The 5 Best Apps to Learn Spanish on iPhones and iPads

The 5 Best Apps to Learn Spanish on iPhones and iPads Suzy S. The best app to learn Spanish is often a debated topic, but in this article well share a few of the most popular choices and why thousands of language learners use them. If you want to learn Spanish, you must commit to practicing it continuously over a long period of time. This strengthens your “language muscle” so that speaking Spanish becomes a habit that requires little effort. Fortunately, mobile app technology is on your side. Smartphone and tablet apps making practicing a language convenient and affordable. Spanish apps are a great way to supplement Spanish classes or private lessons. So whats the best app to learn Spanish on? While there are more than 100 apps that claim to teach to Spanish quickly, here are the top five. Whats the Best App to Learn Spanish? Here are 5 Options 1. TakeLessons TakeLessons Live offers live classes led by expert instructors in a group setting. After signing up for the free membership option, you have access to a variety of classes to choose from. Whether you want to improve your basic vocabulary or conversational skills, you can join a class right from your phone. With instant feedback and guidance from an expert, you’ll start to see significant progress in your skills in no time. You’ll also get to meet and interact with other students at your level, from around the world. 2. SpanishDict SpanishDict has great multiple-choice games to make learning fun, although it’s most useful once you already have a solid foundation of Spanish skills and can carry on a basic conversation. Its dictionary tends to be more accurate than “Google-Translate. This app contains the most comprehensive dictionary we have yet to find and it incorporates common phrases where the searched words can be properly used. It’s also frequently checked and added to by native Spanish speakers from all over the 24 Spanish-speaking countries. 3. MindSnacks Learn Spanish by MindSnacks is a fun application, most appropriate for younger learners.  One of the games users particularly like is one that   pronounces a word aloud so you can correctly identify it on the screen, while a clock is ticking away. The app also keeps score with fun badges and other cartoon-like images. Full access to the first 50 lessons is $5. The images are most appropriate for younger children but can be fun for any age! 4. Rosetta Stone Rosetta Stone is arguably the most well-known language-learning tool, and also the most intensive. One distinguishing factor is that it attempts to immerse its users in Spanish immediately without explaining and translating everything in English, as if you were learning Spanish as a child, instead of as an adult. While this can be frustrating for those who want their activities explicitly translated so they understand every word and phrase, it can actually accelerate learning. This option is best for those who are especially motivated, have a special knack for language-learning, and don’t get flustered easily. 5. Memrise Memrise is possibly the most creative app, designed to teach you specific words through modules such as “Basic Argentine Spanish,” “Intermediate Spanish,” and “100 most commonly spoken Spanish words.” Each contains several lessons reviewing 10-20 words. It’s creative because instead of learning through mechanical repetition, it incorporates clever plays on words to boost learning and make it fun. For example, “bañarse” is a reflexive Spanish verb that means “to shower or bathe oneself,” and is remembered by “However shy you are of nakedness as you shower, you’ll never be able to ban your ‘arse’ from the bath!” Once your brain makes this “click” it’s unlikely that you will forget this word! Bonus App to Learn Spanish Mosalingua  takes a unique approach to learning a new language by using the spaced repetition method, meaning it reviews what youve learned before youre likely to forget it. It also uses dialogues and helps test your comprehension with different accents. You get rewarded for your success with bonus materials. Mosalingua is fun and easy to use! Enjoy your Spanish learning journey and don’t forget it’s supposed to be fun! The best app to learn Spanish is the one that works best with your unique learning style. If you need some extra help along the way, don’t hesitate to reach out to a Spanish tutor for guidance. These Spanish apps are best used to help you practice in between language-learning sessions with a private tutor! Browse Spanish tutors near you today to really accelerate the path to fluency. Jason N. tutors in English and Spanish in Fairfax, CA.  He majored in Spanish at UC Davis, lived in Mexico for 3 years where he completed a Masters degree in Counseling, and studied Spanish Literature and Psychology at the University of Costa Rica. Learn more about Jason here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by  Tom Raftery

Get to know some tips that will help in learning science better

Get to know some tips that will help in learning science better  Get to know some tips that will help in learning science better The concept of learning was started long back. Every child needs to go through this learning process and thus then only they can lead a better life. The future of a child is then secured when the child knows how to shape up their future. It is a very tough work but parents’ should also help their child to gain focus in their lives. Today there are many counseling courses as well that helps the students and their parents. The new way of knowing things and applying them makes the future of an aspirant brighter. But only counseling will not help, you also need good guidance that will help in making the entire process of your learning fun and comfortable. Guidance can be available only when you have a good teacher beside you. A good teacher can easily help you to know the subject or any topic in a far better way than expected. The god teachers are available only when you search for them. In school the availability of good teachers are not found as every teacher is very much concerned with their own subject and as they have to teach so many students together so it becomes a problem for them. Science is a subject that needs good teacher for the subject to be easier among the students. The weak students are not able to cope up well with the subject as they do not have any specific formula through which the subject will look easier for them. Science is divided into three main subjects and they are chemistry, physics and biology. Each subject is entirely different from the other and only an expert professional can attempt to teach the subject with ease and perfection. Have you heard about online tutoring? If you have not heard about it then here is a chance when you can hear it and also know it in a better manner. It is one of the best and the most new way through which you can learn. Advent of technology has helped in making ever work of ours turn into an easier one. Internet is the way through which every work can be possible. Here also internet has worked as wonders. Internet helps in making any kind of work come closer to you within no limit. Online tutoring is also such a way through which you can learn from the best tutors in the easiest manner. The entire process of learning is easy and accessible by every student as internet now a days can be used very frequently by every single student. Online tutors help in making the process of learning to get completed under some of the best teachers available. Now it is time that you get to know about the features of this type of learning process so that you can gain lot of knowledge and information. If you feel to enroll yourself in any of the online learning institute then these list of features will help you out. Some features that will help you to know about online tutoring more The teachers who are appointed in the institute are very much knowledgeable and have a good grip over the subject. When you have a good grip over the subject then you can pass it to your students as well. The learning process becomes easier and also faster. The reputed institutes make it a point to appoint the teachers in such a manner that they can deliver their best to their students. The expert professionals make it a point to know the subject well and also to help their students with the best possible way. A good teacher makes it a point to first analyze the student in such a manner so that they get to know about the students in details. When they have known it then they can easily conduct the process of teaching in way that will help the student to learn better. The online tutoring facility does not have any limitation over time. This is another best quality that online learning system provides you. The time limitation is not found and so every student can easily avail the classes whenever they want. This type of online facility helps in making the work pressure to get decreased.   Here you do not have to think about going somewhere and coming back. Your time also gets saved. The transportation cost and the energy that is needed to move about to any place also gets restored and can be used in your learning process. There is a facility of one on one service. This is a service in which every individual student is given special timing to attend the class. Every single student is attended by every single teacher and this increases their process to learn. When a student will be attended by one single teacher then that student can easily cope up with the subject and can make the entire process of learning easy and also fast as no disturbance will arrive in between the teacher and the student. There are many other features and the list continues to grow. But each feature is not that important and so some features can easily come up to you and with these features you can easily help yourself to learn a subject like science homework help in a very easy and accessible manner. So, for now you only have one query in mind and that is which institute to go for. This is one of the main queries that comes up in every single person’s mind and so to help you out I can easily suggest you with a name and that is Tutor Pace. It is a very renowned institute and has some of the best features that can attract a student towards it. The other best part of online tutoring in Tutor Pace is that the charges are very minimum and so it can be easily afforded by any family with less difficulty.  

How to Find Students for English Tutoring Jobs

How to Find Students for English Tutoring Jobs Becoming a Tutor: How to Attract More Students as an English Tutor ChaptersFinding Students to Teach over Summer HolidaysJoin a Tutoring CenterProvide Mentoring to Students taking Standardized testsFinding Students OnlineSome Tips for Online tutoringOnce you finally qualify as an English tutor, your next step is to find students. There are a couple of ways to find students but the first and the most obvious one is to provide your tutoring services in a school or any other institute.The perks of joining a school or teaching at any college are that you don't have to try in order to find students yourself. The school does that for you. You are assigned a classroom and all you have to do is plan your lectures and deliver it to the students.The question of finding students to teach English arrives when you are no longer teaching in an institute and you decide to find a tutoring job and teach on your own i.e Private tutoring. Now there are two ways to find students. These are as follows:Online Students (the students you teach over internet)Offline Student s (the students who need you to be physically present with them)We will jump into the strategies to find students online later on. Let us discuss some practical methods which you can use to find students outside school.display their score on your profile as a proof of your tutoring skills and English Language Skills.Highlight your teaching specialty. It is important and will help you attract the right students.Provide a brief yet inspiring introduction of yourself and put up a nice, formal profile pictureSet your initial rates low because it is hard to find clients online when you are just starting out. Once you start getting clients, you can increase your rates depending on the number of hours you have worked.Reach out to your potential clients via proposals and bids. Provide them your sample work (it could be the course material you designed) or the feedback from your previous students. Give them a reason to choose you over other online tutors. Introduce yourself actively and prov ide them with details of your teacher certifications and academic background.And if your proposal or bid gets accepted, negotiate the timing and the hourly pay with your client (they could be the guardian of the students or the students themselves).In order to attract more students, promote your profile on social media.The online method mentioned above, is for those who want to do freelance tutoring. You can be a full-time freelance tutor or you can opt for other ways such as becoming a tutor at superprof with a large reputable community of students and tutors. ?Learn to to manage teaching students with dyslexia here.Some Tips for Online tutoringOne of the most innovative ways to earn is to set-up a system of passive income for yourself. Passive income is the income which you receive without having much work to do.You have to put some work at the start but when it is out there, you continue receiving money for it without having to work on it again.The number one example for it is cr eating English course material (in form of lecture videos usually) and uploading it on YouTube or websites like Udemy.Create a repute online by working from home. ( Image Source: Unsplash)You only have to put in work once, then you can sit back, advertise your course materials and attract students who are willing to watch your YouTube videos or buy your course material.This is one of the best ways to not only earn online but also to create a nice reputation in the online marketplace.Once you know you have a nice following of students/clients on either freelancing platform or on YouTube etc. you can set out to create your personal website and a personal blog to brag about the large number of online students you have.You can use your personal website as a third-party system to attract more students on your teaching profiles across the internet.Finding students to teach English does not end here. You can consider moving abroad too! There are many countries out there, which are looking for foreign English tutors to teach in their schools. Such countries also pay a hefty salary to foreign tutors and you will surely enjoy your life as an English tutor!

Is Brazil more than Football and Samba

Is Brazil more than Football and Samba Often times when Im traveling, people are surprised that Im from the United States. They have an idea, based on what theyve seen in movies and on television of what people from our country are supposed look like, act like, what we eat, and what we do. I always tell people that the United States is more like a collection of countries that speak the same language, with many different cultures.Ive been told that Brazil is similar in this respect its much more complicated than football, samba and Copa Cabana. The video we used for this listening exercise is about the diversity and complexity of Brazil. We hope youll learn something about both Brazil and English with it.This video has a rich academic language and even included a word I wasnt familiar with, putsch, another word for a coup. Enjoy!iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/z-yzTSrjkxc frameborder=0 allowfullscreen/iframe1. I think creating _______ and ______ is part of the human condition.2. How many slaves wer e brought to the United States? How many more slaves were taken to Brazil?3. Why was Brazil united when the Spanish empire was breaking up?4. How does language unite Brazil?5. You cant have a dictatorship in Brazil based on _____.6. Why did people need cheering up?7. Summarize his meaning of jeijoada.8. Brazilians will ______ for their democracy.Tell me a few things about your country that you feel the rest of the world misconceive or have prejudices about.nbsp;

How is the dollar valued and manipulated

How is the dollar valued and manipulated Business English Listening ExerciseHas the price of the dollar made you wonder how prices for currencies are decided? It definitely made us curious, as weve watched our classes become more expensive for our students.Watch the video below to learn more about how currency is traded, and sometimes manipulated. Click here if youd like to save some dollars on English classes this month with our February sale.Business English Listening ExericseAnswer the questions below in comments, and well respond.1. I could ______ them _______ into dollars at the going rate.2. What does going rate mean?3. Where the big guys go to trade is the site of some __________ shady dealings.4. How is the above word used in this sentence? Can you make a sentence using it in this form?5. How many currencies are there and how much changes hands?6. How is the foreign exchange market like New York?7. At what time and for how long does trading stop on the F-EX market?8. What have the traders in London been doing? What is the slang term for this?9. Who loses when this happens? Anyone who thinks they got a ______ _____.10. What does the above term mean?What do think the punishment for the banks and traders should be? How is your countrys currency?Click here for our business English idioms.

Top Secret 10 Surprising Facts About the U.S. Militarys DLIFLC GLOSS

Top Secret 10 Surprising Facts About the U.S. Militarys DLIFLC GLOSS 10 Facts  You Didnt  Know About the  DLIFLC  and GLOSS Quick! Take 5  from your books, podcasts  and flashcards.You’re in for a treat today.Because today, we’re gonna be talking about a language learning site that is truly in a class of its own.Unlike so many language learning brands that populate the internet, this one’s not backed by angel investors or venture capitalists. It’s backed by Uncle Sam himself.It’s no freemium site with fancy graphics, but if you truly wanna go deep, and I mean really deep in learning your target language, you cant  afford to skip the site we’re gonna talk about here: the DLIFLC GLOSS.DLIFLC GLOSS huh?Well, the acronym stands for Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLIFLC), Global Language Online Support System (GLOSS). Now that’s a mouthful!The DLIFLC  is the institution and  GLOSS  is one of its many programs.The DLIFLC is the language school where the U.S. military trains the interpreters that it sends all over the world (cue patriotic music and the entrance of colors).Okay, so now that weve got our letters straight, let’s dig a little deeper and learn what those acronyms are really all about.We’ll start first with some backgrounders on the DLIFLC itself, and then later in the list, we’ll zero-in on DLIFLC programs like GLOSS. 10 Facts  You Didnt  Know About the  DLIFLC  and GLOSS1. It’s DoD territory.The DLIFLC is under the Department of Defense.It is regarded as one of the finest foreign language learning institutions in America. Located in Monterey, California, this premier language provider considers its mission deadly serious.Exactly how serious?Seven  hours a day serious. That’s the length of time students spend in classes, supplemented by 2-3 hours of nightly homework. This continues  for 5 days a week in a 26 to 64-week basic course.Why the intensive course?Well, because this is where America trains the people who talk to the world. The center churns out military linguists who serve on federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Inv estigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the U.S. Border Patrolâ€"which means you can’t get in the program unless you’re a member of the Armed Forces or are sponsored by a government agency.So think: James Bond meets FluentU.(And by the way, if thats the  first youre hearing of  FluentU, heres what the excitements all about:  FluentU is an online immersion platform that takes  real-world videosâ€"like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talksâ€"and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.FluentU is designed to get you comfortable  with everyday  language, by combining all the benefits of complete  immersion and native-level conversations with easy-to-read subtitles.)2. The first language it taught was Japanese. (Know why?)The DLIFLC started in 1941, on the eve of America’s entry into World War II. It began as a secret language  school with 60 carefully selected U.S. soldiersâ€"mostly of Japanese ancestry. Why? Because it was a reflection of the realities on the ground. Japan was on a war footing in Asia, and America needed soldiers who understood enemy intelligence.The programs in the center often reflect world affairs. During the Cold War, many programs were geared towards the Slavic languages. Today, in the post 9/11 world, Arabic, Dari and Pashto (Afghanistan) are getting a lot of focus.3. They have their own immersion facility.When you want to immerse yourself in your target language, one of the things you can do is spend a few months abroad and soak in all the learning experiences at your country of choice. Or, if budget and time are not permissive, you get creative and engage in online language immersion  through websites like FluentU.  Others watch foreign TV shows, read foreign books or chat up native speakers through Skype.But do you know how Uncle Sam does immersion?Well he builds a whole simulationâ€"furnishing a whole facility with kitchen and sleeping quarters where students can live for 1- 3 days.So for example, if you’re learning German, the DLIFLC immersion program will isolate you in a world that only understands German. Not a word of English will be spoken while you are in the immersion facility. So you may be on U.S. soil, but it will really feel like you’re in Germany. And you’ll be put in real-world situations like bargaining for food and clothing at a market place.How cool is that? You don’t have to get creative with your imagination. The simulation is so real, it’s like you’re there.4.  The GLOSS is unparalleled anywhere else.So at this point, you may be thinking, “What does all this have to do with me? I’m not a member of the Armed Forces, so I’ll never be in that program anyway.”Well, you stand to benefit more than you think.The DLIFLC has an online component which can be freely accessed  by you and me.This is where the “GLOSS” of “DLIFLC GLOSS” comes in. The Global Language Online Support System was especially designed for indep endent online learning.Since  not everyone can go on campus and attend the classes, DLIFLC has developed online lessons for its students.And like I said, that material is  open to anyone. Which means we can participate in the intensive learning program intended for the select language learners of the armed forces of the United States.If that doesn’t make you rejoice, I don’t know what will.5.  There are 7,000 lessons in GLOSS.There are lessons for 40 different languages, including lesser-known tongues like Balochi, Pashto, Hausa and Dari. The lessons are divided into two modalities (Reading and Listening) and seven learner levels.Each lesson contains 4-6 tasks. So for example, in a listening lesson, one of the tasks would be to match an image with its correct audio. Another task might be to type in an answer to an audio  question.GLOSS lessons cover a rich variety of topics that include: culture, economics, environment, geography, military, politics, science, security, society a nd technology.6.  The lessons are interactive (and come with certificates too).GLOSS’s lessons are interactive. Meaning, you’re very much involved in your learning process and you’ll probably be busy doing something at any point in time.So let me tell you beforehand, the lessons are not for the faint of heart. The tasks in GLOSS might just be some of the most challenging ones you can have online. The “beginner” modules here are considered “advanced” in other websites. (You’ve been warned.)Other sites mark the learners’ progress through a “points” system. More points means the further you are in the lessons. The lessons in GLOSS come with “certificates,” which are given to you after every lesson. Certificates  are proof of the hard work you put into learning your target language. You can print them out and collect as many as you can. It will be a nice pat on the back.7.  The audio recordings and conversation examples will set your ears ablaze.DLIFLC is one o f the few language learning sites that gives a fitting nod to the importance of listening in  language acquisition. A testament to this are the GLOSS’s listening lessons themselves.As mentioned previously, GLOSS lessons can either be about listening comprehension or reading comprehension. (DLIFLC focuses on these two because they are the most important skills on the field.)GLOSS is one of the most comprehensive resources of language audio recordings online. Where can you find, for example, 140 audio recordings of Albanian conversations, 69 for Uzbek and 111 for Hindi?In addition, DLIFLC has an accent library for Arabic and Spanish languages. I ask you again, where can you find the same text read in 11 different Spanish accents (eg. Argentinean, Chilean, Columbian, Honduran, Mexican, Peruvian, Venezuelan) or 10 different Arabic accents (eg. Egyptian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Saudi, Tunisian, Sudanese)? Only at GLOSS.8.  Their Online Diagnostic Assessment can take around 1-2 hours.Think GL OSS lessons aren’t challenging enough? Or do you simply want to know what areas need more  work for you?DLIFLC developed the Online Diagnostic Assessment for that very purpose. It will identify your strengths and give you feedback on sticking points.Create an account and you can take the assessment. There will be two kinds of tests. One is for reading comprehension,  and another for  listening ability.  You will read/listen to sets of passages followed by 4-6 questions. The questions will not only test your comprehension of the passages/recordings, they will also test you on vocabulary, sentence structure and text structure.Sometimes you will be asked to give your answer in a multiple-choice format, but most of the time you will be asked to type in your answer.The tests take 1-2 hours per skill and are available for 13 major languages. So if you’re itching to know where you stand on the issue of comprehension, I challenge you to take the assessment.9.  GLOSS actually teaches bot h language and culture.If you take a look at DLIFLC’s other programs, you’ll quickly notice that the center is as serious in teaching culture as it is in teaching language. One can quickly sense this in programs like “Cultural Orientations,”  â€œFamiliarization Modules,”  â€œCountries in Perspective”  and “Cultural Awareness Assessment.”GLOSS, in its listening and reading lessons, espouses the philosophy that you can never divorce a language from its culture. You can never distill language from the people who speak itâ€"their history, experiences and aspiration as a group.You don’t sense this from the other language learning sites. This is one of the biggest advantages of learning in DLIFLC. You don’t get cultural lessons as interesting asides, instead you get heavy doses of it. Because of this, you acquire not only a new set of vocabulary or grammar rules, but an enduring appreciation for the culture that produced the language that captured your imagination.10.  GLOSS champions the concept of “language maintenance.”DLIFLC believes in the importance of maintaining competency in a language. Just because you have already acquired French, for example, doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road for you. Nope, you need to continually review, practice  and pile on to your skills. Otherwise you’d slowly backslide and lose those language gains.You need to go back in order to move forward. That’s why for 4 hours a week, DLIFLC allows its analysts and linguists to go into independent study.In line with that belief, the DLIFLC created GLOSS not only as a teaching tool for first time learners, but as a refresher course. It was made available online so that former students, assigned and dispersed in the far reaches of earth, won’t have return to campus to get the highly needed language refresher and reviews.DLIFLC GLOSS is quite unique in that it emphasizes the importance of “language maintenance,” regardless of skill level.So, you now know 10 things about the DLIFLC and GLOSS. I’m sure you can’t wait to give those listening and reading lessons a shot. Enjoy! And One More ThingIf youre digging this resource, youll love using FluentU. FluentU makes it possible to learn languages  from music videos, commercials, news and inspiring talks.With FluentU, you learn real languagesâ€"the same way that natives  speak them. FluentU has a wide variety of videos like movie trailers, funny commercials and web series, as you can see here:FluentU App Browse Screen.FluentU has interactive captions that let you tap on any word to see an image, definition, audio and useful examples. Now native language content is within reach with interactive transcripts.Didnt catch something? Go back and listen again. Missed a word? Hover your mouse over the subtitles to instantly view definitions.Interactive transcript for Carlos Baute song.You can learn all the vocabulary in any video with FluentUs learn mode. Swipe left or right to see  more e xamples for the word you’re learning.FluentU Has Quizzes for Every VideoAnd FluentU always keeps track of vocabulary that you’re learning. It uses that vocab to give you a 100% personalized experience by recommending videos and examples.Start using FluentU on the website  with your computer or tablet  or, better yet,  download the FluentU app from  the  iTunes  or  Google Play  store.

Getting Through College On A Low Income

Getting Through College On A Low Income Image via Isorepublic.com Get as much financial aid as you can Fill out the FAFSA application every year You have likely heard of FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) before. This application will match you with financial aid, such as scholarships, grants, and loans, provided by the federal government that you qualify for. They will determine how much financial aid you qualify for by calculating your family’s “expected family contribution” (how much your family is expected to pay for your school expenses based on how much money they make). As the name implies, the application itself is free to fill out, and it could possibly provide you with a good amount of financial aid. It might look intimidating at first, but there are online resources that can help you fill out the FAFSA. Filling out the FAFSA every year can help you get the federal financial aid you need. Be careful about the loans you take out As a college student, you might need to take out student loans. It might be your only option to pay for college. However, you should be careful about the loans you take out because loans are certainly not “free money.” They will need to be paid back with interest. You will likely be offered some loans, but do some research on them before you accept. Figure out what type of loan it is (and some loans might be better for you than others), and most importantly, how much the interest will be. It’s also a good idea to know when you need to start paying it off. Some loans will allow you to defer payment up to six months after you graduate, other loans will require you to start paying as soon as you graduate. If you will need to take out a loan, be mindful of which ones you take out. If you can, get a job or start a “side hustle” Being a student, in and of itself, is a full-time job. But if you can find the time and energy, it would be a good idea to have a stream of income (or multiple streams of income!). You can do this by getting a job either on or off-campus, or by starting a “side hustle.” It could be anything, from working at a local coffee shop to working as a student researcher in a lab on campus. As far as a side hustle, you can start your own business and offer a product or service. These things will provide you with some extra money to alleviate the financial burden of being a student. If you can spare some time in your busy life as a student, consider getting a job or starting a side hustle. Visit the financial aid office often It’s a good idea to visit your school’s financial aid office often, as this will allow you to stay on top of your financial aid situation. It is an opportunity to make sure you are not missing out on any potential grants, scholarships, or loans you are eligible for. Your school might offer scholarships they don’t advertise, and you want to make sure you know about them! Sometimes, the only way to find out is asking them straight up in person. Visiting is also a good opportunity to let them know if there have been any significant changes to your financial life, like a new job. Visit your college’s financial aid often to make sure you are staying on top of your financial aid situation and are getting the aid you need. Search online for scholarships Your financial aid office should not be the only place where you look for scholarships. If you do a quick Google search, you will find many online scholarship databases like Fastweb that will help you find scholarships you are eligible for. There are many scholarships listed, so it might take a while to sift through them to find a couple that work for you. Still, it’s worth scouring the Internet to find a good scholarship. You never know if you will find the scholarship that will be just what you need to pay off your tuition. Be frugal with your school supplies Rent your textbooks One of the biggest scams college students fall for is buying their textbooks brand new. Don’t let yourself fall for it! Buying all your textbooks brand new at the campus bookstore can cost you hundreds of dollars. Instead of buying your textbooks brand new, rent them or buy them used from an online retailer. For example, Textsurf is a great place to compare textbook prices and then buy or rent textbooks. Personally, I would recommend renting your textbooks, since it will save you money and space in your bookshelf. It is usually cheaper than buying, and at the end of the semester, you can send the book back (so it will not sit on your bookshelf collecting dust). If you prefer to read your textbooks on your computer or tablet, you can rent or buy an electronic textbook, which is also inexpensive. A great way to get through college on a budget is to rent your textbooks rather than buying them. Reuse your school supplies from last year Although it’s fun to walk through the “back to school” aisle at Target, it might not be the smartest thing to do if you are a college student on a budget. But be honest with yourself: do you really need another set of pens or pencils? Do you really need another binder? A new backpack? Most of the time, you don’t need these supplies brand new. (Of course, if your binder or backpack is falling apart, you have my permission to buy a new one. But if it’s still functional, you don’t need to get a new one.) Take a minute to decide which school supplies from last year you can reuse. This will save you money in the long run! Take advantage of resources you have as a student Use student discounts One big resource you have available to you as a student is your student discount. At many stores, if you present your student ID, you could get a substantial discount. For example, at the Apple store, you can get a student discount. These stores often don’t advertise their student discounts, so don’t be shy to ask for it when you go shopping. Chances are good that stores nearby your campus will offer a student discount, even if they don’t advertise it. Even online services, such as Amazon Prime and Spotify, offer good student discounts. Be sure to take advantage of those student discounts! Attend the free events around campus Entertainment often costs a lot of money, especially if it’s close to a college campus. However, your campus likely has events taking place every so often, and almost every time, these events will be free. For example, instead of going to the movie theater (which is expensive), go to a free concert at your school. As you walk around campus, pay attention to the signs you see posted, as that is the place your school will advertise these events. Special events aren’t the only entertainment you can find for free (or cheap) on campus. Your school might have its own movie theater, stage, or museum that you can visit. These free or cheap entertainment ideas will help you save money, and will definitely help you get through college on a low income. Visit the campus library Similarly, buying books can get expensive quickly. Instead of buying books from a local bookstore, borrow it from the campus library or a local library, as it will be totally free. Take advantage of these free resources! Get some academic help As a college student on a budget, it’s a good idea to try to graduate as soon as you can, because you don’t want to pay for any additional semesters of college. To help you graduate as soon as possible, you should get some academic help by visiting your advisor. Your advisor will ensure you don’t miss any required classes and that you will have completed all your requirements in four years. (You really don’t want to be a second semester senior and find out you have not yet finished all your requirements!) Save yourself some money and graduate on time by visiting your advisor and making sure you are on track. Another way to keep yourself on track is to ensure you don’t fail any classes, especially not your required classes (since you will likely need to re-take it, which will force you to increase your course load for the next semester). Work out at the campus gym Just like entertainment is expensive, fitness is expensive. Even though you are young, your health should be a priority, but you don’t need to sacrifice your budget to keep yourself healthy. Instead of buying a gym membership and working out there, work out your campus gym. Your campus gym will likely be free of charge (or for a small fee). This way, you will still be able to work out while still saving money. This is a great way to stay healthy in college on a low income. Choose a good living situation Housing and roommates To get through college on a low income, it’s important to make good choices with your living situation. You have many choices as a college student. For example, you can choose to live on or off-campus, and with or without roommates. Living in a dorm on campus will generally be less expensive than living in an apartment off-campus. Similarly, living with roommates will be cheaper than living on your own, since you will be able to split the rent cost with your roommates. These lifestyle will choices will help you save money. Owning a car Besides your living space, the biggest lifestyle choice you will need to make is deciding whether or not to own a car. Buying a car is a big expense, but it’s more than just the price you pay for it at the dealer. Every month, you will need to budget for gas, insurance, and parking passes. Not to mention, you will also need to budget for any unexpected repair costs that can and will happen. For that reason, I would recommend you don’t own a car to save you from those costs. Instead, take the campus shuttle bus, public transportation, and ride-sharing services to help you get around the city while still saving money. Cut cable Another lifestyle choice you will need to make is whether or not to keep cable. Cable is expensive, but with the many streaming services we have available today, cable is not necessary. Instead of cable, opt for YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, or Hulu. With these options, you don’t need to spend all that money on cable; just pick the service that has the content you like and only pay for that one. Cutting cable can help you get through college on a low income. Image via Isorepublic.com Take good care of the money you already have Pay all your bills on time While you are still a student, it’s a good time to start practicing good money management habits that will last for the rest of your life. Plus, it’s important to take care of the money you do have right now. One of the best ways to take care of your money is to pay all your bills on time. This will help you avoid late fees. If you have a credit card, pay it off in full every month It is especially critical that you pay your credit card bill on time. Getting a credit card is a good way to build your credit, but only if you are confident that you can manage it correctly by paying it off IN FULL every month. If you can’t do that, don’t get the credit card, because it will only lower your credit score. Clearly, college life is expensive. Still, you can make it through college on a low income if you follow the tips we discussed in this post.

The Dos and Donts of Doing the Dirty

The Dos and Donts of Doing the Dirty friendsdatingplaces.com Safe Sex- The percentage of people who use condoms in the US This week I’d like to address an issue, which follows up from one of my previous articles, “But She Said “NO.”” After discussing the presence of rape and sexual assault on college campuses, I thought it would be important to also address the importance of safe sex. Protected, or safe sex is something, which can sometimes fall in shadows on many college campuses. And, when spending 24/7 with all of your friends, colleagues and peers, the presence of sexual activity can increase drastically. In 2008, Fox News ran a controversial segment on the OReilly Factor called “Is Sex on College Campuses Toning Down or Heating Up?” This segment addressed the prevalence of sexual activity on college campuses and the number change of sexual partner statistics over recent years. Programs such as Mount Holyoke College’s Sexual Health Educators (SHE), Connecticut College’s The Think S.A.F.E. Project, and Dickenson College’s Peers Assisting Learning About Safe Sex (PALS); are all examples of health educators on college campuses. Such groups can provide information, guidance advice, and safe sex supplies. Peer Education groups are an important part of the college experience, especially because the exposure to sexual pressures is much greater in this type of environment. Here are some general Do’s and Don’ts for college students: Do use protection: protects from STDs STIs, unwanted pregnancy Do get tested: check for STDs and other types of infection/disease Do ask your partners if they have been tested: Especially if you have any type of unprotected sex Do inform yourself about your on-campus safe sex resources: such as peer education programs the health center benefits Don’t use expired protection: expired condoms/dental dams  have a higher risk of breaking, can lead to unwanted STDs STIs or pregnancy, and can cause irritation which can lead to later infection Don’t rely solely on birth control: With unprotected sex, 6% of women will still get pregnant even when taking birth control Don’t use Plan B as a consistent alternative: the pregnancy rate of plan B is calculated for a single use. If plan B is used on more than one occasion, the cumulative pregnancy rate will be higher Well, hopefully some of these do’s and don’ts will keep you informed and better protected. Until next time, stay safe college go-ers.