Many public high schools in eight states have decided to start a program in the next academic year which would allow 10^th graders to take a battery of exams which would help them acquire a diploma two years early. This would also let them enroll in community college. If you are in 10^th grade then you have a great opportunity ahead.

If you pass the exam but aim to attend a selective college you may continue with your college preparatory courses in your junior and senior years.  Suppose you fail the 10th-grade examinationthen you may try again at the end of your 11th and 12th grades. The tests would cover not only English and Math but also subjects like science and history.

This program is being started by the National Center on Education and the Economy, and its main intention is to insure that students like you master a set of basic knowledge . They mainly wish to reduce the number of high school graduates who require remedial courses when they enroll in college. Many college fresher have to undertake remedial courses and because of this many students even drop out of college before acquiring the degree. Avail this new opportunity rather than dropping out.  

High school students will begin the new coursework in the fall of 2011 in Connecticut, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.

The new module provides you with a clear outline of what you need to study to succeed.  It is being said, school systems like Singapore’s promise students that if they diligently study the material in their course syllabuses, they will do well on their examinations. So if you follow the guideline then you would also do well.

This new system would minimize the need for community colleges to offer remedial courses because the passing score for the 10th-grade tests would be set at the level necessary to succeed in first-year College courses. If you fail in the exam your failure comes as a warning and lets you know about the knowledge and proficiency you need to have before enrolling in college.  

You don’t wish to get enrolled in a community college and find out that you are unable to pass the Math and English exam. You also not like to be recommended for remedial courses. So it would be better to follow the course structure and pass the tests to become eligible for the entry.  

Before you head towards a B- School for MBA, ask yourself if you’re truly eligible for the course. You must know how a degree would add value to your career . You should not start a course just because your friends went for it or to fulfill reflecting. A degree alone, would not get you a high paying job. It’s true that MBAs are highly paid professionals but Companies don’t hire MBAs to pay them for stereotype jobs. While hiring, they suppose that the employee would provide strong investigative reports regarding the company’s performance . You may qualify an entrance test but at a later stage you may find that you were not fit for the curriculum program.

A friend of mine joined an MBA program and after a few months realized that he was going on the wrong direction . It was high time for him to discontinue the course so he carried on with it. eventually he landed on a job that was not his cup of tea. If your goal is to build upon your present leadership and communications skills, and to sharpen your capabilities in logical analysis and decision-making then you must go in for a course on Business Administration .

How MBA benefitsyou?

MBA program has an integrated structure that provides knowledge in diverse fields of corporate finance, economics, strategic planning, marketing and basics of accounting. Apart from the hard skills an MBA course would also develop your soft skills like leadership, teamwork and communication etc.    

As a student pursuing MBA you would get opportunities to join organizations as interns and learn the skills and applications of business administration. This would give you a chance to interface with high quality faculty, which in turn gives you exposure to the world of business.

Broad MBA programs require public speaking presentations. Involvement in such activities not only improves public speaking skills but also instills skills of time management. You gain proficiency in effectively presenting innovative thoughts and creating a positive impression on the listener.

The course infuses maturity and decisiveness. While you pursue the course you would be subjected to situations where your decisions, judgments and fact finding skills would play an important role.

You may be on job but wish to gain a role of higher responsibility in your field or you may desire to switch from finance to marketing or to sales. An MBA course could help you take a huge rise in your career path along with an increment in income.  

On the whole, any MBA helps is improving knowledge and skill to set up your own company. If you don’t start your own business then your knowledge makes you an asset for your employer.

Having the right aptitude and a MBA degree you create chances to work with large organizations and move up the career ladder at a fast pace.  

If you intend to pursue a course in Business Management and add value to your current career path then try seeking an admission in one of these top MBA schools.

·        University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)

·        Northwestern University (Kellogg)

·        University of Chicago

·        University of Michigan- Ann Arbor

·        Harvard University (MA)

·        Columbia University (NY)

·        Duke University (Fuqua) (NC)

·        Cornell University (The Johnson School)

·        Stanford University

·        Dartmouth College (Tuck) (NH)

A professional who uses various media to create logos, banners, web pages, greeting cards newsletters and signs etc. is a Graphic Designer. adept designers also create 2D and 3D animations. Graphic designers design video games and even create web sites. Graphic designers also design the background of scenes that are shot on chroma. Some reconstructions and illustrations that we regularly see on television are also works of graphic designers. Graphic designing is a technical art that needs a lot of accuracy and proficiency. You must go into a graphic designing career only if you feel you have it in you.

Being a graphic designer you can either work as an employee or you can work as a freelance graphic designer. Your designs speaks for your skills. Graphic designers use desktop publishing programs for completing their various projects. As graphic designer you would be required to produce rich text and high quality images.

First step towards Graphic Designing:

Inborn talent

You must have a knack for drawing and sketching. If you have the skills then nurture them by joining some classes. This would help you learn the aesthetics.

Degree in Graphic Design

There is a neck to neck competition in this field so it would be better to have a college degree in graphic arts or computer graphics. It is not a mandatory but an added advantage.

Sample work

When you plan to attend a graphic designing school for a degree in graphic arts then be prepared with some sample art works of yours. Your works may be simple but they must show that you have a keen interest in the course .

Keep learning

Keep learning and applying your knowledge to your sample projects. Keep yourself abreast with the latest technological advancements in the field of graphics. The more you acquire knowledge the more eligible you become for a course.

Training

When you get admission in a graphic design college try to get an internship in the design department of a graphic designing organization. An internship would not only make your resume look good but it would give you exposure to the practical aspects of the job. It would also help you to build contacts in the related field, which would help you get graphic designer job when you are out of college .

Freelance projects

You may even start handling simpler projects after a few months in college. This adds to your experience, giving exposure to the practical aspects of the work. Freelance projects would also add a feather to your resume and make you a shade better than those applying for the graphic designing job with you.

Technological Developments

This is a creative field and you must keep track of the latest trends and latest developments in the field. You must have an eye for packaging trends of the media and build the same kind of thinking.

If you are planning to become a graphic designer then build your own perception. Look at things differently and try to present them in an appealing fashion. You need to have a creative heart and mind. Simple thinking would not reach you to your destination.

You must possess extra creativity and add your creativity to the project before submitting it to your employer or client. Think different to present different!

Does the sight of numbers scare you? I was scared of numbers . They used to get mixed and mingled in my mind and my answers used to be crazy enough to be digested by my math teacher. If you believe me, I started getting high scores in mathematics while I was in school. Wondering how? Well, it was not luck! But I worked hard, concentrated in the class room and practiced math at home. The more you practice math the more you get better in it.

Apart from hard work you may use some quick tricks to solve certain things just mentally. I have a few handy tricks for you. You don’t use calculators in the school and the biggest mistakes are made when you make the wrong calculations after applying the correct fundamentals. You teacher calls then silly mistakes. She won’t find them any more on your notebook. Play with figures now.

TRICK 1

Multiplying by 5

It’s easy to remember the table of 5 but how far have you memorized it? You may need to make a quick calculation mentally. Suppose, multiply 3456 x 5. You won’t wish to take out a paper and pen to calculate and waste time. Why not try the following trick-

Divide the number by 2. If it is a whole number then simply add a 0 to it or else remove the decimal.

Example a- 3456 x 5

3456 x 5

3456 / 2 = 1728

So your answer would be – 17280

Example b- 5679 x 5

5679 / 2 = 2639.5

Removing the decimal your answers = 26395

TRICK 2

Multiplying by 11 (only for 2 digit numbers)

If you go by the table of 11 then it is one of the easiest to remember but when digits keep increasing you find that the table is not as easy as you thought.

Example a: 42

Split the digits first; they are now 4, 2

Suppose there are spaces between them.

The format would be-

4_ (4+2) _2

Now add the two numbers- (4+2) = 6

Using the format you find

462

42 x 11= 462

Example b: 79

Split the numbers: 7, 9

Using the same format:

7 _ (7+9) _ 9

When you add 7 and 9, they add up to 16 which is a two digit number, insert the second number and add 1 to the first

(7+1) _ 6 _ 9

Answer = 869

Do you find it tricky? Try a few numbers yourself and you would get it.

TRICK 3

Squaring numbers

To find the square of a number is also a huge multiplication job. The following trick would not solve all your problems but it would solve a few of them for sure.

They are not formulae but only tricks which work

If you need to find the square of 85 you would multiply 85 x 85

Use the trick

[8 x (8+1)] and 25

(8 x 9) and 25

7225

Answer- 85 x 85 = 7225

Try these tricks for sometime and keep an eye on this page for more tricks that would help in making your calculations faster.