Nontraditional Students need health care too!

We need a good health care plan here in the U.S.

Nontraditional students also need this. All college students need health care!

Not having affordable health care adds a huge burden to the already high cost of going back to school in the U.S. So people going back to school have a double burden after they get out: they have to pay back their school costs PLUS many still have to pay a high monthly insurance premium before and after they finally graduate.

Especially older students. They are not usually covered by their parents' plans. And because they are going back to school, it is harder to get health insurance.

Have you seen the documentary movie, Sicko? It shows how the United States really needs health care reform. It also shows the health care plans of other countries like Canada, France, and even Cuba. Here is the trailer from that movie:



I went to see this movie when it came out. It was great!

You can buy a used copy of Sicko from Amazon starting at only $3.50 and up plus shipping. Here is that link:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B000UNYJXQ/ref=sr_1_olp_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1244480183&sr=8-1

President Obama tells his goals for health care reform:
http://www.truthout.org/video/060709B

Get Single-payer Health Care passed in the U.S.
http://www.change.org/ideas/view/free_single_payer_health_care

Sign a petition for Single Payer health care - put it on the table!
http://www.care2.com/news/member/338686546/1161548

Donate to Team Obama to help the U.S. get affordable health care:
https://www.democrats.org/page/contribute/TeamObama44?Source=20090605_JB_TO44

Read about healthcare at the No Limits site:
http://www.nolimits.org/issues/healthcare

Write to your Representatives and Senators!
Here are the addresses of your Representatives and Senators:
http://www.citizenredress.com/
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Other blog posts about Nontrads and insurance:
Insurance and the Nontraditional Student
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And - for now - get a health care plan from Blue Cross and Blue Shield (if you can afford it...)
http://www.bcbs.com/coverage/find/plan/

With all of us doing something to help, we can get a better health care system. Thanks! And please put your story here about health care. Have you had a health care experience you want to share? Let's hear about it.
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New Nontraditional Student Articles on Twitter this week

New articles I found on Twitter this week:

I found some great articles on Twitter and elsewhere this week. Here are some of them:

#onlinelearning Weekly College Planning: Get a jump-start on college by taking 1-2 online courses.. http://bit.ly/oUiRY

Colleges courting nontraditional students
http://www.youngmoney.com/lifestyles/campus_life/Colleges-courting-nontraditional-students

Back to school to start a new life
http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20090427/APC0101/904270424/1003/APC01

Ohio State University at Marion tells about their Nontraditional students
http://www.marionstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070924/NEWS01/70924003&theme=FIN

Pee Dee/Francis Marion College talks about nontraditional students
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/pee_dee/article/more_nontraditional_students_attending_pee_dee_college/13204/

Billings, Montana Seniors on Campus program
http://www.msubillings.edu/50plus/

from Twitter:
Doc_Smith Scholarship Facts & Tips : How to Win a Free Scholarship Essay Contest (http://cli.gs/v5dXhd)

nursinginfo Neb. students participate in nurse training camp: Organizers say there is a shortage of nurses nationwide and th.. http://bit.ly/svWpD

I hope you like these! You can sign up for Twitter today and get fun updates on all the subjects you like. Just go to Twitter today to sign up. And don't forget to add me! I'm here: http://www.twitter.com/betsyanne. See you there!












Learn more:
Check out some great Twitter applications this week at the Betsyanne blog here:
http://betsyanne.blogspot.com/2009/06/i-am-loving-twitter.html




Twitter art (above) is from the Siah site here:
http://siahdesign.com/archives/150

Do you want to earn an MBA online? (plus scholarship links)

Do you have questions about getting an MBA online?
The About.com site has a guide page that explains the in's and out's.

Check out their page:
http://tinyurl.com/ra3wqa

Do you twitterize?

You can now join the Nontrads Twibe to get your updates about site links and information via Twitter.

Scholarships and Grants

Also, if you have not checked out the Scholarship and Grants pages lately, you may want to go and sign up for one or more of the free scholarship sites listed there.

Here is that link: The Scholarships and Grants Pages at the Nontrads Site.

Have a great day!

Where are the in-demand jobs?

In-Demand Jobs

I think about this a lot. It is one thing to take classes, go back to school as a nontraditional student, and succeed. It's another thing to actually find and hold a job in this economy today during or after college. Nontraditional students often need a part-time or even a full-time job even if they are taking classes at the same time, just to get by.

So it can be important to know what jobs are in demand.

I turned towards my best source for this kind of information, the US government. I went to Career One Stop and looked this up.

It says the top three fastest growing jobs overall are:

1.Network systems and data communications analysts
2.Personal and home care aides, and
3.Computer software engineers, and applications

Jobs nationwide with the most openings right now are:

1.Retail salespersons
2.Cashiers, except gaming, and
3.Waiters and waitresses

You can read the whole list here at the Career One Stop What's Hot page.

I also found a new site today called USAJOBS that features Federal jobs. (http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/) This site also has a “jobs in demand” button on the left hand side you can use to search for jobs that are needed.

Other interesting sites and articles are here:

CNN – big demand, good pay
http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2007/news/0702/gallery.jobs_in_demand/

Get a part or full-time job:

The Career One Stop Job Bank re-employment portal (new)
http://www.careeronestop.org/ReEmployment/Default.aspx

The Career Builder site
http://www.careerbuilder.com/

The Job Hunt Site
http://www.job-hunt.org/

Monster.com
http://www.monster.com/

Job Seeker Weekly
http://www.jobseekerweekly.com/

Working at home:
HomeJobStop
http://www.homejobstop.com/


More: Webography

Career One Stop – jobs in demand
http://www.careeronestop.org/ExploreCareers/Occupations/OccupationsWhatsHot.aspx

The USA Jobs site
http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

The clip art at the top of this posting is from Microsoft's great clip art site here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/default.aspx

Let me know other sites you like, and I hope this is a helpful posting for you. Write me a comment to let me know. And have a great week!

To Summer School or Not to Summer School... that is the question...

This original photo is from jdurham@Morguefile.com. I have cropped it some.

Summer School or Not...

At least one student has written me about a decision NOT to go to summer school this year. Why? Because the money just wasn't there. She plans to work this summer, then go back to part-time school in the Fall. It's just more affordable for her right now.

Why go to summer school?
Some students MUST go to summer school because they need a class in a certain order, and the class is offered at a time that suits them. Either that or they don't have a job lined up and figure they may as well do something positive with the time, and get a few classes ahead.

The nuts and bolts
Some universities offer two summer sessions, and others just one. The pace can be harder or about the same. The classes I took in the summer seemed harder for me because the same amount of work had to be done in a lesser amount of time. The teachers did NOT dumb down the class just because there was less time for learning.

Assistantships or working at school in the summer
A summer job may not be as easy to find in this recession year. The common sense advice I would give is to apply for assistantships, student work, or other jobs in or out of school as early as possible. You may find a lot more competition this year, so hopefully a nontraditional student's out-of-school and life experience will be a plus factor in getting that job that could make a big difference.

Making do with your regular job
Hopefully you have an understanding boss and a job with flexible hours, because your summer school class hours may not jibe with your regular hours during "regular" school semester time. This CAN work out though, as can a new job in the summer. OR if you have plenty of money or a supportive spouse, you can work out a vacation this summer. (Or if you are like me, you can always DREAM about a vacation and do needed work around the house instead.)

Other ideas
Write me with other ideas for this summer. Do you plan to go to summer school? Have you got a summer job lined up? Or perhaps you are continuing with the same job you had Spring semester. Or do you just want to relax and have a Staycation?

Write a comment on this post to let people know what you decide to do. Share your plans. Thank you!

Other links of interest:
The Photographer's Blog - Photodaisy
http://photodaisy.blogspot.com/
What to Expect from Summer School in College from Associated Content
Summer School Pros and Cons from U.S. News
Have a Staycation - from CNN.com