Counseling Office

Grant MacEwan College is offering an open house for the Correctional Services Program. It will be at 6:30 pm on the South Campus on March 16th. There are also upcoming open house events at the college. For more information see the website www.macewan.ca.

Lakeland College offers a 1 year program for students with mild developmental disabilities make the transition to the work world. Students attend classes in the first part of the year and also begin work placements. Later, they work full time. Residence options are available. Contact Lakeland College for more information.

The University of Alberta is implementing a pilot project for the fall of 2010. It is called Early Final Admission. I am having difficulty understanding exactly what it means but it appears that students who have a 90% average in the required courses for their program are not only given an early admission but that it also an approved admission. Most post – secondary places have early admission but it is based on waiting for other submissions and your second semester marks. This is still probationary in that you have to maintain good standing in your second semester courses but for some students it lets them know they have a spot in the classroom.

This only applies to some of the programs: agriculture, science, nursing, art, Augustana, native studies, PE, and Faculty Saint-Jean. Here is a a copy of the document that came out in an email.

I’m not a fan of worksheets. I do love planning sheets to keep me organized. This is a great website only because it lists almost any kind of planning sheet, inventory tests, and career planning resource.

http://www.khake.com/page95.html

I ask my brother – in – law this question everytime I see him. I don’t think I’m getting the answer I want.

There is an event at the University of Saskatchewan where students are invited to learn more about careers in engineering and training to become an engineer. There is one session on Tuesday, Nov. 3rd in Saskatoon and the other is on Wed., Nov. 4th in Regina.

For more information contact:

Pamela Constantinoff, Engineering Student Centre, College of Engineering    Telephone: (306) 966-5256                     

Melissa Dyck, Faculty of Engineering & Applied Science, University of Regina Telephone: (306) 585-5090

A scholarship for $2000 is available to students attending a post-secondary institution. The student must submit a 1000-1100 word essay on a pre-determined topic. Deadline is the end of February. The essays are judged and one award is given. For more information go to the website for the Alberta Press.

This is a “new” scholarship in that it is the first time I’ve heard about it. And it appears to be a great opportunity. The bursary offers $1500 for 115 students in Alberta. The application is simple and the award is given to those students in financial need. The deadline is March 1st.

St. Mary’s University College in Calgary is now offering a unique program. It is a Bachelor of Education (Elementary). It is unique in that it is specifically directed to the formation of teachers to serve in the Catholic school system. The program is open to qualified studetns who have completed a BA degree.

New mailout just came in from Student Finance Dept. It lists some allowable monthly costs that can be applied for on Student Loans. In summary:

• Living away costs are $429 for rent/mortgage/utilities and $512 for food/clothing/transportation/etc.
• Living at home costs are $432 for food/clothing/transportation/etc.

Special considerations may be given if the amounts you are applying for are more than this. You will have to give a copy of rent or mortgage agreement and copies of utility bills for the last three months.

If you work part-time during school the first $800 you make every month is exempt and will not affect your student loan.

Applications may be made in paper or online. Both are available in the late spring. Unfortunately you can apply online using a Macintosh computer. BOO! (Editorial comment: This just screams of laziness on the part of Alberta Education in not getting decent programmers for varioius web browsers other than Internet Explorer. If Google or Ebay or Amazon or . . . even Microsoft can get their sites to work on any computer than so can Alberta.)

To apply you will need your Alberta Student Number (ask at school). To find out how student loans work, complete the Counselling sesson on the EDULINX site. Or you can call 1-800-222-6485.

The Christian College Guide asked some of its readers for advice on visiting colleges. It’s a great way to make get information about your future when you have to decide between two or three acceptance letters. Here is a summary of what they say you should do to get the most out of your college visit.

• Meet some Professors – you get to know the teaching style of the college and how they interact with students.
• Two are Better than One – visit two or more colleges.
• Get in a Classroom – its the place you are going to be spending your days!
• Stay overnight in one of the dorms – the second place you spend your time.
• Keep your Interests in Mind – visit the areas of the college that involve your passion. Why tour the science dept. if you want to take music?