This month

Life Lessons

• Feature — Gain a different perspective
• Did you know — Increase your earning potential
• Stay on track — A checklist of "to-dos"
• Take notice — Important dates
• All about AIEmail — Subscribe, suggest, review

Feature

Gain a different perspective

Have you ever wondered what other people think, or how they think? By understanding where other people are coming from and stepping out of your comfort zone, you can begin to see things in a different light.

You can do this in many ways. During your summer vacation, read a book that you wouldn't normally read at school. Not the latest science fiction or romance novel, but a book that offers a different perspective than what you get in class.

For instance, you may learn about the different wars that the U.S. has been involved in. Buy or check out a book at the local library that was written from a veteran's perspective, or even from another perspective.

Then consider interviewing family members who fought in a war, or even those who were around during that time period. Ask them about their experiences, thoughts, and feelings on the war. If you don't have any family members that you can interview, consider going to your local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) (www.VFW.org) and asking them if there is someone you can interview.

Rent movies that cover the same subject, and then think about the ways the perspectives differ, and sometimes, how the facts differ.

If you aren't interested in a historical event, you can gain a different perspective by volunteering at a homeless shelter, retirement home, or a non-profit organization to learn about other people's lives.

By learning to see things from different points of view, you will gain a more complete view of the world.

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Your turn

Increase your earning potential

Higher education is worth the effort. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that higher levels of education are closely associated with higher average earnings for workers aged 25 to 64. For workers with less than a high school diploma, 2002 earnings were $21,539 — $8,100 less than earnings for workers with a high school diploma. The attainment of a college degree has an even greater impact on earnings. Graduates with a four-year degree earned an average salary of $53,700 in 2002, nearly twice what was earned by high school graduates, and those with a professional degree earned almost $116,000.

The estimated earnings during the worklife (approximately 40 years) of a full-time worker who didn't complete high school are about $1 million dollars. Completing high school increases earnings by about a quarter of a million dollars, and completing a bachelor's degree raises worklife earnings to over $2 million. Post-graduate education pays off even more: workers with a professional degree, such as doctors and lawyers, can expect over the course of their worklives to earn over twice what workers with a bachelor's degree will earn.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings. (www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/p23-210.pdf)

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Stay on track

Checklist for this week

For freshmen and sophomores

• Keep an accurate log of all of your volunteer hours. You may have a hard time recalling the details of your freshman summer for a resume.
• Make a list of the specific skills that you have used and learned, such as organizational skills, computer skills, and many others.
• If your volunteer time has given you a special memory or experience, you may want to document it. Include factual details as well as your emotional recollections and interpretations of the experience.

For juniors

• Consider possible majors or areas of study that interest you. For example, if business is a possible major, be sure that all schools on the list offer that major.
• Discuss with your parents the cost of college. Investigate the tuition price of possible colleges of interest. Be sure that they fit your family's budget.
• Determine if you want to attend a large college or a smaller one.

For seniors

• Prepare your resume. Visit AIE.org to see a sample resume (www.AIE.org/HighSchool/Jobs/Resumes/index.cfm).
• A resume provides a quick, easy, and efficient way of capturing a "snapshot" of you during your high school years. Highlight your strengths and demonstrate what you have been doing for four years. Colleges and scholarship programs want to see what you have done.
• A resume, once completed, will save you hours of collecting and re-creating the same information over and over.
• A resume looks professional and enhances your college and scholarship applications.
• Resumes can be given to teachers to assist them in writing your letters of recommendation.

For parents

• Offer money savings tips and advice on saving for college.
• Offer to proofread your child's resume once it is completed.
• Consider taking a family vacation that will enhance their learning.
• If you have a junior or senior, check college timelines and requirements for applying, early admission, and financial aid.
• Explore career possibilities with your high school student.

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Take notice

Important dates

Mark down these dates.

To get more information on the SAT or SAT Subject Tests, access useful tools, or register, visit the College Board's Web Site(www.collegeboard.com) or call (609) 771-7600.

To get more information on the ACT, access useful tools, or register, visit the ACT Web Site (www.act.org) or call (319) 337-1270.

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