15 celebrities who studied abroad

MANILA – While many celebrities are proud alumni of some of the Philippines’ top schools, other stars took the extra step and pursued education abroad.

Some left the country to get a college degree, while others opted to take short courses to hone their skills, both on- and off-camera.

Here’s a look at 15 celebrities who have experienced being a student in another part of the world.

Mobile users can view the desktop version of the slideshow here.

 1. KC Concepcion

This actress graduated at the American University of Paris with a degree in International Corporate Communications with a minor in Theater Arts. Photo from KC Concepcion’s Instagram page (@thisiskcconcepcion)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Why College Dropouts Make Great Forex Traders

You have to have a college degree to make it in the rocket-fueled, action-oriented worlds of forex, business and finance, right? Well, to answer that question let’s first take a look at some of the most financially successful people in the world who dropped out of, or never attended, college:

Paul Allen. Co-founder of Microsoft, he is currently worth $15.7 billion.

Michael Dell. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dell Computer. He dropped out of higher education at 19-years-old and is now worth more than $12 billion.

Bill Gates. Took leave of absence from Harvard to start Microsoft. His estimated net worth is more than $40 billion.

Rachel Ray. No college or culinary training. Has a successful TV show, cookbook series and magazine. Her estimated earnings per year is approximately $18 million.

Steven Spielberg. Dropped out of college at CSU, Long Beach. Founded Dreamworks. His net worth is around $3 billion.

Skills and Character Traits

These are just a few of the people who became wildly successful without getting a college degree. Now, what about forex and Primetrade? Can you succeed in forex trading without higher education.
The overwhelming answer is yes. Why? Because the same skills and character traits that make the above celebrities successful are the same qualities you need to be a successful trader. These traits include:
Self-directed. Self-directed people don’t follow the crowd like blind sheep. This is not easy to do because we are taught from a young age to go along to get along, to not make waves, to “be nice” and “be a good girl.” Our system rewards conformity.

Self-directed people are driven by their own motivations. If you study Bill Gates, for example, he is as motivated by learning and growing as much as making money and eliminating diseases. He has a structured, goal-oriented system to reading, studying and learning new things.

Massively-motivated. Again, our system rewards just doing enough to get by. Massively-motivated people want to do much more than survive — they want to thrive on a big scale. They are not afraid to put in hard work in order to experience big leaps in activity, production, profit and accomplishment.

Passionate. Have you ever seen Quentin Tarantino talk about his movies. Or listened to a kid talk about his favorite sport or team. They can barely sit still. They are so excited and enthusiastic, their words come out in a torrent.

Passionate people don’t all have this breathless quality, but they share the same energy. Have you ever worked on a project or goal for a long time, but it didn’t seem like work? You were so focused on the goal, so “wrapped up” in the process, time flew by. That’s a good sign you are in the sweet-spot of a personal interest and passion.

The Cost of College

The cost of college is skyrocketing, and many graduates are still unable to find jobs. People are questioning the value of spending tens of thousands of dollars with debatable results.
Still, college is a the right pursuit for many people. It fits their goals and temperament.
But there are many paths to success. For many self-directed, massively-motivated and passionate people, dropping out or skipping college altogether is a choice that has led to towering success and monster accomplishment. Perhaps more important, they achieved self-satisfaction by finding their passion.

source: 20smoney.com

3 Unconventional Ways to Graduate College with Less Debt

The cost of college tuition has increased so much in recent years that the value of a college diploma is now in question. However, despite the cost, a college degree is still a prerequisite to getting hired in many fields. To companies, college is more than just the diploma; it is a valuable life experience. By graduating, you are demonstrating that you are self-motivated, can manage your time effectively, work well with others, speak and write clearly and possess many other fundamental skills that employers seek when filling open positions.

 In addition, college is not just about figuring out what you want to do, but who you want to be and how to get there. So, before deciding that the cost of tuition puts college out of your reach, read on for some unconventional ways to get a degree without incurring an unmanageable price tag.

Do your homework and get hired FIRST

Recent high school graduates oftentimes don’t realize that many large employers will finance all or part of your education as part of your benefits package. That’s right; a college education courtesy of your employer. This option means you will be busy, working and taking classes in your spare time. However, chances are if you are reading this article you were planning on working while attending school anyway. Rather than take the first restaurant server job you're offered, do your homework and find a job in a company that values educated employees. An added bonus is that by the time you graduate, you'll have years worth of solid work experience - a quality that many recent college graduates lack and could put you ahead of the competition for your dream job.

Taking this idea one step further, if you can find a staff job at a college that allows employees to attend classes, working on campus will make this process very convenient and you'll be able to get more involved in the typical college experience. 

Start smaller

Start your college career at a community college. More and more community colleges and universities are teaming up to make transitions from one to the other natural and seamless.  The classes will be small, the experience less overwhelming and the tuition rates are often half the cost of a university. When you finish your two year degree, transfer to the university for another two years and by the time you are finished, you’ll have a bachelor’s degree for a fraction of the cost your fellow graduates paid (or will pay depending on their loan situation).

Start earlier

If you are still in high school, check to see if your school has reciprocal agreements with colleges that allow you to take college courses while in high school for little or no cost. You could graduate high school with college credits without shelling out a dime.

A college education is an investment that doesn't have to be a burden. Don’t let short term financial realities affect your long term goals.

source: infobarrel.com

Get Scholarships and Grants for College

Considering the tremendous impact that having a college degree has on lifetime earnings, and the importance of scholarships for needy students, the scholarship application process is about the most important thing a teenager can undertake. Getting scholarships can be the difference between your investments in College having a positive or negative ROI. That is if they are planning on going to college – (make sure to read Derek’s great post on is it really worth it?). Since around 90 percent of all applications are thrown out in the first round of reviews because of common errors, it is important to avoid making these mistakes on scholarship forms.

Extracurricular Activities vs Academic Excellence

If you are a student whose scholarship application makes it through the first round, you are in for the real test. The second stage of the scholarship application process is where the judges increase their focus on the details, and where extracurricular activities assume almost as much importance academic excellence. There is no room for error in this very competitive process.

Best Places to Search For Scholarships and Grants

 

The best places to search for scholarships are government run institutions like…

1. https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
2. http://go.salliemae.com/scholarship/default.aspx

Make Sure You Are Applying for the Correct Scholarship

 

It is important to avoid the first basic error, which is applying for the wrong scholarships. Every scholarship fund has its own goals and purposes, and your achievements are not considered in a vacuum, but in relation to the fund’s objectives and the course of study you plan to pursue. So, don’t make the mistake of wasting your time (and the judges’) by applying for the wrong scholarship.

Assuming that you have determined the right places to apply for scholarships, you still need to avoid these common mistakes on your scholarship forms:

10 Most Common Scholarship Application Mistakes

 

1. Not meeting the minimum requirements, of whatever kind. If you apply for a scholarship requiring a foreign language you did not study or a minimum GPA you did not achieve, you should not waste your energy or the judges’ time. This is similar to the fundamental error, mentioned above, of applying for the wrong scholarship entirely.

2. Submitting the wrong items, or inappropriate ones. Baby pictures are not considered “your photo” in this stage of your life.

3. Making avoidable mistakes of spelling, grammar or facts. Even a single misspelling can damage your application, so use both a spell-checker and have a good writer or editor review your application.

4. Mailing the application package with insufficient postage. It may arrive to the judges with postage due, or be returned so it misses the deadline.

5. Leaving off all or part of your contact information (address, phone numbers, zip code). The head of a well known free scholarship search and information Web site polled over 40 scholarship judges, and was surprised at the number of reports of contact information being left off forms.

6. Submitting a wrinkled or stained application or supporting documents. Surprisingly (or perhaps not to teenagers’ mothers), scholarship applications often show the evidence of having been filled out while the applicant was eating or drinking soda.

7. Sending an envelope without the application in it. The scholarship service mentioned above reports that this is also quite common.

8. Submitting an illegible application. It is bad enough that some applicants fill out the applications and write their essays with poor penmanship, but those using word processors should know better than to use a script typeface in all capital letters, or a weird mix of different typefaces.

9. Making inappropriate or personal comments in essays or letters. Not only is it poor manners to tell judges how to do their jobs or criticize their work, it will almost certainly guarantee that they will tell other scholarship judges about you, and not in a good way.

10. Turning in an incomplete application package. If you are asked to include photos or other documents, make sure to do so.

It is said that these common mistakes are made by more than 75 percent of all scholarship applicants. In a process as important and life-changing as applying for a scholarship, it is important to do things correctly and show the right amount of care, concern and respect for the application package – not to mention yourself and the judges, too. You can assure yourself a fighting chance if you simply avoid making these mistakes on your scholarship forms, so slow down and be extra careful! If you are looking for other ways to get through college with no debt be sure to read Derek’s eBook here.

source: lifeandmyfinances.com