What is going to replace this seemingly normal and conventional means of attending school? The computer. High schools will become more and more Internet-based, offering classes online and expecting students to "attend" these courses from the comforts of their own home. There is also the idea of completing these online courses at the high school in computer labs, but the idea is there will be fewer students and structure in the school itself and more "virtual learning" taking place outside the school and online.

What does this mean for parents’ comfort level of having their child home during the day while they are at work, the actual space of these schools not being needed? These are all significant and valid unknowns that have not seemed to be defined or explained within the information provided thus far on this technology-based concept. The idea is still in the developmental stages in many states although there are some schools that have implemented this concept quite successfully. It’s difficult to imagine that the presence of a high school could soon become a empty building with an empty parking lot and homes throughout the community could be filled with students glued to a computer screen, listening to lectures and taking exams. The classes in which would still take place would be Physical Education, some special needs classrooms, Art (?), Music, and who knows what else would fit the criteria of going to school.

Art class might evolve into graphic design only and sculpture and painting will be activities of the past. It’s also difficult to imagine what will happen to these buildings, all the extra space and staff if they are not seamlessly transferred to some online teaching. Naturally everything comes down to money which is what seems to be the driving force behind this idea too but without knowing the full scope of how all these details will be worked out, there seems to be lots of gaping holes that would waste a lot of money.

Community colleges can be a great transition before applying to bigger, better schools you may not be ready for financially or academically. Community colleges are much more affordable, yet offer similar courses and can prepare a student for college life at a more difficult institution in the future. Many people opt for community colleges if they have obligations at home that might keep them from going away and such circumstances may only be temporary, so it’s a great way to bridge the gap before you are ready to apply to your "wish list" of schools. Community colleges do not offer housing, so it’s imperative that you choose one that is within commuting distance or you have someone with whom you can stay.

Going to school part-time (evening classes) while working full-time is also an option to explore if money is an issue. You can search colleges that offer classes at unconventional times such as nights and weekends. This is a great way of attending the college you want to attend, but not in the regular setting of being a day-time student. Your day-time hours can then be used for earning an income that may be used to pay for the classes or saved for possibly attending full-time in the future. Whatever the case, there is an option out there for you, just be diligent in exploring your options, knowing your needs, trusting your instincts and not being pressured by what everyone else is doing. There are many college options that are still a brilliant alternative and will offer just as much benefit as going away to a 4-year school.

Make sure you visit your high school guidance counselor to discuss these alternative options and ask for as much information as you can on colleges that offer night/weekend classes as well as community colleges. Ask if there are any recent graduates you could contact who are taking a less conventional route and see if you could speak with them about their experience. Talk to your parents about what’s best for the family and make sure they know what you want to do, but are also aware of the sacrifices you are willing to make if you have to.

Get discount bus tickets. If your city or town has buses, chances are they have a student discount. Talk to your school or the bus company directly to find out what they have to offer you, and get around on the cheap. You might even find that they have free tickets for college students!

Many colleges offer shuttles to get around campus. These are especially helpful if you ride the bus to get to school, or if you live in dorms that are far from where your classes are. Check out your college’s shuttle service to find out where they go and the hours that they run so that you can take full advantage of it.

A great way to get around fast for almost no money is biking. You should be able to find bike racks all over your college campus, and many college-friendly towns and cities will have them as well. You can take bikes on most buses, and on top of all that, you’ll get great exercise from this form of transportation. Just be sure to invest in a great bike lock to make sure that no one takes off with your ride.

For times when you really need a car, or you have to travel long distances, ride sharing is a great solution. Talk to your friends and classmates who have cars and find out if they are willing to share a ride with you. Check out bulletin boards to see if someone is driving the way you need to go for long trips. You can even look in to car sharing services that allow you to rent cars hourly or daily for errands and more.

If you absolutely can’t live without a car, you can still make it work. Buy a reliable older car to save money rather than investing in a great new one-you can do that when you’re out of college and you’ve got a job. Rely on cheaper transportation whenever possible to save on gas. If you don’t use it much, try to find off-campus parking that you won’t need to buy a permit for.

Getting around in college can be easy and cheap, especially if you live on campus. Try these ideas to see how much money you can save on college transportation.

Follow the instruction of your HR representative and use it as leverage to start your next career of job searching. It has been said looking for a job is a full-time job and this might be true, but it’s also a time to explore new options and you can’t spend 40hrs/wk in front of a computer in your home without any social interaction. Because it is an emotional time in terms of losing your job, leaving the office setting, the companionship of some coworkers and the routine of going to work every day, it is important you continue some semblance of a routine and personal connections.

Getting the paper or bringing your laptop to the local coffee shop is a good way to get out and still conduct your job search. Visiting your local career center is a great way to learn new ways to job search while being surrounded by people in the same boat. It’s critical not to hole up and let your life fall apart because you were let go or laid-off. If you were fired because of performance issues, use the time to work on those skills that cost you your job (i.e. not adhering to deadlines – test yourself with project at home that require strict deadlines). If you were laid-off due to cutbacks, don’t take it personally and move forward knowing it was nothing you did. It’s the economy and a very tough market.

Talk to others about their job loss experience, join support groups or chat rooms to gain perspective on how to use the time-off as best as possible. For some it may be a huge adjustment, for others it may be a welcomed break. Whatever the feelings may be, try to keep your social ties in tact for your own wellbeing.

First of all, realize that you can no longer treat your body like the garbage disposal it was back in high school. As time goes on and you begin building habits you will carry with you into adulthood, you must realize you cannot continue to eat whatever you want without suffering the consequences in your weight, your energy level or even worse, your heart.

The best thing you can do is balance out the things you eat appropriately. For every day you choose something rich or fattening from your favorite dining hall, choose something healthy for the next four days, such as salads loaded with a large variety of vegetables and light dressing, grilled chicken and fish, and fresh fruit for dessert. For every day you drink a soda with your lunch, drink water for the next four meals. This way you are still getting a few of your old favorite unhealthy foods while phasing in foods that are much better for you.

When eating off campus, don’t fall into the trap of eating absolute junk from fast food restaurants just because it’s cheaper. Remember that you get what you pay for. The double cheeseburger may be cheaper than the grilled chicken salad, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for your body. Ramen noodles may come 10 for a dollar, but that doesn’t make it the right choice for your body.

As for exercise, it is far better to find a friend or two who will make the commitment to exercise in some way with you than to try to go it on your own. One or more accountability partners will help rally up your resolve to work out during the week. When choosing your physical education classes, don’t settle for a non-strenuous activity like bowling or pool. Choose a heavy aerobics or weight lifting class that will be a true challenge for your body.

Finally, make every effort to stay active. Whether you joining an intramural sports team, go on regular walks or runs with friends, or bike to class rather than taking the bus, get out and get your blood moving. Your body will definitely thank you.

Time management is key in college. You’ve got to juggle sleep, a social calendar, assignments, and classes all at once. As professors pile on essay after essay and exams that seem to all cluster together, it can be overwhelming, but somehow, college students figure out a way to make it all work. It’s stressful and you probably hate it, but college won’t be the last time this happens. You’ll almost certainly have times when you’re overloaded at work or at home, and when that happens, you’ll be able to rely on the time management skills you’ve picked up while you’re in school.

One of the most valuable skills you’ll learn in college is communication. Whether you’re talking to a professor, classmate, or just friends, you’re going to be doing a lot of listening and speaking in college. Lectures will teach you how to find the most valuable parts of what someone is saying. Group work will help you learn how to politely and effectively discuss subjects with others. You will probably have to give presentations in your college career, and those will help you get a handle on public speaking, which is important for many different career fields and life in general. Even the emails you send back and forth are training you to be an effective communicator now and in the future.

You’ll learn how to learn. It sounds silly, but college will train you to teach yourself and find information easily. All of your time spent reading, researching, and Googling will pay off when college is over. When you’re done with college, you’ll have perfected the skill of finding and processing information, which is especially useful in working environments.

You may not realize it, but the work you’ve doing in college helps you build skills for the future every day. Enjoy the lessons of time management, communication, learning, and more while you’re in college.

First, figure out where you’re losing time: is it at night when you’re normally socializing or studying, or during the day when you should be attending study groups or meeting with professors? Next, decide what’s suffering because of your schedule or time management problems. It could be your social life, a grade in a certain class, your sleep schedule, or even your interest in your art class because you feel too overworked. If you’re afraid that you simply don’t have enough time to fit it all in, visit your academic advisor to find out whether or not you should — or can — drop a class this semester.

If your problem lies more with your ability to organize your schedule, prioritize each day according to what’s most important to you and to your grades, no matter what your schedule actually says. Then, add up about how many hours you’re spending on each class, study group, extracurricular activity, project, or rehearsal. Find out if the time spent on each matches the priority level you assigned each. See if you can rework the balance a little better on your own. If not, talk with your professors to find out how you can ease the strain of your creative work so that you don’t fall behind everywhere else. Changing your study habits to more effectively match your study style — like visiting a professor during office hours for 15 minutes each week or dropping out of your study group — may help you understand the material faster, and give you more time for other things. Practice rearranging your schedule until you’ve found the balance that makes you happy and keeps your grades up.

Letting go of grades may be harder or easier depending on your campus culture and your group of friends. If everyone’s trying to sneak a peek at classmates’ grades, or if your friends are always talking about grades, you’ll have to make a concerted effort to drop out the conversation, even refusing to participate if it comes to that. The fact is, your grades and your academic performance is nobody’s business but your own. If you’re worried about how your scores will affect your overall class grade or your success in the field, talk with an advisor or your mentor, who should be able to give you real-world perspective on your potential vs. how other students have performed in the class before, your unique skills, and what it takes to get a job or an internship. Speaking with a professor will also help you consider the subject in a more academic, intellectually stimulating way, which hopefully will feed your curiosity and enhance your interest in the topic. If you wallow or stress by yourself, it will be hard to think about anything other than the number or letter.

Do some research and find books, articles or even movies that relate to the class you’re having trouble with, and try to read or watch them for your own personal enjoyment and learning. Understanding how a discipline has evolved and continues to affect people and industries will give you a deeper but also more practical appreciation its worth, and also help you understand your own feelings about the subject. You’re in college to prepare for a job, but that doesn’t mean you have to make straight As. Educating yourself so that you can contribute to the world in a unique and genuine way is the only way you’ll be happy with your academic experience in college, so try to let go and just learn.

To become a mentor is quite simple, but can require a great deal of responsibility. If you are interested in being available to new students, students who may be transferring to your school or into your academic program, those who are struggling personally or intellectually, or if you would like to be open for any type of student for any number of reasons, get in touch with the career counseling services or your department head for some guidance. This is also true of an office setting; reach out to Human Resources.

Most likely, any type of counseling service your school has to offer has a mentorship program that you can learn more about and become involved with. If they do not, you could be the pioneer in starting one! In approaching your department head, mention that you are accessible if there is anyone struggling in the major or has been looking for more advice in which direction their academics are going. You can offer to be the peer contact person if they are looking to speak with someone further.

Seeking out a mentor is something that should probably come a little more naturally. It is not so much a formal process of asking someone to be your mentor, but learning and developing under someone who has been your teacher, your guide and "guru" in whatever practice it is you’re pursuing. It may be your trainer on the new job or a professor you really hit it off with. But it should be someone you’ve connected with and has shown you the ropes of the field or subject, someone you can always rely on for further guidance and counsel. Having a mentor can be a tremendous asset as you transition in your new work or academic career because they are someone you can depend as you take on new challenges.

Whether you wish to become a mentor, if you currently are a mentor or you are hoping to acquire a mentor in your near future, be mindful of the accountability and dependability that is demanded of you or for you, and you will reap the benefits of the role in any capacity.

Before going to the library, figure out why you’re actually going. That may seem obvious — to study or to research — but the more detailed you are with your goals for each library trip, the more you’ll get done, and in less time. Write down or store in your smart phone the reason — to pick up X book, read XX pages of reserve reading, and to meet your lab partner to swap outlines, for example — as a reference for when you get there. Collect all the material you’ll need to help you achieve those goals, and double check before you leave your room.

Once you walk in the door, you’re supposed to be flooded with inspiration, right? Seeing and smelling all those books and the other students hard at work should gear you up for a really efficient day at the library. But most of the time, when you first open the doors to your library, you’ll find students socializing at the cafe or standing in line to check out books. This is the toughest part of the library to break through: it’s what separates you from wasting time and getting to the part of the library where you’ll get some work done. Try to avoid looking for people as you walk by, and if you do run into someone, don’t sit down. Bring your own coffee or snack, and limit yourself to a "hello" and move on. Make plans to meet up later if you really have something to talk about.

If you prepare yourself ahead of time by outlining your goals and making sure you have all the right books, snacks, sweaters and notebooks to keep you comfortable and productive, you’ll end up spending less time at the library, and getting more out of each trip.