Maybe you changed your major or maybe you transferred schools. Perhaps you extended that semester abroad into a year abroad, or you decided to double major. Maybe you couldn’t get into a required class, or you found yourself in the unfortunate situation of having to retake a class. There are all sorts of reasons students take longer than the traditional four years to graduate from college, but there’s no way around it, the longer you are in school, the more expensive your education.
Remember that your education is an investment in yourself and your future career. Extending your college experience to get an extra degree or to study in another location might be worth the extra costs. BUT, having to pay for tuition, room and board, books, activity fees and all of the other expenses that go along with additional semesters, is another story.
Sometimes it’s worth putting the numbers out there and letting it sink in. Suppose your tuition is around $16,000 a year. That means you are looking at least $96,000 in tuition alone on the six-year plan, versus $64,000 if you were to graduate in four years. That assumes your tuition does not increase (which it probably will), and does not factor in the myriad of other expenses you incur in school.
So how can you prevent this from happening? Do your due diligence and stay on top of your graduation requirements. Even with a college major change and a transfer, I was able to graduate only one semester late by working with my advisors and always knowing how many requirements I had left. In my last semester at my original school, I made a point to take classes that I knew my future school would accept for their full credits. I also tried to pick classes that might satisfy more than one requirement, such as a class that met both the social sciences requirement and counted toward my major. I also took summer and night classes if I couldn’t get into required classes offered at traditional times.
Some tips to help you graduate in four years:
1. Stay ahead of the curve and really think about your school choice to avoid having to transfer.
2. Don’t declare a major right away.
3. Work on your core requirements so you don’t waste time on classes in a major you end up not interested in.
4. Stay on top of your high school studies now so you score well on AP exams and have credits in your pocket before you even set foot on campus.
Of course, sometimes circumstances arise and life doesn’t work out as planned, but with some foresight you can avoid being in school longer than necessary.
Community College: To go or not to go, that is the question. A close friend of mine went to community college before transferring to a four year school and I asked his thoughts on the experience. He is in the “not to go” camp.
My friend went to community college because… well, it was a convenient option. He didn’t really know where else to go or what other schools to look at, his girlfriend was going there, and his parents appreciated the price tag. He decided to apply for and was accepted to the college’s honors program, billed as a prestigious opportunity geared toward students transferring to four year colleges. However, he found that the honors program, like the rest of the school, was focused on graduating students with their Associates degree, rather than preparing them for continued education.
He received his Associates and transferred, encountering the typical transfer student issues, mainly being the new guy, struggling with a blank slate GPA*, and transferring credits. But he also faced problems with the difference in the level of work and professors’ expectations. In his experience, the courses were truly more difficult than his honors community college classes. He felt unprepared, placing him at a serious disadvantage as his new professors expected a much higher quality work product than he was accustomed to.
There are, of course, some advantages to community college. Obviously, the lower cost is enticing to many parents and students alike. Community colleges offer many interesting, inexpensive courses, which are great for supplementing your general knowledge and furthering adult education, without having to travel great distances.
My friend’s best advice? If you start in community college with the goal of transferring to get your Bachelors degree, make a plan before you start. Think of what school you will transfer to, and try to take courses that will give you transferable credits. Most important, be aware of and prepared for the challenges you will face at your next school.
*This is something all students contemplating a transfer should know. When you are a new student at a university, you generally enter the school without a GPA. Typically, you have 120 credits taken over four years to accumulate your graduating GPA, but if you transfer as a junior after two years of community college, you might only have 60 credits to reflect your graduating GPA. To bring that point home, one disappointing grade out of 120 credits does a lot less damage than one out of 60 credits – something to seriously keep in mind.
This season on Gossip Girl (you might notice several references in my posts, sorry, huge fan here), Hilary Duff plays a movie star who wants to attend college just like any other student. Of course her plans to enjoy NYU are thwarted as she is forced make the final film in her hit series, but it got me thinking about celebrities attending college. Can you imagine rooming with the next “it” girl or comic genius? It happens to some!
To quench my thirst for celeb college knowledge, I scoured the Internet and compiled a list of A-listers and their alma maters. Interestingly enough, not all of them went to school in New York and studied theater! So while your major is important, remember that it does not have to define you or your career path. See below:
Eva Longoria Parker of Desperate Housewives fame graduated from Texas A&M – Kingsville with a degree in Kinesiology.
The hilarious Will Ferrell is a Sports Broadcasting graduate of the University of Southern California.
Actress Maggie Gyllenhaal graduated from Columbia with a degree in Eastern Religions.
Julia Stiles of film and stage also graduated from Columbia University with a degree in English.
Chuck “the Iceman” Liddell holds a B.A. in Accounting from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Scrubs’ Zach Braff earned his Film degree from Northwestern University.
The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart graduated from The College of William and Mary and majored in Psychology.
Conan O’Brien graduated magna cum laude from Harvard with a degree in U.S. History.
Natalie Portman also graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Psychology.
Actress Calista Flockhart graduated from Rutgers University, where she met her friend, 30 Rock’s Jane Krakowski.
Clay Aiken of American Idol fame holds a degree in Special Education from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
And where did Oprah Winfrey go to college, you ask? In a bit of foreshadowing, the most powerful woman in television attended Tennessee State University on a full scholarship by winning an oratory contest. She holds a degree in Speech and Performing Arts.
College campuses are full of fun facts and claims to fame. My personal favorite fact about my alma mater is the McDonald’s on campus is the only McDonald’s in the world to dispense Pepsi products, as the University of Maryland is serious about being a Pepsi-only school! While that is a pretty great claim to fame, how much cooler would it be if I could brag that my school was featured in a movie?!
Check out this list of universities featured in films WiseChoice just compiled. Now when you are touring these campuses, make sure to ask which bench Matt Damon sat on or which quad Reese Witherspoon walked across!
In celebration of Financial Aid Awareness Month, today we are going to bust some of the most popular college financial aid myths. (Which ones have you heard before?)
Let’s get started:
Myth #1 – Star high school athletes always receive full-ride athletic scholarships for college
All of us have watched truly talented athletes play on our home fields and courts. It’s natural to assume these local stars are shoe-ins for scholarships. But the harsh reality is, there are stars in every high school in every state and the competition for limited college athletic scholarship dollars is stiff. Many of these athletes will play at the college level, but the NCAA only awards athletic scholarships for Division-I and Division-II schools (usually those large, competitive schools you see playing sports on TV). These scholarships are rarely “full-ride” scholarships, and only about 2% of ALL high school athletes receive these scholarships.
BUSTED!
Myth #2 – My family is too well off to qualify for financial aid
College financial aid is not only for those with great financial need. Yes, some grants and awards are need-based, but most students receive some sort of aid in the form of scholarships or loans. The reason why the FAFSA has so many detailed financial questions is to properly evaluate a student’s need, taking into consideration not only income but other debts and financial strains on the family. In fact, everyone who properly submits a FAFSA is eligible for an Unsubsidized Stafford Loan. This low-interest rate federal loan is available to all students, regardless of income.
BUSTED!
Myth #3 – If I take a break in my education or decide not to graduate, I won’t have to pay back my loans
Just as you have to continue making your car payment even if you are not driving your car, once you sign a loan agreement and receive money for school, you have to pay back that loan, regardless of whether you continue your education. In fact, some scholarships and grants may require you to pay the award money back if you don’t graduate or maintain a certain GPA while in school.
BUSTED!
We’re curious: what have you heard about financial aid that sounds like a myth?
It’s hard for me to write about my personal experiences with college financial aid without turning into a depressing cautionary tale, but such is my story, and I know I am not alone.
The first undergraduate school I attended was a private university, and although I was awarded an academic scholarship for several thousand dollars, that didn’t really put a dent in the overall expense of the school. With me in college and my younger sister still in private high school, my parents took out some federal loans to help with my tuition. During my second year of college, when I became serious about transferring schools, my parents encouraged me to come home and attend my state university at a much lower cost, rather than incur more loans. This worked out well as my dual-income parents were able to pay off my two years of undergraduate loans and pay for my last 2 years at the state university, based on the savings from my in-state tuition. And that was the extent of my financial aid experience… until I went to graduate school.
I will never forget the first time I had to fill out a FAFSA on my own. I sat down with my tax return and started plugging in numbers. I called my school’s financial aid office no less than three times for advice. And then I had to figure out how much money I wanted to borrow! Obviously there would be tuition and books, but I had to be able to pay the rent on my apartment, make my car payment, cover my health insurance, continue to feed myself, and maybe on occasion enjoy a social life. When all was said and done I ended up with just under $100,000 in federal and private loans after graduation.
The first year of graduate school, I was really good about making my interest payments to try and keep my loans at bay. But with each loan check deposited into my bank account, the borrowed amount grew and the interest compounded, making it impossible for a full-time student to cover even the monthly interest. Admittedly, I got myself into a worse position by trying to maintain a lifestyle beyond that of a student, and incurred additional debt on top of my student loan debt, which made for quite the dismal financial picture when I graduated. It took me the entire grace period before my loan repayment started to find even a temp job in my field. A job which did not offer the highly lucrative salary I was counting on throughout graduate school. Thank you, national recession.
I wish my story had a happier ending, but I have to remind myself that I’m not at the end of my story. I am still less than three years out of graduate school. I am grateful that I do make enough money to pay my loans on time and as aggressively as I possibly can, but I have learned hard lessons about spending. I still hold out hope for a better paying job, but at least in my current job, I’ve met plenty of other recent graduates in the same boat.
It is not my intention to scare any of you away from higher education or from taking out student loans. Rather, I hope you think of me when you get that huge loan deposit and you go out and treat yourself instead of appropriately conserving those funds. And if you do find yourself saddled with debt and underpaid when you are out of school, try to remain positive. Student loans have a relatively long repayment period, so I look at my loans like people look at their mortgages. My education was an investment in myself, and while it hasn’t paid off yet, it will. It’s all about the long term.
Get out your balloons, hang your streamers and don your party hats! It’s time to celebrate, because February is Financial Aid Awareness Month!
What’s that? You don’t usually celebrate Financial Aid Awareness Month?! Well you should. For many college students, financial aid (and hard work in high school) is what makes dreams of higher education a reality.
Learning all you can about financial aid is like doing your research before making any big purchase, and finding some great coupons, too. You’ve already got quite a bit of information at your fingertips right here. Empower yourself!
Learn as much as you can about the various types of financial aid. (College Financial Aid 101)
Scholarships are out there; finding the right one just takes a little strategy. (Why apply for private scholarships?; Where to find and apply for college scholarships; Six tips to avoid scholarship scams)
Figuring out your financing for college is no small undertaking. Make sure you really consider all the expenses and explore all of your loan options. (Watch out for those hidden college costs; Federal loans for college; Private loans for college – borrow cautiously)
Most importantly, get started on your FAFSA with You’re Cordially Invited To: All About FAFSA (It’s more than just fun to say!)
Happy Financial Aid Awareness Month! Now go bask in all your financial aid awareness glory!
Are you like me, lying awake at night, pondering the great questions of the universe, wondering what is the difference between a university and a college? (Or, is there a difference?) If so, then fret no more, you will rest easy tonight! I have used the terms “college” and “university” interchangeably on this blog and I figured I owed it to you to research the differences and share what I learned. I learned that I was right all along… well, kind of.
I always thought the differences between the two was that a university is made up of various colleges (College of Arts and Humanities, College of Education, College of Chemical and Life Sciences, etc.), whereas a college is an institution specializing in just one of those fields of study, and that colleges are usually smaller than universities (up to 12,000 students vs. up to 56,000). But then I started thinking of schools with “college” in their names, like Dartmouth and Boston Colleges and realized they offer undergraduate and graduate degrees in arts, science, business, and more… So, like Rebecca in “Confessions of a Shopaholic,” and every other person with internet access, I Googled it.
The long and the short of it is, there really is not a hard-line distinction between colleges and universities in the U.S. anymore, but allow me to take you on a historical trip to explain.
The University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy was the first university in the western world, tracing its roots to 1088. Ten eighty-eight! We’re talking some serious history here. Oxford University, the oldest university in the English-speaking world, located in Oxford, England, established its first “dorms” in the 13th century. And by “dorms” I mean medieval residence halls protecting the students from the rioting townies. Hundreds of years later, in 1636, Harvard College—the oldest operating college in the U.S.—was founded in what is now Cambridge, Massachusetts. The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia followed in 1693, as did St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland in 1696. When these fledgling schools were founded in the American colonies, they were obviously much smaller and in a totally different league than their European counterparts, so they deemed themselves colleges, unworthy of the university title (Harvard became a true university around the late eighteenth century). Flash forward to 1862, when the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act encouraged states to establish colleges, many focused on agriculture and mechanical research (that’s where you get those A&M schools) and that started our state college system.
So… now-a-days some colleges function as universities, but retain the college name for historical purposes or to designate their undergraduate institutions. There are also colleges by other names such as Institutes or Academies (for example, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, U.S. Naval Academy) but essentially, most four-year colleges and universities offer degrees at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and the real differences lie within the individual personalities of the institutions, which is precisely why it’s important to visit each campus. And now you know more than you did, and that’s what it’s all about!
It’s February. That means less than four months of high school left for most seniors. College applications are in, standardized testing is over, and the last semester is breezing by. Naturally that means time to slack off and screw around, right?! Wrong. So wrong. Be afraid, be very afraid of a potentially dangerous and extremely contagious condition going around – SENIORITIS.
I get it. It’s your last semester ever of high school. You probably filled your schedule with as many PE and art credits as allowed (I seem to recall taking Ceramics II and Country Line Dancing) and you have a couple of AP classes. But now is not the time to slack off on the AP classes. Focus your time on your challenging classes, especially if you are planning to take AP exams for college credit. This is the semester when you should enjoy a ton of time with your friends and continue to maintain your grades. Think of it as training for time management in college.
You early decision folks probably already know what school you are headed to in the fall and might think this doesn’t apply to you. Read the fine print! If you were offered any type of scholarship, chances are, it is contingent upon graduating from high school with a specific GPA. At a minimum, your college expects you to graduate with the same type of grades you’ve been maintaining throughout high school.
The majority of seniors will hear from colleges in March and April. This means that most of you are still being considered. Colleges could be checking in with your high school to see how your final semester is progressing. Look at this semester as your opportunity to wow them. Did you do particularly well on a midterm? Were you able to pull your grades up from last semester? Receive an award for community service or leadership? If so, don’t wait–notify your colleges of these accomplishments now. These are all things that can move you from “wait list” to “acceptance,” so let your potential colleges know!
The point is, you only have a few months left and your grades will reflect how you choose to spend them. Colleges seek well-rounded students, but they aren’t interested in students who do only what they need to do just to get in and then blow it afterwards. So build up your immune system against Senioritis! It’s one thing to have it for a few days, but come down with a serious case, and you and your GPA might never recover.
True, good grades and high test scores will help you get into college. But there is another component to having an attractive college application—extracurricular activities. So what is an extracurricular activity? It is simply any activity outside of your academic work. Many assume that extracurricular activities are limited to school clubs. Wrong! Extracurriculars include anything from volunteering to athletics, from a part time job to internships or to playing in a band. Extracurricular activities help reveal who you are as a person. They highlight your non-academic interests and illustrate that you can manage your time and priorities. Furthermore, extracurriculars show your contributions, responsibilities and your ability to maintain a commitment. Essentially, extracurriculars stress that you are an initiator both inside and outside of the classroom, and colleges are looking for students with unique abilities to add to their campus personality.
What Makes a Good Extracurricular Activity?
A good extracurricular consists of three elements: commitment, genuine interest, and leadership. By honing your activities with these three points, you are on your away to becoming a desirable applicant!
While you may feel the pressure to have a long list of extracurricular activities to build your college resume, colleges are honestly not interested in seeing you do everything. More is not necessarily better. The most important aspect of your extracurricular activity list is your commitment and passion. It is much more desirable to participate and contribute to one activity for an extended length of time than to be on the membership roster for ten clubs for one month. Colleges will see through your motives for joining all those clubs at the last minute. Therefore, it is important to begin getting involved in extracurriculars as early as possible.
Second to commitment is a genuine interest. Get involved in something that you are truly passionate about. You want to be involved in an activity because you are enthusiastic, not because it looks good on an application. Colleges will be able to tell if you are just “padding” your application.
Finally, leadership positions are also important. Seeing that you have assumed a role of responsibility speaks highly of your character and ambition. Pretend you are an admissions officer and you must select between Applicant A and Applicant B. Applicant A is an occasional writer for the school newspaper. Applicant B is the editor-in-chief of the school paper and delegates tasks amongst her staff. As an admissions officer, which applicant is more attractive? Applicant B because she showed initiative and leadership.
What If I’m Not Involved?
Fret not; if you are not involved in any activities yet, explore your school and community for activities that pique your interest. Once you find an activity you are interested in, stick with it. You don’t have to be editor-in-chief or captain of the team, but you do want to make valued contributions to the club, sport, etc., to demonstrate your initiative and commitment to admissions officers.
Extracurriculars in a Nutshell
Your extracurricular activity should expand upon a genuine interest. Start early and stick with it. Remember, quality is better than quantity, and leadership over membership.
Moreover, by illustrating your participation in activities outside of academics you demonstrate that you are well rounded. Bottom line is that well-rounded students are better candidates for admission because they demonstrate that they can handle both life and academics.
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