Goin’ to College: Top Hacks for Getting into the College Program of Your Dreams PLUS a Little Learning Theory

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ERIC DERISE IS UNEQUIVOCALLY a dynamic professional and exceptional at everything he does. I have worked with Eric over the years and his work ethic, knowledge and self starting edge is unparalleled. His hard work and dedication to his job is so extraordinary that he inspire and encourage others to appreciate their responsibilities as well. He has an unwavering commitment to customer service which leads to a plethora of unsolicited praise from others. His positive and upbeat personality is so magnetic and working with him was such an honor. He is truly in a league of his own and I so heartily endorse that Eric is a force that you must encounter and that you will never forget.

Keatta Jerry

Higher Education Professional

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you to my wonderful wife, Mercedes, who not only brought me back to life but who empowered me to leap closer to my potential by constantly telling me You can do ANYTHING Poppy and then always challenging me to do so. Much like my mother she celebrates who I truly am and always stands for what she believes is best for me.

INTRODUCTION

You have been set up for failure by a system that does not support you as you should be. This system was designed by the wealthy more than a hundred years ago to foster and secure the careers and wealth of their own. I know you feel lost in this system. You don’t know what program is best for you or your kids. You don’t know what kind of school is best for you. What’s the difference between grants and scholarships? Isn’t that financial aid? Why can’t I go to school for free? If this system seems like a racket to you I have to tell you that you’re right. But it is a racket that you can use to your advantage.

Many people have changed this system as best they could to make it easier for the have-nots to become more capable of succeeding in this culture, but the confusing systems that delay and discourage still remain. It wasn’t until it became profitable for colleges to enroll single moms and working boomers in college that things really started to open up for the average citizen despite the confusing and complicated college enrollment systems. I have seen these systems time and time again negatively affect the lives of good people who just want to have a good life.

In fact, I was one of those people. But, somehow I found my way through the system of higher education to earn my degrees and improve my opportunities; thereby improving my life. That’s why I wrote this book. I want you to know what you need to know about how to prepare for and how to enter into the college program of your choice with as little drama as possible. I’m giving you a little history on this system so that you can better understand why it is the way that it is.

I’m also giving you my tips on what to do before and when you apply for college. And finally I have a little learning theory for you so that you can better understand how to work with your professors; thereby better ensuring a 4.0. This information comes from my years of experience as an educator, a counselor, a student, and an admissions advisor. I have wanted to say these things for years because of my experiences, and now get to share them with you in my first book. Please, get your highlighters, your pen, and post-its. Read this book, but treat it as a recipe book for designing the life you want to create...unless of course you want to leave that up to the bad guys I was just talking smack about.

Section 1: A Little Higher Ed History

In this first section I talk about some very important aspects of higher education history which will help you to understand why things are the way that they are today.

Chapter 1

How did Today’s Education System Start, and Why is it Set Up the Way that it is?

If the changes in education today are concerning you, let me just say that you're not alone. I see the influence of technology, business and politics all changing education at all levels. Higher education recently went through several dramatic changes due to the Obama administration. Increased regulation made things more difficult for the for-profit schools but better for the students who aren't likely to graduate from them because they can't pass the new entrance requirements; thereby avoiding dropping out of school and incurring student debt.

Consequently the under-skilled students now stick with the less challenging programs where they are more likely to graduate. At the same time school systems have increasingly changed their systems of assessment to prepare students for college using easily measured standardized tests with curriculum designed to focus mostly on memorization of information rather than developing working knowledge of the information. As I watch these good and not-so-good changes happening I am faced with the question of when this all started. And a little research revealed to me that it all started about a hundred and twenty years ago.

American education overall dramatically changed between the years of 1890 and 1910. I read a number of interesting articles on this subject which I recommend to you if you're curious. A piece written by John R. Thelin entitled Captains of Industry and Erudition, 1880 to 1910, discusses many of the changes of this time in higher education.

Another article by Charles Elliot entitled Report of the Committee of Ten, is a report of how educators, in an effort to improve the overall education of American citizens, whether they attended college or not, created an improved uniform system of precollege education nationwide. And, lastly, the second article by David F. Labaree entitled Progressivism, Schools and Schools of Education: An American Romance, is an analysis of how two different forms of progressivism in secondary education have fought for control since the early twentieth century with the administrative progressives in the lead at the schools and the pedagogical progressives in the lead of the schools of education. These analyses enabled me to better understand the changes that occurred in American higher education between 1890 and 1910, and how they helped create the university of today.

Three Decades of Improvement

Higher education changed dramatically in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Thelin’s chapter he writes about the changes which occurred in higher education between the years of 1880 and 1910 with the intention of expressing a theme of the time. The theme of the chapter, in my opinion, is that there were many different kinds of changes in higher education during this time. And these changes were improvements to higher education overall. There were many people and organizations, both in and out of education, who exercised these improvements. For example, some improvements were monetary. There were a number of wealthy people