by Nasir Ismail | Feb 17, 2022 | Blog, Myth vs. Fact, Resources
Often after high school or the completion of a GED, former students might find themselves unsure about their career plans. The societal pressure to attend a four-year bachelor’s program, in a time where several workplace environments demand certain post-secondary credentials, can leave students lost when considering a career path. While colleges may provide you exposure to new ideas, paths, and schools of thought, if you believe your career won’t require a four-year degree, then pursue a credential in something else!
Finding What’s Right For You
Several programs exist for the development of your trade skills and hands-on work, but not many people take advantage of these. For example, if you love to cut or style hair, it would be wise to enroll in a barber program to obtain licensure, rather than a bachelor’s program in an unrelated field. That way, you can gain the credentials/license you’ll need to follow your passion and level-up your career! As you will see, the benefits and the reward of going to a two-year trade school program are real, applicable, and sure to leave you with a job! How come, though, people attach a stigma to this kind of education?
Misconceptions
A common myth states that trade school isn’t worth the time or money. While usually only two years long, and for a fraction of the cost of a bachelor’s degree, this claim can not be more wrong! Although, it is true that trade school may not be the right fit for everyone. Generally, professions in the trades require more manual, skilled labor, and can be physically demanding. Professions include carpentry, electrician, plumber, mason, painter, construction worker, welder, and more!
The Facts
Although, there is real value in two-year degrees, credentials, and certificates! The average entry-level NJ Trade School Graduate earns $57,000 after they complete their two-year degree program. This is around the same amount as entry-level Bachelor’s Degree holders earn after four years of school! New Jersey has over 120 trade schools to choose from throughout the state, depending on your location and career preferences, so it shouldn’t be a hassle to find the right program to get you started.
Why You Should Consider Trade School
Trade schools have the unique ability to teach you hands-on, real-world, immediately-applicable skills that will get you employed the second you start looking for work! So for a fraction of the cost, and for half the time that it takes to get a bachelor’s degree, Trade school offers several amazing, competitive benefits.
by Nasir Ismail | Feb 15, 2022 | Blog, Resources
In general, writing about yourself can be a bit difficult. Trying to persuade your audience into believing you’re the best candidate for a position might seem especially daunting. Keeping just a few pointers in mind, learn how you can breeze through your personal statement to convince any reader why you’re the right candidate for the scholarship, job, or admission of your preference!
Choosing a Topic
Like any writing task, the most common part during which people find themselves stuck is simply when deciding on what to write about. To make it easier, some great topics to write about include: Career interests, Overcoming challenges, Community Service, Leadership, and Perseverance.
Use these to inspire how you decide to tell your story. Honesty is compelling. Before choosing a topic, ask yourself the question, “why do I deserve this,” and be sincere in your response. It’s all about how you present yourself.
Questions to Answer While Writing Your Essay
The reader of your essay wants to know why you want to pursue your studies in the major, career, or field of your choice. Questions to answer include: What have been your life’s biggest inspirations and influences thus far? How do these affect the way you see the world? When did you learn about your passion, and what experience do you have with it, if any? What personal qualities about you will improve your chances of success in your anticipated career, field, or major? For any example, always try to offer proof, and apply how your experience relates not only to the outside world, but towards your academic interests as well. Admissions counselors want to make sure that you really want to go to their school.
Telling Your Story
Here are some general guidelines to follow as a framework for your essay:
- Explain what this opportunity means to you.
- Express your interest and motivation overtly.
- Describe how you spend your free time, your hobbies, and your achievements.
- Identify your long-term goals (personal, educational, career).
- Predict how your education will align with your future goals in great detail.
- Make sure your career goals align with the industry you want to work in.
Proofreading
Have a few sets of eyes read over your essay, and make sure that it is coherent, cohesive, and free of any grammatical errors.
Representing yourself through your writing is one of the most important skills that a person can utilize and leverage to make the most of their opportunities. Following these four steps, you can elevate your personal statement to the next level! These strategies will help you ensure that your value never goes overlooked!
Adapted from United Negro College Fund
For additional resources, please visit: www.uncf.org/scholarships
by Nasir Ismail | Feb 10, 2022 | Blog, Myth vs. Fact, Resources
Got some bad grades from early on in high school? Worried that they might affect your chances of getting into college? While grades certainly reflect some aspects of your capability as a student, they’re not all that matters. Some people might have strengths in areas others will have weaknesses. It’s really important to know your own strengths and use them to your best advantage.
People stress about grades, but truthfully, if you are not the strongest student, there are still so many qualities that a college admissions office will see in you.
Myths
A common misconception is that if your grades are not where you want them to be, you won’t be accepted into any college! People might have told you things like:
“If your grades suffer at the start of high school, it will ruin your chances of getting into college,” or “your grades from 9th grade til 11th grade will determine your college acceptance.” Sometimes they will go so far as to say “you need perfect grades to get into college.”
It’s tough to know what to expect from college before having been there. Claims like the one mentioned above can’t be further from the truth! Such claims only help to discourage people from pursuing their dreams!
Admissions offices understand the challenges that students may face with adapting to harder courses each year. Although, these counselors also recognize and really value progress.
The Facts
Improvement Matters: The fact of the matter is: admissions counselors look for upward trends and improvements over the course of your high school career. If you show improvement throughout the course of your high school career, then your chances of getting into college are already competitive! Supplement that with some average to above-average test scores for some extra leverage, and you will be well on your way.
Build Leadership Skills: Although, don’t be alarmed! Consideration is not only limited to tests and grades! Admissions counselors consider and weigh what kind of person you are, your lifestyle, the activities in which you participate, your honors, and your achievements. These can often be more telling than a student transcript. And if a teacher with whom you share a good relationship can attest to this in a Letter of Recommendation, that will only boost your odds even more.
So, Do Grades Matter?
The bottom line: grades do have weight, but they are not a golden ticket to college. Not everyone realizes the importance of education early in high school. Not realizing this can make your GPA suffer, but that’s not a problem as long as you show consistent improvement afterward.
That being said, being a good candidate for college or university is less about your actual GPA than it is about your improvement and development of skills over time.
Colleges want to see that you want to go; that you are fully motivated. If you have good grades, then that’s great! Now it could be time to focus on an extracurricular activity. If your grades are not up to college standards, you still have time to make them better. Furthermore, you still have time to develop your skills to match those of someone who really wants to succeed in higher education.
Always remember, college is for the benefit of no one other than yourself. So no matter what kinds of grades you may have had, if they reflect an upward trend, and if you put some genuine effort into developing your personality through sports, clubs, or other extracurricular, documentable activities, then you can count on yourself to propel you to the next level.
by Nasir Ismail | Jan 12, 2022 | Blog, Resources
If you’re searching for jobs or applying to schools, chances are: people out there are searching for your information to help make a decision about you.
In this day and age, the internet and social media give others a very wide lens into your life. With this in mind, it’s crucial to keep track of just what information people can discover about you online.
Before you continue, try and Google yourself! Become familiar with what you see, and take note of the results you like, and the things you would like to see added, modified, or removed.
Search engines allow people to find out whatever they want to about you. People might do this to help make judgments about your character, or just to find out more about your identity. Whatever the case may be, nowadays, a digital online identity is something almost everyone has–that almost everyone can search for and see.
Therefore, it must be maintained deliberately and handled with care!
Digital Footprints
You have what is called a “digital footprint” on the internet. Your digital footprint consists of things like the names of your social media accounts, photos and videos that you post, content that you are tagged in, and accounts you interact with online.
Social media activity has the heaviest influence on the modern digital footprint. This is due to the stark rise in–and the mass adoption of–online social networking over the last decade. But also, it means: you need to be cautious about how you behave on social media!
So as an applicant striving to compete for a position, whether at a new company, organization—or a new school, keeping track of your digital footprint is the best way to accurately express and control your digital identity.
Now, it’s true that social media is sometimes a scary space to navigate: There is a major lack of privacy. Nothing you post ever really disappears. People freely publish and share loads of false information. Some platforms steal your attention and leave you incapacitated for hours.
It’s not all bad, though.
The great thing is, you are actually in full control of most of the factors that can positively affect your online identity. Social media sites are a place for people to tell their stories! Users can introduce themselves online, build a network of peers, and show off their skills. So, rest assured, learning how to use social media properly–and to your own advantage–will seriously benefit your personal branding. As a result, it should provide you with better networking opportunities–and thus, better career opportunities.
Below, we have outlined three strategies that can help you best represent who you are using social media.
Developing a Digital Identity
Carefully planning and developing the presentation of your identity is the first step. This is key in letting others know who are and what you can do.
Make sure that you are aware of all the content that ties to your name. As mentioned earlier, Google yourself!
Know what’s out there and start thinking about how you want to represent yourself. Put yourself in the shoes of a hiring manager or admissions counselor, and try to visualize what either of them would want to see in an applicant. Although this might require some research, it’ll set the foundation for you to build a noteworthy digital identity.
When thinking about what’s important information to display to others on the internet, make sure it’s accurate and informative. You might see something that you don’t want others to see online, like an embarrassing photo or post. Or there might exist some kind of misleading information, like a hacked or fake account, misrepresenting your brand and identity. Very fortunately, you can almost always update your privacy settings on the respective platform so unwanted information stops showing up in searches. If this doesn’t work, you can always send an email or chat with their support teams to resolve the matter.
Be sure to purposely engage on social media. Be sure to interact with content and people that you like. Your online habits tend to reflect your character. For example, imagine someone who openly expresses hate towards certain groups of people online. They make rude comments and repost offensive content. Employers will feel that this person will behave the same way within their workspace. They will thus be hesitant to allow this behavior at work or on campus. Make sure your values are reflective of your social media accounts. Know what to publicize, and what to keep private.
Building Your Online Brand and Portfolio
People often switch their accounts to private mode so that fewer people can find them online. There will always be information about you online though. Sometimes, it is even a disadvantage to keep all of your information private.
If you are looking to gain exposure for your skills online, it’s certainly better to keep your posts public. Otherwise, it will feel like trying to be seen after turning yourself invisible! This way, whoever is looking for you online can find what they need to know about you with ease; be it an employer or an admissions office.
Social media is like a canvas where you can display your skills, talent, and reasons people should desire these skills and your talent. After developing your online identity, it is important to use it to convey a story: your story. Nothing much will happen if you only tell people what you do. In order to make an impression, you must display, present, and demonstrate your story as much as you tell it! This means: if you have created some kind of content that exhibits your skills, make a website about yourself! Don’t be afraid to show others your work. Create a portfolio!
Your portfolio can highlight things like your art, writing, services, products, or whatever you want to showcase. A portfolio is your opportunity to show the world what you have offered others, and thus, what you can offer to the world. Look to leaders in your industry and field to gain inspiration on how to go about creating and presenting your portfolio. Although, be sure to stay original, creative, and innovative. Your portfolio should set you apart from your competition. It should not cause you to blend in.
Building Your Network
Okay, you have built your social media identity and have created an online brand for yourself. You made a portfolio that showcases your skills and talents. Now, in order to really spread the word about–well, yourself, it’s time to network!
Most people use social media just to connect with family and friends. Several people fail to realize that the people you need are just a search and a click away. Follow with your influences. Research and connect with people working in the fields or industries that you want to work in. Link yourself up with peers who are in the same shoes as you are. Making and maintaining these connections can provide tremendous help if and when the need arises. Furthermore, following your influences and the thought-leaders of interesting fields can continually inspire and educate you.
Having a network that is appropriate to you can also expose you to an incredible library of resources, like virtual workshops and educational resources. You don’t even need to consciously or actively be pursuing these things! The beauty of these online places is that they are immersive. Proper use of these platforms can set your life in a better direction just by exposing you to a variety of ideologies that suit your lifestyle and beliefs. This way, you can use social media to even ask for help if and when you might need it. You can use social media platforms to gain the inspiration you need to keep moving forward with your passions.
Will this make a difference? (spoiler alert: most definitely.)
You might be wondering, why does any of this matter? Admissions offices and HR teams can’t possibly look through every person’s social media account.
The surprising truth is, according to research by Christine Koenig as reported in the Chicago Tribune, 67% of schools admitted using google to search for more information about a prospective student. Nearly 86% of these schools admitted to researching students’ social media sites. As for job-seekers, another report suggests a staggering 80% of employers are googling applicants to gain more information than may be shared in a resume and cover letter.
So, if you believe managing your digital identity bears no importance on how your future college or employer will see you, you might want to take a second to reconsider. Using the three strategies mentioned above will let you effectively and efficiently build up your digital identity while using it to your competitive advantage. With the evolution of social media today, your digital identity is almost as important as your physical identity… and it is certainly more telling.
Connect with The Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC) on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or Linkedin to stay up to date!
by Daphne S. Alva | Sep 28, 2021 | Blog, Resources
When should I start applying for college?
So many deadlines, so little time.
We at the Newark City of Learning Collaborative (NCLC) understand that there are many important dates to remember when applying to college, especially because every college has its own set of deadlines. Many colleges also have multiple application options to choose from, each with its own due date. Therefore, it is important that you know the unique information for each college to which you plan to apply.
According to College Board, there are two different application processes to be aware of: early admission and regular decision. If you are certain of your top choice(s), early admission may be the right choice for you. It may give you a better chance to get accepted; however, you will not be able to compare admission or financial aid offers from multiple schools. If you want more time to select the right college, compare admission or financial aid packages, or give yourself another semester of grades to use towards your application, then regular decision is the way to go.
Here are the options and the requirements for each process:
EARLY ADMISSION
- Deadlines range from October to November of senior year.
- Three types:
- Early Decision
- You can apply to only one school; this option is binding, meaning if you are accepted and offered enough financial aid, you must attend.
- Some schools offer Early Decision I and Early Decision II.
- Early Action
- You can apply to more than one school; this option is not binding.
- Single-Choice Early Action
- You can apply early to only one school, however you are allowed to apply regular decision to other colleges.
- You do not have to decide to attend until spring.
REGULAR DECISION
- Deadlines range from January to February of senior year.
- There is nothing binding about a regular decision application.
- You gain more time to find the right college for you and compare financial aid packages.
- You add another semester of grades to your application, which may help especially if it helps highlight improvement over the course of your academic career.
Every college has different deadlines and options, so be sure to check the websites of each of your top choices to gather all the information you need. NCLC is here to support and assist you throughout the application process. Contact us at nclc.info@newark.rutgers.edu if you have any questions. Good luck this fall and beyond!
by Daphne S. Alva | Sep 14, 2021 | Blog, Resources
Back-to-school is a very busy time of the year. Students are meeting their teachers and classmates for the first time, they’re adjusting to their classes and coursework, and they are also discovering extracurricular activities they want to participate in.
Extracurricular activities are a great way to feel as part of something. Whether it’s joining an after-school club, band, sports team, or serving the community, adding an extracurricular activity can be a bit intimidating but rewarding. If you are looking for tips on how to balance extracurricular activities while excelling in school, you’ve come to the right place.
Below we’ve outlined four ways to balance extracurricular activities and school this fall.
1-Develop a Schedule
Having a schedule will be key to your time management. Create a daily, weekly, and/or monthly schedule with all your commitments including school assignments, events, activities, deadlines, etc. Having this visible on your calendar will help you know what’s on your plate and will prevent you from overbooking yourself. You will also be able to set reminders for your upcoming events and develop a healthy routine that works for you. The better you manage your time and follow your schedule, the more fun you will find in your extracurricular activities.
2-Set Your Priorities
Regardless of the length of your to-do list, remember that school comes first. Academics is a foundational part of your growth. As you review your deadlines, events, and due dates, always prioritize all the things related to school. These are commitments that come first as you aim to grow in your career path. Once you’ve prioritized school, you can then prioritize the rest of your activities in the order you see fit. Remember to make yourself a priority too. Self-care time is essential to recharge and be prepared for the next task at hand.
3-Be Selective
There are so many extracurricular activities to choose from. Be sure to review all your choices and pick the one(s) that interests you the most. Avoid committing to more than you can handle. Give yourself a few months to practice and master an extracurricular activity. If you see no progress or lack of interest, you are fine to try a different one. Do not be afraid to be selective as it requires time and energy to commit to something.
4-Ask for Help or Say ‘No’
The most important part of maintaining a balance between school and extracurricular activities is asking for help and knowing your limits. If you are overbooked or overwhelmed, it is okay to ask for assistance. If you are leading a project, delegate your tasks and check in for progress. You do not need to do everything yourself. Remember to put your health (mental and emotional) first. Get enough rest, recharge, and set your boundaries. This will always allow you to put your best work forward.
Balance is Key
Balancing school and extracurricular activities is no easy task, but a very rewarding one. Consider the four recommendations above. Adding an extracurricular activity to your schoolwork will help you manage your time wisely and improve your people skills. Be selective in your activities and don’t be afraid to set your boundaries. Being productive in and out of the classroom will make you a well-rounded individual! Good luck this fall and beyond.
