Get more out of your financial aid award

If you will be paying for college using financial aid, now is the time to begin. In fact, most college students rely on financial aid. College tuition and expenses are rising, so you need to be able to get the most you can from your financial award package. Virtually every college gives out a financial aid package based on your FAFSA, so it is important to fill that out correctly. Here are some tips for maximizing your financial aid.

File your FAFSA early. You can start filling it out online January 1st. Quite a few colleges have deadlines, many as early as February. There is a limited amount of money that colleges have to give out. First come, first served is common. If you have not filed your income tax, or your parents, you can still fill out the FAFSA and use estimates. Bottom line, file your FAFSA early!

Even if you don't have a clue as to if or what you will qualify, fill your FAFSA out anyway. There is other money aid from colleges available, as well as federal student loans, that require a FAFSA to be filled out.

Be sure and fill the form out correctly and completely. Any errors or blanks will cause delays. All lines need to be filled out, even with zeros. If you fill it out online, the process should guide you on every line that must be filled in. Filling it out online is much easier anyway.

A college student is expected to contribute to their education. Your bank accounts and your parent's, will be counted. If you have money in a savings account, you might want to transfer it to a 529 savings plan. If you have a lot of money saved, use it all in your freshman year. That way, your future financial aid award will not be affected. Your parents can put money into an IRA or 401(k) that won't be counted as well.

One thing about your FAFSA to remember. Be sure and not lie or fudge figures. If you are found out, you could be declared ineligible for any financial aid. Be open and honest.

A little know aspect of getting more financial aid is to tell your college of your financial situation if it matters. You can talk to the financial aid officer, or write a letter, stating financial hardships that you and your family are going through. This could get you more aid. Also, if you get different financial aid awards from different colleges, you can use that as leverage for the school you want. Ask them if they will match a better offer. If the college wants you, they may do that.

Financial aid is not just grants and loans. You may need to work in the work-study program. The school also might give scholarships to eligible students who maintain good grades.

The bottom line is to get your FAFSA in now!

Ways to Save Money in College

The cost of a four year degree keeps going up. It's getting to be very expensive to go to college and many families are feeling the pinch. There are a few ways to save money on college expenses and make getting that degree a little more affordable.

If you are still in high school, start thinking about college now. Many junior colleges allow you to take college classes while in high school. Some are even taught on high school campuses. Take some classes before you graduate. If you are up to the challenge, take AP classes and pass the AP exams. This will give you college credit. Any classes you take will make the overall cost of a degree cheaper.

In fact, virtually all college degrees require the same first two years of general education requirements. Taking these classes at a local community college can save big bucks. Then transfer. You will only have roughly two years of four year college expenses. Staying at home, going to a JC, can be one of the biggest ways to save money on college. Resist the urge to get a federal student loan while at a junior college. Try and pay cash. Your loan will be much bigger than the expenses if you are living at home. Save the debt for the four year college or university.

Speaking of staying at home, are you attending college close to you? No reason to spend money on a dorm or apartment. Staying at home cuts that expense down to what your parents are already paying--your room and board now.

What is your plan? Do you have a major picked out? You need to pick one soon. Taking classes that you don't need is a waste of time and money. Choose a degree wisely, and stick with it. If not, you probably will spend longer than four years getting a degree because you need different classes. Take only the classes you need. You can also be a dual-major, using the some of the same classes for each degree.

If you live on campus, get the cheapest meal plan first. This will allow you to test the food to see if you like, and more importantly, will actually eat it. No reason to get a meal plan that you will not use.

Sometimes an off-campus apartment is cheaper than a dorm and meal plan. Check this option out.

Yes, college is expensive. Checking out ways to save now is a good idea. Also, it is very important to graduate without a staggering amount of student loan debt.

How teachers and schools can prepare students for college

Not all students will go to college. Not all students must go to college. College is an option like anything else. The problem is, schools and teachers seem bent on preparing all students for college, but most of these ideas are off base. Here are some real world tips for preparing students for college.

The work is not necessarily harder in college. We do students a disservice when saying it is. Kind of scares them into a false reality. Some classes and subjects may be easier in college than high school. Many general requirement classes will be filled with hundreds of students doing mostly busy work. Not exactly hard. Time consuming, but not hard. In fact, the biggest thing teachers and schools can do to prepare students for college, is for them to actually know what the present college experience is like.

College students must meet deadlines. Do you have deadlines? Or are you lenient? This is a good rule for all students, not just college bound. The real world has real, hard hitting deadlines. If you miss them, you suffer. Don't pay your taxes on time and see what happens. Show up to work late. You suffer. College students may actually fail classes by not meeting deadlines. Certainly they must register and have all forms in by certain dates. Give your students consequences for turning in late work. College professors consider college students adult enough and are not very lenient.

Technology only goes so far. High school students grow up today using spell checkers, texting, and calculators. While that's fine, colleges are still pretty old fashioned. Introductory college writing will require proper sentence structure and grammar. And spell checkers don't do much for wrong words spelled right. Calculators? They probably will not help you in many math classes. These skills are good for the real world as well. People who can function in all circumstances will thrive. Don't be lenient on worked turned in that is garbage and is done in a lazy way.

Note taking may have become a lost art. But college, as stated above, is still old fashioned. You must be able to take good notes and be able to study with them later. If your students are not taking notes, they may falter. Taking notes also helps students pay attention to what is being taught. A good skill for the job market as well.

Schools should demand that teachers and students meet standards. Many four year colleges have canceled their remedial classes because there are just too many students needing them. They can't cope. Many students find they can't pass entrance exams and must take a class at a junior college. In California, for example, the high school exit exam tests to just about the 10th grade. Do you think 10th grade level is good to start college? It's not. 10th grade level should not even be accepted in the job market.

Advanced Placement and Honors classes have their place, but they give a false sense of "college readiness" or "intelligence." AP classes are taught to pass the AP exam. Why? Because if one does not pass the exam, taking the class is now a moot point. Too many schools are stuffing their campus with these classes. They don't do much good. They prepare to pass a high school class, but not get you college ready. Parents should have their students get straight A's in a regular college-bound curriculum, and not be snookered into Honors classes.

Teachers, incorporate more logic and critical thinking into your classes. That's what college campuses are craving right now. Critical thinking students. Do you make your students think on a daily basis? Or they just doing mindless tasks?

How college students can save on rent

For many college students, the dorm is not an option, or they just don't want to live on campus in a cramped dorm room with a bunch of other students in the same room and building. But renting can be very expensive compared to the dorm. Here are some ways of saving money on rent.

The best way to save money is to not get the first apartment you see. You need to shop around and see what's out there. Getting the best price may take some leg work, but even $50 less a month is almost $500 for the school year.

It may seem counter to what college students should do, but signing a lease may get you a few dollars off the rent. A longer lease generally comes with better terms. The downside is that during summer, you will need to find someone to take over the payments, or live there yourself. Every college has a summer term and there are students who need rooms just for the summer.

Speaking of renting rooms, that's another way to make rent cheaper. Rent a spare room. It could either be to another college student, or maybe a tourist in town. The latest thing is renting rooms to tourists as the cost of hotels continues to skyrocket. This is better than the dorm, in that you can pick and choose a roommate.

Consider your location. Rooms near a college may be more expensive than just a few more miles away. Supply and demand is in play here. You will be competing with other college students looking for rentals. The further away you can live, the cheaper the rent. Maybe. You have to weigh the distance with price.

A good deal is rents that include anything free. If you can scoop up a place that tosses in free trash, water, wi-fi, maybe even other utilities, that could be quite a savings right there. Everyone needs water and wi-fi. If you spend money on a gym membership, having a free one at your apartment complex can save some dough as well.

Career Jobs That do not Require a College Degree

The health care industry seems to just keep growing. People will always need healthcare, and as the baby boomers age, demand will only increase. Yes, doctors and nurses will be needed, but the top healthcare jobs that are growing do no require a degree. Or, in some cases, only require a two-year degree. If the healthcare field is something you would like to get into, but do not want to spend years in college, here are three such positions.

One of these is a health information technician and medical records. Many public community and career colleges offer these classes. You will probably need to earn a certificate, or go for a full two year degree in information technology in healthcare. If you would like a medical career, but do not necessarily like interacting with patients, this is the ideal job. You must be a person who is very organized and can keep track of details.
If you do like working with patients, consider becoming a medical assistant. Some of these jobs are like super secretaries. They can help run doctors offices from the front desk. You will be doing some paper work, like scheduling appointments. Getting the medical history of a patient is also withing your scope of practice. Some even do medical tasks, like vital signs and injections. Every medical office will have different requirements. A certificate in medical assisting from a career or community college is probably a must. You can earn a two year degree as well.
One of the biggest growing medical fields is in massage and physical therapy. More people are looking at alternative medical treatments and massage therapy is booming. Opportunities are opening up all over. You have to be good with your hands and work very well interacting with people. A massage therapists will probably need a certificate. Physical therapists, which are more involved in the medical field, will probably want to go for a bachelor's degree, but it is not required to be licensed. Check with your state on what it takes to become a licensed physical therapist.
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Degrees with guaranteed jobs

If you are graduating college, you know the job hunt will be tough. But if you are just starting college and are wondering where the jobs are, look no further. There are a few degrees that will give you a guaranteed job after graduating. In fact, you probably will be sought out and offered more than one job. However, these degrees are math and science oriented. Before you take out huge amounts of student loans, choose your college degree wisely. Get a degree in pharmacology, and you'll have labs trying to hire you. Coming up with new drugs and lab tests for various diseases will always be growing. Healthcare is still a rising field and pharmacology majors will be at the forefront of the future. The world needs new and improved drugs for combating disease all the time. Energy majors are also in high demand. No doubt that energy needs of the world will grow. Green energy is still a pipe dream. Fossil fuels will still be around for centuries. Geophysics majors will have multiple offers. Big energy companies cannot even get enough grads from the United States to fill their growing positions. In fact, if you want to live abroad, global energy companies have locations all over. Yes, both of those college majors above are heavily involved in research. So, it only makes sense that another field, the universe, is also looking for scientists for research. We don't even know a fraction of the universe. Astrophysics or planetary science majors will have plenty of research jobs to peruse through. If your thing is math, then becoming an actuary is right up your alley. Guaranteed job for sure. Insurance companies hire actuaries to research risks for all types of things. A degree in actuarial science is one hot degree. There you have it. College majors that will get you not only a guaranteed job, but a high paying one. And those jobs are high in job satisfaction. Choose your college major wisely! >>Find a job after graduating. >>Job interview tips.

Graduate college with little or no debt

Before you go to college and get loaded up with a mountain of student loan debt, think it over. Be smart about how you finance your education, and, choose your college and major wisely. Student loans can add up quickly. If you can't get a high paying job to make the payments, you will be in a bind. Even if you can make the payments, you will need years to pay off the student loans. Avoiding student loans may sound impossible, but it is doable. College should enhance you life, not ruin it with debt.

The first thing you can do to make college debt manageable, is to choose your major wisely. A major that will not get you a high paying job is not worth borrowing thousands of dollars to finance it. If you are stuck on your current low-paying major, you should finance college in a different way. Read on for more tips. If you have a major that can guarantee a high paying job, and is in demand, you can quickly pay off your student loans. Does your future job justify getting $100,000 in debt?

Choose your college wisely. The cost of attendance is different between schools, and can be quite staggering. Most often, a public college or university is much cheaper than a private one. Even with recent tuition increases. Some private colleges do give out more money, so be sure and do research. In the end, it does not really matter where you graduate if your degree is in demand. You don't have to start out at a four year college. Going to a local junior college will make the first two years of college much cheaper in relation to the years elsewhere. Remember, your four year degree will still say it came from the four year college. Many junior colleges near four year schools have agreements about guaranteed admission from one to the other. This can really make your first two years of school almost debt free to begin with.

Get a job and keep working. Yes, it's tough to go to college and work. But it will pay off in the end. Traditional colleges are very expensive to attend. Most colleges and universities are offering class that are non-traditional, or at later hours. You can take classes online, after work, and on weekends. Did you know that many freshmen do not finish in four years? There is no rule that says you have to. Colleges have programs and degrees geared for working people.

We all know the lure and excitement about attending college. The dorms, the fun, the friends. But we forget the debt. Don't get suckered into ruining your future. Graduate debt-free and you can party the rest of your life!