Do I need a Mentoring program?

By Dustin Hubbard

Everyone does better if they have some type of mentor or mentoring program available to utilize. The description of mentor can be a varied one. A mentor can come in the guise of a school teacher, or counselor. A mentor can be someone else you know that is proficient in your particular field of study or career. A mentor can even be part of a mentoring program that is formed by colleges and universities for their students.

In fact the business world has caught on to the potential of people who have been mentored and many public and private professional organizations as well as government agencies use mentoring programs to help their people personally and professionally. Today these services can be done person to person but often as not are initiated by phone or email or even webcam. Here are a few of the mentoring programs available in different fields but available to students nationwide:

The GEM-Nursing Program: This type program is sponsored by the Women’s Bureau of the U.S. Dept. of Labor and helps link high school children and college students nationwide aged 15-21 with mentors in the nursing fields. These mentors are able to meet and help their charges by email, websites and other special events. This would be a program for the child who knows they are interested in the Nursing Field for a career.

MentorNet: This is a mentoring program that is used by female college students that are studying engineering, science and mathematics. The students meet with mentors in their subject areas of interest usually over the internet by email.

Public Health Mentor Program: This is a mentoring program that tries to put about 100 students together with local professionals in the area that have the same career interest. The mentors give career advice to the students. It is sponsored by The University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and is called the Public Health Mentor Program.

Minority Access to the Professions Scholars (MAPS) Program: This is called MAPS and is sponsored by the Office of Minority Student Affairs at Middlesex County College in New Jersey and is a program that brings minority students together with people from the professional world.

Anthropology Mentor Program: The National Association for the Practice of Anthropology is a program that is offered to help advanced graduate students in the field connect with professional anthropologists.

Potential graduate students also find it useful to utilize mentoring programs that are offered through their college or university. Universities and Colleges team up with quality mentors from inside the school and outside the school to help guide the graduate student on the right path that allows them to make the right career designs that help them get the job they have been dreaming about. Most of the outside mentors that colleges and universities utilize have the ability to continue helping the student even after their graduation. It is important to realize that a mentoring program can have tremendous benefit in a school setting or a business setting for the person that uses it.

About the author:
The mission of UGrowU is to be a one-stop solution for Entry Level Recruiting, internal employee growth, and expertise while establishing a professional growth network, and job opportunities for students and early career professionals. Visit http://www.ugrowu.com

Filed under: Campus Lifestyle, Career Path, Career Search, College Financing, College Planning, Consultants, Graduate School, Graduation, Internships, Mentoring, Nursing, Public Service, Social Networking, Students, academic quality, Anthropology, Awareness, Career Path, Career Search, Choosing Universities, College Planning, female college students, Freshman, Grad students, Mentoring, Mentors, Nursing, planning, self help, self improvement, Students, Universities

Students And Financial Aid

By Justin Sloan

When it comes to financial aid for college there are primarily two sources: privately funded financial aid and federally funded financial aid. When applying for or receiving either you need to make sure that you are fully aware of all the fine print involved. Most people find that the expenses of college are much too great to afford without assistance of some sort. If you are a parent chances are that you will some day face the need to pay college tuition along with the worry of how on earth you will manage to accomplish that goal. 

The problem is that not every student who wishes to attend college qualifies for either federally funded student aid or the vast majority of scholarships that require either exceptional grades or a specific and exceptional talent in order to receive. For those students thinking outside the box may be necessary in order to receive the much needed educational assistance or financial aid. 

If you do not qualify for federal financial aid for your children, then you may want to consider the benefit of other scholarship options. One common scholarship option that is often overlooked is the ROTC program that most universities offer. There is a price to pay for these scholarships but many find that price provides valuable experience and is well worth the education and the experience received during the process. If your child is interested in the possibility of a military career or becoming a military officer, this is a great way to go. 

As a parent you may want to see what sort of, if any, flexible spending accounts your state has set up that can help you set aside money for college expenses for your children. Many states have these and there are programs such as Upromise that allows you and others to dedicate the spending from a credit card to be used as a ‘match’ program for your child’s college funds. While it isn’t a dollar for dollar match of your credit card spending every little bit helps. The real beauty of programs like Upromise is that you can enlist the help of family in friends when saving for your child’s college educational expenses. Regardless, it is never too early to begin saving for your child’s college education and these expenses seem to be rising exponentially. 

There are many programs that exist to help minorities and women pay for their educational expenses. Some of these scholarships are needs based while some of them are solely merit based. On all levels competition is fierce, however, if you qualify for any of these scholarships you would be doing yourself a disservice not to apply for them. You never know when your application might be the one that captures the attention of the scholarship committee. The one thing you should keep in mind is to read all the instructions, make copies of everything, and follow the directions. You’d be amazed at how many worth applicants are denied scholarships each year because they did not follow the directions on the application properly. Another thing you should keep in mind is neatness. You are much more likely to win a scholarship if the committee can actually read your application. 

There are many great opportunities for financial assistance when it comes to college. The trick is typically in finding the great sources. Your college’s financial aid office is an excellent source of information for financial aid as is your high school counselor. See what your options are before you sacrifice the dream of a college education. 

About the author:
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Filed under: Admissions, Applications, Campus Lifestyle, College Financing, College Planning, Consultants, Parental Guidance, Scholarship, Students, Tuition, Universities, College, College Applications, college expenses, College Financing, college funding, college planning tips, female college students, financial aid, money, Scholarships