Try these money saving tips:

Be a Joiner. Not only will you make friends by joining a club, but you may also score some free refreshments at meetings.

Cruise the Campus Events. Instead of splurging at off-campus theaters and concert halls, check out the offerings around the quad.

Use that Meal Plan. Skip the take-out pizza and Chinese food and head over to the dining hall. Many colleges charge you for a meal plan whether you use it or not. Might as well get your money’s worth.

Stick to a Budget. Figure out how much money you have for weekly expenses. Then plan out how much you would like to spend for the week. Write down how much you actually spend.

Hitch a Ride. Check out campus ride boards to find out if you can catch a ride with someone going your way for the holidays.

Buy Used Books. Used books can cost half as much as new ones and still meet course requirements. Look for deals at the campus bookstore, and online at www.eCampus.com and www.bookcentral.com

Don’t be a Slave to the ATM. Try limiting yourself to bi-weekly or even monthly withdrawals.

Don’t Double Up in Your Double. Contact your roommate before school starts to see who will bring what. No need to splurge on two stereos, two TVs, and two DVD players.

Source: careersandcolleges.com

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 29, 2007 at 5:38 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Armed with a credit card his freshman year at Loyola University, Jason Power took full advantage of one of his favorite cities—Chicago. There were concerts and plays, movies and restaurants, and Power decided to enjoy it all.

“I guess I spent a lot of money on entertainment,” he recalls. “I really enjoyed eating out at good sushi restaurants. I thought it was OK to indulge yourself.”

But when the credit card bills started rolling in, things got a little depressing. It wasn’t long before Jason reached his credit limit of $500, and more of his work-study job salary started going toward monthly payments. Before he knew it, things had begun to snowball, and he was using his card to get cash and pay for groceries. Sometimes his checks would bounce, and when he didn’t have money for his phone bill, he borrowed from friends.

Lucky for Jason, a generous uncle came to the rescue with a big college graduation check, covering his debts and helping him start fresh. After landing a job with a high-tech firm in New York City, Jason became a lot more responsible about his financial habits.

“I was pretty haphazard about money,” he admits, “but now I make sure I have money allotted for everything I need. When I use my credit card, I pay the debt quickly.”

Although Jason learned the hard way, today’s students appear to be increasingly more aware of financial matters. A recent survey of 500 students by Netbank (www.netbank.com), an Internet-based financial institution, found that 95 percent grade themselves an “A” or “B” when it comes to personal banking habits.

“College marks the time in life when many young adults begin making independent financial decisions,” said Jerry McCoy, chief marketing executive, NetBank, Inc. “The survey results indicate that today’s college students realize how wise banking habits can help maximize their money.”

Take Charge of Credit
Jason is living proof that credit cards can be one of the biggest sources of financial trouble for college students. Soon after you leave home and set up a place of your own, credit card offers will probably start filling your mailbox. Many credit companies set up tables in student centers, and give away free water bottles, T-shirts, and mouse pads to encourage you to sign up. But let’s face it: You will need a credit card in the real world. They’re a convenient way to make purchases, and they can help you keep track of your spending by detailing your purchases on monthly statements. Even more importantly, using a credit card lets you build a good credit rating, which is vital when you want need a loan in the future to buy a car or a house.

The trouble with credit cards comes when you make too many purchases and can’t pay your bill. Keep these facts in mind:
• Credit is not free money. Every purchase you make with a credit card is a loan. You have to pay it all back—plus if you don’t pay the bill on time, you can pay a high amount in interest (sometimes as high as 20 percent) on the unpaid portion of your bill. Plus, many credit cards charge an annual fee and fees for late payments.
• Mistakes don’t go away. If you miss a payment, a negative mark will appear on your credit rating—that’s your financial report card. It could haunt you for years and keep you from getting a car loan or a home mortgage. Many employers and landlords check your credit report, too, before offering you a job or an apartment.
• Some cards offer better deals than others. Credit card companies will try to get you to sign up with a “teaser” rate, which can even be as low as 0 percent. But those rates typically expire after several months and then you pay much higher interest. The key is to always read the fine print of the credit card contracts.
• Build smart spending habits. Don’t charge every slice of pizza to your card. You’ll regret it later if you have to take a second job to pay off your college pizza debt. Try to limit your credit card use to major purchases.

Kill Bills: Budgeting Basics
Keeping up with credit card payments requires financial discipline, and that’s exactly what a budget is designed to give you. A budget is your plan for saving and spending money. The first step is to create a budget worksheet. Write down what funds you have coming in and track what expenses you have going out. Free budget worksheets are available online. List the funds you have coming in as your “income,” which may include money from jobs, parents, loans, and scholarships. “Expenses” should include everything you spend money on—rent, laundry, cell phone bill, car, movies, CDs, books, and loan payments.

Typically, people follow a weekly or monthly budget. The goal is to keep the amount of your overall income higher than you’re the total of your expenses. To make this work, you may have to make some painful spending decisions—crossing out items on your expenses that you can live without. Even cutting a frappuccino or two from your weekly habit can add up to big savings. Usually, just being more aware of your expenses will help you manage your money more wisely.

The most ideal situation is to have some money left over from your income to put toward a savings account. Think of your savings account as a reserve of cash for emergencies and future expenses. Financial experts often recommend that you put at least 10 percent of your income into savings.

The Power of Savings
Socking away a regular 10 percent of your income can be difficult, but at least you’re saving for the future. If you have a job, find out if you can have part of your paycheck directly deposited into your savings account. You can usually get started with $50 or less, and it’s easy to withdraw money when you need it with an ATM card. (Just be aware of those ATM fees!) Plus, your money will earn interest, although interest rates average only about a half of a percent right now. In addition to a savings account, you’ll probably want to open a checking account if you haven’t already. For many high school graduates, a checking account is even more practical.

“Young people need to know how to handle a checking account before they go off to college,” advises Janet Bodnar, who writes the “Money-Smart Kids” column for Kiplingers.com. “A lot of adults confess that they ran into trouble in college because they were clueless about check registers or balancing their accounts. [Before you leave] high school is a good time to learn.” A checking account is a convenient way to make purchases without carrying cash. It’s a safe way to send money by mail, and it gives you an accurate record (both from bank statements and your own checkbook records) of exactly where your money is going.

Checking account fees vary, but some institutions, such as U.S. Bank, offer students checking with no minimum balance and no monthly fees. While they typically earn less interest than savings accounts, checking accounts will still earn you some interest—about .3%. The key is to shop around for the best deal, and make sure you have a checking account that meets your needs.

Making Ends Meet
Students are often strapped for cash and are always thinking of ways to get money and save money. Here are a few tips:
• Always look for scholarships. “We encourage students to find as much free money as possible using scholarships and grants,” says Jerry Case, the marketing manager at NextStudent, Inc. (www.nextstudent.com) “The next options are the low-cost, federal loans.” You can keep up your hunt for college dollars by visiting www.careersandcolleges.com.
• Get a job. Alysha Teta, a current student at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island, recommends getting a job. “When you go home on breaks, work,” she says. “And, if you think you can handle a part time job while at school, take advantage of it. See if you can apply for a “work-study” job on campus. But, if a job at school interferes with school work, back off.”
• Take advantage of student perks. College students frequently get discounts on entertainment, food, books, and more with their student ID. Also, colleges serve a lot of freebies from movies to concerts to parties with free food.

Source: careersandcolleges.com

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 29, 2007 at 5:33 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Each year, more than eight million students receive some form of federal financial aid. To get your share, you must first file the federal government’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA. It determines eligibility for all federal aid programs, from Pell Grants to student loans. It determines eligibility for most state and collegiate-based aid programs. And, it even indirectly determines eligibility for some merit-based aid, since many schools reserve their own (limited) scholarships for students who don’t qualify for need-based funds.

How much you’re eligible for will depend on the financial and personal information you provide on the FAFSA. Federal processors evaluate the data, determine your family’s ability to pay, and then tell you how much you and your family should contribute toward college (or your Expected Family Contribution).

The form can be intimidating, but if you take it step-by-step, it’s worth the effort to fill it out. And don’t forget, it’s free to file so you have nothing to lose.

Getting Started
You can pick up a FAFSA in your guidance office by mid-November (or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov), however, you can’t file it until January 1 of the year in which you plan to start college (that’s January 1, 2005, for those who hope to start college in September, 2005). You should, however, file as soon after that date as possible since a great deal of financial aid is delivered on a first-come, first-served basis. Money is awarded until it runs out; late filers get nothing.

Unfortunately, many students miss out on financial aid opportunities because they fail to meet the filing deadlines. The best financial aid awards (those heavy on grants and lighter on loans) are generally given to the earliest applicants.

Gather Your Papers
To make sure you’re one of the early birds who receives the most aid possible, work with your parents to start collecting the necessary financial records over the winter holidays. To get organized, you might try putting your paperwork and information into two folders:

Folder 1: Income and Expense Information
All income and expense data come from the prior year (2004 for the 2005/2006 award year). Here’s the financial information you’ll need to collect:

* Taxable income for both parents and student, including wages, pensions, capital gains, interest, dividends, annuities, unemployment compensation, alimony received, rent collected, and business income.
* Non-taxable income for both parents and student including workers’ compensation, welfare benefits (excluding food stamps), housing and food allowances, child support received, untaxed Social Security benefits, untaxed income from pensions and annuities, veterans’ non-education benefits, tax-exempt interest income, deductible payments made to a retirement plan (such as an IRA or Keogh), and earned income credit.
* Expenses such as U.S. income taxes paid and child support paid.

Folder 2: Asset Information

* The value of cash, savings, and checking accounts held under the names of parents and the student.
* Net worth of all the parents’ and student’s investments (except for retirement plans), including stocks, bonds, CDs, money market funds, mutual funds, commodities, trust funds, Education IRAs, state-based college savings plans (except prepaid tuition plans) and real estate holdings (rental property and second homes). You need not include the equity in your family’s primary residence.

The net worth of any family business and/or farm (excluding farms that are principal residences).
You must report the net worth of all these assets as of the date you sign the form, so before you record any totals, be sure your family pays off all its bills and pays down any consumer debt, like credit card balances.

Be Accurate
In completing the FAFSA, be as accurate as you can. Mistakes will cause your application to be returned. These errors may include giving monthly amounts instead of yearly amounts, writing in the margins, checking the ovals (rather than filling them in).

If a question or two seems confusing, call the federal student aid hot line at 1-800-4-FED-AID, or ask a guidance counselor or financial aid administrator. Many colleges now have toll-free numbers for exactly that purpose. If a question still proves troublesome, explain your problem in a letter to the school’s financial aid administrator. Note: You’re less likely to make mistakes if you apply online. FAFSA on the Web includes worksheets, online help, detailed instructions, and a built-in editing tool that helps prevent errors and reduces rejections.

Once you’ve gathered all your financial data, the FAFSA is pretty straightforward. Answer each question unless the FAFSA specifically tells you it’s a step you can skip. Let’s review each section:

1. Student Name, Rank, and Serial Number
Questions 1 to 17 cover the personal basics: The student’s name, e-mail address, permanent address, Social Security number, date of birth, permanent phone number, driver’s license number, citizenship status, and marital status.
2. Student Background
Questions 18 to 31 deal mostly with:
* The student’s educational plans.
* The highest level of education completed by the student’s mother and father.
* The student’s state of legal residence.
* The types of aid for which he or she wants to be considered (for example, loans and/or work-study). To maximize your chances for receiving aid, you should indicate a willingness to accept loans and work-study. You can always change your mind later.
* Registration for the Selective Service (military). If you’re male, age 18-25, you may use this section to register. (In most instances, male students must be registered to receive federal student aid.)
* Drug offenses. If you’ve never been convicted of a drug offense, simply check the “No” box and move on. If, however, you do have a past drug-related conviction, you may be ineligible for federal student aid.
3. Student Income and Assets
The first three questions (32-34) ask about your tax filing status—which tax return you will file, and whether you have already completed this tax return. If at all possible, complete your return before you tackle this part of the FAFSA. Much of the information is the same. For example, your adjusted gross income, U.S. income tax paid, and number of exemptions. The FAFSA even gives you the exact 1040 line reference numbers.

Questions 35 through 47 cover student income and assets. Dependent students may find that some of these income and asset questions do not apply. In this case, enter “0.” An unanswered question can get your FAFSA returned with a “request for additional information.’’ This will hold up the processing of your form and could jeopardize the amount of funding you will receive.
4. Dependent vs. Independent
Questions 48 to 54 address the student’s dependency status. Students who meet one of these criteria may skip Step 4—you’re an “independent” student and your eligibility for financial aid will be determined without consideration of your parents’ income and assets.
You’re independent if you are:
* 24 years old by December 31 of the award year.
* A graduate or professional student during the award year.
* Married (or separated).
* A parent or have other dependents who currently receive more than half their support from you.
* An orphan or a ward of the court.
* A veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces.
As we move further away from the traditional “Ozzie and Harriet” families of the 1950s, schools may determine dependent status based on “unusual” living circumstances—being raised by grandparents, or by same-sex parents, unwed parents, or common-law parents. Ask your school if you are unsure of your own “dependency” status.
5. Parents’ Personal Data
In questions 55 through 69, dependent students must provide information about their parents’ marital status, Social Security numbers, number of household members (including the number who will be enrolled in college at least half time), state of legal residence, and the age of the older parent. Each of these elements affects the calculation for your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), so answer the questions carefully. For example:
* Older parents are expected to contribute less since they are closer to retirement.
* Parental contribution is divided by the number of students in college.
* If the parents are divorced or separated, include only the financial data on the parent with whom the student lives for the greater part of the 12 months preceding the date of the application. For example, if that parent has remarried, the student must include that stepparent’s income and asset data as well. Note: Some colleges request information on the “other” natural parent and may expect a contribution from that parent as well.
6. Parents’ Tax Filing Status
The next three questions ask you about your parents’ tax filing status. Again, try to complete tax returns before you tackle the FAFSA. Most colleges will eventually ask to see a copy of your family’s signed tax return, and your FAFSA numbers must come within a $400 tolerance range. If you are outside this range, the college will ask you to make corrections to your form. Again, this could put you at serious risk for losing valuable funding.

The FAFSA also asks whether you are eligible to file a 1040A or 1040EZ (even if you filed a regular 1040). If you and your parents can answer “yes” to this question and your annual incomes are below $50,000, your family’s assets will be excluded from consideration entirely.
7. Parents’ Income and Assets
Questions 73 through 83 cover parental income and assets. It is important to indicate whether earned income is from two workers or only one. Where there are two workers, the family receives an additional allowance that helps increase the applicant’s eligibility for aid. This allowance also applies to a single parent household when that parent has earnings from work.

The EFC calculation is based primarily on the family’s adjusted gross income (AGI), however, it is designed to reflect the financial strength of the household, so it counts untaxed income, as well. Worksheets A and B (Questions 78 and 79) are used to collect this data, while Worksheet C (Question 80) covers items that families may exclude from income, for example, child support paid, taxable work-study earnings, scholarship aid that was included with AGI, Hope Tax Credits, and Lifetime Learning Credits.

Remember to be truthful. The FAFSA now collects your parents’ Social Security numbers to make it easier for the Department of Education to verify income reported on the FAFSA with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Many people think the “net worth” of their assets will eliminate them from aid consideration. Parents, however, receive an allowance to shelter some of their assets and even then they must contribute only a small percentage of the balance; less than six percent.
8. Independent Students Only
Independent students must answer a couple of quick questions about the number of people in their household and the number of household members who will be enrolled as college students during the upcoming academic year. Answers to these questions affect your EFC.
9. List your colleges
Good news: You fill out the FAFSA only once regardless of how many colleges you’re considering. Questions 86 through 97 ask students to list the colleges that are to receive the processed data and indicate their housing plans at each. (Do you intend to live on-campus, off-campus, or with parent?) This helps aid administrators better determine their cost of attendance.

To make sure your data goes to the correct school, record each school’s federal school code. You’ll find these codes online (www.fafsa.ed.gov) or in your high school guidance office.

If you cannot locate the correct school code, be careful to include the school’s complete name, address, city, state, and zip. (The processor won’t know whether “U. of M.” refers to the University of Michigan or the University of Maryland.)
10. Sign and Date The Form
Finally, students (and parents) must sign and date the form. In doing so, they certify that (if requested) they will provide information (for example, a copy of their tax return) to verify any recorded data.They also declare that they are not in default on any federal student loans and promise to use any federal student aid for educational purposes only.

If the form was completed by someone outside your immediate family, that person must sign and date the form, as well. There is nothing wrong with getting help with your FAFSA, however, the Department of Education wants to know—that way it can clear up innocent misunderstandings, as well as detect patterns of fraud.

Note: Never mail your tax return with your FAFSA. Processing centers are only interested in the financial data you provide on your FAFSA. They have paper shredders that destroy any income tax returns included in the envelope. Also, don’t mail your tax return to a college or university unless requested.

What Happens Next?

Three to four weeks after families mail in their FAFSA, they will receive a multi-part document called a Student Aid Report (SAR). If you recorded an e-mail address on your paper FAFSA or you filed your FAFSA online, you will receive an e-mail that links you to your SAR online.

The SAR lists all the information you included on your aid application and tells you how much money you’ll be expected to contribute to college costs. This is your EFC (Expected Family Contribution). The information will also be sent electronically to the schools you designate and your home state’s scholarship agency (as well as the state agency of every school on your list).

Review your SAR very carefully. If there are any mistakes (for instance, if a $500 has become a $5,000) send the correction back to the processor immediately. It is now up to the college financial aid administrator to take all this information, determine your eligibility for student aid, and develop your financial aid package.

Anna Leider is the author of Don’t Miss Out: The Ambitious Student’s Guide to Financial Aid; www.octameron.com.

Source: careersandcolleges.com

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 28, 2007 at 9:36 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

Did you know . . .
• Cooperative education has been around for a long time, but many high school counselors are only moderately familiar with the concept.
• Students participating in cooperative education programs can still graduate from college in four to four-and-a-half years.
• Cooperative education programs cover all academic disciplines—from engineering and science to writing and editing.
• Co-op earnings range from $3,000 to $15,000 a year while enrolled in college.
• Approximately 80 of the top 100 companies among the Fortune 500 employ co-op students.
• Co-op can lead to full-time professional employment before college graduation, and many students who engage in co-op during college graduate debt-free.

Reality check: college costs a bundle. Most academic institutions must increase tuition between 2% and 10% each year just to pay bills and keep their heads above water. This means that students approaching the start of their college careers often have a tough choice to make—take out more student loans, thus falling deeper into debt even before school begins, attempt to obtain financial aid in time before the semester or term starts, or work a few years to earn enough money to get through their first semesters of college. Trying to chart a course to help fund your college career can be a daunting endeavor.

But for those who hang tough and feel that there must be a better way out there to pay for school, the answer is simple: professional cooperative education. You can earn enough money during your terms away from school throughout college to pay tuition and room and board and still graduate debt-free. So what will it be? The debilitating dangers of student loans, the uncertainty of financial aid, or a degree paid for through professional work experience that can jump-start your first job and help you develop a career network?

A 2003 survey of high school counselors and associated research conducted by the National Commission for Cooperative Education (NCCE, www.co-op.edu)—a premier organization dedicated to the advancement of the highest-quality college-level cooperative education programs in the U.S.—showed that while two-thirds of counselors responding to the 2003-2004 survey could identify one or more benefits of co-op, the vast majority wanted more information concerning the advantages. It’s clear that people learn information more easily when they can immediately apply their learning to an actual activity.

Approximately 50,000 employers in the U.S. participate in cooperative education. In addition, more than 60% of students who participate in co-op accept permanent jobs from their co-op employers, and more than 95% of students who engage in co-op obtain employment immediately upon graduation. Corporations find that cooperative education schools fill important needs by identifying and providing talented professionals before they graduate from college, which is critical in a tight, highly competitive economy. Co-op programs help companies because they spend less time and money training individuals for assignments, especially when students take classroom theories and apply them immediately and directly to a co-op position.

Concrete evidence Mike Eagle, who is a retired vice president of manufacturing for Eli Lilly & Company in Indianapolis, Indiana and chair of the Kettering University Board of Trustees in Flint, Michigan, believes that his Kettering co-op gave him the start in his career that he needed to succeed. “The adjustment from high school senior to college freshman can be difficult for many,” he explains. “Having a co-op experience mixed in with the academic work in my freshman year provided an opportunity to learn from some experienced and supportive colleagues in the workplace. There is no doubt in my mind that the two-and-a-half years of practical experience gained concurrent with my degree gave me a head start in my career. As I began full-time work, I was more mature, more experienced, and already respected for my accomplishments in co-op work assignments. I would not do it differently if I was starting over.”

Current students in cooperative work assignments echo Eagle’s experience. Sueann Wickstrom, a student majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Kettering, co-ops at Harley-Davidson Motor Co. in Milwaukee. “I am gaining hands-on engineering experiences related to my desired focus [acoustics] in the NVH [Noise, Vibration, and Harshness] Department,” she says. “Being a Harley-Davidson cooperative education student has given me the opportunity to gain experience in a technologically advanced NVH lab.”

Dozens of cooperative schools
The list of cooperative education schools in the U.S. continues to grow. Some of them include Kettering University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Antioch College, Drexel University, Georgia Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan-Dearborn, Rochester Institute of Technology, Johnson & Wales University, Northeastern University, the University of Cincinnati, Pace University, and the University of Louisville. Many students participating in co-op at these and other schools receive excellent wages, stipends for travel, and assistance with locating housing during their co-op term. Faculty and staff at these institutions also have years of industry experience as well as lasting relationships with American companies. Corporations seek out these faculty and staff to aid in developing new products, conduct sponsored research, and assist in the future development of the organization. In return, many schools gain additional cooperative education opportunities with companies as the institutions build their stable of professional positions for students.

Co-op enhances student and employer outcomes
The NCCE also reports that students who engage in cooperative education gain a number of advantages. These include:
• the ability to integrate classroom theory with workplace practice;
• clarity about academic goals;
• strong academic motivation;
• technological knowledge through the use of state-of-the-art equipment;
• understanding of workplace cultures;
• maturity, including an understanding of their strengths and weaknesses;
• productive and responsible citizenship skills.

Employers who hire cooperative education students gain, too. Advantages include:
• employing well-prepared, short-term employees;
• increased staff diversity;
• flexibility in addressing human resource needs;
• access to candidates with needed skills and backgrounds;
• partnerships with schools and opportunites to provide input on quality and relevancy of school curricula;
• cost-effective productivity.

Other advantages of cooperative education
In a tight economy, co-op can mean the difference between landing a job after graduation or a career in a chosen field of study. In an environment where students find themselves at college for more than four years working toward their degree, gaining relevant, paid professional experience during this time means that students are less likely to drop out of college altogether. Instead, they finish their degrees and graduate with up to two or three years of professional experience, an attribute that employers seek yet one that students struggle to fulfill while enrolled at schools that don’t participate in cooperative education programs.

Finding the right school—one that offers the program you want at a price you and your family can afford—can be a real challenge. But adding cooperative education into the mix can give you a definite advantage.

Gary J. Erwin is Director of Publications and Communications and a lecturer of Communications at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the National Commission for Cooperative Education publication The Best of Co-op (2003-2004 edition), from which much of the research information in this article was derived.

Source: careersandcolleges.com

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 25, 2007 at 10:38 AM | Leave a Comment (0)

CollegeRecruiter.com pointed out an interesting aspect of MonsterTrak’s 2006 study of college graduates. Now while it comes as no surprise that modern college grads are moving back home in droves, it may be as shocking to you as it was to me to learn that nearly HALF planned to return to their parents’ houses after graduation. This is 4percent more than the number of 2005 grads who said they’re still living at home.

The study indicated that a major reason grads were shacking up with Mom and Dad was limited financial resources. Forty-seven percent of 2006 grads said they would leave school with more than $10,000 in student-loan debt, including 22 percent who said their student loan debt would end up exceeding $25,000. These are certainly hard burdens to bear for twenty-somethings just getting started on a career path.

But I can’t help thinking that members of Generation X, who graduated between eight and twenty years ago, faced many of the same financial limitations. Among my circle of friends, nearly all of us left college with some amount of debt, and most of us earned less than $30K a year in our first jobs. There was, however, a different mindset when it came to moving back home – as in, it wasn’t done. Despite the fact that I had to share my one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan with a complete stranger, returning to the safe haven of my childhood home was unthinkable to me. Moving in with my parents would have negated the whole point of college as a launch pad into the real world, and I’d have to admit at least a tiny bit of failure.

In addition to the very real financial hurdles, I do think there is a certain complacency among today’s grads. They grew up feeling cherished and supported by their parents, and they’re very close to them. Moving back home makes things easier, delays the traumatic transition to making their own way in life, and there’s no good reason for them not to do it. Many Generation Y parents, bemoaning their empty nests, are only too happy to open their homes and wallets to their twenty-somethings, regardless of what that means for their children’s adult development. But you have to wonder. College has already extended adolescence into the early twenties. Will this new trend mean that college grads aren’t forced to take on adult responsibilities until they’re pushing 30?

Alexandra Levit
http://www.getthejob.com/Community/blogs/

This Blogswap article is courtesy of Recruiting.com and CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students and recent graduates who are searching for internships and entry level jobs.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 21, 2007 at 7:42 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Christopher Penn of FinancialAidPodcast.com just sent me a link to his "will you be my friend" YouTube video through Facebook. Christopher contributes to this blog and has some very good advice for students and recent graduates. But that's not what prompted this blog entry. What compelled me to write this entry was the very clever guerilla marketing strategy employed by Christopher. A tip of my hat to you, Christopher. You asked me to share your video and share it I will.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 19, 2007 at 5:54 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

Financial Aid can be a terribly confusing alphabet soup and with so many places offering aid it's so easy to miss out on a great opportunity. There are plenty of sources to tap in your search for the financial aid you need. Generally they will cost 39¢, the cost of a stamp to mail your entry into the contest organizers. To find financial aid you should check locally, nationally, governmentally, and institutionally to see what you qualify for.

There are plenty of Local Sources of financial aid. Your temple, local shops, church, school, or other community organization that you are involved with may have a scholarship for you! At the Bronx High School of Science alone there are three graduation awards along with monies for working in certain offices. Ask someone who would know about these sorts of things, these are hardest to find. There are no postings for these scholarship opportunities online (usually) but can be quite plentiful. Have your parents check at work and ask your pastor or rabbi or other cleric. It's always worth a shot.

It's easiest and hardest to win scholarships from National Sources; I applied for over 10 national awards and didn't win one. But for my $3.90 it was worth the shot. The Discover Card Tribute Awards for High School Juniors (www.aasa.org) is one of the biggest scholarship awards and missed by people who do not look for financial aid until their senior year of high school. These are private funds given by large or national companies/organizations. There are many books out there that you can purchase that offer some very specific scholarship information; it is worth it if you can find a targeted book (like those for B-students or student-athletes). Check collegeboard.com and fastweb.com for two great search engines of scholarships.

I lied, it's really easiest to get financial aid from Federal/State Sources but they require filing of special forms that are the FAFSA (explained later) and additional forms that vary by state. The biggest source of money for college is the national government. Money is usually for the poorest families, so it is quite possible that those of us with family incomes of over $60-80,000 will miss out on this source of loans and grants. However, this is not a steadfast rule, having another sibling in college will bring down your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) which describes how much the government says you should be able to pay for college. The FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) is required by most schools to determine need based financial aid.

And then there is of course Institutional Sources. Many institutions of Higher Education have their own sources of aid some is merit based for achievement in high school (academically, sports, musical ability, etc...) and some give their own need based financial aid. Find out about school's individualized financial aid program if it is an issue before you should apply. Some schools offer money for specific programs. Clark University in Worcester, MA for example will give more money to academically talented students interested in the sciences rather than the humanities or another program. Your financial aid counselor at the university is your friend and if you call, they will usually try to work with you to help cover the costs associated with college.

As they say however, don't let the cost of a school deter you... financial aid is a definite possibility for all students not just poor ones. Students should at least apply to all schools that they are interested in. They should try to get funding from private sources and call up the financial aid office of the school that they are interested in attending if they need more aid.

Copyright: Joshua is a freelancer and a student at Binghamton University, State University of New York. He is pursuing majors in Finance, Human Development, and Accounting. Joshua's work has been published in many online blogs, web sites and print journals.

Posted by Shawn Augustson, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 13, 2007 at 1:06 PM | Leave a Comment (0)

The College Board recently announced that the average tuition increases outstripped inflation "only" by 50 percent this year, which is actually down from the even more ridiculous excesses seen earlier in the decade. For 2006, the average cost of attending college increased by 6.3 percent at state institutions and 5.9 percent at private colleges and universities. The overall rate of inflation last year was 3.82 percent. So that's the good news, sort of, but why is the cost of attending college going up so much faster than the rate of inflation?

One opinion is that the higher education lobby and sympathetic politicians regard rapidly rising tuition costs as normal and that the cure is to provide cash strapped students with more and more student loans and other federal financial aid. But isn't that kind of like lending a broke gambling addict a roll of $20 bills as a way of helping him through his financial difficulties? You have to know that money is going to make his problem worse, not better, because he'll gamble away your money too. Increasing the availability of financial aid to students has the effect of raising the cost of tuition by insulating colleges and universities from any need to compete on the basis of price.

At some point, parents and students are going to rebel and enrollment will decline at schools which are unable or unwilling to bring their own spending under control and return to offering a quality product at a reasonable price. The answer, perhaps, may come from the increased acceptance of on-line degrees from employers. As more students discover that they need not attend the brand name traditional schools and instead can pick up many and sometimes even most of their credits at lesser known two-year community and junior colleges and some of the on-line schools, the traditional four-year schools will come under pricing pressure and will either adapt or perish.

Posted by Steven Rothberg, CollegeRecruiter.com on January 5, 2007 at 8:15 AM | Leave a Comment (3)