Wednesday, March 18, 2020

What are You Doing to Prepare for College Applications

What are You Doing to Prepare for College Applications CC image courtesy of V-LUX 4 on pxhere. Are you are heading toward your senior year of high school? If so, do you want to be totally stressed out as admissions deadlines approach, or would you rather get some work done ahead of time to make things easier three months from now? Summer is the best time to prepare for college applications. Your senior year will be busy. You will probably be visiting college campuses, formulating your list of schools and taking   SAT subject tests, in addition to balancing your regular plate of schoolwork and activities. So it’s important to do anything you can do for your college applications now. If you want to avoid last minute panic, follow these suggestions and get a jump start on your college applications: 1. Prepare for college applications by reading and contemplating the Common Application Questions for 2018-19. Here they are: 2018-2019 Common Application Essay Prompts Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. The lessons we take from  obstacles we encounter  can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a  challenge, setback, or failure.  How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? Reflect on a time when you  questioned  or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your  thinking? What  was the outcome? Describe a problem youve solved or a problem youd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or  realization  that  sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one youve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. 2. Take notes. If you are having essay-worthy experiences this summer, don’t trust that your memory will recall all the details of those experiences. Write them down!! Trust me, it will make the essay writing process SO much easier than it would be with just your memory to rely on. 3. Reflect. If you’re not engaged in some interesting activities and adventures this summer, do some self-reflection and find something to jump into. It doesn’t have to be glamorous – you could get a job in a bakery or video store and make an essay out of it. A great essay is more about who you are and how you experience your life than about the actual things you do. 4. Start gathering Letters of Recommendation. If you haven’t already, ask your teachers NOW for letters of recommendation. They will appreciate having the extra time to think and write. See my article High School Seniors: Start Now on Your Letters of Recommendation (LORs)! 5. Write an essay draft. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just get something down on paper. It will get your ideas flowing and take off some of the pressure you might otherwise experience in the fall. 6. Talk to your parents and friends about your ideas. And if you do write an essay draft, share it with others. They might have insights into your experiences and growth that you don’t have. After all, you only have one brain and it can only recognize so much about itself! 7. Download the Common Application Form. You can prepare for college applications by filling out all the generic information you can (name, address, etc.). Get those details out of the way so they don’t clutter your brain and you can focus on writing your essays. Follow these six suggestions and you will have much more peace and brain space so you can focus on your other senior year activities – and you’ll have more FUN too!! Stuck on what to write for your college essay or personal statement? The Essay Expert can help! We offer both flat rate and hourly  College Admissions Services.

Monday, March 2, 2020

Geoff the Pedantic Elf A Christmas Proofreading Story

Geoff the Pedantic Elf A Christmas Proofreading Story Geoff the Pedantic Elf: A Christmas Proofreading Story ‘Twas the day after Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. This suited Santa Clause just fine. It had been a busy festive period, after all, culminating in his customary, physics-defying journey around the world to deliver gifts to all the good boys and girls (he delegated the naughty list these days for efficiency). The fact he uses such an old-fashioned mode of transport makes it even more impressive. Now, though, his work completed, Santa was enjoying a well-earned sit down in his office. He was just pouring himself a celebratory brandy, in fact, when someone knocked on the door. â€Å"Come in!† called Santa to the knocker. The door opened a crack. Geoff, Santa’s top admin elf, sidled in nervously. â€Å"Can I help you, young man?† asked Santa, chuckling to himself (he knew well that Geoff was 974 years old, which is fairly venerable even for an elf). â€Å"It was a good idea of yours to automate the Christmas list system this year,† he added, encouragingly. Are those even real glasses, Geoff? â€Å"Umm, thats actually what  I need to talk about,† said Geoff, avoiding eye contact with his boss. â€Å"We’ve had a few complaints.† â€Å"Complaints?† bellowed Santa, leaping to his feet and towering over the elf. â€Å"From whom?† Geoff cowered, but managed a response: â€Å"Parents!† he squeaked, â€Å"It seems that there might have been some typos in the Christmas list!† â€Å"Typos? Like what?† Santa grumbled, reaching for his tablet computer and opening the Good Boys and Girls app that Geoff had developed to handle the Christmas list this year. The head elf watched Santa struggle with the device for a few minutes, then gently took it off him and navigated to the â€Å"User Feedback† section. â€Å"Here,† he said, â€Å"This one is from a mother who says you crept into her little girl’s room and performed neural surgery on her in the middle of the night.† Not something youd want to wake up to. Santa sniffed defensively. â€Å"Yes, well? The list clearly said that she wanted a ‘boy brain’.† â€Å"It did,† agreed Geoff, â€Å"But it should have said ‘toy train’.† Santa’s face, usually so ruddy, suddenly turned pale. â€Å"Oh. Well. I can see why she might be upset. I thought that sounded like a strange request.† He paused. â€Å"Was there anything else?† â€Å"Quite a few, actually,† replied Geoff. â€Å"There was a boy in Arkansas who wanted a puppy.† â€Å"What did we deliver?† asked Santa with palpable trepidation. â€Å"A yuppy, apparently. â€Å"The kid’s dad says the boy freaked out when he found a businessman sat at the end of his bed, sipping coffee and working on a laptop.† Hes cute, sure, but is he puppy cute? â€Å"I can imagine,† said Santa, slumping back into his seat. Santa’s brow furrowed as he squinted at the tablet screen. â€Å"Is that even how you spell ‘yuppie’?† â€Å"It’s a variant spelling,† explained Geoff, shrugging. â€Å"That’s what you get when you hire temps to do the data entry work, I guess.† â€Å"So, then, what do we do now?† Santa asked, looking to the elf for help. â€Å"First of all, we need to get back out there and, ahem, make some corrections,† the elf suggested. â€Å"And then, before we get started on next year, we should probably hire a proofreader.† â€Å"Good idea,† muttered Santa, before taking a deep gulp of brandy. MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Remember to proofread your letters to Santa next year!(Photo: Jonathan G Meath/wikimedia)

Saturday, February 15, 2020

The Value of a Vanilla Bond Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Value of a Vanilla Bond - Coursework Example Between the two companies it has been observed that Microsoft Corp. has the highest credit rating in the country. Due to the volatility of Aon’s operations and lower credit ratings, interest rates are higher, which makes the investment in Microsoft Corp. safer than that in Aon Corp, from an investor’s point of view. The Value of a Vanilla Bond A vanilla bond is a bond that has no underlying features, a fixed rate is implied and the bond is redeemable in full on maturity. In this paper, the vanilla bonds of two companies will be focused on to determine why the price of one company’s bonds differs from the price of the bond of the other company. The companies that are being focused for this paper are Microsoft Corp. and Aon Corp. According to the financial results reported by Microsoft Corp and Aon Corp. the companies had a total of $11.9 billion and $2.9 billion outstanding in debt. This debt component comprised of different loan notes, each with a varying range o f maturity dates, out of them only the loan notes that fulfill the criteria of vanilla bonds will be considered for this paper. To calculate the present value of these bonds, each lone note will have to be dealt with separately. The list of the amount of these loans, their coupon rates, price and their maturity dates is mentioned below, and on its basis the present value of each note will be calculated. ... October 2020 1,000 3.000% 105.7 941.85 2.27 February 2021 500 4.000% --- 459.79 --- June 2039 750 5.200% 122.0 612.653 3.88 October 2040 1,000 4.500% 113.6 835.607 3.73 February 2041 1,000 5.300% --- 805.150 --- TOTAL 10,750 10,043.51 AON CORP: Maturity Date Face Value ($ Millions) Standard Coupon Rate Price Present value ($ Million) yield to maturity September 2015 600 3.50% 105.0 589.609 2.07 September 2020 600 5.00% 112.1 570.808 3.37 September 2040 300 6.25% 124.8 248.854 4.67 TOTAL 1,500 1,409.271 As it can be seen, the bonds held by Aon Corp are generating higher yield to maturity than the bonds held by Microsoft Corp. Even though the time till maturity of the two companies is same for some bonds, still Aon Corp is charged with a higher rate of interest than Microsoft Corp. For the bonds that will mature till the years 2015, 2020 and 2040, the respective yields to maturity for Microsoft and Aon Corp. are 0.64, 2.27 & 3.73 and 2.07, 3.37 & 4.67 respectively. Thus it is obvious t hat the bonds issued to Aon Corp are receiving a better price than that of Microsoft Corp. According to Standard and Poor’s Rating Services and Moody’s Investor Service Inc. the Microsoft Corporate credit rating is AAA and Aaa respectively, whereas that of Aon Corp is BBB+ with a stable outlook and Baa2 with a negative outlook respectively. The increase in Microsoft’s credit ratings ensures lower borrowing costs and easy access to financial options for the company. Microsoft was assigned top rating right after the company made public a $ 2 billion commercial paper program and according to S&P only five U.S non-financial companies hold AAA rating according to their standards (Linnane, 2008). The commercial paper of Microsoft Corp is rated A-1+ by Standard & Poor and P-1 by moody’s.

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Marketing plan ( market the city of toronto) Assignment

Marketing plan ( market the city of toronto) - Assignment Example This has the effect of improving on their revenue base. At the same time, companies want to gain global recognition. In essence, this is something, which is rather beneficial when it comes to business (Crouch, 2011). Various cities use different approaches in the course of their marketing. It is imperative to note that the method, which is to be used, is largely dependent on the expansive market. The financial outlay is something, which will influence the methods of advertising and marketing. The first thing, which is rather noteworthy, is to gain an understanding of these international markets. Thorough analysis has to be undertaken before the firm can even think of venturing into these markets. A feasibility study regarding the success of the business has to be done. This is particularly pertinent, as it will serve to point out whether the business will stand a chance of success in the new market. This is as opposed to going blindly into these markets without prior knowledge (Pepal l et al. 2005). The city, which is in perspective, in this case is Toronto. Toronto is a city, which is considered to be rather tech-savvy. At the same time, it is also considered as one of the best cities in North America when it comes to jobs that are related to Information technology. The environment in the city is one, which has attracted several major global firms. These firms have set up offices in the city. These include Xerox and General Motors just to mention a few. These developments put Toronto at a rather significant place when it comes to the developments that are attributed to jobs and employment opportunities. The city is also very flexible in the sense that it easily adapts to the changes that are happening in the world and picking up the latest trends that come by. One of the things, which seem to be rather influential in attracting people into the city, is to do with the good reputation, which the country has on a global platform. It is worth noting that people wil l always want to associate themselves with desirable things. The name and reputation of the city is already established. For this reason, the main thing, which should be focused on, is the development of the industries and institutions, which are existent in the city. For example, the educational institutions ought to be developed and marketed even more. This is because they are the primary institutions, which serve to attract foreign individuals into the city. The museums and art centers that are in the city are also important for attracting tourists into the city. The infrastructure which is in the city is significant and is in a position to support the number of people who might flock the city from foreign countries (Bunting & Filion, 2000). The other issue, which comes into perspective aside from the place, is the price. This price is in relation to the cost of living and that to do with other elements within the city. On average, the cost of living in the city is rather encoura ging (Lee & Lovekin, 2009). This is something, which is even pointed out by the average wage rate in the city. This is in the region of $24 per hour. There is quite a significant stability when looking at the economic condition in Toronto when comparing it to other major cities. The instances of price fluctuations are at a minimal. There is a significant promotion of the city and its associated elements. This is

Friday, January 24, 2020

Effect of Female Principals Management Styles on Teachers Job satisfaction in Isfahan- Iran, Girls High Schools :: Education, Educational Systems, Nurturing

Nowadays, Education has changed and developed fundamentally due to cultural, social and political changes. Education is under intense scrutiny by public and private interests who question the systems ability to fulfill its goals of teaching basic skills, instilling values, preventing dropouts, and producing a productive workforce. Such an incredible responsibility requires high committed to fulfilling the high expectations .Nurturing and educating the new generation have assigned to educational systems. Today, educational administration means: leadership, directing, reform and change. Therefore, achievement to high level goal of education in each society, demand renovation and reorganization and new thinking in management of educational systems (Allahabad, 2004). Educational Administration either in supervision and monitoring of financial and official affairs, in education or others that involving directly with development and implementation of educational program , have responsibil ity and tasks in achievement of essential objectives of educational administration as named facilitating teaching-learning process. Schools must give more attention to teacher job satisfaction because it may promote efficiency and staff satisfaction. One of the important factors in improvement of psychological and spiritual energy for staff in the organization is promotion of job satisfaction in teachers. In fact, job satisfaction is a kind of emotional and affective coping with job and its conditions which it consists of two components: cognitive and behavioral. The cognitive aspect is indicator for staff believes about their job conditions and behavioral aspect means individuals trends to their job. Cognitive aspect has more validity than other behavioral aspects due to further relationship with individuals' attitudes. A successful education system is dependent upon a high quality teaching staff. In order to develop this high quality teaching staff, one must look at factors associated with teacher quality and retention. One of these factors is teacher job satisfaction. Job satisfaction can be defined as an ove rall feeling about ones job or career in terms of specifies, i.e. compensation, autonomy, coworkers; administration. Job satisfaction has been studied for many years. Happock (1935) was one of the first researchers to study job satisfaction. He found that workers were more satisfied with a supervisor who was understanding and helpful (as in cited, Bass, 1990). Frederick Herzberg (1959), psychologist and researcher studied job satisfaction because he believed higher satisfaction led to higher productivity, decreased absenteeism, and better working relations. He found that positive feeling about work, a sense of personal worth, and a sense of personal fulfillment were related to achievement and responsibility (Wetherell,2002).

Thursday, January 16, 2020

My Toy Essay

1. What are the special days celebrated in your country? There are many special days celebrated in my country. Such as Tet holiday, beginning from January the first on the Lunar Calendar National holiday, Septemper the second Independence day, April 30th 2. Which is your favourite and why? I like Tet holiday the most because I can meet my cosins, relatives, friends who live far away. People get together to eat, drink, and entertain themselves . I also receive â€Å"lucky money† in red envelopes. Besides, I take part in many traditional customs with my family such as cooking sticky rice cake, playing tug of war, going to pagoda to wish good things for my family. And I can hang out with my friends and don’t worry about anything. 3. What do you think is the most important festival in your country? Tet holiday is the most important festival for Vietnamese people. It’s the start of a new year and the Vietnamese feel that having a good start is essential to having a good year.These are funny and happy days that people prepare and welcome the new year together. In addition, it is a wonderful occasion for Vietnamese families to reunite and remember their ancestors. 4. In what way do people celebrate the festival? Most people start to clean and decorate their houses from top to bottom a week or two before the Lunar New Year . It is a common belief that cleaning the house will get rid of bad fortunes associated with the old year. Some people paint their houses to start a new year with lucky things and decorate with festive items . Besides, people are also busy shopping to buy new clothes for themselves, and their children a month prior to the New Year. 5. Do people prepare any special food for the occasions? Food plays a major role in the Tet holiday. Some typical Tet’s foods are sweets, coconut jam, fruit candies, melon seeds, stew pork with eggs, and especially sticky rice cake. Tet meals are usually bigger and more delicious than our daily ones. 6. Which do people prefer to spend with family or with friends? Usually people prefer to spend time with their family because Tet holiday is the time for family and indeed the only time of the year when the whole family gather together 7. How did people celebrate the festival in the  past? In the past, one or two days before Tet, every family prepares and cooks Banh Chung around a warm fire. It is also the time for parents to tell their children folklore stories. Nowadays, families which live in villages still maitain making Banh Chung before New Years but the people in the city do not. They don’t have time and prefer to buy it. Besides, many families also light firecrackers and fireworks to celebrate, but now this custom has changed because it is illegal in our country. 8. How has the way been changed and why? Nowadays , firecrackers are illegal in our country. So this tradition has changed. Some people even prefer to take a holiday instead of going back to their parents’s home to spend Tet holiday. And, some rich of families, aren’t excited to buy clothes for the New Year because they buy their all year around. And, some traditional food such as sticky rice cakes are often bought as a department store in the supermaket, maket instead of being cook at home because they are quite busy with their work, even they have no time to clean and decorate their house.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

A Study Of African History - 1384 Words

Many people think slavery happened after a group of explores from Portuguese started ring the coast of West Africa, but little do they know African Americans were trading themselves way before then. Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the navigator, was the first European to methodically explore Africa and the oceanic to the Indies.[1] Many Europeans thought that Africa s history was not important. They argued that Africans were inferior to Europeans and they used this to help justify slavery. However, the reality was very different. A study of African history shows that Africa was by no means inferior to Europe. As you can see below, the people who suffered the most from the transatlantic slave trade were civilized, organised and technologically advanced peoples, long before the arrival of European slavers, trying to suggest they were backward peoples.[2] A major advance was the introduction of the caravel in the mid-15th century, a small ship able to sail windward more than any other in Europe at the time. Evolved from fishing ships designs, they were the first that could leave the coastal cabotage navigation and sail safely on the open. For celestial navigation the Portuguese used the Ephemerides, which experienced a remarkable diffusion in the 15th century. They were astronomical charts plotting the location of the stars over a distinct period of time. These charts revolutionized navigation, allowing to calculating latitude. Using the caravel,Show MoreRelatedAfrican Americans And African American Studies844 Words   |  4 Pageseducation that would shed light on African Americans. 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