This link will be helpful as you plan your transition to college. It even includes a list of items to take to college!

Read more:
http://www.offtocollege.com/first_time/college_move.html#ee

• Pursue a service opportunity or some kind of big adventure.
• Travel abroad.
• Take any kind of wage job.
• Work at an internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation.

This summer “counts,” and is not free; try to do one of these:

• Work at an internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation; if you discover you don’t like it, you can still change direction successfully.
• Work at an academically related internship that supports your graduate school plans.
• If and only if you can’t find one of the above, go to summer school to beef up your chances of graduating on time and/or to prepare for graduate school.

This is the most important summer of your life; don’t fool around!

• Work at an internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue after graduation; if you discover you don’t like it, you can still change direction successfully.
• Work at an academically related internship that supports your graduate school plans.
• If and only if you can’t find one of the above, go to summer school to beef up your chances of graduating on time and/or to prepare for graduate school.

If you land a job before graduation:

• If headed for business school, consider taking the GMAT during this summer and applying this fall to enter business school with one year of experience, the following fall to enter with two years’ experience, and so on.
• Remember, every August for the rest of your life, ask yourself: “In one year, do I want to be in grad school?” Watch out for the extensive lead time to get into a graduate program.

If you’re admitted to graduate school, this is a “free” summer:

• Pursue a service opportunity or some kind of big adventure.
• Travel abroad.
• Take any kind of wage job and rest your mind.
• Work at an internship related to your academic interest.

If launching a career but without a job yet:

• Use the career center to run a systematic search.
• Find a post-baccalaureate internship or summer job in an industry or field that you would potentially like to pursue as a career.
• Stay in touch with your professors who many times can refer you to positions.
• Try hard to find work you interested in, even passionate about, that requires your college degree and your accumulated skills, and try hard not to freak out and settle for any income you can find.
• Remember: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” --Confucius

Everybody makes mistakes with their money. The important thing is to keep them to a minimum. And one of the best ways to accomplish that is to learn from the mistakes of others. Here is our list of the top mistakes young people (and even many not-so-young people) make with their money, and what you can do to avoid these mistakes in the first place.

Read more:
http://www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnspr05/cvrstry.html

In addition to student loans, the average undergraduate college student has four credit cards and $2,200 in credit card debt. The average graduate student has $5,800 in credit card debt, according to Nellie Mae, the nation's largest maker of student loans.

Read more:
http://financialplan.about.com/od/moneyandcollegestudents/a/CollegeMistakes.htm

This section links to Web sites that help you learn about financial aid and scholarship resources.

The South-Central Section of the Geological Society of America will offer grants of up to $500 to support individual research by undergraduate students attending universities and colleges within Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana.

For more information, contact Jeffrey Connelly at 501-569-3546 or jbconnelly@ualr.edu.

Application deadline is 15 October 2005.

Get information on programs and scholarships for those studying in health professions.

Read more:
http://youth.fdncenter.org/health/scholarships.html

Though there is a cost associated with this book, it might be helpful.

Read more:
http://fdncenter.org/marketplace/catalog/product_directory.jhtml?id=prod30049

Though related to business, this form will guide you through the process of setting your internship learning objectives. Goal-setting research suggests that you will gain more skills during your internship if you work on specific learning objectives.

Read more:
http://faculty.lagcc.cuny.edu/dducat/objectives_form.htm

You might be placed in a managerial position this summer or anticipate becoming a manager. Take this short survey to assess your skills.

Read more:
http://www.prenhall.com/whetten_dms/chap2_2.html

Use your workplace experience to think about your future career. The most effective way to start this process is to think about where you would like to be at the end of your career. Once you do this, you can begin to plan how to best get there. Remember to be realistic in your vision by considering all aspects of your life from the beginning of your plan. This site provides you with helpful information.

Read more:
http://www.umw.edu/employeedevelopment/career_questions/assess_career_possibilitie.php

Monica Piñon talks about her academic path from a community college to UC Berkeley School of Optometry. The username is "gue5txs". The password for June is "b3ginsumr". This username and password will allow you to access MiSciNet from any computer. Please distribute this username and password so that your peers may be able to access the articles as well.

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/05/12/4
(Remember the username is "gue5txs" and the password for June is "b3ginsumr")

Concha Gómez teaches math at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and as director of the Wisconsin Emerging Scholars program helps retain underrepresented minorities in science, math, and engineering.

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/05/12/9
(Remember the username is "gue5txs" and the password for June is "b3ginsumr")

Frederick Gregory, a doctoral student in neurobiology at UCLA, talks about his motivation for studying science.

Read more:
http://nextwave.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2005/06/02/4
(Remember the username is "gue5txs" and the password for June is "b3ginsumr")

Interested in learning about upcoming conferences and meetings across the country?

Go to:
http://justgarciahill.org/jghdocs/webevent.asp

About the Recipient: Daniel Acosta is an undergraduate Ventures Scholar who will attend New Mexico State University and major in biology.

I just wanted to inform the VSP community that I received the Gates Millennium Scholarship put on by Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, which will cover all of my tuition to whatever school I wish to attend. This scholarship is so good that it will also cover my tuition at the graduate level and I can transfer the scholarship if I wish to transfer to another college/university later on.

Congratulations, Daniel!

Marques Zak is a Ventures Scholar and a magna cum laude graduate of Morehouse College. He majored in business administration and management. Marques has received many awards and scholarships! Here are some of his accomplishments: Phi Beta Kappa - elected senior year, Golden Key International Honour Society Morehouse College Honors Program, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Omicron Delta Kappa Society, National Dean's List, Collegiate All-American Scholar, Who's Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges, Morehouse College Dean's List 2002-2005, Morehouse College Honor Roll - all semesters.

Marques, congratulations on your outstanding accomplishments!!

About The Author: My name is Denisha McPherson. I attend RPI in Troy, New York. I am a sophomore and my intended major is biomedical engineering. I am a member of the National Society of Black Engineers, The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and Abada Capoeira New York City.

Article: A wonderful organization I think everyone should take the time to join is the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Much like the National Society of Black Engineers, SHPE welcomes members of all sexes and races. This Past Year I was the Freshman Representative for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Although I am not Hispanic many opportunities we available to me through this society. Social Consciousness, Social responsibility and community service are major aspects of this organization. I invite you to do your research and check out http://shpe.org/. It is a very worthwhile organization and I have yet to regret my association with SHPE.

About the Author: Jarrod Matthei is an undergraduate Ventures Scholar. He is majoring in biology/pre-med at the University of Miami and will graduate in 2009.

Article: Being a senior for one whole year was truly stressful, but I most definitely enjoyed it. I was looking forward to graduating, but I never realized all the prerequisites to the whole graduation process. Not only did I need to do well in my classes, but I had to write stellar college essays, apply for tons of scholarships, obtain community service hours, keep up with all my leadership roles at school, and apply to various colleges. I am the type of person that works great under stress so I managed everything pretty easy. I can honestly say that I have acquired skills dealing with time management this year. I received many honors and awards due to the fact that I kept on applying for scholarships. My honors and awards include: 2005 Horatio Alger Florida Scholar, 2005 AXA Community Achievement Scholarship, Starks Charitable Foundation Scholar, Women of Spanish Origin Scholarship, Florida Marlins Al Leiter Scholarship, Links Incorporated Scholarship, Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale Scholarship, Lucinda Book Todd Award, Gator Club Scholarship, Outstanding Senior Leader Award, Kodak Young Leaders Scholarship, 100% Bright Futures Scholarship, and many more. It is because of my determination to succeed that I was able to receive so many honors.

Recently, the Ventures Scholars Program asked Ventures Scholar graduates to provide information about next steps. Some are heading to the workplace, while others will be going to graduate/professional school.

We are eager to develop an e-program that enables undergraduate Ventures Scholars to communicate with college graduates. Also, college graduates will have a venue to communicate with like-minded graduates. Additional information is forthcoming!

If you are a college graduate and you would like to participate, please remember to provide us with your information. Go to http://www.venturescholar.org/undergrad/graduate.php.