Are you interested in attending a Christian college, but would like to know more first?  To help prospective students learn more, we’ll answer 5 frequently asked questions about Christian schools:

1. “What are academics like?”

Christian colleges offer a menu of degree programs just as any other school.  In fact, they often compare favorably to public and other private universities.  Already know your major?  Chances are good that a Christian institution offers an excellent program in that field.  They also tend to offer smaller classes and one-on-one contact with professors — real advantages in any learning environment.

2. “Isn’t it really expensive?”

While they can be more pricey than cheap State schools — the availability of loans, grants, work-study programs, and scholarships more than make up for it.  Admissions representatives work alongside you to create a sensible financial aid package.  From our experience, these reps are always willing to help find a solution for you and your family.

3. “Do I have to participate in mandatory religious activities?”

Unless it’s for class, specific Christian activities are almost never required.  But they are an excellent way to become more involved on campus and develop a network of friends supportive of your spiritual development.

4. “So how are Christian schools different?”

In many ways, they aren’t.  Academics are just as emphasized, and the juggle of studies and social life exists as it does for any other college student.  The biggest difference we see, is the greater opportunity to flourish spiritually amidst like-minded peers.  This support system can ease some of the inevitable challenges you’ll confront in college life.  For example, it’s nice to know academic obligations won’t conflict with your day of worship.

5. “How do I find the right school for me?”

With your personal convictions in mind, determine the college experience you’re looking for.   Do your research, visit campuses, and speak to professors and current students while there.  Consider the school’s academic reputation, your financial aid package, location, and student life — as part of the standard vetting process.  Don’t forget to take some time to pray about it, discuss with your family, religious leaders, and others who’ve helped guide your life.

John Brown University has been awarded a $563,789 grant from the National Science Foundation to provide approximately 16-24 four-year scholarships for students from low-income families majoring in chemistry, biology or biochemistry.

In addition to funding scholarships, the grant also supports the Strengthening Undergraduate Curriculum and Community to Engage Science Students (SUCCESS) program, specifically targeted to increase retention, graduation, and the readiness of chemistry, biochemistry, and biology graduates to enter the workforce or graduate school.

“To have this stamp of approval of the National Science Foundation on our science program at JBU is gratifying,” said Dr. Carla Swearingen, assistant professor of chemistry and SUCCESS program director.

“More importantly, talented future scientists are going to have access to the wonderful education we have at John Brown University.”

“We’re pleased that the NSF grant committee recognized the academic excellence of the JBU natural science program with these scholarship awards,” said Dr. April Moreton, director of foundations and corporate relations for JBU. “These funds will help students who show great promise in the field of science attend JBU when they might not have been able to for financial reasons.”

U.S. Senators Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor announced the grants in a statement on Friday. “These funds will help ensure that students at John Brown University can pursue their passion for science regardless of their financial situation,” Pryor said.

The goals of the program are to encourage more low-income students and those from underrepresented groups to study science programs at John Brown University. In addition, the program aims to increase graduation rates for science majors. The program will start awarding scholarships in the 2011-2012 academic year.

John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked second by “U.S.News & World Report” in the Southern Region for baccalaureate colleges for 2010. JBU enrolls more than 2,000 students from 42 states and 45 countries. JBU is a member of Arkansas’ Independent Colleges and Universities and the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Learn more at: www.jbu.edu.

Still trying to find the place that provides everything you’re looking for in a college?

Sterling College may be exactly that place… That place where you make life-long friendships. That place where you not only get a degree, but a Christ-centered education…That place that not only helps you discover your passion but shows you how that translates into your life’s calling. Sterling College is that place you grow to call home.

“Sterling College has become my home over the last three years. It was at Sterling that I was introduced to professors who not only taught my classes but also became invested in my life, my goals and my potential. At Sterling I realized the importance of community. Professors, fellow students and staff have all helped me in more ways than one. I can’t express how grateful I am or begin to describe the impact that Sterling and its Christ-centered focus has done for me. Sterling is full of people ready to give and I don’t know another place like it.”

- Alyson Dardzinski, Milan, Ohio, Communications major

During your time at Sterling College you will not only find a place where you belong, but you will find that place that allows you to grow into the person God wants you to become. From the classroom to the athletic field, our Christ-centered approach can be found in all areas.

At Sterling you will discover family of people who love one another; a community of hard working people who genuinely care about others more than themselves. Even more valuable is the sense of spiritual peace I have experienced in this college community. God has given me such a confidence that Sterling is “home” to me for this season of my life. There is more than enough room to grow, dream and develop into the man God has destined me to become. That’s why I love Sterling.

- Sam Downe, Tennessee Colony, Texas, Business major

If you are looking for that place where you will be challenged to learn and to grow, Sterling College is the answer. For more information, contact our Admissions office at 800.364.1017 or visit us at sterling.edu. You can even find us on facebook at facebook.com/sterlingcollegefuturestudents.

First came the comic book superheroes — Batman, Superman, and Spiderman rising like pop-culture phoenixes from the pages of comic books. Then came the video games.  The next inevitable step was casting comic book superheroes as stars of those video games.

So went the evolution of the video-game culture, catapulting the gaming category into the No. 1 spot of the children entertainment industry, where it’s expected to stay for a long time.

John Kuraica, director of the Game Art & Design and Media Arts & Animation programs at The Art Institute of California - Sacramento, says he sees a trend toward companies releasing comic books and graphic novels in tandem with their related video games.

“They’re crossing boundaries and genres,” says Kuraica, who worked on the game Dead Space for Electronic Arts.  ”In the past, people who would purchase comics didn’t necessarily play games. Now the marketers are trying to cross-promote novels with games. I believe that we are just seeing the beginning of this trend.”

There’s often a common storytelling thread between the graphical art of comic books and the interactive element of video games.  The main technical distinction is the difference of 2D and 3D art.

Dave Bogan, an art director at Telltale Games, works with a concept artist to help translate a 2D comic into a 3D game.  ”You’ve got to solve certain problems and make certain sacrifices to translate it into 3D,” Bogan says.

Comic artists attempt to draw characters from the most appealing angles, meaning that certain angles that need to exist in a 3D game are never created.

For example, the company’s Sam & Max video game characters are truly 3D and viewable from any angle.  But when translating the characters into the video game Strong Bad’s Cool Game for Attractive People, the art department at Telltale Games decided to keep most of the characters 2D.  Because when translated into 3D, Bogan says, the characters “fell apart” when viewed from certain angles.

Think game design and animation may be your thing? Learn more about programs offered at The Art Institutes schools, available in many parts of the country.

With majors in graphic design, animation, game art, interior design, and art education — you’d expect Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design to be gushing with talented young artists.   That is exactly what you’ll find at RMCAD, located in Denver, CO.

Curious to see some of their work? Visit their website for sample portfolios of recent graduates, including class of 2010’s Ryan Secora, who plans on illustrating literature.  Wonder what you’ll do when you’re not in class?  Nicole Arocha, a senior studying 3D animation and graphic design, describes her favorite hangouts and off-campus activities.

How about advice for prospective students?  Corey Pile, graphic design and interactive media major, says “there are several ways to go about any challenge in your life.  Every possibility has the potential for greatness or failure.  It’s up to you to decide what you’re going to get out of your classes.  It’s up to you to take control of your life and learn what you want to learn.   There are more than enough great opportunities on this campus, but you have to take it upon yourself to make it happen.  And everyone on campus is willing to help you to get there, so why not be a part of greatness?”

We encourage you to visit RMCAD’s profile page to get a better feel for the college.

The college admissions process is a hassle, and students everywhere know this. Sometimes they get help from those who know the process best, sometimes they figure things out themselves and other times they sing about it. Maureen Silva is a zinch student and recent high school graduate who chose to do all three.

Hear her take on college admissions and financial aid through song below. We love the creativity put into this song!

Do you love music? Do you love FREE music? Then you are going to really enjoy the following five social networking music sites. Not only can you listen to music for free on your computer, but there are some great features on these websites allowing you to share your music with others and be exposed to some singers & bands you may not be familiar with. Check out each of these sites below.

1. Pandora: Discover new music, listen to some old favorites, and connect your account to your Facebook profile. Pandora is easy to use and one of the most used music sites out there. Enter an artist or song title and Pandora will choose music similar to what you like, then it’ll save your music taste as “stations” so you can come back and listen again later.
2. Last.fm: With a large collection of music, videos and images, Last.fm will feed you information on just about any band–well-known or unsigned. You can connect with other users with similar interests and it even has a feature where you can track the most listened to artists and songs from your iPod or computer.
3. MeeMix: Similar to Pandora and Last.fm, MeeMix is an internet radio station that enables you to share your music taste with others through their site and other sites like Twitter, Facebook, and email.
4. Maestro.fm: Not only can you do nearly everything the other sites can on Maestro.fm, but you can also store your own digital music library and share playlists. Have a friend across the country who you think would like this new band you found? Maestro.fm makes it really easy to share your new favorite music.
5. Worldsings: More of a focus on music videos, Worldsings still enables you to create your own profile page and connect to other users all while streaming free music videos. An extra perk is that you can vote for your favorite artists and have the chance to win cash prizes.

If you are a huge music fan then maybe you might be interested in studying recording arts. If you want to study recording arts then you definitely need to check out LA Recording School.

Enjoy these great sites where the music is always humming and at no extra cost! Find out more about each one of these great sites by going to the original article here.

Recently a New York based counseling company released a list highlighting five institutions as the best landing spots for students attached to their gadgets. These schools leverage the power of mobile devices to store and deliver recorded lectures, syllabi, homework, tests, and a host of other information that can be accessed anytime, anywhere on campus.

The five institutions consisted of Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pa., Stanford University, the University of Maryland’s College Park campus, Ohio State University, and the University of Missouri.

Some of the technology being used by these universities are a variety of Apple products (iPhone, iTouch, iPad) other smart phones and even apps specific to the individual university.

For example all journalism students entering University of Missouri’s School of Journalism require incoming freshman to have an iPod Touch or an iPhone. Students are encouraged to utilize the devices to re-watch lectures after they attend class.

Seton Hill recently initiated a new program called the Griffin Technology Advantage, which aims to expose students to the technology they will need to use in the workplace upon graduation. Starting this fall, all freshmen entering this private university will receive a MacBook laptop and an iPad.

Technology is advancing at warp-speed, so odds are good that many other universities will begin offering similar programs based on mobile computing. By the time you head off to college, you might have the ability to receive course assignments, upload a presentation, plan a group study session and check your grades, all while walking across the quad.

Read the entire list by IvyWise here.

With a new addition to the list of majors at George Mason University, there was an expected increase in enrollment, but not nearly the number they expected. When the new video game design degree was added to the university’s growing list of programs, students began to “flock to the program” and enrollment was 500 percent higher than expected. According to the dean of admissions at GMU, the university received inquiries from around the world with interest in the new major.

Within the program students are trained to develop the art of the future, combining creativity with technology. These students might be seen on career paths ranging from working for a video entertainment group to creating movie animation in studios such as Pixar.

Veteran game writer Bob Bates from Legend Entertainment says GMU is making “an art form of gaming” and showing the students what the industry is like before they graduate.

Video game design has been an increasingly popular degree choice for students not only at GMU, but other universities as well are adopting the new program. If you interested in studying game design you should check out University Advancing Technology & Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design.

To read more about GMU and their new game design program read this article.

Whether you are just starting high school, beginning your senior year or just graduated it’s time to start the college admissions process.  Many students find this process overwhelming because they don’t know where to start or they’re worried they won’t get into the school of their choice or they didn’t have any idea that the process could be this complicated.  But don’t worry.  This post will give you some basic tips to help get you through this process with as little stress as possible.

Tip #1 Don’t wait until your senior year to start planning for college.  Colleges look at your college resume for extra-curricular activities and other molding experiences.  By your senior year it’s oftentimes too late to add these types of experiences.  You’ll want to make sure that you add rigor to your schedule as well.  Many of the large universities are now requiring 2 years of another language.  They will soon start requiring calculus, pre-calculus, trigonometry, etc.  Taking AP or dual credit classes is also a good way to increase your chances of getting into the school of your choice.

Tip #2 Take your college admissions tests early to ensure you can get your very best test score.  Students typically find that they test better on one test than the other so it’s important that you take both the SAT and the ACT.  That way you can figure out what test you did better on and then you can take it again if you feel you need to improve your score.  It’s also a good idea to take them both in your junior year so that schools can start evaluating your profile early. If you are worried about doing well on these tests you should check out Grockit or Kaplan Test Prep to help you prepare.

Tip #3 Apply early.  By applying early it shows initiative.  It makes it so that you don’t have to worry about deadlines and also allows your profile to be reviewed and processed sooner.  When you are applying it’s a good idea to make sure you learn all of that school’s requirements and timelines so that you don’t miss anything.  Also, make sure that you send a resume and a personal statement with EVERY application.  Even if it’s not required.  Providing a document with your strengths only gives a school one more reason to say “yes” to your application. 

These three steps will give you the boost you need to get accepted to the college of your choice and prepare you to take the plunge into higher education.