Strange But True Ways to Pay Lower College Costs

As of December 2013, the average student loan debt was a staggering $29,400. Today’s aspiring college students and their parents, particularly those from middle- or low-income sectors, are increasingly looking for ways to pay for college that eliminates or drastically reduces the use of loans. The good news is that there are some often-overlooked ways to pay for tuition that don’t involve costly, long-term loans. The bad news is that some of them are just too weird for some students.

Have You Heard of These Scholarships?

Everyone knows about the value of scholarships and grants. Most require a minimum GPA and have additional requirements that are either merit or needs based. Some scholarships are different, however. For example, the Klingon Language Institute offered a 2014 scholarship for language study scholars, either earthly or alien. It was unclear whether the “earthly or alien” requirement referred to the language studied or the student.

2013 high school grad Henry Lopez won the first prize scholarship of $3,000 from the Done Vida campaign. His winning entry was a video promoting organ donations. Other unusual scholarship opportunities include a National Cattlemen’s Foundation award that rewards students who want to work in the beef industry and another from the Flag Manufacturers Association of America that requires entrants to submit a video about what the flag means to them. The American Sheep Industry Association’s award is given to students who knit or sew clothes made of wool.

Is There a Song in Your Heart?

Students come up with a variety of creative ways to help pay tuition and lower college costs. Justin Cox, decided to pay his student loans off by playing his guitar, singing and passing the hat for tips. Dumpster diving is a common pastime for some. A few students admit to eating food found in dumpsters, but the less daring find useful discarded items, such as desks and chairs, that are used or sold.

In With the New

The idea of investing in a student’s education is not new. Nobel Laureate economist Milton Friedman first proposed the concept in the 1950s. Today, the Lumni Organization, a nonprofit education investment group, uses angel investors to provide supplemental funding to low-income or first-generation students. The funds do eventually have to be paid back, but payments depend on the borrower’s income. No income = no payment. Currently available only in California, Lumni plans to expand to other states.

Peer-to-peer borrowing is another option some students try. A relatively new concept, peer-to-peer financing is difficult to get, but for students who are out of federal funding alternatives, it’s worth a try.

Another approach is to go to a tuition-free school. Schools with tuition-free programs include College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Missouri, Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, and Webb Institute in Glen Cove, New York. Most tuition-free schools require that you work a specific number hours per week at an on-campus job. That’s a small price to pay for free tuition.

The Squirrel Club: Strange Facts About Some of America’s Top Schools

Here at the Louisville Tutoring Agency, our job is to help students acquire the skills they need to excel academically. A serious mission, indeed, but that doesn’t mean we don’t laugh from time to time. We recently came across some little-known, sometimes downright peculiar facts about a few of America’s top schools that are sure to make you smile.

Odd School Traditions

Squirrels who live on the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor campus certainly have it made. Every Sunday afternoon, the squirrels are treated to a peanut feast, provided by members of the popular campus Squirrel Club. Founded in 2002 by squirrel lovers Jason Colman and Justin Hyatt, the Squirrel Club now boasts over 400 members and is dedicated to the welfare and feeding of campus squirrels.

Carleton College, the school famous for its Primal Scream ritual, is also the home of the lesser-known Silent Dance Party tradition. Students download the same music play list on a portable music device, meet at the library, put on their headphones and dance to the music only they hear. Held on one of two designated reading days each semester, silent dancers leave the library and continue dancing throughout the campus.

The Happiness Club at Northwestern University is devoted to, as its name suggests, increasing the happiness of the campus community. Club members offer hot chocolate, lemonade, smiley face stickers and comforting hugs to those in need.

The Strangest Classes

Indiana’s Vincennes University is the oldest public educational institution in the state. It’s also the only accredited college that offers a degree in Bowling Industry Management and Technology. Students get hands-on experience at the on-site bowling center lab.

In an effort to interest more students in philosophy, Georgetown University came up with the always popular “Philosophy and Star Trek” class. Philosophical topics include human free will, time travel and brain and body connections.

Puzzling College Mascots

UC Santa Cruz is an NCAA Division III member in five sports. What, you may ask, is the UC Santa Cruz team mascot? A banana slug named Sammy. That’s right, a banana slug. Banana slugs are mollusks that naturally reside on the floor of the Redwood Forest. Sammy the Slug’s official rank as school mascot began in 1986, but he was the unofficial mascot for many years before. He survived a chancellor’s ousting attempt in 1980 when the student body refused to accept the newly appointed sea lion mascot.

No one remembers why, but the mascot of North Carolina’s Campbell University is Gaylord the Camel. The school teams are the Fighting Camels and Lady Camels. Campbell University is the only school in the United States with a camel mascot.

Just because a school is well known doesn’t mean it’s not weird. Think about Ohio State University’s team name, the Buckeyes, and mascot, Brutus Buckeye. Buckeyes are nuts. They grow in trees. Or, how about the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gophers? Gophers aren’t the most intimidating of creatures. The mascot, Goldy Gopher, with his smile and buckteeth, doesn’t exactly instill terror, either.

Students Reach Their Highest Levels at the Louisville Tutoring Agency

The Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA), founded by Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, KY, is a premier tutoring and learning center, designed to give students the tools and educational foundation they need to succeed. Whether it’s mastering high school chemistry or getting higher ACT scores, LTA’s individualized approach helps students attain their academic goals with confidence.

What makes Louisville Tutoring Agency different is its approach. Most chain and franchise learning centers use the cookie-cutter method. Pre-written lesson plans and pre-made worksheets define their one-size-fits-all model. LTA realizes that each student is different, with different skill levels, talents, and tendencies. What works for one student may not work with another. The LTA approach works because it is designed to teach and support students
individually using their current school curriculum. Highly skilled educators and tutors work one-on-one with students, targeting specific issues and developing a plan to help them achieve their fullest academic potential.

LTA programs include private tutoring, after school homework help, summer enrichment classes, standardized test preparation, and college admissions counseling. Even the Futures ACT prep program, which is conducted in group sessions, relies on an individualized approach to produce results based on each student’s strengths and weaknesses. SAT, GRE, MCAT and LSAT prep tutoring is also available.

LTA tutors have exceptional academic credentials, ranging from advanced teaching certificates to professional degrees. Several even possess specialized backgrounds and experience tutoring special-needs students.

Founded by Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, KY in 2005, the Louisville Tutoring Agency offers parents and students a much-needed alternative when it comes to quality in academic achievement.

Moshe Ohayon: Students Need the Right Tools to Succeed

Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, discovered his talent for teaching as a student at Columbia University. Involved in a tutoring program, Ohayon realized he had a natural ability for breaking material down into parts and teaching each section in a clear and understandable way. A few years later, Ohayon founded the Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA).

A tutoring agency that caters to individual student needs, LTA gives parents and students an alternative to the prolific chain learning centers. LTA provides one-on-one tutoring in a wide variety of academic subjects. Designed by Ohayon to bolster fundamentals, fill academic gaps, and teach students to master advanced concepts, LTA programs give students the tools for success.

Moshe Ohayon of Louisville: Helping Students Achieve Their Academic Dreams

Inspiring students is what teaching is all about. The Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA), founded by Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, does just that. Spurning the typical franchise learning center approach, where all students are given the same worksheets and taught with the same lesson plans, LTA uses an individualized approach where tutors get to know students and learn their strengths and weaknesses. Caring and empathetic educators work closely with students to help them reach their academic goals, whether it’s getting a high college entrance exam score or passing geometry. Ohayon believes that customized tutoring and one-on-one attention gives students the knowledge and skills to excel academically and inspire self-confidence.

Moshe Ohayon’s Louisville Tutoring Agency Builds Student Confidence

The Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA) is not the typical franchise-style tutoring center. A local entrepreneur, Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, drew on his own experience as a student and tutor to devise a distinctive approach to tutoring and mentoring. Vastly superior to typical chain learning centers, LTA personalizes its programs to ensure the success of every pupil who comes through its doors.

What makes the Moshe Ohayon tutoring method superior is the way students are treated. LTA programs are geared toward the student as an individual because they recognize that students have unique personalities, gifts, talents and needs. One size does not fit all, particularly in education. Pre-made worksheets and agendas don’t exist at LTA. Students receive individualized programs geared specifically to them.

LTA has a proven record of success. A wide variety of programs are available for students of all ages, from kindergarteners to adults. Services include exam preparation (including ACT, SAT, and GRE), private tutoring, after-school homework tutoring, summer enrichment, and college counseling. Tutoring subjects include mathematics, reading and language, social sciences, natural sciences, foreign language, and the humanities.

LTA tutors are highly skilled and devoted to ensuring the success of each student. Ohayon employs a group of professionals experienced in addressing the requirements of special-needs students. Programs that address individual needs are available at every level, from elementary school all the way through adult continuing education.

Ohayon founded LTA in 2005 to give local residents a superior choice when it came to achieving academic success. Building confidence and knowledge on a one-on-one basis gives students the best chance to excel.

Moshe Ohayon of Louisville Prepares Students for Success

Preparation is the key, whether the exam is the ACT, PSAT, SAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT or GED. The Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA), founded by Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, KY, transcends typical test preparation programs with its unique approach to tutoring and mentoring. Casting aside the usual programs that use pre-made teaching materials and lesson plans, LTA treats students as individuals with their own goals, skills, needs and personalities.

LTA’s innovative tutoring programs help students succeed because they instill not just knowledge but confidence. LTA tutors possess credentials from advanced teaching certificates to Ivy League degrees. Moshe Ohayon of Louisville requires that tutors be more than just academically qualified; each must display a talent for teaching, a patient and empathetic demeanor, and a sincere commitment to providing students a path for academic growth and success.

Ohayon realized the need for a different kind of tutoring program when he was in college. Using his own academic and tutoring experience, Ohayon discovered he had a natural talent for teaching. He also realized that for the majority of students, the curriculum offered by many schools and learning centers were inadequate. Students, he believes, benefit greatly by being challenged to excel. Laying the proper groundwork by meeting individual enables students to learn at levels beyond those measured by standardized tests. Such tests, as a result, become less ominous more easily surmountable.

LTA is based on the principle that learning requires more than just repeating facts and tasks. Higher-order thinking skills are needed to achieve the success and confidence students want. LTA tutoring programs are designed to help develop these abilities and to help students not only meet but exceed their academic goals.

Louisville Tutoring Agency Gives Students the Edge – Moshe Ohayon

Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, founder of the Louisville Tutoring Agency (LTA), is dedicated to helping students reach their full academic potential. Using an individualized approach that recognizes that students not only have unique ways of learning but also unique goals, skills, talents and curriculums, Moshe designed LTA services to provide a customized tutoring experience not found in the typical cookie-cutter franchise or chain learning center.

LTA offers programs that fit any age or skill level from elementary school to college and beyond. These include a variety of customized options such as one-on-one academic tutoring, standardized test preparation for the ACT, PSAT, SAT, and GRE, and summer enrichment programs. The Homework Tutoring Program (HTP) is an after-school program that gives students the opportunity to work with a tutor as they do their homework. Even college admission advising is available to students as early as eighth grade about high school course selection, standardized test preparation, extracurriculars, and the like in an effort to be well-positioned for the college admission process when the time comes.

LTA tutors are highly experienced, patient, caring, and knowledgeable. Skilled in motivating students to live up to their potential, Ohayon ensures that every LTA staff member and tutor is dedicated to fostering success and confidence in each and every pupil.

Moshe Ohayon of Louisville, Kentucky, founded the Louisville Tutoring Agency to give students a better alternative to the chain-learning center. By breaking out of the “by-the-book” method of tutoring, where pre-made worksheets and a fundamentals-only approach is the norm, LTA offers a stylized, individual approach to tutoring where students not only learn but also thrive.