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September 2010
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Chew On This…Improve Your Memory!

All the energy drinks in the world will not help you remember the answer to #24 on your midterm. Sure, they might help you stay awake to study (jitters included) but did you know that there are actually foods you can eat that will improve memory? Surprisingly, your studying environment affects your performance as well. Make sure your space works for you..not against you!

There are certain nutritional components that are essential for brain health and function. Be sure to eat a balanced diet, get enough sleep (keep in mind that’s 8 hours…NOT 3!) and exercise in order to increase memory improvement.

Chomp on these foods to boost your brain power to superhuman levels:

1. Berries- toss ‘em into smoothies, in your granola or just eat them plain!

2. Egg yolks- forget the morning bagel and cook up an egg. Be sure to limit yourself to a few eggs a week due to their high cholesterol levels. Improving memory can be delicious and easy.

3. Dark, leafy greens- be like Popeye and scarf down some spinach, kale, collard greens, etc. Cook them with some garlic and a touch of olive oil for a side dish for dinner and you’ve got a scrumptious advantage for your early morning exam the next day.

4. Broccoli- you might be tempted to smoother them in cheese or butter and salt….DON’T! Steam them and toss with whole wheat pasta or eat it along side some grilled chicken or lean steak. GREAT for you!

5. Whole wheat breads,pastas, cereals- this is probably the easiest food to incorporate into your diet. When it’s lunch time, opt for the whole wheat bread for your sandwich. Not only will you improve your memory, but you will be getting some more fiber into your diet which will keep you full while studying.

It can be difficult to fit in all your fruits and veggies each and every day but your body is counting on you to do so! You will see a remarkable improvement in your life if you commit to eating healthfully every day and you might even see your grades go up! For more health tips, info and news, do be sure to stop by the Responsive Health Blog.

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So You Want to Get Your Degree Online? How to Choose the Best Fit!

Online Degree Student

You’ve weighed your options and you’ve decided obtaining your degree online is the best option for you…now, how do you choose the right online college program?

There are many factors to consider to ensure that you choose the online college degree program that is perfect for you. The most important components include:

Accreditation

School accreditation is a very important factor to consider in choosing an online college. As described by the US Department of Education, accreditation exists to ensure that the education provided by institutions of higher education meets acceptable levels of quality. There are standards that must be met in order to qualify as a nationally accredited and recognized school. You can search the database for accredited colleges on the Department of Education’s website.

Degree/Desired Area of Work

Which degree level are you looking to obtain? There are masters degree programs as well as bachelors and career-specific training certificates available for completion. Your college choice will depend on your degree goals. You may want to attend a career-specific college if you know exactly what you want to do. A nursing college, a culinary arts school or graphic design school may be best suited to your goals. The other option is to participate in a regular online college degree program. Whatever you choose, it should be tailored to your specific area of interest.

Cost

Are you on a budget? Online colleges will vary in tuition prices but regardless, there are scholarships, loans, payment plans, and other forms of financial assistance available. Don’t cross out a school just because it seems too expensive on paper because the price damage can always be offset by financial aid. Or, maybe you want to bunker down and stay in school to weather the economic storm! Read more about that growing trend here.

Program Length

If you are itching to be out in the workforce, degree in hand, or your wallet demands you to be, then you might want to consider a shorter degree program. You can enroll in a program that perhaps only takes 12-24 months to complete.

Reputation

Ask questions! When you talk to an admissions representative, be sure to take notes and request the information you are looking for then compare it to the other schools you speak with. Also, find someone who has successfully completed the program and ask about their experience. If you do not know of anyone personally, ask the school to provide you with a name and number and they should be more than willing to do so. Alternatively, you can rely on our friends over at www.DegreeGo.com to provide you with high quality, fully accredited degree programs from around the country.

What do YOU think are the most important factors in choosing an online degree program?

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Ten Facts About Education Going Commercial

The education market is going more commercial than ever; schools see the market of the higher education degree as a business, with the price gap between state schools and private schools closing. This is recognized not just in the United States, but all over the world, British author Ian Angus reports.

The following are ten facts about the commercialization of education; how they benefit you, the online learner, and how they also hurt your academic future.

The Benefits of Commercialized Higher Education Degrees

1: Private schools are within a reasonable price range. Most online higher education degree options are available through private schools. The commercialization of education means that state schools step up their pricing, bridging the gap between them and these private school options. Thanks to the commercialization of education, it is actually considered a financially sound choice to attend either a private or public university.

2: Students are treated with more respect. At a commercialized school, the student is the customer; that is why private schools still thrived back when they were thrice or more the price of state schools. The most horrific student experiences come from a university’s sense of entitlement, that they owe nothing to the student that helps fund them.

3: Students receive a better product, or education. Commercialized education means that schools are competing more than ever for whole can provide quality education at a reasonable price. Like any other market, this healthy competition is a benefit to the buyer, or in this case, the student.

4: Students of different ages and backgrounds will study together. The enmeshing of private schools, public schools, and the costs associated with each means that students of all walks of life will start attending both forms of education. Higher education degree options that once were mostly available to male, upper class white American citizens will become more available to other students; and higher education degrees that once were only pursued by adult learners will be pursued by all ages.

5: Students will have more say over the educational system. Since commercialized education means that students are paying more for education than the government, the direction of education will lie more in the hands of students and teachers and less in the hands of government officials only interested in a process.

The Drawbacks of Commercialized Higher Education Degrees

6: The traditional educational subjects are downgraded in the name of occupationally-sound degree options. In commercialized learning, higher education degrees focus more on the job role they fulfill and less on the traditional academics, such as sciences and liberal arts. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for you, the online learner, if you’re going to school to acquire a degree for a new job opportunity.

7: The pursuit of knowledge is not considered as much of a community source. When state schools become more expensive and compete with for-profit schools, this means that knowledge–pursued and created–isn’t available to the lower classes. Student loans and grants help fix this problem, however.

8: Schools are there to make money. As education becomes commercial, there’s no denying the purpose of the higher education degree: for schools to make money. For-profit schools are based on financial gain and, while this grants benefits to the student such as customer respect, it also means that students will not be attending universities that exist solely for academia.

9: Education is simply more expensive. There’s no avoiding the fact education is more expensive than it used to be a decade ago. Private colleges seem more affordable — after all, they’re not much different from the price tag of state universities these days — but the education industry is spiking its costs across the board as commercialism comes into the picture.

10: Education is heading in an unknown direction. Since the commercialization is relatively knew, it makes predicting the direction of education less predictable.

What are your thoughts about the commercialization of higher education degree choices?

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