Posts Tagged ‘tam warner minton’
Have we come...too far?
3. Meet with your advisor or mentor and go over the courses available to you. Most universities have a general education curriculum that you must satisfy; liberal arts colleges often have a core set of areas you must take courses in. If the average course load is 5 classes a semester, then take 5 classes not 6 or 7. Some students just love to overburden themselves, but it is not a good idea, especially when you are a first year student! And do not take 5 horribly rigorous courses all at once! Give yourself a break!
4. A major learning curve in college is learning to balance your life. Activities, sports, academics, laundry, sleep, social life….your schedule is up to you. You simply must have a calendar, and electronic is better. Try to plan your time. Put in class times, when homework and papers are due, test dates. Enter it ALL. You can even plan your times to do laundry and to study.
The keyword is BALANCE!
5. Take notes. Take notes. Take notes. If you have a writing disorder such as dysgraphia or Disorder of Written Expression arrange for a note taker. You are entitled to this accommodation! Notes are so important for college academic success. If the professor says it, it should be in your notes. If it is on the board or the overhead, it goes in the notes. Keep your notes organized so when it comes time to study, you know where to find them! You will soon discover that much of the material in your notes will be on the test, midterm or final. I guarantee it!
6. Take studying seriously. For every hour spent in class you should spend two hours in studying or prep work. Yes, I know that sounds like a lot of time. It is. This is college, and this is important. Don’t be the student who pulls an all nighter before the exam because they haven’t even read the text assignments. You will quickly realize that if you want to do better than a C, D or F, cramming like that will not cut it. Oh, and if your friends who make A’s deny that they study this much…they are lying.
Okay. Now you are actually in college and at college. You have moved in. Met the roommate. Gone to a couple of parties and met some other students. Awesome, dude. But there is another side to college…it is called learning. (more…)
Alexandra and Wes watching Whitey!
Check out my blog on
Dallas Moms Blog! All about our family’s trip to Guadalupe Island to cage dive with Great White Sharks!
Tam Warner Minton, MS
Oh those terrible college rankings! The US News and World Report came out with their yearly diatribe on the “best colleges”. As
Mark H Sklarow, the executive director of the Independent Educational Consultants Association says in his blog: “Worst of all, students add colleges to their ‘wish lists’ not understanding that much of the criteria that put a school on the list has no consequence to their particular needs, interests, or desires.” Well said.
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Getting In is a novel about 5 families in Los Angeles with seniors who are applying to college. 3 of the 5 are private school students, 1 is a former private school classmate who is now at the local high school, and 1 is the daughter of immigrants who is the valedictorian of the local high school. I recommend the book to students (and their parents) who are applying to college or will be applying to college, mostly to demonstrate the poor parenting, cyncial college counseling, and selfish student attitudes that are so prevalent today among those who believe there are only a handful of colleges worth going to. (more…)
Another cautionary tale…
Last night was the PPP party (pimps, prostitutes, and porn-stars party) at the Rouge (a bar, maybe a gay bar most nights of the week) in King’s Cross (a neighborhood in Sydney, it’s a kind of seedy red-light district, tons of sex shops and what not). Side note: when you go to a new place, you always learn a new language as evidenced by the amount of parentheses in that sentence. (more…)
If you are a rising high school senior of the Class 2011, July and August is the time to finalize your college list! Most students will begin classes during August or early September, and having a finalized list of colleges that you plan to apply to will help the application process flow smoothly. Your senior year is NOT the time to be researching schools! Your junior year and summer is best utilized for college research. (more…)
Tam Warner Minton, MS
What should you take during your high school career in order to be ready for (and acceptable to) college? Most colleges and universities have a minimum number of <strong>required</strong> courses that each student should take. The State of Texas minimum graduation requirements do not always match the minimum requirements of many colleges and universitities. Make sure your four year plan includes a <strong>minimum </strong>of the following: <!–more–>
4 years of English (some schools do not accept ESL or Special Education as substitutes for four years of English). 3-4 years of Math. Algebra 1 and 2, Geometry are absolutely required. Pre-Algebra rarely counts. 4 years History/Social Studies (US History, World History, World Geography, one semester of Economics, one semester of Government.) 3-4 years of a Lab Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics. Some colleges do not accept IPC, Physical Science, oceanography as lab sciences.) 3-4 years Foreign Language (3 years of the same language) 1 year of Fine Art includes choir, theater, band, art, speech, debate, drama, etc 1 ½ years of PE or an off campus sport, or a waiver Colleges and universities differ on their requirements, so be sure to check the schools you are interested in before you blow off a year of science, math or foreign language!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ALL TYPES OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES! Workshops, seminars, camps, travel programs, Honors courses, AP classes….do as much as you can to challenge yourself! Colleges will go for the student who has opted for challenge. Don’t spend your summers laying around the pool. Get a job, travel, do community service, take courses, do something interesting! Colleges want interesting and vibrant students, not couch potatoes!
Written on July 5th, 2010 by Tam Warner Mintonno shouts
My son Wes and a baby Hawksbill turtle
Check out my latest blog on the
Dallas Morning News!
Written on June 16th, 2010 by Tam Warner Mintonno shouts
Tam Warner Minton, MS
I will be on vacation until the end of July at which time I will begin blogging again! I appreciate my readers so much, and look forward to a new admission season! Until then…have a great summer.
Don’t forget to follow me on the Dallas Morning News Moms Blog on Mondays at 3p!
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