Myth 1: You don’t have to know what you want to do until your junior year.
This myth has been perpetuated by counselors and academic advisors all throughout the country, on both the high school and university levels. Although it is true that you don’t need to choose a major until your junior year, you better have some clue about what you want to do before you say yes to that acceptance letter.

If you are an entering freshman, and you have absolutely no clue what major to choose, two years of taking general educations requirements will not magically bestow you with educational clarity. If anything, two years of multidisciplinary exposure will leave you with more questions than answers. Figure out what your goals are before you get to school. You can always change your mind, but if there are certain things that you know you want to experience (i.e. traveling aboard, taking an internship, creating your own major or combining different majors), then you’re more likely to accommodate these considerations if you know what you want to get out of school before you arrive.

Myth 2: You must to choose from a rigid set of majors and class schedules.
College is very customizable. If your major isn’t offered at your school of choice, then try to create it. If you want to take a course on 21st century terrorism, and the class doesn’t appear on the schedule, then make it up. Independent studies are awesome. If your proposed courses of study are approved (usually through the tacit support of a professor or academic advisor), then you can set your own curriculum. You read what you want, write what you want, and your only class time is face to face discussion sessions with your advising professor (usually during office hours). These tailor-made learning experiences can be very rewarding, because they can be created by you to suit your own personal academic interests.

Myth 3: College is one big party.
Sure you’re going to rage it up while you’re in school, but if you don’t get your stuff done, you won’t be partying for very long. Time management is extremely important in college. If you allot enough time for work, you’ll still have plenty of time to play. Just make sure you know when to say “not tonight, I have to cram.”

Myth 4: Living on campus is fun.
If you’re an incoming freshman, nothing sounds cooler than living on campus. You get to meet new people and you live just outside your classes. You can stumble out of bed and stroll into your lecture without a problem. If you have the opportunity to live off campus, do so. On campus living is overrated. You could be faced with the dreaded my-roommate-is-a-chump syndrome. If you want peace and quite, you might have to complain to your noisy neighbors. If you want to be noisy, you might have to deal with your complaining neighbors. Live with people who you like and respect, and live off campus. When you live off campus, you can immerse yourself in school when you need to and remove school from your living situation when it’s necessary.

Myth 5: College is too expensive.
College is by no means cheap, but there are endless opportunities for you to secure extra funds while going to school. Fill out FAFSA forms early and religiously. Apply for every grant you can. Exhaustively explore every scholarship option. If your mother’s second cousin was an Eskimo employed by the Coca-Cola Company, then there’s a scholarship out there waiting for you. Make a list of every category that you qualify for (race, class, gender, religious beliefs, athletic abilities, musical prowess, subject and career-specific interests, company-specific employment and so on), and apply for as much free money as you can.

College is an experience that is different for everyone. What’s true for one university may not be standard practice for another university, so make sure to do your research. Ask as many questions as you can before you commit to a particular institution or program. Talk to students past and present, schedule a visit and meet with professors before you decide on a particular school. The more informed you are, the better.

Avoid all-nighters, or at least adjust your sleeping pattern to compensate for lost rest. If you create too much of a sleeping deficit, you will have to spend time balancing yourself out. A tired student is a poor student, so don’t underestimate how much sleep you’re going to need.

Try and eat properly. This sounds a lot easier that it is. With the dining hall serving mysterious meals and budget concerns always looming large, you have to make a concerted effort to consume healthy and balanced nourishment. When you go shopping, buy real food. Learn how to cook quick meals, and don’t starve yourself. Long periods without food are not conducive to learning.

Don’t drink too much. You can rage all night and still make your 7 a.m. section, if you play your cards right. Know your limits, and know when its time to call it a night. Moderation is the key to having fun in college, while still excelling in your studies. However you party, don’t over do it.

Secure health insurance of some kind. If you are faced with a health concern, you need to be in a position where you can do something about it. Whether it’s a simple prescription or a complicated surgery, you will have an easier time dealing with health issues if you have insurance. Most universities have health insurance plans specifically for students. If you are still insured through your parents, make sure that you are not paying extra for insurance that you don’t need. Review your tuition bill and try to get health payments refunded if you are already covered.

Keep your place clean. College dorm room and living spaces tend to get pretty messy. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart, but you should recognize that your cluttered living space will have a detrimental effect on your productivity and general outlook on life. By a Feng Shui book. Purchase a house plant. Do your dishes and don’t let your laundry mountain get out of hand. If you keep your environment clean, inviting and balanced, then you’ll feel a whole lot healthier as a result.

Don’t overlook your need to stay healthy. Eat and sleep right. Exercise every now and then. Don’t party too hard and don’t make your living space a health hazard. If you keep your body harmonized, you’ll be more able to develop mentally. Just maintain a healthy standard of balanced living, and you’ll increase your ability to perform scholastically.

Here are 10 ways that you can maximize your time when you are off from school:

1. Review what you have learned
Although your classes may all be completed for the quarter (or the semester), it’s not a bad idea to review what you’ve just learned over the course of many weeks. Reread your notes, papers, tests and skim through the books you’ve just read. Finalize the imprinting of fresh information in your mind so that you can retain what you’ve learned over the long term.

2. Read ahead
If you already know what courses you will be taking in the upcoming quarter, start reading ahead. If you are going to have some time to kill, might as well get a jump start on your upcoming classes. Contact your professors and collect copies of syllabi. Purchase your materials and begin reviewing them before your class begins.

3. Go back to your roots and reconnect with family and friends
Go home. Say hi to the family and reconnect with old friends. College isn’t about severing all of your previous ties. Keep up your network and pay the people you love a visit.

4. Stick around and explore the town
Forget about going home. Stick around and explore your college town. Find new places to buy groceries and new bars to frequent. Take a mini-road trip to some nearby destination that you’ve always wanted to see. Take your time off of school as an opportunity to experience your surroundings.

5. Travel
Drive cross-country or travel abroad. See the world, or a tiny piece of it. Take your new outlook on life and expose yourself to different peoples and places. Visit a destination or place of interest that you have just studied. Travel with a partner, in a group, or go venturing off on your own.

6. Get an internship
Find an internship in the field that you are studying. Supplement your classroom work with real life on-the-job training. This way when you graduate, you will already have solid academic and professional experience.

7. Lay the groundwork for future employment.
Explore your career interests. Market yourself and your abilities. Try to find an organization that you want to target for employment once you’ve graduated. Find out what the minimum professional and educational requirements are for the specific job that you are interested in. Take measures to fulfill those requirements before you graduate.

8. Explore the course catalog and schedule of classes
Get lost in the pages of your course catalog. Map out different schedule scenarios. Find out if that class you really want to take is offered in alternate academic years, and then plan your schedule accordingly. Pick a focus in your major and consider all the courses that you’d like to take. You’ll be surprised how quickly your time in school will fly by, so you need to construct a solid schedule.

9. Apply for scholarships
Find some more money. Buy a book or do Internet research. Apply for as many scholarships as you can. Each application may seem like a bit of a hassle, but the results could seriously alleviate any financial burdens you may have accrued.

10. Just relax and take a break
Don’t do a damn thing! You’ve spent months cramming, pulling off all-nighters, and wowing you professors with your polished intellectual abilities. You’ve earned a break, so enjoy it, and come back to school refreshed and ready for anything.

If you utilize your vacations properly, you will be a better student. Just remember not to stress out too much. Whether you are in school or not, you are in control of your life, so make the most of it.

Employers who require employees to have a college degree care that you have one from somewhere. Traditionally, there are about 20 colleges in the United States (the Ivies and a handful of other prominent schools) that make employers sit up and take notice about where your degree came from. If you did not attend one of these places, you are like most people, who find that the name of their school is less important to their employers than how they performed academically, and what they studied.

In fact, your online degree may set you apart in a positive way from the rest of the pack of applicants. Successfully obtaining your degree online tells prospective employers that you are a person who will get the job done even when no one is looking. Online degrees testify that their recipients are self-motivated individuals who are capable of managing multiple priorities. And whatever job you’re applying for, rest assured that those are two qualities all organizations prize.

Furthermore, online universities are becoming more and more popular. While your online degree can set you apart in the aforementioned ways, you should have no fear that it will stigmatize you. Each day, it becomes more and more likely that the person you sit down to interview with may have attended the same online school that you did!

Another benefit of the online university experience in the eyes of employers is that it is designed in large part for working professionals. The fact that you’ve made it through an online degree program tells your prospective employer that you have had intense exposure to the types of collegial interactions you will face in the working world. Online universities emphasize and develop the ability to work with others, to manage and meet deadlines, and to be responsible for learning on your own. When you consider all of the things a degree from an online university says about you, you should realize that you’re more of a proven commodity, a “safer” hire than recent graduates from brick and mortar universities.

The first step of learning how to determine what’s important while you’re in school is to think about where you want to go after school. Will you go on to further your education, going to a different school for higher learning? Will you join the work force? Will you pursue goals of having a home and family? Knowing where you want to go is very important when deciding where you want to end up. Know where you want the future to take you to know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school.

If you have an idea of where you want your future to lead, you can focus on how to determine what’s important while you’re in school. The school life you lead now will have a direct impact on the future life that you make for yourself. If higher education is in the picture, it’s important that you focus on getting good grades, passing your courses, and making good test scores at the end of the school year. Knowing this, set aside some time after school every school night to devote to homework and study. Don’t just work on assigned homework, but do a little extra studying every school night, reviewing things you’ve already learned. This will help you get good test scores, and help you maintain a high grade point average that will help you get into institutions of higher learning, like colleges and graduate courses.

If you know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school, you’ll get the most out of the time you spend in school. Getting good grades and good test scores is important if you plan to join the work force when you graduate, as well. When you lack experience but have a strong background education, you can use your school record to impress potential employers. You’ll have a better chance of getting hired if you can show employers good school attendance records and a high grade point average. Your school life can have a direct impact on you well after you have already graduated — so present the best possible picture to future employers who will be interested in your past scholarly achievements.

The most important thing to learn from school is that your past schooling and schoolwork will set a foundation for you that you can rely upon for the rest of your life. When you know how to determine what’s important while you’re in school, such as getting good grades and maintaining a good attendance record, you will have a better chance of succeeding in all your future endeavors. Forming study groups is a good way to socialize with other students while still staying ahead of your school work. Determine what’s important while you’re in school and stick to your plans for the future. There’s no telling where you might end up, or how high you could potentially go.

What Can You Do With It?

Anything. I mean it, you can do almost anything with your MBA. You may not be able to be a brain surgeon, but you can certainly tackle most upper level jobs and ask for promotions more easily than you can now. With advanced management skills and documentation to prove that you’ve been trained with advanced management skills, you can qualify for most upper level management and specialty jobs in the business world.

An MBA, or any kind of Master’s degree actually, can also open a different door – education. When you have a Master’s, you are qualified to teach most remedial and many general education classes. At some schools, you may even be able to be an adjunct professor in the business department. Even if you’ve never thought about teaching before, the pay is usually decent, and it’s a lot of fun to have a positive impact on a student’s life.

How Can You Get It For Free?

Another common question is “How can I get my MBA for free?” You’ve probably heard the great stories about other professionals getting their Master’s degree for free, and you want to know how to do the same. It all starts with your employer.

Many employers are willing to pay for your education if you promise to work with them for a certain amount of time. They want to reap the benefits of the education they are paying for, but they are usually willing to give you the raise you’ve earned once you get your degree.

Most employers will have an education policy in their handbook, and you can read over it to see if (1) it’s worthwhile and (2) you’re eligible. If your employer doesn’t have an education policy in writing, talk to your immediate supervisor about your interest, why it would be good for the company, and what you are planning. With the right sales pitch, you just might get your education for free.

Living Large

An MBA allows you to expand your options, and with all the competition in business, expanded options is certainly a good thing. If possible, get your education for free so that you will no longer have to worry about student loans. Once you get your degree, you will have thousands of options and you’ll be living large.

What do you want?
Are you looking for a degree, a career certificate or maybe you want to finish high school and then keep climbing the educational ladder! Gone are the days of humiliating social environments for the non-traditional student. Not every 50 year old wants to sit in night classes with 17 year old students working to achieve the same educational goal. Thankfully, the information age has rolled out the red carpet for an education via the Internet.

Get specific with your wants and needs while searching for your choice of the best online education. The more specific you are, the sooner you can get started and in turn, achieve your goals. You will have no problem finding several degree and career programs via some of the world’s most reputable, respected and accredited online universities. And if you have always dreamed of completing your studies with a specific university, don’t hesitate to call them and work a plan into development where you can receive your associates degree online and transfer your credits to their institution as you move toward your bachelor’s degree.

The Bottom Line
Looking for YOUR best online education is a journey that is full of one opportunity after another. It would be great if we could pinpoint one program at one particular school and say, “This is the best online education!” Again, it’s your education, and you need what is best for you, your family, your budget and those you hope to help through your pursuit of new knowledge!

Review the application entirely. This is the first step in avoiding the disqualification of your application. Read over it before filling or signing anything. Review the requirements to complete, submit the application along with whatever supplemental documentation might be required. This can include, but is not limited to, transcripts, and essays. Make sure that you have plenty of copies of these documents handy to send off with all of your scholarship applications.

Do not confine your eligibility to one scholarship application. Find many academic scholarships for which you might be eligible. Apply for all of them. You might not make the finalist list for one, but you will for others. Give yourself as many opportunities as possible to get that free money!

When you have an application, fill it out completely. Make sure you have read it through and provided complete and accurate information. There are countless applications that are disqualified because the applicant cannot be contacted with the given information. Make sure to be very observant of what you are typing or writing and maybe even ask a friend or family member to proofread the items for you.

Another common mistake when completing applications is to apply for scholarships for which you are not eligible. This wastes your time, the evaluating committee’s time and that certainly won’t get you a scholarship, especially if you do not have the proper required credentials.

Remember, you are trying to apply for an academic scholarship. The application is your chance to shine! Check for completeness, grammar, spelling, accuracy and that you have all the right supporting documentation. Do not include things that have not been required, such as a photo of yourself or a non-essential essay. Many academic scholarships are reviewed by committees of people who review applications. They won’t read anything that isn’t part of the application. The application phase shows that you are organized, punctual and capable of following directions. Show them what you’ve got and they will show you the money!

Weigh Your Options
What are your goals? If you are somewhat lost and in need of direction, get busy on any one of several education sites to see what is offered and what might interest you. Believe it or not, getting started in the online education process does not have to be painful!

Accreditation
Possibly one of the most obvious yet overlooked necessities in a potential online education. If you want your degree, diploma or job certificate to amount to what you paid for it, your institution of choice MUST be accredited. You might learn a lot from Leroy’s Online Business School, but if it isn’t an accredited institution there’s a good chance it will come back to bite you in a future business interview!

Choosing a school
There are several schools, colleges, etc. that would love to help you achieve your educational goals for a reasonable fee; however, you need to be specific in searching for what you desire! Do you want a degree in art, business, philosophy or some other field? The more specific you get with your goals, the faster you’ll find the most appropriate fit!

Financial Aid
Do NOT fall into the mind trap that many students do in regards to financial aid! If you don’t have the cash on hand to pay for all of your credits, classes or degree program, it doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan! Look deeply into the world of scholarships! There are many available through government and private organizations, as well as grants and low interest loans that can be paid off at very reasonable rates!

Research
If your education is worthwhile, then it’s worthwhile to be patient in getting started. You may be chomping at the bit, but you need to find as close to a perfect fit as possible! Take time to read about your options and possibilities and subscribe to a quality over quantity philosophy! Contact universities and be sure you are as important to them as you want to be!

Focus
Don’t become easily distracted as your education process begins. Properly dealing with distractions and prioritizing will help create an excellent sense of self discipline that you can use in your research and studies. It is imperative to establish these good habits at the beginning, so your future online educational endeavors are smooth sailing!

Studying Physician and Medical Assisting

To earn a degree and work in physician and medical assisting, two years of schooling is generally required plus hands-on experience in a health care environment. Accredited programs are generally associated with medical schools. Most physician and medical assisting students have a bachelor’s degree and some programs require it. Prerequisites such as math, biology, psychology, English and chemistry should be taken before applying to any physician and medical assisting program. A typical physician and medical assisting program consists of courses in pharmacology, medical ethics, human anatomy, geriatrics and disease prevention. There is also a clinical element in which the student works under supervision in areas such as emergency medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology.

Working in Physician and Medical Assisting

It is not possible to work as a physician assistant or medical assistant unless you pass the Physician Assistants National Certifying Examination and graduate from an accredited program. Just as doctors can specialize in a preferred area of medicine, so can physician and medical assistants. Some specialty areas include internal medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine and surgery. Physician and medical assistants often work in hospitals, offices, medical facilities and public clinics.

Online Continuing Education in Physician and Medical Assisting

While there aren’t accredited programs online for physician and medical assistants, there are online programs for degree completion and continuing education once certification has been achieved. Many working in physician and medical assisting will complete master’s degrees online and further specialize in such areas as public health or administration. Many universities offer online and distance learning programs for these purposes.