UT Tyler reschedules College Showcase: Education and Psychology!

     The College Showcase event for the College of Education and Psychology is rescheduled to occur on Monday, March 3 at The University of Texas at Tyler. Due to the icy conditions on its original day on February 12, the event could not take place. This time around should be beneficial for students who are looking at majoring in education or psychology!

More Things To Do With Your Financial Aid Refund

   So we've had one blog about things you can do with your University of Texas at Tyler Financial Aid refund so why not another!

   I advocate using money like the Financial Aid refund to do things like clear things off you Life's To Do List. So, what kinds of things are that?

   1 ) Set aside the money or put up the $$$ directly to pay your phone bill for the semester ... or two. If you are like me then you don't like being without a phone or your ability to text. If your phone bill has a flat rate then just multiply the bill by however many months you don't want to worry about it!

   2) Paying your rent ahead of time ... and then some. So I know plenty of people who use their Financial Aid for rent, however a trend pops up from time to time ( one even I am guilty of ) - poor planning. If you're staying here for a 4 month semester then I'd say set aside two extra months worth of rent if you can spare it. Here is why ~ Summer courses and financial buffers. Basically, there are a plethora of reasons why you might wind up not having Financial Aid for Summer if you need the courses. Now, the issue is - how do you KNOW if you'll need them? Well ... you probably don't. Things come up, life happens, and sometimes you need a summer class to graduate on time. But if you don't get enough financial to cover school AND your housing? If you have some $$$ set aside NOW then you will be OK in the future.

 If you are in the Fall semester then you saved money now will add to your coffers in Spring!

3) Use the money to experiment with setting up a good cooking/shopping plan now. This one is something I never did until recently but I am glad I did. There were always dishes and things I wanted to cook and try but sometimes buying the foundation ingredients to test/try some dishes is not economically feasible. BUT, when Financial Aid refunds hit? Use the time now while you can to test new foods, see what you might be able to add to your diet later when things get sparse, etc...

4) Save your money and do some research into building a new PC instead of buying one direct. So, this needs a lot of homework and research. You might need a friend of family member to help with this ( however having your friends help you with this project is tremendous fun ) but you can wind up saving a LOT of money.

   Now, I say this as somebody who likes and has owned many, many Apple products. You do not need a 1,500 laptop for school if all you want to do is write papers, Skype, and use Facebook. Arguably gaming can be be done on laptops but for half of that 1,500 dollars you can build a desktop that will rip apart any game on the market. Period.

5) Save up a little money for a road trip of some kind! This one will need you to save up a various amount depending on what you want to do, however if you can afford it? Go see somewhere neat in your state! See your capital, visit a museum somewhere other than where you live! Maybe even pool in $$$ with friends and go somewhere together?

How to Deal with Group Projects...

As we all may know by now that the end of semester is pretty much full of group projects and assignments. And from my personal experience, I believe that I have learned different techniques to handle group projects.

1.       Start ahead and get ideas together when the project is assigned.

2.       Become a leader and get the group members on track.

3.       Divide up the tasks with in the group. (Remember as a leader; take the responsibility of finishing up the project on time.)

4.       Give the group a personal due date to make sure the final project gets turned in on time.

5.       And most important of all, don’t let the group’s grade suffer because of one member. Talk to that individual if necessary. And keep your professor informed about the group updates.

Group projects need a lot of extra attention in order for it to turn out perfectly. It is very important to know how others can be affected in your group because of the lack of an individual’s responsibility.

Communication is another important factor to keep in mind. Everyone as a team needs to know the updates of the project. If for any reason you may have problem finishing up your part, just let the group leader know and the group members can work as a team to help that individual out. As long as everyone communicates well with others, group projects can be an easy A.

And of course, the professor can see the hard work that the group members have put in there. So don’t procrastinate, just work as a team to create a fun and successful assignments.

Good Luck everyone!

Alternative Adaptation Avoidance

Alternative Adaptation Avoidance: That isn't “my” Odyssey! 

   So, as by now many of you know, I am an English major with a bit of an interest in diverse forms of literature. Recently I got to have a conversation with one of my friends which dovetailed into what I will explain here in this post. My friend and I were heavily engaged in a discourse about the ethical pros and cons of alternative media … aka: we were totally talking about comics books. We’re nerds, this is what we do when we’re not doing homework.

A Student's Letter To Parents

 First, let me say that I am approaching this article from a very unique standpoint and it deserves some commentary beforehand so as to have my thoughts make the most possible sense. First, I have spent way more time in college than I should have on account of having switched majors, as well as for the fact that my degree searching took me across two states. This journey caused a severe delay in my expected graduation date of 2013 ... and I started in 2005-2006. I hope you might listen to my perspective as I look forward to being a dad someday, I really do. I understand that I am going to have to watch my kid go from being wholly dependent on me; to likely know that they think that ( while trusting that he/she/they love and respecting me ) that I don't “get" his/her trials, tribulations, and difficulties. Or, who knows, we could be thick as thieves? The point is that I'll have to watch him or her go off to college.

How to Talk to New People

            So, last week I covered Sidewalk Etiquette at UT Tyler, but it seems I've missed expanding on a key point. After moving over thirty-eight times, talking to people is not really a problem for me. It is just something that I do.

So when some of my friends were like,
"MEGAN, I'M SOCIALLY AWKWARD."
"MEGAN, WHAT DO I SAY TO PEOPLE?"
"MEGAN, HOW DO I SOCIALIZE?'

1. My overwhelming answer, every time, is to say- "Hi"
2. If they respond, ask them about themselves and what they enjoy. 

That's it. No tips or tricks. Just two steps. I can't guarantee that they'll answer. I have no idea if they will respond to your text. I don't know if you will even have anything in common at all.
Or, telling someone you like the color purple may lead to lasting friendships. Who knows?

What I do know is, you'll never meet anyone unless you try!

Speaking in Class

           No matter what college you go to, you know "that person". The person that answers not one, but all of the questions the professor poses. That person who corrects the teacher with articles they find on wikipedia. The one that makes snide remarks loud enough for the whole class to hear.

I've come to collect you.

           Here, at UT Tyler we allow everyone to have a say. If you are nervous about speaking out in class, you can use our Blackboard discussion board. :) The point is, our professors want us to interact. An exchange of understanding ideas, because this is the best way for us to learn.