Earlier this week President Obama announced a plan to help reduce college students' loan debt repayment obligation.
This could be great news for some first generation and low income college students, but what does it all mean?
Check out this article with an handy question-and-answer guide to Obama's student loan plan. IBRinfo.org is another great resource for information regarding student loan debt repayment options.
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Prerequisites for graduate school, Part II
In the comments on a recent post on prerequisites for graduate school, a reader commented:
First, you should definitely check with each graduate program about whether or not you need to complete the math prerequisites before you apply. Some graduate schools will let you apply without a prerequisite or two under the condition that if you are admitted you have to take the classes on a specific time frame (usually before you enroll). You won't know until you ask!
If you do have to take the prerequisites before you apply, most schools will accept either online and traditional in-class, as long as the school is accredited. Consider taking the courses at one of the institutions you are interested in apply to. This gives you the advantage of getting to know professors at your potential grad school, which can be an advantage when it comes to applying.
If you are interested in taking online courses, make sure you take them from a reputable and accredited online college. It is worth asking each grad school what they would recommend. Honestly, online programs typically do not get the same respect as brick-and-mortar institutions, so it is a good idea to find out if this is a good option based on what each graduate school is looking for.
Good luck applying to grad school!
"I have a liberal arts degree in Political Economics and have been researching a graduate degree in economics. My degree didn't necessarily require strong math skills and I'm finding that most programs require credits in high level math courses. Most likely I will need to complete these before applying. Will online math courses from accredited colleges be accepted or is in-class instruction needed? Do I need to check with each graduate program?"
First, you should definitely check with each graduate program about whether or not you need to complete the math prerequisites before you apply. Some graduate schools will let you apply without a prerequisite or two under the condition that if you are admitted you have to take the classes on a specific time frame (usually before you enroll). You won't know until you ask!
If you do have to take the prerequisites before you apply, most schools will accept either online and traditional in-class, as long as the school is accredited. Consider taking the courses at one of the institutions you are interested in apply to. This gives you the advantage of getting to know professors at your potential grad school, which can be an advantage when it comes to applying.
If you are interested in taking online courses, make sure you take them from a reputable and accredited online college. It is worth asking each grad school what they would recommend. Honestly, online programs typically do not get the same respect as brick-and-mortar institutions, so it is a good idea to find out if this is a good option based on what each graduate school is looking for.
Good luck applying to grad school!
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Prerequisites for graduate school
A reader writes:
The most important question you must ask yourself is why are you interested in going to graduate school? The best two reasons for wanting to go to grad school are having a genuine passion/interest in a particular topic/field or having a career goal that requires graduate school.
If you are considering grad school because you don't know what you want to do or want to avoid jumping into the job market, I hate to tell you that grad school is not for you. At least not yet.
"I have a bachelors degree in Construction Management & Design and I am thinking about going back to school for my masters. However, I am thinking about picking a different field other than construction management. My question is: Considering my prerequisites associated with my bachelors degree, what masters degrees would I be eligible for?"
Believe it or not, most master's degree do not have specific prerequisites, but when it comes to graduate school you're actually thinking about this backwards. Don't think about what you've already taken and how that fits into grad school prerequisites. Instead, think about what you want to get out of grad school and look for programs that match that.
If you are considering grad school because you don't know what you want to do or want to avoid jumping into the job market, I hate to tell you that grad school is not for you. At least not yet.
Grad school is not the place to figure out what you want to do. Because grad school is pretty focused, you should enter it with a clear idea of how it fits into your career or academic plan.
In your case, because you are considering changing fields from your undergraduate degree, it is very important that you know what direction you want to go in. Look at the requirements for the types of jobs that you want after doing a grad program and use that as a gauge to help you figure out what areas might be good options for you.
This semester I'm actually teaching a course for first generation and low income college students on preparing for and applying to graduate school, so I love it when I hear about first generation and low income college students and alumni wanting to go to grad school. Graduate school is awesome, but only if you understand how it fits into your future. Good luck!
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Making the most of office hours
One of the best things you can do to help yourself as a first generation or low income college student is to take advantage of professors' office hours and build a relationship with professors. Office hours are your chance outside of class to ask questions and talk to professors.
The following 4 tips can help you prepare for office hours, get the most out of them, and make a lasting impression with your professors:
Be prepared. Make a list of any questions you want to ask about and leave yourself room for notes. If you have questions about a reading or material, make a summary of what you do understand in addition to the questions you have about what you don't understand. This can be especially helpful if you are nervous about speaking with a professor.
Ask good questions. The list of questions that you bring should be thoughtful questions that you cannot find the answer to on your own. When asking questions about stuff you're confused about, start with what you do get. You might ask "I understand X, but I am confused about Y. Can you help me understand Y? What am I missing?"
Find out more. After getting your questions addressed, always ask if the professor knows of any additional resources that might be useful to you. You might say "Thank you Professor Awesome for your help with understanding Y. Could you recommend any other resources about Y to help me understand Y better?" Professors love it when students who ask for more resources because you are going above and beyond your average college student.
Not just class material. Beyond asking about readings, lectures, and assignments, use office hours to talk about current events or research related to the class material and ask questions about graduate school. It's also fair game to ask the professor about his or her own academic path.
These tips will help you do well in classes, build relationships with professors, and otherwise be a successful college student.
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
The following 4 tips can help you prepare for office hours, get the most out of them, and make a lasting impression with your professors:
Be prepared. Make a list of any questions you want to ask about and leave yourself room for notes. If you have questions about a reading or material, make a summary of what you do understand in addition to the questions you have about what you don't understand. This can be especially helpful if you are nervous about speaking with a professor.
Ask good questions. The list of questions that you bring should be thoughtful questions that you cannot find the answer to on your own. When asking questions about stuff you're confused about, start with what you do get. You might ask "I understand X, but I am confused about Y. Can you help me understand Y? What am I missing?"
Find out more. After getting your questions addressed, always ask if the professor knows of any additional resources that might be useful to you. You might say "Thank you Professor Awesome for your help with understanding Y. Could you recommend any other resources about Y to help me understand Y better?" Professors love it when students who ask for more resources because you are going above and beyond your average college student.
Not just class material. Beyond asking about readings, lectures, and assignments, use office hours to talk about current events or research related to the class material and ask questions about graduate school. It's also fair game to ask the professor about his or her own academic path.
These tips will help you do well in classes, build relationships with professors, and otherwise be a successful college student.
Got questions? Please feel free to ask The Advisor about it.
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