Visit Olds College and learn what programs and activities that are available. It is on October 13th. To register visit www.oldscollege.ca.

For more information call Marie Grono, Special Events Coordinator at (403) 507-7717 or toll free at 1-800-661-6537.

If you are interested in a career in the transportation industry you will want to check out TranspoCity.ca. It is a website built by Western Transportation Advisory Council to showcase various aspects of the industry.

It profiles over 40 careers covering marine, land and air shipping. It is a work in progress but they expect to have over 100 careers featured soon.

At the request of a student I emailed Red Deer College about the cut-off grades for their nursing programs. Remember that calendars for colleges/universities may list minimum averages of 65% but that is not what gets you in. For competitive programs such as nursing where there is a lot of students applying, they limit applications by their grades.

Here is the response from Red Deer College:

Below are the final GPA calculations for the two oversubscribed programs for the 2006 intake.

Bachelor of Science Nursing
Lowest GPA admitted was 3.414 which is approximately 79.5%

Practical Nurse
Lowest GPA admitted was 3.278 which is approximately 77.5%

For further reference
BSNR GPAs for previous years were:
2005 - 3.523 (= approx. 81.4%)
2004 - 3.573 (= approx. 82.5%)

PNUR GPAs for previous years were:
2005 - 3.126 (= approx. 75.7%)
2004 - 3.419 (= approx 79.5%)

Going through the filing cabinet and learning things. . . This is an important notice for students who require extra financing because of a permament disability.

A permanent disability is defined as: A functional limitation caused by a physical or mental impairment that restricts the ability of a person to perform the daily activities necessary to participate in studies at a post-secondary level or the labour force and is expected to remain with the person for the person’s expected natural life.
In such case you are eligible for the same funding as other students plus extra funding:

• Canada Access Grant for Students with Permanent Disabilities - up to $2000/year and/or
• Canada Study Grant for the Accommodation of Students with Permanent Disabilities (for disability related equipment and services) - up to $8000/year and/or
• Alberta Grants for Disabled Students (GFD) - up to $2000/year

What you need to do to apply for funding . . .

• Visit http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/studentsfinance/main.asp and look for the link for online application.
• If you have indicated on your application for student finances that you have a permanent disability you need to fill out Schedule 4. Ask for assistance if you need for this form.
• Submit Schedule 4 to your post-secondary school or your local AB Service Centre.
• You must submit the following along with Schedule 4:
  • proof of your permanent disability - for example a medical certificate
  • proof of payment of your Learning Assessment Fee, if required.
  • two estimates of cost of equipment if it required
• If you require more than $8000 they see AB Human Resources and Employmen, you may be eligible for Disability Related Employment Supports.

As a “resource feature of the day” kinda post, I want to let you know about free planning guides. These are written for students and parents. They provide you with a series of things to do when looking toward your future post-secondary studies. It does not matter if you are headed to university, college, or an apprenticeship program. The guides are in pdf format and they can also be ordered in a print version.

And they are written for three levels: Grade 6, Grade 9 and Grade 12.

A link for all the guides is found here: http://www.alis.gov.ab.ca/learning/pset/planning.asp

To quote the mailing I received: “In order to provide new students with better and faster service, Red Deer College is accepting applications a full two months earlier.”
You can now apply for entry into fall 2007 programs at Red Deer College starting October 2nd.