College plan Blog

If many new graduates are like my niece, they are wondering how to come up with money for college. I remember when I was a high school grad wondering the same thing, some thirty years ago.

I never thought about not going to college. But it wasn’t obvious how I was going to afford it.

Even with loans, grants and work, it still appeared I would be short what would be required. With my mom’s help, I had enough money for the first semester, but would I be able to pay for the next?

Jesus might answer, “No chance at all if you think you can pull it off by yourself. Every chance in the world if you trust God to do it.”

My mom and I had witnessed the truth of those words many times. She and my dad divorced when I was ten years old. With no formal education or work experience, she managed to build a new life for both of us. She firmly trusted in God to provide whatever we needed. And along the way, she made a believer out of her daughter me.

Prayer to God had always brought solutions in the past, even in financial matters. Why should I doubt now? Could I believe there might be a situation or condition when God had no control where God was powerless?

The healings and teachings of Jesus recorded in the Bible had been a source of guidance to me all my childhood, and they still are. I read again about a man who was waiting at a pool called Bethesda. It was believed that, at a certain time, the water there was stirred by an angel. Tradition said that whoever got into the water right after the angel had visited the pool would be healed.

A crippled man had been waiting 38 years probably most of his life to enter the pool. But each year, he missed the perfect moment and others got to the water first. Still, he didn’t give up. And his hope was finally realized through Jesus. His healing came but in an unexpected way.

This account, in John’s Gospel, gave me a new perspective on my worries about college expenses. Was I limiting my options? The man at Bethesda had thought the only way he could be healed was if he got into the pool at exactly the right time. Yet that wasn’t the “only way.” When Jesus redirected his faith from a pool of water to the Christ-power that uplifts and heals, the man found the freedom he had longed for.

Where was my faith, I asked myself? Was it tied only to loans and grants? To finding ample employment? Getting a scholarship? What were my options? Did I face an uncertain future?

What I learned from thinking about Jesus’ encounter with the man at the pool of Bethesda was that God is continuously sending me and everyone infinite possibilities. I needed to open my thought to them. Not define or limit the ways my needs could be met.

I could replace fear and uncertainty with the knowledge that God was governing my life. Affirm that God makes all things possible. Including a college education!

So I headed off to college on what some would call a leap of faith. But it was more like a confident and expectant trust that solutions would come, even though I couldn’t see them immediately. I focused on one semester at a time and worried less about the future.

As it turned out, it was semester by semester prayer that led the way to my college degree. And expenses were paid each semester in countless sometimes unexpected ways.

One unexpected solution came in the form of a note in my school mailbox. An anonymous donor had paid the remainder of my tuition that year. There were many loans, grants, scholarships and awards. Plus a variety of jobs some of which gave me valuable experience that served me well in future endeavors.

My college years strengthened my trust in God, divine Love, who truly does meet every need. And I know this is true for my niece and other college-bound grads. Everyone. Maybe we just need to remind ourselves His ways are infinite and sometimes quite unexpected.

Annette Bridges is a freelance writer and lives on a north Texas ranch with her husband, John. For the past 25 years, she has been a student of Christian Science, the method of healing explained in Mary Baker Eddy’s book, “Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.” Visit her website at http://www.annettebridges.com and send her an email at annettebridges@gmail.com. © copyright 2006 by Annette Bridges

Tags: college, faith, finances, possibilities, tuition, unexpected solutionscollege, faith, finances, possibilities, tuition, unexpected solutions

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Private colleges can be more expensive than public universities, and can have a more limited curriculum than the biggest government-funded schools. So why choose a private college, particularly a small one, over a state-run university?

Of course, opting for Harvard or Yale makes perfect sense; anyone with a degree and a solid academic record is assured of entr

Tag: private collegesprivate colleges

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Most of us are taught at an early age to get a good education so that we can get a good job when we grow up. Our teachers, our counselors, our parents all have instilled these ideas into our brains to “Finish school, and then get a good job.” As a parent, I couldn’t think of any other lesson more valuable to teach a child. ‘Knowledge is power’, ‘a good education will open doors’, or my personal favorite “don’t be a foolstay in school”.

The National Center for Education reported for the years 2003 and 2004 that the number of high school completers totaled 42.2%. College enrollment rates of recent high school completers were 45.2%.
The reality is that more than half of all high school students do not graduate from high school and less than half of high school graduates will enroll in college. This says there is a strong likelihood that the majority of people looking for a good job do not hold a college degree.
You can still get a good job if you are willing to have a good job and you can do so without a college degree.

So, what makes a good job, “good”?
Is it salary? Distance from home? Company benefits? Advancement opportunities? Believe it or not, we think about these things when we apply for positions and seek opportunities. Actually, none of these things make a “good” job.
Simply put, a good job is good when you love doing what you do so much that nothing else matters. There has to be some delight in going to your job everyday. Not all people take pleasure in their work. As a result, we are only selling ourselves short of this fulfillment.

Remember when you were asked ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ when you were younger. Think about the reasons ‘why’ you wanted to be those things. ‘To help people, fight crime, etc.’ Those are the same reasons that should lead you into your job today. A passion. A belief. Not the amount of money you are going to make. Instead of finding a job that makes good money and learning to like it find out what it is you love to do and make money doing it.

So, how do you know whether going to college would have been more beneficial than just obtaining a job right after high school? That depends on the hirer.

Depending on the size of the company and the salary range for the position, the employer can hire a non-degreed applicant with experience or a degreed applicant without experience for the same money.

So why go to college in the first place, you may wonder. Well, attending college is a personal decision that is only the best option for those who choose it. In other words, not all successful people have a college degree; so by far, it is common to choose alternative paths to become the person you want to be.

Being non-degreed in a work force so competitive can be intimidating, but it is possible to overcome.

1. The first thing you must do is to figure out what it is you want to do. There are so many occupations, jobs, and careers that match so many different objectives so start this process early. If you are unsure of your career goals, consider completing a career assessment to help determine your personal motivations and characteristics and see which careers are most suitable for you. You can also speak with an employment counselor.

2. Research a typical work environment for that profession and the most popular companies that are hiring. Contact the managers at those companies and request informational interviews with them. Ask them questions about how they became successful in their field and how they got where they are. Networking with people in your industry is the best way to get into a job. Network with as many people as possible.

3. Gather any and all on the job training certificates, seminars, workshops, volunteer activities, or other training that you have participated in that showcase your talent. This training will transfer into beneficial job skills and will need to be transformed into valuable experience and knowledge.

4. Be yourself. A phrase you have undoubtedly heard before. Sometimes you may need to practice being yourself by playing up your most desirable traits in social situations. If you are ‘positive’ then bring something positive to a situation, event, or conversation. If you are ‘dependable’ then always keep your word with others.

5. You must have a sound understanding of communication and how to communicate with others effectively. You must develop impeccable interviewing skills and clearly, you need to make a lasting first impression with the interviewer. Here are 5 tips to help you accomplish this:

A. Use strong eye contact. Be confident.

B. Smile. Show some teeth.

C. Shake hands firmly. Even I have shaken some wimpy hands on occasional interviews. Don’t be afraid to touch the interviewer’s hand, some might take offense to this. If you’re that finicky, just remember, you can wash your hands later.

D. Speak clearly. You want to be understood and you want to make powerful statements that have meaning.

E. “Monkey see, Monkey do.” Take note of the receiver’s body language, tone of voice, posture, hand gestures, etc. People want to be around other people who are like them.

You can still get a good job without a college degree because a college degree does not make you successful you do.

Your success is not measured by the degrees you hold, but by the person you are. Shape your own future and mold it into something beautiful. It starts with you and no-thing and no-one else matters.

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Natasha Watson, President and Founder of Write R

Tags: career advice, careers, find a job, goals, job assistance, job search, resume writing, resumescareer advice, careers, find a job, goals, job assistance, job search, resume writing, resumes

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