Funding Your College Education

The grumblings over the rising cost of college education are not without reason. According to College Board's annual survey on Trends in College Pricing, the average total tuition and fees paid by students at four-year public colleges and universities in 2006-07 was $5,836, while the average total tuition and fees at private colleges and universities was $22,218 for the same period. (collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost06/trends_college_pricing_06.pdf)
The bad news is that tuition fees are just the tip of the iceberg, as it constitutes only a fraction of the overall cost of college. The expense shoots up several notches if you add room and board to the total cost of attending college.
There are several other factors that can make college a financial burden for many. One of the biggest factors is juggling several responsibilities with education that prolongs graduation time for many students and adds to the overall cost.
But the good news is that help is available in the form of financial aid for college, especially if you're among those whose parents did not have the means to save money for college and have to depend on loans to finance higher education.
In fact, a lot of people delay going to college until they have built some savings to avoid taking loans. While it's admirable on their part to save up for college, there's a high probability that such individuals would never be able to go back to school as they get embroiled in the nitty-gritty of life.
College Financial Aid
If you want to graduate from college debt free or at least reduce it to the maximum extent possible, then it's important to explore all avenues of college financial aid. According to the College Board survey, full-time students of private four-year institutions receive an average of $9,000 of aid per year in the form of grants and tax benefits, whereas those enrolled in public four-year institutions receive $3,100 as financial aid for college. (collegeboard.com/prod_downloads/press/cost06/trends_college_pricing_06.pdf)
If this data is any indication, then grants play a very important role in helping students fund their education. Unlike loans that have to be paid back by students once they start earning, money for college provided by grants generally does not have to be repaid. These grants are primarily need-based or awarded on the basis of students meeting certain eligibility criteria.
A case in point is the Pell Grant, which is one of the most popular federal grants. The Pell Grant is awarded to undergraduate students who come from low-income backgrounds. The Academic Competitiveness Grant is also a federal grant available to undergrad freshman and sophomore students who demonstrate academic excellence and a propensity towards leadership and service.
In addition to these federal grants, several states also offer grants to students based on need, merit, or their chosen major. There are also other grants that are constituted especially for students belonging to certain ethnic or disadvantaged groups such as African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, etc. These grants could be administered by the government, universities and colleges, or ethnic organizations.
Scholarships are another source of financial aid for college. Unlike grants, scholarships are mainly merit-based and have to be competed for. Many individual colleges and universities also administer in-house scholarship programs that students can vie for.
So, if pursuing graduate or undergraduate programs from a college seems like an impossible dream, don't forget that financial aid can be an option for those that qualify. This might help you turn your dream into a beautiful reality!

No to More Prisons, and Yes to More Education & Job Creation

Recently, the Jamaica Observer published an article: "Build new prisons to fight crime, says Wayne Chen." Immediately, I was compelled to respond to said article.

I don't think the US model is the best model for fighting/reducing crimes. Is Mr. Chen going to promote private (for profit) penitentiaries, too, for Jamaica? Yes, he's pushing for privatization of prisons. I recommend that Mr. Chen do further research - researching other countries' models (including those with a homogeneous culture/society); unless, of course, his findings are solely motivated by profits/personal gain versus the public good (Jamaica's).

Mr. Chen's ideas could easily lead to abuses such as the "jailing kids for cash" scandal that took place in Pennsylvania years ago.

We need to tackle the problem at its root, in part, the politics (or politricks). If not, Jamaica will end up becoming an island prison due to profitable prison expansions buoyed by foreign investments, of course. We have to find a way to pay (starting with the usurious interest rate) for the loans borrowed from IMF and the World Bank, don't we?

And, of course, Mr. Chen could research on how to create more jobs for the educated jobless youth of Jamaica. Jamaica needs more Penn States (plus job creation) than state pens. The US model is a fiscal failure since it takes more money to finance a prisoner than it would take to educate said prisoner at Harvard (see Prison Policy's "Education and Incarceration" thesis).

Jamaica - my Jamaica - the land of my birth deserves better than Mr. Chen's half-baked ideas; ideas floating around in New York and California by the growing private corrections business interest group (see Newsweek's "Classrooms or Prison Cells" & "How the Recession Hurts Private Prisons"). If I'm not mistaken, last February, Mr. Chen was invited to one of these conferences held in Los Angeles, California.

Moreover, according to the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, "poverty is the mother of crime." Therefore, let's tackle the mother before tackling the child. If not, the mother will only produce another child and another child and another child. In other words, you tackle the mother with education and job creation, instead of tackling the child with incarceration (only).

Remember, a for profit prison system needs a steady stream of prisoners (year after year) to be successful and profitable for its shareholders. For the public good (Jamaica's good), we don't need a successful for profit corrections system with a very bright future - not in my Jamaica - the land of my birth.

A Financial Education in Investment Basics

Never has a financial education in investment basics been more important. Since the financial crisis of 2008 it has been difficult to find attractive investment options. The question is: where to invest in 2010 and beyond. In answering that question, this article will start you on your road to a financial education by focusing on the investment basics that few average investors understand.
You have the same basic investment options that a big money manager with a financial education from one of the best universities in the country has. The difference is that he or she has to decide where to invest billions of dollars. The good news is that there are only four basic investment options out there. The bad news is that deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is not an easy task. Let's look at the four options, often referred to as asset classes: safe investments, bonds, stocks, and alternative investments.
SAFE INVESTMENTS are savings products and cash equivalents like: bank CDs, savings accounts, money market securities like U.S. T-bills, and money market mutual funds. These safe investments pay interest, but with interest rates near all-time lows, they don't pay much. Most safe investments are paying less than 1% a year in interest.
BONDS are long-term interest-paying investments. Today you can make over 5% in interest income a year in bonds and bond funds. This might make them sound attractive, but there's a catch here: interest rates are presently very low and are likely to go up in the future. When interest rates go up the price or value of bonds will fall. That's the investment basics of bond investing. It's called interest rate risk, and it is real.
STOCKS were the investment option of choice for the big money managers in 2009 and early 2010. Looking at the two above investment options you can see why. The big money went into stocks and this sent prices higher. Then, uncertainty returned to the international financial scene, and stock markets fell as a debt crisis in Europe took center stage. If stocks continue to fall, deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond will get even tougher, with only one basic investment option left to consider.
ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS are the final frontier, and they are increasing getting attention from big money managers who manage pension funds and other large pools of money. Included in this asset class: gold, silver, other commodities, real estate, and natural resources like oil and natural gas. Virtually any other investment, or security that is traded on an organized exchange (other than the first three basic investment options discussed) could be classified as an alternative investment.
Given the state of today's financial markets, you can see why deciding where to invest in 2010 and beyond is a challenge. One more thing should be crystal clear. Without a financial education the cards are stacked against you. The best way for most people to invest in all of the above asset classes is through mutual funds. Invest in all four of the basic investment options with funds; and in times of high uncertainty like today... diversify, diversify, diversify.

A retired financial planner, James Leitz has an MBA (finance) and 35 years of investing experience. For 20 years he advised individual investors, working directly with them helping them to reach their financial goals.

The Influence of Books on Children's Music Education

Using the well-known fact that music education raises a child's IQ by up to 40 percent, we can now consider how books and reading in general can help our "musical" children.
Presently, mankind, having achieved enormous strides in the field of technology, continues to invent new means of receiving and distributing information almost daily. Radios, TVs, computers, and the Internet are now a normal way of life. Do you know that all information received doubles every year and a half due to the general acceleration of technology?
These days, we and our children do not need to go to the bookstores and libraries. We can easily find the book we are looking for on the Internet. Moreover, if we have no time to sit and read, we can record the audio version of the book and listen to it while driving, walking, or doing any other activity that doesn't require much reflection. There are also video books. Certainly, these adaptable gadgets are very convenient and we should be grateful to people who invent things to make our lives easier and help us save precious time.
Our children, looking at us, try to copy the things we do. Receiving news in the "easier" version, for example from the TV, the new generation began to read less. On one hand it is normal. But if you want your child to play music without losing interest, he has to read a lot. While reading, a child increases his vocabulary and intelligence. Your imagination automatically "turns on" when you read something exciting.
Have you ever read books in which the author describes what his protagonists see around them? For example, dark-blue skies; dewdrops on a blade of grass; dense, white fog the colour of milk above the river in the early morning, etc. Some people omit such descriptive passages in books so as not to miss a string of events, action, adventure, and learn what happens next.
Every single small detail is important for our children during reading. Just after birth, a child is like a white, blank, pure sheet of paper. The person he grows up to be will depend on the information, knowledge, skills, and abilities that we, as adults, will teach and give him. Even the child's personality and habits are literary copied from the behavior of other people. And again, books play the huge role in this. The contents of the books are imperceptibly recorded and stored somewhere deep in human subconscious.
You might agree, but you might also wonder what this has to do with music education. I will ask you another question. Have you ever heard a piece of music that has deeply touched you? This piece can amuse you, make you pensive and even make you cry...
It happens because two very important moments coincided. First, the composer, who wrote the music, managed to convey with absolute precision not only his mood during the creation of this piece, but also a picture that he had in his mind. And second, the person, who played the piece, had these images available in a databank in his brain.
A child, who doesn't read much, can not open and express the beauty of a musical piece only because he memorizes the notes. There is a unique, direct connection between reading and the expression of feelings.
If you pay attention to people who read a lot, you will notice that their speech is more beautiful and rich in comparison with those who don't read much. The same is true for a child. The more he reads, the better his understanding of social surroundings and the easier it is for him to understand emotions and feelings and to express them in a musical piece.

Format For Writing a Newspaper Article

You basically have two choices when you want to become a news article writer. It's either you write for broadsheet or for tabloids. If you want to focus on more serious issues, broadsheets will suit your best. Here's how you can write articles for them:
1. Choose your stories wisely. As you're writing for broadsheets, that means that you're serving people with higher level of education. Your articles will most likely to be read by politicians, businessmen, and young professionals. As such, you need to be very careful when choosing your stories. Your audience generally does not care about local news and police reports. They'd rather spend their precious time reading stories about the government, the economy, sports, and news from around the globe.
2. Research your stories thoroughly. Your audience expects to get complete information and nothing less. So, research your stories thoroughly and make sure that you do not leave any stone unturned. Make time to interview all people who have something to say about your story. Then, verify the information you have gathered and make sure that they are all based on facts.
3. Use captivating headlines. Get your audience to read your news articles by using compelling headlines. Using as few words as possible, tell your readers what your article is all about. Whenever possible, use terms that can evoke action or those that can push the emotional hot buttons of your target audience.
4. Use the inverted pyramid technique. Give your readers the most valuable information that they're looking for on your first paragraph. Doing this will help you make sure that you'll still be able to educate or inform these people even if they choose not to read your articles until the end due to time constraints.

Online Education May Be Your Only Remaining Option

More and more folks are turning to online education these days and the reason is simple, and one only needs to look at the news headlines concerning education; "Universities cutting staff," and raising fees. Tuition increases by 15% to prevent state budget shortfalls. "Community Colleges Deleting Classes," and causing havoc with transfer units as students trying to fulfill their schedules to graduate on time cannot get the classes they need. Meanwhile, classes are thus, filling up as there are fewer classes available.
What options does anyone have?
Well, Online Education may just be your only remaining viable option. Seriously, things are getting pretty bad out there. Worse, many of the students that went to four-year Universities graduated with advanced degrees, only to find a job market that was not interested in their skills, knowledge or resume. Now all they have is a diploma and a load of student loan debt, which is accruing interest.
So, what is the alternative? About the only realistic opportunity for schooling is to go with online education and study at your own pace, but as fast as you can, so that you can get yourself ready for this rapidly coming economic expansion period. It surely makes sense to have that online degree in hand and have all that knowledge to back you up as you go job hunting, while all these large companies are trying to re-hire and ramp up their operations.
These days you can get an online education in just about anything, any subject or topic. So, isn't it about time you looked into propelling you future in this way? Please consider all this.

The Education Crisis

Take a moment and think about that. One Hundred Fifty Million Dollars in one city, Chicago, and it barely made a dent. No matter what newspaper you read, TV news that you watch or radio talk show you listen to, the conclusion is always the same, "Spending more money on a broken system will not fix the problem, it will only make it bigger".
Interestingly enough most school districts in the United States offer more "Special Education" programs for students each year than the year before with very little improvement on the academic advancement of the students that these programs were created for.
 
The public school crisis in the United States has become much like the nursery rhyme entitled, "Humpty Dumpty". By adding a little twist, the ending could go like this, "All the legislators and all the tax money could not put the public school system together again". However, the problem does not end when a student leaves high school. Many states have had to establish programs to teach high school graduates basic educational and social skills to enable them to be assimilated into the work force. 
 
So what is the problem? Why is the public school system failing? There are several answers to these questions, but I want to address one issue that can have a great impact on the public school crisis, parenting. Parents must become responsible for their children. The public school system was established to help educate children not to be responsible for children.
 
One of the greatest mishaps that have happened in the United States especially among the "boomer" generation is the thought that more money makes for good family life. Their certainly is nothing wrong with parents pursuing a better life for themselves and their children, but money will never take the place of a parent devoting daily time interacting with their children. It is never too late to shut down the excessive television viewing or turn off the excessive video gaming and spend time interacting one on one with your children.
 
According to an October 1 2007, CBS News report, researchers found that children who watched more than two hours of television per day from age 2 1/2 until age 5 1/2 were more likely to develop sleep attention, have fewer social skills and develop aggressive behavior problems than those who watched less. The report also reveals that parents need to monitor their children's television use, especially during the early childhood years.To combat this problem parents must adjusting their children's play and free time with less TV and more parent child interaction.
Numerous studies reveal that the greatest impact upon a child's development happens between infancy and age 6. This means that when parent invest their time through daily interaction with their children between these ages, they will be providing them with the ability to successfully grow and learn. When you think about it, what parents are actually doing during this phase of a child's life is preparing them to become successful and productive adults.
 
What greater legacy than to see your little boy or girl become an adult more successful and more productive than you and to see them invest quality time into their children because of you. As more parents participate in the daily lives of their children, they will receive a far greater return on their investment than they will from their 401k plan

APlusEducationalToys is committed to helping children have fun while they learn and grow. With over 30 years of experience in child development, early childhood education and over 25 years in children, youth, family and adult ministry, we offer you expert advice and guidance choosing age appropriate, creative educational toys for your child. For more information and to view our products, come visit us at...

Educational Toys - Preparing Your Children For What Lies Ahead

Pick "Any public School USA", walk into a classroom and listen to what the teacher has to say. It seems as though they all read from the same script, "too many children in the classroom, not enough supplies, student's do not sit quietly and focus on learning, too many unruly students and of course, not enough pay".
Like you I have read many articles from newspapers to magazines and have heard the reporters from TV news to radio talk shows and it all sounds the same, "Spending more money on a broken system will not fix the problem, it will make it bigger". So what can be done? If money can't fix the problem that what can? Parents...
U.S. Census Bureau statistics show that the number of stay-at-home moms is increasing each year. However, stay-at-home moms aren't the only ones concerned. According to a 2002 report by the U.S. Census Bureau, "stay-at-home" dads numbered 189,000. Although this number does not compare to the approximate 11 million "stay-at-home moms" the trend of one parent staying at home and raising their children is on the increase. Many parents like yourself are genuinely concerned and are taking control of their children's future.
Because there is nothing that can replace the bond between parent and child, parents need to know that a child's brain development is most affected from infancy - 6 years of age. It is also the ages in which parents will learn and understand their child's individual abilities and capacity for learning. As parents make crucial investments of quality bonding time with their children especially in this age group, they will be preparing their children for what lies ahead.
The most natural way for children to learn is simply by playing. As children play, their young minds are stimulated which encourages them to interact and explore the world around them. Their play is actually preparing them for future tasks and adulthood. Research as well as news reports have found that educational toys increases a child's ability to learn by challenging their thinking, expanding their imagination, stimulation their creativity and developing their physical abilities while having fun.
As more parents grasp the idea of educational play as well as increased personal interaction with their children, we will all enjoy the benefits. It is much wiser and cost effective to invest into a child's life today than to address the problems later in life that could have possibly been avoided. Parenting is a process that begins at infancy, it may not always be easy but it certainly can be fun. So parents, it's time to take control of your children's future, turn off the TV spend time with them, interact with them and train them. This is the only way that the public school crisis can be fixed.

APlusEducationalToys is committed to helping children have fun while they learn and grow. With over 30 years of experience in child development, early childhood education and over 25 years in children, youth, family and adult ministry, we offer you expert advice and guidance choosing age appropriate, creative educational toys for your child. For more information and to view our products, come visit us at...

Technology and Education

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who is struggling to get her son to read. It got me thinking. The truth is that hardly anyone, adults or children, has time to sit down and read these days. Of course people do MAKE time to watch American Idol, or Lost or CSI or whatever other empty TV show. Yes, sorry, I mean this. These are 3 examples but there are many more. I am talking about TV programs that either show the worst possible side of human beings or that give people a completely distorted version of reality. If I watched the local news, I would never come out of the house. People overseas have called me to ask if I was OK after hearing some news on their local TV... Across an ocean, thousands of miles away. What is the point of that?
So yes, it is a shame that people don't read much because I do believe that there are a lot less mediocre books than mediocre TV shows. But here we are, that's the reality and there is no doubt that children respond a lot better to TV and iPods than a good old bunch of pages. Note that it might have to do with the fact that most parents who want peace and quiet at home have a tendency to just sit their kids in front of the box from a very early age... You can't blame the little darlings.
So let's make the most of this situation. Ultimately, why do we want kids to read? Just for the skill or for the content of what they read? Past a certain age, it has to be for the content. The actual skill should be drilled early on and if you have teenagers who can't read, that's another problem and not the topic of this article.
A couple of years ago, I was given an iPod. I had never wanted one because I don't listen to music much and I couldn't imagine myself walking around with my earphones jamming to my songs. But then I was introduced around the same time to audio books. Wow! What a discovery! My iPod follows me everywhere. I hardly ever watch TV and whenever I am doing something that doesn't require a high level of concentration, like cooking, ironing, cleaning the house, sorting out mail, etc, I just put the iPod on and I just "read". I mean I am listening really, but as I am not prepared to make the time to actually sit and read. I just kill two birds with one stone. I have "read" dozens of books in the last couple of years and have learnt so much! It has been the best education of my life. I have grown in ways I didn't think were possible.
Now I am sure that your kids have an MP3 player of some description. Have you thought about looking into audio books for them. Or simply some audio files that they can have in their iPod and that they would listen to. Have a mix of some music and some educational stuff. Do the same yourself: when you are driving somewhere, let the whole family listen to your favorite audio books, have a discussion about what is said. Get your kids into it from an early age.
The same applies to TV. Yes, there are a lot of useless programs on TV in my opinion, but there are also good ones, that actually bring knowledge. Some kids' programs are very educational and then you have the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, etc. Instead of quietening your kids with mindless cartoons, try a Discovery program on sea life. Don't get me wrong, I love cartoons too, every now and then. Some are better than others. But there has to be variety. Children, like all people, respond to what they are given. If you feed them violence from an early age, they'll enjoy it because it will have become the norm for them and they will want more. If you feed them knowledge, instruction, education from an early age, they will want more of that.
Games consoles are the same. They have games that require some thinking and others that consist of shooting, or racing or pretending you are playing sport. If the weather is good enough to go outside and you like soccer or football or baseball, go and play it, do the real thing. If it is too cold or rainy and you are stuck inside, pick a game that will teach you something, about finances for instance or managing your future, or building a business. There are games like that.
Computer use also needs to be taught to kids early. Mastering Microsoft office is a must. Get them to write their journal on the computer for instance, get them to play around with PowerPoint when they have school projects, show them Publisher, etc. All these are essential skills. The Internet is also a great source of good or bad and you have to pick and choose. There are a lot of interactive sites for kids that can be great. All the communities are good too if they are used for a reasonable amount of time per day. It is very easy to get carried away on the net and spend hours literally wasting time. But there are also a lot of things to be learned. even just the technical aspects of using a computer. Teach your kids to be wise on the net: for instance, make sure they select what pictures they put in their profile and teach them about the kind of image they want to project. They can also learn about advertising themselves or an event on one of those communities. It can teach them about marketing at an early age.
Technology is full of riches. It has to be used wisely and kids have to be shown - ASAP - the positive, educational ways they can use it so that they will ask for more. Don't blame violent TV or games, worthless TV shows etc for children's lack of interest in school. Take your part of responsibility: you are the ones to decide what your kids do or don't. Then work with what you have got and use this great tool that we call technology to your advantage.

Online Education - Is It Worth Anything?

The online education market is increasing by "33% a year" according to Salary.com . This expansion is due to the many opportunities that the Internet affords. Earning a degree was once a pipe dream for the stay at home mom with 3 kids or the rural farm worker, but a degree is now available to anyone with an Internet connection. With this increased access also comes increased risk, with so many colleges offering online degree programs there are also just as many crooks offering you quick and easy programs that take your money and leave you with nothing of value. Choosing the right degree program can open new doors, increase your income or just allow you to fulfill a lifelong dream. How do you avoid the crooks and what will an online degree be worth when you have completed it?

If it seems to good to be true it probably is. Most of the scams can be broken in to two categories; the "Degree Mills" and "This is way to easy to be college". The Degree Mill is very simple, you send them some exorbitant amount of money and they mail you a very nice official looking piece of paper with your name on it that say you have a degree. Degree mills are worthless. You receive no education from them. Do not go looking to just buy a degree, you need to earn it. The other scam is what I call "This is way to easy to be college". You may have seen spam email from these so called colleges. They generally advertise earning a degree in some radically quick time frame (6 months) or only taking a small number of classes. If you were to go to one of these schools they still require some exorbitant fee for what you learn and the classes require little or no work/study. In the end your degree may still be worthless. So how do you choose a degree program that will be worth something?

When choosing an online degree program make sure it is accredited by a sanctioned agency. Accreditation helps ensure that the curriculum and the instructors are of high caliber and afford you the best learning opportunity. Accreditation also add more vale to your degree in the eyes of employers and if you wanted to use that degree as a stepping stone you next degree. You still need to be cautious all Accreditations are not equal you should make sure accreditation agency is recognized. Who are the recognizers? "Washington, D.C.-based Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), a private nonprofit national organization, and the U.S. Department of Education (USDE)" From jobs.aol.com

When researching about an online program U.S News & World Report suggest the following :

Don't limit your research to classified ads or survey the Web in search of the right course or program.

See if the online school is accredited and by whom. Check to see if the accrediting agency is officially sanctioned. Lists are available from several accrediting organizations.

Check with licensing boards and professional associations to see if the program delivers an acceptable level of training.

Call or write the Better Business Bureau and the attorney general's office to make sure the school is operating legally in a state and to see if anyone has filed a complaint.

Find out if the school is connected to an established, reputable parent company.

If you intend to transfer any online credits earned to another college or university, early on check with that institution to see if they accept those credits.

Ask about the faculty? Who teaches the courses? What degrees do they have? What is their area of expertise?

Refer to the published guides of online, correspondence and other distance delivered courses.

What value will your online degree have? The value of an online degree depends on a person's particular situation. The greatest value will depends on how you will use the degree. According to Howstuffoworks.com industries like Internet/New Media, Technology, and High Tech are the highest supporters of an online degree. While an online degree holds the least value in Medicine, Law, and Health Care/Bio Tech industries. Even tho "Thomas L. Russell of North Carolina State University, did studies that revealed that there is little if any difference in the quality of education received through online distance learning versus traditional classrooms." - Howstuffworks.com

With this mixed result; an online degree is still a great option for those that have little other choices or those who just don't like traditional classrooms.

For example: "The cost benefit of online programs lies mainly in the opportunity costs saved, as most students are able to keep their jobs while taking online classes." - Salary.com

"Tonya Gordon ended up with her dream job, doubled her salary, and feels challenged and fulfilled every day. This all happened within a few months of receiving her MBA online through Texas Woman's University (Denton, Texas)" - jobs.aol.com

Without a doubt the popularity of online degrees is exploding. The mass adoption of this form of learning will cause the less accepting industries to value the online degree equal to a traditional degree. The online degree requires the student to be more aware of the school and degree they choose to ensure that it will have value to them. Online accredited degrees have value and will improve your marketability in the job market and can increase your salary range.

Key Lessons From Education Grants That Get Rejected

If your proposal seeking education grants gets rejected, what do you do? How are you going to cope with and move on from such heart-breaking news that can possibly linger in you for a few days?

In one way or another, we all experience rejection. Moreover, it is really painful that after all your hard work and dedication in brainstorming, researching, and writing your proposal, your application gets rejected in the end. You wonder what went wrong and how did this thing ever happened.

You are Not Alone

After feeling bad about the news, you begin to think of how you are going to break the news to your supporters who helped you in every step of the way to get your application done on time.

You're not alone in this predicament. Many have tried to apply for education grants but failed due to one issue or another. All your efforts didn't really go out to the drain because, in the process, you have definitely learned something especially in the writing process. Moreover, your supporters may have seen your hard work as you take an extra mile to reach your target to improve the quality of education of school children in your city or county.

Don't Take it Personally

Generally speaking, both public and private grant-giving organizations review a specific application for eligibility, funding interest, relevance to the community, and technical merits. This process takes place within a month or a quarter.

Reasons why grant proposals are rejected varies. It may range from serious issues such as fraud in documents and information to petty matters like incorrect document format submission and failure to follow directions. Even simple grammatical inaccuracies can sabotage your chances of obtaining favorable results from your application.

If your proposal gets rejected, you don't need to worry yourself over it. Instead of throwing your proposal away, take the opportunity to politely ask for feedback from the funding source. It will be helpful if you get to know the things that should be improved in your proposal. Find out the mistakes and weaknesses in your document and try to further improve the areas you did exceptionally.

Be Hopeful

Read the funding organization's letter again, but this time read it carefully. Does it say your proposed educational program matches their criteria, but their funds have already been allocated? Does it say your non-profit organization is fit for funding, but the itemized budget plan looks confusing?

Like any other ordinary people, funding sources, too, experience crisis and downturn. Under these conditions, donations and other means to raise funds are affected. The key to stay on top is to diversify your fundraising options and strategies.

Even if you don't get funded, your increased knowledge of the grant-making process will prepare you for future battles that lie ahead of you. At the same time, it would help you develop a new game plan for your next grant application.