Keep It Real: Guide To Surviving Online College

It doesn’t matter if you study at Oxford or Post University Online, students are overworked, given responsibility after responsibility and in most cases have to actually work as well. If this sounds like your hectic life, here are a few easy tips to keep it real and enjoy your life.

Set Aside Quiet Time

Quiet time is actually exactly what you need as a student. While it might be tempting to go spend that free ten minutes online, try spending it staring at walls, doing yoga or just contemplating for a bit. This will leave you feeling a great deal more relaxed and more ready to tackle your never ending workload!

Use Your Free Time Wisely

You have free time, this is inevitable. Spend it doing things you want to do and forget working through that old tome your grandmother said you should read before you die. There’s plenty of time for that after college. Spend your time outside, having fun, have a party, do anything but study or work and in most cases you should avoid reading and being on the computer as well, why? Spending too much of your free time on these activities will mean that you only spend time on the computer or reading which can be quite depressing!

Avoid Routine

Routine will make your life boring. If you wake up and do the same things every day you can quickly feel bored or even trapped by the unending sameness of your life. Do things differently each day, do them in different orders (unless you find something more convenient) and try to throw in something new every day (even if it is learning something new). This will keep your college life fresh and exciting!

Make Study Time

As important as it is to have play time, make sure you have enough room for study time to. Scheduling your study time between certain hours or etc. (such as you must read this many pages before lunch) is a great way to motivate yourself and to help you get your work done as quickly and efficiently as possible!

Reward Yourself

Reward yourself for a job well done! At the end of the day when all of your work and study is done, do whatever you want. Whether it’s kicking back to watch a movie, play a video game or dressing to the nines and painting the town, do it. Have a blast and remember not to make it too late because your day starts again tomorrow. 

Making the Most of Your Holiday Break!

Making the Most of Your Holiday Break

Guess what, even as a student at an online school or college, you get a holiday break! You might be living at home already or living in a dorm but you will have at least one week to yourself to celebrate the holidays in whatever way you might choose.

However; in most cases you will also have a few assignments to complete over the break but, who cares! The rest of the time is mostly yours to spend with your family or friends. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your holiday break!

Get Your Assignments Done

You have assignments to do before you go back to school, try to remember this when you go on break and get them done as soon as possible. After all, not having to worry about finishing assignments means you can relax more and not having assignments to do means more ‘you’ time. Try finishing your assignments before you pack, this will leave you less stressed and much more equipped to make the most of your holiday break!

Finish Your To-D-List

Make up a to-do-list of everything that you would like to do or have to do on your holiday break. Do the items on the list as quickly as possible. This will not only get things done but will give you a satisfactory feeling of accomplishment which will help you to enjoy your holiday break that much more. Believe it or not, there is nothing quite as relaxing as knowing you have finished things you need to do!

Enjoy Family Time

Whether your idea of spending time with your family is going to visit them or you just want to call your mamma, you should remember to spend quality time with your family. Spending time with your family over the holidays can actually be relaxing and help you to prepare for the upcoming year of study!

Do Things You Like

Because you have worked so hard on finishing your assignments and knocking things off of your to do list or been henpecked by your great grandma because you didn’t peel potatoes the way she used to; you should spend some time doing the things you like to do. It doesn’t matter what it is, set aside some you time during the holidays and make the most of your break!

Relax

No matter what else you do on your holiday break, remember to relax. This is important because it will give you a sense of vacation (even if you stay at home or in your dorm) and will leave you rejuvenated for continuing school in another week or so!

Remember to enjoy your holiday break! Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

5 Best Online Schools

Distance learning allows you to study where and when you like and in many cases at your own pace as well. This is not only convenient for students but allows them to schedule their schooling around work, family or etc. Distance learning is the #1 choice of Moms going back to school and students who wish to work while they study. If you plan on enrolling in an online college or school than you should be interested in learning about the best online schools, after all, no matter what you study, you want to know that your education is the best available for the money.  This top-five list of the best online schools has been chosen via user reviews, quality of education and percentage of graduates.

Kaplan University

One of the best online schools on this list is Kaplan University. Kaplan makes the list of best online schools because it is respected in the working and study community, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and is a member of the North Central Association of Colleges & Schools. Kaplan is divided into 10 colleges of learning and has received awards for several programs including their nursing program.

Post University

While Post University is somewhat small it is still one of the best schools online.  Post University offers more than 40 online programs in associate, bachelor and master levels and has been distinguished for their equine management, legal studies, accounting, business administration and human services courses which are described as above average. Post University is regionally accredited by the Department of Higher Education and nationally accredited by the New England Association of Colleges and Schools.

AIU Online

AIU Online or the American Intercontinental University is one of the largest schools on this list of the best online schools. AIU is accredited by The Higher Learning Commission and the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The American Intercontinental University grants Associate, Bachelor and Master degrees in the schools of business, criminal justice, design, education and information technology.  AUI online also features rolling admissions which means that students may apply for online study at any time of the year and begin immediately after being accepted!

Florida Institute of Technology

Florida Institute of Technology or Florida Tech online is one of the most respected schools of technology which is why it made the list of best schools online. The institute is home to around 9,000 students, about 6,000 or which study online. The school has been distinguished as a top tier American University by the U.S. News & World Report and scored as #18 in the Fiske Guide to technological colleges.

Liberty University

Liberty University is one of the only online Christian schools and is one of the best schools online because of its high quality course material, teaching programs and student satisfaction. Liberty University Online does not require that students be Christian in order to attend, however they do request that certain morals are followed. The school enrolls around 60,000 online students and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges & Schools and the Transnational Association of Colleges & Schools. 

5 Tips For Making The Best of Online Research

5 Tips for Making the Best of Online Research

As a student studying online courses, online research is probably the most convenient method of study. If you aren't sure how to do it or what the best ways to study online are than you've come to the right place. First, any student can study online, even if you attend a traditional college rather than study online. Second, online research is only limited by what your college does and does not approve as research material. 

1.       Make the Best of Search Engines

Your search engine is probably your most effective tool for finding great research and reference material. For example, putting a search into Google can literally come up with books that are available online for reference or an article written by a doctor on the subject. You never know what you will find until you look so get looking!

2.       Check With Your Advisor/Teacher

Possibly the most important part of conducting research online is to ask your teacher or advisor which sites, reference spots or authors cannot be used as reference material. Knowing what you cannot use will allow you to make better judgment when it comes to using whatever material you do find.

3.       Use Websites Labeled For Student Use

Believe it or not there are lots of websites created just for students to use as reference material. Most of them have university approval or are even sponsored by a university or school. An easy way to find something sponsored by your school or one of its affiliates is to type in your school name + online library. This will come up with anything they have created for their students to use as reference material online.

4.       No Wikipedia

As tempting as it might be to use Wikipedia as a source (after all the material is all laid out in easy to understand format) it’s usually not a good idea. Wikipedia and other user created content sites are generally not suitable for use as reference material because they are not guaranteed to be truthful or up to the quality required for university reference material. In general, avoid any user created article or information sites including Wikipedia, Ezine and etc.

5.       Use Online Libraries

There are many online libraries that are not only available for free but contain university approved material. A few of these include the Guttenburg Project, Artcyclopedia, and many more. Most of these online libraries will allow you to download content to your pc, to your e-book reader or even to your smartphone! 

Questia Review: The Worlds Largest Online Library

Questia is without a doubt the world’s largest online library. With 76,000 books, 7,500 topics and 2,000,000 plus articles, magazines and newspapers they are one of the only online libraries that does not offer their content for free. But is it worth the money to pay for? Let’s review:

Questia Was Designed For Students

Questia was designed for students by former university members as a full research and reference resource. Questia was designed to cater to students no matter where they study, at one of the best online schools or Yale, Questia is available at anytime and anywhere which is perfect, especially for online students without access to a campus library.

Questia’s Material Is University Approved

Probably the best feature about Questia is that most or all of their material is University approved! This means that anything you might find on Questia’s website can be used as a reference or as research material for your article or assignment.

Questia Provides Easy Search Options

Questia’s entire website is carefully organized to be search friendly, easy to find and organized by category, date, author and more. The library provides access to the Benzene search system as well as chapter page preview and research suggestion tools such as alternate article or book suggestion.

Categories at Questia Online Library

Questia’s library is divided into subjects according to student study groups and students may access and browse each of the following groups.

• ·         Art and Architecture    
• ·         Communication
• ·         Economics and Business
• ·         Education
• ·         History
• ·         Law
• ·         Literature
• ·         Music and Performing Arts
• ·         Philosophy
• ·         Politics and Government
• ·         Psychology
• ·         Religion
• ·         Science and Technology
• ·         Sociology and Anthropology

The Bottom Line

At only $99 per year, Questia can save you a lot of money on purchasing books. Unlike with free libraries, Questia provides copyrighted books that are commonly used by schools which will make your research more relevant. In many cases, your scholarship, grant or student loan may be willing to help pay for Questia, however, in some cases they might not. Before you buy, do the math, how many books will you have to buy this year? And how many of them will be on Questia and accessible for only $99 per year?