Monthly Archives: December 2015

Every high school student should find a “community cause.”

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In a smart move about 10 years ago, New York State, like most states, began to require community service as a graduation requirement.  This creates a “required” opportunity for students to get involved.  However, only when a young person extends that commitment beyond what is required, will it truly pay off.

There are few opportunities for a young person like volunteering.  Take the following examples:

  • Part-Time Job: A part-time job is a great opportunity to earn some money, develop some work-related habits, and gain some valuable experience.  However, most part-time jobs are limited in scope; do not require a lot of higher order skill sets like critical thinking, problem solving, and evaluation of solutions; and provide few opportunities for independent work.  These limitations do not negate the value of a part-time job.  However, they do highlight the limitations of this type of experience and the way many future “full-time” employers will view it.
  • In-School or Out-of-School Activity: Today, more than any other time in the history of our nation, young people are involved in activities outside of their school work.  Examples include sports, dance, acting, robotics, investment clubs, drama, band, music, singing, and so much more.  These are great opportunities, however they are limited in scope.  Meaning, while you can excel as far as your commitment and talent will take you, it is a very focused effort.  Still, these are great opportunities but, like the part-time job, have their limitations.
  • Internships: Internships are fantastic opportunities and every young person should participate in an internship program several times during high school and college.  However, internships require a level of commitment on the part of the employer that many cannot make.  This means that internship opportunities are limited, may not always benefit the intern the way they are intended, and often are not progressive and fail to build on previous experiences.  Again, like part-time jobs and extracurricular activities, internships should be a part of every students’ experience.

So what makes volunteering different?  There are several characteristics of volunteering that can greatly enhance a well-rounded set of experiences that include each of the above.  These include:

  • Exposure to diverse experiences and cultures that provide increased opportunities for testing one’s skills, developing higher order skill sets, and gaining a global perspective;
  • Development of autonomous and independent habits that will benefit a person in absolutely ever human activity they will be engaged in for the rest of their life;
  • Opportunities to experience diverse corporate functions like product and service development, marketing, human resources, and finances to name a few;
  • Progressive responsibilities that evolve as the individual demonstrates increased abilities, responsibilities, and commitment;
  • The opportunity to develop emotional intelligence including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management; and most importantly
  • The opportunity to develop a sense of purpose and passion for something that drives you to succeed in a way that no extrinsic reward ever can.

Of course the best set of experiences include all of the above mentioned opportunities.  However, volunteering is the greatest opportunity for this generation to develop a sense of purpose, meaning, motivation, and passion; all qualities that seem to be missing in today’s youth but which are the key to their success.

What are some of the differences between a high school teacher and college professor?

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Before I go into what the difference is between a high school teacher and college professor, I want to debunk one myth.  I can vividly recall many adults in my life telling me that my college professors “won’t care about me” the way my teachers do.  That could not be further from the truth!  As a professor who has taught 1000s of students over 23 years, I can honestly say I cared about every single one of my students.  The worse thing a professor has to do is to fail a student.  However, as a professor, I have a different role for my students than a high school teacher. Knowing the difference is an important advantage to students entering college as freshmen.  Below are some of the differences:

  • Teacher: The high school teacher is trained to implement several successful instructional strategies. Their collegiate experience allows them to observe, practice, and be evaluated on their teaching ability. Often real life experiences are complemented by classes that teach the theory behind different teaching strategies.  Essentially, teaching for high school teachers is their top priority. 
  • Professor: The college professor is required to do many other activities besides teaching.  His or her future promotions will be based largely on research, service, publishing, conference presentations, and teaching.  The result is greater conflict for a professor’s time than for a high school teacher’s time, who is largely reviewed on his or her teaching effectiveness. Does this mean professors are not good teachers?  No!  What it does mean is that they must prioritize other activities to flourish in their own career, placing less emphasis on teaching.  Additionally, unlike high school teachers, college professors are rarely trained to be effective teachers. That is something professors develop over time.
  • Teacher: Teachers are striving to ensure that each child succeeds.  In most states, teachers are evaluated in part by how well their students perform on state assessments.  There is no comparable measure for college professors.
  • Professor: College professors are often measured by the academic “rigor” or challenge that students face in their classes. This means that it’s okay to fail students.  In fact, college professors are expected to fail any student who does not demonstrate a minimal understanding of the content.
  • Teacher: A test is part of a progressive grading strategy that allows a teacher to assess students on a specific range of content.  For example, a test might cover 3-4 chapters.  When a teacher gives an exam, its usually at the end of the year and is cumulative.
  • Professor: An exam can cover ten or more chapters and include lab work and outside assignments. There is at least five times the amount of information covered in a college exam than is covered on a high school test.  This means that you have to study for a college exam like you studied for a final exam in high school. Moreover, you may have three or four exams in a college course and four or five classes in a semester.  This highlights the difference in how much time you have to put into your college courses versus your high school classes.  Finally, there is no room for error on a college exam.  Most exams are a fraction of the final grade.  Meaning, if you have 4 exams at 25 points each and you score 10 on your first exam, the very best you can do in the class is an 85 or a B/B-.  That assumes you ace the rest of your exams.  There is rarely extra credit in college.

These are just a few of the differences between a high school teacher and college professor.  In addition to this comparison, there are other HUGE differences between high school and college including Support Levels, Academic Environment, and Grading.  All told, there are over 50 comparison points in these categories including 20 total for teacher versus college professor on www.mycollegemax.com.  This resource answers students’ questions on “Where do I start?” and “What do I do?”  More importantly, MyCollegeMax provides the answers for students when they don’t even know what questions to ask.  Check it out and learn everything you need to know to prepare for college and your future job!

Students are increasingly getting into “excessive” debt according to Inside Higher Ed

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There is plenty of information out there about student loan debt.  Excessive debt is defined as “having to spend at least 10 percent of your gross monthly income on debt payments.”  According to an article in Inside Higher Ed, the percent of students graduating with student loans has steadily increase over the past 10 years with 71% of college students needing to take on student loans.  The average level of loan is $35,051 for 2014-15 with 14% of students having excessive debt.  So what do you do?  Follow these simple principles.

  1. Your major is a better predictor of your success than the college you attend.  So if attending a college with a great name puts you into excessive debt, don’t go!  Once you get onto a college campus, regardless of which college it is, you will love it!  So don’t over value the “name recognition” of a college.  For the most part, employers care about what you did in college not where you went (See #5).
  2. Do not take on unnecessary debt.  So if you go to college in the community you live, it is not worth living on campus if you have to pay for it with student loans.  While living on campus is a great experience, it is not so great that it warrants using student loans to pay for it.
  3. Choose your major wisely!  The top reason why students take 6 years to earn a 4 year degree and 3 years to earn a 2 year degree is because they change majors.  Remember, your major is only valuable if you do a significant amount of work outside of your major; work that is not required.  MyCollegeMax helps students learn exactly what to do!
  4. Take enough credit hours.  You need to take 15 credit hours per semester if you expect to graduate in 4 years.  If you take 12 credits your first semester to get use to the college experience, that’s okay.  Just take a summer class and now you are caught up!
  5. Make sure you know the “sequential” courses in your major and when they are offered.  For example, Calculus 201 is only offered in the fall and it is required before Calculus 301.  If you don’t take 201 in the fall, you have to wait a whole year before you can take it again and you won’t be able to take Calculus 301 prior to 201.  So go to your department and find out if it requires sequential courses and when they are offered.
  6. Make sure you are doing everything to land that perfect job!!  Your classes and everything that is required of you by your professors is only about 1/3 of the activities that employers expect to see.  If you don’t know what those other activities are, use a program like MyCollegeMax to find out!
  7. Live within your means.  Don’t use student loans for anything other than tuition, fees, and books.  Otherwise that pair of jeans you bought for $80 ends up being $160 and definitely not worth it!

College is still an incredible investment where the return far exceeds any other financial investment you can make in your lifetime.  So make your financial decisions wisely because they otherwise may have a negative impact on the rest of your life!