Tag Archives: college students

Perhaps Not All High School Graduates Need to go to College

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By Denise Turney

Getting college and university degrees might be en vogue. However, getting college and university degrees doesn’t always lead to rewarding, high paying jobs. Economies don’t have to be hard for students to discover that the college degrees they spent thousands of dollars to attain aren’t worth what they thought they were. It can also be sobering for college students to learn that employers value work experience as much, if not more, as they value college degrees.

The Price of Earning College Degrees

As reported in the June 12, 2012 “Do Too Many Young People Go To College” Wall Street Journal article, it takes 40 percent of college students about six years to earn a degree. Family and work responsibilities could, of course, be a reason it’s taking college students longer to graduate. What’s more alarming is the fact that college tuition costs have tripled over the past 50 years. Add to this the fact that many college graduates will strive to enter the workforce, competing for jobs alongside adults who have years of work experience.

After awhile it could make good sense to ponder whether or not it’s in some high school graduates’ best interest to step into a rewarding career as soon as they get a high school diploma. In some ways (and aside from the large contracts professional athletes can receive), it’s similar to decisions talented college athletes make when they decide to leave college in order to take a paying job with a professional sports team.

Managing Costs of Earning College Degrees

Talented college athletes and talented high school graduates may find themselves asking the same question. Both may wonder whether it’s in their best interest to get expensive college degrees or start earning a salary right out of high school. For high school graduates who choose to enter the workforce right after they get their diplomas, it might be worth it to secure work with employers who offer tuition assistance programs. This way, high school graduates can continue their education at the same time they expand their work experience, not to mention the fact that students will be receiving a paycheck.

High school graduates who secure employment with employers who operate college tuition assistance programs can also avoid racking up pricey student loans. To say this choice could help high school graduates avoid going into debt within a year or less of their graduation is an understatement. After all the costs of a earning a college education has outpaced inflation.

Regardless of when they enroll in college or university, students are encouraged to research occupations using tools like the United States Department of Labor’s occupational handbooks. Using these tools, students, can discover which careers are expected to grow or decline over the coming years. They can also find out the types of degrees employers typically require job applicants to have before they hire them into certain occupations.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You! Consider Love.

Sources:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203960804577239253121093694.html

Sweet Memories for College Students of Time Spent at College

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By Denise Turney

Author – Love Pour Over Me

Buy at Amazon.com

Days spent attending student club social events, athletic competitions and hanging out with friends visiting nearby eateries, parks and historic landmarks . . . it’s a winning blend creating sweet memories of time spent a college. More often than not on college campuses noise fills dorm hallways. During the mornings, college students not living in apartments on or off college campus can be heard talking as they trek from their small rooms to public bathrooms to shower and brush their teeth and prepare for coming events of the day. Soon chatter rises amongst students, building to a crescendo as students leave their dorm buildings and head across grassy college campus lawns to class.

Sweet College Memories Endure for College Graduates

Everyone seems to be in a hurry. Boredom is nowhere to be found. The future stretches out long and full of promise. It’s as if college is a time of rebirth of sorts, a time when recent high school graduates and upperclassmen are assured they are going to achieve their dreams, fulfill their most longed for wishes.

Just thinking about the excitement and social exchanges students like Love Pour Over Me’s Raymond Clarke and his friends Anthony, Patrick and Doug, experience while they’re at college makes me wonder if some high school graduates don’t attend college just so they can make and hang out with new friends, adding one sweet memory after another to their lives.

College life for Raymond and his friends takes place at a famous Pennsylvania university. Football is widely celebrated at the school, a reason that Raymond’s good friend, Anthony, is a local celebrity. Raymond’s fame comes through his track and field exploits. Yet, it’s the laughter, social and personal experiences the men share that creates sweet memories of time spent at college for them.

As with other college students, some of Raymond and his friends’ college experiences, seemingly innocent, come at a price. But, nothing – absolutely nothing – can break the bond of friendship the men share, the friendship the men formed after they first happened upon each other at college.

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say –
Thank You!

Young Men and Women Coming of Age at College

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By Denise Turney

Remember when we graduated from middle school? Didn’t we feel apprehensive and nervous about transferring into high school, wondering if older students would immediately accept and take us into their inner circles?

Growing Up on College Campuses

We may have lost our focus as to why we were in high school which, more than likely, was to learn facts, figures and information we were previously unaware of. But, it’s tough to not want to be popular, to have everyone support and be drawn to you when you’re in high school. Truth be told, even after we become an adult it can be tough to avoid focusing more on being popular or liked than to focus on fulfilling short and long-term goals.

It’s a reason we appreciate our friends, hanging out with them and sharing challenges and triumphs with them. In fact, although it might be rare, some of us maintain relationships with high school classmates throughout our lives. We mean it when we write things like “I’ll always keep in touch” or “Friends forever” in our closest friends’ high school annuals.

Then some of us, like Love Pour Over Me’s main character, Raymond Clarke, don’t meet our best friends until we step on a college campus. Like Raymond we may not go to college seeking out friends, but we bump into people like Anthony Thompson (an elite college football player), Patrick (a proud Mexican who’s majoring in criminal justice, a man who shares a similar childhood root with Raymond) and Doug (an international student from Italy) . . . and our lives change  . . . forever.

Before we know it we’re coming of age, growing up, all at college. We may feel in love with another person for the first time. We may even marry while we’re in college or soon after we graduate with college degrees. Or, like Raymond and his friends in Love Pour Over Me, more unexpected and harrowing events may shake up our lives, forcing us to look back at our former, younger selves as if the people we once were are mere strangers we passed in a hallway.

Either way, we can’t go back. We’re not at home anymore. We’re not in high school anymore. We’re growing up . . . hopefully in ways that won’t come back to haunt us years later. . . .

Thank you for reading my blog. To learn what happens to Raymond, Brenda and the other characters in Love Pour Over Me, hop over to Amazon.com, B&N.com, Ebookit.com and get your copy of Love Pour Over Me today. And again I say – Thank You!