We love to hear inspiring stories of those of you who recognize the earning power and other benefits of earning a college degree, and a new report from the non-profit College Board gives data that backs up those stories.

The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center’s study finds that four-year college graduates earned nearly $22,000 more than high school graduates and that earnings increased more rapidly from 2005 to 2008 for college grads, too.

But in addition to the financial value of a college degree, it is also interesting to see the link between a college education and health, involvement in the community, and other lifestyle choices.

Sandy Baum, the report’s co-author, says: “If you have a college degree, you are more likely to exercise, volunteer, vote and read to your kids, and less likely to be obese or smoke. Education pays out more than dollars.”

The Education Pays 2010 report, based on 2008 data, found that:

• 68 percent of college graduates were covered by employer-provided health insurance, compared to 50 percent of folks with high school diplomas

• 20 percent of four-year college graduates ages 25 to 44 were obese, compared to 34 percent among people with high school diplomas

• Smoking among bachelor’s degree recipients dropped from 14 percent to 9 percent over the last decade, while the rate for high school graduates barely declined – 29 percent to 27 percent.

• 63 percent of 25 to 34 year olds with college degrees exercise vigorously, compared to 37 percent of high school graduates

• 43 percent of bachelor’s degree recipients participated in community service activities, compared to 19 percent of high school graduates

You may feel that school commitments right now are keeping you from being exercising and earning more and even causing you to use some bad habits to survive. But this news shows that your college degree could be making you healthier, physically and financially, in the long run.

-Lori Johnston

“Survivor” is breaking this season’s contestants into two tribes – young versus old. During this week’s season premiere, it was the older team (called Espada and including contestants over 40) that got sent to tribal council in Nicaragua, sending 48-year-old Montana goat rancher Wendy away (through a graveyard, no less).

It struck me as the credits rolled that if you’re an adult student and going back to school, you may be feeling like there’s two tribes in your classes as well. While you may have been told that the younger students will respect you for your life experience and knowledge, you maybe can’t help but feel that the age gap divides you from your 20-something classmates.

But let’s think about how “Survivor” typically plays out. At one point, the tribes are going to merge. And at that point, usually the younger contestants realize they can learn from the older players because of their experience, maturity, and wisdom, and vice versa.

As host Jeff Probst told CBSNews.com: “You have young guys running around, young women running around, and they’re fit and they can do all these challenges. But can they think? And when you look at the older tribe, you see people who stop before they walk and say, ‘We should go this way.’”

In the meantime, here are some tips provided by the University College Community at Rutgers-New Brunswick for adult learners:

• Seek out organizations and honors societies with adult students participating

• Make time for special events geared toward nontraditional students

• Contribute to campus events, working alongside those younger than you, to make a difference on campus

• Participate in the classroom and in group discussions

The young versus old experiment that “Survivor” is doing also may give you some insight into how you can relate to younger classmates, too.

-Lori Johnston

With all the headlines about health care reform, one group of people really stand to benefit: those considering entering the health care profession.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about one of every four new jobs created through 2018 in the U.S. will be in the health care and social assistance field. In addition to health care reform, you have aging baby boomers to thank.

Hot career lists often include not just one, but numerous medical jobs. As Eileen Habelow with Randstad, a global staffing and human resources consulting firm, told CNN Money earlier this year: “The move toward universal health care – adding 30 to 40 million people to the ranks of the insured – will give rise to even more jobs than we thought, in government and elsewhere.”

A variety of career options in health care don’t require spending years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend medical school. Instead, some entry-level jobs, such as medical billing and coding and patient care technician, could require only a few months of training and education to get land you a position in a hospital, doctor’s office, dental office or medical firm. Institutions such as Ultimate Medical Academy, which has locations in Tampa and Clearwater in Florida, offer the specialized training to help people get quickly into one of these fast-growing careers.

Which jobs have some of the highest growth potential?

Dental assistants are expected to be the one of the fastest-growing occupations in the U.S., from 2008-2018, with a projected 36 percent spike in jobs, according to government data. As in other areas of medicine, the focus on preventative care is attributing to the surge in jobs.

If the idea of being a medical assistant is appealing, you’re on a good path to another area where job growth is expected to be faster than average – 39 percent from 2008-2018.

When you’ve gotten a prescription filled recently, did you notice the demand for people working behind the pharmacy counter? The government projects a 25 percent increase in pharmacy technician jobs from 2008 to 2018.

These excellent job prospects can keep you focused when gaining the education and training to make a difference in the field of health care.

-Lori Johnston

You may have majored in English lit. You may not even have software programming and developing experience. But with ever-advancing technology and a single good idea, you can level the playing field and create your own smart phone applications. Check out all the places you can acquire the skills you need to cash in on the iPhone revolution.

iPhone Courses for College Students

Field Studies in iPhone Entrepreneurship at Mississippi State University
Beyond designing and creating iPhone apps, students in this course, many of whom are not computer majors, assess the market, create a business plan, conduct focus groups, and market their original apps.

iPhone (iOS) SDK Programming at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Students in this upper-level course learn and apply the design principles, tools (Xcode & Interface Builder), language (Objective-C), and object-oriented programming environment (Cocoa Touch) used in iPhone app development. Prerequisite: A course in object-oriented software development.

Mobile Application Development at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies
This course covers the design, interface building, resource management, and code elaboration aspects of mobile applications, with emphasis placed on Google’s Android platform. Students learn how to work with software and hardware tools to develop, test, and debug mobile apps.

Portable Art and Games: iPad Experimentation at Washington College
During this summer 2010 internship, students with no prior knowledge of the Apple programming environment built a modern video game, Flag Assault, which is now available on the iPad app store.

Introduction to Mobile Development at the University of Southern California
This course serves as an introduction to developing applications for the iPhone and iPod touch, culminating in a class project to design and build their own app.

iPhone Courses for Everyone

SAE Institute: iPhone 360°
iPhone 360° is the country’s first non-prerequisite course dedicated specifically to the development, distribution, and sale of Apple apps. The 12-week course focuses on the fundamentals of software programming for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Bonus: Each student gets an iPad.

University of California, Irvine Extension: Mobile Development for Apple iPhone, iPad and iTouch
This five-week programming class targets developers, testers, and business analysts and involves creating and implementing a game with a learning tool and animated user interface.

University of Houston Department of Continuing Education: iPhone Programming
This 24-hour, four-week outreach course is open to anyone interested in learning how to create iPhone apps from scratch. Successful completion of the hands-on training course confers 2.4 continuing education units (CEUs).

New Jersey Institute of Technology: iPhone & iPad Application Development
This noncredit course is open to the general public and is available in an eight-week, 100-percent online format as well as a six-week hybrid format. Course completers earn three CEUs and a certificate of completion from New Jersey Institute of Technology.

NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies: iPhone and iPad App Development
This continuing education course enables first-time programmers to learn how objects cooperate to create the interface in front of a rudimentary app, and it allows developers to build a more elaborate app behind the interface. The course may be applied toward the school’s iPhone and iPad App Development certificate program.

With the skills you’ll acquire through iPhone app development courses, you’ll be at the forefront of dynamic technology, poised to apply what you’ve learned to a career in social media, marketing, or any other field that values creativity and technical acumen.

-Robyn Tellefsen