College Students - 5 Tips For Making Top Grades

Did you know that every year more than 17 million students enter college but only half of them will actually graduate? Believe it or not, according to the education department, 45% of students who attend college will drop out or fail out. When these students enter college, they all have high expectations and aspirations of making good grades and graduating. Every semester I see students make simple mistakes that, unknown to them, jeopardize their grades. More and more students are dropping out or failing out of college each year because they lack essential information that goes beyond the typical classroom skills. Here are 5 suggestions for students who need and want to make better grades:

1. Go to class the first day. Many students make the mistake of missing the first class because they think it's a waste of time. But it is a mistake that will cause many problems throughout the semester. When you miss the first day of class, not only do you miss pertinent information, but you also create a first bad impression.
2. Before you go to class, find out what books or articles the professor has written. Buy a copy of their latest book, or borrow it from the library and take it to class with you on the first day. If there are no books, find an article by the professor and read it. This will impress the professor and will show that you have an interest in the material and the professor's work.
3. Introduce yourself to your professor on the first day and make a comment about their book or article. Just because you're familiar with your name do not assume that the professor will know and remember it. It's your job to make yourself stand out from the rest of the class, and the first way to do that is to get the professor to associate your face with your name.
4. Schedule a personal appointment with your professor during the first two weeks of school. Most students wait until there is a crisis in their lives to schedule an appointment with the professor. Take the initiative and meet with the professor before a crisis. It helps create credibility and ground the relationship between you and the professor. During the appointment let the professor know of your interest in the subject, and ask what you can do to receive a top grade from the class.
5. Ask your professor how he or she became interested in the subject matter of the class. Asking this simple question will do more for you than you will ever imagine. It will make you stand out from everyone else, and it will help that professor remember you. Ultimately it could work to your advantage in receiving a better grade. Don't underestimate the power of this question.

While these tips may seem innocent on the surface, they can make a big difference in the results you receive if you apply them.

Kamau Kenyatta, author of the new book, "The Confessions of A College Professor," view here, teaches at William Paterson University in Wayne, NJ.

To learn more about making top grades in college visit http://www.yourcollegeprofessor.com

Higher and Professional Education in India

Higher education in India is gasping for breath at a time when India is aiming to be an important player in the emerging knowledge economy. With about 300 universities and deemed universities, over 15,000 colleges and hundreds of national and regional research institutes, Indian higher education and research sector is the third largest in the world, in terms of the number of students it caters to.

However, not a single Indian university finds even a mention in a recent international ranking of the top 200 universities of the world, except an IIT Kharagpur ranked at 41, whereas there were three universities each from China, Hong Kong and South Korea and one from Taiwan. On the other hand, it is also true that there is no company or institute in the world that has not benefited by graduates, post-graduates or Ph.D.s from India be it NASA, IBM, Microsoft, Intel, Bell, Sun, Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Cambridge or Oxford, and not all those students are products of our IITs, IIMs, IISc/TIFR or central universities, which cater to barely one per cent of the Indian student population.

This is not to suggest that we should pat our backs for the achievements of our students abroad, but to point out that Indian higher educational institutions have not been able to achieve the same status for themselves as their students seem to achieve elsewhere with their education from here. While many reasons can be cited for this situation, they all boil down to decades of feudally managed, colonially modelled institutions run with inadequate funding and excessive political interference.

Only about 10 per cent of the total student population enters higher education in India, as compared to over 15 per cent in China and 50 per cent in the major industrialized countries. Higher education is largely funded by the state and central governments so far, but the situation is changing fast. Barring a few newly established private universities, the government funds most of the universities, whereas at the college level, the balance is increasingly being reversed.

Name:Naraginti Amareswar reddy
Father Name: N.M.Reddy
Sex: Male
Date of Birth: 10th Fed 1981
Ed Qua: M.Sc., M.Ed., research scholar in the dept. of education, sri venkateswara university, tirupati, india
e-mail ID: amareswaran@yahoo.co.in

Why Are You Going to College?

While in high school, most students begin to select a general career direction. Some make careful choices, while others leave things to chance. Either way, the process usually begins there. When college is in the offing, those young adults will attend college for a wide variety reasons. Those reasons usually fall into four distinct categories: Parents, Career, Money and Interests.

Parents frequently try to steer their children into college. These parents generally recognize that many corporate employers now consider the college degree to be a requirement for administrative, supervisory, technical and management positions. However, college is not right for everyone. Some students aren't ready. Others are better suited for careers in areas where a college education is not all that useful.

Career goals can drive those students who have a specific career in mind. They may want to be an attorney, a doctor, a scientist, an accountant or a social worker, etc. Students who know where they are trying to go usually have an advantage over students who are confused and less focused. Other students may have already entered the world of work and have come to recognize that their career progress may depend on obtaining a degree in their specialty or perhaps in business and management. Such students may attend college on a part-time basis, often at night or on weekends.

Money affects the decisions of some students. These students may select their career direction based on the amount of money they think they can make in that field. People with college degrees often hold higher positions and earn considerably more money than people without a degree, in similar positions. Highly desirable degrees, from the most well-respected colleges, can put high performing students on a career fast track.

Other interests will motivate some students to attend college. Those interests can include a love of learning, athletics, the arts, science, politics and even friendship may come into play (to follow a girl/boyfriend) or for social reasons (meet members of the opposite sex). In other cases, students may attend college by default. These students may go to college simply because all of their friends are going or they don't have a job and don't have a better alternative.

Ultimately, upon graduation from college, most young adults will be starting a new job, going on to Graduate School or seeking a full-time job. And so, the reason that most students are going to college is to obtain the knowledge, wisdom, experience and successes that will impress potential employers and help them land a good job or get into Graduate School.

If students and parents accept this statement, the question then becomes, what can students do to impress potential employers or help them get into Graduate School? And so, if students want to improve the odds for being successful after graduation, they must make the most of the entire four-year college experience.

Employers and Graduate Schools look for seven things:

1. Academic success usually means a "B" average or better. Many employers and Graduate Schools will not even consider you if you don't meet their academic standards.

2. The quality of your college education refers to the rating, reputation and status of your college.

3. A well-rounded college experience.

- Participation in clubs and athletic activities

- Work experience

- Community activities

- Campus events and activities

- Willingness to try things

4. Successes, accomplishments and results.

- Leadership roles and experiences in your area of interest

- Demonstrated strengths that differentiate you from others

- Communication skills (speak, write, present, listen, teach, etc.)

- Examples of competence with technology and computers

- Ability to build relationships and function in a team environment

- Examples of having accepted responsibility

- Ability to overcome obstacles

- Willingness to be held accountable

5. A powerful resume that presents the student's assets and capabilities.

6. Outstanding communication and interviewing skills.

7. Strong references from professors, advisors, coaches, employers, community leaders and other impressive people.

These seven items are the keys to success as students attempt to enter the world of work or be accepted to a desirable Graduate School. If students want their careers to get off on the best foot after college, each student should keep these items in the forefront, as they progress through their college experience.

Visit Bob's web site: www.The4Realities.com. Bob Roth is the author of The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College -and- The College Student's Guide To Landing A Great Job.

Bob Roth, a former campus recruiter, is the author of The College Student's Guide To Landing A Great Job -and- The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College. Known as The "College & Career Success" Coach, Bob also writes articles for nearly 200 College Career Services Offices, Campus Newspapers, Parent Associations and Employment Web Sites. Additionally, Bob has developed 20 Self-Scoring Learning Tools that help college students find success. He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs across the country and also by many newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal. Lastly, Bob serves as an Adjunct at Marist College, teaching a course in Career Development. http://www.The4Realities.com