Student Issues / Attending College

Academics, extracurricular activities, housing and more: be savvy about all facets of attending community college. Get tips on making the Dean's list. Find ways to benefit from community college outside the classroom. Analyze the latest data on graduation and employment rates. Plus news from journals, blogs and more.

View the most popular articles in Student Issues / Attending College:

How Community Colleges Are Changing Remedial Education

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How Community Colleges Are Changing Remedial Education
Remedial education exists to help struggling students succeed in college-level classes. Unfortunately, the existing model may be doing more harm than good. Keep reading to learn more about the history of remedial education and what community colleges are doing to change it.

Community colleges provide educational opportunities for many students who might not otherwise have access to higher education. First-generation college students, single parents, and other nontraditional students make up a significant percentage of the community college population.

For those who enter community college straight after high school and for those who have already completed some higher-level course work, community college is a less challenging transition than for those who have been out of school for years or who are pursuing higher education for the first time. Many nontraditional students struggle when there is a gap between what they already know when they set foot on campus for the first time and what they are expected to know.

That’s where remedial education comes in. Unfortunately, a review of years of remedial education has revealed that, instead of helping students succeed in their college careers, it acts as a brick wall that prevents them from moving forward. Keep reading to learn more about the history of remedial education and what community colleges are doing to change it.

What is Remedial Education?

Remedial education exists at all levels of education from grade school to post-secondary education. A remedial program is typically designed to close the gap between what a student knows and what they are expected to know, typically in math and reading courses. Simply put, remedial instruction is designed to help struggling students strengthen their basic skills to help them succeed.

In a primary education setting, remedial programs

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Five Things Every Recent Community College Graduate Should Do

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Five Things Every Recent Community College Graduate Should Do
You've graduated from community college - now what? Keep reading to learn what to do after you've finished college.

After years of school, finally entering the “real world” is certainly cause for celebration. Graduating from college is an incredible achievement and with it comes unlimited opportunities for the future.

But what exactly do you do after you graduate from a community college? What are your first steps?

Many community college students spend so much time and effort focusing on passing their classes and keeping up their GPA that they fail to really think about what comes next. You don’t necessarily need to plan the next ten years of your life down to the finest detail, but you should have some kind of game plan in place for when you finish school. If you aren’t quite sure what to do after you finish community college, here are five suggestions.

1. Update Your Resume and Beef Up Your Interview Skills

The whole point of going to college is to get the education and experience you need to land your dream job. Just because you have the right degree, however, doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get the job you want. You need to make yourself look valuable to potential employers and that largely comes down to two things – your resume and your interview skills.

When you apply for a job, potential employers will look at your resume first. If they don’t like what they see, you’re unlikely to make it past that first round of cuts and you probably won’t get an interview. You could be the most charismatic person

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Tips for Community College Grads to Break the Millenial Stereotype

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Tips for Community College Grads to Break the Millenial Stereotype
The millennial generation is assumed to be entitled, lazy, and tech-obsessed. When you graduate from college, you may find yourself working against these stereotypes to land your first job. Keep reading to learn some tips for breaking those millennial stereotypes.

There was a time when obtaining a college degree almost guaranteed you a job after graduation. Unfortunately, that no longer seems to be the case. Hundreds of thousands of college graduates enter the “real world” each year and many of them struggle to find a job in their field, no less a job at all.

Many college graduates find that entry-level positions require work experience – experience which they can’t get if no one will give them a job. Add to that the challenge of being labeled a “millennial,” and finding steady employment after graduation is like finding a diamond in the rough.

So, how do you break through the millennial stereotype to land your first job? Keep reading to learn what the top millennial stereotypes are and how to overcome them to get a job.

This TEDx Talk by Keevin O'Rourke discusses How to Make Millennials Want to Work for You.

What Are the Most Common Stereotypes About Millenials?

First and foremost, it needs to be established exactly what a millennial is. There is some confusion regarding which ages fall into the millennial category, but most researchers agree that millennials are the generation born between 1980 and 1996. People born during this generation have been assigned all kinds of labels including lazy and entitled. The more these labels are used, the more they perpetuate the stereotype – a stereotype that may or may

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How Do Mental Health Issues Affect Community College Students?

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How Do Mental Health Issues Affect Community College Students?
College is a stressful time but, for students with mental illness, there are some additional challenges. Keep reading to learn more about mental health problems in community college students and how to manage them.

Mental illness is still somewhat of a taboo subject, even though it affects millions of Americans of all ages. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 1 in 5 American adults suffer from some form of mental illness but only 41% of those with mental illness ever seek treatment. The stigma of mental illness makes it difficult for people who struggle with it to reach out for help, especially when they are young and may not be sure what’s going on.

Unfortunately, mental illness is very common in college students and it can impact more than just academic performance – it can affect the quality of life as well. Keep reading to learn more about common mental health issues as well as the challenges they create for students and how to manage them.

Understanding Common Mental Health Issues

There are many different forms of mental illness and they affect people in different ways. Though mental health issues are vast and varied, there are some more common than others. The top mental health issues facing college students include the following:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Eating Disorders
  • Addiction

Depression is not just one of the most common forms of mental illness overall – it also affects as many as 36% of college students on some level. This condition is characterized by low mood, sadness, hopelessness, and changes in sleep, weight, and appetite. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million adults over the

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How to Manage Your Stress While Attending Community College

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How to Manage Your Stress While Attending Community College
We all feel stressed from time to time but, for many college students, the stress is never-ending. Keep reading to learn how to reduce and manage your stress in community college.

Everyone experiences stress from time to time, but stress is a constant companion for many college students. The pressure of maintaining good grades in multiple classes while engaging in extra-curricular activities and keeping up with friends can be draining. Sometimes, it leads to anxiety, depression, or more serious consequences. Keep reading to learn about some of the most common causes of stress in college and its effect on your mental and physical health. You’ll also receive some tips for reducing and managing your stress.

This video explains why college is so stressful for many students.

Why is College So Stressful?

According to the National College Health Assessment, nearly 50% of undergraduate students reported feeling overwhelmed by their academic responsibilities. Furthermore, the National Institute of Health reports that 30% of college students experience profound depression, which is often confused with extreme stress. But what is it that makes college so stressful? Here are some of the most commonly reported causes of stress in college students:

  • Living away from home for the first time
  • The pressure to perform well on school work and tests
  • The financial burdens of college
  • The pressure to land a good job after school

Though college can be a great time to explore new things and blaze your trail, for many students, it is their first time being away from home, which can be challenging. Living in an unfamiliar environment around unfamiliar people

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Student Issues / Attending College

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