Not going to a four-year program doesn’t mean you have to give up on scholarships and financial aid. Community colleges offer many of the same financial aid programs as traditional four-year institutions – but their lower cost structure means your aid package will go farther. Getting financial aid at a community college requires attention to the fine print and adherence to deadlines. If you can manage the details, you may be able to cover a substantial portion of community college costs. With a bit of research, you may even be able to get great local
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Community college gets a bad rap in popular culture as a second-rate or “cheap” education option for losers. Nothing could be further from the truth, but the constant marketing campaigns of large universities can make community college a hard sell. As a parent, you need to use all the tactics at your disposal to convince your child that community college can be a great choice and a smart, practical alternative to four-year programs. This means appealing to emotional aspects as well as practical points. Let’s face it – you’re talking to a 17 or 18
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My favorite ingredient for house cleaning is grease – elbow grease, that is. I’m a firm believer that an extra bit of effort works as well as or better than most of the fancy and expensive products on the market. It’s cheaper, less wasteful, and completely non-toxic as well. However, some household cleaning problems really do require a bit of outside help. Tough fabric stains, calcification, and other determined deposits can be impossible to remove with nothing but water and grunt work. Water is also insufficient to get rid of harmful bacteria on surfaces that
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The stove plays a central role in our homes. We cook with it and in some cases we draw heat from it. In its most basic role, and arguably the most important, we use it to sustain our families. As far as appliances in the kitchen, the stove is probably the most important and it can often be the one we spend the most money on. Because of that, we must understand what we want to use our stove for, how we want to power our stove, and the differences in types and styles of
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If children’s brains are referred to as sponges, able to soak up vast amounts of information at a rapid pace, what does this say about our older brains? Does that sponge really just dry up, leaving us with a useless impermeable rock in its place? If so, we’re all in really big trouble. Past research tells us that learning at an old age, while not impossible, can be a frustrating hurdle for the majority of mature brains. Our older learning processes no longer have the same capacity as they did in our younger days, and
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Like modern-day Dr. Frankensteins, food scientists in the employ of agribusiness have unlocked the secrets of life, and they are using their knowledge to create brand new species of plants and animals that have never existed before anywhere on earth. Genetic engineering techniques that allow splices of DNA from one organism to be inserted into
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Making the transition to living a minimalist lifestyle can be an all-consuming task for adults. So many important decisions must be made that it can be easy for the children to be lost in the shuffle while they are left to fend for themselves. Keeping them engaged is critical. As the mother of a seven year old, I know how much I both enjoy and, at times, dread summer vacation. I love the quality time I get with my daughter and take great pleasure in sharing our daily activities together (she loves to cook with
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A stash of junk silver can be your best friend in a time of crisis. These small, circulated silver coins contain just enough silver to buy bread or pay bills without being valuable enough to attract attention from regulators or Big Brother busybodies. Junk silver flies under the radar, making it perfect for quietly shoring up your financial position in preparation for a currency crisis. Still, many people don’t have any junk silver because they’re confused about what it is, which coins are best, and how to easily get junk silver coins. Fortunately, it’s not
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Catnip is perhaps best known for its ability to give cats a “high”; however, it has many other uses as well. For many years herbalists have used the leaves to treat fevers, pain, anxiety, and even intestinal parasites. It can also be used as a natural pest repellent. Background: Catnip is a perennial member of the mint family. It is thought to have originated in Europe and was imported to America. It is easily grown and is not fussy about soil conditions or watering. Catnip has erect, square, branched stems and heart-shaped, saw-toothed leaves that
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Most kids, and adults for that matter, find writing to be a major drag, even a chore. Getting your children to practice writing is probably like pulling teeth: torture for everyone. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. Many people take great joy in writing or find journaling to be a solace. You can instill a love in writing in your kids, especially if you start early. Writing is a very important skill for your children to learn. Reading and writing make up the foundations of literacy. To be literate, you need to be
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