4 Lessons Recent Graduates Should Carry From College

4 Lessons Recent Graduates Should Carry From College The college experience is designed to prepare students for a fruitful career and/or continued, specialized study in graduate school. If you are a recent graduate this year, here are four lessons you may have learned while in college that can help you a great deal in the future: 1. You must demonstrate initiative In higher education, professors do not peer over your shoulder or verify your progress each day. Instead, they assign you a due date and provide you with general guidance. You must complete your assignments in a timely manner. The professional world functions similarly. While your supervisor is available to offer advice, the deliverable (i.e. a document, a presentation, or a suggested course of action) is yours to produce. Resourcefulnessand willingness to add value to projectsis key. Here is some more great information on whatcollege graduates should know. 2. Each task involves a grade This lesson, while not new to you, is important to remember in the professional world. You will be judged according to the work you produce. Like college, many projects will carry significant weight, and each task counts. Your performance will likely be assessed on an annual basis, rather than per semester. Many organizations assign you grades in multiple areas, such as independence, initiative, time management, and willingness to work with others. It is in your best interests to aim for an A, or its equivalent. 3. Collaborative skills are invaluable We have all weathered a group project. Certain individuals thrive, while others dread such assignments. The professional world revolves around collaboration, and learning to work well in a team is imperative for recent graduates.These are some great tips onhow to deal with group projectsthat can help you during and after college. In the business world, however, there is one primary difference: your role is defined. One team member typically functions as the project lead, while other co-workers fill specific specialties. If you do not complete your portion of the task, no one will do your work for you. No one will make excuses for you. And if you are most comfortable assuming leadership, you must likely adapt to taking direction from others. 4. Strike a balance between the personal and professional You live with, socialize with, work with, and in certain ways, compete with your classmates in college. At times, it can be difficult to be both respected and well-liked by your peers. You will face the same conundrum in the professional world. You will spend 40+ hours each week with your co-workers, and with luck, you will attend company parties, meals, and other social events. To be successful, you must be both well-liked and respected. Typically, the person who only arrives, completes his or her work quietly, and then leaves does not advance along the business ladder. However, the class clown of the office is just as unlikely to succeed, because he or she is not seen in a serious light. Here are some great tips on how to network as a recent college gradyou may find useful. You may discover that your balance initially tips toward the professional during your first years in the working world. Ultimately, learning how to manage the two impulses will help you advance, enjoy your colleagues, and lead a satisfying life. Best of luck to recent graduates in your future endeavors!

A Day in the Life at University of California, Irvine

A Day in the Life at University of California, Irvine The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Wyatt is currently a junior at University of California, Irvine majoring in Mechanical Engineering. He is a Los Angeles tutor specializing in AP English tutoring, Calculus tutoring, Essay Editing tutoring, and more. Check out his review of his school: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Wyatt: I go the University of California, Irvine (UCI), and the campus is definitely very beautiful. It is centered around Aldrich Park, which is a large circular area roughly one mile in circumference with trees, open grass, and paths snaking through it. This makes it easy to get anywhere on campus; simply walk through the park and you'll reach basically anywhere in five minutes or less. The main options for transportation are commuting (which I do), living in on-campus dorms (and therefore needing no vehicle transportation), and living in slightly off-campus dorms. For the slightly off-campus dorms, and for anyone who needs to use them, there are shuttles that go from UCI to various housing areas to enable faster transportation. There are also bike racks on these shuttles so that you can ride your bike down to campus and then have the bus carry the bike back up when you aren't in a hurry to get to class. The downside to this is the shuttles are packed, and unless you have the schedule memorized, you can arrive at a bus stop right after a bus has left, and you have to wait for the next round. Personally, I have to deal with commuting and parking on campus very frequently, and I find that to be the one thing I like least about the campus. You have to pay a pretty hefty amount each month to get parking, but unless you actually live on campus, you cannot buy overnight p arking without paying $14.00 each night you do so. This makes studying all night with friends very costly, even though it is quite necessary sometimes. In sum, you do not need a car or bike, but having a bike is definitely nice for those times when you're out of sync with bus arrival, and having a car is great for exploring Irvine, as there are many great places to go if you just look around! VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Wyatt: The professors and TAs (teaching assistants) are very helpful in general when you go to their office hours and e-mail them. There has only been one professor that I've had so far that didn't respond to me within three to three hours via e-mail during the school week (of course, on the weekends it can take a little longer), and I am currently finishing my junior year here. Oftentimes, TAs are extremely crucial to your learning, and I've found that the people who think TAs and professors aren't available are really the ones who haven't taken the time to go meet them at their office hours or talk to them after class about their problems; most people are very shy in that regard. My advice, regardless of where you end up going for school, is to make sure you ask questions the second you don't understand something. The only dumb question is the one that isn't asked, and if you don't get it, there's a high probability your classmates don't either (unless you're consistently missing c lass). VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Wyatt: I have commuted for all three years, so I do not have a great deal of information on dorm life. However, rooms are shared generally between two to three people, and are rather small. Dining options are usually pretty good, since it is a buffet at most places, and the food has a lot of variety, including themed buffet bars like Mexican food day, Chinese food day, etc. However, some days their food of the day can be underwhelming, but their burgers are always really good! Dorms are located on either side of Aldrich Park, although between the complexes Middle Earth and Mesa, there is a trade-off. Mesa has much nicer dorm rooms, but is about five to ten minutes further from everything (except for the School of the Arts) than Middle Earth is. Middle Earth is close to most things, but the dorms are much smaller. However, each dorm has Resident Advisors, RAs, who keep you involved in various dorm activities and provide socialization options, so the dorms are very rich in that regard. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Wyatt: I am not exactly sure which majors are best represented/supported. I know there are many Biology majors, and many Engineering majors, but that could be simply because I basically live my life on the Engineering side of campus. I study Mechanical Engineering, as it is a field in great demand in society today, and there should be a good amount of jobs open when I graduate. I think there are many options open for people to get involved in extracurricular activities and learn more about new facets of their major, including ESC (Engineering Student Council) events, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) events, Engineering fairs, and many more activities, so in that sense I think the university cultivates great interest in my major, and supports it well. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Wyatt: It was very easy for me to make friends as a freshman. I looked at the club fair when I was a freshman, and immediately found ASME and VeVo (Vermillion Vocalists, an acapella group). Once I joined ASME and auditioned for VeVo and made it in, I made many friends, and also made friends with classmates in my major-specific classes, as we began to see each other every quarter for freshman year (and for the next two years). So making friends as a freshman is not difficult, it just requires you to go out and explore your options, and do what interests you. By doing that, you'll automatically find people who share hobbies with you, and that can be the beginning of a great friendship. Greek life can be either a big deal and a huge commitment or almost non-existent, depending on the people you hang out with and what you choose to do with your spare time. I personally am not affiliated with any fraternities, and so it does not impact my life at all. However, a friend of mine is in a fraternity and spends much of his free time planning and going to events for it. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Wyatt: I've heard many great things about it, and have been meaning to check it out, but I personally have not been to the Career Center. They do have a lot of information, though, and companies do recruit on campus at places like the Engineering fair. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Wyatt: The libraries are usually pretty empty in the early weeks of the quarter, but from weeks five through eight (midterms I and II) and week 10-finals week, the libraries can get very packed. You can always find space there, even if it is very packedyou just might not get to go to your favorite spot. There are many other random places on campus that have lounges, however, and some are quite comfy, quiet, and conducive to studying. I have a personal favorite place that I go to that has excellent wi-fi signal, free printing, long, luxurious sofas that I frequently nap on, and tables for working, but I seldom reveal where that is; I don't want it to get crowded! If you end up going to UCI, you'll have to explore to find it. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Wyatt: UCI is set in a very urbanized area, with downtown Irvine nearby, and many food options within a five to ten mile range of the campus, especially at the Irvine Spectrum, Diamond Jamboree, and The District (shopping centers). Here are a few suggestions for delicious food or a fun night that most people don't know about: -Mick's Karma Bar, about six to seven miles away. This place has burgers that are absolutely off the hook, amazing steak fries, and is set in the middle of a bunch of big business buildings, with a huge ring of palm trees encircling two half-circle pools of water, with neo-art benches situated on the outside. It is absolutely beautiful, and needless to say, it is a great place to take a date. My favorite is the fiery habanero burger with the strawberry-basil lemonade. -Cafe Rio, about ten to twelve miles away. A little bit further than Mick's, but this place is insane. Think of it like Chipotle, but with authentic Mexican food, even bigger portion sizes, and handmade real flour tortillas. Furthermore, they feature a delicious, creamy queso sauce that addicts every single person that I've had try it (including my lactose-intolerant girlfriend). -ImprovCity, less than five miles away. Located upstairs in Irvine Lanes, it's a little hard to find. However, for $10.00, you can have two hours of straight laughing, as these guys put together a great improv comedy show. Definitely merits a visit. These are just three places that stand out to me, but there are almost infinitely many to go to if you just drive down a major street like Jamboree and look at the places you pass. In sum, UCI is situated very nicely, due to its close proximity to many exciting, fun, or delicious establishments. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Wyatt: The student body is pretty huge, sitting at about 27,000 students. My class sizes really vary depending on what class it is. For a lot of Math and Physics classes, the classes were anywhere from 100-300 people. However, for Writing classes, I had 30 people in there, if that. Major-specific classes tend to be big as well, since everyone in that major has to take them, so an average Engineering class has about 300 students. This is good when you want to text or look up something on the internet or accidentally doze off, because its harder to be noticed, but this is bad for the same reason. I would advise, as I stated before, going to the professor's office hours to at least get some sort of facial recognition going (and to not sleep in classyou don't want to be the guy the professor notices and calls out in front of 300 people), so that you can possibly ask the professors for research advice/positions in the future. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Wyatt: While good experiences are definitely enjoyable and worthwhile, I find the most learning through my mistakes, and so here is the thing I most regret. The first quarter of my freshman year, I took entry-level physics (which everyone needs for general requirements). It was exceptionally easy, and without even studying, I aced the final and the class. To top this off, I had done well in all of my other classes that quarter, and so I grew complacent with Physics. The next quarter, I took Newtonian Mechanics. Still in an over-confident mindset from the past quarter's success, and unwilling to wake up in the morning at 6:00 or earlier in order to get to campus in time for my 8:00 a.m. class, I put the class on the back burners and missed many lectures. I scored a passable grade on the midterm, but still didn't realize I was making a huge mistake. Once the final came around, I tried to cram a bunch of end-of-quarter material, but was unable to do so, as Physics picks up in difficulty very quickly. I ended up doing very poorly on the final, receiving a D+ in the class (my first and only failing grade). I was absolutely livid (at myself) f or having done this. I spoke with my counselor, who said that a D+ in Physics was actually passing by the standards of the Physics department for that course, but I was obviously unsatisfied. I ended up retaking the course, actually trying this time, and got an A. From then on, I almost never missed class, and I take each class very seriously. The moral of this story is simply to not be lazy or complacent with any class, regardless of previous performance. Waking up for class at 8:00 is a real drag in college for some reason (it wasn't this painful in high school...), but it's just something that has to happen. Being there at every class is the only way to ensure that you can be as prepared as every other student in the class, and that you can therefore beat the curve. Check out Wyatts tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

How MCAT Prep can Make a Difference in Your Score

How MCAT Prep can Make a Difference in Your Score 0SHARESShare MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) is a tough exam and you definitely need online MCAT tutors to help you through. This is a very comprehensive test which analyses your knowledge in solving problems, principles of science, writing abilities and critical analysis. This test is now taken online. Under these circumstances your first mission is to find good but online MCAT tutors. They will sharpen your abilities in writing short analytical paragraphs. They will hone up your knowledge in biology and physics. They will interact with you daily to prepare you for the verbal reasoning session in the actual test. It should be clear to you at the outset that the MCAT is a tough exam and you need online MCAT tutors as much as you need your prep books. The core of your interaction will be constant practice in problem solving, subject knowledge, writing skills and verbal explanation. The online MCAT tutors will work with you at a convenient time and work diligently with you till you are so confident that you actually become eager to bell the MCAT. There is no doubt that MCAT prep will make a difference in your score. [starbox id=admin]

Finding Your Sound (of Music) as a Singer

Finding Your Sound (of Music) as a Singer Suzy S. Being a professional musician is a lifelong learning process. Even with years of experience, the best musicians seek out ways to improve at all times, such as by attending festivals and training programs. This summer, Philadelphia teacher Claire B. attended the AlpenKammerMusik Festival in Austria, exactly for this reason. Check out her story here Hi! I’m Claire and I teach voice lessons with TakeLessons. When new people ask me what I do and I say “I’m an opera singer” or “I sing classical music,” they nearly always ask, “Oh, where can I see you? Are you singing at the opera downtown?” That’s a tough question to answer. The thing is, even though I’m nearing 30 and have my Master’s degree, I’m not yet a full professional and I don’t have major singing jobs yet. Opera singers have to work their way up, and it’s a long haul. Most of us don’t have a fully developed voice until we are 32 or older, and that leaves us in limbo for a few years. Community theater, summer opera festivals, and training programs help us get experience as our voices settle and we perfect our singing. Working and studying in Europe is an option as well, since the audience is bigger for opera and there are more opportunities. I spent some time this August in Austria at an amazing chamber music festival and I wanted to share my experience with you. For two weeks, I spent about six to seven hours every day in rehearsal with other musicians and in solo practice, surrounded by the Austrian Alps. We were in Liesing, right next to the Tyrol (a.k.a. The Sound of Musics “The Hills are Alive” land!), and it was so small that they didn’t even have their own grocery store! The remoteness of the place let us really focus on our music assignments. Each morning, I’d get up early to go hike along the mountain road behind our rooms, and then have breakfast in the Gasthaus (guest-house, bed and breakfast). It was wonderful to be inspired every morning looking down on the valley and breathing in the morning mist. We used the Folk Music Academy building for our rehearsal space, and the hotel down the hill housed the performance area. I sang one piece by Ravel called Chansons madécasse (Madagascar songs) with piano, cello, and flute. It was so challenging, with tempo changes, random key shifts, and at times with me holding the piece together or singing totally alone. It’s not your usual classical piece with a full sound all the time, and it was such a good lesson on learning to trust your own ear while still keeping other totally sporadic parts in mind! We all came so far as a group in only 6 or 7 rehearsals. I also worked on song cycles by Schumann, Schubert, and a contemporary composer named Lori Laitman. The latter composer wrote a very moving piece using poetry by children in Theresienstadt, the model concentration camp in Czechoslovakia in World War II. There was a great emphasis on the text, and that set really helped me understand delivering a poem clearly and with meaning. Songs of any kind change when you mean every word. I wouldn’t trade my experience here for anything. I grew as a singer and performer, and I made great new friends as well as musical contacts on two continents! Hopefully all of us young professionals will benefit in the future from our time in Austria! Like this post? Join the TakeLessons community and receive exclusive updates, expert advice, tips and more!  Sign up for email updates here! Claire B. teaches singing, Broadway singing, performance, music theory, and opera voice lessons to students in Philadelphia, PA. She joined the TakeLessons team in October 2011, with her Bachelors degree in Music Education and a Masters degree in Vocal Pedagogy and Teaching. Find out more about Claire, or visit TakeLessons to search for a teacher near you!

Larry The Cable Guy Uses Caustive Forms (listening exercise)

Larry The Cable Guy Uses Caustive Forms (listening exercise) Like many things in language, often times native speakers dont know they are using a complex grammar point. To highlight this fact you can watch the video about Larry the Cable Guy describing how he uses his saying, git r done or get her done or get something done. This is a causative verb construction, for example, I got my hair done. It means that someone styled my hair for me. Watch the video below about the verb form and listen to Larry to see if you can understand him, as he explains the origins of get r done, and the meaning. He has a strong accent, so youll have to listen closely.If you need more help with causative verbs, watch our video below, and try our quiz.iframe src=//www.youtube.com/embed/4TU-li1BqZ4 width=560 height=315 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen=allowfullscreen/iframe1. How did Larry first start using the phrase git r done? 2. Whatever you got to do dont ______ about it, dont _________ about it just git r done. 3. How often did he say it? 4. For how many years did he call the radio stations?Below youll find  our video on causative verbs. a href=/?p=16536Click here/a to take the quiz.iframe width=560 height=315 src=//www.youtube.com/embed/DcApGdRKik4?rel=0 frameborder=0 allowfullscreen/iframe

Learning how to study

Learning how to study Watch This First!The video linked above is a great way to help students who may be having a hard time studying. I remember when I was younger I was one of the worst people I knew at studying. I'd always find myself distracted, looking out the window, or wanting to play video games. However as the video shows there are a great number of things one can do in order to effectively studying. The core concept behind the video is self-recognition. By this I mean the video stresses that in order to be the most effective at studying, somebody really has to know about themselves, most notably their shortcomings. Are you easily distracted by loud noise? Pick a quiet place to study. Always feeling hungry or bored when studying? Bring a snack with you before you start. Finding the words in your music to be distracting you? Pick music that doesn't have lyrics, like classical music. For myself I find it most effective when I sit in a quiet room, with some tea to sip on and some Mozart in the backgr ound. However that may not be true to everyone. The most important thing when it comes to studying is knowing what it is you have to do to make your studying the most effective.

Teacher retention Once you hire the perfect candidate, how do you hold on to them [Research report]

Teacher retention Once you hire the perfect candidate, how do you hold on to them [Research report] As the international teacher job market continues to heat up, the topic of teacher retention is undoubtedly on each and every international school leader’s mind. As well it should be: integral to building and maintaining a successful international school is attracting - and keeping - a great team of teachers on staff. At Teach Away, we’ve seen see this fact borne out time and time again; international schools with significantly lower teacher attrition rates experience stronger student learning outcomes and a corresponding boost in student enrollment. And they are also, invariably, the very schools that continue to grow and thrive, even in today’s highly competitive international education marketplace. On the flipside, high teacher turnover is a huge drain on many international schools’ financial and human resources. While some level of attrition is, of course, inevitable, a higher-than-average teacher turnover rate can be detrimental to your school’s performance, resulting as it inevitably does in lost expertise and diminishing teaching quality. While perhaps many of you may assume that international educators are more likely to leave their current teaching position due to salary, the reality is that a number of diverse factors play a role in contributing to higher teacher turnover. You’ll likely already be well aware of some fundamental ways to reduce teacher turnover, like hiring for the right cultural fit and keeping your compensation and benefits in line with other schools in your region However, Teach Away’s latest recruiting trends report (based on a survey of more than 10,000 international teaching candidates) recently identified three additional strategies to help you retain great teachers and increase job satisfaction at your school. Keep reading to find out: 1. Make sure you have a solid onboarding process in place. Source: Teach Away’s International Education Recruitment Report 2017 A successful onboarding process could be the secret weapon you need to bring your teachers’ job satisfaction and retention to the next level. Onboarding isn’t just about getting all that paperwork signed and day one on the job done and dusted, though. As recent hire turnover continues to be a significant issue for many international schools, having a structured onboarding process cannot be overlooked. The first days, weeks and even months can often determine whether a teacher chooses to stay at your school long term. We’ve seen that international schools with a comprehensive onboarding strategy experience a significantly reduced likelihood of attrition within the first few months, compared with schools with a weaker - or often nonexistent - onboarding process. So don’t just hire a great teacher and cross your fingers. Ensure you have a solid onboarding process in place to make your new hire feel welcome, prepared for their new role and fully integrated into your school culture, mission and values. A quality onboarding process will pay for itself in the long run when your teacher decides to stay long term, in large part due to the positive experience they’ve had at your school right from the outset. 2. Don’t forget that effective pre-onboarding matters, too. A fundamental thing to realize about avoiding premature teacher turnover is that waiting until the first day to start onboarding is, in most cases, already too late. Before your new teacher even sets foot in your school, you need to have the right pre-departure support process in place to help them learn more about your school, their compensation package and specifics about the job. Pre-onboarding is, far and away, the best way to get your new teacher hire comfortable in their new role and teaching environment and - most crucially of all - invested in the prospect of working at your school. At Teach Away for example, the average lead time between a teacher accepting a job and starting is around four months. What does this mean? Well, it leaves more than enough time for uncertainty and self-doubt to set in. It's easy to forget how intimidating starting a new job can be - think of how tricky it can be for international educators who are moving far away from home and everything that is familiar to them! The important thing is to keep the candidate interested and to raise the excitement levels as the start date approaches. This means you need to make new hire pre-boarding a priority, which will, in turn, validate your teacher's decision to accept the job and get them excited to hit the ground running in their new school. 3. Make opportunities for development and growth at your school. Source: Teach Away’s International Education Recruitment Report 2017 Our international teacher survey identified the following factors that candidates most valued in their jobs. It was no big surprise to us that professional development came out on top: In addition to paying your teachers well (which undoubtedly plays an important role in motivating candidates to apply for your school in the first place), investing in their professional development is a fundamentally important strategy to reduce employee turnover. Your teachers want to feel like they’re gaining expertise and becoming more well-rounded international educators. Offering relevant professional development training programs not only helps you attract top job candidates and helps your current teachers perform better in their roles - it also helps you retain top educators for years to come. Professional development is a great way to boost job satisfaction - when your teachers feel they’re able to do their jobs more effectively, they become more confident and secure in their roles. What’s more, by including training and development opportunities on your job opening, you’ll also make your school more appealing to prospective candidates you offer your staff training and development opportunities. Think about it - you’ll be building a positive reputation as an international school that cares about its teachers and strives to employ only the most talented and motivated international educators. So there you have it - by embracing these actionable teacher retention strategies, your school will be well on its way to attracting and retaining the best international teachers, even in an increasingly competitive hiring landscape. For more on what really matters to today’s international teaching candidate, as well as data-driven insights and hiring strategies from leading experts in international education recruitment, be sure to check out Teach Away’s 2017 recruiting trends report! This article originally appeared in the Winter 2018 edition of AISA ConneXions, the bi-annual newsletter of the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA).