When choosing a college, many students overlook one of the most important factors: quality of life. At The Best Colleges one of our goals is to emphasize to students the importance of the context and learning environment in which they choose to get educated. In polling that we’ve conducted of recent college graduates, there is one thing in particular that stands out as playing a vital role in how a student perceives her last four years of education. The campus setting. And beautiful college campuses rule the day.

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Now may be a good time to pursue a master’s degree in communication and public relations. With the emergence of multiple new media platforms (e.g. web sites, social networks, mobile applications) and a more global and interconnected marketplace, the demand for tech savvy communication and public relations specialists continues to expand. According to a 2010-2011 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow 24 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations.” According to the same report, in 2008, the median annual wages for salaried public relations specialists were $51,280, with the middle 50 percent earning between $38,400 and $71,670. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,140, and the top 10 percent earned more than $97,910.

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Communication and public relations specialists play a vital role in shaping public opinion and behavior. Businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies all rely on people skilled in the arts of oral and written communication for their success and well-being.

Communication and Public Relations Job Prospects

With the emergence of multiple new media platforms (e.g. web sites, social networks, mobile applications) and a more global and interconnected marketplace, the demand for tech savvy communication and public relations specialists is growing. This makes now an excellent time to consider a degree in communications and public relations. According to a 2010-2011 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow 24 percent from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations.” According to the same report, in 2008, the median annual wages for salaried public relations specialists were $51,280, with the middle 50 percent earning between $38,400 and $71,670 (the lowest 10 percent earned less than $30,140, and the top 10 percent earned more than $97,910). Continued…

Now is a great time to pursue a degree in medical billing and coding. According the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in the medical coding and billing field is expected to grow at an above average rate over the next several years, with job prospects being extremely good, especially for those with strong computer skills. In 2008 the median annual wage for medical records and health information technicians was $30,610 (half made less than this, half made more), with the top 10 percent making over $50,000 a year.

There are a number of colleges, universities, and career schools with online medical billing and coding degree and certificate programs available. Because the quality of online degree programs vary widely, we’ve put together this list of what we consider the very best colleges for online medical coding and billing degrees. Our online degree rankings are based on several factors, including school reputation, student satisfaction, peer and instructional quality, and overall affordability. Only fully accredited online colleges and universities were considered. Continued…

How important are college rankings these days? How much influence do they have? Is it ultimately for good or bad?

In her recent book Rankings and the Reshaping of Higher Education and a companion article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, higher education scholar Ellen Hazelkorn explores these questions, arguing that college ranking systems have become a global force, shaping the behavior not only of prospective college students, but also colleges looking to maintain or improve their rankings and reputation, governments deciding where to send their best and brightest, employers looking to hire the best and brightest, faculty deciding which schools are worth applying to, and even philanthropists trying to decide where to give their money.  According to Hazelkorn, the vice president for research and enterprise and head of the Higher Education Policy Research Unit at the Dublin Institute of Technology, there are now regionally specific ranking systems in over 40 countries and 11 different global ranking systems, each with their own distinctive methodologies for determining which schools are better than others, and with varying degrees of credibility and trustworthiness.

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Now is a great time to pursue an education in social work. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment for social workers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2018. Job prospects are expected to be favorable, particularly for social workers who specialize in the aging population or work in rural areas.”

More and more people are choosing to pursue social work degrees online because of the greater flexibility and affordability of online degrees. For those looking for distance learning programs in social work, we’ve put together a ranking of the best online colleges and universities offering online Master of Social Work (MSW) and other social work related graduate degrees. Our online degree rankings are based on several factors, including school and program reputation, student satisfaction, peer and instructional quality, and overall affordability.

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Online MBA degree programs continue to increase in popularity as more high quality schools develop online programs in response to the increasing number of professionals looking for ways to achieve the economic benefits of an MBA without having to sacrifice years of income and family life. For many of these people, the financial cost of an online degree is an important consideration. That’s why we’ve put together this list of the 10 best online MBA degree programs under $50,000. With these programs, professionals can earn an MBA while maintaining their jobs and family commitments, and without breaking the bank along the way. All of these programs are among the very best online MBA programs in the world and are taken from our more extensive ranking of the overall top 25 online MBA degree programs. These programs have been analyzed and ranked according to their perceived prestige (awards, rankings, reputation), academic quality, and affordability.
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Whether seeking to start a new career in business, or to climb the ladder within an already established career, earning an MBA degree may make good career and financial sense. According to a 2011 research survey by The Graduate Management Admission Council, 2010 MBA graduates had a median starting salary of $78,820. The median salary for all MBAs surveyed was $94,542, with an additional $17,565 in bonus compensation. Moreover, nearly 9 in 10 (88%) of 2010 MBA graduates had jobs immediately upon graduation, with hiring prospects expected to improve even more in coming years.

Advantages of Online MBA Programs

Traditional full-time MBA programs come with numerous hidden costs, including at least two years of lost income, experience, visibility, and possible promotions, not to mention major sacrifices in personal and family life. This is why many people choose to pursue their MBA online. With an online MBA program it isn’t necessary for an individual to sacrifice work or family in order to achieve their dreams and improve their quality of life.

The Variety of Online MBA Programs

The quality, status, and popularity of online MBAs continues to rise, with more and more highly ranked business schools offering online business degrees every year. But not all online business degrees are the same. Not only do online MBA’s come in a variety of formats, but their quality and prestige vary widely as well. That is why it’s important to make a thorough investigation of the many different online MBA programs available before making such an important decision and investment. Continued…

Who doesn’t want to be smarter and more creative? The ability to conjure and connect, retain and recall, innovate and improvise are crucial components of success in every area of life. Especially in the competitive environments of school, work, and love, greater intelligence and creativity provide an edge that enables people to stand out from the crowd.

Many people are under the illusion that intelligence and creativity are genetically determined. But while there’s no doubt that a person’s genetic heritage does play a role in determining what’s cognitively possible for them, few if any people ever live up to their maximum intellectual potential. And the idea that there’s nothing one can do to improve intelligence and creativity flies in the face of both science and common sense. The fact is, there are a number of things you can do today that will begin improving your cognitive performance and enable you to reach heights of intelligence and creativity you may not have known you were capable of.

And the best thing about it is no special products or programs are necessary. All is needed are the same basic qualities required for improving any area of one’s life: intentional effort and self discipline.

Here are eight things you can begin practicing right now that will put you on the path to greater intelligence and creativity, beginning with the more mundane, but arguably, the most fundamental: Continued…

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Launching a career in the field of law can be daunting. Thankfully, there are many blogs on the subject written by people with experience. This list includes blogs that will guide you through the law school experience, from application to finding a job. There are also blogs that will entertain you along the journey. Law is a tremendously broad and deep topic, and there are fantastic blogs written on any law related subject you can imagine. This list is an attempt to collect of many of the most useful, interesting, funny and informative blogs out there, but is in no way all-inclusive.
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