Nervous about college?
You should be...
You’ll have plenty of competition from other students applying.
Here’s eight tips that give college-bound students an edge.
1. Get a job, either part-time during school or full-time during the summer, and stick with it. “It shows a good work ethic and reliability,” says Linda Metcalf, the author of How to Say It: Application, Essay and Interview Strategies to Get You the Big Envelope. “Colleges are looking for students who will stick with school and graduate.”
2. Take the most rigorous courses available.
3. Instead of giving your teachers a stamped, addressed envelope for recommendations, tell them you’ll pick up the recommendations on a certain day, which gives you an opportunity to proofread them, suggests Metcalf. This is because teachers are asked to write so many recommendations that the wrong school name or even the wrong student name sometimes ends up in a letter.
4. Instill a sense of service to others at an early age, parent Karen Doskocil suggests. That jibes with Metcalf’s advice to students to commit to some sort of ongoing community service that is meaningful to them, such as regular volunteer work at an animal shelter.
5. Try looking at schools that aren’t what everybody else is looking at, suggests Ellen Hoffman of Bright Futures College Consulting.
6. Visit prospective colleges the summer after the sophomore year, suggests parent Karen Giangrosso. It’s a less task-packed time that the summer between junior and senior year, when the college application process should already be under way.
7. Ask an English teacher to help you edit your college application essay, suggests Metcalf, but don’t let Mom hire a college coach to write it for you. “The universities said they want their essays to sound like they were written by an 18-year-old, not an adult,” Metcalf says.
8. You can save the application fee at some schools if you apply online, says Kaprelian.
September 15, 2008
Cathy Frisinger
McClatchy Newspapers
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
College Grads need to make good financial habits
Since it is summer, most students are trying to make a little bit of $ to finance entertainment moments, a new vehicle, or even future schooling. ;-)
I'm just going to take a moment and remind graduates that it's a big world out there. Whether you chose to further your education or to jump right into the work-place, don't let your finances, (or lack of them) ruin your plans.
Here are some financial tips to keep ahead:
1. Put 10% or more of your income into long-term savings. (Putting 10% into the tithe box does NOT constitute life savings, hehehe.)
2. Make a budget. You can't save for a car, school, or the future if you don't know how much you're making and spending. (Online sites like Mint.com or Kiplinger.com can offer budgeting tools.)
3. Don't spend $ you don't have. Live within your means.
4. Consolidate school loans. After college, this will allow you to roll all loans together with one interest rate.
5. Build your credit history carefully. Use your credit card WISELY and only when you have to.
6. Have a health care plan. Figure out when your parents' coverage ends and be sure you have another one lined up.
Welcome to the adult world!
I'm just going to take a moment and remind graduates that it's a big world out there. Whether you chose to further your education or to jump right into the work-place, don't let your finances, (or lack of them) ruin your plans.
Here are some financial tips to keep ahead:
1. Put 10% or more of your income into long-term savings. (Putting 10% into the tithe box does NOT constitute life savings, hehehe.)
2. Make a budget. You can't save for a car, school, or the future if you don't know how much you're making and spending. (Online sites like Mint.com or Kiplinger.com can offer budgeting tools.)
3. Don't spend $ you don't have. Live within your means.
4. Consolidate school loans. After college, this will allow you to roll all loans together with one interest rate.
5. Build your credit history carefully. Use your credit card WISELY and only when you have to.
6. Have a health care plan. Figure out when your parents' coverage ends and be sure you have another one lined up.
Welcome to the adult world!
Many of Dad's sayings are sage advice for grads
BY GREGORY KARP
Retailers dub the coming time of year "dads and grads," a catchy phrase reminding you to buy gifts for Father's Day and graduations.
But combining the events is also an opportunity to examine the sage advice dads might give new graduates. Some is more useful than the clever retort, "Because I said so."
"Shut the door, I'm not paying to heat the neighborhood."
This joins such classics as "Were you raised in a barn?" "Who left these lights on?" and "Do you think I own stock in the electric company?"
Dad might favor energy savings for environmental reasons, but more likely he can't stand wasting money. And he knows lowering fixed costs, such as home utilities, is a great way to spend less. Once grads are on their own, they would be wise to use compact fluorescent bulbs, reduce water use and complete simple insulation and weatherization upgrades. Some of your biggest savings, however, don't come from one-time tricks but from daily habits. So, be moderate with the thermostat and, yes, turn off the lights when you leave a room.
"What part of 'No' don't you understand?"
Many dads consider it their mission to instill discipline in their children, including telling them "no." But once graduates fly the coop, they'll have to learn to tell themselves "no" or suffer the consequences. Overspending is almost a rite of passage. And it's difficult when most of the marketing messages are aimed at young people. The easiest way to say "no" is when you have a reason. So create money goals for something you want more than daily temptations: saving for a house down payment, paying cash for your next car, or saving for a wedding or honeymoon.
"Save for your future."
This is difficult for new grads, who often feel retirement is a lifetime away. "One thing my dad impressed on me was that I shouldn't waste my money on the latest gadget or gizmo; that I should save it so I could benefit from compounding returns," said Jim Wang, creator of a personal finance blog at Bargaineering.com. Wang recently published on his site a money guide for new graduates. Contribute to a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), especially if your employer matches your contributions. That's free money. And if you start early, you'll have to save a whole lot less later.
"Save for a rainy day."
This sounds like the previous advice, but it's totally different. This refers to having some cash on hand to deal with life's unexpected mishaps, from car repairs to losing your job. So start an emergency fund. Dad might be an optimist, but he knows it will rain — it's only a matter of when.
"I'm not made of money."
This might be accompanied by the rhetorical "What do you think I am, a bank?" or "You'll realize the value of money once you start earning some." Once graduates are on their own, they'll have to establish their money boundaries rather than extend them with careless borrowing, especially on credit cards. Dad is hinting at the best spending tip that dwarfs all others: "Live within your means."
"Would you jump off a bridge if your friends did?"
This might be dad's warning against the lemming-like behavior of investors. Most people follow the crowd and do the wrong thing: buying high and selling low. Slow and steady investing, ideally in index mutual funds, is decidedly boring — and decidedly better than chasing hot stocks. The paternal corollary here is "Look before you leap." Don't invest in anything you don't understand.
And, of course, dad doesn't always have a witty answer, but he does have his usual fallback: "Go ask your mother."
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/01/1338828/many-of-dads-sayings-are-sage.html#ixzz0qHmjkQiy
Retailers dub the coming time of year "dads and grads," a catchy phrase reminding you to buy gifts for Father's Day and graduations.
But combining the events is also an opportunity to examine the sage advice dads might give new graduates. Some is more useful than the clever retort, "Because I said so."
"Shut the door, I'm not paying to heat the neighborhood."
This joins such classics as "Were you raised in a barn?" "Who left these lights on?" and "Do you think I own stock in the electric company?"
Dad might favor energy savings for environmental reasons, but more likely he can't stand wasting money. And he knows lowering fixed costs, such as home utilities, is a great way to spend less. Once grads are on their own, they would be wise to use compact fluorescent bulbs, reduce water use and complete simple insulation and weatherization upgrades. Some of your biggest savings, however, don't come from one-time tricks but from daily habits. So, be moderate with the thermostat and, yes, turn off the lights when you leave a room.
"What part of 'No' don't you understand?"
Many dads consider it their mission to instill discipline in their children, including telling them "no." But once graduates fly the coop, they'll have to learn to tell themselves "no" or suffer the consequences. Overspending is almost a rite of passage. And it's difficult when most of the marketing messages are aimed at young people. The easiest way to say "no" is when you have a reason. So create money goals for something you want more than daily temptations: saving for a house down payment, paying cash for your next car, or saving for a wedding or honeymoon.
"Save for your future."
This is difficult for new grads, who often feel retirement is a lifetime away. "One thing my dad impressed on me was that I shouldn't waste my money on the latest gadget or gizmo; that I should save it so I could benefit from compounding returns," said Jim Wang, creator of a personal finance blog at Bargaineering.com. Wang recently published on his site a money guide for new graduates. Contribute to a retirement plan, such as a 401(k), especially if your employer matches your contributions. That's free money. And if you start early, you'll have to save a whole lot less later.
"Save for a rainy day."
This sounds like the previous advice, but it's totally different. This refers to having some cash on hand to deal with life's unexpected mishaps, from car repairs to losing your job. So start an emergency fund. Dad might be an optimist, but he knows it will rain — it's only a matter of when.
"I'm not made of money."
This might be accompanied by the rhetorical "What do you think I am, a bank?" or "You'll realize the value of money once you start earning some." Once graduates are on their own, they'll have to establish their money boundaries rather than extend them with careless borrowing, especially on credit cards. Dad is hinting at the best spending tip that dwarfs all others: "Live within your means."
"Would you jump off a bridge if your friends did?"
This might be dad's warning against the lemming-like behavior of investors. Most people follow the crowd and do the wrong thing: buying high and selling low. Slow and steady investing, ideally in index mutual funds, is decidedly boring — and decidedly better than chasing hot stocks. The paternal corollary here is "Look before you leap." Don't invest in anything you don't understand.
And, of course, dad doesn't always have a witty answer, but he does have his usual fallback: "Go ask your mother."
Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/06/01/1338828/many-of-dads-sayings-are-sage.html#ixzz0qHmjkQiy
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Summer Vacation
Here it is June, and I'm already thinking about the new fall term. Yep, I did just take some classes, which put me in the role of a mind-numbed student...especially during those afternoon hours.
Maybe I should rethink some new mercy laws for class time...maybe...
Right now, I'm gonna set this blog up to encourage you all that summertime isn't dead-brain time.
Enjoy the sun.
Get some exercise.
Read a book, or two or 100.
Don't let the lazy days turn into brain daze when August rolls around, or it ain't gonna be pretty when your classes start.
Mueyhahaha!
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