Salary Is the Most Important Factor in Motivating Employees

Salary is the most important factor in motivating employees Motivation plays a significant part in a company in the modern society because only if employees are motivated can they be more productive. In a company, managers usually take measures such as pay increase and promotion to motivate workers. In the past decade, there have been a large number of surveys on factors that motivate employees to perform their best (Wiley 1997). Some experts state that salary is the most important factor in motivating employees. However, others believe that factors such as responsibility and job security are of vital importance.This essay will argue that salary is not the most important factor in motivating workers and discuss what the foremost factors are. First, it will give evidence to show that salary is not the most important. Then, it will explain what are the most important in motivating employees. After that, it will discuss the importance of salary. Finally, a conclusion will be given at th e end of the essay. The reason why salary is not the most important motivation is that companies usually link workers’ salaries with their productive results, which gives employees less opportunities and limits their development (The Times 100 2010).If workers want to gain more wages, they will work only for the products and become workaholic automatons. Another point is that if pay is considered as the reward of productive results, it is difficult to guarantee equity. Then, employees may be dissatisfied to companies and become less productive. Furthermore, as people value respect and participation, pay is not so foremost and it is important to satisfy people’s spiritual needs. For example, according to McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y, responsibility is of vital importance in motivating employees and if managers delegate responsibility to workers, they will be more motivated.Another theory, theory Z, suggests that participation could increase job satisfaction ( Madura 2008). In addition, people want all their internal and external needs to be satisfied and salary is only a small part to meet their basic need. Even companies can provide satisfying pay; workers may be still unwell to work with all their heart. Therefore, salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees and there are non-financial factors that are more important than salary. Despite the fact that salary-system is an important part in modern enterprise system, it does not mean that pay is the most important factor.According to a surprising scientific experiment of motivation, people who gain bonuses and commissions spend more time in solving a problem, which suggests that people become inefficient (Pink 2009). In some companies, employees still choose to resign even though they have a high salary. This is because they have no job security in the company. Job security can be defined as the confidence that they can keep their jobs. People who have job security can perform seriously as a result of concern about finding a more secure employment (Madura 2008).Moreover, workers with a low salary may also work efficiently because they can gain a sense of identity. When employees contribute to companies and gain recognition, they usually work harder than before as the result of a sense of achievement. In addition, people who have high salaries are faced with more pressure because they should work more and perform better than those who have low salaries. Pay increases are on behalf of the increase of responsibility. Thus, employees who have poor pressure coping would rather choose a satisfied job with low pay than work hard with high salaries.It follows that salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees because career will be hard when they are offered with high salaries. Based on the analysis of why salary is not the most important motivation, the next part of this essay will explain what the foremost factors are in motivating em ployees. Firstly, recognition and appreciation for work done is often a top motivator, which require feedback to provide reinforcement for positive behaviour. As a result, manager’s positive feedback to workers is a significant form of motivation (Wiley 1997).Secondly, responsibility can also be the most important motivation. The responsibility to family requires people to work hard so that they can support their family and performing duties to a company is the best method of gaining appreciation. Furthermore, participation can be another foremost factor in motivating employees. When workers participate in corporate decision, they may be more productive in consideration of their own benefits. Finally, promotion and career development in a company are also of vital importance. For example, irms usually offer more opportunities to workers with the growth of the firm so that most employees can promote rapidly (Jackson & Bak, 1998). As a consequence, companies can take non-financ ial measures such as positive feedback and promotion to encourage employees to work hard. Although salary is not the most important factor in motivating employees, companies still cannot ignore the importance of salary because satisfying wages have been proved efficient to motivate workers for long time. For example, Taylor put forward the first motivation theory in 1911 and the research pointed that people worked only for money (The Times 100 2010).As a result, pay increases are popular in almost all companies. Thus, it can be seen that salary can motivate people to become more productive. In addition, outstanding workers want their pay increase connected with great work instead of simply increase with ordinary people. Otherwise, these outstanding employees will be disheartened and lose the motivation of work because they realized that the reward they gain is as identical as other workers who spend less time and energy in spite of how hard they work (Gioia, 2009).In consequence, if a company want to motivate employees by salary system, it must be equal to each person so as to motivate every workers to improve efficiency. In conclusion, it is the core subject in modern company theory research that a company can motivate employees efficiently and salary is not the most important factor in motivating workers because there are a large number of non-financial factors that are more important than salary.Responsibility forces employees to work hard and they can gain a sense of identify because of participations. Job security is a motivator of increasing importance and managers’ positive feedback such as promotion opportunities and praise would also motivate employees. A successful company is one that establishes different motivating systems for different people to encourage them to be more productive. Therefore, companies should focus more on these non-financial factors instead of only paying attention to pay increases.References: Gioia, C. (2009) Motivating employees: Is money or recognition more appreciated? Available from: http://www. helium. com/debates/137270-motivating-employees-is-money-or-recognition-more-appreciated/side_by_side. (Accessed 29 November 2012). Jackson T. and Bak M. (1998) ‘Foreign companies and Chinese workers: employee motivation in the People's Republic of China’, Journal of Organizational Change Management, 11(4), pp. 282 – 300. Madura, J. (2008) Introduction to Business. 4th ed. Beijing: Post ; Telecom Press.Pink, D. (2009) Dan Pink on the surprising science of motivation [online video] Available from: http://www. ted. com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation. html. (Accessed 23 October 2012). The Times 100 (2010) Motivational Theory in Practice at Tesco. Available from: http://www. thetimes100. co. uk/download-tesco-edition-15-full-case-study_132_396_1168 (Accessed 23 October 2012). Wiley, C. (1997) ‘What motivates employees according to over 40 years of motivation surveys’, Internat ional Journal of Manpower, 18(3), pp. 263-280.

We Googled You

We Googled You The case in the â€Å"We Googled You† article is rather tricky. On one hand, the disconcerting online revelation with Mimi protesting against China serves as solid evidence not to hire her. If members of the management team based in China discover the pictures and information about Mimi’s protests, they may decline to continue to conduct business with Hathaway Jones. It will also ruin the company’s reputation in the eyes of potential future customers. In addition to the searched Google results, Mimi’s recommendations also contained a few negative traits including brash and strongly opinionated.These aspects may not allow her to get along with other workers and colleagues. Her liberal behavior including her wink at Fred is not quite suitable for China’s more conservative culture. On the other hand, it is possible that Virginia misunderstood the information she found online. Fred should consult Mimi directly to fully understand the situ ation about what really happened. It is extremely easy for someone to falsify information and manipulate digital media. With digital cameras being so prominent today, it is inevitable that personal pictures and information would end up online for everyone to Google and find out.Additionally, Mimi’s background includes a strong education and solid experience. Her Berkeley and Stanford degrees and past job positions will allow her to perform the job at a higher level of expertise than many other potential job applicants. As discussed in class, employers should hire based on ability to perform and not on hard data and statistics. From these standpoints, the benefits to hiring outweigh the costs. For these reasons, I support the decision to hire Mimi. I feel that she would make an excellent addition and make a great deal of contributions to Hathaway Jones.

White Oleander - Literary Devices essays

White Oleander - Literary Devices essays Love, hate, truth, deception, manipulation, self discovery and murder. Janet Fitch covered all of this and more. White Oleander is an epic tale about a young girl, Astrid, who was ripped away from her mother, Ingrid, at a very young age and forced onto the path of self discovery all by herself. White Oleander has made it into Oprahs Book Club and has had a major motion picture created based on the novel. White Oleander received and rightfully deserves a high literary status solely based on Astrids characterization character development and the ingenious incorporation and selection of impacting characters throughout the novel that ultimately shape who Astrid becomes. The two main characters in the story are the protagonist heroin, Astrid, and the antagonist, her mother Ingrid. Astrid is more so the main character, although Ingrid remains crucial until the very last page. Its clear to anyone who reads this novel that Fitch put an obvious emphasis on these two characters and their developments throughout the story, and left the other characters that come into play somewhat less significant and vague at times. Fitch created Astrids character exceptionally well, as she was like a story herself, with a beginning, development and an end, while Ingrid was more so the same character throughout, with occasional minor developments. In the first 3 chapters of the novel, were introduced to Astrid, as a young, naive and somewhat distant little girl that idolizes her mother, Ingrid. Ingrid is a crazy, yet passionate poet that lives her life from day to day without a worry in the world, or a real thought to her daughter. Fitch created Ingrid to be a woman with icy blues eyes that could have any man she wanted, who abused her beauty incessantly by using men in the night. Ingrids golden rule had always been; never let a man spend the night. At this point, Astrid has no life, except f...

ConservatismLiberalismSocialism essays

ConservatismLiberalismSocialism essays Conservatism, liberalism and socialism can be called ideologies, as they constitute comprehensive set of beliefs and attitudes about social and economic institutions and processes (Lawson, 44). These three ideologies, which have been developed throughout history, share both similarities and differences. Conservatism, unlike liberalism, generally opposes radical changes in social and economic domain. As the word connoted, the accumulated knowledge of the past and its application to political and economic functions is better to be conserved. Almost all representatives of the theory of conservatism placed great emphasis on the wisdom of generations, which naturally led to the formation of traditional values and customs. Any social experiment by government was perceived as a threat for the tradition of the nation which was the main factor contributing to the preservation of social stability and, consequently, of national development. Change was to be accepted only if it occurred at a gradual and consistent pace. The view of human nature according to conservatism is not egalitarian, in the sense that some people, placed in society, are more capable than others to contribute to its development and they are the ones to be placed in positions of authority. Individuals must guide the ir behavior according to traditional moral standards, set by functional institutions, such as Church. For example, the increasing political power of the Catholic Church, as well as of other religious groups in the U.S., suggests an area where institutional bases for traditional conservatism may be evolving (handout, 11). Conservatism evokes strong feelings of patriotism, since support for the established institutions are greatly promoted and each person serves his/her country with consistency and loyalty. This patriotism leads to an increased trust to in the military forces in cases of external threat, rather than in diplomacy....

How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools

How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but don’t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? It’s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities near you. Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people don’t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year – sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their â€Å"safety schools† where admission is all but guaranteed, they don’t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier – sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If you’re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, it’s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so it’s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like you’re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure you’re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school you’re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when it’s time to enter the â€Å"real world.† So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement – your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely – anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado, Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched â€Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.† I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isn’t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isn’t due until January 31.) Next Steps For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors College† or â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.† I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyer’s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you can’t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize Your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships – and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. It’s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Don’t split your time between the two tests. It’s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much – it’s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, don’t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so it’s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but don’t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isn’t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether that’s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. It’s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. Don’t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay – or essays! – to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, with new prompts every year. The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from. So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, it’s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If you’re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early – at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so it’s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you – just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently – junior year is ideal – and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone – like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor – who could write an additional letter of recommendation, it’s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Don’t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you don’t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university you’re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools – write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. What’s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 1600 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if you’re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but don’t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? It’s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities near you. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people don’t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year – sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their â€Å"safety schools† where admission is all but guaranteed, they don’t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier – sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If you’re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, it’s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so it’s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like you’re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure you’re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school you’re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when it’s time to enter the â€Å"real world.† So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement – your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely – anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched â€Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.† I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isn’t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isn’t due until January 31.) Next Steps DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors College† or â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.† I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyer’s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you can’t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships – and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. It’s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Don’t split your time between the two tests. It’s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much – it’s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, don’t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so it’s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but don’t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isn’t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether that’s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. It’s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Don’t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay – or essays! – to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, including the prompt, â€Å"You are required to spend the next year of your life either in the past or the future. What year would you travel to and why?† The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from, including â€Å"Tell us about a great recipe† and â€Å"Discuss the concept of ‘random.’† So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, it’s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If you’re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early – at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so it’s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you – just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently – junior year is ideal – and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone – like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor – who could write an additional letter of recommendation, it’s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Don’t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you don’t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university you’re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools – write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. What’s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 2400 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if you’re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Vincent by Don Mclean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Vincent by Don Mclean - Essay Example He was residing in Massachusetts in an attractive federal designed residence. This house was referred to as the Sedgwick house. The Sedgwick household included an interesting individual whom Andy Warhol had worked with in the 60s, Edie Sedgwick. McLean composed the song in his dwelling that was filled with antiques. The motivation occurred to him one sunrise while he was on the veranda going through a work on Gogh. McLean discovered that a song about the artist could be composed out of Starry Night, the painting. The song makes use of the strings, guitar, vibraphone, and accordion (Whitburn 166). This paper will analyze the song, Vincent, by Don McLean, focusing on the lyrics, symbol, context, writing technique and how the music blends with the meaning of the song. The composer’s lyrics highlight his life situations. The lyrics of the song highlight how the writer comprehends what the difficulties of an artist are like. He asserts that the society does not know the reasons tha t make artists write or paint. McLean has experienced this situation himself. The writer of the song has come across the paintings of Vincent and has comprehended what Vincent was attempting to illustrate. The writer is attempting to communicate to the listeners that no individual would pay attention to what Vincent was attempting to say, and that individuals did not appreciate the correct meaning of the paintings because they perceived him as peculiar. The composer’s foremost point is that the society should become tolerant. The reiteration of the words, ‘starry starry night’, highlights the significance of the heavens. Vincent enjoyed night time and he had the ability to paint the skies with numerous stars. In the last chorus, Mclean asserts, â€Å"They would not listen, they are not listening still, perhaps they never will.† This shows how Van Gogh was not appreciated as a painter until he died (Whitburn 166). There is the use of symbol in McLeanâ€℠¢s song. The opening phrase, Starry Starry Night, is an indication of the painting, The Starry Night, by Van Gogh. The painting of Van Gogh and the song of Don McLean signifies what it feels like when an individual is not understood. The lines, â€Å"Paint your palette blue and gray† highlight the outstanding colors of Van Gogh’s painting, and they most likely are a testimonial to Van Gogh’s behavior of biting or sucking on his paint brushes during painting. The phrases, â€Å"ragged men in ragged clothes† and â€Å"how you tried to set them free† illustrates Van Gogh’s liking for the socially banished and humanitarian events. This is also highlighted in Van Gogh’s drawings and paintings. In addition, the lyrics, â€Å"They would not listen, they did not know how† signifies the family and a number of people who were significant of Van Gogh’s compassion to those presumed to be miserable (Whitburn 166). Finally, the line, â€Å"How you suffered for your sanity† symbolizes the schizophrenic condition which Van Gogh experienced. There are a number of situations that help in composing the song. McLean composed the song in his dwelling filled with antiques. The motivation occurred to him one sunrise while he was on the veranda going through a work on Van Gogh. McLean discovered that a song about the artist could be composed out of Starry Night, the painting. In addition, Van Gogh worked on his painting when he was experiencing one of his most trying times of his existence (Whitburn 166). During this time, he was put in prison in an asylum at Saint Remy. Van Gogh

Quality & Safety Education for Nurses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Quality & Safety Education for Nurses - Essay Example The second competency is that of teamwork and collaboration and its relevance is in the effective functioning within inter-professional teams and nursing, open communication fostering, shared decision making and mutual respect to achieve quality care for patients. The third competency is that of evidence based practice (EBP) which aims at integrating best current evidence with patient/family preferences and values and clinical expertise for delivery of best health care. The fourth competency involves quality improvement (QI) which mostly uses data in monitoring the outcomes of care processes and using improvement methods in designing and testing changes to help in continuous improvement of the quality and safety of the health care systems. The fifth competency is safety and involves minimization of risk of harm to providers and patients through both individual performance and system effectiveness. The sixth and last competency is informatics and deals with information and technology use in communicating, managing knowledge mitigating error and supporting decision making. Students should be able to explain why technology and information skills are important for patient care that is