange or it is just a rainy, miserable day and you (and the college students) want to just hide inside. Perhaps you are there during the colleges break and it is a bit empty. Remember to take what you see in a bigger context and try not to let things like these unfairly color your feelings about a school. Believe it or not, these small things strongly influence your impression, so try to separate a bad day from a bad fit campus.10. Enjoy! Have a great time seeing what college life is like and have fun learning what makes each school unique. Remember: Schools admit a great number of students who cannot visit prior to applying due to their finances or their distances from the campuses. It is not held against you if you cannot visit due to these reasons (admissions officers realize that) - you can prove in your application how much you are interested, and admissions should happily admit you if you fit their criteria. The visit is a chance for you to learn more than it is a chance to influence your application. There is a fairness to the system. Visit RachelsAdmissions Consultingsite. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Strategies of Writing English Writing Online Tutorpace

Strategies of Writing English Writing Online Tutorpace The mental process that a writer uses to create writing consists of measured ways of concentrated thinking to focus on what one intends to write. This process containing several steps for any writing is called strategies. The process starts even before the actual writing occurs in thinking, taking notes, brainstorming, outlining and collecting facts. The next strategy starts with drafting in which the writer plans how to express the ideas. Good ideas are not the only pre-requisite of good writing but basic skills such as word order and subject-verb agreement are also crucial. Further, having a strong opening in the introduction, writing apt topic sentences for each paragraph and ending with a good summary of ones writing are essential writing strategies. Using proper expressions to connect one idea with another will provide coherence and without that strategy there will be no good writing. Most Common Strategies The most important strategy is to use the right word at the right place, which creates a good style. If writers employ rhetorical strategies, the writing will be powerful and writers usually use exemplification, description, narration, comparison and contrast, definition and cause and effect analysis. The main strategy to use after writing is revising and editing to improve what is written. It is better to keep in mind the audience in order to write accordingly. Clarity of expression, correct spelling and grammar make up the rest of the strategies that a writer should pay attention to. Strategies of Writing English Writing Online Tutorpace If you want to learn strategies of english writing online then visit tutorpace, here you find the best english tutors online, who will help you 24/7.

Regrouping decimals

Regrouping decimals Decimals numbers representation is one of the most useful notations in math. In a decimal numbers the decimal dot is used separate the whole number part and the fractional part. The first number next to the decimal point is called the tenth place value. The second number next to the decimal point is called the hundredth place value. The third number next to the decimal point is called the thousandth place value and so on. Example 1: Show the place values and grouping of the digits in the decimal number 23.45? Solution: Here the number 23 is the whole number part. Where 3 is the ones place and 2 is the tenths place. The whole number part is separated by the fractional part by a decimal dot. The tenth decimal place value is 4. The hundredth decimal place value is 5. The number 23.45 can be grouped as the following: 23.45 = 20 + 3 + dot (.) + 4/10 + 5/100. Question: Multiple choice question (Pick the correct option.) What is the answer for the addition of the decimal number 2.3 + 4.5? a) 6.0 b) 6.5 c) 6.8 d) None of these. Correct answer: option c .Here the two decimal number 2.3 and 4.5 are to be added. First add the tenth decimal place values this gives 3 + 5 = 8. Now add the whole number part which gives 2 + 4 = 6 Now grouping the two decimal number gives: Answer: 2.3 + 4.5 = 6.8

Singing Tips for Seniors Taking Voice Lessons Later in Life

Singing Tips for Seniors Taking Voice Lessons Later in Life Suzy S. Think its too late for you to learn how to sing? Here, Hayward, CA teacher  Molly R.  explains why its actually a fantastic time to start up lessonsas well as some helpful singing tips for making the most of them Im 70. Is it too late for me to learn how to sing? As a voice teacher, I get inquiries from singers of all walks of life. Its actually pretty surprising to me that more people think its normal for a 3-year-old (!) to take private voice lessons, yet its completely out of the question for someone 60 or older. Many older people may find themselves retired and looking for a new hobby, so singing lessons are a wonderful choice. One 72-year-old gentleman I work with is excited to finally have this time for himself, and has even joined a community chorus! Another senior lady tells me she loves her lessons because she gets a chance to revisit the songs she loved while growing upincluding many by the great crooners. Are you an older adult thinking of taking voice lessons? Good for you! Know that you are definitely NOT too old to sing. Here are some helpful singing tips for older vocalists: Keep a positive attitude, no matter what anyone else may say. There are plenty of super seniors out there who are still singing! Look at musicians like Sir Paul McCartney, Shirley Bassey, and Dolly Parton, to name but a few. They clearly love what they do! If you enjoy the process of creating music, that is really all that matters. Consider taking regular weekly lessons, even if you dont have performance aspirations. Why? Its good for your whole body!   Singing has been proven to fight depression, and even assists with certain ailments, like high blood pressure and asthma. Work with your teacher in finding the repertoire that is right for you NOW.  Your voice may not be as strong as it was in your youthbut what is? All muscles lose some elasticity as we age, but please dont let that hold you back. Men may find that their voices are higher, and women may find that their voices are now considerably lower, due to drastic changes in hormones. Embrace the changes. There is plenty of compelling music for you to sing! Take it easy on yourself, as far as practicing goes. Since you are doing this for your own personal enrichment, you dont need to worry about daily practice sessions. And if you cant commit to weekly lessons, you can easily make progress even if you attend two lessons a month, and vocalize three to four times a week. And finally Consider using your voice as a way to make friends, and even perform! Many older people may find themselves bored and a little lonely. A few of my older students have made community choruses a part of their lives, now that they finally have the time to pursue more of their passions. Some are even trying karaoke nights for the very first time! As a older adult, you have had more life experience, and that alone will make your performances that much more compelling. Isnt that what great singing is about, anyway? Molly R. teaches online and in-person singing lessons in Hayward, CA. Her specialties include teaching beginner vocalists, shy singers, children, teens, lapsed singers, and older beginners. She joined TakeLessons in November 2013. Learn more about Molly  here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

5 Wise Tips When Pursuing the Career of Your Dreams - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / 5 Wise Tips When Pursuing the Career of Your Dreams - Introvert Whisperer 5 Wise Tips When Pursuing the Career of Your Dreams If you loved the work you do now, you likely wouldnt be so keen to leave it behind to follow your passion. According to Forbes, more than half of all workers today would love to give their notice and do something they could truly enjoy. So why dont they? Why dont more people wave goodbye to their 9-to-5 and head off for a rendezvous with their dream career? This is a great question and one that will likely produce different answers depending on who you ask. But here, it doesnt matter what other unhappy people decide whether to stay or go. What matters is what YOU decide to do. You only live once, so why not go for it and spend your career years pursuing the kind of work you love! It may not be easy, but it sure will be worth it, and these five wise tips will help you along the way. Tip 1: No regrets is ALWAYS worth the work involved.   One thing that likely keeps many unhappy workers glued to their dismal desks is the ever-present threat of failure. In fact, many unhappy workers say one of their greatest fears is layoffs! This will never be you once you decide to pursue the career of your dreams. However, there is no guarantee you will succeed, either. This is why being an entrepreneur requires bravery. You are an adult, launching a new venture with your eyes wide open to both the potential risks and the possible rewards. Most importantly, you are an adventurer through life who is determined not to ever be haunted by the dreadful what ifs. You are not the one who will spend their final days wondering what your life would have been like if only you had tried that-thing-you-never-tried. So while there is no guarantee of success, there is absolutely a guarantee of personal growth, self-empowerment, newfound wisdom and courage, increased resilience, unexpected wonders and a whole new way of looking at the world that can only be yours when you take the reins of your own life. Tip 2: You calling the shots turns the Whys? Into Why Nots!   Maybe you used to be (or are now) one of those restless, dissatisfied, frustrated workers who looks at your companys upper management and thinks how differently you would do things if you were in their shoes. Now, in choosing to pursue the career of your dreams, you are freeing yourself to do those things differently! For instance, if you want to partner with a local school or charity to produce stadium blankets for student fundraising or young people in need, you dont need to run your idea by anyone but yourself to get approval. You can do good AND advance your career and feel really good about doing it. In the same way, you are free to partner, collaborate and co-create with like-minded others, sharing your followers and creating more success for everyone involved. When your attitude turns from a fear-based why? to a brave and adventurous why not! anything becomes possible. Tip 3: Avoid skeptics like the plague.   If your best friend told you she was super sick with the flu, you probably wouldnt beg to go over there and see her, right? When you decide to really go for it and pursue your dream career, it is well worth treating anyone who is a skeptic or outright pessimist like they are covered in flu germs. It really just isnt worth it to spend time with people who will knowingly or unwittingly undercut your courage right at a moment when you are at both your most hopeful and youre most vulnerable. Otherwise, well, sometimes skeptics do have a point. Well, yes, that is risky. Of course, you might fail. Yup, it is expensive to buy supplies and maintain an inventory and build a website and do marketing and print business cards. Sure, you are using your whole life savings to pursue your dream career. But you know what? That is why not everyone does it! The ones who dont do it will never know the joy and triumph of realizing that you can actually earn a living doing what you love. The ones who not only dont do it themselves but tell others they cant do it either will never know they are wrong. And these are not the folks you want to keep company with anyway. You the soon-to-be-success need and deserve to surround yourself with other dreamers and brave doers like you. So (at the risk of overusing an already overused cliche), just do it! Tip 4: Stay flexible always.   If you start out pursuing what you think is your dream career and one day get waylaid by your real dream career while en route, you wont be the first or the last. Sometimes you think you know what you really want and you are right. And sometimes what you think you want is just a pale imitation of something else you encounter during the journey. Either way, it is critical to stay flexible during your adventures. If you discover something that is clearly a better fit, jump on it. After all, that is why you started out on this journey in the first place, isnt it? Tip 5: It is fine to keep your current life and pursue your dream too.   Maybe you are no longer single, childless and footloose and overall, you are happy about that. But you still have unfulfilled dreams tugging at you anyway. This is okay. In fact, it is more than okay. You can still pursue your dreams. It might take a bit longer or require more strategizing, but if you look closely enough, you can find a way to, bit by bit, day after day, pursue your dream career while keeping what you love about your current life too. Mori V. Brockbank is a high school counselor by morning, a volleyball coach by day, and a motivational/sports blogger by night. Her passion for empowering and strengthening others flows within her work and writing. Go to top CAREER ACCELERATION Do you know what your next career step is?  Many people don’t. I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook on how to construct your Career SMART Goals â€" that will help you put together your actions and keep you accountable. Get your copy now and start your action plan today! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Getting a Student to Understand Geometry

Getting a Student to Understand Geometry Getting a Student to Understand Geometry As parents, you know Geometry can be quite complex and sometimes your child can get lost when trying to remember terms like congruent triangles, quadrilaterals, and theorems, just to name a few. It's easy for him or her to confuse one of these terms with another or simply have problems grasping the concepts. While it's true that every student has strengths and weaknesses, he or she will need to be able to shine in all subjects in order to do well in school. The good news is that, if you notice that your child is struggling with Geometry, there are things that you can do to help: Spend extra time on difficult-to-grasp material Geometry is about figuring out the position, shape, and size of forms and using the information to solve problems. Learning the basic principles of this discipline, however, involves a great deal more memorization and repetition than many other types of mathematics. If your child can't sort out which rules apply to a given situation, you're already fighting a losing battle. By taking extra time to go over the concepts and to then ensure that your student understands how to use them in a problem-solving capacity, you will keep him or her from falling behind the rest of the class. Find extra problems for him or her to solve and test their skills! Missing a day can hurt hire a tutor! Inevitably, your child will get sick or have a doctor's appointment and miss a day of class. While you may not think that's a big concern (it was just one day, after all), a lost day can actually have a big impact on your child's understanding of the subject matter. Geometry concepts are built upon each other throughout the year, so if your student misses a key lesson he or she may fall behind. Unfortunately, many teachers just won't have the time to really review the material as fully as your child might need in order to truly grasp what that they missed. This leaves your child responsible for catching up, which could be problematic if he or she is having trouble comprehending the subject already. If this happens, a geometry tutor can get your child back up to speed and bridge the gap of that missed material. The moment you recognize that your child struggling is the moment you can step in and help him or her to succeed. By taking some extra time to go over the key concepts of geometry with your child and hiring a tutor when they are falling behind, you can ensure that he or she gets the assistance that they need.

Using the Science of Habits to Improve Performance in School Part I

Using the Science of Habits to Improve Performance in School Part I Improving Academic Performance We write a lot on this blog about how academic success (and other types of success) is much more a function of the choices you make and the effort you put in than a function of your intrinsic or genetic talents. In other words, most recent research suggests, and we firmly believe, that academic skills are built through practice and success comes through developing better strategies and making better choices. So where do habits fit in this story? A habit is essentially a tool that the human brain has developed to become more efficient. Instead of spending brain power to analyze a situation and make a conscious decision, habits kick in, and we act automatically. The mental processes that power our habits can be a force for good or evil. Habits can help us sense danger and flee automatically, exercise regularly, and eat better. But they can also explain why we abuse alcohol and fight with our spouses. In The Power of Habit, Why we Do What We Do in Life and Business, Charles Duhigg argues that habits might be far more important than any other factor in explaining our successes and our failures. And this of course includes academic success. Drawing from Duhigg’s book, in this two-part article we will: Introduce the “habit loop,” a framework for understanding how habits work Discuss how to change habits Discuss why habits are so important, as well as a key concept called the “keystone habit” Apply the theory of habits more directly to success in school The habit loop: a framework for understanding how habits work In Duhigg’s book, he explains that habits have four dimensions. To explain, he uses one very common habit that you probably have: brushing your teeth at night. The habit of brushing your teeth may have play out as follows: The cue: you feel your teeth have a bit of a film on them, or perhaps it’s just morning or night, around the time when you always brush your teeth The craving: when you notice that cue, you feel this intense craving for that particular tingling feeling which tells you your mouth is clean The routine: you brush your teeth The reward: your teeth are clean and shiny Most habits play out like this. You don’t analyze the pros and cons each morning and night of brushing your teeth. You just do it. It’s a habit. Other habits work this way too. Let’s envision a well-trained high school student in the habit of doing his homework. His habit loop might be: The cue: I’m home from school, and I’ve had a snack The craving: I want to be able to tell my mom I’m done with my homework AND feel that sense of accomplishment The routine: do your homework The reward: a sense of accomplishment and freedom to do whatever you choose for the rest of the night But let’s consider a bad habit many students have. Let’s say that whenever you are studying you have a habit of using social media or texting your friends, which is distracting and wastes time. This interrupts your studying, reduces your level of focus, and makes it harder to learn new things, finish your homework, and generally be productive. How do you go about changing a habit? There is more than one way to change a habit. James Clear, a blogger on productivity, offers a range of helpful ideas about how to change habits. But one thing is clear. It is incredibly difficult to remove a habit simply by exercising willpower. You’ll be far more successful by changing a habit. To do that, it’s generally accepted that you need to a) identify the cue and b) change the routine so that you can c) realize the same or a similar reward. Back to that habit of checking your phone when you are supposed to be studying. The solution might not be all that complicated or even interesting. Perhaps your cue is literally just seeing your phone or feeling it in your pocket. The routine is checking your various social media channels, driven by a craving to be socially connected and see what others are up to (and because you view homework as a little boring). The reward is connection with others on social media. There is a potentially very simple habit change that results in much better academic outcomes. As we said earlier, the key to changing habits is identifying the cue and changing the routine such that you still see the reward. In this case, what if you say to yourself, you know, when I feel my phone in my pocket, and begin to crave the social connectivity that Facebook provides, instead of immediately checking my various social media channels, I’m going to commit to doing whatever I am currently doing for 20 more minutes. At that point, I’ll take a break and check Facebook. You have now substituted 20 minutes of additional studying for checking Facebook right now. At the end, you get the same reward: the ability to check Facebook and feel connected. What are habits so important? And what is a keystone habit? If it’s not obvious already, habits are so important because so much of what people do is controlled by them. We may think we are in control as we go about our day. But in fact, our brains our filled with lots and lots of habits, and those habits are driving how we act. Taking a shower, brushing your teeth, exercising, eating healthy foods, not getting too upset when things go poorly at home or at work, being committed to finishing a project on time, etc. â€" these actions are all in large part a function of habits. To change your behavior and reach your goals, you typically have to spend a lot of time identifying and modifying habits. And, it turns out, according to the research the Duhigg cites in his book, that some habits are more powerful than others because they make it easier for other habits to take hold. Duhigg calls these “keystone habits.” In this blog post on keystone habits Sam Davies describes them as “the habits that change, remove, and re-shape your other habits. Duhigg suggests that exercising regularly tends to be a keystone habit. Once you are regularly exercising, you are more likely to stop smoking and start eating better. This seems intuitive. Once you are doing one good thing for your body, you have built up some momentum. It is good to exercise regularly but also eat well. The two habits complement themselves. In part two of this article, we’ll explore keystone habits in a bit more detail, and discuss a number of ways to improve performance in school by leveraging the power of habits.

Does your child need help with English language - ALOHA Mind Math

Does your child need help with English language As your toddler starts growing up, the way in which she’s going to start speaking and later on reading and writing English is always a priority on a parent’s mind. Here are some ways you can help your child learn English: No baby talk â€" It has been advised by child experts for a while now, that the best way for your child to start learning a language is to hear it from you. This means no booboos and geegaws at least from your mouth. As she keeps hearing the structure of the language, her first words and sentences will also be based on the sort of language you use around her. Teach with play â€" As your child starts showing comprehension towards language, there are many interesting ways you can teach him to start speaking and increase his vocabulary along the way. Starting with picture books and educational DVDs to even using apps on your phone for word and picture recognition, you can make it all into a fun game and your kiddo will not even realize that he’s absorbing all these new words as he enjoys all the colorful and playful means of learning. Once you get to the stage of reading too, by using means like phonics and sounds, your child will be delighted to start understanding all those squiggles on paper that she used to depend on you to read for her. Writing tools â€" Children today start using magic markers and whiteboards with ease, and installing one of these in the room will encourage them to start experimenting. Once they start writing it’s an encouraging medium to try out new letters without the constriction of writing between the lines. There are also smaller boards available for younger children that have an easy erasing mechanism and can be reused with ease even by themselves. Books â€" Even with all the electronic media around, there is no replacement for a book in the hand. If your child sees you reading, that’s the best way to inculcate the habit in her too. Once she starts reading books, the job of making her proficient in English is nearly done, without you needing to even spend too much time on it. You can just keep watching as her vocabulary grows every day and she throws an interesting new word at you during your conversations. These are some points you can use to help your child to find a better way of communication. As your child grows up, you will find that a good knowledge of English forms a great base to bring about your child’s development too. ALOHAs English program is designed to provide students with learning techniques and information that is beyond the school curriculum. Visit our website to know how our program can make your child passionate about reading and writing http://www.aloha-usa.com/english/