Incoming college freshmen have a ton of important questions about school. While all of their questions should be addressed, there are a few that carry more weight than others. The following four questions count among the most important.


1. Do I Have to Decide on a Major Right Now?

It’s not unusual for a freshman to not know what to major in. While some may believe that kids should know their majors before they get to school, maybe this isn’t the best tactic to take. Instead, it’s reasonable to think that a person’s education will influence his or her decisions about what to major in.


2. What Kind of Academic Advising is There?

A person’s school should provide him/her with good academic advising and this academic advisor should be introduced to the student right away. (This is related to question one.) While most students will spend the first several months of their college careers just trying to adjust, at some point they’ll be asked to think about post-college jobs and even grad school. The time to find a mentor is before the mentor is needed for these decisions.
 
For example, let’s say the student in question thinks at some point it might be good to research online MBA degree programs. That person’s academic advisor should not only be able to tell him/her what is needed to get into graduate school, but also what the student needs to do to adjust to online classes (provided the student hasn’t had them before.) Each life decision should be scrutinized and both the good and bad points of the decision looked at. A college mentor and advisor is one such person to do just that. A mentor can even help with concentration strategies so that the student reaches their peak performance.
 

3. Does the School Help with Internships?

Internship opportunities should be viewed in the same light that graduate school is. Incoming freshmen need to know what kinds of opportunity for on-the-job training their school can provide. If there aren’t any internship opportunities for lower division students, are there other options like service learning opportunities? A student’s school should not only teach him the basics of a profession (via his major), but also offer opportunities to practice what the student has learned.


4. What Kind of Financial Aid Do You Offer?

The fact is many if not most students can’t attend school without financial help. U.S. News and World Report suggests that students need to find out what kinds of financial aid students get at their schools of choice. It’s good to find out how much the average financial aid package is as well as how many students receive grants and scholarships. Knowing the answers to these questions helps with planning. These answers also let students know if they’ll need to work during school or not.


Final Thoughts on College Prep
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College requires serious commitment and serious questions. The college freshman who is most successful has at least four key questions answered before coming to school. The answers to these questions not only help the freshman to adjust, but also helps him to make solid decisions in the future.


Ani Oaks is a freelance writer and web enthusiast. You can read some of her published work on her Google+ page. 

​In recent years, the concept of college readiness—or how prepared a student is for college-level work—has received considerable attention, as many freshmen are struggling with the expectations of a university education.
 
There are several factors that contribute to a person’s college readiness. They include understanding and synthesizing the fundamental concepts of subjects like math and science, as well as the ability to write at a college level. The expectations for college writing are often more rigorous, and for international students, this can be further complicated by language barriers.
 
If you are going to be studying in the U.S., or are considering doing so, the following is intended to help you navigate the college writing world:
 
1. Source citation
One of the largest differences between high school and college writing assignments is your instructors’ expectations about source citations. Source citation is the process by which you indicate where you found information that you have used to support your argument. For instance, if you were writing about employment in the United States, you might cite a statistic about how many people are currently employed. Because you found this information somewhere else (rather than creating it yourself), you must indicate this fact. It is important to note that you do not need to cite content that is general knowledge—just specific data or ideas that are not your own.
 
In college writing, how you cite a piece of information is important. Nearly every field of study has its own citation style. These styles include the American Psychological Association (or APA), the Chicago Manual of Style, and the Modern Language Association (MLA). Each style has particular citation requirements, as well as a specific format for how you list resources and format your paper.
 
2. Footnotes and endnotes
If you have ever read a book or a journal, only to wonder why there are numbers and small blocks of text in the bottom margin of the page, you have encountered footnotes. In some cases, these will be included at the end of the work. (In this case, they are referred to as endnotes.) In general, notes are used to share information that the author thought was important, but not necessarily central to the primary text. This includes explanations of concepts or terms, additional facts that are not directly relevant, or anything else that will enhance the reader’s experience.
 
Using notes is a great way to include important information without over-complicating your argument. If you are not sure when to use footnotes or endnotes, read the sentence or paragraph in question. Then, ask yourself what, if anything, could be taken out without sacrificing the intent.
 
3. Comparative reading and critical thinking
Perhaps the papers you wrote in high school were more like reports than critical essays. (In other words, you synthesized a great deal of information, but did not critically analyze the material.) When you write a college paper, you will be expected to include information from multiple sources and to demonstrate your ability to reflect critically on what you have read.
 
Comparative reading simply means that you have consulted multiple sources on a subject, and have considered each in the context of the others. For example, if you were going to write a paper about the Vietnam War, you could read books written by an American soldier and a Vietnamese civilian. Although these two individuals are writing about the same subject, they are likely to have very different perspectives. Using your critical thinking skills, it is your job to give equal consideration to both texts.
 
4. Review
When writing an assignment for a college class, the most important item to focus on is the content. Having said that, it is also very important to give your work a final review before you submit it. You will want to focus on aspects like spelling, grammar, and overall use of English (all of which affect how your reader interprets your ideas). Equally important, however, is to ensure that you have followed the style guide set out by your instructor. This includes the format of your citations, bibliography or works cited, and so on.
 
David White is a contributing writer for UniversityTutor.com, the world's largest global marketplace for finding independent tutors. 
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The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL) is essential for any student who is thinking of attending university in the United States. Why? Most schools in America require that international students sit for the TOEFL as part of their admissions process. The TOEFL includes four sections, one of which is Speaking. Like many future test-takers, you may be wondering, “How can I prepare for the TOEFL speaking section?” If so, review these tips:

 
Study a sample Speaking section

Begin by reviewing a practice exam to familiarize yourself with the structure of the TOEFL Speaking section and the types of items that you can expect to answer. This portion is divided into six tasks that involve reading, speaking, and listening, with a short period of time to respond to each one. Reviewing the tasks in advance can help you make the most of your testing time, as well as help you identify areas that may require additional prep.

 
Create a study schedule

Once you have completed the above step, create a study schedule. Set aside one or two hours each day to read sample passages, to take notes on said passages, and to speak your answers aloud into a recorder or to a study partner. It may also be useful to jot down a list of words, phrases, and topics to practice in the future.

 
Familiarize yourself with academic and conversational English

While it is important to understand the English that is spoken in an academic setting, it is also helpful to familiarize yourself with conversational English. To do so, watch English-language films and television shows, read English-language books, magazines, and newspapers, and converse with friends who are fluent in English. You may soon gain a better understanding of the appropriate use of idioms and casual speech.
 

Learn how to think and speak “on your feet” in English

During the TOEFL, you may have a general sense of how you wish to answer a question, but you may find that you need to deviate from this plan. As you practice, experiment with answering tasks with and without a detailed outline. How can you limit your anxiety if you must go “off-plan”?
 

Find a language mentor

Find a language mentor—for instance, an instructor, a friend, or someone in the media like a news anchor or a radio host—whose voice you enjoy. Note his or her tone, inflection, and phrasing, and keep them in mind as you develop your own English speaking style.

 
Consider the test day details

Before your TOEFL session, familiarize yourself with the location of the testing center. Double-check that you have the appropriate identification, as well as anything else that you will need for the exam. Eat a balanced meal before the test, as food and drink will not be allowed in the testing room.
 
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The TOEFL is an important exam, but with the right preparation, you can position yourself to have great success. Good luck!
 
Niki Bridges is a contributing writer for UniversityTutor.com, the world’s largest global marketplace for finding independent tutors.

Language acquisition has four parts—learning to speak, to read, to write, and to comprehend in the language. College studies can help the foreign-language learner master all four parts of language acquisition. Here are four habits that English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners should develop. They’ll help them not only learn the material for their major, but they’ll also build their English-language skills as well.


1. Use Studies as Vocabulary Builder

All career paths have certain words that are associated with that field. In some senses, these fields become a language within a language. For example, theater majors learn what upstage and downstage mean; anthropology/ archaeology majors learn what artifacts are; and educational technology majors learn about Bloom’s taxonomy.
 
Interacting with people day to day will help the ESL student learn how to find the coffee shop or where the school’s office is. Studying the words associated with their majors helps ESL students learn advanced vocabulary.


2. Immersion

One of the benefits of immersion language study is that the foreign-language speaker is surrounded by the language. For example, a trip to the grocery store can be educational: It shows the language-learner what things are in context.
 
That’s really where technology and online education has become the equalizer. Most online classes feature videos which require the language learner to play a couple of times to comprehend. It’s like the ESL student is being immersed.
 
Videos show the language in context. Even better, courses of study like Rutger’s social work online degree teach the ESL student advanced, career-related English words while allowing that student to be completely immersed via video in the language. Any major that provides these elements gives the foreign-language learner double benefit.


3. Use Repetition

According to an article on Tech Crunch, language acquisition comes from reviewing a new language again and again. The proper study of language builds on what comes before. ESL students can make flashcards of words they don’t recognize from their textbooks. They can can then review few at a time when they have a few minutes to spare.


4. Write in English

Most college majors require students to do a great deal of writing. ESL students can take advantage of this by spending extra time on written assignments. If the professor has office hours, then ESL students should talk to their professors about their writing during office hours. Additionally, many colleges provide students with a writing lab. These are staffed with English majors. ESL students can use this lab not only write clearer arguments for their essays, but to master English.


Final Thoughts
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True language mastery can take years. For the ESL student, going to college offers a couple of benefits. Not only do the four habits outlined here help them gain the skills necessary to do the work in their major, but they also help them master English in the process.

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Ani Oaks is a freelance writer and web enthusiast. You can read some of her published work on her Google+ page.