Tips

Some tips from fellow students:

  • Make Friends with Your Instructors
    To make the most of your learning experience, and to get the best grades possible, it is good to form a positive relationship with each of your instructors. In some cases this is easy to do: you are dazzled by the instructor’s knowledge, make opportunities to ask questions, and find encouragement to share your views. ...
  • Time Management Tricks 2.0
    Whether you are a business executive, teacher, student, parent, or if you fill any combination of these daily roles, it’s likely that every minute of your day counts and any spare time is valuable. So, how can you use your time wisely? Here are several ideas: Create a Lesson Plan If you are pursing your college degree, ...
  • Angry Mothers on Welfare Must Fight for Education Funding
    Diana Spatz was a single mother on welfare. She encountered many barriers when she tried to get an education to become self-sufficient, but she found ways to overcome them. She now works to help other parents on welfare gain access to funding that is available for their education. Diana says: In 1996, I was a ...
  • Succeeding Despite Invisible Handicaps
    (Comment by Al Siebert: This letter from a college student with mental problems that I counseled is a useful reminder to instructors that some students have invisible handicaps that they may not reveal. "Gil’s" letter also shows that some "challenged" students show amazing resourcefulness and courage in their determination to succeed. Here is his letter…) Well, ...
  • Facing Racism Made Me Better, Not Bitter
    Jackie Leno Grant spent her early years in a comfortable world, surrounded by family and friends. Moving to another town changed all that. As a Native American in a nearly all-white school in rural western Oregon, Jackie felt out of place. Her unfair treatment at school could have made her bitter and rebellious, but Jackie ...
  • An Online Mom Shares Some Tips
    Melinda, an online student of co-author Mary Karr’s, shares her experience being a college student an the mother of young children: Hello Mary, I feel privileged that you would ask for my input. I know very well how challenging it can be to try schooling with young children. First, I have to dismantle my computer system ...
  • From Homeless to Harvard – Liz Murray’s Story
    A few people are born resilient. Elizabeth Murray is one of them. Her parents were cocaine addicts who spent most of the family’s money on feeding their habits. Liz explains that as a result, she and her sister were neglected. The girls often lacked food and warm clothes. By age 15, Liz was homeless. ...
  • Dare to Take Risks to Find Your Purpose!
    We all have a very special purpose in life regardless of who we are or from where we come.
  • Tips for Students on Medications
    The suggestions I have are…
  • How to find time for distance learning while working full time
    When you are working full-time and want to improve your education or gain some new qualifications it can be very hard to find the extra time to study.
  • Beware of your Loan Forgiveness Program!
    3 Steps to Help Ensure You’re Compliant UPDATE October 6, 2021: See our updated post as the US DOE has made tremendous strides toward FIXING this problem!!! It has come to light that since 2017, thousands of former students who participated with full faith and effort in the US Education Department’s various loan forgiveness programs — such ...