Welcome to Begin College
Starting college can be an overwhelming experience. For community college students looking to transfer to a four-year university, university students on the path to graduate, students returning to school after a long break or making a career change, or for students interested in a job promotion, navigating college is difficult and confusing.
Common college questions we get everyday include:
- How can I pay for school?
- How do I apply for financial aid?
- What classes should I take?
- What careers currently have the most opportunity and offer high paying wages?
- What do I include in my personal statement for college admissions and scholarships?
These are all common questions that many students have before and during college. BeginCollege offers students and potential students college and financial aid resources to help them accomplish their academic and career goals, regardless of what they may be.
Free College Resources
This college resource has been featured by the media such as Examiner.com and Suite101.com. How is BeginCollege so different from other websites? BeginCollege offers potential students (high school students, displaced workers, or those making a career change) an inside look at the college admissions process, program overview for certificate programs, and hot trends for short-term career programs. In addition, this website offers current students helpful advice on college scholarships, college grants, student loans, student educational plans, success strategies for both in and out of the classroom. Among these college resources, transfer help for community college students sheds light on deadlines, personal statements, transfer admission guarantees, and other transfer related topics. Lastly, Begin College offers graduating students resources in preparation to entering the workforce.
Online Courses
Have you asked yourself, what can I do to get into the medical field with little to no experience? Or, have you thought, how could I ever complete any training or school while working full-time? Better yet, have you asked yourself how you could squeeze in classes while spending the time your family needs with them? If you’ve asked yourself those tough questions, you’ve probably come up with an “I dunno” type of answer or something like “there is no possible way.” This is where many people wanting to go to school but feel they can’t are wrong.
For those having full-time jobs, families, or require a flexible class schedule, distance education has become a popular trend in today’s education. While more and more accredited online schools are appearing, traditional colleges are expanding their course offerings of online classes to capture students from all areas of the country. Education is no longer a local recruitment initiative. Attending college has now become a few clicks away thanks to the advancements of technology, computers and the Internet. In a recent national survey by the US Department of Labor, the average household has two computers in the home. That is soon to grow to four computers in the home by 2020. With this technological advancement and having access to the Internet so readily available, online courses will continue to be sought out.
The benefits of taking online college courses may include:
- A flexible schedule
- Tailored for the motivated working adult
- A way into a new career
- Training for work
- Employer subsidized tuition (job pays fees)
- Increased salary
Financial Aid – Scholarships, Grants, Loans
In order to have access to higher education, college, and other forms of training, paying for fees is the common thread. If you’re like most people, you or your family have felt the impact of this touch economy and paying for school is more challenging now than it has been in the past. So, how do you secure funds to pay for your fees? There’s good news! Students have multiple ways to pay for college, the secret is knowing where to look.
Having the right information about college is great, but if you can’t pay for school, then that information doesn’t help. We have created a financial aid section to include resources on college scholarships, college grants, student loans, and federal work-study. Many individuals don’t realize that by filling out the FAFSA or financial aid application it can make them eligible to receive FREE money for school. The FAFSA is a universal financial aid application that any US accredited college will ask you to fill out for financial assistance while in school. College scholarships and grants are examples of free money that you may be eligible for by applying. Even if you believe that you or your family make too much money, still apply! Many students are surprised at what they are actually eligible for once they apply. At the very least, the only way for students to work on campus through federal work-study is by filling out the financial aid application. See our Financial Aid section for more information. We will also be posting free downloads of resources and scholarships for you to use on our Downloads page.
Regardless of your situation, where you are in life, or your age, Begin College is here to help. We hope to create an engaging and interactive environment where we can interact with you via comments on posts, messages received through our contact page, or emails sent to us.
If you have recommendations on topics, categories, or helpful resources you would like to see, please don’t hesitate to let us know as this a college resources website built specifically to serve students and the variety of needs students have.
Students come to us for guidance and help, they leave with a new outlook on school, college, and possible careers!