However, there remains confusion in the minds of Texas residents as well as residents of other US States that which are the best Texas colleges in terms of acceptance rate, graduation rate, SAT & ACT Percentile, enrollment of students per year, government help, tuition and fees.

Using the internet, you can see a long list of colleges offering various degree programs in Texas. This list can go up to more than 500 colleges within the state. However, when we talk about ranking of these colleges, the criteria of different sources is different which might be confusing for most of the people. To avoid this confusion, following is the brief introduction of some best Texas colleges without the restriction of ranking.

The University of Texas – Austin

The University of Texas at Austin is a Public Research University with high 4-year graduation rate up to 53%. The tuition and fees are $9,418/31,218. Moreover, SAT and ACT percentile of this university is 1630-2020 and 25-31 respectively. However, the acceptance rate of the University of Texas at Austin is 47%.

Texas A & M University

Texas A & M University is located in highly educated town in Texas called “College Station”. With acceptance rate 69%, the university has SAT and ACT percentile 1610-1950 and 24-30. The tuition and fees of this oldest public university is 8,387/22,817. Furthermore, the university offers financial aid to students belongs to families earning $60K per year.

Rice University

Rice University is a private research university which is situated in Houston, a large City of Texas. The university is famous for its degree programs in applied sciences. The tuition and fees of Rice University are $33,771. Similarly, SAT and ACT percentile of this university is 2000-2300 and 30-34. The acceptance rate of this institution is 21%.

Texas Tech University

Lubbock which is also known as Hub City of Texas is an educational hub of the South Plains Region thanks to Texas Tech University which is situated in this city. This is also a public research university with flagship honor. With high acceptance rate up to 72%, the SAT and ACT percentile of this institute is 1470-1760 and 22-27. Tuition and fees of Texas Tech University is 6,970/14,410.

University of Texas at Dallas

With lots of multidisciplinary programs, the University of Texas at Dallas has acceptance rate 50%. Similarly, SAT and ACT percentile are 130/1370 & 25-30 respectively. The tuition and fees of this institute is 8,886/22,170. It is famous for its Tuition Promise Program which helps the poor students of Texas with scholarships and grants.

Trinity University

Trinity University is a private Masters University, situated in the second largest city of Texas “San Antonio”. With 63% acceptance rate and SAT and ACT percentile 1170/1370 and 27-31, the campus location is also a source of attraction for the students. The campus is situated on top of the hill with a beautiful overview of the entire city. The tuition and fees are $30,015.

Baylor University

This Baptist University is famous in providing affordable education by taking help from “President’s Scholarship Initiative Program”. The tuition and fees are just $29,884. The acceptance rate is 48%. The SAT and ACT percentile is 1640-1960 and 24-29.

A large number of people visit Thailand every year and it attracts everyone to come back again. The country is so beautiful and has a rich traditional history, which force people to relocate to Thailand and take up a job. However, it is not easy to find a job in Thailand. According to the law of the country, a foreigner can take a job in Thailand only if a Thai national is unable to do it. So, common jobs like store keeping and working in offices are not available for the foreigner. So, if you want to take up a job in Thailand, it can be about teaching English or any other language which Thai people cannot teach.

Native English speakers are usually preferred for teaching English in Thailand. The same is true for the other languages. If a language teacher is required in Thailand, he must be native or have high proficiency in that language. Here, we will focus on English language only, as you can find some opportunities in this regard while for another language, options are really limited. There are different kinds of schools in Thailand, so everyone has different teaching requirements.

• International schools: a large number of international schools are working in Thailand and they follow international curriculum. You can find British, Australian and American schools. International schools use English as a teaching medium and that is the reason they need all English speaking teachers. These schools offer jobs to the foreigners as well, but yet almost 50% teachers are local Thai people. These schools offer high wages, but they are present in just few big cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai. For teaching in these schools, you must have a TEFL certificate.
• Private schools: These schools are bilingual schools as students get an education in the local language and English as well. These schools are well organized and quite formal. They also offer a good salary package with their teachers. The majority of the students here will be Thai. These schools are also found only in big cities of Thailand.
• Government schools: Government schools are present in all the cities and even small towns of Thailand. The general condition of these schools is poor if we compare them with International and private schools. Some of them even don’t have basic necessities. Almost all the students in these schools are Thai and so the staff. They don’t offer good salary too, but if you want to know about the local Thai culture, they offer you the opportunity.
• Temple school: every temple in Thailand has a school attached to it. But these schools are poorly managed and have very little funds. Children, who cannot pay school fee, go to these schools. They also need TEFL certified teachers and teachers have to work here voluntarily as they have no salary to pay to teachers.

This is just the basic education structure in Thailand. Teaching in Thailand is not really easy as kids are quite clever there. If you have taken up a teaching job in Thailand, go to your class with smiling face and look smart. It will help you to attract kids and you will be able to teach them easily.

1. University of Florida

University of Florida (UF) is the top pick for students. Although it is located in Gainesville, far from all the fun and beaches, is one of the best places to live in because of the low cost of living. It was also ranked 17^th among the public schools in the US in 2011 by News and World Report. It is the oldest and largest university on the state with 16 colleges including the Levin College of Law, the Warrington College of Business Administration, the College of Fine Arts, the College of Design, Construction and Planning and with over 50, 000 students.

2. Florida State University

The university is located in Florida’s capital, Tallahassee. In 2011, News and World Report ranked FSU (Florida State University) 47^th among the public schools in the US. It is also one of the top schools for Criminology where News and World Report ranked it seventh in 2009.

 3. University of Miami

University of Miami (UM) is located to the south of Miami with five different campuses which is very much closer to the coast. UM is very proud of Leonard Miller School of Medicine which is nationally renowned as a medical research facility. Predictably, one of UM’s key subject areas is marine science.

4. University of South Florida

Founded in 1956, the University of South Florida (USF) has lived up to their motto “Truth and Wisdom.” It is located in Tampa and is very peculiar with the graduate programs offered by the College of Marine Science.

5. University of Central Florida

University of Central Florida (UCF), located in Orlando, is the home to the Burnett Honors College that provides a challenging academic program for future achievement for UCF’s most academically performing students.

6. Florida International University

FIU or Florida International University, located in Miami, is peculiar for its newly opened Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

7. Florida Atlantic University

The university is ranked as most diverse college by Diverse: Issues on Higher Education in 2012 and is home to 28 chapters of national fraternities and sororities or Greek organization. Florida Atlanctic University is located in Boca Raton.

8. Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University

Founded in 1887, FAMU is the largest historically black university in the United States by enrollment with several notable alumni including Symantec CEO John Thompson and Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose.

9. Florida Institute of Technology

It is a private research university located in Melbourne. Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) ranked 53^rd by Washington Monthly in national universities category in 2009. Despite its small size and young history, Florida Tech is consistently ranked among the best national doctoral-granting universities in the US.

 10. Barry University

Barry University is a Catholic university located in Miami Shores. It is distinct for its 14:1 student to faculty ratio.

Now, why should one learn to speak Vietnamese? Well, why not? It would help you better understand Miss Saigon because as you learn to speak the language you would also understand their culture. Also, according to Citigroup, Vietnam has one of the countries with the highest economic growth in the World since 2000, another reason why Westerners should seriously consider this language. Although many westerners still imagine Vietnam through the lens of war, it is in reality a country filled with captivating natural beauty and tranquil village life.

Today there are about 75 million people who can speak Vietnamese and approximately six billion in people in the world. As a language, Vietnamese is exceptionally flexible and lyrical. They are seriously out numbered and we don’t want their culture or their language to be buried six feet under. Here’s a little tip in learning Vietnamese.

Possess the Right Attitude

Vietnamese is completely different from the English language. Although it uses the English alphabet it still sounds different. It has a different set of grammar rules like subject-verb agreement, possessive nouns, and such. Learning Vietnamese is really challenging especially if you don’t speak any other language than your native tongue. You will be undergoing to a totally alien process.

Given the challenges of learning Vietnamese, giving up is definitely not an option. You should be patient enough to be corrected and work hard for it. There is no overnight success here. Making mistakes are as natural as blinking the eye and like any normal person you can not stop your eyes from blinking. Even if you learn the language you can’t stop from committing mistakes.

Watch Vietnamese Movies

There are a lot of things that we can get through watching movies. Watching Vietnamese movies will let you understand the culture, gestures and practices that they use. After all, movies are not all bad influence. In this fast changing world, you can not limit learning to the four corners of the school; all you need to have is the will to learn you will learn. As an old adage says, “If there is a will, there is a way.”

Interact with Vietnamese

Wentworth Miller said, “There’s so much we can’t express in our day-to-day interaction with people because it’s considered inappropriate. And acting is all about being inappropriate.” Interaction on a deeper note is actually like and examination wherein you can test your level of competence and being comfortable of the language. It is normal to be laughed at the first time you try but the only way to get a full understanding of the language is to have some kind of immersion. Learning Vietnamese through interacting with them gives you an “insider view” of their culture and society.

Learning Vietnamese would indeed be very beneficial. Not only that it will help you understand someone else’s culture but it help you realize and think of it’s impact to your lives and how easier would it get.

A teaching assistant may find a job as a private tutor in Europe, teaching corporate employees in Asia or assisting college professors with undergraduate classes.  In the U.S., teaching assistant training is not required in 49 of 50 states.  In Europe and Asia, assistants are required to have certification or award training at a minimum.

In the U.K., teaching assistants may be called educational assistants or classroom assistants.  In Scotland, they are called pupil support workers.  Work opportunities in Europe for assistants may be found in public schools, private schools or as personal tutors in homes.

In Asia, teachers’ assistants who are natural English speakers are sought after to enhance the language skills of employees in corporate offices.  These are usually private jobs that offer housing and minimal pay.

Graduate Teaching Assistants

Those who qualify as Graduate Teaching Assistants seek employment at universities in order to further their own studies.

• Have a Bachelor’s degree before acceptance
• Work at colleges and universities with undergraduate students
• Receive minimal wages, sometimes partial payment on housing and free tuition for PhD activities
• Work under strict contracts within their own country or in other nations

Generally, GTAs do not know the professor that they work for prior to accepting the position.  They may or may not have a special focus in the department for which they are hired.

Their duties include teaching small classes, presenting seminars and grading papers for the professor. Additional duties may be established prior to acceptance by the professor. Wages are always low.  Rewards of teaching and experience in another culture are high.

Teaching Assistant Job Description

With the exception of private or corporation placement, teaching assistants’ job description are uniform worldwide.

• Work under the direct supervision of a qualified teacher/professor
• Assist in the implementation of lesson plans
• Assist in student development
• Ensure a safe environment as a second set of eyes
• Assist in preparing paperwork for class use
• Assist in grading papers as assigned
• Direct reading and study groups

Regardless of the grade level, assistants are there to assist the teacher.  They are under the watch of the teacher/professor.  The teacher is responsible for the assistant’s behavior and interaction at all times.

International Teaching Assistant Jobs

Teaching assistant jobs are available for graduates of high school, undergraduates in a four-year university program and for graduates with a minimum of a bachelor’s degree.

• France classifies teaching assistants as “non-nationals” who are hired to assist in teaching other languages at the university level.  A minimum of three semesters of university level classwork must be completed.  Those with dual American-French citizenship are not eligible to work in French programs.
• New Zealand hires teaching assistants to help with native schools where teachers are minimal.  Assistants are expected to have completed the first two years of university study with excellent grades.  Contracts are for up to 8 months.  Placement is usually in secondary and elementary schools but occasionally college openings are available.
• India and China hire English speaking assistants to work with students in group settings for the skill improvement. These positions are mostly in secondary level education and often in non-typical tourist areas.  Some private tutoring placements as well as corporate opportunities may be available.
• Canada hires international students to assist in math, science and general education classes for elementary and secondary education.  Some Graduate and Undergraduate placements are available at the universities.

For those who wish to gain cultural experience in international settings, teaching assistant positions are an option for consideration.

Teaching Assistants in the U.S.

Teaching assistant positions in the U.S. are utilized in Pre-K through to high school settings.

• Are primarily part-time jobs in local school settings

• Teaching assistant salary is approximately $23,000 year depending on the district
  

• High school diplomas or GEDs are usually the only educational requirement

• No additional training or certification is mandated

• Previous employment experience with children is not needed

Teaching assistants are commonly hired by Head Start programs, Pre-K schooling centers and religious schools.  However, more school districts are hiring assistants for grades K-12.  This allows the school boards to increase class size at minimal cost.

Universities and colleges are increasingly seeking teacher assistants and tutors for undergraduate classes.  Professors’ recommendations of students is the usual route to securing these positions.  Pay is rarely above minimum wage and hours are generally less than 30 hours a week.

Summary of Teaching Assistants

Assistants in the class environment are shown benefit teachers more than students.  Recent studies in Great Britain indicate that students who have access to assistant teachers do worse in independent work than those who have no extended help.  Nevertheless, Great Britain is increasing the number of high-level teaching assistants in regular classrooms.

These assistants teach classes without the supervision of the regular teachers. Teacher’s Unions in Britain have raised concerns over this plan. They have accused the government of trying to replace qualified teachers with sham instructors. With the advent of technology replacing traditional methods of education, assistants may be the option for monitoring virtual classes.

Until income levels are raised for teaching assistants, certification or special training classes are not intended as a requirement in the U.S.  In the U.K., there are several levels of certification programs including child development and interaction classes required. Other nations require some college level completions with above average grades. Some countries offer undergraduate classes in lieu of payment.  Others provide room and board for Graduate Teaching Assistants.

The proponents of moving forward into the technological age stress the enrichment that such learning methods could produce for the students. The access to a comprehensive education for all students, ability to interact and understand the nature of a global environment and the opportunity to study scientific subjects not available in a local setting top the list of their arguments.  The International Society for Technology in Education is one group formed in 2009 that has been at the forefront of pushing for incorporation of these teaching methods.

Those who challenge the use of technology in education, are uncomfortable with the dangers vociferously exploited by the talking heads in some of the media. Are these dangers erroneous?  Of course not.  However, in the context of an educational environment, they are vastly overstated.  There are other concerns that may be more legitimate.

Examining Opposition to Technology Education

As previously stated, there are people who are opposed to including technology as a tool in educating students.  The primary concerns are couched in terms of moving too fast usually including inadequate evidence of success.

•  Limited research has been completed to support values of technology as education
• Studies done on infant learning has shown negative success
• Teachers lacking technological skills feel incompetent or ineffective to assist students
• Teachers are uncertain about methods of integrating lesson plans using new tools
• Social fear of a global world

Because the technology is moving faster than standard research techniques are able to measure for results, studies are limited by timely evaluations.  The one study repeatedly cited is that done on infants using programs such as Baby Einstein.  This study showed that infants who were subjected to auditory and visual learning through technological means lacked comprehension of age appropriate words.

Teachers who graduated five or more years ago received training in how to use basic technological structures such as Office Suite, uploading and downloading from the web, using search parameters and posting to blogs.  However, they were not taught means of incorporating the information gathered into their own lesson plans.

Some segments of society fear the basic concept of a global environment even though they already live in a global complex.  This fear is commonly grounded in an anxiety of loss of national identity.  When the social structures moved from tribal identity to national identities, this same anxiety was evident.  Conversations relating to developing a new form of identity in a global world need to include suggestions for making the transition as smooth as possible.

There is one group of psychologist researchers who have expressed concern about the lack of focus displayed by students who use virtual devices as a chief source of communication, social interaction and for study tools.  Their studies indicate that this shortened ability to focus could alter the way in which the human brain is wired to accept information.  They cite results that show lower test scores when ineffective technology is employed.

The Positive Impact of Combining Technology and Education

Never taking our eyes off the ultimate goal of grooming students for their future, emerging technologies in education can accelerate closing the gap in preparedness.

• Ability to teach greater number of students remotely
• Increases cultural awareness and respect for diversity
• Access to classes not available in the local setting
• Availability to greater variety of teaching styles and strategies

Creating a level playing field for students in rural districts through the integration of technology and education opens doors to jobs of the future for greater numbers of citizens.  Through the use of live stream classrooms, Skype or Blackboard systems, rural school districts are able to present classes that are cost prohibitive for their individual districts.

This allows students in smaller communities to compete for seats at Harvard, Yale or Temple that were previously closed to them.  Classes in advanced mathematics, science and sociology can be offered when local budgets cannot afford them independently.

By increasing direct one-on-one contact with people in other cultures students discover that they agree with other nationalities more than they anticipated.  With respect comes tolerance of other ways of life and students give validity and value to other cultural norms.  In a global environment, diversity is inevitable and the ability to work cohesively in a cross-culture situation is mandatory.

The Importance of Technology Education for Tomorrow’s Environment

Regardless of hesitation to include technology in the educational programs, the march toward a future in a virtual environment continues. Students have access to the internet.  If they are not online at home, they are connected by some other means.

Using modern resources as part of a deliberate educational scheme is important to the student’s futures for several reasons.

• Properly prepared for global work environment
• Developing skills underutilized by previous generations
• Learning modified methods of achieving teamwork results
• Discovering that other cultural modes are more similar than different

Today’s students do not share the same past as the adults who are teaching them. Their work environment in the future will depend on technological developments.  The importance of technology in education is directly related to the preparedness goals set in a schools’ curriculum now.

Simply including devices such as computers, iPads, Smartphones and virtual reality games in a program is insufficient to raise the standards of learning. Teachers must relearn skills and seek out technology in education articles in order to be effective in guiding students toward appropriate resources.

Summary of Technology in Education

The goal of educating students is to prepare them to adequately compete in the world that they will enter into as adults.  The world of technology is obviously one that will await them.  It is necessary for schools to teach students the means to comprehend virtual data and differentiate between the types of information gathered.

Psychologists who fear that our brains will be rewired in an unfamiliar way may be correct. But, that does not necessarily mean that it is a negative outcome. Human processing ability has been altered many times as we moved from clobbering animals with sticks to raising animals for food.  Attention spans may only need to be brief in order to complete tasks and multitasking necessary to hold a job.

If those who wish to cut school costs become the predominate voices, new methods of educating students must be implemented.  Education plans with virtual classrooms where students logon from their homes may become inevitable.  It is possible that in the next few years scheduled brick-and-mortar classes will replace daily attendance to monthly in-person appearances.

That said, when it comes to the best universities in the world, the following five can still be of use to both science and non-science majors.

1) California Institute of Technology

Location: Pasadena, California, United States

Best Curriculums: Engineering and Physical Sciences

Why it is the Best: This University has been acting as the manager for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1936. Caltech is also known as one of the top 10 universities in the world because it offers the most robust science curriculums. It is a private university that attracts the best and brightest students in the arena of engineering and the traditional sciences.

History and Other Details: Caltech was founded in 1891 as a prep school. Eventually, the 124 acre campus began to attract a number of notable scientists, and was finally converted to a private university in 1921. While Caltech is relatively small, 31 alumni students and professors of this university have won Nobel prizes. Aside from that, this university routinely manages billions of dollars in research grants with which it pioneers a number of advances in space and medical sciences.

2) Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States

Best Curriculums: Since eight US presidents graduated from Harvard University, it can be said that this campus is best for law and political science majors. That said, this university also has fairly robust curriculums in psychology and the core sciences.

Why it is the Best: When it comes to the top world universities, Harvard is known for providing a liberal atmosphere that promotes diverse thinking and innovation.

History and Other Details: Harvard was founded in 1636, and is the oldest college in the United States. It is often featured in movies and has a reputation for excellence and character throughout the world. At the current time, Harvard professors are some of the leading thinkers that shape our modern world. This includes EO Wilson (biology), Steven Pinker (biology), Michael O Rabin (computer science), Joseph Nye (political science), and Lisa Randall (physics).  Needless to say, alumni members such as John F Kennedy, Ban Ki Moon, Felipe Calderon, Henry David Thoreau, Mark Zuckerberg, and J. Robert Oppenheimer lend credibility to this institutions claim of diversity, combined with Ivy League excellence.

3)  University of Cambridge

Location: Cambridge, United Kingdom

Best Curriculums: Math and Physics

Why it is the Best: Since 65 graduates won Nobel prizes, they hold the rank as the global leader for receiving this prize. University of Cambridge is also known for being one of the best colleges for women to attend. Even though most majors excel in math and physics, this college is also famous for its publications and focus on the humanities and arts.

History and Other Details: When it comes to shaping the direction of our world today, Cambridge was home to two of the greatest thinkers in the history of science. The first was Sir Isaac Newton, who gave us the laws of gravity and several other underpinnings of modern physics. In a similar way, Sir. Francis Bacon, the inventor of scientific methods truly changed the way we think about and see the world. No matter whether you are talking about literature, medicine, or relationships, the scientific method has permeated our culture and way of life.  Therefore, when it comes to searching for the best university in the world, Cambridge truly deserves this honor– based on the way its alumni have shaped human thought processes.

4) University of Oxford

Location: Oxford, United Kingdom

Best Curriculums: Politics, sciences, and English.

Why it is the Best: Oxford is one of the top ten universities in the world because it is known for offering a wide range of high quality degrees and curriculums. It also sponsors the Rhodes scholarship, which is highly coveted worldwide by those who would not be able to afford attending Oxford any other way.

History and Other Details: Even though there is no exact date for the foundation of Oxford University, it is thought to be the second oldest university in the modern world. It seems to have its beginnings in 1096 AD. In 1209, there was a dispute within the college, and some professors from Oxford founded Cambridge University. To this day, the two universities have many connections. Across time, Oxford served as the starting point for 26 prime ministers including Margaret Thatcher. Indira Gandhi and Bill Clinton also attended Oxford University.

5)  Leland Stanford Junior University

Location: Stanford, California, United States

Best Curriculums: Computer engineering and business. They also have robust humanities, law, and social science curriculums.

Why it is the Best: Stanford University is a private college that offers a wide range of programs that helped a number of graduates reshape our world. This includes those who developed and continue to build the Google network. At the current time, 19 faculty members are former Nobel prize winners. Graduates from this college have gone on to develop businesses that contribute approximately 2.7 trillion dollars each year to the global economy.

History and Other Details: Stanford was founded in 1891 by former California governor Leland Standford. This 8180 acre campus was built in memory of his son, who died of typhus shortly before his 16th birthday. Over the years, Stanford has attracted some of the best and brightest minds that went on to form the Silicon Valley computer engineering complex. It also houses a linear particle accelerator as well as the one of the first computers (ARPANET) that served as primary nodes for the internet.