Contact Information:

Rachel Witt – College Planning Specialist

101 E. 90th Drive

Suite B

Merrillville, IN 46410

888-363-7147

Chris Lembesis – College Planning Specialist 

123 E. Ogden Ave.

Suite 102B

Hinsdale, IL 60521

877-455-4701

Matt Berry – College Planning Specialist

3530 State Rd. 26 E

Suite D

Lafayette, IN 47905

866-446-2211

College Planning Tip Of The Week

12/19/06

Parties and Pounds

If your son or daughter is coming home for the holidays, he or she might be meeting an unexpected guest: a few extra pounds. A new study out of the University of Oklahoma in Norman reports that, over the span of one week (Thanksgiving week), students gain an average of 1.1 pounds. All from turkey? Hardly – holiday breaks are a great time for college students to catch up with friends from high school. Food (and, yes, maybe drinks) from parties and nights out can add weight on. Just over a pound might sound like nothing, especially when compared to what we all gain during the holidays. But even a few extra pounds can be a source for major concern for your son or daughter if he or she is already in the midst of putting on the freshman 15.

We’re not suggesting you slap your child on the wrist when he or she reaches for pie, or that you do anything that could inspire an eating disorder. But make sure you have healthy food selections at home, even if it’s fruit with breakfast or for a snack.

And if you’re noting a very quick and very heavy weight gain, especially in one semester, you might want to ask your family doctor how best to approach your child. It could be that the cafeteria doesn’t have enough healthy offerings, or that it’s not open when your son or daughter needs to eat and the only option is vending machine food. The last thing you want is for your son or daughter’s new found independence lead to a lifetime of unhealthy eating.

12/12/06

Home for the Holidays

It’s always nice to have the kids home for the holidays, even if you secretly enjoyed having the whole house to yourself without their dirty laundry (though you don’t have to tell them that). But a lot has changed since you dropped your child off at college in August. He or she has been living more or less on their own – no curfews, no wake up calls, and the rules were probably little to none. So coming back into the parental fold might cause strain.

“They’re used to getting out of bed when they want and keeping their room how they want. This is something parents and students have to talk about,” said Karen Levin Coburn, co-author of Letting Go: A Parents’ Guide to Understanding the College Years, in an interview with Gannet News Service.

The best thing to do? Cut conflict off at the pass by talking about the rules as soon as Johnny or Jane comes home. That way, your child won’t be thinking “no limits” when, in fact, you would like them to check in every once and a while. It is, after all, still your roof.

12/5/06

Kids and Credit Cards

We’ve written about students and credit cards before. College kids are prime targets for credit card companies, which is why they hang out on campus, legally or not. But a lot of parents will also take out a credit card in their child’s name “in case of emergency.”

A few tips if you want to go this route:
• Set definite rules as to what constitutes an emergency. The car breaking down is one. That new Abercrombie sweater is not.
• Give the credit card a low limit. This will prevent any shopping sprees or non-emergency spending
• Keep track of the card online. You’ll see up to the minute reports of card activity.

If your child abuses the emergency card privileges, you can revoke the card or cancel it outright. The last thing you want is to foster irresponsible spending at this young, impressionable stage. Or to be paying 20% interest on that Abercrombie sweater.

11/27/06

Saving on the Cost of Books

How expensive are textbooks? Very. What are publishers doing to offer lower cost options? Not much, according to the Student Public Interest Research Groups.

The group looked at products offered by four major textbook publishers and determined that the publishers typically do not offer lower priced options of their textbooks, such as soft cover or spiral bound editions. And, if such low-cost options were available, the publisher didn’t really make that fact known.

As reported at Insidehighered.com, reps from the Association of American Publishers have denied this claim as bunk and blasted the Student Public Interest Research Groups for spinning a few numbers the wrong way.

Who’s right might not be the important thing to look at here. How to lower the price of textbooks is. Things your child can do? First, go used. This might mean getting to the bookstore as soon as the next semester’s books are in stock, because used books go fast. They can also buy used books online, and if the textbook required is a brand new edition, look into an older edition. The changes are usually few and far between (except for the price, of course). Some textbooks are being offered in electronic forms. Your son or daughter should go to the publisher’s website to hunt those versions down.

11/20/06

Secretary of Education Wants Reform

Think college costs are entirely too much? You’re not the only one. Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, agrees, and wants to do something about it.

In an op/ed piece for the Houston Chronicle, Spellings writes, “While the American Dream has grown increasingly dependent upon college, for many, college has grown increasingly out of reach.” She points out that 90 percent of the fastest-growing jobs in the country require people with college degrees, and as costs go up, that college degree is more and more difficult for students to attain.

She has a lot of ideas and plans on how to make college more affordable, and how to get potential college students the information they need about important financial aid tools, like the FAFSA and Pell Grants. How much of a difference can one person make? We don’t know, but she’s one powerful lady to have in the driver’s seat when it comes to college reform.

To read her entire column, go to http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/4219923.html

10/31/06

Class Cutting Consequences

You might know the feeling yourself. The alarm rings. It’s still dark outside, and you’re so cozy in your nice warm bed. So you hit snooze - once, twice, three times.

But you probably have incentive to get out of bed: work, deadlines, paycheck, family to support, etc. That pull might not be so urgent for college students though, especially those in survey courses where they won’t be missed when there are 300 other students in class.

Depending on the student, he or she might be able to get away with missing a class or two, as long as he or she gets notes from another student, catches up with the teacher, or sees a tutor. But frequent cutting, just like bombing tests and quizzes, can lead to a big stinking F, or a dropped class, which can affect loans. Frequent absenteeism can also affect participation grades, especially in smaller classes.

We don’t advocate parents to be the overbearing crushing type, but if first semester grades are low, your child’s attendance might be one reason why.

10/24/06

Paying Tuition with Credit Cards?

Here’s a trend we could get used to: more and more colleges are no longer accepting credit cards for tuition payments.

As reported on bankrate.com, the reasoning for colleges is simple: they don’t have to pay two percent of every tuition payment to the credit card company as a merchant fee.

The reason it’s good for consumers: the interest rates on credit cards can be sky high, and the last thing you want is a 15% to 20% interest rate on your college tuition bills when alternatives with much lower interest rates are available through financial aid, even if it means taking out an additional loan.

Yes, it might seem a good idea to get all those frequent flyer miles or rewards points, but using a credit card for something so expensive is a risky venture, and the interest you’ll pay down the road could far out pace any reward you’ll get in the short time.

10/03/06

Travel Safety

Our last tip was about city living. One thing to consider if it’s the reverse and your son or daughter is going to any isolated campus that requires flight to get there, is the cost of rides to and from the airport. The two might be so far apart that a cab ride will rival the flight costs.

You can see if the campus offers any shuttle services, especially during peak travel times like Thanksgiving. You can also look into privately owned shuttle services, which might take longer but can cost much less. Your son or daughter can also see about car pooling if a group is going to be leaving at the same time. Some students earn extra cash for the holidays by acting as an information shuttle. Just make sure that your child knows the person they’re hopping into the car with.

9/26/06

Safety Alert

If you’re from a rural or suburban area, and little John or Jane will be headed to the Big City this fall, they’ll be in for quite an environmental change.

Not that this is a bad thing. City living can expose your child to a different, exciting way of life. However, the last thing you want is for them to wander into a not-so-safe part of town in the name of exploration. One of us at College Money was mugged that way during college.

What to do? Your son or daughter can see if the school offers any city tours as part of orientation. Some schools provide bus tours, and others sponsor service trips that not only allow your son or daughter to donate their time to a good cause and meet new people, but it gets him or her out into the city to see what it’s all about.

If the school does not offer such tours, your son or daughter can check in with the city’s tourism bureau. For the first few months, they’ll be a tourist anyway, and visitor tours will do the same job as a school sponsored tour would do.

9/20/06

Eating Disorders

We talked about healthy eating in our last tip, so we think it’s a good idea to point to another problem that can develop during college: eating disorders.

As we’ve said before, college is a time of adjustment, and some students are willing to take drastic measures to fit in. This might mean trying to shed a few pounds. While a trip to the gym or a salad for lunch isn’t going to be harmful, anorexia and bulimia can be, and it’s very easy for likeminded girls to find each other to support harmful habits. Check out this website to see an example: http://community.livejournal.com/proanorexia/

It’s important to remember that an eating disorder is a disease, and it can’t just be shaken off. If you notice that your daughter – or son because it does affect men – is noticeably thinner when he or she comes home for breaks, consult http://www.anad.org/site/anadweb/.

Also, eating disorders can work in reverse for men: they want to get bigger, which can lead to steroid use. For warning signs, consult: http://www.steroidabuse.org/

We’re not here to scare you – not in the least. But our combined experience with students in their first years of school have shown that this can happen to an unfortunate few. Most students love college and never cross harm’s way. But we want parents to be prepared if that’s not the case.

9/13/06

Healthy Eating on Campus

The first year of college means a lot of adjustments. It means more studying, sometimes living away from home, and making new friends. If your child is going to live on campus, you can also add learning how to eat to that list.

No, we don’t mean that he or she can’t pick up a fork or spoon anymore. But the choices of what they will be eating will be up to them. While most campuses provide a bevy of healthy options in the dining hall, they also offer the greasy stuff that can lead to the freshmen fifteen, like pizza and fries. And that doesn’t’ even add in late night beers or take-out runs.

It’s not that the freshman 15 is going to be a health disaster, but it can wreak havoc on the self esteem, and it can set up unhealthy habits that might be hard to break. So what can you as a parent do? Not too much, but here are some things your child can do:

1. Make sure that he or she has access to a refrigerator. This will let him or her store healthy snacks, especially fruits and vegetables, instead of relying on the vending machine.
2. Most campus gyms rival those that we pay a lot of money for, and they’re free. Plus, if your school offers classes, it’s a great way to meet new people, so check it out.
3. We’re also a fan of The Dorm Room Diet: The 8-Step Program for Creating a Healthy Lifestyle Plan That Really Works by Daphne Oz. It’s written by a student who’s been there, done that, and is full of tips for current college kids. The book comes out in September and will be available at www.bn.com.

9/05/06

Frank Comments About Collegiate Sports

In our last tip, we discussed the benefits and dangers of joining a Greek organization. Every organization on every campus is different, so it’s difficult to make a blanket statement about them all. The same can be said about sports organizations, where hazing can sometimes be more brutal than in other organizations.

It’s rare that a college will not encourage their athletes to be stellar students. In many cases, they offer academic assistance, and teams rally around each other to stick to their studies. But playing a school sport takes a lot of time between practice, gym time and traveling to and from games. Plus, it can be physically exhausting.

If your child is struggling with balancing both school work and sport, they can talk to their coach to see what resources are available. They can also reach out to other team members who might have had the same class before and could tutor (those bus rides are very popular for study and mentoring time).

If it comes to the point that your child can’t do both, you’ll have to talk to the coach and financial aid about what happens to any scholarships involved. Grades are important either way – if your child doesn’t keep up his or her grades, he or she won’t play anyway.

If your child is caught in a hazing situation, the first place to go is the coach. If the coach is non-responsive or even encourages the behavior, your child can go to the sports department. Hazing does no one any favors, especially young team members who are trying to fit into so many new places.

8/29/06

Frank Comments on Sororities & Fraternities

We wish we could write one tip about fraternity and sorority life, but we can't. Each organization is different. Each campus is different. And each organization is different on different campuses. Some have houses, some don't. Some cost $30 a month. Some cost in the hundreds. It really depends.

We can say this: Greek life is still very much a part of many campuses, and that can be a good or bad thing. Greek organizations raise millions of dollars and donate millions of service hours to worthy causes. A lot of chapters form study groups, take trips and have a lot of fun. They're fantastic networking machines and can help your child form friendships that they'll keep for the rest of their lives. But a lot of Greek organizations are also party organizations, which can lead to sometimes dangerous behavior like hazing and binge drinking.

It's important that your child consider all the options and get to really know the organization to which they want to belong before signing up. This might mean holding off joining for a year. It's easy to get caught up in rush activities and then find out that it's the wrong group for them. Waiting and getting to know members beforehand can avoid this problem. Also encourage your child to ask up front about hazing activities, and tell them that if they are ever uncomfortable, that it's okay to leave. It might be awkward at first, but it's better to get out of a dangerous situation and be safe than to keep friends who treat people poorly in the name of brother or sisterhood.

8/21/06

About “Pizza Money”

The college year has just started, but it’s a good time to address what could become an important issue: pocket money.

Forget the tuition – but just for now. How is your child going to fund his or her social life? College is expensive sure, but when you also add up the cost of entertainment, travel, food (and, no, they don’t always eat at the cafeteria) fraternity and sorority dues, and laundry, you’re talking about another sizable college expense. We at College Money call that “Pizza Money.”

You have a few options. You can pay for it. Your child can work over the summer to pay for it. Or he or she could work during school. Or you can do a combination of all three.

A few things to remember:

1. College is hard. Throwing a job on top of classes could affect grades. If you can, let your child go through one semester first to determine if he or she can handle a part time job. If your child has work study as part of a financial aid package, they have an automatic in. If not, your child can still look for jobs on campus at such places as the campus bookstore. He or she can also go to the on-campus career center to see who is posting jobs for extra help.

2. Be honest about how much it costs. You don’t want you or your child to be short-changed or to come up short, so initiate a conversation about how much that “Pizza Money” really costs which can be hard to judge before your child starts school. Also talk about where the money is going. If it’s laundry and an occasional dinner outside of school, that’s probably okay. But if it’s buying a few new CDs and DVDs every week, then you might want to have a conversation about budgeting.

3. Avoid credit cards. It’s very easy for a college student to sign up for a card – sometimes vendors sneak onto campus and offer freebies – and the students rack-up charges with the thought that when they graduate, they’ll be able to pay it off. Bad move, especially with sky high interest rates. Encouraging your child to be honest about costs will help cut this out.

8/15/06

Advice, From You?

There might be a time in the coming weeks when you’re child is going to ask you for advice. Shocked?

Of course, your child might take like a fish to water when it comes to freshman year of school. Or he or she might not have quite as easy a time adjusting as other students, which is okay. But if your child comes to you asking for advice, here are a few things you can share:

1. About making friends: How much time is your child spending talking to friends from high school? Is he holed up in his room IM-ing with buddies from home? Is she gabbing to her cell phone until the late night hours with her high school boyfriend? Those relationships are important, but they can hamper making new friends. So encourage your child to get out and meet people at school. They can sign up for www.facebook.com, which is a networking site tailored for colleges. It’s a good way to break the ice if your child is shy, as long as he or she actually meets up with the people. Also, encourage your child to sign up for activities. It’s a great time to start something new with a lot of other new people. They can reach out to the college’s student activities office for a list of campus groups.

2. About academics: If your child is struggling, advise them to get tutoring NOW. It’s much easier to catch up at the beginning of the year than to wait until the end. They can ask their professor about resources, which can vary from student study groups to an online tutoring center to a campus writing center. Full time faculty have office hours, which is a great time for your student to approach the professor separate from class time. In most cases, professors encourage students who are asking for help because it shows initiative.

3. About drinking: There’s no way around it – drinking is a popular college activity. What you say depends on your values and how you raised your children, but we advocate encouraging your child to make smart decisions. If he or she is coming to you to talk about it, it sounds like that’s what he or she will do. However, you should let them know that fake IDs are a federal offense. It’s a silly reason to get arrested and get a record.

8/08/06

Another 1st Day of School

The bags are packed, and those college freshmen are going to be settling into their new dorms soon - if they aren't there already. We have one piece of advice for parents:

DON'T PANIC.

Sure, the first month of college is stressful for students who are for the most part, living away from home for the first time in their lives. Living at college will be their first steps into adulthood, and those steps can be scary. But it's also a cause for intense parent anxiety especially if this is the first child to go away to college, and even more so if that child is an only child.

The first thing to remember is that the transition isn't always easy, and that's okay. Your child isn't going to be the only homesick kid, or the only one who has problems finding their classroom on the first day of school. It's important to be there for them, but not to become too much of a crutch. In order to get used to college, they have to live at college, which means not sending money for them to fly home every weekend. It's important to strike a balance, and if you're part of a two parent home, that you're both on the same page.

And it's also important for you to reach out to other parents who are going through the same thing. No, you won't be the only one who really misses your child, or the only one who's worries about their well being. It's okay. It's natural. But talking to other parents who are there or have been there can help keep those little worries from becoming panic.

You can also pick up Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years by Karen Levin Coburn, Madge Lawrence Treeger or You're on Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years by Marjorie Savage, both available at www.bn.com.

8/01/06

Defaulting on Student Loans

So how many students really default on their loans? The answer might not be a clear "yes or no." The Department of Education reports that default rates have dropped over the last 15 years and that default rates are currently at their lowest level. But, according to the New York Times, critics of the Dept. of Education point out that the definition of default has changed, from 180 days without payment to 270 days without payment.

No matter the definition or the rate, defaulting is still bad news - social security payments, tax refunds and up to 15 percent of wages can be taken from borrowers to pay off defaulted loans. New bankruptcy rules have also made it impossible for people who file for bankruptcy to have loans from private lenders cleared, too.

The solution? If you're not going to be able to pay back your loans, file for a deferment, which a lender must grant if you get smacked with an economic hardship (like not being able to find a job), go on to a secondary education or graduate school, or ask for an extended repayment program. Some will let you pay back loans over as much as 30 years.

Contact your lender and find out your options - it's more than worth it if it means avoiding default.

7/25/06

Starting College Tips

Now that most college freshmen know where they'll be headed in the fall, it's time to start planning for that first home away from home if your son or daughter going to be living on campus.

While it will be tempting to buy up mountains of supplies from the local discount warehouse store, hold up. Slow down. Breathe. They're just going to be gone for four months, not four years.

If your son or daughter is going to be living far away, don't buy a lot of stuff until you get there. You can just as easily buy soap, shampoo, bath towels and shower flip flops there as you can here, and you won't have to pack it for the move. This is even easier now that the Target in New Jersey looks about the same as the Target in Texas, so you know what to expect.

Also, remember that space is going to be limited and that you might want to see the dorm room before buying a chair for a corner that doesn't exist, or toilet paper for a bathroom that is stocked by the university. The school's housing department will also have guidelines about what students need and what they can't bring with them. And make sure that John or Jane makes contact with that first roommate before going all out and buying the refrigerator, TV, DVD player and microwave. Sharing will help cut down on move-in costs.

7/17/2006

New Friends in College

It's no secret that kids live in a digital world. They play video games, chat on IM; make new 'friends' on Myspace.com and send notes through text messages. But this electronic penchant could hurt them when it comes to finding friends at college where it's all too easy to retreat into an internet network of old buddies instead of getting out and making new ones.

How much a parent can do is debatable, but you can make sure your son or daughter checks out school activities before moving in. If they're motivated to check out the student newspaper or photography club before they hook up their laptops, it'll be one step into getting out there instead of hanging in. The contacts they will make in college can last a lifetime, and they'll need a network of flesh and blood friends to get through those first shaky months. They just have to get out and make them.

06/27/06

Increasing Education Loans

Reports out of the Department of Education show that students are taking out more loans than ever. The average loan amount has climbed from $13,300 per student in 1992-93 to $18,900 in 2003-4, and 66 percent of students now take out loans where only 49 percent did in 1992-3.

Why? A few reasons – the increasing cost of college where even state schools are unaffordable to many students and record low interest rates are a few. As rates climb back up and prices increase with them, more students could find themselves in over their heads. This is why planning and even setting limits on how much you can spend on an education is important in the college search process. We’ve written about the consequences of defaulting before, and that still holds true – defaulting on loans is bad news. So choosing a more affordable option might avoid heaping financial burden down the road

06/13/06

College Dropouts on the Rise

As more students are going beyond four years to earn their bachelor’s degrees, another alarming trend is popping up at colleges across the country: more students dropping out.

National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education studied graduate rates in the state of Utah and found out that half of students who enter college right after high school don’t leave with a degree.

The reasons range from money to time to exhaustion to lack of guidance. Some students can’t get a required course when they need it, and some who work and go to school are finding that school is too tiring when they’re trying to make ends meet.

The danger is that many students who don’t finish school still have to pay back any loans they took out along the way. And since their earning potential has dropped without a college degree, those loans can be a major financial burden. It’s nearly impossible to tell how a student will do when out on his or her own, but you can check to see how long it takes students to graduate from a choice university, and if there are ever waiting periods for required classes. It can help you and your child plan better so that when graduation time rolls around, they’ll be part of the ceremony.

06/06/06

College Netiquette

Classroom etiquette is well understood: no talking during a lecture, raise your hand with a comment, and turn your phone off during lectures and discussions. But some professors have added another level of classroom guidelines to their syllabuses: netiquette.

InsideHigherEd.com reports that the rules are being set out to take the casual out of email, especially in the student/professor relationship. Some professors are instructing students to address them appropriately, avoid inappropriate language and not email them about information that they should already have, such as information already in the syllabus or directions to the library.

You can take a look at one example of netiquette guidelines at the University of Oregon at http://www.uoregon.edu/~cchome/etiquette.html#Xtte96425. Even if you’re not shipping your son or daughter out to the west coast for college, it’s worth a look anyway. Their professors will appreciate it.

05/30/06

College Admissions Perspective

Chris Satullo, Philadelphia Inquirer editorial page editor, has a way with words, and his work usually takes a humorous look at sometimes serious topics. His column on April 30, 2006 was so good that we wanted to share a nugget of his wisdom. Any parent who has gone through the admissions wringer will be sure to appreciate it when he writes: “The college admissions race is a perverse, exploitative frenzy whose poisons seep ever deeper into middle-class childhood. Yet many parents equate immersion in the frenzy with doing right by their kids, rather than doing something very wrong to them.”

Read more at: http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/special_packages/sunday_review/14460814.htm

05/23/06

Choosing a Good Professor

If your son or daughter doesn’t know which professor should be teaching their intro to chemistry course, they have another resource than just asking their friends. They can now go online to sites like ratemyprofessors.com, pickaprof.com or reviewum.com and see what students of past classes have to say.

The sites are far from perfect. Anyone can hop on and rant or rave, and one site even rates a professor’s looks, but some students give good feedback that can make the difference between a sizzling and a snoozer course.

05/16/06

Skyrocketing College Costs

"Public universities used to say that they were state-funded. Now we say they're state assisted. And if the current trend continues, we're going to have to say they're state-located." Salisbury University President Dr. Janet Dudley-Eshbach.

Funny, right? Except that it’s almost true. Dr. Dudley-Eshbach says she was kidding about the above statement in a local news story, but she’s right – college, even in-state, is becoming outlandishly expensive, and it’s only getting worse.

So why does the cost of college keep skyrocketing? Colleges will give you a number of reasons for the jumps, but three factors are key: increasing cost of technology, changes in college funding and the influence of supply and demand.

1. Every college wants to be on the cutting edge (especially when it comes to recruiting new students), so they put money into development – computer labs, technology infrastructure, etc.

2. At the same time, the government has pulled back on spending, specifically in education funding. The balance rests on the colleges, which then gets turned into higher student bills.

3. As big as those factors are, the influence of supply and demand might be the most influential. As race and gender barriers broke down in the 1960s and 1970s, so did the stereotype that only rich white boys went to college. And breaking down those barriers was a wonderful thing and an important step in equal rights. But it also swelled college enrollment, and colleges have found that even if they raise prices, people are still willing to pay. If more people want to go to college, there are students who meet their criteria whose parents can pay the full ride – in cash.

Another part of supply and demand preys on parents’ desire to give their children the best education possible. $50,000 a year for an Ivy League school? We’ll make it happen. Colleges are businesses, and as long as families are willing to pay the heavy price tag, those businesses have no reason to lower their costs. If you aren’t willing to pay full tuition at Penn or Brown or Dartmouth, then there’s someone else who is. We don’t mean to sound callous but it’s a fact, and colleges do what they can to stay afloat and protect their endowments.

It’s important to realize that college costs are still climbing and aren’t going to stop when putting together your college savings plan so that you save toward the right goal.

05/09/06

Prepaid Tuition Plans

If you think a prepaid tuition plan sounds too good to be true, you might be right. Sure, they lock down the cost of college at about today’s prices, but there is a catch. Most plans are connected to a certain group of colleges, usually that state’s public universities. And while there’s nothing wrong with state colleges, the lack of choice might cause friction in the future.

Consider the following scenario: You live in Florida and take advantage of their pre-paid tuition plan. It’s not a bad idea with college inflation averaging a 9.5% increase per year since 1990. Florida has 11 different, excellent in-state public universities and 28 community colleges.

But when it comes time for John or Jane to pick a college, he or she refuses to go instate. Maybe they have an Ivy League school on their minds or want to get out of the Sunshine State.

So what happens? It depends on the state. In Florida, you’ll get a refund, and you can roll the money over into another college plan. However, the only thing you’ll get back is the principal with the annual rate of returned added or subtracted, and that’s capped at 2%. You could earn more interest in a savings account, so it’s a major loss. Other states will still give you the money when you need it, but amounts will be based on the cost of their own in-state colleges’ tuition and fees. If the student is headed for an expensive, private college, parents might be hit with a whopping bill to make up the difference.

So before you decide on a prepaid plan, do your homework and decide now what you will do if your son or daughter wants to go to school out of state. You might have to make the decision while they’re still in diapers that they don’t have another choice, and with the looming cost of college, it’s a viable option.

05/02/06

Internships

Looking for internships? The first place students turn might be to the web. So here’s a few of our favorite sites for intern job listings:

Monstertrak.com. A branch of Monster.com, Monstertrak.com allows specific internship searches.

Findtuition.com. It’s a scholarship search engine, but it also allows students to search for jobs and internships.

Campuscareercenter.com. Another job site, but one specifically designed for students and recent graduates.

Mediabistro.com. This is a catch all website for jobs in publishing, media, marketing and public relations. The job search engine will allow you to search specifically for internship positions.

The best place to look, though, is you

04/25/06

Hazing

If you think hazing is just a fraternity or sorority thing, think again. A recent study out of the University of Maine reports that students are hazed in varsity sports, performing arts groups, student activities and in Greek life. The worst culprits were the athletes: 60 percent of student athletes who participated in the survey were hazed.

What is hazing? Any activity that makes a student uncomfortable and which they feel forced to do. This could range from drinking games to having to wear a certain item of clothing at all times (like a membership pin) or being forced to perform on the spot (i.e. singing the group's theme song or barking like a dog when an older member says so, even if it's in the middle of a crowded cafeteria.)

While hazing for many is considered a rite of passage, it could be dangerous, especially if alcohol is involved. Best bet? Educate your children about the dangers of hazing and that it's okay to say no. One theory behind hazing is that a group wants to tear a person down so they can build him or her back up in their own ideals and visions. Horrible, we know, but your child needs to know how wrong that is so they can stop the hazing before it affects his or her college career. The penalties for students caught administering hazing are steep too, so have your son or daughter check with the school's hazing policy and learn what they should do if they find themselves in a hazing situation.

04/18/06

Deficit Reduction Bill Affects Student Loans

The news isn’t as bad as it could have been, but it’s still not good: right before their winter recess, Congress enacted measures that will cut $12.9 billion from student loan programs.

The cuts are part of overall $40 billion with the goal of saving money to help lower the federal deficit and lower taxes.

It didn’t happen without a fight. In fact, Congress was deadlocked on the measure, which required Vice President Dick Cheney to break the tie.

The bill also adds a vote step each year: instead of the Education Department having a manditory $900 million budget to give out two federal funds, it’s now a “discretionary” budget. This means that Congress would have to vote each year on the funds.

How will this shake out when it comes to affecting financial aid? We’ll see in 2007.

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04/04/06

Use College Fairs to do College Searches

A college fair can be a great tool in helping to choose a college. They allow you to browse a lot of colleges in very little time – while only driving to one location instead of a different town for every college.

Here are a few tips on how to make the most of the college fair.

1. Bring a canvas bag or backpack. This will allow you take home a lot of brochures at once.
2. Bring a pen and paper to take notes.
3. Check in advance which colleges will be there. This will allow you and your child to do a bit of advance research online about who will be attending. Jot down the names of “must visits” on the paper you’re bringing.
4. Prepare questions that you would ask on a regular campus tour: student housing, safety, meal plans, majors, student activities, financial aid. This is also the time to ask about possible scholarships.
5. Prepare your child to ask questions. It’ll leave a better impression if they show interest.
6. Dress appropriately. This goes for the students, too, because the people manning the tables work for the admissions offices. While it’s not a guarantee that they’ll remember every single person who visits the table, you don’t want to risk it.

Also keep in mind something we remind parents about campus visits: the schools are showing their best side at job fairs. You’ll probably hear about all the pros and no cons. So make sure you follow up with your own research after the fair.

3/28/06

The Financial Burden on College Grads

Book alert: if you are or have a child who’s about to go into college or the workforce, check out Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead by Tamara Draut.

The book covers a host of reasons why today’s young adults have so many money problems, and Draut doesn’t take the typical “kids today don’t know how to save a dollar” stance that a lot of books will say about today’s 20- and 30-somethings.

Instead, Draut shows how jobs and college has changed at a severe disadvantage to today’s young adults. From a bachelor’s degree being required for most jobs to fewer employers offer health insurance let alone full time positions (opting instead to hire contract workers) to the deregulation of the credit card industry to the sheer cost of college, Draut shows readers why the economic face of the country has changed, and why it’s harder for people to find stable ground.

Strapped is part cautionary tale – Draut was plagued with the same kind of money problems after grad school – and information database. It’s peppered with real life examples, and while it’s chock full of stats, the book doesn’t drag. Draut also shows what can happen if a student either takes on too many loans or tries to work full time while going to school. It’s a must read.

3/20/2006

Oil Prices Affect College Students

If you thought that the rising cost of oil only affected your heating bill, think again. It could change your college schedule.

Students at Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College in South Carolina have asked for more courses that meet longer but for fewer days a week. And Dr. Anne Crook president of the college agrees that it’s something to seriously consider because like college inflation, it doesn’t look like gas prices are going to drop any time soon.

The rising cost of fuel is important to consider when calculating total college costs. If your son or daughter is going to commute to school, how much will that come to in terms of gas bills? And if he or she is going to live on campus, does he or she really need a car if you’re looking to keep out-of-pocket costs low?

3/14/2006

Practical Financial Decisions

Right now is a hard time for parents to be practical. As those admissions “yes” and “no” envelopes come it, every parent wants to send their children to the school of their dreams, whatever the cost. But remember that going for a better value option might save everyone a lot of stress in the long run.

Let’s assume that even with a pricey degree, your child is going to graduate college with a job that earns them conservatively $30,000 a year. They also might be living on their own for the first time, which could mean new bills: rent, insurance, car, groceries, heat, electricity. Now throw a student loan bill on top of that – for years. It might be more than enough to break the camel’s back – and that’s assuming that your son or daughter finds a well-paying job right out of the gate.

And if you plan on paying back the loans yourself, how will that affect your ability to retire?

We’re not saying this to be party poopers. We’re saying this because we’re practical. As college costs mount and people borrow more money than ever, paying back those loans is a genuine financial concern -- Just one more factor to consider.

3/7/2006

College Courses in High School

College credit for high school students isn't just for Ivy League-track overachievers anymore. In fact, the New York Times reports that about fifty percent of high school junior and seniors are taking a college-level course.

Jobs for the Future a non-profit organization, is even using college level credit as a way to help students who might not finish college or even go to college. By creating smaller schools where student can earn both types of credit - high school and college - the folks at Jobs for the Future hope that they can give students who might not otherwise consider college a chance.

You can check out Jobs for the Future at www.jff.org.

2/28/2006

Community College – A Valuable Resource

We’ve touted the importance of community colleges many times before – they’re a great option for students who aren’t sure whether college is right for them, what career they might want to pursue, or for adults looking to ramp up their education. Plus, community colleges don’t carry the hefty price tag a four-year school usually does.

However, a new study shows that government support of community colleges has been happening for decades and threatens to cripple the system, especially in a time when federal spending for all colleges – four and two year – is being slashed.

According to insidehighered.com in their report on the study:
-“In 1980-81, 16 states contributed at least 60 percent of the budgets of their community colleges. By 2000-1, none did so.”
-“In 1980-81, 22 states contributed at least half of the budgets for their community colleges, which enrolled 55 percent of all community college students in the country. By 2000-1, only 7 states — enrolling 8 percent of community college students — did so.”
Alarming news. As tuition for state colleges spirals upwards, affordable community colleges are more crucial than ever.

2/17/2006

Finding the Money

In our last tip, we told you about three different federal lending programs, one being the Stafford program. While this is a federal lending program, only about 25 percent of the money lent out is from the government – this according to the New York Times. The rest is lent by banks and private lenders.

What this means is that you can find Stafford loans on your own. Your college might give you a list of whom they recommend as lenders, but feel free to hunt around. You might be able to pick up incentives for payments that are deducted directly from your banking account or for good behavior i.e. paying on time. However be careful, read the fine print, and make sure a deal isn’t too good to be true. Just like any loan, you want to be sure of the terms before you sign up.

2/17/2006

Student Loan Cuts

The news isn't as bad as it could have been, but it's still not good: right before their winter recess, Congress enacted measures that will cut $12.9 billion from student loan programs.

The cuts are part of overall $40 billion with the goal of saving money to help lower the federal deficit and lower taxes.

It didn't happen without a fight. In fact, Congress was deadlocked on the measure, which required Vice President Dick Cheney to break the tie.

The bill also adds a vote step each year: instead of the Education Department having a manditory $900 million budget to give out two federal funds, it's now a "discretionary" budget. This means that Congress would have to vote each year on the funds.

How will this shake down when it comes to affecting financial aid? We'll see in 2006.

2/8/2006

Campus Security

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently reported on a disturbing trend: colleges fudging their crime statistics.

By law, colleges and universities are required to share crime statistics with anyone who asks for them – parents, students, your grandmother. It’s called the Cleary Act, and it’s been around since 1990. However, the U.S. Justice Department has released a statement saying that “only about a third do so in a way fully consistent with federal laws.”

While schools can and are being fined – and publicly shamed into changing their reporting, as was the University of Pennsylvania – the Cleary Act relies on schools to make a "good-faith effort" to report crimes that happen in and around campus accurately; so it’s really left up to the schools unless someone does a little digging.

So what can you do? Be wary if a school reports zero incidents of violent crime, especially if in an urban area. Also, ask what the school considers its zone to report. Sure, they might be covering campus, but what about that sidewalk that borders campus? What about the park across the street? Or the walkway from classrooms to residence halls? You can also check with the police department. While those numbers might not report altercations taken care of by campus security, they will give you a better idea of what the surrounding area is like.

1/31/2006

Athletes and Academic Progress

It might be a stereotype that college athletes are a bit dimmer than your typical co-ed, but it's a stereotype that's being proved wrong.

One reason is that the NCAA has re-evaluated how they measure graduation success rate, now following students if they transfer. It's now called the Graduation Success Rate.

Before, the NCAA had reported a 62 percent graudation rate for those athletes who entered college from 1995 to 1998. Now, that number is 76 percent.

The NCAA has also enacted a new set of academic standards - teams will now report an "Academic Progress Rate." This will track how student athletes are moving toward earning their degrees.

Of course, each team's academic programs depend on the team. If your child is considering playing sports in college, talk to the coach about their dedication to academics. Some have just as rigorous library hours programs as gym training session.

The men's sport that reported the lowest rate of graduation in that 1995 to 1998 period is basketball (58%). Highest is lacross (89%). For women, the lowest is bowling (72%) and highest is lacross (94%).

1/18/2006

Students Blogging

Blogging may be a popular new way for people to express themselves in writing, but they can come back to haunt you.

A blog is an online diary and can be about anything the author chooses, from the routine (like what she did that day or a running account of his dog's activities), to the political (like opinions about hot-button topics i.e. First Amendment Rights or abortion).

But blogs are searchable and, if an identity revealed, a reason for termination. Though whether the blog was the only reason or one reason of many for being fired, they're still weighing in on some people's careers. Bloggers working for companies from Blockbuster Video to Ladies Home Journal to Autotrader.com have all been allegedly fired from their positions because of views expressed on the web.

What does this have to do with college? We're all for First Amendment Rights here at College Money, but students should realize that their views could get back to their teachers, school officials or potential employers. So if your son or daughter blogs, it might be a good idea to remind them that YOU can read their blog, too. It might help them think twice about what they say.

1/9/2006

State Tuition Savings Plans

We've touted the benefits of the 529 savings plan many times before here at College Money. But how is your state doing?

Since 2002, all 50 states have offered 529 savings plans, and each plan is different by state. If you want to know how these plans are working in your state, visit the College Savings Plan Network online at www.collegesavings.org. Besides having a good deal of information about saving money for college, they have stats for all state 529 plans at http://www.collegesavings.org/media/stats.htm. Click on "1st Quarter 2005."