Status Quo

Forget the status quo. By sticking to the status quo, you give up control of your life to others. You no longer do what you want, you do what others expect you to do. That is what hold you back. That is what strips you fo your individuality. I look back at my life, and can't help but notice the amount of time I wasted thinking about what I should dress likfe, or how I should talk, or what TV shows I should think are "cool".

Take some action - "Men are alike in their promises, it's only in their deeds that they differ". Get past yourself and think about others. Chances are, there has been a time in your life when you needed help, or where something could have gone smoothly if person "A" would have done their part. Be selfless and give it a try this season, see where it takes you. What would it hurt?

Top Undiscovered Web Sites

Greetings!

After sifting through some magazines, we stumbled upon some interesting web sites that you may want to take a look at. We have personally used them for weeks now (just to make sure they helped), and we must say...we stand impressed.

College students are always on the go. We are naturally, a migrating culture. The following websites will assist you in your digital, time-efficient world.

Jooce (www.jooce.com)
Access your personal stuff from any computer. Just load up your browser-based Jooce desktop with files, music, videos, IM buddy lists, and anything else you might need, and get to it all by logging in (PC Magazine, Nov.2008).
We tested this site out, and it really helps. Currently, there is no limit to the number and size of files you can upload onto your Jooce desktop. That’s right, it’s unlimited. So go forth and upload to your heart’s content.
This site was very useful in getting rid of pen drives and discs. We just upload everything on to Jooce, and away we go.

Jott (www.jott.com)
One of the coolest applications of speech-to-text technologies we have seen. Sign up for a free account, then call Jott on your phone and leave a message. The messeage will be converted to text and posted on your blog, Twitter feed, or to-do list. The conversation is surprisingly accurate (PC Magazine, Nov. 2008).
Again, we tested this site, and we don't see how we lived without it. No more excuses for forgetting things. Jott will email or text you with your reminders, to-do lists, etc. If you opt to pay for the upgrade, you can even send emails and texts to your contacts over the phone! We found it especially useful in conjunction with other sites, such as WordPress, Google Calendar, etc. This site is a must-have for parents in college.

Sandy (www.iwantsandy.com)
Here is another free service that is reveloutionary. Sandy is a virtual assistant. She can do just about everything, except your homework. The service is completely free, and a perfect way to stay organized. Sometimes school, work, and your personal life can be overwhelming. With Sandy, you simply email, text, or call her and tell her to remind you about your test this week, or to pick up a birthday gift for Bill.
One cool trick is that Sandy is able to be linked to your Jott account! So you can call Jott on your phone, leave the message, and Jott will send that message to your Sandy account. Presto-chango, you now have a lightning-quick way of never forgetting ANYTHING again.

Aside from school, or work, you may want to take a gander at the following sites. We promise you'll like at least one of them.

CalorieLab (www.calorielab.com)
Check the nutrition info for just about every restaurant chain and type of food before you head out to eat. Then consult the calorie-burning statistics for day-to-day activites (PC Magazine, Nov. 2008)

You may not find local mom-and-pop diners, but you will find all the major franchises. This site is very helpful for those of us who want to lose wieght but don't really want to diet.

HowCast (www.howcast.com)
The best-looking how-to videos on the web. Learn "How to become an ultimate fighter" or "How to drive a stick-shift." Sign up to get a How-To Video of the Day via e-mail (PC Magazine, Nov. 2008)
This was an interesting site. It really was very appealing to the eye, nothing looked like an amatuer made it.

RepairPal (www.repairpal.com)
Until recently, God and your mechanic were the only ones who knew how much it actually costs to replace the fuel injector on a '95 Toyota Previa. Punch in your car info, necessary repair, and ZIP code and RepairPal will tell you how much to expect to pay and where you can get the work done (PC Magazine, Nov. 2008).

This was amazing. We spent hours trying all of our vehicles. They also had numerous repair shops in our area (Harlingen), although, we never say Midas there...hmmm....

BillShrink (www.billshrink.com)
If you think you're paying too much for your wireless plan, BillShrink can help. Just tell it how much you pay monthly, your ZIP code, and usage details like how often you send text. BillShrink will suggest which wireless carrier plan is best and estimate your potential savings (PC Magazine, Nov. 2008).

BillShrink crunched millions of options, based on what we currently used. Of course...our current carriers were not the best choice. This website would be beneficial to ANYONE, regardless of your age, or occupation.

Well, we know these sites may be of use to you, so happy surfing! If you want some more sites, that we didn't get to list, you can always visit www.pcmag.com and search November's issue. They have the top 100 undiscovered sites listed. We told you we were nerds ;-P

Not thinking about college? Think about this…

Making the decision to attend college is life changing. Some think it’s a waste of time, others think you can’t succeed with out it. What most people don’t recognize is that college really is what you make of it. If you are scared of it, it’ll eat you alive. If you aren’t too worried about it, you may slack off too much. On the other hand, if you acknowledge it, and respect its purpose, you just might find what you are looking for.

Everyone has a fear of the unknown. If you are like me, you are or will be the first person in your family to attend college. That in itself is pretty terrifying. Looking back, I realize that there really wasn’t anything to fear. College wasn’t boring, or a waste of my time, but it was complicated though. All of a sudden you are thrown into this world of deadlines, policies, departments, advisors, deans, tuition, and loans. Deans, Dorms and Loans…Oh my! A completely different experience than what you had during high school.

Before you convince yourself that it sounds too overwhelming, keep in mind that 1) you are not alone. Hundreds and Thousands of students your age are entering college for the first time too. Don’t sweat it, you’ll meet plenty of new friends to help you along. 2) Colleges aren’t ignorant to the fact that freshman students are experiencing college for the first time. They already have programs set up to help you out! It used to be a dog-eat-dog world for higher education, but as times change, so do work ethics. In south Texas, especially, you will find an abundance of programs, clubs, societies, and students that are more than happy and willing to help out a fellow student.

Don’t throw the idea of college out the window just yet. Even if you are married, with children and a full time job, you can still attend college. There are evening courses, online courses and weekend courses available to you. Will it take you longer? Sure, but it’s a worth-while sacrifice to accomplish your goal.

If nothing else, at least give it a try. Register for classes in the next semester and go from there. You may just get hooked and become a “professional student”.

How college works, a beginner's guide

If you have no clue about the process of attending college, grab some note taking gear and prepare for some insider tricks and tips.

College calendars aren’t necessarily from January to December. They go by semesters. Each college school year is made up of three semesters, Spring (Jan.-May), Summer (June-July), and Fall (Aug. – Dec.). Generally, a college will consider the Fall Semester as the beginning of the year, much like high school and below. When you decide to attend college, you are going to have to register, or sign up, for courses. Registration is usually a week or two before the start of that semester. Let’s say the first day of class for the Fall Semester is August 15. Then, the “registration period” to get into that class will usually be from August 1 to the 14^th. By the end of that “registration period”, you are expected to have completed everything necessary to attend class. What is necessary? Read on my friend…

There are three possibly four areas you have to take care of as you register, Admissions, Testing, Financial Aid and Housing. Let’s take a look at each one separately.

Admissions: You have to apply for admission before anything else. You can usually find the application online at that college’s website. If you are not too comfortable with the online world, you still have the option of picking up an application at the Admissions Office. Keep in mind, every college will ask you to turn in transcripts, whether it be from High School or any other college courses you may have taken.

Testing: Every college needs to have a test score for you. Whether it be the SAT, ACT, THEA, or Accuplacer, you will need to test in order to enroll. Don’t freak out if you don’t pass a test, it does NOT mean you will not get in. Most tests are to see whether or not you will have to take extra courses to refresh your skills in certain subjects. Here’s a side note, you are going to come across the acronym TSI. 99 out of 100 students don’t know what that means. TSI stands for the Texas Success Initiative. You are considered TSI complete if you reached a certain score on the tests mentioned above, or you have finished any remedial courses (those refresher courses I mentioned) you needed.

Financial Aid: You have to pay for your education, so a very feasible option for you is applying for FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The majority of students that apply, especially in south Texas, will be awarded this grant. That means you won’t have to pay anything back, unlike a loan. You can apply online at www.fafsa.ed.gov, or visit the Financial Aid Office at the college you plan on attending. Keep in mind that you can enroll without paying a dime up front, but after a certain date when classes start, if you haven’t paid the tuition, you will be deregistered.

Housing: This is not a mandatory area for enrollment. Some students opt to stay with family or friends, others would rather live on campus at the campus dorms. If you fall into that category, you need to apply for Housing. Each college has different requirements for housing, so you want to check with the Housing/Dorm Department of that college for more information. Typically, you will be looking at $600 for the semester, which isn’t too bad considering your bills are usually paid by the school.

Those are the basics of getting into college. Remember, each college varies slightly, so you want to check with an Academic Advisor at that college to make sure you have everything taken care of. It’s their job to see that you get what you need and are pointed in the right direction. Have fun experiencing a new side of life!

Hacking Financial Aid

Before you even get to further your education, you have to 'show them the MONEY'! Here's a few tips and tricks on getting the most out of financial aid and scholarships:

The first thing you want to do is get as much information from your high school counselor or college financial aid office. Schedule a meeting with someone in those offices, and they will help you get the money you need. If you are attending Texas State Technical College Harlingen, I highly recommend Vanessa Puga.

Also, be sure to file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This will be the easiest way to get grants and loans that you are eligible for. Remember, money you DON'T have to pay back are in the form of grants, fellowships, and scholarships.

1. Scholarships - Over a million scholarships are awarded each year. There are scholarships based on athletic ability, academic merit, disability, race, nationality, religious affiliation, relation to a cancer victim, location, and more. With a little bit of research and patience, everyone should be able to find a pretty big list of eligible scholarships to apply for. A highly recommended site for scholarships is FastWeb.org. At FastWeb, you fill out an information application ONCE, and then the search engine will do the rest. Pretty soon you'll be bombarded with scholarships that you are eligible for based on the information you provided. Just be sure to watch out for any scholarship scams. A good rule of thumb is, if you have to pay for the information, it is probably a scam.

2. Federal Pell Grant - A Pell Grant is a federal assistance grant that is awarded to students who have not already earned a bachelor's degree. While most Pell Grants are awarded to students with family incomes below $20,000, most students with family incomes below $50,000 are eligible. Awards range from $400 to $4,050.

3. Academic Competitiveness Grant - The Academic Competitiveness Grant is available to all first-year college students who graduated high school after January 1, 2006 and all second-year college students who graduated high school after January 1, 2005. This grant provides up to $750 for the first year of college and up to $1,300 for the second year of college, provided the student is eligible for the Pell Grant, has successfully completed a rigorous high school program, and can maintain a 3.0 GPA.

4. National SMART Grant - The National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant is available for third- and fourth-year college students maintaining a 3.0 GPA who are eligible for the Pell Grant and who are majoring in physical science, life science, computer science, mathematics, technology, engineering, or in a foreign language deemed critical to national security. This grant awards up to $4,000 per year.

5. Institutional grants - Contact your college or university's financial aid office to request information on any institutional grants that they may offer. These grants are typically merit-based and will help to cover the costs of education not covered by any federal assistance money.

Loans

Loans typically are not free money. In most cases they will need to be repaid within 10 years of graduating, unless you qualify for loan forgiveness.

6. Perkins Loan. A Perkins Loan is a campus-based loan that is provided from your school from a limited pool of federal government money. The interest rate is fixed at 5%. The amount you receive is determined by your school's financial aid office. This loan is limited to $4,000 per year for undergraduate students, with a cumulative limit of $20,000. If your school participates in the Expanded Learning Option (ELO), the annual limit is raised by $1,000 and the cumulative limit is raised by $5,000.

7. Stafford Loan. A Stafford Loan is provided to you either through a private lender (Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP) or directly to you from the U.S. government (Federal Direct Student Loan Program, or FDSLP). Stafford Loans are either subsidized, meaning the government pays the interest while you're in school, or unsubsidized, in which you are responsible for paying the interest. Beginning July 1, 2007, dependents may borrow up to $3,500 for your freshman year, $4,500 for your sophomore year, and $5,500 for each remaining year. These loans have a fixed rate of 6.8% if first disbursed after July 1, 2006.

8. Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). A PLUS Loan allows a student's parents to borrow money to cover any costs not already covered by the student's financial aid package. The interest rate on this type of loan is fixed at 8.5% for all loans first disbursed after July 1, 2006.

9. Private student loans. Beyond what you receive from the federal government, you can also request additional loan money from a private lender.

NOTE: Unlike other debts or loans, if you ever claim bankruptcy, you STILL have to pay your student loans. Keep that in mind!

Helpful Tips

Knowing where to find financial aid is just half the game. Following these helpful tips will help you maximize your aid package.

10. Ask for more. Your university's financial aid office can be quite accommodating, especially when it comes to personal family needs. Don't be afraid to schedule an appointment face-to-face with another person and ask for more money.

11. Keep up the good work. Financial aid often relies upon keeping up a certain courseload and GPA. Don't get behind in your studies or slack off for a semester. It could cost you.

12. Meet all deadlines. Scholarship applications and the FAFSA have deadlines. Get a calendar and mark them down. You could be the most qualified student on the planet, but if you miss a deadline, it won't matter.

College can get pricey, but the truth is that most students don't take advantage of all options to pay for it! One last hint if you are living in South Texas. The STARS scholarship is for South Texas students only, BUT if you are attending TSTC Harlingen, you have a slight advantage. TSTC Harlingen has an agreement with STARS, for a certain number of alloted slots. This means, that instead of competing with students across South Texas, you are only competing with students from TSTC Harlingen! That narrows the group and increases your odds of getting awarded.