Go to www.fafsa.ed.gov

Filing the FAFSA is critical for students looking to start college in the Fall of 2012, as financial aid awarded is a major factor for students considering which college to attend.

It is equally critical for continuing students to complete their FAFSA renewals in a timely manner to retain financial aid eligibility for next academic year as well.

Quick FAFSA filing tips:

1. Know your deadline so you can file ahead of schedule: Each school and every state may have a different date as to when a FAFSA must be filed in order to qualify for maximum funding eligibility review. Common dates can range from March 1 into April, but some schools require the FAFSA to be filed as early as February 15. Make sure to file the FAFSA early so there is no question of timely delivery.

2. No tax return, no problem!: The FAFSA requires parent tax and asset information along with the student if they also file a tax return. However, this early in the year, many families have not yet completed their taxes. This does not jibe well with early deadlines for the FAFSA, however this is easily manageable. If your 2011 tax return is not yet ready, go ahead and file the new FAFSA using estimated numbers. If in 2011 your earnings are about the same as what they were in 2010, you may be able to use your old 2010 taxes to guide estimations. Once the actual tax returns are filed, you can log back onto the online FAFSA to make corrections and adjustments.

3. Remember your pin to renew your FAFSA every year: In order to electronically sign your FAFSA you must first authenticate your identity and get registered for a personal identification number, aka a PIN. You must register for this PIN by completing a 3 step process at www.pin.ed.gov. This PIN can be used to electronically sign each FAFSA every year, so make sure to remember your four digit number to easily renew the application.

If you see this mainpage, you are at the right place to register for the PIN

4. Master the fundamentals, data input them correctly: Make sure you personal information is completely accurate, and re-check it with a different set of eyes. (Parents and children need to work together to help each other) You would be shocked if you knew how many FAFSA’s were filed using incorrect birth dates and social security numbers. When this happens, it creates great confusion in the processing of your application, and will result in a verification request, adding more work for you and leading to my next point…

5. Be prepared for verification: Anywhere from a quarter to half of college students get selected for a process called verification. This is when the school must check the actual tax returns compared to the data originally submitted on the FAFSA, and to correct any discrepancies so that the information is accurate. Be advised that financial aid eligibility may change based on the results of verification review. If the information originally provided on the FAFSA is quite different from the information on the actual tax return, this may cause grants to be canceled. If the request to submit verification documents is ignored, all financial aid will be canceled. The best way to be prepared for this process is to keep copies of all the required forms in a neat folder next to your home computer, so in the event a verification request it can be responded to quickly and efficiently. Some schools will penalize a student for taking too long to submit verification documentation, even if it turns out all the data was accurate. Forms that may be requested in the verification process include but are not limited to:

• Social Security Card
• Driver’s License
• W-2
• Federal income tax returns: 1040, 1040A or 1040EZ
• Foreign tax returns
• Untaxed income records
• Current bank statements
• Current investment mortgage information (Rental property)
• Business and/or farm records
• Records of stocks, bonds and other investments
• Alien registration or permanent resident card (if not a U.S. citizen)

Forbearance is typically requested when a borrower is facing financial difficulty. Most commonly this is a result of lack of employment, a decrease in income, or illness or disability that prevents the borrower from working.

Important points about forbearance:

1. When a loan goes into forbearance, any accrued and unpaid interest is capitalized and added back into the total outstanding loan. A loan balance will continue to increase as long as the payments are suspended. In this way a forbearance does not make the loan “go away”, it’s just a temporary relief from having to make payments, but the loan will need to resume normal repayment at a future date. This can increase the total cost of loan repayment once normal payments resume.

2. Forbearance is provided as an alternative to regular monthly payments. A borrower may be able to make a partial payment on their loan each month that is lower than the minimum payment. For example, a borrower may be responsible for a $400 monthly payment, but can only afford $100 while they are searching for a new job. Making a $100 payment is better than making no payment at all, as some of the interest can be covered each month. The forbearance request will specify if you can make a partial payment or no payment on your loans.

3. Under forbearance, a lender agrees to halt required loan payments for a specific amount of time. Typically a single forbearance request can extend for 6 months, with an option to reapply and extend forbearance further. Most lenders can extend forbearance up to 18 months if continually approved for each 6 month segment. Confirm your forbearance time frame directly with your lender.

4. Can forbearance affect credit score? Forbearance is a better alternative to just missing payments. Because forbearance is not recorded as a missed payment due to an official arrangement made with your creditor, the information is not reported negatively on the credit score. However, a loan in forbearance will continue to grow by accumulating interest over time, and can have in impact on an individuals debt-to-income ratio.

5. What should I do to apply? Every lender/creditor may follow different application requirements to process a forbearance. The application may ask for detailed information about employment history, alternative income sources, and living expenses and must be fully completed before formal review. If incomplete, a forbearance can be rejected. Be advised that a request for forbearance may take several business days to process before being approved or denied.

6. Avoid the last minute, but late is better than never. If a payment is due within just a few days, there is no guarantee a forbearance request will be processed in time to avoid that payment. A forbearance request should be submitted well in advance of an upcoming payment due to give enough time to be approved, or if denied it can be determined what additional information is required to move to approval. A forbearance request may be activated retroactively, so if a borrower has already missed some payments, they should submit the request ASAP so the lender can update repayment status. A retroactive approval can help to avoid a negative impact on the borrowers credit report.

7. Forbearance is basically a short term cash flow solution for borrowers under financial distress. The temporary relief is only offered to help the borrower get back on their feet, and is not meant to be a permanent solution.

It’s easy to use a loan calculator online to quickly compare loan applications. Determining what your monthly payment would be is a good start. But when dealing with a private loan you will be faced with variable interest rates that can change year to year. This is why you need to zero in on debt elimination as part of your plan.

The three most important areas of consideration when comparing loans are:

The interest rate

The repayment term (10 years, 15 years etc)

The total cost of repayment

Rule of thumb is that the lower the rate, the less the loan costs. However this depends on how long it takes you to repay the loan. A lower rate loan that takes more years to repay could end up costing a lot. This is when a loan calculator comes in handy. The following will help illustrate some scenarios you can encounter. I used a loan calculator on Mapping Your Future for $10,000 loans with ten and fifteen year repayment schedules and 8% or 5% interest respectively.

Think of the big picture; what will this loan cost to repay in full?

As you can see, the loans with a 15 year repayment schedule had lower monthly payments but ended up costing the most to repay. A low monthly payment might be helpful to fit in your current budget but you unknowingly keep yourself in debt for too long and waste thousands of dollars on interest. Many borrowers are more concerned about the monthly payment than anything else, as they want to control their budget to have extra money available for other spending, but using this logic may lead to making only minimum payments each month and can increase the total cost of repayment. When comparing loan options, you need to know what the total cost of a loan will be after you finally pay it off. The loan that costs you the least amount to repay is probably the best one for you.

If you want to accelerate your debt freedom, look for a loan that does not have a pre-payment penalty. A prepayment is when you pay more than the standard monthly amount due towards the balance getting yourself out of debt faster.

Ken’s Tip – If you are taking out loans to go to college you need the right tools to make the right decision. Fortunately, loan calculators are readily available on the internet. Smart debt management starts with choosing the right loan. Trying to keep a low monthly payment will end up costing way more to repay. Focus on the total cost of repaying the loan and choose the one that costs you the least.

Why?

Well if you are having a hard time in college classes right now, it may be because you are not studying very much. You may need to increase your focus on your school work.

This is where things can get tricky. There are a lot of distractions in college life. There is always another party, another event, another video game or any number of things to do other than what appears to be very dull and boring curriculum. Doing nothing or just sleeping is more appealing than some subjects.

However, it is during November that many students are confronted with a dilemma. The prior months of September and October were spent mostly having fun, but during November projects are due and very often there are exams looming just before or just after Thanksgiving break. Students may find themselves unprepared to successfully handle the work now due.

Worst of all, there is a major issue with attitude. After getting used to two months of comfortable living, suddenly trying to study for an exam feels like a huge amount of work, even if in reality it requires minimal effort. Often times the perception of the challenge of school work is much more severe than the actual work required. It’s easy for a student to simply give up, and say “Hey this is too much for me” or “I will never be able to get this done” or “It’s not worth it, I will just go party more as usual.” These excuses are quickly produced, exams and papers are completed in a shoddy state, and another learning opportunity is extinguished. Don’t let this happen to you.

If studying or preparing a report feels overwhelming, and you are about to quit on trying any harder, try reading this excerpt from the book “Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life” by Tommy Newberry, and get back out there and give it the real college try!

1. In general taking early withdrawals from retirement accounts are liable for a 10% tax penalty in addition to any normal taxes due: It is financially prudent to allow retirement savings to grow on their own and preserve their tax deferred status. Pulling money out early does more harm than good.

2. You CAN borrow for college but you CAN’T borrow for retirement: When parents reach retirement age, time has run out to save more money. Once savings are used for other expenses they are gone forever and all the tax incentives for saving all these years go with it.

3. How many semesters can you cover with retirement savings?: Savings will run out faster than you think. If savings can only pay for a few semesters, how will the tuition get paid in the later semesters?

From a College Planning perspective, parents should not rely on retirement savings to pay for tuition. The right source for college savings would be in a 529 plan, with tax incentives for saving money for college.

However it takes several years of saving to build up any substantial 529 account. If a family has been unable to save money in a 529 plan, then they should look into student loan options to cover the rest of the bill.

One option is the Parent Plus loan offered by the Direct Loans Program. The Parent Plus loan offers a fixed rate and is a popular option with many families. The loan is only in the parents name and begins full repayment immediately while the student is in school.

A private student loan is another alternative. Using a private loan enables the student to pay for college now and handle repayment over time. Rather than depending on the parents to use retirement money, the student takes an active role in handling their own tuition. Parents can cosign with their children to help get them credit approved while in school. Many private lenders allow for the cosigner to be released from the loan if the primary borrower makes a certain number of payments on time.

Money Perspective: People take a different approach to making financial decisions based on who is actually paying the bill. When someone else pays for something on your behalf, the intrinsic value of that good or service is easily ignored. However when you personally pay for something you know first hand what value is exchanged. It is no different with college students. It is wonderful when someone else can pay for tuition, but when one pays for tuition using their own resources they tend to take that education much more seriously. Quite simply, you appreciate things/goods/services when you invest your own resources in them, and less so when someone else does the paying.

Students need to hold themselves accountable for their educational experience. Because students know first hand what goes on at school, they can truly weigh the value of their education versus the debt they incur. They can learn how to decide for themselves what is worth while. This means carefully evaluating colleges and majors, choosing what fits best. The point of going to college is to build a career and life for the future. If a student is able to do this as a result of a college education, then incurring and managing debts is a reasonable expense. It is vital that the student take ownership over their own education and determine what debts are appropriate and what debts are far too high to incur.

Parents should take heed. Save your retirement savings for retirement. Parents can best help their children during the college and major selection process by encouraging an objective comparison. Part of this comparison should include a calculation of debts. Then the student will know and value what opportunities they truly have for college.

While the plan offers some positives as mentioned in my post yesterday, not every borrower will benefit.

Financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz wrote in the New York Times…

“Recent college graduates, for example, will not benefit. Instead, the new income-based repayment plan will be available to new borrowers since 2008 who have at least one loan that originated in 2012 or later. Borrowers with loans from 2007 and earlier will not be eligible. Likewise, borrowers who don’t have at least one loan from 2012 or later, like students who graduated in 2011 or earlier, also won’t be eligible. Borrowers who are already in repayment will not be eligible.”

Kantrowitz estimated that between 1.6 million and 5.8 million borrowers may benefit out of the 36 million borrowers in federal loan repayment now, still leaving many accounts unchanged.

So while it’s great to hear that some borrowers can get relief, there is only so much the federal student loan program can do given the sheer number of borrowers and volume of money.

Dear FOX news; please fact check:

In response to this announcement, FOX news released a new article criticizing the repayment program as being another government backed boondoggle, and the President for taking political credit for a measure that will impact student borrowers to help boost voter sentiment. Drudgereport.com really got into it by posting the story on their front page:

Problem is that the article uses the wrong numbers when explaining how this program may benefit students. From Chris Stirewalt;

“Take this example: If Suzy Creamcheese gets into George Washington University and borrows from the government the requisite $212,000 to obtain an undergraduate degree, her repayment schedule will be based on what she earns. If Suzy opts to heed the president’s call for public service, and takes a job as a city social worker earning $25,000, her payments would be limited to $1,411 a year after the $10,890 of poverty-level income is subtracted from her total exposure. Twenty years at that rate would have taxpayers recoup only $28,220 of their $212,000 loan to Suzy.”

The aptly named “Suzy Creamcheese” in this article is NOT eligible to borrow $212,000 from federal loans to pay for an undergraduate degree, plain and simple. A dependent undergraduate student is eligible for up to $31,000 in federal Stafford loans. An independent undergraduate can receive up to $57,500. It’s one thing to criticize a measure, it’s another thing to use completely false facts doing it.

Additionally, the article assumes that a borrower will keep flat income for the entire 20 years of the repayment schedule. This program is more or less designed to provide relief to student loan debtors facing limited job and income prospects today, but as their income (hopefully) increases they will be able to afford larger payments as a percentage of income. This is a much better alternative to ignoring the debt without intention of repayment. However, because the article uses incorrect numbers, readers would be confused. The article paints the picture of “Suzy Creamcheese” as being a deadbeat for borrowing money to go to college, and not paying it back at a higher rate, but the reality is that this program can offer some students a modicum of relief while they get on their feet during this recession.

Bigger political issues aside, when it comes to facts people need valid information.

In order to assist former students in the repayment of their federal loans, the following announcements are anticipated:

• A reduction in the maximum required payment on federal student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent. This is to be made available in 2012 instead of 2014.
• Under this plan, any remaining federal loan debt would be forgiven after 20 years of repayment, instead of the current 25 years.
• Borrowers with outstanding Stafford loans in the (now defunct) Federal Family Education Loan Program and the Federal direct loans program will be able to consolidate them together using the federal Direct Loans consolidation program. The consolidated loan would carry an interest rate of up to a half percentage point less than before.

Clarification of facts: This announcement will only affect Federal Loans, the majority of which are Stafford loans. If you are trying to get federal loans consolidated go to the Direct Loans web portal.

Private student loans are not part of the offered federal loan consolidation program, and would still require a separate private student loan consolidation.

Buying books online was a great way to save money in 2003. But at the end of the day, I still had to buy a book that would become obsolete after a new edition was published. Plus I’d have to lug around unnecessary weight and take up valuable desk space in the classroom. Not to mention all the resources used to create a book in the first place. But now there is a new alternative. Electronic Books are becoming a better option to traditional books. The New York Times featured a great article about the issue of college books and makes a great addition to the ongoing Revolution of Technology topic.

It’s the 21st century; knowledge delivery has expanded into the realm of the digital. Shouldn’t college textbooks catch up to this already? Flash forward to 2011 and a lot of things are still the same. Colleges reveal their inability to adapt and provide by not updating their method of delivery. Take a walk through a college bookstore and all those books are even more expensive. But some professors are moving to e-books.

The popularity of e-books is growing. E-books in the general market have seen a 200% increase in sales this year. The next big move should be in the classrooms where the cost of educational books could be radically reduced. Higher Ed charges too high a price not to innovate their teaching methods. Encouraging students to use digital based books in the classroom is the only logical step.

Colleges have no problem telling students to pay $700 -$1000 a semester for books, but an E-Book reader can go for $200 and last all the years of college. No longer do students need to be concerned with buying overly expensive books and then selling them back at the end of the semester. There would be no outdated books because the newest version can be easily downloaded. No more costs of carrying inventory at a book store. No more wasting time on a book store line only to find out it was the wrong edition. Plus a digital device can hold millions of pages in the palm of the hand. When all of these excessive costs are removed from the price of a book, the student can get the knowledge they need at a fraction of the cost with minimized waste. With the cost of college as high as it is, there is no excuse. It is a disservice not to innovate and provide superior value to students.

Until the time comes for colleges to adopt modern techniques, most college students will have to settle for old-fashioned text books. Here are some textbook tips:

1. Don’t buy books! Hold off on buying books for classes until you are absolutely sure of its need or use. This will vary from class to class. Some professors will list six or seven books on the syllabus as required for class but by the end of the semester only two were used. What a waste. Save your money and buy books only as necessary.

2. Maximize other resources: To avoid having to buy books you should use other alternatives. Utilize your library, or the internet for scholarly resources. Buying a whole book just to use one quote is a waste too. Chances are you can find whatever knowledge you need from a free source to complete whatever report or project is due.

3. Any books you buy should be put to use: Whether the book is on paper or electronic form, learning begins with your motivation. You should avoid waste and save money, but do not skimp on your learning experience.

4. If you have to buy a book, buy it online: The bookstore at school is ALWAYS more expensive.

5. Try renting a textbook for the semester: This can cut costs dramatically. There are a number of textbook rental websites available online now, so get out there and look for a deal!

Getting approved can feel good, but getting denied brings out the opposite side of the emotional spectrum; it feels bad.

When it comes to loans for education, the emotions can run high, especially when gaining access to the school of your choice depends on funding resources.

The following is an honest review of the options people have should they be denied the loan they need.

Using a cosigner other than the parent: There is only so much credit that an 18-22 year old can possibly have given the limited amount of time they have been an adult. With lenders becoming more restrictive in lending practices, it has become less common to see traditional undergraduate students get approved for a private loan without a qualified co-signer. The duties of cosigner usually go to the parents first, but many parents overextended with debt or suddenly unemployed during this recession have been unable to successfully cosign.

Students have turned to other people to cosign, like grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close family friends when the parents can’t do it. However, this can be a tricky proposition as the cosigner assumes responsibility of that debt liability until it is repaid in full. If something were to happen to the borrower and they were unable to pay the loan back, the entire debt moves to the cosigner, and student loans are not dis-chargeable in bankruptcy. Cosigners place great trust in the borrower to handle loan repayment, but beyond that there are two ways to help deal with the risk for a non-parent cosigner (or any cosigner for that matter). First, a private student loan consolidation can release a cosigner from a debt obligation. A student may have had insufficient credit as a college freshman, but by graduation their credit may have greatly improved. This may allow for a consolidation loan approval without a cosigner (or using a different cosigner), releasing the liability of the former cosigners to the old loan applications. Second, a common sense financial planning approach may include a life insurance policy on the student that would protect the cosigner if heaven forbid the student were to pass on. This is a new phenomenon in response to increasing private student loan balances for students and their cosigners as rates for life insurance are very low for young people.

Thoroughly review the credit report: When was the last time you looked at your credit report? If it has been a while, you may be in for a surprise when you finally take a look at it. Information on a credit report may be very inaccurate. This is especially true for cosigners that have had a long history of credit. For example, a credit card balance transfer from Visa to Discover may show up on the credit report as balances outstanding for each card in error. Credit can be adversely affected in such cases, and requires that the consumer take charge in correcting it. If denied for a loan, take a good look at the credit report and look for errors. Correct them by sending a letter to the reporting agency detailing the circumstances and clarifying the correct data. Read up on what to do on the Federal Trade Commission’s page “How to Dispute Credit Report Errors”.

Take a look at the Parent Plus loan: As offered through the Direct Loans program, the Parent Plus loan is a quality option. They follow a less stringent review of credit than private loans, and really only look for any delinquencies of 90 days or greater on the credit report before approval is confirmed. It’s all in the parent’s name, not requiring the student to sign on for this loan. Many borrowers are also comfortable with the fixed rate. However, it is a very high fixed rate at 7.9%, and there are no reductions or advantages for people with good credit, it’s the same rate for everybody. But it may be the only option to help get a student the funding they need, and is very much worth a look.

Take a step back and re-evaluate your circumstances: Maybe you have tried different lenders and different co-borrowers but still cannot get approved for the loan you need. If you are in this situation, do not freak out. Instead, acknowledge that this school is simply too costly and out of reach financially. If attendance to a particular school is completely dependent on financing, and you are unable to gain that financing, then you need to move on to a more affordable option. You should already have a short list of back-up schools that you can attend. A common strategy is to attend a community college for two years, and based on performance, consider transferring to a four years school to graduate from, cutting costs nearly in half. This is a more financially feasible route for many students, as attending a very expensive school as a freshman may backfire if unable to get approved for the loans needed to finish all four (or maybe five) years.

However, during this same decade the cost of education has greatly increased, leading more students to rely on financial aid resources to help pay the bill. Here are some key areas non-traditional and adult learners need to know before they commit to a degree program.

Your age and family status plays a direct role in determining eligibility for financial aid:

When filing the Free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) you must confirm your date of birth. If you are over the age of 24, the FAFSA determines the student to be independent, meaning they do not have to submit parent tax and asset information as part of the eligibility review for financial aid. It also means the student is eligible for increased Stafford loans, even more than if they were considered a dependent student.

• First Year/freshman $9,500 ($3,500 subsidized/$6,000 unsubsidized)
• Second Year/sophomores $10,500 ($4,500 subsidized/$6,000 unsubsidized)
• Third Year and Beyond/juniiors and seniors $12,500 ($5,500 subsidized/$7,000 unsubsidized)
• Lifetime aggregate limit on Stafford loans is increased for independent students to $57,500.

However, as an independent student, if you are married, you must include your spouse income as part of the FAFSA. This includes all income and assets of the spouse, but also any dependents are considered when determining eligibility. Just make sure the information is accurately submitted.

Is this your first bachelor’s, second bachelor’s or a master’s degree/beyond?

There is major distinction between academic goals and financial aid eligibility. Students pursuing their first bachelor’s degree have access to the largest amount of financial aid through Pell grants, state grants and school backed grants and scholarships. If pursuing a second bachelor’s degree, financial aid eligibility is restricted to federal Stafford loans only, and rarely do schools provide additional grants and scholarships in such cases. Second bachelor’s degrees are very common for students pursuing nursing, as many times they completed a prior undergraduate degree, but are surprised when they learn that this second bachelors only qualifies for financial aid in the form of student loans. Graduate degree or Ph. D students only qualify for federal Stafford loans as well, but they are increased from $20,500 per year up to $40,500 per year.

Are you using any employer backed or state backed education benefit programs?
Many of the non-traditional students entering college today are seeking new and advanced training for job skills to help become more employable. Adult learners may be eligible for additional funding from several different resources. If currently employed, look for any education benefits from your human resource department. Workers that have been laid off may be eligible for tuition assistance from state backed programs. With college as expensive as it is, adult learners need to examine their payment options carefully. Qualifying for grants can make the right educational experience affordable. Educate yourself with a comprehensive report from the Lumina foundation on adult learners and the state based resources they can use to help pay for college: Adult Learning in Focus.

Spending money and getting results are two different things; look for schools that can serve you best:
There are many school options available, but finding the right fit can be challenging for non-traditional and adult students. The very name “non-traditional” denotes something out of the ordinary for these students, but in fact they are becoming more and more the standard. Schools are changing their class schedules and programs to better serve this growing cohort, but some do a better job than others. Before committing to a school and the costs associated with it, confirm if this is the right choice for you. Investing a lot of money towards a degree does not guarantee a job so use your resources wisely. Look at the results of other adult learners that have completed programs at schools you are considering. Was it worthwhile? This will help keep focus on what’s important to the adult learner, a results oriented education for career development.

WASHINGTON – While many banks are raising fees, credit unions — non-profit, member-owned financial institutions — continue to hold the line on costs. The National Association of Federal Credit Unions (NAFCU) encourages you to check out credit unions since they offer a safe, convenient place to save and borrow at reasonable rates. Here are just some of the advantages of membership:

• 1. No- or low-fee checking accounts: Credit unions offer a wide range of products, including savings/checking accounts, debit cards, credit cards, auto and mortgage loans as well as the flexibility to do online banking.
• 2. Convenience: Many credit unions participate in a shared branching network that gives members access to credit union locations in all 50 states. Credit unions also offer access to thousands of free ATMs nationwide, including at key 7-Eleven locations nationally. You can check out participating credit unions at www.CULookup.com.
• 3. Low minimum balances: At some credit unions, you can open an account for as little as $5. At www.CULookup.com you can find the credit unions you are eligible to join.
• 4. Lower interest rates on credit cards and loans: Federal credit unions cannot exceed 18 percent on credit card or loan rates, and most average much lower. You can compare rates between credit unions and banks at www.culookup.com/CompareCURates.
• 5. Safe & sound: Deposits in the nation’s federal credit unions are federally insured through the National Credit Union Administration. NCUA carries the full faith-and-credit guarantee of the United States government at the same level as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). No credit union member has ever lost a penny of their federally insured funds.

Credit unions have been recognized by Consumer Reports, Consumer Federation of America and Money Magazine for their competitive rates and great service. According to a recent Credit Power Index, credit unions average more than five and a half points better for consumers than the interest rates found at banks.

The National Association of Federal Credit Unions is the only national organization that focuses exclusively on federal issues affecting credit unions, representing its members before the federal government and the public.

A recent article from Jacques Steinberg at the New York Times featured news of reduced tuition at Seton Hall University. This is good news for students accustomed to hearing only about how tuition is constantly going up. Seton Hall looks to cut tuition by as much as 2/3rds for students that meet high academic requirements. What makes this news important is the nature of the institution dropping their tuition. Seton Hall, like many private schools in the north east region, has traditionally carried high tuition. For students that qualify for the cost reduction, they will be on par with the costs associated with attending Rutgers, the flagship state college in New Jersey. However, this reduction will only benefit students that meet rigorous academic requirements. Seton Hall admissions strategy is to go after high quality students, but they will still need to rely on other students paying full price to ultimately subsidize this maneuver. However, kudos to Seton Hall for stepping up to provide deeper discounts based on academics.

Derek Thompson at The Atlantic had a great interview with the author of Fiske Guide to Colleges. They talk about one of the major issues that has lead to ever increasing college costs; the quest for prestige. Great quote, “I think parents may be overly concerned with the prestige factor, the I-want-this-bumper-sticker-on-the-SUV factor. There is an admissions officer joke that you wouldn’t be surprised to be driving along the road and see a prestigious college decal that said “Also Accepted At: Cornell, Pomona, Northwestern…” The article reaffirms the accepted notion that elite schools continue to increase their tuition simply because they know someone will always pay for it. The law of supply and demand still rings true.

A report from Inside Higher Ed also reminds us that in the world of admissions, money always talks. Titled “Clashes of Money and Values: A Survey of Admissions Directors”, the article reveals how in the wake of the economic downturn, schools are looking for students hailing from affluent families that can actually pay tuition outright without financial aid. This is a major issue for accessibility for students from less affluent families, and also for students that rely on in-state schools that offer lower tuition. Consider that a state school will turn to recruit students from out of state knowing that they will have to pay the higher tuition rate as a non-resident. This crowds out seats for otherwise qualified in-state students that would not consider a private school or out of state school simply based on cost. The article is heavily laden with statistics, but prove what most people probably already assumed; Students from wealthy means always have a leg up in the admissions battle. The new spin is that in the era of globalization, America is left with very few products or services to sell. It turns out that our education system is one of the few bright spots, so colleges are looking to recruit as many full pay foreign students as they can.

However, as we all know, quality food consumption during college life can be spotty. How healthy do you think that pizza really is?

It’s common wisdom that in order to perform at maximal level, you need the right fuel for your body, and the same goes for your brain. The following healthy foods listed have benefits that will assist during many hours of study.

Salmon is an excellent source of brain food because of the essential fatty acids it provides, specifically the very important Omega-3 fatty acids. Did you know that your brain is comprised of 2/3 fats? But it’s not just any old fats in your brain, they are the specialized variety. Much research has proven docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) to be the most important fat found in the brain, and a large amount happens to be found in salmon as well. Salmon intake is associated with decreased chances of depression, hostility in some studies of teenagers, and some studies indicate an association between IQ and a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

Blueberries are full of of healthy brain enhancing natural goodness. Blueberries are a top source of antioxidant phytonutrients such as anthocyanins, which support healthy brain function, in addition to providing anti-aging, anti-cancer and disease-fighting benefits. Further research has found that blueberries may assist in the reversal of age-related brain decline, as well as improve short-term memory loss. Studying is hard enough, you cannot afford to lose any more brain cells, so eat some more blueberries!

Spinach is a powerful brain enhancing leafy vegetable. The vitamin K found in spinach helps the body maintain healthy nervous system and brain functions by assisting in the synthesis of sphingolipids, the crucial fat that makes up the Myelin sheath around our nerves. Spinach also provides Folic acid – low levels of Folic acid have been linked to memory decline and heart disease.

Eggs and specifically egg yolk is a leading source for choline. Your entire nervous system needs choline and it has been proven to boost brainpower by speeding up the sending of signals to nerve cells in the brain. Look for organic, cage free and free range produced eggs where available.

Whole grains like whole wheat, wheat germ and bran contain a high percentage of folate. Oatmeal, brown rice, whole-grain breads and cereals, barley and popcorn help boost blood flow to the brain. Wholegrain breads and cereals contain Vitamin B6 while wheat germ is rich in memory-improving thiamine.

Now go get some good food, and get back to studying!

If you are dealing with unexpected college costs right now as you look at a tuition statement, these points will hit home. Especially if you thought the costs would be much less after looking at the financial aid award letter provided.

That’s because financial aid award letters have become an integral part of the admissions process at schools over the past several years, but may not make sense to those unfamiliar with college funding options.

College is expensive, and admissions councilors realize this. Today, we see letters of acceptance combined with financial aid award letters in one comprehensive packet delivered to the student during the Spring before they plan to attend. In order to hit enrollment goals, colleges make these award letters available well before deposits are due in May. This way schools can make accurate forecasts for enrollment each year knowing that their students looked at the numbers and made a conscientious decision.

However, with high college costs, and many students and families lacking specialized knowledge in this field, there was bound to be some confusion. The following list from Kantrowitz was originally posted on Higher Ed Watch and outlines areas where this process can be improved and nationally standardized.

Include Clear and Correct Information about College Costs:

Every award letter should disclose the total cost of attendance, the total amount of gift aid (money that doesn’t need to be repaid, such as grants and scholarships), and the out-of-pocket cost (the difference between the cost of attendance and gift aid) for which students and their families are responsible. This information should appear prominently on the first page of the financial aid award letter in a standard location and format to allow families to comparison shop.

The award letter must include a detailed breakdown of the cost of attendance into the major cost components, such as tuition and required fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses. Each of the allowances should be realistic, based on the actual average costs for similarly situated students.

The letter should also emphasize that the cost figures are just for one year and not the entire cost of the educational program.

Distinguish Different Types of Aid:

All financial aid awards must be clearly identified according to the type of award (e.g. grant, scholarship, student employment, student employment, loan, installment plan) and grouped and sorted according to type of award. Gift aid should be listed first, as a discount on the cost of attendance. Student and parent loans should never be characterized as reducing college costs, Loans are not gift aid.

In addition, financial aid awards must be identified using the student aid programs’ standard names, not acronyms, abbreviations, or other cryptic terms, such as FWS (the Federal Work-Study program).

All student loan options should be listed together and ranked according to cost per dollar borrowed, with the lowest cost loans appearing first. The letter should make clear that these are loans that must be repaid, with interest. The loans should be presented as an option for paying the out-of-pocket cost for which students and their families are responsible. But they should not be represented as a form of financial aid, regardless of whether eligibility for loans is based on financial need or not.

Disclose More Details About Student Loans:

Financial aid award letters must provide clear information concerning student loans and the cost of borrowing. Listing only the loan amount near the name of the loan — as some colleges do — increases the likelihood that families will assume that the award is a grant as opposed to a loan. These letters should include the interest rates, fees, and the loan term in years near the name of the loan. The loan information must also include monthly loan payments and total payments over the life of each loan using a ten-year repayment term.

The letters should also include information about the student’s cumulative education debt (including principal and all interest) and the corresponding loan payment under a ten-year repayment term. In addition, they should include a projection of cumulative debt at graduation and the corresponding monthly loan payment.

Disclose Policies that Have a Material Impact on College Costs and Financial Aid:

Financial aid award letters should disclose specific policies that affect out-of-pocket costs (the difference between the cost of attendance and gift aid), such as the front-loading of grants and the treatment of outside scholarships.

Front-loading of grants makes a college appear to be more generous than it really is by providing a much lower out-of-pocket cost during the first year and possibly replacing grants with loans or work study in subsequent years. Students and families need to know how costs and financial aid will change in subsequent years.

Each college has a different policy concerning the treatment of outside scholarships the students may win. This can affect the bottom line cost for a student who has won significant amounts of private scholarship money. These students need to know how much of the outside scholarships will reduce unmet need, how much will reduce the loan and work burden, and how much will reduce gift aid. Reductions in unmet need, loans, and student employment have a more favorable impact on the out-of-pocket cost than reductions in gift aid.

Provide Students and Their Families with Enough Time to Make an Informed Choice:

The standard for financial aid award letters should address the timing of the receipt of financial aid award letters and the deadlines, if any, for responding to the financial aid award letter.

Currently, most new students must accept offers of admission by May 1 each year. Colleges should send out award letters at least two weeks before that date to give them adequate time to compare and evaluate financial aid award letters before they decide where to enroll.

Conclusion:

The lack of clear and accurate information on financial aid award letters causes consumer confusion about affordability and the real cost of college. This leads some students to decide against enrolling in college, some students to drop out of college when they run out of money and other students to graduate with unaffordable amounts of debt. Affordability is not the only reason to choose a college, but it is an important criterion that affects access, choice, retention and completion.

Making financial aid award letters more accurate and easier to understand and compare might improve access and completion at minimal cost to the taxpayer, and help drive down college costs through increased competition. And it will certainly help students and their families make a better- informed decision about one of the most important expenditures of their lives.

Meanwhile in a different building at the same University, Melissa is drawing a blank on the following Western Civilization question:

Using three separate examples, compare and contrast the differences of ancient Athens and Sparta considering their cultural, martial, governmental and economic circumstances:

Melissa gave it some thought but all that came to mind was…

Neither Sam nor Melissa exactly enjoyed the experience of feeling academically substandard, but here they were in the throes of a learning experience and they are barely holding on. Unknown to them now, the process of learning can be a sloppy, error laden, confidence rattling and stressful process affecting different people in different ways. It turns out that learning is actually very hard and requires a great deal of focus and patience, two things that are not always on the top of the list of excellent traits found in every college student.

Real learning is hard work, and college level courses are meant to expose students to more advanced curriculum. The theory is that by taking on greater academic challenges, the student’s capacity to learn grows accordingly. It takes a good attitude and a healthy open mind to really soak in this experience in college, but even the best students can find themselves in a quagmire; they simply do not like the class they are in, and dread the thought of an entire semester spent learning about something they don’t care about.

Before you begin to quietly curse out a particular teacher under your breath, take a moment to think about why you came to college in the first place; to learn something.

Give yourself a “check up from the neck up” and empower yourself to get through your most challenging classes with some helpful ideas.

Become intellectually curious:

Are you learning for learning’s sake, exploring new ideas and concepts, staying interested in subjects, and finding ways to relate a new idea to your current knowledge base? These are hallmark signs that you are intellectually curious. This character trait can be developed in college and will add lifetime benefits. Staying intellectually curious through one’s life will help to maintain the mental flexibility required to adapt in a changing job market and can help in locating new opportunities. So don’t waste any time. Learn to become intellectually curious by engaging in classes that at first sight may make you cringe. You may not be the best mathematician, but that should not stop you from trying to learn math as best you can. Writing English papers may not be your strength, but it’s worth learning how to improve writing ability. Being intellectually curious is not about being “smart”, it’s about finding the will to turn to the next page of that textbook in the hope that you will find the seed of knowledge that grows for a lifetime.

Learn how YOU learn: Did you know that each person has their own individual learning style? There are variations of the way people learn based on how receptive their particular senses are and they way thoughts are remembered. Here is a rundown on learning styles, take a look and consider what kind of learner you are.

• Visual learners: Usually like drawings and diagrams, or watching demonstrations. They are most stimulated by their sense of sight. Seeing is believing!
• Auditory learners: Must be able to hear what they are learning to remember. May read a book aloud to hear their own voice to reinforce memory. Learn well through collaboration in small, verbally communicative groups.
• Read-Write learners: Prefer written forms of communication. Like reading and writing to help learn and remember material. They tend to like multiple choice exams the best.
• Kinesthetic learners: Need physical engagement to reinforce learning experiences. Needs hands on demonstrations where they can get into the work themselves. Mind-body connection means learning happens while the body is in motion. Can be the most fidgety people in a traditional classroom environment.

Once you figure out the kind of learning style you most often employ, you can take steps to enhance the classroom experience by learning and studying in a way you know you will remember. This can be an exhaustive trial and error process for some people, but it is worth it. A class that you find particularly challenging may be due to a clash between your personal learning style and the teachers delivery of the content. Take the time to adapt yourself and identify how you could best learn the material. In doing so you learn as much about yourself as you would about the subject, a great achievement in itself even if the grade received is less than stellar. Once you know what kind of learner you are, you can more readily adapt to classes you originally thought were impossible, and empower yourself to become a better learner outside the classroom and beyond.

Appreciate your Professor and the class, flaws and all: Before you close the book on a professor for being too old, young, ugly, annoying, verbose, weird or something you do not like, allow yourself to get to know the whole experience of class. Shutting off a professor early in a semester is detrimental to the learning process, and can make classroom situations more painful than they already are. Instead of thinking about all the things you do not like, find something you do like about the professor. If they are an older professor, they probably have a wealth of experience they can readily share. If they are young, they probably have a refreshing perspective on the material. If they are ugly, maybe they are also hilariously funny, who knows. The point is that if you are going to spend some 15 weeks with this Prof, it would be an improved experience if you focused on even the smallest of things you do appreciate rather than negative aspects that remind you of how miserable this experience could be. That being said, not all professors are great and some of them can be a real drag. Just don’t let your personal feelings towards a professor get in the way of your academic performance and stay positive. You will find that outside the classroom, in work situations, you will not necessarily like or get along with the people around you, but you find ways of dealing with them cordially and appreciate what good they can provide. Develop this understanding during your most challenging classes and you become a more well rounded person.

Make friends in class: You may be miserable in a class while the person sitting next to you is in heaven. It’s amazing how people will react differently to the same classroom environment. If you are having a hard time, identify the students in class that are having the exact opposite experience. You will notice that they are probably pumped up about being there, raising their hand and getting involved in class. Or perhaps they are very quiet, astute and on top of all of the material. Whatever their learning style is, try to tap into what they know. Put together a study group in your class to meet up and review assignments. See how many students you can pull into the group that are more knowledgeable about the subject than you. All of a sudden, you have access to people that can help to improve your learning experience while simultaneously flexing your social skills and making new friends. Suddenly a terrible class is electrified with learning energy!

You are paying for this so get the most of it: As we know, college is expensive. Even if you receive a lot of scholarship and financial aid, it just means the costs have been shifted to someone else. With everything on the line, with the economy in a mess, with people literally starving, would you be the student that would stick to a bad attitude and reject the real learning opportunities found in every class? I would hope not because it is such a waste to let these moments pass without learning. You are given an opportunity to mentally expand, so get to it and recognize that every class has a chance to change your mind and change your life if you are willing to change yourself for the better.

]]> http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/15/top-five-ways-to-get-through-classes-you-hate/feed/ 0 http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/12/stafford-loan-info-for-the-2011-2012-academic-year/ http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/12/stafford-loan-info-for-the-2011-2012-academic-year/#comments Mon, 12 Sep 2011 21:59:25 +0000 Ken http://www.custudentloans.org/?p=5530 Before applying for any additional private student loans, college students should first file their FAFSA to confirm eligibility for the Federal Stafford loan.

The Federal Stafford loan program is used to offer students low cost, guaranteed financial assistance for college. Even though they are still loans that require to be paid back with any accumulated interest, they offer favorable terms and do not require a co-signer to get approved.

There are two kinds of Stafford loans available:

The Subsidized Stafford loan: The government pays the interest on this loan on behalf of the student while the student maintains half-time registration or greater in a degree seeking school program. The loan is awarded to the student after reviewing the students FAFSA information and Cost of Attendance as established by the school’s financial aid office. Financial need determines eligibility.

The Unsubsidized Stafford loan: This loan will accrue interest normally after the funding disburses to the student account. Unlike the subsidized Stafford loan, this interest will accumulate and will be included as part of loan repayment after the student completes or leaves school. This loan offers a guaranteed fixed interest rate with approval without a cosigner required.

2011-2012 Stafford loan rates:

The Subsidized Stafford loan rate is at 3.4%

The Unsubsidized Stafford loan rate is 6.8%

Yearly Stafford loan amounts for dependent undergraduate students;

First Year freshman: $5,500 ($3,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)
Second Year sophomore: $6,500 ($4,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)
Juniors, seniors and super seniors: $7,500 ($5,500 subsidized/$2,000 unsubsidized)

Yearly Stafford loan amounts for Independent Students and Graduate level students;

First Year freshman: $9,500 ($3,500 subsidized/$6,000 unsubsidized)
Second Year sophomore: $10,500 ($4,500 subsidized/$6,000 unsubsidized)
Juniors, seniors and super seniors: $12,500 ($5,500 subsidized/$7,000 unsubsidized)
Graduate or Professional: $20,500 ($8,500 subsidized/$12,000 unsubsidized)

How does the financial aid office determine eligibility? The financial aid office will award you with a subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford loan considering the following equation to calculate financial need.

School cost of attendance – Expected Family Contribution – All other financial aid awarded = Unmet need.

If a student is determined to have financial need, a subsidized Stafford loan is awarded to meet that need, or fulfill the maximum amount of subsidized Loan eligibility the student has.

Let’s use an example for an undergraduate dependent student that IS eligible for the subsidized Stafford loan.

School cost of attendance or COA = $31,500
Expected Family Contribution or EFC = $3,500
Total financial aid awarded = $22,000
$31,500 – $3,500 – $22,000 = Unmet need of $6,000.
The student can receive the maximum amount of Subsidized Stafford loans to meet their grade level allotment. If they are a Freshman, it’s $3,500. A soph would be 4,500 and a Junior or Senior would receive $5,500.

Here is an example of a student that is partially eligible.

School COA = $20,500
EFC = $8,500
Financial aid awarded = $10,000
$20,500 – $8,500 – $10,000 = Unmet need of $2,000.
No matter if they are a Freshman, Soph, Junior or Senior, the student may only receive $2,000 in Subsidized Stafford loans to cover their unmet need. The remaining Stafford loan eligibility is put into the Unsubsidized variety

Here is a student that is not eligible for subsidized Stafford loans, but will instead receive Unsubsidized Stafford loans:

COA = $26,000
EFC = $21,000
Financial Aid Awarded = $7,000
$26,000 – $21,0000 – $7,000 = No unmet need. Student will receive unsubsidized Stafford loans up to their yearly grade level amount.

Still not sure how this breaks down for your financial aid eligibility? Leave me a comment and I will help make sure you are getting the right loan amount.

]]> http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/12/stafford-loan-info-for-the-2011-2012-academic-year/feed/ 0 http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/09/top-5-financial-aid-terms-you-need-to-know/ http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/09/top-5-financial-aid-terms-you-need-to-know/#comments Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:55:57 +0000 Ken http://www.custudentloans.org/?p=5527 In college, students are confronted with a lot of new information. Trying to make sense of it all can be very challenging.

With today’s high costs of college, there is a very important area of information that students cannot afford to be ignorant about.

It’s financial aid terminology.

Are you a student wondering why you did not qualify for a specific grant? Ever wonder why the cost of tuition and the cost of attendance are two different things? Read on and impress your financial aid administrator by being conversationally competent with these key terms.

1. COA: In financial aid, you will run across a lot of acronyms. One of them is COA or the Cost of Attendance. This term is used to describe the maximum cost associated with attending a particular institution. This accounts for more than just the costs listed on a billing statement. It actually includes tuition, room, board, transportation, books and miscellaneous expenses. The total COA always exceeds the actual costs listed on a billing statement, and it represents the maximum amount of financial aid a student may be awarded during an academic year. Example: Tuition, room, board and fees at XYZ University is $35,000 per year. When including the additional costs of transportation, books and miscellaneous expenses the total COA is $39,000. This gap between the actual cost on the billing statement and the proscribed COA allows for students to apply for enough financial aid and student loans to receive a refund check. In this case $39,000 – $35,000 = $4,000. If the student’s total financial aid and loans add to $39,000, the student will receive $4,000 in refund checks from the school. I have a complete article about the cost of attendance here.

2. EFC: The Expected Family Contribution or EFC is the number given to students after they complete the Free application for federal student aid (FAFSA). It is used to gauge the students ability to pay for college costs out of pocket. The number takes into account family income and assets during calculation. Families with high income and assets have a higher EFC while families with lower income and assets have a lower EFC. The EFC is used in conjunction with need based grant programs like Pell to determine exact eligibility. It is important to know that the EFC is an amount of money the government believes you have available to put towards college expenses, but this does not necessarily mean that the cash is readily available to you sitting in a savings account. EFC is essentially a scale established to figure out how much financial aid can be awarded to a student with low EFCs qualifying for the most financial aid and high EFC’s qualifying for the least.

3. Financial need: Financial need is a number determined by the following; COA – EFC – any outside aid awarded = financial need. For example; student attends ABC college with a COA of $41,000. Student has an EFC of $16,500 and was awarded a $2,000 community service grant. $41,000 – $16,500 – $2,000 = a financial need of $22,500. Financial need is important because schools use it to determine eligibility for school originated need based grants. Schools recognize that many students may have an EFC too large to be eligible for federal or state based education grants, so they use financial need to determine eligibility for grant money from the school itself. It’s further reason why everyone should file the FAFSA even if they do not think they will qualify for aid. In fact, a student will have a different financial need for each school due to the varying costs of attendance. If a school has a very high cost of attendance, then the financial need for a student would be much greater than school carrying a lower cost of attendance. Financial need is also used to determine eligibility for subsidized Stafford loans and the Perkins loan. A student may have a high EFC but still qualify for these subsidized loans because the cost of attendance for their school is high.

4. Verification: If you have been selected for this procedure, you may be very well familiar with it. Verification is when the school requests copies of family tax and asset information to confirm that it is the same as what was put on the FAFSA. If there are discrepancies, the school adjusts the FAFSA info to reflect exactly what the taxes say. If you completed the FAFSA correctly, this should not be a problem. However, if there are radical differences, a student could lose financial aid eligibility.

5. SAP: SAP is satisfactory academic progress. At least once during every academic year, usually after the end of the spring semester, the school’s financial aid office checks over the grades of students to confirm the GPA and total credits completed. A student must maintain at least a 2.0 GPA to stay eligible for virtually all financial aid and must complete a certain number of credits on-time to maintain pace towards a timely graduation. If the student falls behind, they are deemed “Not making Satisfactory Academic Progress” and are no longer eligible for financial aid. Students are allowed to appeal this through a written/typed letter explaining what academic challenges they had and a plan of action for improvement in the next semester. If approved, the student is deemed eligible to receive financial aid again, but if they continue to fall behind the required standard the financial aid will again be revoked, leaving the student to pay for college out of pocket. If deemed not SAP and an appeal is not approved, students generally drop out of their college because they have no way of paying for it. Student loan providers generally do not provide loans where the student is not SAP as well.

There are a lot of terms that need explaining in financial aid. If you run across something you do not understand, email me at Ken@Fynanz.com and I will get an answer for you!

]]> http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/09/top-5-financial-aid-terms-you-need-to-know/feed/ 0 http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/02/in-college-are-you-spending-wasting-or-investing-your-time/ http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/02/in-college-are-you-spending-wasting-or-investing-your-time/#comments Fri, 02 Sep 2011 16:11:16 +0000 Ken http://www.custudentloans.org/?p=5524 If you are trying to create success in your college experience, it’s time to take control of your time and make the best of it. In order to do this, you need to learn about some fundamental “rules” of time. Unfortunately there is no clear rulebook about time; it’s mostly subjective and at the mercy of your own perceptions.

Time perception is actually a field of study that falls under the psychology and neuroscience field, and should at least be understood as part of a well rounded education. So let’s get to it.



Remember, there are 24 hours inside of every day for each person: One of the many ways that people are unique and distinctive from one another is by the way they handle their own 24 hours. We can never know exactly how many years we have in front of us, which is precisely why people say to “take one day at a time”. However, on a day to day basis we all have access to the 1440 minutes that make a day. These hours can be divided up however one sees fit. In this way, we all begin each day with a degree of equality. We then define ourselves from others by the way we use those hours each day. So what do you do with your hours? Do they feel like a gift? A burden? An opportunity? A curse? While time is finite, your imagination has infinite ideas and feelings about what can be done with it, and is subject to your emotions and perceptions.

No time banks to make deposits and withdrawals: Wouldn’t it be great if there was a bank to store extra and otherwise unused time for future consumption? Unfortunately that is impossible. The tricky part about time is that once it is gone, it’s gone forever, so no one can go back and create time after it is lost. When one recognizes that time is a finite resource, they tend to appreciate it much more. Time is actually more valuable than money, because if money is lost it can be made again, and if you have extra money you can put it in a bank for holding until you need it at a later date. Time is never as flexible as money.

Most people have difficulty appreciating time: Today, the first experience many people have with time management is working out the minutes on a cell phone plan. And for all the wonderful things that can be learned in college, one area that is given minimal academic review is time management. Time management is one of those skills that is learned while performing the tasks and requirements of school-work, but it is not implicitly taught by anyone. People that master time management learn it along the way because they quickly recognize the value of it before their peers. People that do not learn it find themselves lost in a wash of difficulties because they can’t seem to stay on schedule for anything. If you are in college now, it’s time to start reading between the lines to see the true value of time management and how it can positively impact your life.

The division of hours: When one begins to split the hours of their day, they begin to schedule themselves. When considering one has access to only a limited amount of time, this division of time shapes into priorities. Generally, a productive person’s day is made up of the following; A certain amount of sleep hours, a certain amount of labor hours and a certain amount of personal time. Putting too much time into one area means that time must be reduced from another area. The greatest challenge people have is finding balance amongst all of these categories.

Ways that time is expended: There are essentially three purposes for the time one has; Time can be spent, wasted or invested. While very subjective, there are some familiar patterns.

Spending time: Spending time is the most common usage of most people’s hours. These are the hours spent on transportation to and from locations, working at jobs for a salary or hourly wage, waiting in line at a DMV, and other mundane tasks that occupy most of our lives. Spending time entails a trade-off, where time is expended to get something done or achieve a requirement. An example “I spent time looking at used furniture on Craig’s list, you know there are some good deals there!” or “I spent time waiting tables while going to school in Boston, I needed some extra cash.” There is a viable exchange going on when one spends time. Money can also be used to change the way we spend time. When we pay for services like in restaurants, laundry, cleaning, lawn care etc., we trade our money to have someone spend time working on something we want done. With one less chore to worry about, we have access to more time to do something else. While in college be careful to spend time wisely, while recognizing that this is an opportune time to invest your time in things that can grow.

Wasting time: Wasting time is another popular option. Generally watching TV, playing video games, celebrity-gossip websites and other avenues offer tons of time-wasting opportunities. Wasting time should be avoided, except that it can be really fun to waste some time, making it hard to resist. It’s all about perception. What may be perceived as wasted time by some is actually time well spent by others. For example, going to a Jets game; I mean really what are there super bowl chances this year? What a waste of time. Well it’s no waste of time for a Jets fan, they love it! The test used to determine if time is wasted really comes down to what is lost and what is gained. If a large amount of money is expended while wasting time, the only thing left is the experience; Does that experience leave you feeling good and a bit wiser for the wear, or does it leave you with less dollars and lost time. Remember it’s your time and your choice as to how to use it. Most college students end up wasting a lot of time along the way to their degree, but are able to do so because they have access to so much of it.

Investing time: When one invests time, they engage in development and training that can improve the value of future time and productivity. This is the essence of human capital development, and a cornerstone to education. We invest time during learning experiences, job training, exercise, even when we eat healthy food. Allocating time towards building a business, or an idea that is beneficial to others can also be a form of investing time. Again, it’s all about your perception. If you believe that what you are doing is leading towards something bigger and better with benefits, you ARE investing your time. Invested time is purposeful, well managed and usually planned in advance. However, it can also be spontaneous and fun depending on your own personality. It’s the art of improving your own life circumstances. Best of all, time that is successfully invested manifests itself though life outcomes, like a fulfilling career and happy relationships. As a college student, the majority of your time needs to be of the investing category.

No one learns time management over-night: It takes time to learn time management. It’s most challenging to manage time in early years because young people simply have a lack of experience in dealing with time. For youth, time can feel like long, drawn out periods between exciting circumstances that are few and far between. It becomes a nuisance to the untrained mind, where people find themselves counting the minutes instead of making the minutes count in a day. The wonderful thing about college is that there is time for exploration. This is a combination of wasted, spent and invested time that when taken into sum total creates the gains of a lifetime.

]]> http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/09/02/in-college-are-you-spending-wasting-or-investing-your-time/feed/ 1 http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/08/25/so-you-are-starting-college-during-a-hurricane/ http://www.custudentloans.org/2011/08/25/so-you-are-starting-college-during-a-hurricane/#comments Thu, 25 Aug 2011 22:13:25 +0000 Ken http://www.custudentloans.org/?p=5512 Arrgghh, come on Hurricane Irene (sounds like Eileen), you are ruining college plans up and down the east coast!

With colleges starting up this fall, students have been busy packing bags and getting ready for move-in day. As if that was not enough to deal with, now there is a hurricane barreling down on many schools.


This will be a major test for administrators as they scramble to reschedule dates.

Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey has already rescheduled it’s move in from Sunday to Saturday August 27, a whole day early. With some 14,000 students living on campus, this creates a nightmare not just for the school, but for high traffic zones along the nearby highways.

Harvard College opened up dorms for would be movers two days ahead of schedule, from Saturday, to Thursday (today!) to allow students from around the globe to get settled in. Considering that many students travel from far and wide, this extra time is much needed.

University of Miami is keeping a close watch on this, but it appears to be skating by with the Irene heading for the Carolinas and up the east coast instead.

Schools around the Carolinas, Washington DC and the entire Delmarva area are preparing for what could be a real nasty storm. In these areas, class start dates and move-in dates may be moved to August 29th and 30th. This throws a monkey wrench into moving plans. Most schools arrange for move-ins during the weekend to accommodate travel and work schedules.



If you are a college student, and find yourself in the path of this oncoming disaster, here is a list of some things you can do to be fully prepared.

Watch out for your car: Make sure your car is parked on top of a hill to avoid the risk of flooding. Avoid parking near trees in case the winds begin to kick up. Also, fill up your gas tank just in case gas supply lines are interrupted, or the gas stations are flooded out.

Take care of your prescriptions: If you are short on required meds, now is the time to make sure you refill. If you are in dire need of your medication, the last thing you need is a hurricane blocking access to the pharmacy.

Hurricanes bring the rain, but do you have a drop to drink? During move in season, you always see students bringing cases of water to their dorms. It’s time to double up the efforts. Get some extra bottles of water just in case you lose access to water for a few days.

Grab extra batteries: You could use some extra batteries to power flashlights in case the power goes out, or a radio to stay in touch with what’s going on. Losing power during a storm is a reminder of how dependent we are on modern amenities.

Extra canned food is handy: Trying to get a pizza delivered during a hurricane is cruel and unusual punishment for Dominoes. Additonally, many famous college spots for food may actually be closed, leaving students hungry for food. Keep extra canned food around, or keep classic staples like trail mix and beef jerky ready to go. You never know how long it will be until your favorite take out spot is open again.



Look out for storm parties: It’s not uncommon for students to throw a storm party when they find out classes are canceled. The premise is simple; Since school is canceled, it’s time to party! So if a group of students are all sharing a house, like a frat, they invite a bunch of people over to weather the storm. This can carry a whole mess of problems. If the power goes out or running water is shut off, there is a house full of rowdy folk with no place to go. What sounded like a great idea can turn into a very uncomfortable situation, so use common sense and avoid situations where you could be left stranded and stuck for many hours.

Keep your composure, don’t freak out: Hurricanes come and go, but cooler heads always prevail. Don’t let yourself get distracted too much, just make sure you handle the fundamentals. Make sure you are in a safe, dry place with some supplies to last you for a while and good friends to keep company. When it comes to disasters, there is only so much anyone can do to be fully prepared as forces of nature are completely out of your control. Taking silly and irrational actions might give you a false sense of confidence, but will do nothing but make you ridiculous when the storm finally hits.



If it looks like things are getting ugly, contact your school and let them know you will move in after the hurricane passes, it may be the most sensible option considering the potential dangers.

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