FIRAT EDUCATIONAL JOURNAL The New Educational Journal of Houston

Sponsored by Firat Educational Solutions

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Educating our future with solutions for life. ™

www.firateducation.com 1

College Counseling is one of the great services

offered by Firat Educational Solutions, LLC.

(FES). For this issue the President, founder and

Chief Academic Coach of FES, Ibrahim Firat,

made a special trip to California and visited the

several prestigious universities in the area.

Accompained by one of FES’s student and his

parents, Firat assisted them in what to

look for in a college visit, what questions to

ask, and how to rate each school.

Now, you have a chance to see what the West

Coast state has to offer just in case if you start

to think about being a student outside of Texas.

The first institution shown is University of San

Diego (USD)*. Here you have pictures and

information that might inspire you to take the

next step.

Photos by Ibrahim Firat

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSU 4

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The University of San Diego was chartered in 1949 and is a Roman Catholic institution. At

the present USD enrolls over 7,000 students and it is considered one of the main educational

society committed to advancing academic excellence.

USD offers more than 60 bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and has around 2,000 employees.

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

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With one of the best athletic facilities on the West Coast, University of San Diego can offer a

healthy lifestyle to its students. The service includes fitness center, weight room, softball complex,

sports center pool, tennis courts, stadiums and much more.

USD is located on 180 acres

overlooking the city of San

Diego, Mission Bay and the

Pacific Ocean.

* The information from pages 1 to 3 is

from USD and CA.gov websites

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Setting Up your Future How to manage your financial worries

By Ingrid Furtado

Once was the time when parents could

send their kids to college without many financial

worries. Research has shown that the tuition has

increased every year in the USA

since the end of World War II.

But in the last 25 years, the result

of this growing payment is stark

according to report of the

National Center for Public Policy

and Higher Education: From

1982 to 2007 the cost of

attending college has risen 439

percent, which means nearly

three times the rate of the cost of

living.

In comparison, according to the report,

median family income rose 147 percent. So,

what do you do in order to keep the kids in

college without losing comfort and steadiness?

The key answer for this is planning, as

the associate Director of Financial Aid of

University of Houston, Jessica Thomas explains.

“Saving money and applying for

admissions earlier are very important. The

high school student should start visiting the

colleges they want to pursue in the junior year.

It can seem too early but it is not. At senior

year there are so many things to think about”,

Thomas says.

In order to apply for financial aid a

student must fill out the FAFSA (Free

Application for Federal Student Aid) on its

website .“This application is used to apply for

grants, work-study, and student

loans. It is important for

students to apply early in order

to meet the priority deadline at

the school in which the student

is applying”, she says.

Thomas added that “At the

University of Houston, for

instance, April 1 is our priority

deadline to receive priority

grant funds. Each school may

have a different deadline, so

apply in February or early March is

recommended. Also, every school has a

different level of grant funding, so what a

student receives at one school will be different

at another school.”

If eligible, students can receive grants,

work-study, or loans.

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“ The high school

student should start

visiting the colleges they

want to pursue in the

junior year” Director of Financial Aid of University of

Houston, Jessica Thomas

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

However, if a student can’t pay the

tuition fully what kind of programs do the

universities have to assist in this payment? In

general, Thomas says, payment plans are

available at most universities.

“But it is ultimately up to the student to

pay the tuition in full in order to continue in

their academic program. Federal student loans

are the best way to pay for tuition differences in

the case when grants do not

cover the cost of

tuition. Financial Aid is

intended to assist students

with their education costs.”

In addition, Thomas

also encourages students to

find other ways to get

additional loans. “Beyond

what the FAFSA application

can offer (Direct Subsidized,

Unsubsidized, or PLUS loans), then there are

private loans that the student and parent can

apply for thru the lender of their choice. These

are credit based loans”.

For those who have more than one child

at the same institution there is another way to

get loans. “Usually, the universities can

calculate the expected family contribution and

then, based on the results, the family is eligible

for some grants or loan”, Thomas says.

She has no doubt about what is the

easiest way to get a scholarship. She

powerfully suggests kids to apply as early as

possible. “Many deadlines are in October thru

December, so paying close attention to

deadlines is the key. Apply for everything, the

more scholarships a student applies for, the

higher the chance of actually receiving

one. Work hard in high school to keep grades

up and participate in

extracurricular activities”.

During a recession, economists

already know that in time of crises

education is the best investment,

not stocks, lands, or houses.

Knowing that, Thomas reinforces

that since the recession student’s

available funds to pay out of

pocket decreases. “So, it is normal

to see an increase in financial aid

applications and more students tend to borrow

where they may not have before”, she

concludes.

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“Many deadlines are in

October thru December,

so paying close attention

to deadlines is the key.” Director of Financial Aid of University of

Houston, Jessica Thomas

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Plan it yourself !

What kind of payments plans exist: Short term loan = can cover tuition and

on-campus living. Installment plan = 3 payments throughout

the semester

Emergency tuition plan (90 days)

How can the students apply for a

scholarship? Or where they can get it?

University scholarships

Departmental scholarships

External/private donor scholarships

What is....

GRANTS

These are federal, state or institutional funds

awarded based on need. Most of these funds are

limited and are awarded on a first-come, first-

serve basis. These funds are considered “free

money” and do not need to be repaid.

WORK-STUDY

This is a need-based type of financial aid. Both

Federal and Texas college work-study require

that the student apply for a job on campus to

earn the funds awarded.

LOANS

These funds are awarded based on need, grade

level and academic career. You must be enrolled

at least half-time and must not exceed federal

aggregate limits to be eligible. There are

Federal Direct Subsidized and Federal Direct

Unsubsidized loans available to students.

No credit check is required; these loans

are awarded based the FAF SA

pplication. Students must complete an entrance

exam and sign a master promissory note by

logging into www.studentloans.gov. There are

also Federal Direct PLUS loans that parents or

graduate students can apply for, in addition to

the subsidized or unsubsidized loans.

Service: www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Source: Director of Financial Aid of University of Houston,

Jessica Thomas

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Image courtesy of www.wallpapers.free07.com3d-photos3d-wallpapers

Resilience: a way to

succeed

By Roberto Noce

This month I chose the topic of

resilience because of its relevance to Pivotal

Changes' mission of coaching into action

individuals for whom "the status quo is not

an option". With this newsletter, I share

some of the details and outcome of

meetings with professionals who sought

help in their career transition after a layoff.

The meetings revolved around the topic of

personal strengths in general and the subject

of resilience in particular.

When I broached the topic of

resilience, the engineers in the group

immediately recanted the definition of

resilience, which focuses on the ability of a

material to retain its original shape under

different stresses. However, for the purpose

of our discussions, we worked with a more

personal definition:

“an ability to recover from or adjust easily

to misfortune or change".

With this as our guide, we agreed

that our goal would be to improve

resilience.

I encouraged the group to contribute

comments, success stories, and action

items. Those who "displayed the greatest

resilience indicated a wide range of goals and

interests. On the other hand, those who had

challenge with resilience had primarily work-

related goals, and stated that they had greater

difficulty adjusting to and/or dealing with

problems as they arose. The former group

shared that during challenging times of

transition, they:

Stay grounded by:

Exercising regularly;

Engaging in relaxing activities;

Some maintaining an active

spiritual life;

Commit to meaningful,

measurable and attainable goals

Focus on problem-solving:

Taking action steps from the

start, even if an ultimate

outcome cannot be envisioned;

Keep a realistic sense of control;

Engage with supportive people:

Problems come and go.

OCTOBER, 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Educating our future with solutions for life. ™

www.firateducation.com 7

Roberto Noce is recognized as an accomplished and respected executive with nearly two decades of

marketing and management experience spanning

the globe. Born in Italy, Roberto holds a Bachelor

of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science

degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M

University, and a Master in Business Administration degree from the University of

Houston. He has also completed extensive

continuing education on coaching and executive development. He can be contact at

roberto.noce@pivotalchanges.com

3701 W Alabama St.

Suite 390

Houston, TX 77027

If you have any questions or com-

ments concerning the Firat Educa-

tional Journal, please email us at

journal@firateducation.com

OCTOBER 2010 VOL 4 ISSUE 4

Educational Headlines

The following are headlines found in international, national, and local newspapers and magazines concerning

education in today’s world.

Educating our future with solutions for life. ™

www.firateducation.com

4,100 Students Prove „Small Is Better‟ Rule Wrong s Private Tutoring Booms, by The New York Times

University College London agrees to pay „living

by BBC

One of Our Best Education Resources

by U.S Department of Education