Getting the most for your money

I can almost guarantee that if asked, any parent with college going children would like the opportunity to save money in any way he or she can. I mean, why wouldn’t they? A good education doesn’t come cheap. However, as a student, there is actually more you can do than you think.

Believe it or not, the government is dying to give away money. Okay you have no reason to believe that, but in reality, there are so many scholarships and grants out there for students; the student simply has to do the research! There is a scholarship out there for everything from excelling academically, to being a loyal customer at Best Buy. The amounts individually may not seem like they’d even make a dent in the large tuition bill, but these small scholarships are what add up and make the huge difference. Fill out all the applications, even if you have the smallest chance of winning. Do research, talk to adults, and find out everything you can by using the Internet. Scholarships and grants do nothing but benefit because unlike loans, you don’t have to worry about paying them back, or being in debt with interest.

Furthermore, get it out of your head how horrendous and miserable AP classes are in high school. In reality, they are one of the best things you get out of high school! By doing well on the test at the end of the year, you save you or your parents thousands of dollars! For each class! I’m not making this up, folks. All that studying in high school really pays off once you get to college. Not only are the same classes 10 times harder in college (and the professors are 10 times more boring), but they also cost astronomically more. So do the work early, get that 5, and do you and your parents a favor.

If qualified, there are also tremendous amounts of need-based grants available for those who have the grades to go to the top 10 universities, but not the money. Don’t let the lack of money stop you from achieving your goals and moving forward towards the career of your dreams. Because honestly, being successful really is everything you hear and more.

Picking the right major: Passion vs Conformity

You know you are an adult when you find yourself seriously considering what you are going to do with the rest of your life, and being a princess or a magician does not seem to cut it anymore.

People often say that one can live the happiest life possible when one is able to turn his/her passion into a career. This used to have about the same likelihood as winning the lottery. Luckily for you, it is much easier to create a career out of a passion in today’s society. Before anything else, however, it is important to discover what you are passionate about. This may have something to do with wanting to revive NSYNC again or being the most amazing fudge brownie maker, but finding a passion that is serious and something you are willing to devote yourself to is no easy task. However, we can take these two desires that may seem futile and turn them into a career in music direction or a career in the culinary arts. That does not sound like a shabby job, now does it?

It is a common misunderstanding that the major you choose when applying to colleges is going to define your next four years and set the guidelines for a future job. This may be true for those few lucky and decisive students, but more often than not, students change their majors several times and often only use their major as a starting point to branch off into other fields of study. Choosing a major is not always easy, but this is where passion once again plays a role. The biggest mistake a prospective college student can make (after forgetting to turn in the application on time of course) is choosing a major simply because it is popular or because it’s what their friends are doing. It is important to understand that the classes you take will revolve around your major, so choose wisely. A good idea is to branch off an important hobby, or a favorite school subject. For example, a high school football star may choose to major in a field such as Sports Medicine, and the science fair queen may want to choose Biology.

Another common misconception is that the Pre Professional students must major in something that directly has to do with their career choice. This may seem like the logical thing to do, and we are all about the logical choice here at Victory Step - SAT/ACT Test Prep. However, professional schools like to see variety so don’t think that a Pre Medicine student has to major in Biology or Chemistry. In fact, I just met a student attending Medical School at Stanford who majored in History and Literature. Here’s a bigger shocker: the founder and CEO of Victory Step - SAT/ACT Test Prep actually majored in electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. However, he later discovered that his biggest passion in life was to teach and work with students and he is now leading a career in education. How is that for variety?

So as the holidays come to a close, I would like to ask you: Got Passion?