Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Social Determinants Of Health - 981 Words

Mrs Samira Azizi, a 56 year old with an Afghan cultural background living in the community require a nursing care, particularly post-operative dressing change following bowel cancer surgery. She was living with her family in an old farmhouse, 45 minutes away from town, unable to drive and with limited English language understanding that puts her at risk client living in the community (Henderson and Kendall, 2011). The community nurse will visit her for the first time. The social determinants of health most likely had an impact on the life expectancy of the vulnerable populations (Gupta, 2004). Applying the primary health care principles such as equity, cultural competence, community participation and maximum self-reliance, health promotion and disease prevention, access to health services and resource, use of acceptable technology and involvement of government departments to Mrs Azizi’s care will reduce the prevalence of health inequities amongst vulnerable individual (Kralik and Van Loon, 2011;Talbot and Verrinder, 2005). The importance of undertaking safety and risk management issues to the client’s home environment, client itself, nurse and wider community before and after the home visit aims to promote safety and potential hazards within a community that can be prevented from happening. Mrs Azizi was considered vulnerable groups living in the community and maybe at risk for unfavourable health outcomes (Henderson and Kendall, 2011). Primary health care principles focusedShow MoreRelatedThe Social Determinants Of Health1623 Words   |  7 PagesStress has been identified as one of the social determinants of health. It has different meanings in various contexts, so a proper definition will give a good insight of the term.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stress can be defined as a state of emotional or mental disturbance resulting from adverse or demanding conditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stress can also be defined as a physical, chemical, or emotional factor that causes bodily or mental disturbance and could be a causal in disease formation. StressesRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health1194 Words   |  5 Pageswatching television, reading or watching over her six cats. Social Determinants of Health are conditions such as living conditions or environments one has experienced while living their life and how that affects one’s health (Mikkonen, J., Raphael, D., 2010). In this case study of Norma James presented above, the three Social Determinants of Health (DOH) relevant to this case study are Income and Income Distribution, Health Services and Social Safety Net. The following of the paper will discuss theRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health1377 Words   |  6 Pages A group of fellow students and my self conducted a public health walk in the area of hackney borough. Our aim was to observe the community and how their surroundings affected their health. On 4th November 2014, we met at 10am and started our walk at St. Johns church. Prior to this day we met up to plan on our walk and how we will conduct it. While on our walk we observed how diverse and cultural the area was, we observed the people socialising in the street, the services available for these peopleRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health1306 Words   |  6 PagesConditions of birth and people’s growth, lifestyles, occupations and age strongly influence their health. This essay focuses on children between the ages of zero to 19 and examines what the social determinants of health are. Firstly, it attempts to analyse poverty, family violence, addiction and the impacts on the health of younger New Zealanders who are exposed to those determinants. Secondly, strategies, initiative s and prevention services are identified at national, regional and local levels toRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health And Health898 Words   |  4 PagesMental health outcomes vary differently by socioeconomic location for women and men. It is important to critically analyze the various social locations that low-income women living with mental health concerns are currently occupying. These women are occupying these social locations because of the structural inequities that they encounter in relation to their experiences with the social determinants of health. Explanatory frameworks are used to illustrate the relationship between the social determinantsRead MoreSocial Determinants Of Health And Health1170 Words   |  5 PagesSocial determinants of health are social, economic and physical factors that affect the health of individuals in any given population. There are fourteen social determinants of health but Income is perhaps the most important of these because it shapes l iving conditions, influences health related behaviors, and determines food security. In Canada, people with lower incomes are more susceptible to disease/ conditions, higher mortality rate, decreased life expectancy and poorer perceived health thanRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health1458 Words   |  6 Pagesknown as the social determinants of health; the central claim arising from this research is that â€Å"various social factors have a strong influence on population health and on inequalities in health outcomes across social groups†. (Preda Voigt, 2015) Social determinants of health are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality of life outcomes and risks. Conditions such as social, economicRead MoreThe Social Determinants Of Health1555 Words   |  7 Pages After so, this contact decimated every aspect of the Indigenous way of life. The health and well-being of Indigenous people initiated to worsen severely not only in the physical aspect but also mental. According to National Household Survey conducted in 2011, 1,400,685 people have been identified as being a member of one of the Aboriginal groups within Canada. Within these Aboriginal groups, critical mental health issues such as major depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse disorderRead MoreSocial determinants of health1076 Words   |  5 PagesHealth starts in our homes, workplaces, schools and communities. Most of us may think that the state of health is determined by our own behaviors and we are taking the initiatives in taking care of ourselves. By having a balanced diet, getting enough rest, exercising, not taking alcohols and smoking, receiving recommendation of preventive vaccine injection and screening tests, and seeing a doctor when we are sick, these behaviors all have great impact on our health. However, social determinants whichRead MoreSocial Determinants Of Health And Health873 Words   |  4 Pages Better research on immigrant health and health outcomes would go a long way to shining a light on how to tackle these problems. The current debate in the research concentrates on social determinants of health such as acculturation, which of course influences a lot of other health and healthcare decisions made by immigrants. However, only focusing on social determinants of health undermines the importance of other factors that also heavily affect immigrant health in the United States. Specifically

Monday, December 23, 2019

Alzheimers Disease My Grandmas Killer - 1510 Words

Alzheimer’s Disease: My Grandma’s Killer Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is characterized by gradual cognitive decline that beings with the inability to create recent memories or thoughts which then proceeds to influencing all intellectual functions (Mayeux Stern, 2012) . Alzheimer’s disease leads to premature death and the dependence of someone for daily life functions. (Mayeux Stern, 2012) If effects an estimated 5.5 million people in the United States and 24 million people worldwide (Mayeux Stern, 2012). The incidence of Alzheimer’s disease is rising in line with the aging population therefore; Alzheimer’s is most common in older patients around the ages of 60-85 (Mayeux Stern, 2012). Although Alzheimer’s disease is not a normal part†¦show more content†¦Therefore, in the United States, one individual will develop the disease in every 67 seconds (Latest Alzheimer s Facts and Figures, 2015). Pathology Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the degeneration of the nervous system, mainly the neurons in the brain leads to nerve cell death and the loss of tissue throughout the whole brain (MacGill, 2009). Over a period, the brain shrinks dramatically, affecting almost all of its normal functions throughout ones life (MacGill, 2009). The brain size shrinks with AD and the tissue tends to have fewer nerve cells and connections (MacGill, 2009. Abnormal protein groups and structures of plaques and tangles characterize the disease (MacGill, 2009). Plagues and tangles are not able to be viewed or tested in the living brain but are able to be observed in an autopsy of an infected deceased (MacGill, 2009). Plagues Plagues are abnormal clusters of protein fragments that accumulate between dying nerve cells in the brain due to a build up of the beta-amyloid protein usually referred to as amyloid plagues (Nelson et al., 2012). The beta-amyloid protein comes from a larger protein that is found in the fatty membrane that surrounds nerve cells (Nelson et al., 2012). Beta-amyloid is chemically sticky which helps its cluster and build up into plaques (Nelson et al., 2012). However, even though the huge clusters are thought

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Detection of Backlash Phenomena in the Induction Motor Free Essays

The problem our thesis work will solve is to reduce backlash in the induction motor. Backlash is described as a mechanical form of dead band that can lead to error on hole location, if the motion required to machine the holes causes a reversal in axis direction it also lead to loses of motion between input and output shafts, making it difficult to achieve accurate center in equipment such as machines tools etc. The main problem are vibrations from motor as a result of high ripple torque in the motor. We will write a custom essay sample on Detection of Backlash Phenomena in the Induction Motor or any similar topic only for you Order Now The motor is a kind of an AC machine in which alternating current is supplied to the stator directly and to the rotor by induction from the stator. Induction motor can appear in a single phase or a poly phase. (Toufouti, et al, 2013). In construction, the motor has a stator which is the stationary portion consisting of a frame that houses the magnetically active angular cylindrical structure called the stator lamination. It stack punched from electrical steel sheet with a three phase winding sets embedded in evenly spaced internal slots. The rotor which is the rotatory parts of a motor is made up of a shaft and cylindrical structure called the rotor lamination. It stack punched from electrical steel sheet with evenly spaced slots located around the periphery to accept the conductors of the rotor winding (Ndubisi, 2006). The rotor can be a wound type or squirrel cage type. in a poly phase motor, the three phase windings are displaced from each other by 120 electrical degrees in space around the air-gap circumference when excited from a balanced poly phase source, those windings (stator winding) will produce a magnetic field in the air-gap rotating at synchronous speed as determine by the number of stator poles and the applied stator frequency (Bimal, 2011). In the controlling of electrical motor; the introduction of micro-controllers and high switching frequency semiconductor devices, variable speed actuators where dominated by DC motors. Today, using modern high switching frequency power converters controlled by micro-controllers, the frequency phase and magnitude of the input to an AC motor can be changed and hence the motor’s speed and torque can be controlled. AC motors combined with their drives have replaced DC motors in industrial applications because they are cheaper, better reliability, less in weight, and lower maintenance requirement. Squirrel cage induction motors are most generally used than all the rest of the electric motors as they have all the advantages of AC motors and they are easy to build. The main advantage is that motors do not require an electrical connection between stationary and rotating portion of the motor. Therefore, they do not need any mechanical commutators to the fact that they are maintenance free motors. The motors also have lesser weight and inertia, high efficiency and high over load capability. Therefore, they are cheaper and more robust, and less proves to any failure at high speeds. Furthermore, the motor can be used to work in explosive environments because no sparks are produced. Taking into account all the advantages outlined above, induction motors must be considered as the perfect electrical to mechanical energy converter. However, mechanical energy is more than often required at variable speeds, where the speed control system is not a trivial matter. The effective way of producing an infinitely variable motor speed drive is to supply the motor with three phase voltage of variable amplitude. A variable frequency is required because the rotor speed depends on the speed of the rotating magnetic field provided by the stator. A variable voltage is required because the motor impedance reduces at low frequencies and the current has to be limited by means of reducing the supply voltage. (Schauder, 2013). Before the days of power electronics, a limited speed control of the motors was achieved by switching the three stator windings from delta connection to star connection, allowing the voltage at the motor windings to be reduced. Induction motors also available with more than three stator windings to allow a change of the number of pole pairs. However, a motor with several windings is very costly because more than three connections to the motor are needed and only certain discrete speeds are available. Another method of speed control can be realized by means of a wound rotor induction motor, where the rotor winding ends are brought out to slip rings (Malik, 2013). However, this method obviously removes the main aim of induction motors and it also introduces additional losses by connecting resistor or reactance in series with the stator windings of the motors, poor performance is achieved. With the enormous advances in converters technology and the development of complex and robust control algorithms, considerable research effort is devoted for developing optimal techniques of speed control for the machines. The motor control has traditionally been achieved using field oriented control (FOC). The method involves the transformation of stator currents in such a manner that is in line with one of the stator fluxes. The torque and flux producing components of the stator currents are decoupled, such that the component of the stator current controlling the rotor flux magnitude and the component controls the output torque will differ (Kazmier and Giuseppe, 2013). The implementation of this system however is complicated. The FOC is also well known to be highly sensitive to parameter variations. It also based on accurate parameter identification to obtain the needed performance. Another motor control techniques is the sensor less vector control. This control method is only for both high and low speed range. Using the method, the stator terminal voltages and currents estimate the rotor angular speed, slip angular speed and the rotor flux. In this case, around zero speed, the slip angular velocity estimation becomes very difficult. Motivation for the work When we were on training in machine in our office, we are told gave us a drawing to produce a machine shaft. During the process, when we feed in a cut of 10mm to the machine, it would cut 9.5mm and when we wanted to drill a hole at the center of the job, it would drilled it off centered, we called on our supervisor after we have wasted much time, power and materials. Surprisingly, after his supervision, he told us that backlash in the machine is responsible for that and he instructed us to use another machine which we did and got what we need immediately. Therefore, that ugly experience motivated us to research on how to reduce high ripple torque in induction motor which is the main causes of vibrations that lead to the backlash in the industrial machine. Statement of the Problem The statement of the human problem our research work will solve is to reduce backlash in industrial machine. Explanation of the problem Backlash Backlash can be defined as the maximum distance or angle through which any part of a mechanical system may be moved in one direction without applying appreciable force or motion to the next part in mechanical sequence and is a mechanical form of dead band. More so, it is any non-movement that occurs during axis reversals. For instance, when x – axis is commanded to move one inch in the positive direction, immediately, after this x – axis movement, these x-axis is also commanded to move one inch in the negative direction if any backlash exists in the x-axis, then it will not immediately start moving in the negative direction and the motion departure will not be precisely one inch. So, it can cause positioning error on holes location, if the motion required to drill the holes causes a reversal in axis direction, it also causes loses ofmotion between reducer input and output shafts, making it difficult to achieve accurate positioning in equipment such as machines tools etc. The main cause of this problem electrically is vibrations from electric motor as a result of high ripple torque in the induction motor. Benefits of solving the problem   High quality products will be produce. Productivity will increase because adjustment and readjustment of machine feeding handle or feeding screw to eliminate backlash have been reduced. Operational cost will reduced. Greater efficiency will be guaranteed. Greater accuracy and precision of product will be guaranteed. Wasting of materials will be highly reduced. Research Objectives To develop a model that will control the error to achieve stability using DTC and fuzzy logic with duty ratio. To determine the error in the torque of the machine that causes vibration which lead to backlash that result in production of less standard products.   To determine the position of the stator flux linkage space vector in the poles of the induction motor. To determine the stator linkage flux error in the induction motor that also causes vibration. To simulate the model above in the Simulink environment and validate the result.   Scope and Limitation of the Work This project work is limited to the use of fuzzy logic controller with duty ratio to replace the torque and stator flux hysteresis controllers in the conventional DTC techniques. The controllers have three variable inputs, the stator flux error, electromagnetic torque error and position of stator flux linkage vector. The inference method used was the Mamdam fuzzy logic inference system. The deffuzzification method adopted in this work is the maximum criteria method. Significance of the Work The importance of this work in industry where induction motor drives are mainly in application cannot be over emphasis. As earlier noted, induction motors because of their ruggedness simple mechanical structure and easy maintenance; electrical drives in industries are mostly based on them. Also, a wide range of induction motor applications require variable speed, therefore induction motor speed, if not accurately estimated will affect the efficiency of the overall industrial processes. Equally, the harmonic losses if not put in check will shorten the life span and efficiency of the motor inverter. Based on the above, it is aimed at reducing the principle causes of the inefficiency in the DTC induction motor and improves the performance of the system. Organization of the Work The work is organized into five chapters. Various control techniques were discussed in chapter two, in chapter three, we discusses the methodology, design and implementation of the direct torque control of induction motor using fuzzy logic with duty ratio controller. Chapter four discusses data collection, analysis and the simulated results showing the system using conventional method of control and the proposed fuzzy logic with duty ratio method of control under applied load torque conditions. How to cite Detection of Backlash Phenomena in the Induction Motor, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Tiananmen Square free essay sample

Attach a small photograph of something important to you and explain its significance. Beijing, China: In June of 1989, an unnamed man stood in the way of a long line of tanks, hoping to stop them from entering Tiananmen Square. His act of self-sacrifice for freedom captured the imagination of the world, and at the same moment, he unknowingly became the symbol of the single event which changed my life. A few miles away, hundreds of student demonstrators, most sick and exhausted following a two-week hunger strike, stubbornly stood their ground. Despite warnings from the Chinese government, they intended to continue their protest and stay in the square until their seemingly simple request, freedom, was met. Sha Tin, Hong Kong: I sat in front of the TV while bloody scenes of the final hours in Tiananmen Square invaded my eight-year-old eyes. On the morning of June 4, 1989, the Chinese government sent its army, armed with tanks and machine guns, to occupy the Square. We will write a custom essay sample on Tiananmen Square or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page While forcefully ending a peaceful demonstration for democracy, soldiers injured and brutally killed hundreds of innocent students and civilians. I was too young to realize this was a turning point for China, and could impact my life in Hong Kong, thousands of miles from Tiananmen Square. The anxiety I saw in the eyes of many adults, however, told me something terrible was happening. Only a year before my family had received a letter from the U.S. Immigration Department. It was a letter we had been awaiting for over ten years, which would allow us to move to the United States. It stunned my parents and forced them to make a decision. The letter arrived at a time when the feelings toward the 1997 Communist takeover were positive. There was still faith in Chinas promise which assured Hong Kong of freedom and right to self-government. Businesses were growing and the economy was stable. Giving up a comfortable life to start over in a new country seemed like quite a leap, so my parents delayed the move. Nevertheless, we knew the door would not be open forever; our visa would be good for one year. Within that year things changed. Hong Kong went into panic when the guns started firing and the tanks started rolling in Tiananmen Square that June 4 morning. The world watched in disbelief as Chinese soldiers killed Chinese students, but the most disbelieving of all were the people of Hong Kong. How could this be happening? and How am I going to get out before the communists take over in 97? seemed to be on everyones lips. People realized their freedom would be in jeopardy once they were placed under the rule of China. The situation in Tiananmen Square scared my parents into reconsidering emmigration, and suddenly, moving to the U.S. became a golden opportunity. My family arrived in Seattle on September 2, only three months after the Tiananmen Square Incident. Saying goodbye to friends and family as a child was hard, but the circumstances made it almost unbearable. The atmosphere was horrific and gruesome images were everywhere in magazines, newspapers and TV. Pictures of demonstrators, bands tied around their head or arm with Give me democracy or give me death written on it, lying dead or dying on the sidewalk, became daily reminders of what had happened. All the blood and death proved too much for me, and before long I learned to forget everything. The only clear image of the incident that remained was this picture. The sight of this man, silently willing to sacrifice his life for freedom, made me realize the amazing power of one, and the tremendous amount of love and courage a human heart can contain. Seattle, Washington: As I thumbed through a pile of old magazines I came across a June 1989 issue of Time. The bloody scenes of the final hours in Tiananmen Square came crashing into my sixteen-year-old eyes and stirred a part of my consciousness that had long been buried. Eight years later I have finally learned the details of what happened that day, and faced the pictures I once tried so hard to forget. I wish I could thank each person who risked their lives for democracy, the democracy I enjoy today. If the Tiananmen Square incident had never happened, I probably would not have come to the United States. Sometimes I get frustrated with not remembering more of the feelings I had that summer, but perhaps it is better. By not remembering, I am better able to focus on the present and future rather than dwelling on the past a past which I can never fully grasp, a past experienced through an eight-year-old mind and a TV screen. Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it. Walter Winchell

Friday, November 29, 2019

UK in the world trade free essay sample

Contentss Page Introduction2 1 Economic development as a factor of external trade3 1.1 .. Agriculture. 3 1.2 .. Manufacturing. 5 1.3 The service sector6 1.4 .. Transportation. 8 2 Foreign trade12 2.1 . The foreign trade turnover, exports, imports. 12 2.2 . The geographics of foreign trade in the UK.13 2.3 . The foreign trade government, ordinance of foreign trade activities. 15 2.4.The influence of planetary economic crisis on the foreign trade of Great Britain. 16 Conclusion19 Bibliography20 Appendixes21 Introduction Introduction Nowadays, international integrating is so advanced that most states are transnational, even though in the fifteenth century to see people from other states and even metropoliss can be rather rare, most of these were merchandisers. That is why trade was the beginning of international integrating. It began to bind trade to international dealingss between states, it helped to spread out the scope of goods and services, increase employment, every bit good as, in rule, increase the figure of people in the universe. Britain is one of the most of import states in trade, because of the developed conveyance system. We will write a custom essay sample on UK in the world trade or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The United Kingdom has ever played an of import function on the universe phase. It has been mother state of the industrial revolution, which marked the beginning of mass production. Therefore, the function of Britain in international trade is a serious job, particularly in the context of universe crisis, because who knows, possibly the United Kingdom will play an of import function in get the better ofing the crisis. The state of affairs of Great Britain in universe trade has non been reviewed yet by anyone straight. Maksakovsky V.P. and Lomakin V.P. examined the function of Britain in the planetary economic system. Khesin E. engaged in a job of general commissariats of the United Kingdom in the universe and the universe economic system. The Internet besides gives some statistics that should be systematized. The intent of my class work is to place the function of Britain in international trade. To accomplish this end I set myself ends: see the impact of economic development for the proviso of universe trade ; to depict the international trade and place the impact of planetary economic crisis on it. The object of my research is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The capable external state of affairs of the state. To accomplish this end, I reviewed the literature on this subject, every bit good as systematized statistical information from the Internet. Course paper consists of two chapters, debut and decision. 1. Economic development as a factor of external trade 1. Economic development as a factor of external trade1.1. Agribusiness 1.1. Agribusiness Britain s land surface is minimum compared to many other states, but British agribusiness is really intensive and extremely productive. During the twentieth century end product rose steadily, although the addition slowed toward the terminal of the century, and agricultural labour became more productive. The betterment was due to inventions in farm machinery, biological technology of seeds and workss, and the increased usage of fertilisers, pesticides, and weedkillers. Consequently, imports of nutrient, provender, and drinks dropped from 36 per centum of entire imports in 1955 to 11 per centum in 1985, and to 10 per centum by 1994. Compared to other states in the European Union, Britain s agricultural sector is much smaller in footings of employment and part to the GDP. In the early 2000s agribusiness employed about 1.4 per centum of the work force and contributed 1.0 per centum of the GDP. [ 1 ] Many of Britain s full-time farms are devoted to livestock farming-raising cowss for dairy merchandises or beef, or raising sheep for wool and meat. The intervention of farm animate beings became a turning concern in Britain in the late twentieth century. Factory agriculture of poulets produced protests, as did the pattern of raising calves in confined infinites. Concerns over animate being public assistance have led some British citizens to go vegetarians. Grave concern arose in the 1980s over cowss infected with bovine spongiform brain disorder ( BSE ) , popularly known as huffy cow disease. Human existences who eat infected beef may develop Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease ( CJD ) . BSE was foremost discovered in Britain in 1986, and the British authorities took stairss to eliminate the disease and compensate husbandmans for lost cowss. Consumer assurance in British beef declined, and in 1996 the European Union banned Britain from exporting any beef or beef byproducts. After considerable action by the authorities to hold the spread of the disease, the EU lifted the prohibition in 1999. Livestock husbandmans in Britain faced another crisis in 2001, when several instances of foot-and-mouth disease were detected in a British abattoir. The extremely infective viral disease, which seldom infects worlds, can rapidly stultify cowss, sheep, hogs, and other animate beings with bisulcate hooves. The dangers of foot-and-mouth disease are mostly economic, since infected animate beings frequently lose weight or halt bring forthing milk. As the eruption spread across the British countryside, the British authorities ordered the slaughter of more than 1 million animate beings to incorporate the virus. Cases of the disease were besides detected in Belgium, France, and Ireland, taking to the devastation of herds in those states. Most harvest agriculture in Britain takes topographic point in eastern and south cardinal England and in eastern Scotland. The taking harvests in the early 2000s were wheat, sugar Beta vulgariss, murphies, barley, and rapeseed. As concern has grown about the usage of fertilisers, pesticides, and biologically engineered seeds and their consequence on the environment, some husbandmans have turned to organic agriculture, with support from the authorities. [ 2 ] The British authorities began subsidising the monetary values paid for agricultural merchandises after World War II as a manner to do farming profitable. In 1973 Britain joined the European Economic Community ( EEC, now the European Union ) , and since so agricultural policy has been determined chiefly by the EU s Common Agricultural Policy ( CAP ) . [ 3 ]This policy seeks to maintain the agricultural market stable, guarantee that husbandmans earn a just life, and supply consumers with low-cost nutrient supplies. As a consequence of EU policies, merchandises coming into Britain from non-EU states are taxed, excess merchandises are bought and stored for subsequently sale, and the cost of exports is subsidized if monetary values are low. The British have criticized CAP, chiefly because the British agriculture sector is smaller than the agrarian sectors of most EU states. British husbandmans receive less pecuniary support from the EU than British taxpayers and consumers pay into CAP, and some British taxpayers and consumers feel they are back uping inefficient European husbandmans. Criticism has increased as greater agricultural outputs around the universe have led to more CAP subsidies for European agribusiness. CAP implemented assorted reforms in 1992 to cut down costs, subsidies, and reserves of groceries, such as the excesss of butter and vino in the 1970s and 1980s. Farmers have been encouraged to take land out of production, to follow environmentally sound farming methods even though this may diminish production, and to put production quotas on certain merchandises in an attempt to cut down the sum of subsidy money they receive. Even so, CAP policies designed to protect little farms, peculiarly in France and Germany, continue to anger British taxpayers. 1.2. Manufacturing 1.2. Fabrication The history of fabrication in Britain is alone because of Britain s function as the place of birth of the Industrial Revolution. During the Middle Ages the production of woollen fabrics was a cardinal industry in Britain. In the 16th and 17th centuries, new industries developed. These included silk weaving, garment devising, and the fabrication of chapeaus, clayware, and cutter. [ 4 ]All of these operations were by and large conducted in little trade stores and were labour-intensive. In the eighteenth century a figure of alterations in British society prepared the manner for the Industrial Revolution. Colonial and commercial enlargement created markets in North America, Africa, and parts of Asia. Coal and Fe excavation developed as Britain s dwindling woods created the demand for another energy beginning, and new smelting techniques made Fe implements cheaper to bring forth. An agricultural revolution in the eighteenth century introduced new harvests and harvest rotary motion techniques, better engendering methods, and mechanical devices for cultivation. This coincided with a rapid addition in population, in portion due to better hygiene and diets, supplying both consumers and workers for the new fabrication operations. During the Industrial Revolution new methods of fabrication merchandises were developed. Alternatively of being made by manus, many merchandises were made by machine. Production moved from little trade stores to mills, and population shifted to urban countries where these mills were located. Cotton fabric mills utilizing freshly developed steam-powered machines produced more goods at a lower cost per point. Fabrics, ship building, Fe, and steel emerged as of import industries, and coal remained the most of import industrial fuel. The Industrial Revolution dramatically raised the overall criterion of life. The construction of British industry changed well in the last half of the twentieth century. The coal excavation and cotton fabric industries declined aggressively. As coal production declined, oil production replaced it as a major industry. Motor vehicle production became a important portion of the industrial base but was capable to severe foreign competition. As incomes increased, consumer demand rose for lasting goods such as autos and kitchen contraptions. British industrial production besides expanded into communications equipment, including fibre optics, computing machines, computer-controlled machine tools, and automatons. Turning industries in recent decennaries include paper merchandises and publication ; chemicals, such as pharmaceuticals ; gum elastic and plastics ; and electronic and optical equipment. Scotland is besides a major manufacturer of computing machines. The alleged Silicon Glen between Glasgow and Edinburgh employs 1000s of people in the electronics industry and is the site of many abroad computing machine houses. Scotland and Northern Ireland are still noted for their production of whisky and fabrics, particularly linen from Northern Ireland and tweed from Scotland. About 12 per centum of the work force was engaged in fabrication in the early 2000s, and fabrication accounted for about 16 per centum of the gross domestic merchandise ( GDP ) . [ 5 ] 1.3. The service sector 1.3. The service sector One mark of a extremely developed state is a big and sophisticated service sector. When a state s economic system matures, its service sector grows quickly while its fabrication sector stabilizes or diminishes. This was the instance with Britain. In the early 2000s Britain s service sector accounted for about three-quarterss of the GDP and employed about fourth-fifths of the work force. The service industries include finance, retailing, wholesaling, touristry, concern services, conveyance, insurance, investing, advertisement, public dealingss, market research, instruction, disposal, and authorities and professional services. Britain developed sophisticated banking, fiscal, insurance, and transporting operations every bit early as the seventeenth century to back up its spread outing international ocean trade. Lloyd s of London, an early insurance house, began when a figure of people willing to subvention, or insure, the success of ocean trips gathered on a regular basis at Lloyd s Coffee House in London to portion transporting intelligence. Lloyd s now insures about half of the universe s transportation and ladings every bit good as much of the aircraft industry. Banking and fiscal services have ever played an of import portion in London s economic system, and degrees of specialisation and expertness have been high. This has attracted ever-larger sums of concern from an progressively planetary economic system. Today, London has the largest concentration of international Bankss in the universe and is the universe s prima centre for currency trading. Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, Liverpool, Edinburgh, and Glasgow have developed as fiscal centres in recent decennaries. London is besides the universe s prima centre for insurance and handles 20 per centum of the universe s insurance concern. The fiscal services sector expanded particularly quickly after the deregulating of the stock exchange in 1986. By the early 2000s fiscal and other concern services, including existent estate, accounted for more than one-quarter of Britain s GDP and employed about one-fifth of the work force. [ 6 ] Several important developments in the service sector took topographic point toward the terminal of the twentieth century. Telecommunications became a dynamic growing industry, and independent retailing declined aggressively. The leisure industry grew dynamically, commanding an increasing proportion of consumer disbursement. Organizations providing to international conferences and exhibitions besides have been a growing country. These organisations have been peculiarly successful because Britain is one of the universe s top locations for concern meetings and trade shows. Tourism has become an progressively of import economic sector in Britain, using at least 7 per centum of the work force. Britain is one of the universe s top tourer finishs, yearly pulling about 25 million abroad visitants in the early 2000s # 8212 ; more than a 50 per centum addition over the early 1980s. Under the Development of Tourism Act of 1969, a authorities organisation, the British Tourist Authority, was set up to pull abroad visitants and to better tourer adjustment and travel conditions. [ 7 ] 1.4. Transportation system 1.4. Transportation system Britain has historically been an pioneer and universe leader in many signifiers of transit, from transporting to inveigh systems to air power. Transport services make close 8 % GDP of the United Kingdom. In their grant, including immediate industries, about 1.4 million individuals are busy. [ 8 ] Because Britain is an island, transportation has been of import for centuries. The irregular coastlines of the British Isles provide many natural seaports, and Britain s gentle, navigable rivers have ever been contributing to transporting. Seafaring accomplishments were straight connected to Britain s growing as a naval power. Equally early as the sixteenth century Britain defeated Spain, its greatest challenger at sea. In the 17th and 18th centuries France was defeated, so Germany in the early twentieth century. Prior to World War II, Britain had the largest merchandiser fleet in the universe, a fleet that sailed throughout the huge British Empire and was protected by the Royal Navy. Britain continued to be the universe leader in transporting until World War II, when pigboat onslaughts by Germany sank many British vass and the enormous end product of the American ship building industry made the United States the universe leader. Today many British transportation houses operate under foreign flags to avoid the more rigorous British transportation ordinances, including higher rewards for crews. Most British rider transporting involves ferry trips to the continent of Europe or to Ireland. Oil tankers transporting oil and dry majority ladings make up the bulk of pelagic transportation. British ports were nationalized in the late fortiess, and in recent old ages most have moved into the private sector or are governed by independent trusts. The most of import port in the United Kingdom is London ; other of import commercial ports are at Forth in Scotland, Grimsby and Birmingham in eastern England, Liverpool in western England, and Southampton and Dover in southern England. Canals were built in Britain to associate rivers, and most of Britain s canals were built as portion of the transit revolution that took topographic point between 1750 and 1840. Canals were built by packs of labourers known as sailing masters, a name that came from their undertaking of making channels of inland pilotage. This term was shortly shortened to drudges. The canals were of import during the Industrial Revolution for transporting goods, but by the 1830s they had to vie with the new railroads, which rapidly surpassed them. Thereafter, canals were used to transport highly bulky stuffs. [ 9 ] Today Britain has approximately 3,200 kilometers ( about 2,000 myocardial infarctions ) of canals and navigable rivers, of which about 620 kilometers ( about 390 myocardial infarction ) are commercial waterways. The most of import of these are the Manchester Ship Canal, which is the largest canal in Britain ; the Thames ; and the Caledonian Canal across northern Scotland, which provides a navigable waterway associating the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The remainder of the rivers and canals are used for diversion and form portion of Britain s historical heritage. [ 10 ] The Victorian epoch was besides known as the Railway Age. The railway can be considered the kid of the British coal mines because carts on paths were used to hale coal. These precursors of the railway were so combined with steam engines, which led to farther technological inventions. An added advantage in the development of railwaies in Britain was that the most populated parts of the state, where this manner of transit was needed, were comparatively level. The universe s first public railroad was the Stockton and Darlington, which opened in 1825. A period of feverish railroad edifice followed for the following one-fourth century as different companies competed to put path. It was a monolithic project that employed huge ground forcess of labourers and altered the British landscape by delving through hills and building Bridgess and tunnels. In a short clip the basic grid of Britain s railroads was in topographic point. [ 11 ] Over the ensuing century smaller railroad companies were absorbed or unify vitamin D into a few big companies. In 1948 the authorities nationalized the four staying companies, and in the sixtiess they became the British Railways Board. In 1955 a modernisation plan began to replace steam trains with Diesel and electric 1s. The last steam engine was withdrawn in 1968. Around this clip intense competition from route conveyance made it necessary to cut costs, and many unprofitable subdivision railroad lines closed. [ 12 ] Railwaies were portion of the moving ridge of denationalization that took topographic point in the early 1990s. The complicated process was based on the Railway Act of 1993. The substructure, including paths and train operations, was put into the custodies of Rail path, a government-owned company that was privatized by selling stock to private investors. Passenger operations were split into 25 runing units, each franchised to a private house given the right to supply rider service to a peculiar part of Britain. [ 13 ]In 1995 cargo operations in Britain were divided among private companies based in different parts of the state. The authorities appoints a rail regulator and a franchising manager to guarantee that rail agreements are just to companies and riders. The moves to to the full privatise BR were extremely combative and generated considerable unfavorable judgment within Britain. The fractured nature of rail organisation was forcefully brought place in the late ninetiess and early 2000s with a series of high-profile rail accidents. The accidents were blamed in portion on the separation of ownership of rail and turn overing stock and on the demands of privatized companies to supply stockholder income at the sensed disbursal of rider safety. After a clang in 2000 in Hertfordshire caused by faulty tracks, the full railroad web was examined and path replaced, taking to severe holds to inveigh journeys for months. Rail path was replaced in 2003 by Network Rail, a not-for-profit company. [ 14 ] A railroad tunnel beneath the English Channel was completed in 1993, linking England and the European continent. The chief Channel Tunnel, which is 50.4 kilometer ( 32 myocardial infarction ) long, runs from Folkston, England, to Calais, France. Trains carry both riders and cargo through the tunnel. Motorists can drive their autos on and off the train. The trip through the tunnel takes about 35 proceedingss. [ 15 ] 2. Foreign trade 2. Foreign trade2.1. The foreign trade turnover, exports, imports 2.1. The foreign trade turnover, exports, imports In 2007, Britain s foreign trade turnover decreased in comparing with 2006 by 2.5 % and amounted to 521.1 mlrd.f.st. In 2007, there has been a important addition in absolute value of the negative balance of trade of Great Britain ( at 31.6 mlrd.f.st. ) to 89.8 mlrd.f.st. [ 16 ] The value of exports fell by 10.2 % and amounted to 218.9 mlrd.f.st. , with its volume decreased by 1.0 % . Reduced mean export monetary values were 9.3 % and had a decisive influence on the kineticss of British exports in general. In 2007, the UK largest portion of exports accounted for by machinery and equipment ( 24.3 % ) , vehicles ( 13.8 % ) , mineral merchandises ( 10.9 % ) , merchandises of chemical industry ( 16.0 % ) . [ 17 ] There was an addition in export cargos for wide merchandise groups such as animate being and vegetable fats and oils ( 12.6 % ) , assorted manufactured goods ( 9.9 % ) , merchandises of vegetable beginning ( 9.6 % ) , basal metals and articles of them ( 9.1 % ) , conveyance ( 8.2 % ) , unrecorded animate beings, carnal merchandises ( 6,5 % ) , cherished metals and rocks ( 6.2 % ) , prepared groceries ( 6.1 % ) , paper mush ( 5.8 % ) , chemicals ( 3.2 % ) . In 2007 he dropped the British exports of machinery, equipment and machinery ( at 36.9 % ) , instruments and setup ( by 5.5 % ) , wood ( at 3.2 % ) , mineral merchandises ( by 3,2 % ) . [ 18 ] The value of imports increased by 2.2 % and reached 308.9 mlrd.f.st. , while its volume increased by 1.2 % , while mean import monetary values by 1.1 % . The footing of British imports was machinery and equipment ( 23.4 % ) , vehicles ( 15.0 % ) , mineral merchandises ( 10.4 % ) , chemicals ( 9.9 % ) . [ 19 ] There was an addition in imports of lumber ( at 14.3 % ) , cherished metals and merchandises thereof ( 13.1 % ) , assorted industrial merchandises ( 12.6 % ) , carnal and vegetable oils and fats ( 11.5 % ) , merchandises chemical industry ( 9.5 % ) , finished nutrient merchandises ( 73 % ) , conveyance ( 7.2 % ) , merchandises of vegetable beginning ( 6.7 % ) , plastics and merchandises thereof ( 5.3 % ) fabrics and fabric merchandises ( 1.8 % ) , mineral merchandises ( 1.1 % ) . At the same clip reduced the import of instruments and setup ( by 8.7 % ) , machinery, equipment and machinery ( 7.1 % ) , cherished metals and rocks ( 5.1 % ) . [ 20 ] 2.2. The geographics of foreign trade in the UK. 2.2. The geographics of foreign trade in the UK. In 2007, major trading spouses, Britain has remained the European Union states ( 55.9 % of British foreign trade turnover in 2006 57.4 % ) , including Germany ( 13,0 % ) , France ( 7.5 % ) , Netherlands ( 7.2 % ) . The chief spouses from other parts were the U.S. ( 11.1 % ) , Norway ( 3.3 % ) and Japan ( 2.3 % ) . United Kingdom is besides actively carried out foreign trade in goods with the states of BRIC ( 7.8 % of British trade ) . In the list of the top 20 trade spouses of Great Britain there is Russia, which in 2007 took 16 topographic point ( for 2006 17 ) with the weights in the UK turnover of 1.6 % ( in 2006 # 8211 ; 1.5 % ) . [ 21 ] Among the States the trading spouses of Great Britain received the most dynamic development of trade with China, the growing of trade turnover which amounted to 19.8 % , India 14.4 % Ireland 3.9 % Brazil 9.6 % , Russia 4,8 % , Hungary 10,8 % , the Czech Republic 12.3 % , Germany 0,9 % . In 2007, significantly reduced the volume of trade with France ( by 21.9 % ) , Spain ( 13.0 % ) , Denmark ( 34.8 % ) , Portugal ( 43.7 % ) , Luxembourg ( 70.1 % ) , Cyprus ( 75.1 % ) , South Africa ( 13.9 % ) , Belgium ( 3.7 % ) and Sweden ( at 8.5 % ) . In 2007 British geographical variegation of foreign trade was narrowed a spot. At the 20 major merchandising spouses, the UK had 80.2 % of its turnover ( in 2006 79.6 % ) . Among the most of import UK export markets were: Russia ( the growing of exports 35.8 % ) , Norway ( 30.1 % ) , China ( 15.3 % ) , Ireland ( 1.6 % ) , India ( 9.6 % ) , Brazil ( 17.1 % O ) . Significantly reduced the export of British merchandises in Canada ( 15.2 % ) , Switzerland ( 10.2 % ) , Turkey ( 6.0 % ) , Japan ( 6.3 % ) and Hong Kong ( 7.7 % ) . Britain s quickly turning imports from EU states ( at 1.9 % ) , China ( 20.8 % ) , Canada ( 16.4 % ) , India ( 18.4 % ) , Turkey ( 17.8 % ) , Switzerland ( 9.0 % ) , Singapore ( 7.2 % ) . In bend, reduced imports from Portugal ( by 49.0 % ) , Denmark ( at 27.2 % ) , Cyprus ( at 86.2 % ) , South Africa ( at 20.8 % ) , Luxembourg ( 55.3 % at ) Hong Kong ( at 6.8 % ) , Russia ( at 6.2 % ) . The excess in ware trade in the UK in 2007 had to Ireland ( 6.3 mlrd.f.st. ) , United States ( 6.0 mlrd.f.st. ) , Greece ( 0.7 mlrd.f.st. ) , Ukraine ( 0.3 mlrd.f.st. ) , Australia ( 0.3 mlrd.f.st. ) , Cyprus ( 0.2 mlrd.f.st. ) . Geography of distribution of British foreign trade in 2007[ 22 ] export import Trade turnover between Britain and the provinces members of CIS in 2007 increased compared with 2006 by 0.9 % to 10,7 mlrd.f.st. The proportion of the Russian Federation in this figure 77.6 % ( period 2006 74,8 % ) . UK Imports from the States the CIS amounted to 6.7 mlrd.f.st. decreased by 8.3 % . In entire volume of British imports and the low proportion of CIS is 2,2 % with 81,7 % of its value consists of Russian bringings ( in 2006 2.4 % and 79.9 % severally ) . A British export to the States Members of the CIS in 2007 was equal to 4.0 mlrd.f.st. ( an addition of 21.4 % ) , of which 70.8 % was accounted for by bringings to the Russian Federation ( 2006 63,3 % ) . This is tantamount to 1.8 % of British exports. 2.3. The foreign trade government, ordinance of foreign trade activities 2.3. The foreign trade government, ordinance of foreign trade activities The foreign trade government of the UK based on the norms and regulations of international trade, developed under the GATT / WTO, EU and national statute law. State ordinance of foreign trade activity is carried out with the application of imposts duties, non-tariff steps, proficient barriers ( criterions, regulations and ordinances ) , other regulators ( e.g. , insurance and export recognition supply ) . An export from the UK is carried out without limitations, with the exclusion of certain merchandises capable to export control and licensing. Among them: Industrial merchandises, which can be used for military intents, although they ab initio were non specifically designed for such intents ( e.g. , computing machines, equipment in the field of electronics and trial equipment, machines, equipment in the field of communications, radio detection and ranging installings and civilian aircraft ) ; Military equipment, such as weaponries, ammo, armored combat vehicles, military aircraft and ships, industrial merchandises, specially designed for military intents ; Production associated with the production of atomic arms, including atomic stuffs, atomic reactors and equipment for treating atomic stuff ; Original points of chemical weaponries ; Old-timers and plants of art ; Some merchandises were exported to the United States ; [ 23 ] Applications for export licences to a figure of states subject to the transition of the particular processs. A list of these states is contained in the ordinances on export control and export control governments brought to British exporters. In the country of duty ordinance of imports is the chief instrument integrated Rates Great Britain, which includes a incorporate imposts duty and statistical terminology of the EU, every bit good as a consonant system of description and cryptography. Most goods imported into the UK without limitation. However, in order to protect the national economic system, the execution of international committednesss and national consumer protection is limited import of weaponries, ammo, explosives and other unsafe goods, nutrient and agricultural trade goods, including farm animal, medical specialties and medical supplies. In order to protect the internal market applies anti-dumping, offseting and safeguard steps. Prominent among the proficient steps of export-import operations took sanitary-epidemiological and quarantine demands for imported goods. The most rigorous State control is carried out with the importing of unrecorded animate beings and birds. Makes high demands for conformity with criterions, packaging and labeling merchandises. In some instances ( e.g. , for hi-tech machinery, including air power ) , the UK criterions are more rigorous than applicable in the EU. The ordinance of foreign economic composite of Great Britain has a figure of authorities bureaus, among which the taking function played by the Ministry for Business, Enterprise and reform of province ordinance. The competency of the Ministry of the issues of competition, entrepreneurship, little concern support, employment, insolvency ordinance of markets for goods and services. The ordinance of international fiscal activities ( investing, banking, insurance ) exercises control over the service of fiscal markets ( Financial Services Authority ) , with a broad scope of powers. [ 24 ] 2.4. The influence of planetary economic crisis on the foreign trade of Great Britain 2.4. The influence of planetary economic crisis on the foreign trade of Great Britain The shortage of foreign trade of Great Britain in December dropped aggressively to 7.4 billion lbs, which exceeded outlooks for rate decrease. This was the lowest trade shortage since June 2007, when the figure stood at 7.0 billion lbs. Reducing the trade shortage the United Kingdom due to the addition in trade with states outside the EU. This was reported on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics of Great Britain. [ 25 ] Harmonizing to economic experts interviewed by Dow Jones Newswires last hebdomad, it is expected that the shortage of foreign trade in goods in the UK will be in December, 8.1 billion lbs. [ 26 ] UK trade shortage in November was revised up to 8.1 billion lbs. Previously, it was reported that the shortage of foreign trade in goods amounted to Britain in November, 8.3 billion lbs. The trade shortage with states outside the UK the EU besides dropped aggressively -to 4.2 billion lbs from 5.2 billion lbs in November. Novembers # 8217 ; value of trade in goods shortage with states outside the EU has been revised. Previously, it was reported that in November amounted to 5.3 billion lbs. Economists predicted that the shortage of trade in goods with states outside the EU will be in December, 4.8 billion lbs. Harmonizing to published informations, exports to states outside the EU rose in December by 5 % compared with November, while imports fell by 4.5 % compared to the old month. The British lb fell somewhat more than 33 % against the euro and 31 % against the U.S. dollar in 2008. This diminution may be merely get downing to hold a positive impact on foreign trade in Goods UK. [ 27 ] Oil trade shortage declined in Britain in December to 0.2 billion lbs from 0.5 billion in November. In 2008, the entire shortage of foreign trade in oil was # 163 ; 5.8 billion against the shortage of 4.0 billion lbs in 2007. Harmonizing to the figures, the entire foreign trade shortage in goods of Great Britain in 2008 rose to 93.2 billion lbs. This was the highest figure since the get downing point of such statistics. In 2007, the shortage of foreign trade of Great Britain amounted to 89.3 billion lbs. UK trade shortage in goods with EU states in December rose to 3.2 billion lbs from 2.9 billion lbs in November. The information showed that the excess in services trade in the UK in December fell to 3.8 billion lbs from 4.1 billion lbs in November. As a consequence, the overall trade shortage in goods and services the UK in December fell to 3.6 billion lbs from 4.0 billion lbs in November. The November figure was revised. Economists predicted that the entire foreign trade shortage in December rose to 4.6 billion. Conclusion Conclusion The distinctive feature of the British economic system and its topographic point in the universe economic system reflects the characteristics of the external trade dealingss. Much of its current place in universe trade in the UK is obliged to its history and its economic and geographical state of affairs. United Kingdom one of the most economically developed states in the universe, this state of affairs started back in 16-17 centuries, and today, although it lost its former power and is no longer a universe mill , it plays a major function in universe imports and exports. This is mostly driven by development of conveyance system, the being of settlements and the comparatively big militias of coal, natural gas and oil sedimentations have been discovered comparatively late. Besides, Britain is the universe bank and is one of the most visited by tourers of the universe. But as shown by the anticipations of the specializers, possibly, Great Britain will be the most affected economically developed state in the universe because of the current crisis. This can go on because of the depreciation of the lb sterling. However, its function in international trade in the UK will non lose, because bring forthing the needed goods and services. Therefore, it is possible to reason that the success and effectivity of the work, which is reflected in the consequences. The end to place the function of the United Kingdom in universe trade has been reached. It was found that without the British universe trade reasonably be affected, but in this state of affairs the economic crisis The economic system of the UK could endure severely. This poses a new challenge to happen out how you can raise the economic system of Britain. Bibliography BibliographyAppendixs Appendixs [ 1 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_11/United _Kingdom.html [ 2 ] # 1057 ; # 1090 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1099 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1089 ; # 1077 ; # 1075 ; # 1086 ; # 1076 ; # 1085 ; # 1103 ; : # 1089 ; # 1087 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1074 ; # 1086 ; # 1095 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; . # 1042 ; 5 # 1090 ; . # 1058 ; .1. # 1045 ; # 1074 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1087 ; # 1072 ; / # 1048 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1056 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1057 ; # 1057 ; . # 8211 ; # 1052 ; . , 2006. # 8211 ; 56 # 1057 ; . [ 3 ] # 1057 ; # 1090 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1099 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1089 ; # 1077 ; # 1075 ; # 1086 ; # 1076 ; # 1085 ; # 1103 ; : # 1089 ; # 1087 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1074 ; # 1086 ; # 1095 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; . # 1042 ; 5 # 1090 ; . # 1058 ; .1. # 1045 ; # 1074 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1087 ; # 1072 ; / # 1048 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1056 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1057 ; # 1057 ; . # 8211 ; # 1052 ; . , 2006. # 8211 ; 58 # 1057 ; . [ 4 ] # 1057 ; # 1090 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1099 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1089 ; # 1077 ; # 1075 ; # 1086 ; # 1076 ; # 1085 ; # 1103 ; : # 1089 ; # 1087 ; # 1088 ; # 1072 ; # 1074 ; # 1086 ; # 1095 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; . # 1042 ; 5 # 1090 ; . # 1058 ; .1. # 1045 ; # 1074 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1087 ; # 1072 ; / # 1048 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1056 ; # 1058 ; # 1040 ; # 1057 ; # 1057 ; . # 8211 ; # 1052 ; . , 2006. # 8211 ; 61 # 1057 ; . [ 5 ] # 1061 ; # 1077 ; # 1089 ; # 1080 ; # 1085 ; # 1045 ; . # 1042 ; # 1077 ; # 1083 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1073 ; # 1088 ; # 1080 ; # 1090 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1103 ; // # 1052 ; # 1080 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1074 ; # 1072 ; # 1103 ; # 1101 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1072 ; # 1080 ; # 1084 ; # 1077 ; # 1078 ; # 1076 ; # 1091 ; # 1085 ; # 1072 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1076 ; # 1085 ; # 1099 ; # 1077 ; # 1101 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1095 ; # 1077 ; # 1089 ; # 1082 ; # 1080 ; # 1077 ; # 1086 ; # 1090 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1096 ; # 1077 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1103 ; . # 8211 ; 2001, # 8470 ; 8, 102 # 1057 ; . [ 6 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_11/United _Kingdom.html [ 7 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_11/United _Kingdom.html [ 8 ] # 1061 ; # 1077 ; # 1089 ; # 1080 ; # 1085 ; # 1045 ; . # 1042 ; # 1077 ; # 1083 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1073 ; # 1088 ; # 1080 ; # 1090 ; # 1072 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1103 ; // # 1052 ; # 1080 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1074 ; # 1072 ; # 1103 ; # 1101 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1082 ; # 1072 ; # 1080 ; # 1084 ; # 1077 ; # 1078 ; # 1076 ; # 1091 ; # 1085 ; # 1072 ; # 1088 ; # 1086 ; # 1076 ; # 1085 ; # 1099 ; # 1077 ; # 1101 ; # 1082 ; # 1086 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1084 ; # 1080 ; # 1095 ; # 1077 ; # 1089 ; # 1082 ; # 1080 ; # 1077 ; # 1086 ; # 1090 ; # 1085 ; # 1086 ; # 1096 ; # 1077 ; # 1085 ; # 1080 ; # 1103 ; . # 8211 ; 2001, # 8470 ; 8, 105 # 1057 ; . [ 9 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_11/United _Kingdom.html [ 10 ]http//www.vneshmarket.ru/content/section_r_DC25946A-D8AB-4A7D-AD5E-B68D55EB7C23.html [ 11 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.economtwathch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/index.html [ 12 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.studentsoftheworld.infoplays./wfb.php3? CODEPAYS=GBR [ 13 ]http//www.vneshmarket.ru/content/section_r_DC25946A-D8AB-4A7D-AD5E-B68D55EB7C23.html [ 14 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.studentsoftheworld.infoplays./wfb.php3? CODEPAYS=GBR [ 15 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_11/United _Kingdom.html [ 16 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.moksali.lt/referatai/referats/what-are-britain-s- main-imports-and-exports-puslapis1.html [ 17 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //foreigntrade/alumnieeni.com/exports.asp? lang=ru [ 18 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grandforum.ru/index.php? PHPSESSID=tg04j5sbbijmt119f5ph6uqah2 A ; topic=2802.0: prev_next=prev [ 19 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //foreigntrade/alumnieeni.com/imports.asp? lang=ru [ 20 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grandforum.ru/index.php? PHPSESSID=tg04j5sbbijmt119f5ph6uqah2 A ; topic=2802.0: prev_next=prev [ 21 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.moksali.lt/referatai/referats/what-are-britain-s- main-imports-and-exports-puslapis1.html [ 22 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.moksali.lt/referatai/referats/what-are-britain-s- main-imports-and-exports-puslapis1.html [ 23 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.economtwathch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/index.html [ 24 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.economtwathch.com/world_economy/united-kingdom/index.html [ 25 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grandforum.ru/index.php? PHPSESSID=tg04j5sbbijmt119f5ph6uqah2 A ; topic=2802.0: prev_next=prev [ 26 ]hypertext transfer protocol: //www.grandforum.ru/index.php? PHPSESSID=tg04j5sbbijmt119f5ph6uqah2 A ; topic=2802.0: prev_next=prev [ 27 ]http//www.vneshmarket.ru/content/section_r_DC25946A-D8AB-4A7D-AD5E-B68D55EB7C23.html

Monday, November 25, 2019

How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools

How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but don’t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? It’s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities near you. Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people don’t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year – sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their â€Å"safety schools† where admission is all but guaranteed, they don’t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier – sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If you’re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, it’s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so it’s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like you’re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure you’re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school you’re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when it’s time to enter the â€Å"real world.† So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement – your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely – anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado, Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched â€Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.† I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isn’t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isn’t due until January 31.) Next Steps For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors College† or â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.† I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyer’s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you can’t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize Your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships – and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. It’s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Don’t split your time between the two tests. It’s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much – it’s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, don’t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so it’s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but don’t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isn’t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether that’s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. It’s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. Don’t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay – or essays! – to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, with new prompts every year. The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from. So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, it’s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If you’re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early – at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so it’s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you – just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently – junior year is ideal – and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone – like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor – who could write an additional letter of recommendation, it’s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Don’t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you don’t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university you’re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools – write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. What’s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 1600 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if you’re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but don’t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? It’s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you don’t miss out on opportunities near you. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people don’t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year – sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their â€Å"safety schools† where admission is all but guaranteed, they don’t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier – sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If you’re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, it’s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so it’s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like you’re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure you’re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school you’re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but it’s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when it’s time to enter the â€Å"real world.† So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement – your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely – anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched â€Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.† I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isn’t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isn’t due until January 31.) Next Steps DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors College† or â€Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.† I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyer’s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you can’t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships – and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. It’s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Don’t split your time between the two tests. It’s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much – it’s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, don’t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so it’s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but don’t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isn’t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether that’s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. It’s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Don’t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay – or essays! – to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, including the prompt, â€Å"You are required to spend the next year of your life either in the past or the future. What year would you travel to and why?† The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from, including â€Å"Tell us about a great recipe† and â€Å"Discuss the concept of ‘random.’† So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, it’s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If you’re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early – at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so it’s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you – just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently – junior year is ideal – and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone – like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor – who could write an additional letter of recommendation, it’s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Don’t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you don’t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university you’re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools – write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. What’s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 2400 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if you’re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: