With this bride price, I thee wed

With this bride price, I thee wedWith this bride price, I thee wedFor centuries, China has been known for its male dominant society and the preference for male babies. Today, pointing out an ironical twist that threatens to change the traditional mindset, the Wall Street Journal published a story about brides scamming their betrothed and running away with the bride price.For instance Chinas population-planning policy and preference for the male gender has led the country to a surplus of bachelors. In traditional rural China, couples are encouraged to meet and get hitched within a weeks time not exactly meeting the more loose wedding standards of the average American. Several days after the ceremony, the bride flees with no indication of where she has vanished to, and leaves behind her clothes and identity papers. She does not however leave behind her bride price The piece talks about the town of Hanzhong as an example, where this scam has left quite a few men alone. During the first two months of this year, the town of Hanzhong witnessed a record number of 11 scams that were devised to withdraw high bride prices in this area with the oversupply of available men. This local rarity has brought about much suspicion among officials. Officials feel that these runaway brides are part of a larger criminal alliance.Here in America, though, where women are finally reaching the 50% fruchtfleisch for making up the workforce, it seems like in certain fields, they continue to face inequalities. The New York Times discussed this today, saying, women continue to face inequalities in salary and access to some other resources, but, In recent years, men and women have enjoyed comparable opportunities. A study was conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress stating that there increasingly the difference in academic performance between boys and girls was getting thinner.Keeping in mind these flipsides, I ask you this Are these so-called scams conducted to prove a point? Are Chinese women tired of living in a society where men have for long been the preferred race and hence are afforded better opportunities for higher education, success and chances for suitable work? Are they ready to take on a better life and work equally alongside men in countries such as America that provides such opportunities? Does this hint at a bigger picture of migration for equality?Maybe, just maybe, with or without a recession, America mucksmuschenstill remains the land of dreams for many.-Posted by Danielle Correa, Vault Diversity Project Asst.

Science tells us how long it takes an adult to make a new friend

Science tells us how long it takes an adult to make a new friendScience tells us how long it takes an adult to make a new friendWhen you are a kid, gaining a best friend forever can happen in a single playdate. But when you grow up to be an adult, making and maintaining friendship gets harder. Suddenly, you need to compete with young babies, significant others, and fully-booked work schedules to find quality time and earn the title of friend.But how much quality time do you need before that stranger becomes your pal? Get ready to block off a good chunk of time if you want to earn the elusive title of best friend.A newstudypublished in theJournal of Social and Personal Relationships recently calculated that, on average, it takes about 50 hours of time with someone before you consider them a casual friend, 90 hours before you become real friends,and about 200 hours to become close friends.Just being around (and talking to) someone a lot doesnt equate to friendshipTo determine this, the studys author Jeffrey Hall, a communications prof at the University of Kansas, recruited adults in desperate need of friends in two experiments - people who had just moved to a new city in the past six months and college freshmen - and asked them to rate and track the degree of closenessand time spent together with a new person.Results suggest that the chance of transitioning from casual friend to friend is greater than 50% after around 80-100 hr together, the study concluded.You do not have to be chatty to gain a friend, but you do need to invest in quality time. The study found that the portion of time spent talking together, or the fact that you spent time at school or work with them, were factors unrelated to friendship closeness. Just spending time in proximity together is not enough to become friends with someone, otherwise we would all be best buddies with the coworkers who see us mora than our families.Relationships with our coworkers count as closed systems wherein membe rs have little influence on who else is included in the group, the research found. But these are not relationships of choice.On one hand it is really easy to spend a lot of time with people as they are routinely in the same place at the same time as you, Hall told Ladders. However, my study shows you can have co-workers you spend hundreds and hundreds of hours with and still not develop a friendship.You do not need to become besties with your coworkers to develop meaningful relationships with them. But for those of us hoping to make the leap from girl who I eat lunch at work with to friend I can count on in a crisis, Hall suggests that you need to take the relationship out of the workplace for it to become a friendship.The participants who did activities outside of work with someone, such as being invited to their home, were more likely to develop deeper relationships with them.If those relationships stay at work, they are unlikely to become friends, Hall told Ladders. To make close -system relationships into friendships, you have to move the relationship outside of the institutional system.

5 High-Paying Careers That Offer Student Loan Forgiveness

5 High-Paying Careers That Offer Student Loan Forgiveness5 High-Paying Careers That Offer Student Loan Forgiveness $68,300 Thats the median private sector salary of a first-year lawyer, according to U.S. News & World Report .$138,492 Thats the average cost of attending a private law school.Even though lawyers start out with a decent income and make even more money over time, it pales in comparison to the amount they pay for their degree.The same goes for several other high-paying careers, including doctors, dentists and veterinarians.Luckily, many of these successful but indebted professionals can qualify for student loan forgiveness - if they know where to look.Below are five high-paying careers that come with significant debt and some student loan forgiveness programs and loan repayment assistance programs (LRAPs) that offer financial relief.Law school typically lasts only three years, but tuition costs add up. With the average cost of a law degree well over $100, 000, many newly graduated lawyers are years away from a debt-free life.Instead of putting your whole salary toward steep loan payments, though, you could seek help from a student loan forgiveness program.If you work for a qualifying employer, such as a non-profit- or government organization, you could be eligible for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). Although the future of this program is uncertain, it currently offers total student loan discharge after 10 years of service.PSLF isnt the only option for lawyers, though. A variety of LRAPs are available across the country for people who practice law. Some are restricted to state residents, but here are three programs available nationwideFinally, lawyers should check with their law schools to learn about repayment assistance programs, such as the following twoAs you can see, each program has its own requirements. By learning these rules for eligibility, you can make professional choices that allow you to advance in your career and position yourself for student loan forgiveness.Like lawyers, doctors rack up huge bills to pay for medical school. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges , the median level of debt for new doctors is $190,000.Plus, many doctors put their loans into deferment during residency, which can cause their balance to balloon from interest.But doctors who work in public service could be eligible for PSLF after 10 years. Physicians and others who work in healthcare might qualify for three other federal loan forgiveness programsDoctors also might get help from state LRAPs. The Rhode Island Educational Loan Repayment Program for Primary Care Providers , for example, awards up to $80,000 to Rhode Island doctors who provide 32 hours of direct patient care per week.This program, like many similar LRAPs, doesnt help only primary care providers. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants also might be eligible, for instance. Whatever your specialty in the healthcare field, you could qualify for significant student loan repayment assistance after a few years of qualifying work.Because theyre health care professionals, many dentists are eligible for the same LRAPs as doctors. These programs can be a huge help, as the average dentist with student debt leaves school owing $287,331, according to the American Dental Education Association .Some states also offer programs specifically for dentists, such as the Maine Dental Education Loan Repayment Program . This program awards up to $80,000 to Maine dentists who work with underserved populations.Before you earn your way up to the average base pay for veterinarians, you might have to take on $143,758 in debt for veterinary school, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association . Whats more, 20 percent of veterinary school graduates owe more than $200,000 in student loans.Lets say this $200,000 debt has a six percent interest rate. Using a student loan calculator , we can estimate monthly payments to be $2,220 on a standard 10-year plan.But loan assistance for veterinarians can help you speed up the repayment process.The U.S. Department of Agriculture , for example, will pay $25,000 per year for three years to vets who work in underserved areas. And the North Dakota State Veterinarian Loan Repayment Program offers up to $80,000 to three vets each year who agree to work in a shortage area in North Dakota.If youre open to where you live and work, you could receive major student loan help in return. Check with your state to find student loan aid programs for people who care for animals.With pharmacists borrowing an average of $157,425 to finance their degree, according to the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy , they might need a prescription to cure their student loan debt.Along with national programs for health care providers, state programs offer grants to help pharmacists repay their student loans. The California State Loan Repayment Program , for example, aw ards $50,000 to licensed pharmacists who practice in California.Student loan repayment assistance can help pharmacists pay off their debt ahead of schedule. With an average salary of $122,230, according to the BLS , pharmacists can allocate more money toward other goals, including buying a home or saving for retirement.Although the careers on this list come with high salaries, they also go kralle in hand with significant student loan debt. With the assistance of a student loan forgiveness or repayment program, though, you could conquer your debt sooner rather than later.Search for state-based and national programs that will help you repay your loans as well as forgiveness from universities, private organizations, and employers. And if youre having trouble keeping track of all of your payments, consider taking out a consolidation loan to simplify your payments with a single monthly bill.With the national student debt crisis reaching $1.48 trillion, were all in this fight togethe r. Dont be afraid to seek assistance from a variety of sources to help you pay off your student loans.Rebecca Safier is a staff writer for Student Loan Hero covering education, careers and other personal finance topics, drawing on her experience as a teacher, tutor and college counselor.