One of the key elements of adulthood is learning to save for the future. Before your student leaves for college, it’s crucial to teach them how to manage money and save for the future. They will be bombarded with opportunities to spend, making saving a low priority. There will be the usual college expenses, entertainment and the temptation to frivolously spend while they are in college.
As their parent, you know the importance of saving for college and continuing to save for retirement. You can set an example by your actions and encouraging them to establish their own saving strategy. If you help them set up a savings account before college, it will be routine for them to put a portion of their earnings in the account during college; and, it establishes a good saving strategy after graduation.
Start in high school
CIT Bank can help you with their Savings Builder account. You can start an account for your student while they are in high school with as little as a $100 deposit. The savings you accumulate can be used for textbooks and any additional college expenses after high school graduation. Just a small monthly deposit of $100 quickly becomes $1000 and more to help your student with college expenses.
Here’s how it works
With $100 you can open an account with CIT Bank and earn up to 2.20% APY by making a single deposit of $100 or more every month. By using this online bank, it’s easy to grow and preserve your savings safely and securely because they are FDIC insured. There are no opening, monthly servicing, or line transfer fees.
You can easily access the funds in your account using free electronic transfers between your savings account and any other account at another bank; or, you can call and a check will be sent in the mail for free.
Funding your account with a minimum of $100 with an electronic transfer or check
You will receive an email confirmation and you are ready to start saving
The benefits of a saving strategy
By establishing a savings strategy for college, you are not only saving for those college expenses, but helping your student see the value and the benefit of putting money aside for the future. As the savings grow (with interest), you are teaching your student good money management and setting them up for financial success in the future.
You’ve done all the prep work, you have checked out all the colleges of interest for your teenager, made the applications and now after all the hard work is over, they have accepted a space at the college of their choice. You could be mistaken for thinking that all your hard work is over and you can relax safe in the knowledge you helped your offspring navigate the next part of the education journey.
We all know there is nothing that equals the experience your child will have at college. It is where thy will learn to fend for themselves and learn skills to carry with them for the rest of their lives. But honestly, before they leave there are some important life skills you can teach them so they can make the most of their time at college equipped with the knowledge they need for encountering new and different situations and the skills to help them become self-sufficient before they need to be. They may not take it all on board, or put their new-found skills into practice regularly, but you rest easy in the knowledge that you have helped them as much as you can before they spread their wings.
So what are the best life skills you can teach your child before they leave for university? How do you train your teenager to “adult”?
Money Matters.
Some people are just naturally good when it comes to managing their finances, others need a little bit of help. For a lot of kids, this will be the first time in their lives that they are solely responsible for money and making sure they spend it wisely.
Teaching them how to budget and make their money last is an essential life skill for everyone these days. From having enough money for food to last them from one term to the next, or paycheck to paycheck if they are employed, is something they can take with them through their college years and beyond. Instilling the necessity of paying bills on time and making sure they can afford any lines of credit they open.
Hand in hand with managing money comes dealing with debt and financial worries. With the average American currently, $38,000 in debt, knowing how to get out of debt and what to do is just as important as money management skills. Knowing who to contact with regards to debt advice and solutions such as consulting professionals in debt management like McCarthy Law PLC is handy information as is making sure they know how to be financially responsible.
Chores.
As hard as it can be to get kids to do their chores, there are some practical things they need to know to help them on their way to being self-sufficient. Being able to keep their dorm room tidy and other areas they need to use. Teach them life skills by getting them to help you out so they know what they are doing when they need to do it themselves.
Keep in mind these tips on what to teach your teen before they leave for college.
Laundry including what detergents and softeners they need too.
Ironing and using an iron safely.
Vacuuming
Washing dishes.
Mopping floors
Grocery Shopping
If your child hasn’t pitched in with the grocery shop before, this is a great time to teach them the best ways to get more for their money. Giving them advice on what prices they can expect to pay, how to store different food types and the benefits of preparing food from scratch if they can is highly beneficial.
Show them how to make a list and what cupboard essentials they need to have in at all times. Sure, they may go on to live on a diet of junk food alone, but they will know how to shop well and efficiently for what they buy.
Cooking.
Whilst it is true that most students have a ramen heavy diet, that isn’t true for everyone. Teaching them how to prepare some simple basic meals can ensure they know how to eat properly and nutritiously during their time away from home. Simple pasta meals such as spaghetti Bolognese or your family favourites can really help out. It will also give you peace of mind that they are able to prepare healthy homemade meals as they would eat at home.
Once they have mastered the basics, they can then build on this over the years.
Time Management Skills
College days will be full and busy. Add a part-time job, extracurricular activities and social lives and suddenly those long days leave little time for studying or much else really. Time management is a life skill that they will need to learn when they are employed so why not teach them this early before they have to figure it out when it’s too late.
Run through a schedule with them and make realistic plans that include moving from place to place, and how long they have to spend on certain tasks. This will help them break their day down into easier more manageable chunks meaning they can help themselves not only reduce stress but increase efficiency too.
Words of Wisdom.
As an adult and parent, you have had many different life experiences. Maybe you have some words of wisdom from your college days or you can share some other life tips you have picked up. Show your child how to apply for a job and how to interview well to give them the best shot at gaining employment now and in the future too.
Teach them how to pay bills and stay on top of this. Skills such as minor car repairs eg changing a tyre, small DIY tasks – putting up a shelf, changing light bulbs, fixing broken items around the house or even upcycling old and worn items can all come in handy. Think of what you were taught at that age, or do you wish you had known and spend the time sharing this with your college-age child.
Most students who go to college are hoping to achieve great grades, ace their exams, and get into the career of their choice. However, things don’t always end up that way, as some find that their grades start to slide after a while. This is often due to factors such as an increased social life, bad lifestyle, and lack of proper rest among other things.
As a college student, it is important that you put your studies first in order to maintain good grades. It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement of college life, but unless you are very careful, this could have a serious negative impact on your education and the grades you achieve at college. In this article, we will look at some of the things you can do to maintain good grades.
Key Points of Consideration
There are various key points of consideration you have to think about if you want to achieve and maintain good grades. One of the things you have to be very careful about is your social life. There are lots of students who get caught up with partying and social events, which then leads to missed classes and substandard work.
Of course, there are ways in which you can catch up if it is just an odd class or two. For instance, there are sites that offer everything from class notes to homework help for economics and other subjects. However, regular missed classes due to hectic social lives will almost certainly end in disaster in terms of your education.
Another thing you have to be mindful of when you start college life and live away from home is your lifestyle. A huge number of students fail to eat properly when they start going to college. They sometimes skip meals and when they do eat, it is generally fast food and junk that they consume. In addition, many end up not getting enough sleep due to late nights out or last-minute cramming for tests and exams. All of this can take its toll both on your health and your ability to study. You, therefore, need to ensure you eat healthy, balanced meals and you don’t skip meals. In addition, get proper sleep and develop a nighttime routine so you are refreshed and ready to focus each morning.
Some students think that being disorganized is part and parcel of college life – it isn’t! If anything, you need to be more organized to ensure you are dedicating enough time to your studies. If you struggle to buckle down and get on with studying, try to develop a study timetable. You can factor in breaks and nights out in addition to your studies so you know when you have free time and when you should be sitting down and focusing.
With these tips, you should find it easier to focus on your studies. This means you can achieve and maintain good grades at college far more easily.
Elation! That is the normal parental reaction when your child first received their acceptance email for college. Although, even while they are running around the house cheering, a parent’s thoughts can turn to worry. Of course, it is a parent’s lot to protect their child, and that does mean some worry along the way. However, being stressed before they have even left is only going to make it harder on everybody involved, including your kid. Luckily, there are some strategies you can use to keep parental stress to a minimum when your kids go off to college. Something that can ensure the whole process is easier on you as well as your child. Read on to find out what they are.
Be sure to shop around for student loans.
Money is often a prime concern when it’s time to send your child off to study for a degree. It fact, it can be difficult for all parties involved if families cannot provide tuition and living costs needed. Of course, with many colleges charging anything up to $30,000 for a single year, few families have enough to cover the entire cost of their child’s education.
There are a few ways to combat this, though. One, in particular, is shopping around for the best rate on student loans. In fact, it is entirely possible to use multiple loan providers for smaller amounts that total the sum needed. A strategy that can help to make a substantial saving overall. Something that, in turn, can relieve some of the stress on parents to provide all of the funding for their child’s higher education.
Get them the safest accommodation.
Next, you can really help to minimize any stress for yourself as a parent by making your child has the safest accommodation possible. After all, it is well known there is a culture of both theft and assault in such institutions. One that you will want to do your best to protect them from.
Of course, when they have to share a room on campus, protecting them can be difficult. Although, finding your child a space to live like this student accommodation studio can help to solve this puzzle. The reason being that they can happily, and affordable live alone and have the security of CCTV and security lockable rooms as well. Something that will not only make them feel safer when they are home alone but can seriously reduce any worry for parents as well.
Teach them to budget beforehand.
Of course, sourcing the money they need for college is only one half of the coin. In fact, if you want to reduce your stress as a parent in this situation, you must teach your child how to budget as well.
After all, if they can manage their own finances at college competently, the likelihood of you being asking to bail them out economically becomes a lot less. Something that can significantly reduce the amount of worry and stress you experience while they are away studying for their degree.
It’s no secret that higher education in America is pricey. Tuition is on the rise, and debt is skyrocketing. With more students relying on loans to pay for school, the average borrower now graduates with more than $26,000 in debt.
We need to do more to solve this crisis. But in the meantime, one key way to bring down the overall cost of higher education is to cut down on the nickel-and-diming students are facing just to participate in class.
You see, along with covering tuition, many students struggle to pay for school supplies that are required to succeed. Two thirds even skip buying books in the first place, according to a report from U.S. PIRG Education Fund. And if they can’t pay those costs, their grades are sure to suffer.
Our analysis estimates $3 billion of student aid is spent on buying class materials. And with a handful of major textbook publishers controlling the marketplace, we can expect prices to continue to rise. This control allows them to hike up costs and lock out affordable alternatives by employing access codes (where students have to pay to submit homework) or by publishing frequent new editions.
Avoid paying high textbook prices
If you’re a student, there are several ways you can avoid paying exorbitant textbook costs. For one, you should consider the price tag on materials when registering. Find classes that don’t require books, have no-cost resources such as free open textbooks, or require low-cost (under $40) materials. Several states require price transparency at class registration, so this information is sometimes easily accessible. When possible, avoid class sections that require the use of access codes, which force you to pay additional fees to submit homework for courses.
For those classes where you cannot sidestep important materials, be aware of your college or university’s textbook policies. At some schools, publishers are allowed to automatically charge you for materials. Pay attention because you can usually opt out of these billing programs if you catch them quickly enough. This will allow you to seek out more affordable alternatives such as used books.
Seek affordable textbook alternatives
Oftentimes, more affordable alternatives are available. Your school’s library may have copies of required textbooks on reserve for free. Students have also created Facebook groups or other “for-sale” pages at many schools, and you can compare sites like Amazon to your institution’s bookstore to find the best deal. You should invest some time shopping around for the best deal if you want your own copy to keep. You can also consider a digital etext or a rental book from sites like Chegg. Before doing that, compare rental costs to how expensive the book would be if you were able to resell it for 50 percent of its value.
Finally, ask your professors to switch to open textbooks — which are available at either no cost online or for under $40 in print. They are written by professors, just like regular textbooks, but are published under an open copyright that makes them freely available to the public. By switching to open textbooks in introductory classes, your professors could save college students billions each year.
It’s also important to remember that textbooks aren’t the only financial threat facing students. Some debit cards marketed on campus come with exorbitant fees. And, expensive electronics can seriously ding your wallet. For other money-saving tips, including how to shop for cheaper, refurbished electronics, check out U.S. PIRG’s full back-to-school guides.
At the end of the day, for students to avoid the burden and distractions of these weighty costs, policies must be put in place to end these unnecessary expenses. But until further action is taken, these back-to-school tips are a surefire way for students to save hundreds of dollars.
Today’s guest post is from Make Higher Education Affordable campaign director Kaitlyn Vitez of U.S. PIRG, The Federation Of State Public Interest Research Groups. U.S. PIRG is a federation of independent, state-based, citizen-funded organizations that advocate for the public interest.
My inbox is flooded with emails from parents asking
questions about college prep. While I encourage parents to ask questions and
find good advice, I marvel at the stressful tones coming across in those
emails. Why do parents stress so much about college prep? What can you do to handle
the stress?
My first piece of advice—relax.
It’s all going to work out and your student will attend a
college that makes him or her happy. It may not be the college you choose or
even their first-choice college, but wherever they land, it will work itself
out. Stressing over every single aspect of the college application can not only
drive you crazy, but put undue pressure on your student as well. The college decision
is stressful enough without you adding to the process.
My second piece of advice—do your research.
Before you start stressing over whether your student will “have
what it takes” to get into college, look at the college
statistics for each college on their wish list. What percentage of applicants
are admitted each year? What percentage of students receive financial aid? What
does the freshman class look like—average SAT scores, average GPAs, and other
factors? What does the college value the most in their applicants—demonstrated
interest, GPAs, extracurriculars or others?
My third piece of advice—be realistic.
Be realistic. Your student may aspire to the highly selective
colleges, but is it conceivable they will be accepted? It’s perfectly
acceptable to have a dream school, but if your student applies, they should
fall within the criteria of the applicants. Applying to colleges you simply can’t
afford or your student’s chances of acceptance are slim, will only set you and
them up for disappointment.
One parent, when discussing student debt, summarized it like
this: “It’s our personal opinion [as parents], but for us we would find it
irresponsible on our part to let any of our kids incur that much debt for a bachelor’s
degree. They will have to dream with the money they have available. Plenty of
great educations out there that won’t break the bank.”
You owe it to you children to be the voice of reason. There
are over 4000 colleges within the United States that will give your student an
excellent education. Do your homework and help them find the one that is the
best fit.
My final advice—ask for help.
It’s a given. You are going to need help. Luckily, there is plenty of help available online for parents to gather information and advice. You can consult the experts or search for help in social media. Just about every question you have can be answered and if not, you can message or email an expert for their advice. Never be afraid to ask for help.
I
received an email from a concerned parent whose student was going to be
attending orientation next week. In the email, he confessed that he might need
some help with information regarding financing his son’s college education. I was
surprised that he waited so long. Unfortunately, I had to advise him that at
this point his only options were private loans and advise his student to apply
for scholarships over the summer.
Parents should consider college funding even before their student applies to college. The inevitable result of lack of planning is parents and students borrowing to pay and usually borrowing more than they can repay after graduation.
What
do the statistics say?
With
school starting shortly, student loan borrowing often appears in the news. It’s
especially prevalent now with presidential candidates promising to erase
student loan debt. Wherever you stand in the political landscape, it’s clear
from the statistics that students have borrowed more than they can repay.
According
to a 2018 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as many as 44.7
million Americans have student loan debt, that’s one in five adult
Americans. The total amount of student loan debt is $1.47 trillion as
of the end of 2018 — more than credit cards or auto loans.
How
do you make wise financial choices?
Before applying to college, you and your student should investigate the cost. You can gather the information either on the college website or by using College Navigator. When viewing these figures, you should also research the college’s financial aid statistics—what percentage of students are awarded aid, how much aid is awarded and how much do students typically borrow. Since every family’s financial situation is different, these figures should help determine if the college is affordable to attend.
How
does financial aid play into the equation?
If
you complete the FAFSA, your student will receive some form of financial aid.
The most common is student loans, but colleges also award grants and merit aid
as well. Always complete the FAFSA, even if you don’t think you will qualify
for aid. Colleges use the information on the FAFSA when awarding scholarships
and grants. No FAFSA, no aid.
What’s the key to avoid borrowing too much?
Use repayment calculators before you sign on the dotted line. The rule of thumb is that students should only borrow as much to pay for college as their first year’s salary. By keeping your debt under one year’s salary, you won’t have to put more than about 10% of your income towards student loan payments. Borrowing more than your student can afford to repay sets them up for overwhelming debt after graduation. Your student can look at salary comparisons for their anticipated career at PayScale.com.
How
can you avoid borrowing to pay for college?
The key to not borrowing to pay for college is to receive merit aid, grants, and outside scholarships. Your student should apply to a college at the top of his or her applicant pool. This means the college will be more likely to award aid to attract your student. Grades and standardized test scores are also a key factor in awarding aid. Your student should focus throughout college to pursue excellence in these areas. And, don’t forget outside scholarships. Your student should focus time and effort in applying to every scholarship he or she qualifies for. This means starting early and planning to submit the best application. Click here for scholarship application tips and see how your student can win enough money to pay for college.
Finally, borrow wisely. Only borrow what you need. Your student can borrow the maximum amount, but only borrow what is necessary. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Choose the loans with the lowest interest rates first.
Potential Magazine is sponsoring two scholarships for high school students grades 9-12. It’s never too early to start searching and applying for scholarships.
National Don’t Wait to Reach Your Potential Scholarship* Hosted by: Potential Magazine Deadline: 01-04-20 Award: $500
Qualifications: This scholarship is for college-bound teens in grades 9th-12th. It does not require specific test scores, GPA, or class ranking. Parents can also register but will need to designate a student to receive the award. Description: Winner will be notified via e-mail! You will also be receiving Potential Magazine’s free weekly “Countdown to College” (C2C) eNewsletter with additional scholarship opportunities, ACT/SAT prep tips, college prep info, and more. Application: https://www.potentialmagazine.com/countdown-to-college-scholarship-sign-up/
National Countdown to College Scholarship* Hosted by: Potential Magazine Deadline: 05-04-20 Award: $1,000
Qualifications: This scholarship is for college-bound teens in grades 9th-12th. It does not require specific test scores, GPA, or class ranking. Parents can also register but will need to designate a student to receive the award. Description: Winner will be notified via e-mail! You will also be receiving Potential Magazine’s free weekly “Countdown to College” (C2C) eNewsletter with additional scholarship opportunities, ACT/SAT prep tips, college prep info, and more. Application: https://www.potentialmagazine.com/countdown-to-college-scholarship-sign-up/
A few years ago I wrote this article for TeenLife online. With school starting and students beginning their college lists during junior year and finalizing the list at the start of senior year, this advice is particularly timely.
Most teens will tell you that making the college list is one of the most stressful times in their life. It’s a process that begins with a little bit of knowing what you like, what your goals are, and that intuition that every student takes to the table. Knowing yourself, your likes, and your dislikes will help you in the process.
There’s a theory among teens and many parents, which says, “The more colleges you apply to, the better your chances.” In theory it makes sense, but there are other things to consider besides hedging your bets with numbers.
Three Considerations When Applying to College
1. The Cost
College applications can be time-consuming and pricey, costing as much as $100 per application, unless you get the fees waived by the school or an organization. Ten schools at $100 each is $1,000. These application fees are non-refundable and aren’t applied toward your total cost of attendance. Although this should not be the only factor in determining the number of applications submitted, it should be considered.
2. The Time
Applying to college takes a tremendous amount of time, and each college has their own specific application criteria. The average college application usually takes about two hours to complete, not including writing the essay. Common sense dictates that the more applications you have to complete and collate, the less time you will spend on each individual application. The applications are your way of communicating who you are to a college—it’s not the time to spread yourself thin to rack up the numbers.
3. Quality vs. Quantity
Allen Grove, an admissions expert in the About.com College Admissions Guide, thinks it’s a little ridiculous when students apply to a dozen or more colleges. He can’t imagine how the student visited all those campuses, in addition to doing extensive research, and then decided that many schools were good matches.
“You see students who apply to every single Ivy League,” Grove says. “I just have to wonder if the student who is going to like Columbia (in New York City) is really going to like Dartmouth (located in a town of around 11,000 people). I find that unlikely, so I often think students who are sending out that many applications haven’t done their research.”
How Many is Too Many?
Most admissions officers generally advise students to apply to about five to seven colleges, but no more than 10. That includes a couple of safety schools (schools you’ll no doubt get into), a couple of match schools (schools you meet the requirements for), and a couple of reach schools (schools that are less likely to accept you).
In a Huffington Post article, Maura Kastberg, Executive Director of Student Services of RSC Your College Prep Expert, concurs with that advice. “There may be 20 colleges you want to attend, or you could have your heart set on just one. When you are applying to college, be practical. Most students should apply to somewhere between five to seven colleges. There are no guarantees that you will be accepted to the school you desire, but you should have a good idea about your chances of admission to each school.”
What Are the Criteria?
If you’ve done a thoughtful job when compiling your list, you should be able to answer the following questions (provided by Carolyn Lawrence of AdmissionsAdvice.com and contributing author to the College Admission Book blog): (http://collegeadmissionbook.com/blog/how-many-colleges-should-students-apply)
1. Can I explain why all of the colleges on my list are right for me?
If your answers to this question are superficial—such as rankings, prestige, location, or a friend’s suggestion—it’s likely your list is too long. Before you add any college to your list, you should be able to explain how the college aligns with the things you personally need to be happy and successful in college.
2. Will I have enough time and energy to put my best effort into every application?
Even the simplest applications require time and effort. Can you really handle the work involved in completing 15 or 20 applications? Be honest with yourself. It’s better to do an outstanding job on fewer applications than to do a so-so job on too many.
3. Do I love my “safe bets” as much as I love my “reaches?”
Build your college list from the bottom up; fall in love with the schools that are most likely to love you in return before you add colleges that are less likely to admit you. If you do, you’re apt to find that you really don’t need to apply to as many colleges as you think you do. Finally, don’t let fear sway you into panic mode.If you’ve carefully thought about the reasons why every college is on your list, and do your best job with each application, you’ll end up with great choices!
Even with all the right information, facts, and figures in place, choosing a college is more than just a list on a piece of paper. Most students will tell you that they just “knew” when they set foot on campus they knew it was right for them.
In an article for The New York Times, Jordanna Suriani, an admissions counselor at Ramapo College of New Jersey, writes that students who apply to several colleges because they’re undecided are doing themselves a disfavor come April when it’s time to make a decision. Once you get that acceptance letter, you have even less time to make a choice.
Ms. Suriani advises, “Figure out what you need and want now, and apply to schools which offer you most, if not all of it. Forget about trying to get as many acceptances as possible to places that don’t speak to you. Trust me. Come April, you’ll be glad you did.”
Incoming college students go through big changes as they reshape their entire social circle. They just left all their friends from 4 years of high school behind them and they need a social app that is uniquely tailored to their new college life. Current social platforms don’t have any use on a physical college campus, especially if you don’t know anyone there.
Freshmen U™ addresses new college social environment
Freshmen U™ is targeted for just campus use, addressing specific college student bodies within the individual university settings. Freshmen college students now have their own social app that includes patent-pending augmented reality (AR) technology developed just for social interactions.
Students can meet and interact with other students just by using their username within the app. This allows them to get to know each other before sending out a traditional friend request. This no need to know someone’s real name to start a conversation, which is hard to do when you first arrive on campus. Students just download the app, pick their campus, and start to meet people. It’s that easy.
Designed to get new students to connect with other students
Our app is designed to get new students out of their dorm and start to connect with each other in real life on campus. Users can drop photos of themselves around campus as they walk from class to class or attend a football game, which others can now see through the app’s AR GPS ecosystem and they can rate or comment on these photos or videos. Think of Facebook meets Pokémon Go. The app encourages interaction and more face-to-face meetings around campus and does away with the awkwardness of making new friends.
Customized social interaction
In a quest for profit above all else, the big three social media platforms have ignored a very important demographic group of college students. We did not. College students need customized social interaction, and they want their digital media. We’ve found a way to give them both, with no ads and no unnecessary data sharing with 3rd parties. We are a small group of developers (3 to be exact) that wanted to build something fun but useful on college campuses. I think we did it! Students now have a way to digitally plaster their lives into the real world around campus. It feels like rebellion but is totally safe and secure.
