Firat Educational Journal October 2010
-
Upload
firat-educational-journal-journal -
Category
Documents
-
view
222 -
download
1
description
Transcript of Firat Educational Journal October 2010
FIRAT EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL The New Educational Journal of Houston
Sponsored by Firat Educational Solutions
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 1
College Counseling is one of the great services
offered by Firat Educational Solutions, LLC.
(FES). For this issue the President, founder and
Chief Academic Coach of FES, Ibrahim Firat,
made a special trip to California and visited the
several prestigious universities in the area.
Accompained by one of FES’s student and his
parents, Firat assisted them in what to
look for in a college visit, what questions to
ask, and how to rate each school.
Now, you have a chance to see what the West
Coast state has to offer just in case if you start
to think about being a student outside of Texas.
The first institution shown is University of San
Diego (USD)*. Here you have pictures and
information that might inspire you to take the
next step.
Photos by Ibrahim Firat
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSU 4
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 2
The University of San Diego was chartered in 1949 and is a Roman Catholic institution. At
the present USD enrolls over 7,000 students and it is considered one of the main educational
society committed to advancing academic excellence.
USD offers more than 60 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and has around 2,000 employees.
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 3
With one of the best athletic facilities on the West Coast, University of San Diego can offer a
healthy lifestyle to its students. The service includes fitness center, weight room, softball complex,
sports center pool, tennis courts, stadiums and much more.
USD is located on 180 acres
overlooking the city of San
Diego, Mission Bay and the
Pacific Ocean.
* The information from pages 1 to 3 is
from USD and CA.gov websites
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Setting Up your Future How to manage your financial worries
By Ingrid Furtado
Once was the time when parents could
send their kids to college without many financial
worries. Research has shown that the tuition has
increased every year in the USA
since the end of World War II.
But in the last 25 years, the result
of this growing payment is stark
according to report of the
National Center for Public Policy
and Higher Education: From
1982 to 2007 the cost of
attending college has risen 439
percent, which means nearly
three times the rate of the cost of
living.
In comparison, according to the report,
median family income rose 147 percent. So,
what do you do in order to keep the kids in
college without losing comfort and steadiness?
The key answer for this is planning, as
the associate Director of Financial Aid of
University of Houston, Jessica Thomas explains.
“Saving money and applying for
admissions earlier are very important. The
high school student should start visiting the
colleges they want to pursue in the junior year.
It can seem too early but it is not. At senior
year there are so many things to think about”,
Thomas says.
In order to apply for financial aid a
student must fill out the FAFSA (Free
Application for Federal Student Aid) on its
website .“This application is used to apply for
grants, work-study, and student
loans. It is important for
students to apply early in order
to meet the priority deadline at
the school in which the student
is applying”, she says.
Thomas added that “At the
University of Houston, for
instance, April 1 is our priority
deadline to receive priority
grant funds. Each school may
have a different deadline, so
apply in February or early March is
recommended. Also, every school has a
different level of grant funding, so what a
student receives at one school will be different
at another school.”
If eligible, students can receive grants,
work-study, or loans.
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 4
“ The high school
student should start
visiting the colleges they
want to pursue in the
junior year” Director of Financial Aid of University of
Houston, Jessica Thomas
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
However, if a student can’t pay the
tuition fully what kind of programs do the
universities have to assist in this payment? In
general, Thomas says, payment plans are
available at most universities.
“But it is ultimately up to the student to
pay the tuition in full in order to continue in
their academic program. Federal student loans
are the best way to pay for tuition differences in
the case when grants do not
cover the cost of
tuition. Financial Aid is
intended to assist students
with their education costs.”
In addition, Thomas
also encourages students to
find other ways to get
additional loans. “Beyond
what the FAFSA application
can offer (Direct Subsidized,
Unsubsidized, or PLUS loans), then there are
private loans that the student and parent can
apply for thru the lender of their choice. These
are credit based loans”.
For those who have more than one child
at the same institution there is another way to
get loans. “Usually, the universities can
calculate the expected family contribution and
then, based on the results, the family is eligible
for some grants or loan”, Thomas says.
She has no doubt about what is the
easiest way to get a scholarship. She
powerfully suggests kids to apply as early as
possible. “Many deadlines are in October thru
December, so paying close attention to
deadlines is the key. Apply for everything, the
more scholarships a student applies for, the
higher the chance of actually receiving
one. Work hard in high school to keep grades
up and participate in
extracurricular activities”.
During a recession, economists
already know that in time of crises
education is the best investment,
not stocks, lands, or houses.
Knowing that, Thomas reinforces
that since the recession student’s
available funds to pay out of
pocket decreases. “So, it is normal
to see an increase in financial aid
applications and more students tend to borrow
where they may not have before”, she
concludes.
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 5
“Many deadlines are in
October thru December,
so paying close attention
to deadlines is the key.” Director of Financial Aid of University of
Houston, Jessica Thomas
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Plan it yourself !
What kind of payments plans exist: Short term loan = can cover tuition and
on-campus living. Installment plan = 3 payments throughout
the semester
Emergency tuition plan (90 days)
How can the students apply for a
scholarship? Or where they can get it?
University scholarships
Departmental scholarships
External/private donor scholarships
What is....
GRANTS
These are federal, state or institutional funds
awarded based on need. Most of these funds are
limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-
serve basis. These funds are considered “free
money” and do not need to be repaid.
WORK-STUDY
This is a need-based type of financial aid. Both
Federal and Texas college work-study require
that the student apply for a job on campus to
earn the funds awarded.
LOANS
These funds are awarded based on need, grade
level and academic career. You must be enrolled
at least half-time and must not exceed federal
aggregate limits to be eligible. There are
Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct
Unsubsidized loans available to students.
No credit check is required; these loans
are awarded based the FAF SA
pplication. Students must complete an entrance
exam and sign a master promissory note by
logging into www.studentloans.gov. There are
also Federal Direct PLUS loans that parents or
graduate students can apply for, in addition to
the subsidized or unsubsidized loans.
Service: www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Source: Director of Financial Aid of University of Houston,
Jessica Thomas
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 6
Image courtesy of www.wallpapers.free07.com3d-photos3d-wallpapers
Resilience: a way to
succeed
By Roberto Noce
This month I chose the topic of
resilience because of its relevance to Pivotal
Changes' mission of coaching into action
individuals for whom "the status quo is not
an option". With this newsletter, I share
some of the details and outcome of
meetings with professionals who sought
help in their career transition after a layoff.
The meetings revolved around the topic of
personal strengths in general and the subject
of resilience in particular.
When I broached the topic of
resilience, the engineers in the group
immediately recanted the definition of
resilience, which focuses on the ability of a
material to retain its original shape under
different stresses. However, for the purpose
of our discussions, we worked with a more
personal definition:
“an ability to recover from or adjust easily
to misfortune or change".
With this as our guide, we agreed
that our goal would be to improve
resilience.
I encouraged the group to contribute
comments, success stories, and action
items. Those who "displayed the greatest
resilience indicated a wide range of goals and
interests. On the other hand, those who had
challenge with resilience had primarily work-
related goals, and stated that they had greater
difficulty adjusting to and/or dealing with
problems as they arose. The former group
shared that during challenging times of
transition, they:
Stay grounded by:
Exercising regularly;
Engaging in relaxing activities;
Some maintaining an active
spiritual life;
Commit to meaningful,
measurable and attainable goals
Focus on problem-solving:
Taking action steps from the
start, even if an ultimate
outcome cannot be envisioned;
Keep a realistic sense of control;
Engage with supportive people:
Problems come and go.
OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com 7
Roberto Noce is recognized as an accomplished and respected executive with nearly two decades of
marketing and management experience spanning
the globe. Born in Italy, Roberto holds a Bachelor
of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science
degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M
University, and a Master in Business Administration degree from the University of
Houston. He has also completed extensive
continuing education on coaching and executive development. He can be contact at
3701 W Alabama St.
Suite 390
Houston, TX 77027
If you have any questions or com-
ments concerning the Firat Educa-
tional Journal, please email us at
OCTOBER 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4
Educational Headlines
The following are headlines found in international, national, and local newspapers and magazines concerning
education in today’s world.
Educating our future with solutions for life. ™
www.firateducation.com
4,100 Students Prove „Small Is Better‟ Rule Wrong s Private Tutoring Booms, by The New York Times
University College London agrees to pay „living
by BBC
One of Our Best Education Resources
by U.S Department of Education