How to Get Into a Great College

By Peter M. Jones

Beginning the college process can be a daunting task because there is no fixed formula for getting into college and moreover, whatever combination of courses one studied at high school makes no difference in the success rate of getting admission to your dream school. Grades, SAT/ACT scores, and class rank are certainly looked into, but while doing well in all three may be enough to get you into some schools, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll get into all your choices. In fact, even students with perfect SAT scores and straight A's are sometimes denied admission by some of the more elite colleges and universities. Here are some tips that will help you navigate the admissions process and succeed in your application.

You must know that selective colleges have more qualified applicants than their limit. This is where extracurricular activities come into play. In fact, extracurricular activities can often tilt the decision in your favor when compared to other students with equivalent grades/test scores but without much in the way of activities because they demonstrate your motivation and time-management skills. You should remember to inform college if pursuing academics and an after-school job or any other extenuating circumstances. According to The Princeton Review, highly selective schools generally place emphasis than average on a good essay. The essay questions on college applications are usually very open-ended, so it is prudent to talk about your experience or aspect of you or your life that was particularly meaningful.

Awards or other recognitions and achievements can weigh into your application's consideration. Be sure to inform them if you have achieved any because good colleges and universities look for leaders and achievers and not just academic performers.

Recommendations of your teachers and counselors do matter. Get a letter of recommendation from a teacher or counselor who thinks you're brilliant and include it with your application packet. Similarly, if a family member went to your college of choice, you may receive (not necessarily) some preferential consideration in admissions and this could count even more if more than one family member attended the college.

Most importantly, start planning early to get into the schools you want. Do your research, collect updated information on the most sought-after colleges and universities and their admission criteria in advance. There are many online resource guides (like http://www.allaboutuni.com/ ) that assists high school students in selecting a college.

Peter M. Jones is a freelance writer who writes for websites, print media and TV serials. He can be contacted at http://www.techmagnate.com

Professors - Overcome Reading Overwhelm - 8 Ideas That Work

By Meggin McIntosh

There's no question that you have a great deal to read - and it's easy to become overwhelmed with the sheer quantity. Here are some ideas to help you overcome your reading overwhelm - by using your brain and your time prudently.

1. If you start reading a book and it doesn't "grab" you, close it and move on. Regardless of whether you bought it, borrowed it, or checked it out from the library, you don't have to finish a book if it's not interesting, fun, worthwhile, moving, or somehow compelling. There are thousands and thousands of books published every year (and hundreds of thousands available from past years) so you need not spend your time or your guilt on slogging through something that isn't worth it. I promise.
   
2. "Read & Rip". If you decide to go zooming through a pile of magazines or journals in a given time period, then set it up to be a "read & rip" session. Just go right through the magazine, keeping focused on the articles you want to read and not looking at the advertisements. This takes a fair amount of discipline, but you will make short work of the pile if you do this. As you finish a section of the magazine, just tear if off and put it in the recycling bin. Then, even if you finish your allotted time for reading and ripping, you will know what is completed and what you have left. The pile is much smaller to go back to the next time and you don't trek through what you've already read.
   
3. For heaven's sake, take a speed reading class! There are many offered throughout the world! Some are offered by specially trained instructors and others are offered through schools, community colleges, universities, or in public seminars. Even if you've taken one before, take another one. All of us can learn new techniques for maximizing our speed and efficiency while reading. Note: This is something I LOVE to teach to teachers and to students and have done so for years. It makes a difference, there's no question.
   
4. Set aside time each day (or week) to read. Many people carry loads of reading materials home at night to work on--and it's reading that is related to or is an integral part of their professional responsibilities. It's as if people feel guilty about reading at work. If you're reading the latest "bodice ripper" at work, then you probably aren't doing your job, but if you are reading professional materials, reports, articles, research updates, or whatever else that you are expected to read to be able to do your job, then read it AT WORK whenever possible. It IS your work. Block in an appropriate amount of time each day or week to do this work, just like you block in time to meet, write, observe, etc. You know your rhythms and what your days and weeks are like. Determine the optimum time for you and one that you know you can protect and then use it for reading, just reading.
   
5. Gently but firmly refuse what others are offering you to read. Our friends, colleagues, and acquaintances are often giving us books, magazines, newsletters, etc. to read--and we take them. Consider telling them the truth(!) that right now, you have so much to read that you can't take one more word into your home or office. Let them know that if and when you are ready for new items, you'll get back to them. This relieves the potential piles of items and relieves the guilt you might feel when you aren't getting your friend's items read and returned. It's a double win!
   
6. Start a "Read" folder and only allow it to become a certain size. Get a 3 ½ or 5 inch expandable file folder that you put in a drawer near where you sort your mail and do your work. Whenever you come to something that you want to read but it's not urgent and important that you read it now, put it in the folder. If (and when!) the folder is full, then you've reached your limit. Remove some of the items from the front (if you've been dropping new items into the back) and just immediately deposit them in the recycle bin. Having a folder of a designated size keeps you from have mountains of "to read" piles all over your office.
   
7. Take your "Read" folder with you. Get in the habit of grabbing either the whole folder or a few items out of the folder any time you are heading out the door to a meeting, an appointment, or on a trip. Use the minutes (or hours) waiting for colleagues, standing in line, sitting at a child's soccer practice, or traveling on an airplane to read through what you've collected in your folder. You'll travel back to your home or office much lighter than when you left! And it's not just a physical lightness!
   
8. Read a sample chapter of a professional book either on line, while standing at the bookstore, or at the library. Professional speaker Larry Winget jokes that authors could save themselves a lot of time by writing only first chapters of books because that is essentially all that ever gets read. So, "test" a book for whether it is worth your time and energy to read in its entirety. If it isn't, then don't purchase it so that it sits around adding to your feeling of overwhelm about what you need to read.

So what will you do first, this week? I mean it. Get started.

To access additional ideas for achieving peaceful, predictable productivity, join others (worldwide) who receive Meggin's weekly emails (and see what is available for download at no cost at the following websites): **Top Ten Productivity Tips (http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com) **Keys to Keeping Chaos at Bay (http://www.KeepingChaosatBay.com) (c) 2008 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Productivity Professor"(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!

Professors - Close Your Classes Compellingly - And Ensure More Learning

By Meggin McIntosh

I never used to provide closure of any type in my classes. I didn't always plan my time well and I would often look at my watch and realize that time was up--or, as a wise professor once said, the 'book bag levitation factor' would come into play, and I would abruptly end class. However, after learning more about the power of 'closure' activities, no matter how brief, I began experimenting with a number of ways to bring my college class to a close--for increased learning--each time we met.

After early experimentation, I continued to use closure activities for two reasons, both of which I consider important:

1. for my students because I believe that their learning is enhanced when they have an opportunity to review and/or pull together ideas from the day's lectures and learning experiences and


2. for me because it gives me a chance to find out what I have done well (and sometimes what I have not done as well as I had hoped). I will share a few ideas below that you may be able to use with the same success, I have.

The first idea involves a modified KWL (Know, Want to Know, and Learned) strategy, which was first suggested by Donna Ogle from National-Louis University (simply Google KWL and you'll find multiple examples to download). If you have had students complete the first parts at the beginning of a class (i.e., having them think about what they already know about the topic we are going to be discussing and to hypothesize about what they will learn and want to know, thereby helping to prepare them for learning), then you can have them complete the last two parts as class is coming to a close. I've found this modification useful:

As class is nearing its end, ask students to review their notes, think about what they have learned, and then jot down questions that they still have about the day's topic. Then, have students write about something that is so unclear to them that they cannot even formulate a question. (Haven't we all had that experience!) I collect these KWL sheets from the students as they leave and by reading them, can see exactly where I need to go for the next lecture or class discussion.

Another idea that I enjoy using is the graffiti board. I have used this in two different ways. For larger classes, I put some butcher paper on the wall near the door. At the end of class, I write the topic for the day or a phrase or quote related to the topic on the butcher paper. Then, I ask students to make a comment or statement about the topic or to write a question that they have over the day's lesson, as they are leaving the room. There are markers available, but many students just use their own pens or pencils. When everyone has left, I take my time reading over what they have written on the butcher paper. It is always informative.

On days when we have had an extremely content-heavy lecture or video (which of course I intend to hold the students responsible for, and want to emphasize that to them), I will do a "grade your colleague" activity. About 5-10 minutes before the end of class, I ask students to pair up. One partner's task is to find out how much the other partner learned during the day's class. Then, partner #1 is to grade the learning of partner #2. They must justify why they awarded the number of points that they did (usually I allow 5-10 points for this). Partner #2's grade is based on how well s/he justified the grade given to Partner #1. A number of my colleagues have been skeptical of the value of this one, but once they tried it, they found that it met their objectives for review and closure. (Plus you can use it to take attendance!)

can be used anytime during a class, but I think my favorite time is at the end of class, for closure. I give my students a learning log with a question or prompt, such as,

Learning logs

• What was the most interesting thing you learned today?
• What surprised you about today's class?
• The pieces of the puzzle are beginning to come together for me now. Let me tell you how....
• I have a suggestion for what you could do differently the next time you teach this class... and so on.

Sometimes, everyone responds to the same question or prompt and other times, students choose from among 2 or 3. I get information from students' responses on learning logs that my experience has taught me I can't get any other way.

The last idea involves giving students a response sheet (to be used over and over) that has several boxes, each of which has a different numeral in it. At the end of class, I choose one of the boxes and tell students that they are to tell what they learned in class using the exact number of words that the numeral in the box indicates. These can be handed in by students for the me to read and then give back at the next class period to be used again another day (and I can also take attendance using these, too).

If you have never tried closure activities or if you are looking for some new ones, I encourage you to try these. You and your students will benefit.

For more useful ideas for your life as a professor (including ideas for learning logs), be sure to check out ideas offered by The Productivity Professor(tm) at **Top Ten Productivity Tips - http://www.TopTenProductivityTips.com **From the Desk of Meggin McIntosh - http://FromtheDeskofMegginMcIntosh.com (c) 2008 by Meggin McIntosh, Ph.D., "The Productivity Professor"(tm). Through her company, Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., Meggin McIntosh changes what people know, feel, dream, and do. Sound interesting? It is!

Medical School Equipment Has Changed Over Time

By Jane Worthington

It's interesting to take a look back into our past, and explore what life was like before the technologies of today. It's amazing to think of the things we do today, without a second thought, as being nonexistent a few hundred years ago, if not less. There are the obvious inventions, like when we take a vacation up north for the summer in our cars and SUV's, but 200 years ago, the same vacationers were on horse and carriage, taking more than a day to travel the distance that now takes us an hour or two. Let's take a look back in time and see how our ancestors managed in their day to day lives.

Imagine waking up with a toothache. We call the doctor, and go in to see the dentist, later that day. They use their high tech machinery to take a look at the tooth, maybe have us go for an x-ray, and use their extensive background knowledge in their field to determine the appropriate next steps of action to help us heal. According to a dentistry book published in 1828, "Domestic Medicine for the use of the private practitioner" by William Buchan, this was the normal practice when dealing with a toothache: "In order to relieve the tooth-ach, we must first endeavour to lessen the flux of humours to the part affected. This may be done by mild purgatives, scarifying the gums, or applying leeches to them, and bathing the feet frequently with warm water. The perspiration ought likewise to be promoted, by drinking freely of weak wine-whey, or other diluting liquors with small doses of nitre."

A couple hundred years ago a man started experiencing terrible pain caused from gout. The disease prevented him from stopping a passage of tax on tea in Parliament. That tax led to the Boston Tea party, and allowed the American colonies to gain their freedom. Imagine what it would be like today, missing a day of work because of gout. We now have medicine and treatments that nearly completely eliminate the pain and joint damage caused by the disease. What if we didn't have medical school equipment? Our doctors would be schooled entirely by books, and not at all with hands on practice in the lab, x-ray division, or surgical department. The tables were not sterile, neither were the needles or any other instrument that they had.

Our troubles were completely reprioritized before the invention of these treatments and machinery. People suffering from arthritis could hardly walk, they were pretty much limited to make-shift crutches or canes, and that was only after the invention of those tools. It's interesting to see how far we've come, and the changes that have occurred in our everyday life, dealing with ailments and situations that people a couple hundred years ago, also faced. Time will always move forward, and so will our advancements in technology and hospital medical equipment, but it's always informative and interesting to take a look back and see how far we've come.

If you would like more information about medical school equipment or the newer technology available in hospital medical equipment, please visit the Medical Machines Online website.

Fast Track Nursing

By B Von Ahlin

Nursing is an excellent and rewarding career that allows those to help others live the best quality of life possible. Nursing also offers for interaction with a wide range of people and the ability to build unique, special relationships. If you're trying to figure out how to get into nursing, look into an fast track nursing and begin the path to a more rewarding career. An fast track nursing program allows the participant to complete their training in a fraction of the time a standard program would require. To elucidate, the total time involved can range from a year - a twelve months program - to a year and a half for a baccalaureate program, and three years for a graduate level master of science degree program.

In the US, almost 50 states offer an fast track nursing course offering. There are roughly over over 3 dozen accelerated master's programs, and over 200 accelerated baccalaureate programs. The common attribute to a fasttrack nursing program, is an amazingly focused regimen, coupled with adding to one's previous education. In order to cope with this increased load, the selection is stricter than ordinary nursing program, including higher grade requirements. The benefits of a fast track nursing course exceed the obvious time saved. Potential employers are also more likely to hire nurses who have participated in an accelerated fast track LPN, RN, BSN, MSN, etc program, as those nurses have enhanced work skills and greater skill. To understand drawbacks to accelerated nursing programs, one should look at a lack of financial aid; however, the number of scholarships is increasing. Also, if the applicant selected is unable to properly cope with the work load, then the training could be ineffective.

Finally, be cognizant of the statistics that go along with accelerated nursing programs. For example, on average, only about 25% or less of all students enrolled graduated. In sum, an accelerated nursing program is by many accounts the best way to become an accredited nurse, and through such a program secure a lasting, fulfilling career.

B von Ahlin is a career specialist with a Masters degree in education and management who advises students and continuing professionals on high-paying rewarding careers. Don't apply to any of the accelerated nursing programs or fast track nursing schools before you read about several all-important facts that can impact your future career success. Check out AcceleratedNursingProgram.Educdata.com to learn more about the fast track nursing option that meets your needs. Visit our website to find out more. Get fast track nursing info, hard-to-find facts, lists of schools and universities and more tips to live the lifestyle you work so hard to attain.