What if your employer offered the benefit of free college tuition? (Good Idea or Bad Idea? What to look out for!)

I was recently asked to comment as a news source on this topic. 

From the employee, your adult child’s, perspective.:

Each year a few more employers join the ranks of others that offer tuition benefits to their employees.

Is it a good deal? 

-It could be a great idea! You’d have to live on another planet to not have heard of the rising cost of college tuition, so the thought of having someone else pay for it should make your ears perk up. For many this can be a great alternative to paying for college out of pocket.

What things should they know or ask? 

(A) Nothing in life is free, except your mother's love. Any company offering tuition incentives is going to want something in return. Usually, that means a commitment to working at the company for a certain number of years, or you’ll have to repay the cost that they incurred for your...

Your Teen has a Brand: Social Media Can Kill Your Teen’s Career & Future!

To parents of teens & college students, & those that teach & counsel them. If you haven’t had this discussion, & if you have, remind them again & again.

Every employer, scholarship agency & college is monitoring perspective student/intern's social media content. This before they hire you, and during employment as an adult! Creepy, I know. But hear me out.

Companies don’t want to be seen in a negative light. On your own time, you are still an employee: What you do, who you are, reflects on them.

Potential illegal activity should go without saying. But the following can and has been cause for dismissal.

Alcohol, holding a glass of wine, being drunk, get tagged in a post or photo you’re NOT EVEN IN, but now you are associated with the behavior.

Personal Faith
Racism
LGBT
Abortion
Gun rights

When your faith is strong, it’s likely you’ll post or...

Kim: "What about the National Society of High School Scholars? I was a part of the National Honor Society in public school, so I was super excited to get the invitation for NSHSS for my homeschooled daughter. My husband is unsure of it (its legitimacy and value) since it requires a $75 membership fee. I love the idea of her having a cord/stole to wear when she graduates, but don’t want to waste money and time on something not worth it."

My answer: 

HOW TO STUDY FOR THE PSAT EXAM:

Take the SAT exam practice tests. Study for the PSAT by using the same study materials and strategies as for the SAT. 

Use test-taking strategies, for example, do not leave any answer blank. To ensure this happens, when you near the last 5 minutes of any section, jump to the last question on that section and begin filling on bubbles on the answer sheet, stopping 3 or 4 from the one you left off from. What bubble to fill-in? One of the strategies is to DECIDE right now which bubble will be your, "I have no clue" answer bubble. (Choose bubble 1, 2, 3, or 4. Never the last, 5th bubble.) Since answers are mostly evenly distributed throughout the test, always choosing the (?) bubble ensures that you'll get 25% of those 'I have no clue' answers correct. 

Take the SAT practice tests under test-taking conditions--no distractions. No cell phone. No getting up from the cair except for ONE 5 minute break sometime in the middle.

After taking the...

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT:

In the Junior year, the PSAT exam counts as a qualifying exam for the National Merit Scholarship. You are only competing against other juniors in YOUR state. 8000 first-place winners are chosen as National Merit Scholars and the scholarship for that can be anywhere from $2500 to $100,000 depending on the college you choose to attend. 

For Freshmen and Sophomores taking the PSAT for practice has been shown to increase the junior year scores by 15 points. So this is important.

If the parents work for any of the corporate sponsors there may be a scholarship available through the parent's employer for taking the exam and doing well. Generally, if this is the case, the corporation has an application that must be submitted MONTHS in advance of taking the exam, sometimes as early as winter of the sophomore year. Check the list:

 ...

I recently read an article in which the author opined that as a society we are much too grade-obsessed and that grades are not indicative of the real world. The author went on to say that the obsession with grades makes the transition to employment difficult. I disagree.

While grades may not be the best method of determining mastery of a subject, it is what we have today. High school grades, especially grades received in rigorous courses, colleges say are the best indicator of college success. In other words, if you can handle college-level work in high school you will likely pass and graduate from your 4-year college or university.

I will however caution parents and teens with regard to the number of rigorous courses taken in high school. It's unnecessary to take 15 AP courses to impress colleges admissions. For the vast majority of teens, taking an abundance of rigorous courses in high school will likely result in less time available to pursue extracurricular activities, community...

This year, Ivy League schools chose April 6th 2021 as the date they announce their regular decision acceptances, otherwise known as Ivy Day. (Turn on the waterworks 'cuz here comes a flood of tears.) An average of 90%  to 97% of applicants will be rejected. Even fewer this year than last due to many students taking a gap year in 2020 due to covid restrictions. But here's the truth.:

It doesn't matter, not one iota, where the degree comes from.

We've been fed a lie and a lot of marketing hype. And I can prove it.

It may seem strange for someone in my position to dismiss Ivy schools, after all didn't we have a huge scandal with parents, teachers, and counselors cheating to get their kids into these "top-twenty" schools? So it must be important, right?

First, let me assure you, I've done the research. Those who know me, know that I will research to the death, to be absolutely certain, before I state anything. The research, and not just mine (Google Dale &...

College seniors have their hands full before graduation, and they may miss some important career-prep activities. Here is a last-minute checklist of things to do before graduation and begin their job search. All of these are also for college summer internship employment as well.

It's never too late to begin looking for internship or post graduate employment. However, many employers begin posting applications for both as early as the August of college senior year. So don't wait. Start now!

___ Line up references (professors, internship managers,
supervisors, etc.) 

visiting career services,

___Clean up all social media pages