Do You Have The Right Strings On Your Guitar

Do You Have The Right Strings On Your Guitar Suzy S. Each year the CMT honors country music stars at their Artists of the Year celebration 2011s honorees included Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean and Kenny Chesney.   Before they were stars, however, they had to work up their guitar skills from the very beginning. Of course, if youd like to be the next musician in line for country stardom, youll need to keep your guitar at your side.   Ideally, you should have already found the perfect guitar (or even better, maybe one of these.) Perhaps youve made a list of your all-time favorite songs that you want to learn, and youve written down your goals. But theres one more thing you need to consider: what type of guitar strings are best for you? The quality of your strings can affect your guitars resonance and tone, impact your speed as a player, as well as make a different in your ability to finger pick especially as a beginner. We recommend speaking to your guitar teacher, who can give you recommendations specifically for your skill level and guitar type, and who will know the best place in town to purchase them.   In the meantime, heres a great article from Gibson about choosing guitar strings to check out: If youre an acoustic player Fade to Bleak: Since there are no pickups or amps involved in acoustic guitar playing, string composition â€" which affects how a string responds to being struck and the retention of tonal qualities â€" is particularly important for acoustic guitars. Bronze, phosphor bronze and coated strings tends to be the preferred varieties, ascending in price. Bronze strings start out the brightest, but lose their high voices relatively quickly. Phosphor bronze offers a darker tone, but still with a clear, ringing top and the phosphor allows the strings to produce their optimum sound longer. On acoustic guitars, coated strings trade a longer life for less brightness, but good warmth and presence. Lighten Up: Typically, heavier strings project more natural sound when struck, but for most live performers it’s practical to have an acoustic guitar with a pick-up for plug-and-play situations. Having a pickup in an acoustic guitar allows for the use of lighter gauge strings. Some acoustic guitars even respond well to slinky electric sets, like .10s, providing electric-guitar-like playability without sacrificing the chime of acoustic tones. Them Changes: Since the strings on acoustic guitars play a much more important role in projecting volume and clarity than strings on an amplified electric guitar, consider changing acoustic guitar strings often to keep the instrument sounding its best. Remember to wipe down the strings after playing and check for string damaging fret wear. Both can prematurely end a guitar string’s life. And if youre plugged in Fast Fingers: If speed’s the goal, most shred-heads prefer light gauge strings. They’re easy to bend and promote fast playing by offering less resistance to the fretting and picking hands. Since guitar strings are measured in thousandths of an inch, the typical recommended gauge for players planning to burn in standard tuning are .009s, available in every guitar shop. Sound Judgment: Consider the sonic characteristics of the various materials used in making electric strings. Stainless steel strings are the least glamorous, but offer plenty of bright bite and sustain. Pure nickel has a warm old-school sound, for vintage tones. And nickel-plated steel is a bit brighter than classic nickel and responds more adroitly to picking attack. Chrome guitar strings are typically the province of jazz players or blues artists who are looking for the kind of warm retro tones chiseled into history by the likes of Charlie Christian or swinging bluesman Aaron “T-Bone” Walker. And then there are coated strings â€" the most expensive and theoretically the longest lasting. They are, however, not really the best, sonically speaking. Coated strings tend to have less sustain. Also, their Teflon exterior surfaces are slippery, which might take some getting used to for particularly aggressive electric guitar players. And when the coatings wear off, they rust like any other string. Heavy is as Heavy Does: For low hanging alternate tunings like open D or dropped D, consider a heavy string gauge â€" at least .11s, although Stevie Ray Vaughan, who kept his instrument turned down just a half-step, employed a set gauged .13 to .58. Thicker strings will maintain their tension better when they’re low-tuned, which makes for less fret noise and other undesirable distortion. Many players feel thicker strings make for better slide playing, too, since the strings resist going slack under the pressure of the slide. But that’s really a matter of feel and learning to control a slide more than a string thing. Ultimately what feels the best under your fingers and sounds right should determine your strings so play around and figure out what your preference is. Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

How to Learn Guitar Setting Goals, Staying Motivated, and More

How to Learn Guitar â€" Setting Goals, Staying Motivated, and More Suzy S. Ready to pick up a guitar and start learning to play? Great! Get ready to start your musical journey with this sound advice from guitar teacher Jerry W. Learning an instrument takes more than desire alone. Many people excitedly begin learning guitar, but before long the guitar is packed away in the closet and forgotten. What can you do to make sure this doesnt happen to you? How can you stay motivated as you learn to play guitar? What is the fastest way to learn guitar? Setting SMART Goals Most people  who dont reach their goals fail because they did not set “SMART” goals. SMART goals are: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time sensitive. The fastest way to learn guitar is to have SMART goals. Specific â€" It is not enough to say, “My goal is to play guitar.” You need to focus your goal and set specific smaller goals and action steps. What type of guitar do you want to play? Electric, acoustic or classical? What styles of music do you want to play? Also, consider setting goals for specific skills such as strumming proficiency, number of chords memorized, learning chords in more than one position on the guitar, scales, reading music, reading tablature, learning lead guitar “licks”, learning finger picking patterns, etc. As an example, lets set a goal for learning chords. To start out we could set a goal to “Be better at chords on the guitar.” Measurable â€" Now that you have a goal you need to make that goal measurable. “Be better at chords on the guitar” is hard to measure. There are whole books full of guitar chords. What type of chords do you want to play? Lets set a more measurable goal. If you are a complete beginner then maybe you could set a goal to “Be better at all major and minor chords in one position.” All guitar chords can be played in multiple positions, but as a beginner learning them in just one position is a good starting point. Now do this for each of your goals. Make sure they are measurable. Actionable â€" Make sure your goal is a clear call to action. Use an action verb, not a to-be verb like “am,” “be,” “have,” etc. . In our example of learning guitar chords, our goal, “Be better at all major and minor chords in one position” has no clear call to action. A better goal is “Be able to play all major and minor chords in at least one position.” Realistic â€" Ask yourself, does this goal fit in my comfort zone? Set a goal that stretches you to the edge of your comfort zone but not beyond. If you are a complete beginner you may want to simplify your goal to “Be able to play all major chords in at least one position.” When you master this then you can always set a new goal to learn the minor chords, then 7th chords, and so on. Time Sensitive â€" A goal without a date is just a dream. Set a date and you will be much more likely to reach it. Putting all of this together our final goal is “Be able to play all major chords in at least one position by March 1st.” Staying Motivated Now that you have a goal, how do you stay motivated to accomplish your goal? The fastest way to learn guitar is to stay highly motivated. Let me suggest five things that will keep you motivated: 1. Do what you love! Learn to play the type of music you really love. You will stay much more motivated if you are learning what you really enjoy. 2. Set big goals. Make sure your goal is realistic but still stretches you. Big goals are motivating. Big goals will stretch you to learn faster. 3. Visualize yourself accomplishing your goal. It is very hard to stay motivated on something you dont really see yourself doing. Spend some time visualizing yourself reaching your goal. You are much more likely to reach your goal if you see yourself doing it. 4. Write them down, review them, and share them with someone. Written goals that you review and share will be much more motivating then some vague goal that is only in your head. 5. Do it with others! Music is more fun with others. As soon as possible spend time making music with others. Form Good Habits “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.“ Jim Rohn Most musical goals are reached by developing important habits. Habits are developed by doing them over and over until they become a part of you. What habits do you need to develop? Consider these key habits: Practice regularly â€" ideally every day. This will be the greatest single factor to your success. Practice technique and music â€" dont just play your favorite song, also spend time learning specific techniques such as different chord positions, power chords, muting, strumming patterns, finger picking patterns, scales, etc. Play with others â€" make it a habit to spend time making music with others. Dont join the realm of people with a dusty guitar hidden in some back closet. Set SMART goals, stay motivated and develop effective habits. Soon you will reach your musical goals! Jerry W. teaches classical guitar, composition,    music theory and trumpet in Grosse Pointe, MI.   He received his B.M. in Theory and Composition of Music  from Cornerstone University, as well as his Master of Music and Ph.D in  Music Composition from  Michigan State University.  Jerry has been teaching students since 1982.  Learn more about Jerry W. here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  monst67

Christmas Holidays Homework Help is Now Just a Click Away

Christmas Holidays Homework Help is Now Just a Click Away 0SHARESShare Hey Christmas Holiday time! Catching up with friends, movies and videos, cartoons make the holidays special. But there’s one painâ€"holiday homework! Teachers give you a set of holiday homework to keep your mind active. But it’s still very boring! Now get smart with Tutor Pace and drive the holiday blues away: Don’t worry about homework, get 24/7 online help from experts Plan your own schedule and have enough time for fun Now you don’t need to compromise your favorite TV show Homework may be boring if you do it alone; you may obtain online tutoring sessions with your friends, cousins, and brothers and sisters. The shared whiteboard, live chat sessions make learning easy and fun. Share ideas with online tutors, and come up with something interesting! It’s not mandatory that you have to study indoors. Make a trip to the zoo or museum. Go for a picnic with friends or family. Even parks, shopping malls can be great homework places. You may attend a session from there; all you need is a Laptop, internet connection and a microphone. Go online. Browse teachers of your choice and get instant online homework help. Enjoy, have fun, work smart, and Happy Holidays! [starbox id=admin]

How can I evaluate an argument essay in 2 seconds

How can I evaluate an argument essay in 2 seconds Many college teachers assign either opinion essays or argument essays to their English Second Language students. These highly structured writing assignments give students practice organizing their ideas and defending a point of view. The goal is to prepare students to go on and write research reports or graduate theses at university. However, when it comes time to score these opinion essays or argument essays, the correction load for the teacher can be enormous. Clearly, teachers need an automated essay evaluation system. This article discusses automatically scoring argument essays, but there are other automated evaluations on the Virtual Writing Tutor if you are interested: Pen pal exchange project IELTS practice tests Film analysis essay evaluation The impact of one hundred and fifty 500-word argument essays on a teachers time If a college student submits a 500-word essay with structural problems and grammatical errors, the teacher will likely end up spending up to 20 minutes trying to provide feedback on how to improve it. With 150 students submitting 150 essays at once, one essay assignment will generate up to 50 hours of correction work for the teacher. The teacher will then spend the next two weeks doing little else. Since many students depend on the teacher for guidance on how to improve the essay and maximize their score, the teacher often feels compelled to provide detailed and thorough feedback. Without collaboration from the teacher, ESL teachers believe the student might not be able to make the revisions needed to meet the high standards required at university. In this way, we teachers place a lot of pressure on ourselves to help our students improve their writing. The red pen is still an important tool for giving corrective feedback What is the impact of correction time on practice opportunities? You should know that teachers limit the number of writing tasks they give their students because of the correction load each essay assignment generates. There is a physical limit to how long we can stay hunched over a desk correcting student essays. If we assign too many, we will burn out, not get the corrections done, or become so overloaded that we end up giving students low quality feedback and unreliable scores. What if we could give students more essay writing practice without increasing our correction load? What if we could give consistently reliable, objective, and detailed feedback? And what if we had an automatic essay evaluation system? An automatic essay evaluation system For the past 7 years, I have been hard at work developing Natural Language Processing tools for the Virtual Writing Tutor to give feedback on English Second Language student writing. I have devoted most of my time to coding error detection rules for the Virtual Writing Tutors grammar checker. However, along the way, I have developed a number of feedback tools: a paraphrase checker, a word counter, a target structure checker, a vocabulary checker, a cohesion checker, and a sentence checker. While interesting in their own right, I realize now that they are of limited usefulness to students. Students need more meaningful practice bu teachers are swamped by corrections Indeed, students dont always know how to interpret the feedback from a grammar checker website such as mine. Unless the teacher specifically trains the learner to use the feedback to eliminate errors, improve cohesion, extend their vocabulary, or improve their paraphrasing skills, students arent always sure what steps to take to improve their scores. Recently, I have discovered that feedback on form is a lot more compelling to students when it comes with a score. When the NLP tools listed above are all integrated into a self-scoring pen pal exchange project, IELTS academic writing tests, a film analysis essay checker or argument essay evaluation system, students know just what to do. They use the score and feedback to maximize their next score. They want to level up as they would in a game. An argument essay writing module I have been collaborating with with Dr. Frank Bonkowski at Cegep St-Laurent to create a new automatic scoring system. This one is for the argument essay writing task he has given this term. His students chose 7 topics that interested them, and we designed a system to identify their topic and give feedback on all aspects of their structure, vocabulary, cohesion, strength of their claims, and grammar. This argument essay writing task and evaluation is free for anyone to use. Please share. Demonstration of the argument evaluation test without sound Before you try it with students, you should know that the argument essay task is rather complex. So, here is a step-by-step lesson that will help you teach students how to write a successful argument essay from scratch. But first, what is an argument essay? An argument essay is an opinion essay that includes an opposing view, a concession, and a refutation. This discourse model requires some research, reflection, and a considerable amount of time to organize ideas into a coherent structure. Dont worry. If your students have access to a computer, they will quickly get the hang of it using the Virtual Writing Tutor. Youll be amazed. Step 1: Score a model argument essay When the tools are integrated, interpreting the feedback is easy To begin, start by trying out the argument essay evaluation test with each of the two model essays below. Try the one that needs improvement first with your students to see if they can improve the score. Then, have them try it with the second essay. Sugar Tax Essay that Needs ImprovementDownload Sugar Tax Model EssayDownload Score my argument essay now Step 2: Outline an argument essay with the essay outliner Ask students to use the model essays with the argument essay outliner to develop an outline. Once they are able to outline an existing essay with the easy essay outliner, they are ready to write their own outline. This will prepare them for the actual essay writing exam. The essay outliner makes it easy to create an outline You can print out the outline or generate a PDF Step 3: Choose one of 7 Debatable Topics Ask students to choose one of the 7 different topics below to research. They will need to find at least three articles. They should search for at least two articles in support of their point of view and one opposing view. abortionclimate changebody imageanimal rightsgender equalityinternet censorship Debate websites like iDebate with its searchable Debatabase are excellent resources for finding arguments for and against a point of view. Step 4: Outline an essay on one of the topics The students should now outline their own argument essay using the information they found during their research. Their experience with the previous steps will make it easy for them. Step 5: Write an argument essay Once students have written an outline, they will be ready to write their own essay. They should make sure that they follow the prescribed structure described below with a title and a Cited Works section. The 5-Paragraph Hamburger Essay Structure Argument essay writing prompt Instructions:Write a 450-750 word argumentative essay on one of these topics:abortion, climate change, animal rights, body image, feminism (a.k.a. gender equality), immigration, or internet censorship.Use the essay structure described below. Paragraph 1: introduction Opening:Begin the essay with a provocative, thought-provoking question. You could begin, for example, withDid you know that…?Context:Establish the importance of the topic. Use phrases like these:a vital factor in, the leading cause of, widely considered to be, set to become, undergoing a revolution, is responsible for.Thesis:Include a debatable thesis about one of these areas of controversy:abortion, climate change, animal rights, body image, feminism, immigration, internet censorship. Paragraph 2: first supporting argument Topic sentence:Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence that summarizes the main idea of the paragraph and includes the first of the two topics in your thesis sentence.Argue:Refer tofacts, statistics, logic, what is reasonable, what follows from the evidence,andconclusions one can draw.Evidence:Give evidence from your reading and research using these types of words:according to, to quote from, tells us that, shows us that, referring to, argues that, stated, wrote, argued, discussed, expressed the concern that, as written.Use these quotation marks:Cite sources:Properly cite quoted text using the persons family name in parentheses (Einstein).Support: Give examples to support your claims using words and phrases such as these:for example, for instance, suppose that, take the case of, that is, to be exact, to explain, to illustrate, to put another way, to show what I mean. Paragraph 3: second supporting argument Topic sentence:Begin the paragraph with a topic sentence that summarizes the main idea of the paragraph and includes the second of the two topics in your thesis sentence.Argue:Refer tofacts, statistics, logic, what is reasonable, what follows from the evidence, and conclusions you can draw.Evidence:Give evidence from your reading and research using these types of words:according to, to quote from, tells us that, shows us that, referring to, argues that, stated, wrote, argued, discussed, expressed the concern that, as written.Use these quotation marks:Cite sources:Properly cite quoted text using the persons family name in parentheses (Einstein).Support: Give examples to support your claims using words and phrases such as these:for example, for instance, suppose that, take the case of, that is, to be exact, to explain, to illustrate, to put another way, to show what I mean. Paragraph 4: counterargument Topic sentence:Summarize an opposing view with words like these:some people claim, some believe, others believe, some people object to, try to refute, discount, reject, it is often argued that, the opposing side will claimConcede:Show which parts of the counterargument have merit with words like these:concede that, granted, indeed, it is true that, while it is true that, naturally, to be sure, admittedly, one cannot deny thatRefute:Refute the counterargument using words like these:nonetheless, nevertheless, regardless, whereas, although, and yet, in contrast, by contrast, despite, there is countervailing evidence, that said, however Paragraph 5: conclusion Reformulation of the thesis:Restate the thesis in different words from the introduction.Build cohesion:Use expressions such asTo sum up, To conclude, In closing, or For these reasons.Recommendation:Make a recommendation. Use one expression such as should, ought to, will, or going to.Prediction:Make a prediction. What will happen if the reader follows your recommendation? Use one expression such as should, ought to, will, or going to, or likely. Works Cited section Heading:Identify this section of your essay with the heading, Works CitedList:Include at least 3 sources properly formatted, each on its own line. Step 6: Get formative evaluation from the essay scoring system Then, each student should use the automatically scored argument essay test to get formative feedback on their essay, make any changes suggested by the system, and turn in a final draft for the teacher to score. They will need the teacher to coach and help them understand how to interpret the feedback. It can be a bit overwhelming at first. It is worth using a lab hour for this. Step 7: Submit your final draft to the teacher for a score In my opinion, the score generated by the Virtual Writing Tutors argument essay evaluation system should guide revisions, but the final score should come from a teacher. That means that the student really should submit the essay to his or her teacher. In addition, it would be helpful if the the teacher were to receive the automatically generated feedback, also. The combination of automatic scoring and human scoring has been found to be more reliable than just computer scoring or human scoring, even with multiple human raters (Bridgeman, 2004). Ask students to print the feedback or generate a PDF to send electronically. It is easy to do. Save or print your feedback with your essay score Step 8: Repeat steps 5, 6, and 7 with a new topic A teacher could build an entire writing course around this one page on the Virtual Writing Tutor. There are 7 controversial topics to choose from. Simply ask students every two weeks to write an essay on a topic they havent tried before, get feedback and submit their final draft with the automated feedback for a score that counts. To maintain student motivation, you could use the Mastery Model to score essays, telling students that only 4 of the 7 essay scores will count. The lowest scoring submissions will be considered formative. In this way, you can maximize essay writing practice for hardworking students who want to do it all, and even the most laid-back students students will get double the argument essay writing practice that they would get in a regular college ESL course. Since the students will get a lot of feedback from the automated scoring system, you will be able to put down the red pen and use voice of the reader comments, reading your students writing in a way that wasnt possible before. Step 9: Report your findings You didnt expect all this to be your next research project or conference presentation, did you? But why not? Formative evaluation of writing assignments using an automated essay evaluation system is brand new. Your colleagues probably wont know anything about it. While it is true that the Educational Testing Service in the US has used an automatic scoring system for university admissions tests for years, nobody seems to have reported much on using automated scoring in the classroom for formative evaluation. You can do it. I can help. I can create a test designed to score your particular essay writing task if this one is not quite what you had in mind. Just contact me. Not sure? Ask yourself, If not now, then when? If not me, then who? Something that would really help me would be if you were to give feedback on the feedback the essay scoring system generates. If the system over-values a low-quality essay or undervalues a high-quality essay, let me know. There is a Rate feedback button you can use to let me know if the system is working as expected or not. Leave detailed comments. This sucks is not very helpful. Say what went wrong and what you would like instead. Complain to get a specific change. Give feedback on the feedback Final remarks There is clearly a pedagogical need for automated feedback. There are not enough teachers in the world to provide all the feedback students want and need. Automated scoring is the next step in computer-assisted learning. (Notice my use of the word assisted.) Teachers happily give practice tests to students with multiple choice questions, but essay writing tasks are rarely used in formative evaluation. Why? Its a workload issue. Teachers cannot score essays fast enough. Obviously, if a machine can help with the task, we should get out of the way of meaningful practice and let the machine guide students through their early drafts. Opponents of automatic essay evaluation will argue that automatic essay scoring is not ready yet. There are too many false alarms, not enough coverage, and the scores dont match the scoring criteria and weightings that this or that department requires. While all that may be true, it doesnt mean that we should cede the field. It is better that teachers engage with this new technology to ensure automatic essay evaluation systems reflect what teachers care about. I, for one, believe that essay evaluation must be developed and reserved for formative evaluation only. We must ensure automatic evaluation is used for practice tests prior to the teacher assigning the final score, even if the teachers scoring decision is informed by automatic scoring metrics. Human teachers are needed to validate and humanize the educational system. Some teachers will shudder at all this and say that automatic scoring will put teachers jobs at risk. Really? Quebec has a shortage of teachers at the moment. A colleague I admire very much is away on sick leave, burned out from overwork. The real victims of the lack of automation in our jobs are students who are denied meaningful practice activities with feedback and their teachers who are overworked trying to give students the meaningful practice and feedback they need. Unreflective opposition to new technology is not how you build job security. Maintaining a pedagogical focus on what is best for students and developing a sound pedagogy using new tools will make expert teachers indispensable. Its one teachers opinion. Perhaps you agree with me. Examples of automatically scored writing tests Here are some examples of automatic essay scoring systems I have developed in the order I developed them. Please, give them a try and let me know what you think. Pen pal exchange project IELTS practice tests Film analysis essay evaluationArgument essay evaluation Works cited Bridgeman, B. (2004, December).E-rater as a quality control on human scorers.Presentation in the ETSResearch Colloquium Series, Princeton, NJ. 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How Can You Help Your Child Sidestep the Summer Slide

How Can You Help Your Child Sidestep the Summer Slide Summer is a welcome break for families, but it can cause problems when it comes to the long-term retention of academic skills and knowledge. Many experts report that summertime regression is a significant problem for students of all ages, with children losing several months worth of reading and math skills over break. Heres the good news: its not as hard as you think to minimize the problem. Here are a few ways you can help your child avoid the summer slide: Read every day. A regular reading habit is a valuable part of a good bedtime routine anyway, but best of all, it is one of the easiest ways for your child to keep up those literacy skills. Make frequent visits to the library and encourage your child to get involved in any book clubs or summer reading programs offered. Let your child explore other formats in addition to books. The point is to get him or her reading. Review past work. It might take a little convincing, but even ten minutes a day spent looking over old worksheets, math problems, or other assignments is time well spent. This will help your child keep fresh on the skills learned last school year and ensure he or she is ready to pick up where the teacher left off when the fall semester begins. Plan writing activities. Have your child continue to strengthen those writing muscles by embracing fun activities like journaling, creative writing or even blogging. If those things dont pique your childs interest, consider weekly themes for inspiration. For example, one weeks theme might be favorite people, and each day children could write about a celebrity or professional athlete they admire, a friend who means a lot to them, or another role model. Go places. Many families use their childrens summer break as a chance to take vacations. Why not transform those road and plane trips into educational opportunities? You and your child should check out travel guides from the library and do some online research together to learn more about wherever youre headed. Have your child choose a few cultural attractions to enjoy and share what he or she wants to discover while visiting them. Catch up or get ahead. Summer is the best time to close any skill gaps and correct any problems that arose during the school year. Its also a great chance to get ahead if your child is gearing up to take several challenging classes next year or wants to solidify knowledge built during the prior school year. If youd like help creating a targeted summer learning program that meets your childs goals and helps him or her flourish, call Huntington. Well help your child retain those important skills he or she learned throughout the school year. By the time next fall comes around, he or she will be ready to hit the ground running and keep building that knowledge base. Call 1-800 CAN LEARN today. About Huntington Huntington is the tutoring and test prep leader.Its certified tutors provide individualized instruction in reading, phonics, writing, study skills, elementary and middle school math, Algebra through Calculus, Chemistry, and other sciences. It preps for the SAT and ACT, as well as state and standardized exams. Huntington programs develop the skills, confidence, and motivation to help students succeed and meet the needs of Common Core State Standards. Founded in 1977, Huntingtons mission is to give every student the best education possible. Learn how Huntington can help at www.huntingtonhelps.com. For franchise opportunities please visit www.huntingtonfranchise.com. 2018 Huntington Mark, LLC. Huntington Learning Center, the three-leaf logo, and 1 800 CAN LEARN are registered trademarks of Huntington Mark, LLC. Each franchised Huntington Learning Center is operated under a franchise agreement with Huntington Learning Centers, Inc.

7 Common Scholarship Scams and How to Detect Them

7 Common Scholarship Scams and How to Detect Them Image via pixabay.com 1. Fees It can seem pretty self-explanatory that any scholarship application that requires an application fee is a scam. However, a lot of these same applications offer a refund if you’re offered a scholarship. Because the application is not a genuine scholarship opportunity, the scammers simply claim that you aren’t qualified for the scholarship and profit off of your fees. 2. Search services There are several websites and services that claim to search and apply for scholarships on your behalf. Some of these search service scams require a payment upfront, but most of these services don’t require any form of payment. While it might seem safe to try a search agency that doesn’t require any fees, these scammers benefit from asking you invasive questions in an attempt to steal your identity. 3. Open eligibility Open eligibility scholarship scams include scholarship applications where anyone can apply, regardless of academic achievements or otherwise. It is important to remember that scholarships are only given to students with financial need and/or academic merit. If a scholarship application has no requirements in order to apply, then it is likely a scam. 4. Guaranteed services Nothing in life is guaranteed, and financial scholarships are no different. Any scholarship or service that offers a “money back guarantee” in their application disclosure indicates a red flag. Likewise, there are also thousands of scholarship scams that claim to guarantee a monetary prize. By definition, a scholarship is allocated based on your need and/or merit. If you are guaranteed a prize simply by applying, then there aren’t any credentials necessary for the scholarship. 5. Time sensitivity Many scholarships have deadlines for eligibility; however, you should be wary of any “scholarships” that claim to be “first come, first served.” Any type of application that claims to only be available on a first-come-first-served basis is an illegitimate opportunity. These types of scholarship scams also try to entice you to apply by stating that you are pre-qualified for their application. Unless you cross check your GPA, skills, family income, and other background information with each individual scholarship application there is no way to know if you are qualified. If a scholarship claims to be on a first-come-first-served process, then these scholarships likely have no pre-requisite qualifications. This makes it easier for you to notice this fraudulent activity. 6. Opportunities without applications These scholarship scams often contact you directly, claiming that you have won an exclusive scholarship. Typically these scammers call your cell phone in an attempt to overwhelm you and gain information to either steal your identity or to profit. It is important to keep records of any and all scholarships (or applications in general) that you submit. This way, you can check your personal references to see if you did indeed submit an application to a specific scholarship opportunity. If you need time to verify any information, you should always inform a scholarship representative that you need time to look over the information. If the representative becomes overtly brash or tells you that the offer won’t last long, this is a clear warning that the scholarship is a scam. 7. Broad generalizations Many scholarship scams will include one or more sweeping generalizations, which often seem like pushy advertisements. These generalizations or claims can range from, “You won’t get this information anywhere else,” to “thousands have applied.” Generalizations can also include claims that it has an absurdly high percentage of scholarship recipients. While it may seem enticing that a lot of students have received this scholarship in the past, any broad statement without proper evidence is likely a fictitious assertion. If you believe any scholarship opportunity might be fraudulent, you should report these scams immediately to the appropriate government agencies. The following government agencies work to prosecute scholarship scams: Federal Trade Commission (FTC). File a complaint using the  online complaint form  or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) or 1-202-FTC-HELP (1-202-382-4357). State Attorney General, especially the Bureau of Consumer Protection U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Call the Postal Crime Hotline at 1-877-876-2455. U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Inspector General.   You may report financial aid fraud to 1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) or use the online  complaint form. The  National Fraud Information Center (NFIC)  forwards complaints to appropriate government agencies and can be reached through its website, fraud.org, or by calling 1-800-876-7060. Scholarship scams can also be reported to the  Better Business Bureau (BBB). The  College Scholarship Fraud Prevention Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-420)  offers clearly defined penalties for scholarship scams. It’s vital to note that you shouldn’t rely solely on an authentic name when reviewing whether or not a scholarship opportunity is safe. Often, scholarship scammers will include credible terms in their faux scholarship’s title, such as national, federal, or foundation. In the past, these same scholarship scammers have already created their own fake organization websites and testimonials to gain credibility. As a general rule of thumb, you should remember that the purpose of a scholarship or grant is to give you money to fund your academic endeavors, which is why it wouldn’t make sense for a scholarship to ask for any money before, during, or after the application process. Likewise, you can ensure your safety from scams by relying on credible sources to search for scholarships, such as your university’s scholarship website and financial aid office.

Common entrance exams - Verbal reasoning tests (2)

Common entrance exams - Verbal reasoning tests (2) In the following sentences, a four letter word is hidden between two words that are next to each other. Find the word and write it in the brackets. Example: The child fell over the stone. (l o v e ) 15. The hot coffee tasted very good 16. Let's hide away from him! 17. He was happy on the farm. 18. Is the yellow shape the biggest? 19. Which old picture would you like? 20. The rabbit escaped from the run. Use the information below to find the answer to the question. Circle the correct letter. 22. There are 5 balls in a bag. There are three different colours of balls in the bag. Which of the following statements cannot be true? A One ball is green. B Three balls are blue. C Four balls are yellow. D Two balls are red and one is yellow. E There are blue and yellow balls in the bag. In the following sentences, one word written in capital letters has had three letter removed. These three letters together make a correctly spelt proper word without changing the letter order. Work out the three-letter word and write it in the brackets. Example: There was a strange CR by the pond. (OAK) 23. The old lady was DEDENT on her guide dog. 24. They enjoyed FIGN holidays. 25. The mosaic formed a beautiful TERN. 26. The famous LANDSE was bought by the gallery. 27. A CE was used to unload the ship. 28. The old lady collected her SION. 29. The professor had a strange ORY. In the following questions, there are two sets of words. Choose the two words, one from each set, that are closest in meaning and underline them. Example: (race, shop, start) (flag, end, begin) 30. (safari, jeep, rhinoceros) (binoculars, lion, expedition) 31. (dress, decorate, fashion) (model, outfit, millinery) 32. (avalanche, hurricane, earthquake) (tsunami, cyclone, flood) 33. (apprentice, apparition, novice) (invoice, experience, spectre) 34. (hero, medal, courage) (valour, conflict, campaign) 35. (sensible, sensitive, sensation) (reactor, recreation, responsive) 36. (microscope, medicine, microbe) (germ, antibiotic, stethoscope) Common entrance exams - Verbal reasoning tests (2) In the following sentences, a four letter word is hidden between two words that are next to each other. Find the word and write it in the brackets. Example: The child fell over the stone. (l o v e ) 15. The hot coffee tasted very good 16. Let's hide away from him! 17. He was happy on the farm. 18. Is the yellow shape the biggest? 19. Which old picture would you like? 20. The rabbit escaped from the run. Use the information below to find the answer to the question. Circle the correct letter. 22. There are 5 balls in a bag. There are three different colours of balls in the bag. Which of the following statements cannot be true? A One ball is green. B Three balls are blue. C Four balls are yellow. D Two balls are red and one is yellow. E There are blue and yellow balls in the bag. In the following sentences, one word written in capital letters has had three letter removed. These three letters together make a correctly spelt proper word without changing the letter order. Work out the three-letter word and write it in the brackets. Example: There was a strange CR by the pond. (OAK) 23. The old lady was DEDENT on her guide dog. 24. They enjoyed FIGN holidays. 25. The mosaic formed a beautiful TERN. 26. The famous LANDSE was bought by the gallery. 27. A CE was used to unload the ship. 28. The old lady collected her SION. 29. The professor had a strange ORY. In the following questions, there are two sets of words. Choose the two words, one from each set, that are closest in meaning and underline them. Example: (race, shop, start) (flag, end, begin) 30. (safari, jeep, rhinoceros) (binoculars, lion, expedition) 31. (dress, decorate, fashion) (model, outfit, millinery) 32. (avalanche, hurricane, earthquake) (tsunami, cyclone, flood) 33. (apprentice, apparition, novice) (invoice, experience, spectre) 34. (hero, medal, courage) (valour, conflict, campaign) 35. (sensible, sensitive, sensation) (reactor, recreation, responsive) 36. (microscope, medicine, microbe) (germ, antibiotic, stethoscope)

Celebrating the Japanese Festival of Setsubun

Celebrating the Japanese Festival of Setsubun Japan marks the beginning of spring on February 4th. Setsubun, which means “the division of the seasons,” is celebrated on February 3rd (although there is technically a “setsubun” for every season, the beginning of spring is the only one celebrated).Mame-makiTo welcome the new season, one member of the family (often the father) dons a devil mask while his family members throw roasted soybeans at him. The act of throwing beans is known as mame-maki, and is done to drive out demons and invite good luck for the new year. While throwing beans, the family will yell “Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi!” which roughly translates to “demons out, luck in!” and slam the door on the defeated demon. Because the ritual tends to get messy, many people opt to simply do this outside!Supermarkets will usually sell masks and soybean packets, and a few restaurants even join in on the fun by giving patrons packets of beans as they leave. Larger mame-maki events often take place at temples and shr ines, where patrons will rush to catch the beans thrown. Some believe that eating the number of beans equal to their age will bring them health and happiness. (A 42-year-old, for example, would eat 42 beans.) Unless you live in a household where the other members also celebrate Setsubun, it’s probably best to keep this tradition confined to Japan. Housemates and strangers don’t usually take kindly to having beans thrown at them!Eho-makiThe tradition of eating eho-maki started in the Kansai area, but is becoming more common in other regions across Japan. This custom dictates eating a large sushi roll in total silence while facing in a lucky direction; the direction is determined by the year’s zodiac sign. In 2014, the lucky direction is east-northeast.The start of springThe day after Setsubun is known as Risshun: the start of spring. Whether you're currently teaching in Japan or just like the idea of driving out demons with beans, we hope the start of this new season is filled with good luck!Photo: Sakura Chihaya (Flickr)