The Advisor is sick

Earlier this week when I went to the doctor for a routine check up, I learned that I had a detached retina that will require surgery... surgery that I will be having later today. So, needless to say, Ask an Advisor will be out of commission for a little while.

Photo credit: http://kidsincludedtogether.blogspot.com/

I expect to be back to my old blogging, first generation and low income college student advising self some time around May 2nd, assuming all things go as planned.

While I am healing, check out The College Survival Handbook for tips on how to take care of yourself when you're sick in college.

Wish me luck and healing and I'll wish you a great day of academic achievement as finals approach!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it (although do not expect a reply until I am all better).

Saving money on college textbooks

This is a guest post by Amit Sehgal, a first generation college student who runs www.bookase.com, a free price comparison website for college textbooks. 

As a first generation or low income college student, you need to control your costs–especially costs for college textbooks. That means making sure that you squeeze the most out of every cent that passes through your hand.

But why especially the cost of textbooks? Because college textbooks can be one of the most expensive parts of your college budget. Not purely because of the price, but also because of some circumstances: Some lecturers release book lists at the last minute, leaving you with no time to search for bargains or used books and you end up having to buy brand new books. Most colleges also change the books they use very frequently, and in such a situation, you can’t buy used books.

No matter what the situation, these tips can help you save the money you spend on college textbooks:

Start on campus. Make a list of the college textbooks you need and put it up on a campus noticeboard. If you are lucky, students who have already finished the course will sell the college textbooks you need for less than the price of originals.

Go to online bookstores. The most famous way to buy college textbooks for cheap nowadays is by using the internet. If you join this wave you will soon realize how unbelievably beneficial this is. In my time, this was a pretty new thing and students mostly just collaborated through email to trade, sell, and buy college textbooks. But now we also have online book vendors with very good bargains and diverse stocks including most college textbooks one might need. I managed to find 90% of the books I needed online.

There are many websites on the internet where you can buy books from. They offer very diverse options. Some websites sell old as well as new books. From some places you can find all the versions of a particular textbook. Find a site that describes the condition of the book in detail as this could prevent many problems. Some sites may offer you an option to get your book replaced if you discover that the book you got isn’t in the mentioned condition.

Get that number. An ‘ISBN number’ can be found on the rear cover of books near the barcode. This number is unique to the book and can be used to search specifically for that particular book on the internet. Many websites sell college textbooks for prices that are extraordinarily competitive when compared to the prices in local bookstores. The ISBN number will help you find the best deal for the right book.

Bid on it. College textbooks can even be found on most ordinary auction sites like eBay and Amazon. This is especially useful if the book you are looking for is hard to find; it could be one that’s no longer printed or maybe it’s one that’s autographed by someone special. You may be able to find books you normally wouldn’t find in other places. To be on the safe side, you should read all the information that’s posted about the product and be thoughtful before bidding or buying.

Not just money. Buying used college textbooks is advantageous not only cost-wise because some books can contain annotations and highlighted passages from the previous user. These marked up used textbooks will more likely than not be useful to you.

Get your money back. You can also sell your college textbooks online, there will be other students thinking just like you were a year back. This will be a great help to them. If the edition you have is new enough, you’ll have very little trouble selling it.

Good luck saving money on your college textbooks!

If you have questions about saving money on textbooks or www.bookase.com, you can email Amit Sehgal directly. Got other questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Improve your body image

First generation and low income college students are more likely to be women and/or people of color. As a member of all of these communities, I know that body image issues are certainly present in each.

With all the stress that can come with college life, worrying about how you feel in your own skin just adds to it. A negative body image can impact your academics, relationships, and general well-being.

Photo credit: http://www.adiosbarbie.com/

To help you deal, here are 5 tips to help you find your inner and outer beauty and improve your body image:

Look on campus. Your college campus probably has more services and resources than you know about. Many college campuses, especially those with women's centers, have programs and services designed to help you build a positive body image. Check out a book from the library about it and read up.

Break the cycle. A lot of the time, the same influences time and time again are making you feel badly about your appearance, like comments from family and images in the media. When something like that happens, do something about it immediately. For example, if your mom makes an unsolicited comment about your weight, tell her that she is hurting you and not helping you.

Look at the real you. Get naked and look at yourself in the mirror. What are your best features? As you look at your body, compliment something about your appearance. This is a form of positive self-talk. If you really don't see anything good about yourself, follow the next step...

Talk to someone. Health services at your college can often help you make a plan to get healthier or offer mental health services to help you feel better about your body. It can be helpful to talk to someone that is not part of your circle.

Get inspired. Look for and participate in displays of positive body image. Submit your picture to You're Beautiful, Dammit. Check out organizations like National Organization for Women (NOW) Foundation and their Love Your Body: On Campus, In Community campaign. There are blogs,  groups, and organizations out there that aim to help you build a positive self-image.

Help someone else. Try paying someone else a compliment about his or her appearance, just keep it sincere and appropriate (you don't want to be creepy!). Paying attention to the beautiful things of someone else and helping support that person's positive body image can help move you to seeing yourself in a more positive light.

You are awesome no matter what your shape and size, so I hope these tips help you to remember that.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Will I get into a competitive major?

A reader writes:

"I go to a large state university and admissions into the business department is really competitive. The average cumulative GPA of admitted students is a 3.60 and the pre-req GPA of admitted students is a 3.71.

I tried pre-engineering my first quarter in college and I could not do it -- ended with a 2.60. Now, I took pre-business classes and ended up with a 3.79 winter quarter GPA bumping my GPA from 2.60 to a 3.23. My pre-req GPA is a 3.70. Will the business department take into account that I am a first generation college student that was still adjusting during his first quarter? Should I be worried about getting admitted given my GPA got destroyed by the chem and calc classes I took first quarter?"

First off, congratulations on raising you GPA from a 2.60 to a 3.23. I know that can take some hard work and perseverance, so you deserve some recognition on your academic achievement.

Now, back to your question. Generally speaking, when you are trying to change majors, a department will put more emphasis on your grades from the required prerequisites than your overall GPA. Departments also like to see improvement, which you have covered. But every department is different, so there is no guarantee either way.

Because you described the major as really competitive, your best source of information is going to be from the business department at your college. As a first generation college student, this is your opportunity to advocate for yourself. If you haven't already, go talk to a major advisor in the business department and get his or her perspective on your situation. Ask who the faculty advisor is and go talk to that person as well. Find out who ultimately makes the decision and go talk to that person.

Think of these meetings as your chance to tell your story, including that you are a first generation college student. Don't make excuses for your performance in chemistry and calculus, but do talk about how your adjustment to college was rocky and influenced your GPA.

Do explain that now that you've found business that your GPA has increased dramatically. Make sure you convey your interest in business and how your GPA for the business prerequisites is a much better indicator of your potential success as a business major than your overall GPA.

Another option is to consider waiting another quarter before changing your major, if you are not on a required time line to change your major. Assuming your grades in business classes will still be strong, waiting just another quarter can raise both your business prerequisite GPA and overall GPA. Simply waiting might improve your chances.

No matter what, in examining your application to transfer into the major, the business department will not take into account that you are a first generation college student unless you let them know about it. Good luck!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

How to network on campus

Making connections with classmates, faculty, and staff is an essential part of the college experience for first generation and low income college students. Building and utilizing those connections is what networking is all about--and networking is going to benefit you personally, socially, academically, and professionally.

Hopefully, you have building your own campus network without even knowing it. Even if you haven't, here are # tips on how to network on campus:

Think about your goals. Before you can identify people to network with, you have to think strategically about who would be best to include in your network. To do this, think about what it is you want to accomplish on campus and after graduation. How are your goals social, personal, academic, and professional? Use those goals to influence who you try to network with. And don't think about it like an "either/or" choice because you can pursue multiple networks.

Talk to people. At the beginning of every class, strike up a conversation with your classmates. Go to office hours and talk up your professors. Meet with an advisor and get your questions answered. Ask department advisors or office managers about student groups and faculty advisors. After a few comfortable chats, ask to exchange contact information and be clear about why you're interested in connecting.

Join a group. Seek out student groups in your major department or campus organizations in your interest areas and join them. Join study groups for your classes or start your own. You can even use these tips to start your own campus organization. If the group has a faculty or staff advisor, talk to them too in addition to the other students.

Be active. Just joining groups is not enough, so go to their activities and events too. Participate in any activities that you can (like workshops, conferences, retreats, and community service), especially early on in your involvement. Really, having a good time and sharing common experiences are both ways to developing strong networks.

Step up. After you have been in campus groups for a while and feel comfortable, consider volunteering for a leadership role like leading a committee, planning an event, or being an officer. You'll find that stepping up to more responsibility within a group will help you build even stronger connections in your network.

Keep in touch. With all the people you are meeting, don't let them forget about you if you are not in regular contact. Send them the occasional email or text message to let them know you are still interested in staying connected to them.  If you come across something you think they might like (like an activity, article, or book), let them know about it.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Will being a first generation college student help me get into med school?

A reader writes:

"Does being a first generation college student help you get into medical school?"

Well, it depends... On its face, just being a first generation college student does not make a difference in your medical school application simply because its not information that you provide on the application. But, it can make a difference if you write about it the Personal Comments essay of the application.

The Personal Comments essay is your opportunity to tell your story and help yourself standout from other applicants. Specifically, it asks you do address any "special hardships, challenges, or obstacles that may have influenced your educational pursuits." If being a first generation college student has impacted you in significant ways, this is where you can detail just how it has influenced your life and decision to apply to medical school.

But, you don't want to just drop the fact that you're a first generation college student without putting it in context. Like I said, by itself it doesn't really make an impact. Remember, if being a first generation college student is instrumental in your path to medical school, by all means go into detail about it in your Personal Comments essay. If it wasn't, leave it out.

Good luck with your medical school applications!

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

How do I stop feeling stressed and homesick?

A reader writes:

"I have just moved to a new town. It is not far away from were i used to live, but all my extended family live there. Sometimes at night i just want to be back their with all my cousins and my Grandparents and everyone. Starting a new school is so hard, and it makes it worse that this is my first time moving schools. Now, at a different school i feel more stressed than ever with: finding new friends, fitting in school work, doing tests and just fitting in with a new and much bigger school!! how do i stop feeling stressed and homesick?"

You are dealing with issues plenty of first generation and low income college students face. In fact, these are both issues we've talked about before, so check out these older posts for some guidance:

How can I stop feeling homesick?
Dealing with stress

Also, it sounds like your homesickness and stress are feeding off of each other, like when you feel more homesick you also feel more stressed out and vise versa. Try to think of them as two different issues, that you will address in different ways. Eventually, as one lessens, the other will too.

You can also try thinking about the ways you would relive stress when you were at home with your family and see if you can incorporate some of those things into your school life away from your family. For example, if you used to play sports with your cousins to relieve stress, try joining an intramural or informal sports team on campus.

You should also to talk to your family about your homesickness and making a transition to a new school. Getting your family on board and making sure they understand what you are going through will help ease the transition. And don't forget to ask them about their transition with you away from home too!

I hope you can feel better and less stressed away from home. Take care.

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Finding your first internship

This is a guest post by Nate Whiston, a first generation college graduate and Vice President of marketing for InternMatch, an online internship database and career-building resource based in Mountain View, CA.

Internships have become a staple for gaining professional experience as a first generation or low income student. Most employers expect you to have at least one internship in your portfolio—and sometimes they want two or more internships. (Ask an Advisor note: The Advisor recommends you have at least three career-related experiences by the time you graduate from college!)

The big question though, is how do you land your first internship? Here's how:

Build your network. Get to know your professors, parents’ friends, friends’ parents, mentor, and other professionals in the industry you are interested in. Learn where they work and don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Build meaningful relationships with people by asking them deep, professional questions (not just for help). Ask how they climbed to their current position, what challenges they faced, and keep the conversation friendly. Meaningful dialog will get them to want to help and eventually recommend you for internships.

You can also connect with professionals through your local Chamber of Commerce and sites like Meetup.com. Students that go to professional events stand out, which is exactly what you should be striving to do.

Shameless self-promotion. Networking means having to market yourself. Get acquainted with LinkedIn and connect with everyone you know and meet. An effective tip is making all of your online profile pictures the same. Creating a brand for yourself makes it much easier for people to remember you. Furthermore, small things really make you stand out in the recruitment process. Get business cards and always carry them because you never know who is going to walk into the elevator with you.

Don’t be afraid to apply. Applying to 10-15 internships is average right now, though not all have to be focused in your field. In fact, reaching into other business settings can sometimes benefit you more. For example, working with a start-up company or small business allows you to see the bones of the operation and learn multiple facets of every day work. To find more opportunities to apply to you should visit your career center about posted positions or search through InternMatch’s vast internship database.

Stand out in the crowd. One of the biggest questions InternMatch gets is how to stand out if you have no prior experience. Depending on your field, you can use projects outside of school to demonstrate your passion and knowledge of a field. For example if you want to be a marketer or journalist, start a blog on Wordpress. Or if you want to be a programmer, write code and publish it on GitHub. Do something that shows you are passionate and dedicated to a field. Include this experience on your resume and the passion in your cover letter.

Ultimately, finding an internship isn’t always easy but the preparation process helps teach valuable interviewing and self-branding skills and gives you other professional experience which you will use for the rest of your life.

Remember to enjoy the process. For more information on getting your first internship, check out InternMatch’s 40+ ways to find your first internship.

If you have questions about finding your first internship or InternMatch, you can email Nate Whiston directly. Got other questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.

Calling all TRiO alumni!

I have been fortunate enough to work for two federal TRiO programs to support first generation and low income college students succeed in college.

The federal TRiO programs include Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math/Science, Talent Search, Student Support Services (SSS), Educational Opportunity Centers, Veterans Upward Bound, and Ronald E. McNair Post-baccalaureate Achievement Program.

All of these programs do amazing work with first generation and low income college hopeful and current students. If you are an alumni of a TRiO program, please support the National TRIO Alumni Association (NTAA) by following them on Twitter or liking them on Facebook.

Photo credit: https://www.trioalumni.us/

The NTAA will strive to build an association that will assist in the fight to advance and defend equal educational opportunity in higher education--and you can be a part of that fight! 

Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.