What is the biggest time waster these days? Facebook! However did you know that Facebook is also a treasure trove of various high-end applications that can help college students excel. These apps enhance productivity, organization and time management, and allow communication and networking with like-minded people. Here we present half a dozen Facebook apps that can help college students, especially online college students, enhance their productivity.

6 Facebook Apps to Ace Your College

Statistics indicate that Facebook is used by over 160 million people daily. Out of this large number, most users are college students. Initially, it was launched with the intention of being a student-based social networking website and hence it contains various apps specifically for students. Some of them are:

1. Weekly Schedule – This Facebook app caters to online students who need to keep a track of their weekly schedule. It enables students to find out when their friends or classmates are free and has a schedule comparison feature. College students claim that this app helps them manage their time more effectively.
2. Yearbook -Yearbook is a virtual classroom which can help students connect to their classmates and students from both college and university. It can help students to improve upon and develop an assignment which they can pass on to their friends for suggestions and advice.
3. Quiz Monster – This app can help college students prepare for various exams. Students can create their own exams and evaluate themselves. As online education involves self-study, this Facebook app can help you get the necessary practice.
4. CourseTopia – CourseTopia helps students keep a track of the schedule for classes within a specific course. This ensures that there are no gaps and that no classes are missed.
5. Docs – This is a collection of assignments, schoolwork and lecture notes. It includes over 50,000 documents and has over 70,000 monthly users. However, special care should be taken to use Docs only as reference material and not for plagiarism as online instructors also make use of this app.
6. Scholarium – This app specifically caters to the needs of online students especially those attending university. It enables them to share their timetable with friends, search for their classmates and rate their professors. This can be then referred by other students so that they can find out more details about a specific professor.

There are many other Facebook apps as well which can help students ace their studies. These help students save valuable time, allow them to schedule their online courses and lets them complete it at their own pace. The best Facebook apps are those that utilize the tremendous networking power of Facebook and allow students to use this to become more productive.

Online students: what are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2012? If you need help finding suggestions then you’re in the right place.

Realistic New Year’s Resolutions for College Students

How often do you make New Year’s resolutions that you stick to? Most New Year’s resolutions are broken in the first few weeks because they are not realistic. The very first thing you want to do is to make sure that your goals are realistic and not too difficult to accomplish. Don’t set yourself up for failure by setting career goals that you know are too difficult to handle. Start off small the first year, and then increase the next.

New Year’s Resolution Wish List

When you set realistic goals, you are much more likely to stick to them. Make a list of all your New Year’s resolutions, then pick only a few easy ones that you can accomplish.

Here are some useful suggestions to add to your New Year’s Resolutions list as an online student:

• Get an extra hour of sleep every night by going to bed early.
• Spend an hour each day reviewing your notes and class material.
• Participate more in online discussions.
• Connect with other classmates.
• Don’t stay out too late on school nights.
• Spend less time watching TV.
• Spend a little less time socializing on Facebook, Twitter or MySpace
• Join online networking groups.
• Complete projects and assignments on time.
• Get up early for study online exams.
• Do your laundry more often.
• Don’t miss too much class time.
• Eat breakfast every day.
• Stay away from negative people.
• Cut back on buying unnecessary items.
• Use less credit.
• Eat healthier.
• Exercise more often.
• Get a study partner
• Sign on to your online classroom daily.

Are New Year’s Resolutions Attainable?

It all depends on what you want to accomplish and the time-frame you have. Unrealistic goals are not going to help you get to where you want to be, there are many career opportunities so make sure you pick things that are attainable. Only you know what you are capable of doing and achieving.

These are just a few simple New Year’s Resolutions that you can start off with. Don’t push yourself too hard or else you’ll get overwhelmed and will give up. Start with the easy things first, then advance to the ones that are a little more difficult to accomplish.

Do add on to the wish list by posting your suggestions in the comments below.

Happy New Year!

With the year wrapping up we thought of providing you a roundup of the best online degrees of 2011. NACE, National Association of Colleges and Employers, which is the leading source of information about the employment of college best paying graduates, conducted a survey and listed the highest paid degrees in the current year.

It was interesting to note that all 10 of the highest paid degrees were engineering fields! With advancements in technology affecting each and every sphere of the business world, people with advanced technical skills are in great demand.

Here is a list of the top 10 online degree programs of the year 2011.

10. Systems Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $58,909
Systems engineering is a holistic and interdisciplinary field where the engineers are involved in designing various systems.

09. Materials Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $59,826
It is an exciting hand on field where you study the properties of different materials and then decide which one should be used for the production of a specific product.

08. Mechanical Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $60,345
All those people who loved to take apart their toys can fulfill their childhood passion by designing machines and manufacturing automotive and plastics.

07. Electrical/Electronics/ Communications Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $61,021
As the semiconductor technology is used in all products therefore there is not much difference between the two fields now. These engineers’ graduates assemble electrical and electronic systems.

06. Software Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $62,738
Software engineers are involved in various stages of the software development process.

05. Computer Science

Annual median starting salary: $63,402
Computer scientists provide solutions to companies’ technological needs through computer programs and software solutions.

04. Mining and Mineral Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $63,969
As the name suggests, mineral engineers are involved in extracting minerals. This field combines onsite supervision and off field design of mines through computers.

03. Computer Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $64,499
The revenge of the geek! Computer geeks were the third highest paid grads in 2011. Computer engineers are needed both in the public and the private sector.

02. Chemical Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $65,618
This field is for people who have a strong aptitude for and foundation in physics, chemistry and biology. Chemical engineers experiment with different materials and products in the lab and then find ways to bring this to the market.

01. Petroleum Engineering

Annual median starting salary: $80,849
It’s all about oil these days! The highest paid degree and that too by a great margin is the Petroleum Engineering Degree. Petroleum engineers look for reservoirs of oil and natural gas, since the demand for these engineers is greater than the supply these engineers commanded the highest pays in 2011.

The above survey shows that demand for engineers is likely to grow in the year 2012 as well. Join one of these programs in a top online school and get ready for a well paying career.

What do all students scream on Friday? “TGIF!” Come November and it changes to, “TGIBF!” (Thank Goodness it’s Black Friday!) Black Friday is to shopaholics what heaven is to the rest of us. The Friday following Thanksgiving, which falls on 25th November this year, is the busiest shopping day in the US.

Nothing digests your Thanksgiving dinner better than standing at the doors of shops as early as 3 am, braving the windy night with your friends waiting to get your hands on that door buster. However not everyone can deal with the parking hassles and the long lines. So what can the faint hearted do? Shop online! Yes, now all the major stores put their Black Friday ads online, even deals from retailers that do not have an online presence can be found there. Just as online colleges seem to be coming equal to their brick and mortar counterparts, the same is happening with shopping; and online Black Friday shopping seems to be getting ahead of traditional Black Friday shopping.

Best Black Friday Websites

In order to make Black Friday shopping easy for you, we have compiled a list of sites that can really help you in your search. While there are hundreds of sites telling you about the best Black Friday deals, we have chosen the following sites as they have neat interfaces, allow you to search for products category wise as well as store wise, and have mailing lists and community forums as well.

• fatwallet.com/black-friday/
• http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/
• http://bfads.net/
• Blackfriday2011.com
• http://www.black-friday.net/
• http://dealnews.com/black-friday/
• Amazon.com/blackfriday
• http://blackfriday.dealsofamerica.com/

Best Black Friday Tech Deals

Online students can buy all the gadgets and gizmos they will need for college by bookmarking the following sites which focus on the best Black Friday tech deals (yes that includes all the tablets, HDTVs and e-readers).

• www.techsaver.pcmag.com
• Gizmodo’s Ultimate Black Friday 2010 Cheat Sheet (We’re hoping they’ll put an updated one for 2011)

Comparison Shopping To Get the Best Deals

While you are searching for Black Friday deals, don’t forget to comparison shop at the following sites to make sure that you get the lowest rates.

• http://www.pricegrabber.com/
• http://www.shopzilla.com/

Have fun and make the most of this day (don’t wait for Cyber Monday because most of the good deals would be gone by then)!

If you are planning to enroll in an online degree program and you are not sure how to succeed in it, just remember the old adage “mother knows best”. You may know a little bit about online degree programs but many of the keys to success are as old as this saying. Here is some advice that Mom would give you to succeed in your online degree endeavor.

Mama Says Pick the Right School

The most important part of being successful with your online degree education is choosing the right school for you. Choosing the right school is just like choosing the right traditional campus program. Start by picking a major that interested you and can help you in the job market. Every school offers the basics when it comes to majors; however, some schools are famous for excelling in certain fields. Choose a school that has a reputation for the subject that interests you.

Mama Says Learn About the Online College You Choose

When you have made your list of online colleges then it is time to find out about the schools. Check for their accreditation and reputation because a degree is only as good as a school’s accreditation and reputation. Then find out about the financial concerns like:

• Tuition
• Fees
• Equipment cost
• Books

When this is done,match up the admission process and prerequisites for attending the online colleges. Do not overlook the importance of technical support and equipment requirements. These things could be the difference between success and failure.

Mama Says Research the Degree Programs

You will also need to choose the best online degree programs offered by eachcollege that you have chosen. Research the school’s online degree programs by looking for third party information that can be found on:

• Education forums
• Blogs
• Internet search engines
• Social networks

Mama Says You Can Succeed at Online Colleges

You can succeed with an online degree program; however, you must put as much effort in it as in any other task of life. The best online colleges let you progress at your own pace but you must not procrastinate and you should not rush through subjects. It is also a good idea not to take up lots of time on small matters that are not very important. Give yourself time each day to:

• Complete course work
• Attend lectures
• Attend online meetings

Success with Online Degree Programs is Within Your Grasp!

Using Mama’s guidelines, you should be successful with online college. People from all walks of life have been successful with online college and there is no reason you should not be one of them. If you wish to advance in your career, an online degree that fits your needs and schedule will help you tremendously.

How do online college graduates figure out what they really want to do with their life upon graduation?If you have not yet determined what you want to do for a career, then this can become very difficult when it comes to looking for a job. Most people already know what they want to be when they grow up before they enter college, but some people do not figure this out until after graduation. To find a career that will be a good match and one that is satisfying will require soul searching and career assessments to help you figure that out.

Free Online Career Assessments can help

There are free online career assessment sites that can help you determine which career path best suits you. These Web-based assessment sites offer free interactive tests that will recommend career possibilities based on the information you provide. Whether these online assessment sites are accurate or not, they can still provide information that you can take into consideration, but do not necessarily have to follow everything they suggest. The assessment tests can give you ideas that you might not have considered. But in the end, only you can determine what is best for you, the interactive tests can help with the decision making process. You can also seek the advice of career and guidance counselors in addition to taking these tests.

Results may vary for Online Career Assessments

It is also a good idea to take a few career assessments test, to see if they all recommend the same things. If an online assessment suggests a career that does not suit you, simply ignore it. These career assessment tests are a helpful tool that can suggest career possibilities that you might not have considered before. However, keep in mind that no career assessment tests, whether it is done by an expert career or guidance counselor, or online will have the final say in the career path you take, this will be entirely up to you and what you determine is best for your personal and professional goals.

Combining Career Assessments for Online College Grads

To really get the most out of your free online career assessment tests for online college graduates, take them first then meet with your guidance counselor. You career counselor can help you figure out the results of the tests and give you more information that will help you reach a decision. Combine all the test results and make a decision that is best for you.