Beat Final Exam Stress

As many of you are aware, final exams start tomorrow! Are you feeling the pressure? Are your nerves getting the best of you? The following is a link to 6 tips on beating final exam stress:

Six Tips to Beat Final Exam Stress


Also, if you're worried about forgetting your final exam schedule, here is a reminder link:

Spring 2011 Final Schedule

Good luck and remember to relax!

Top Ten Tuesday - Students are drowning in debt - 10 ways to help pay for college

According to this article from economist.com, students are drowning in debt.  For the first time in history student loans surpassed credit card debt in America!  More students are taking out loans than ever before to buy an education that has an uncertain future.

Here are some tips/ideas of ways to help pay for college:

• Save for college - money to help pay for books, meals, etc.
• Get a head start - take high school AP courses and enter college as a sophomore
• Maximize your financial aid
• Look for free money - over 2.9 million  private scholarships worth $16 billion are up for grabs
• Federal loans - carry lower interest rates
• Get a roommate to help with the cost of housing
• Manage your living expenses - walk or bike to school, look for student discounts on meals, etc.
• Make extra money - look for student jobs on campus, sell tickets at games, etc.
• Save money on college textbooks - buy used books, or ask others if they might loan you a copy
• Start paying your loans back as soon as possible and pay extra each month - this will reduce the amount you will pay in interest, and pay the loans off faster.

Here is a link to 101 ways to pay for college. Have you got a tip?  Post a comment and share!

Students.gov

Students.gov is a website that bills itself as "the student gateway to the U.S. govt." Topics include college preparation, study abroad, internships, online study and the military.

Check it out at: http://www.students.gov

Mindset

The Beloit College Mindset List "provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college" each August for the last 12 years. This year's list is "an effort to identify the worldview of 18-year-olds in the fall of 2009" - and to help college professors and staff to avoid using cultural references these students might not understand!

For these new students, most of whom were born in 1991, it was most interesting for me (particularly as a librarian) to read that:

• They have never used a card catalog to find a book;
• Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream [my favorite!] has always been a flavor choice;
• They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.

Check the link above for the other 72 items on this year's list.

Questions at Semester's End

When a semester ends, questions often appear on the horizon:
~ Is finishing my degree worth the time and expense?
~ Should I consider getting a masters degree?
~ Should I change my major before next semester?
~ When I finally graduate, will I be able to find a job?

Many resources are available to help you find answers to these questions:

• Career Services (254-968-9078) offers useful resources:
  -- My Plan @ Career Services (http://tarleton.myplan.com/) offers assessment tests to help you determine your career interests and "best fits" in career choices.
  -- Tarleton Connection http://www.tarleton.edu/connection/ offers job postings for full or part-time employment opportunities both on and off campus.

• Tarleton Libraries (254-968-9249) also offer helpful resources:
  -- Databases like Business Source Complete and Business & Company Resource Center let you find articles about specific companies and industries, industry and career trends, current events, legal news, and more.
  -- Legal databases like Lexis-Nexis Academic and Westlaw Campus let you look up court cases, business news, company financial reports, and industry reports.
  -- Current periodicals (in the databases and on the library shelves) can help you keep up with trends in your field, current research, job postings, conferences, etc.

• The United States government also offers useful information:
  -- The Bureau of Labor Statistics offers the Occupational Outlook Handbook, which lets you learn about careers available in various fields, job descriptions and requirements, salary expectations, and job markets for each state.

Congratulations on finishing another semester! Remember that answers are sometimes just a mouse click or phone call away.

What do you think? Call Mom & Dad?

Many colleges and universities are reluctant to reach out to parents when there are signs of trouble, such as a missing or potentially suicidal student. Citing a federal law meant to protect student privacy, many schools rope off young people's records from parents and authorities. But in one area, administrators are increasingly exploiting an exception in the law that allows them to reach out: drinking and drugs. A growing number of colleges, such as Texas Tech and Ohio University, are deciding to call mom and dad about underage drinking and illegal drug use, often at the very first signs of trouble.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB119690910535115405-Cv0wTZ_BMaCF7joUpFDoQDBSn9A_20081205.html?mod=rss_free

(Taken from the Kept-up Librarian)

What do you think? Should college administrator's have the right to contact your Mom & Dad?

The COLLEGE ISSUE

The New York Times Magazine - The College Issue - take a look at the September 30, 2007 issues. Is is full of articles for and about YOU!

The College Credit Scam - Beware!!

The credit card industry has made a profitable art of corralling consumers into ruinous interest rates and hidden penalties that keep even people who pay their bills permanently mired in debt. The companies are especially eager to target freshly minted college students, who are naïve in money matters and especially vulnerable to credit card offers that are too good to be true.

College students need to be told right off the bat about the dangers associated with the cards that the companies are going to throw at them once school starts. The students need to know that the penalties associated with delinquent debts will accrue. They should also be told that delinquent debts can cause their interest rates to soar not just on their credit cards, but on car loans and mortgages as well.

Read more from this New York Times Article...

Hello Wiki and Goodbye Textbook

At many colleges and universities, wikis are used mostly as a supplement to primary teaching tools like textbooks and labs, while other Web 2.0 technologies -- such as social networking sites like Facebook -- have become a staple of student life. In one Boston College professor's classroom, however, wikis have become a primary learning tool, replacing textbooks and allowing improved collaboration among students. The wiki is even used to let students submit possible questions for examinations, many of which actually appear on tests. Read more at:http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyId=16&articleId=9030802&intsrc=hm_topic

(Taken from Steven Bells - The Kept-Up Academic Librarian)