Student loans are the answer to money problems these days, especially because you can defer payments until after graduation, unlike other loans. But if you aren’t careful, you can end up owing a lot more than you borrowed. I was able to get $4000 in scholarships, but the rest of my expenses are covered by loans. I was able to get a subsidized Stafford loan through Wells Fargo (the government pays the interest while I’m in school) for $3500, but all the rest is in a Parent PLUS loan, which has a high interest rate and although payments are differed, it accrues interest now. If you can get Stafford loans, even if it’s unsubsidized, I’d take advantage, even if you need another loan as well. Stafford loans are a great deal.
I didn’t have to get any private student loans, but for some people, this is what they choose to do for whatever reason. Think Financial offers student loans as well as financial advice and resources and a comparison chart. Think Financial is a well-known student loan provider in cooperation with Charter One Bank and their website is very helpful. They don’t require collateral, and you can apply and get an answer in fifteen minutes and you can use the money for all expenses, unlike some providers. Private loans also give you your money much faster than going through a university.
The biggest reason people choose to go this route is because the amount you can borrow is up to $40,000 for one year, which is a lot more than financial aid offices award students. There are other loan companies, such as Sallie Mae and My Rich Uncle, although I personally like Think Financial or Chase.
If you’re going to go this route, I definitely suggest doing a lot of research into the company and the rates. Be sure to read the fine print and make sure you’re getting a fixed rate. Some companies, such as Sallie Mae have allegations against them so beware of that. Also, private loans usually require good credit to be approved so it helps to have a parent or older family member that’s willing to help. But if they’re going to put their name on it, sometimes it’s better to take out a second mortgage or do a home equity loan with a better rate.
Posted in Financial Aid, Money with 2 comments
Following up my post about research techniques, I would like to mention a great resource I’ve found, Questia. It’s an online academic library that contains over 67,000 digital books and 1.5 million articles, all available in full-text. They also have over 5,000 free books and an encyclopedia.
If your school doesn’t have an online database, which some of them don’t, but you still need access to academic sources for research, websites like Questia can help you. It isn’t free, but they do offer free trials, which is something I definitely would take advantage of. They have yearly, quarterly and monthly subscriptions, which might be helpful if you have only one paper to write, but for most college students, it’s not much of an option. I would suggest they use advertising to make more money so they can lower the subscription prices.
My favorite thing about Questia is the layout. My school’s library does offer an academic database, but the layout for it is very confusing. Questia’s organization is very simple and easy to use.
Another thing that’s great about Questia is the search feature. The relevance of articles in search results matches very well to what I’m actually looking for. My school’s database is so large that I have to sift through hundreds of irrelevant articles to finally get what I’m looking for. They have very nice categorical structure so it’s really easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Posted in Academic with 2 comments
Online degrees are an upcoming trend that I’m not sure about. Usually, when taking a course online, it’s much easier. There’s not a teacher around you to watch and make sure you’re not cheating. I’ve seen more and more universities pop up that solely give online degrees, for example, Utica College offers Economic Crime Degrees.
For some people, online degrees might be the way to go. If you can’t afford or don’t have the time to go to a physical school, but still need a degree, it’s a nice choice to have. Utica College offers an intensive online cybersecurity degree and a masters in cybercrime investigation, which are subjects I’ve thought about before, but what with all the identity theft going on, wouldn’t be a bad field to get into.
One thing that you’d want to look for with an online university is accreditation. If I spend money and get a degree at this college, is it going to be good enough for an employer? Also, what would the classes be like? Utica College uses WebCT, which is something my university uses and is a nice course management system.
Getting a college education online could save you a lot of time, energy and money if you’re looking for that sort of environment. It may not be for eighteen year-olds, but it might be just the thing if you’re a little older and juggling a full-time job.
Readers, what are your opinions on this? Do you think they’re a waste or just what we need in the education field?
Posted in Academic with 5 comments
We’ve all had to write one before and if you’re one of the very few who haven’t, then you will get there. Some of us are lucky enough (debatable) to have had a research paper assigned in high school where the teachers walk you through everything and some of us are even luckier when our college professors are actually grad students who will do the same thing for us poor little freshmen.
In Comp I, we have three writing portfolios for the semester. The first is an autobiography, the second and third are collaborative research assignments. In the first, we simply gather our research and write source reviews. We don’t actually write the paper until the third project is due, which is the end of the semester.
Point is, research is important and here’s my tips on how to do it successfully.
Most research needs to be academic and professors usually want those sources to be from some sort of scholarly journal and if anyone’s had the privilege of reading one, they’re boring. How to get through all that material without killing yourself? Read the abstract, which most of them have. If you can sit through that, you can sit through the rest of the article. Read it in chunks. A few pages at a time, highlighting important information so you don’t ever have to read it again.
Make sure to bookmark or print out a copy and do your citation now. I keep a text document of all my citations so I don’t have to go find them at the end. Citation Machine is your friend, your hero and your savior. Choose the format (MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian and simply input the information and it prints out the citation for you.
Zotero is a Firefox extension to help collect, manage and cite your research. I personally haven’t used it, but have heard great reviews.
To sum it up
- Read the abstract or summary first
- Read in chunks, taking breaks
- Highlight
- Bookmark the article
- Make your citations now and keep a running bibliography
Other articles and resources
Posted in Academic with 2 comments
One of the bigger trends that’s coming out is contests and I must say, I’m a fan. When That College Kid gets bigger, I’m planning on holding a few of my own. They’re a great way to win cool prizes by doing something easy (usually writing a blog post) and get some traffic.
Contest Blogger is exactly what it sounds like. He blogs about contests. Great resource and the author has a fun sense of humor.
The Prize Blog is the top two contest blog as far as ranking goes. The Prize Blog is currently holding a contest to win a custom logo from the SOS Factory.
Macs Money Blog is holding a contest to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate for simply posting about the contest. Another way to enter is to submit articles to FinanceFavorites.com
Posted in Misc with 3 comments
Structured Settlement
athletic shoes
Home Loans
Maytag Parts
Low-Priced Appliance Parts
Lifesize video conferencing
Auto insurance
Direct TV
Vinyl Banners
Amway Business Opportunity
Hilarious T-Shirts
