Archive for April, 2010

How Teens Can Earn an Online High School Diploma

Kris Koonar asked:




Distance learning is completing coursework independently and away from an actual traditional school campus. Distance learning is often undertaken by students for reasons like their desire to learn at their own pace, health related reasons, or a need to schedule their learning around a career like acting. Some students, who find it difficult to concentrate on their studies in the traditional schools, find online classes or classes through mail easier.

Those students who have good comprehension reading skills and are self-motivated and learn better independently will find online learning a good option. However, those students who need constant guidance find little success in this method. Parents have to find the feasibility of the program. There is a need for the monitoring and participation of the parents in regular meetings with teaching supervisors. For the teens to stay focused, the supervision of the parents in completing the assignments is needed.

Often teens are more motivated to do their work if the change in school is their own idea. If the teens feel forced to leave their traditional schools they become unmotivated to do their assignments. If the student is doing poorly at school because he is not motivated to turn in work, it is unlikely that he completes his work well at home either. Students who get lonely easily or who miss the social aspect of traditional schools are not good fits for online learning. Parents can find sports programs, clubs, teen programs and other replacement activities to satisfy the socializing needs of the teens.

Finding an online high school is the biggest challenge that parents face. Many schools make big promises, but fail to keep them. Parents have two options: private online schools or public online schools. Private schools are those, which act independently of the government regulations and have their own learning philosophy. Tuition at such schools costs very high as the parents will be charged for costs related to the child’s education including the hardware and the software required. These schools need to be well accredited. If not accredited, parents have to make sure that the colleges will accept the schools transcripts if the child applies to study at one. A few schools to be considered are Brigham Young University, CompuHigh, Indiana University.

Public charter schools are the other good options available to the parents. They are publicly funded and are not allowed to charge any tuition fees. States such as California and Minnesota have provisions in their state laws that allow students to enroll for charter programs that are paid by the government. Some schools even offer computer equipment and reference materials free of cost. Schools like Blue Sky in Minnesota and Choice2000 in California offer students the chance to earn the diploma without paying for classes or materials. Some programs are based on online tests, some programs match students with personal mentors, and some programs are project-oriented.

Earning an online diploma is equally challenging as traditional classes and has as much work involved. Hence it is a big accomplishment to earn an online diploma. Parents should make an effort and celebrate the teen’s success by treating him to a special dinner or throwing a party. The online diploma is a good option available and worth using; once you recognize a well-accredited school.



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How Do You Get Full Financial Aid When Your Parents Make Too Much Money And Refuse To Help You Pay For College

Daniel asked:




Saddly, this is a very common problem that affects about half of all college students and prevents many others from going to college until they are 25. Even though you’re 18 and on your own, the government decided that you have to put your parent’s income on your FAFSA until you are 25 or married. The FAFSA is the federal application for financial aid that all accredited schools use. Without federal aid, you may have to work several jobs while going to school part time just to survive. Books and tuition are not cheap. and not everyone has the luxury of living with mom and dad. For the lucky few their are scholarships available, but they may only cover a portion of the total cost.

Okay, here are a couple strategies to qualify for full financial aid.

You may not agree with this, but the first strategy is to marry another student in the same situation to exclude your parent’s income from your FAFSA. Make sure the other student has very little income and get it annuled immediately if they cause any problems. Just remember this is a business arrangement, so don’t consumate the marriage. You can get married at the courthouse and keep your maiden name. No one has to know who or why. Annule it when you either graduate college or turn 25.

The second strategy is to either get your parents or yourself a home-based business in order to take a loss and reduce your AGI or your parent’s adjust gross income. AGI is income minus losses. Adjusted gross income and funds available determine your EFC or expected family contribution. Usually an adjusted gross income in the 6K or less range will give you an EFC of O. The higher your EFC, the less financial aid you qualify for. Full time students with EFC’s of 0 always get full financial aid if they complete everything by their college’s priority deadline.

Home-based businesses can be created based on one of your existing hobbies. Make it legal by getting a $15 state business license and a business license in your city if they require one. Make it ethical by making some kind of real effort like passing out a few business cards and talking to people. This does not mean you have to spend a lot of money. After three years your home-based business will be reclassified as a hobbie if you continue to take a loss, so you might consider getting a new business license. During that period you may have to do monthly, quaterly or annual reports. It’s as simple as a phone call if you have no income to report.

Having a home-based business allows you to write off a lot of things that are legitament tax deductions. Do some research or get a pro to help you at tax time. H&R Block is not what I mean by a pro; you need someone that can help you plan ahead for the year and teach you enough so you know what records to keep and what qualifies as a deduction.

Unfortunately, I thought that joining the military would solve my financial aid problem because I now have this thing called the GI Bill. The truth is that the GI Bill is worthless, because your college will reduce your financial aid by the same amount you receive from the GI Bill. So there is no educational benefit to joining the military, because everyone that needs financial aid qualifies for it.

Working multiple jobs while you go to school can effect your grades and causes a lot of students to drop out. Low grades will make getting into a competitive program or an accredited grad school almost impossible. I strongly recommend that you get an Associate’s degree at a community college before going straight into a Bachelor’s degree program at a four year university because your tuition and books will be much lower at your community college and each year the amount of money you qualify for in student loans increases.



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Financial Aid – Single Moms Cash In On Stimulus Package

Will Irish asked:




Did you know that if you happen to be a single mom, or even just a woman living in the United States for that matter, you are positioned to receive additional and unique financial assistance from the US Government?

For example, single moms in particular have been the target of several recent legislative motives to improve the financial future of those women seeking to balance raising their children and managing an income. It should be noted as well that the range of financial aid can range from aid to buy a home, to go back to school, to start a business, or even to help pay everyday bills.

If you’re interested in obtaining federal financial aid either through grants or loans, take the next couple of hours you have available and become familiar with the sorts of financial aid that may be available to you. Here’s what I recommend as a quick action plan:

1. Find websites that specialize in Financial Aid information to help separate fact from fiction.

2. Join forums and bulletin boards that allow contributors of like mind to share best practices and ease the learning curve.

3. Be sure to never let the red tape associated with applications become a deterrent. This is time well spent in terms of return on investment.

At this point, you’ll have a good grasp on the different types of financial aid made available to single moms and women in general. Now it’s time to make sure you understand the difference between a grant and a loan. A loan is by definition money that must be paid back. Whereas Grant funds are given free of any obligation to repay.

If possible, grants should be the first financial aid pursued, and thankfully, they come in almost any category of need. Housing, health, transportation, education, business and commerce are just a few of the more popular niches you can find grants available for financial aid. So this leads to the obvious question. Just who is allowed to apply for a grant?

Who can apply for a grant?

If you are a US citizen or are a foreign national that has lived in the US for at least the last three years, you are eligible to apply for a grant. Now I would be remiss if I didn’t offer a word of caution to be careful for scams. Unfortunately, this “free money from the government” industry has a bad reputation of being one where many capitalize on the needs of others. Always check sources against the US Government websites and if you feel skeptical about any financial aid opportunity, bring others into the decision making process.

There is money available to you, but you must initiate and take action. Act now while the new stimulus package and financial guidelines are in place to help ensure your needs are met.



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Reasons to Become a Real Estate Agent

Luke Bouman asked:




Real estate can be a very lucrative career, but it takes hard work, perseverance, and a little luck along the way. Many people join the real estate field because of the potential for great wealth and because of the relative ease of getting a license. Before I explain why you should become I real Estate agent, I first want to touch on a few negatives of being a Realtor. The main drawbacks to becoming a realtor is that it is very expensive, frustrating, and can be very stressful. When getting into this exciting career of real estate, I was warned that 70% of agents are out of the business within a year. I do not know how realistic that statistic is, but it is obvious that there is a high turnover rate in this business. Too much money goes out and not enough money comes in.

There are many reasons that real estate may be a great vocation for you. First and foremost, the harder you work the more money you will make. For most of you this is not the case for your profession. You are either on salary or you are getting paid hourly. No matter how hard you work, you still make the same amount of money and often times your hard work is overlooked. Now you do need to produce enough so that you are not fired, but there is never that incentive to work very hard. In real estate this is the opposite. I wrote earlier about the high turnover in real estate, but that is mainly do to the fact that they were not hard enough workers.

If you are willing to work hard and are excited about getting paid by the amount of work you put in, this could be the right profession for you. Second, how many of you are not able to set your own schedule? A great perk about being a realtor is that you can set your own schedule. Just last week I was able to take a few days off, and another agent was able to cover for me. How often do you wake up and think, if only I could sleep one more hour? As a real estate agent we have the flexibility to sleep in and get to work a little later if that fits our needs. Now there are many times that I work past 5:00p.m but there are days where I would rather sleep in and work a little later than be exhausted all day. Do you ever feel the same way?

The potential income is another benefit of being a realtor. I wrote earlier about how the harder you work the more money that you can make, but I didnt talk about how much money you can make. The location of where you are going to work is going to play a major role in how much money you make, but there is potential to make a seven figure income. Now a seven figure income will not come easily and you will likely be working 60-80 hours a week, but it is possible if you are willing to take the time, energy and expenses to get there. Finally, if you enjoy working with others and enjoy fulfilling other peoples needs this could be your dream job. Everyday is spent making contacts with clients, prospecting, and getting in front of others. You will be the person they are looking for when they need advice about buying or selling their home, and they will appreciate all the hard work that you give them. Real Estate provides a vocation that has unlimited potential for income, a profession that allows you to make more money if you work harder, a very flexible schedule, and a chance to make a difference with many people. So if this is something that you are looking for, begin your exciting career in real estate.



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The Housing Market Effects on the Economy

Karlyn Katigbak asked:




Unless you are a caveman in an area where no other human being can affect your welfare, you are most certainly going to be affected by the activities of the economy.An economy, as defined and abbreviated by Wikipedia, is the realized social system of production, exchange, distribution, and consumption of goods and services of a country or other area.Therefore, an economy involves everything you own, including the lifestyle you have, and the activities that take place in your life.Today, one of the biggest challenges the U.S. economy is having has to do with the crisis that is currently going on with the housing market.Below is a brief description of the effects of the housing market on the U.S. economy.

To an individual who owns a house, the purchase of that house may be one of the biggest investments they have or will ever make. Therefore, the response it has to the market and vice versa can take a large toll on that individual’s life depending on their involvement with that investment.Unless a homeowner is paying cash in full for a property, a home purchase is generally done with a mortgage attached to it.This is a legal instrument that states the terms needed to be met by the borrower so that the borrower can move into their desired property.It is a promise between the bank and the borrower, stating that the property will belong to the borrower until the loan or mortgage is paid off.If the borrower defaults on payments for the property, the mortgage holder or bank then has the right to foreclose on the property and evict the homeowners.



A home that is foreclosed affects the value of the properties surrounding it.For example, during a loan process, the equity (or difference between the value of the property and the amount owed) is first determined by a report generated by a certified appraiser.The appraiser will physically go into the subject property, make an analysis based on the property conditions and its surrounding areas, and determine its appraised value by comparing it to properties that have recently closed escrow or have been foreclosed on.



Property values play a significant factor in the status of the housing market and the economy.During the housing boom that began in the early part of the 21st Century, the U.S. economy soared.As equities increased, so did consumer spending.As a result, more businesses opened up and more jobs became available.The stock markets also soared with interest rates at record lows.



Many people knew the housing market bubble was bound to pop at any time.After all, what goes up must eventually come down, right?

Subprime lending loosened their guidelines to increase nationwide homeownership.People who were unable to pay for their mortgages were given loose options to open up new accounts so they can be encouraged to purchase homes they couldn’t afford.After values increased and equity lines were stripped, foreclosures and mortgage defaults took their place.Eventually, supply increased and demand decreased causing a tremendous toll on the U.S. economy.



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