Community colleges are assisting students to graduate without debt

How Community Colleges & Others Can Help the Cost of Education

Cost of education is skyrocketing unbelievably. As a consequence, more and more people are struggling to deal with their student loan debt. As per the current reports, student loan debt in U.S. has already crossed the $1 trillion limit. In such a circumstance, the Obama government considers it important to find some effective solution to curb the higher cost of education as soon as possible. For that purpose, Obama has recently announced a plan to make college affordable for every student in America. There are basically three proposals in the plan - (a) linking federal student aid to the overall performance of the college that is based on the yet to be developed rankings; (b) evaluating the scorecards of colleges to help people select the right college according to the performance; (c) expanding the eligibility criteria for Pay As You Earn repayment program to assist students in managing debt. All these strategies are quite new and yet to be applied officially. Still, some states have already applied these ideas to increase the education affordability. For instance the community colleges in California follow some of these ideas to assist students to manage the cost of education.

 

Do Community Colleges Truly Help Lessen Costs?

The fees structure of California community colleges has been judged to be a bit ambiguous by many economists. The current rate for a single unit is $46. This is supposed to be a reasonably low rate. But, the combination other costs associated with education like the textbooks, lodging for students and the transportation cost, can increase the overall expense up to $17,000 in a year. The Institute for College Access and Success found this data in their recent research. This much of expense can be difficult for an average student to manage.

To make things more convenient for the students, the Board of Governors of the California Community College formed The Student Success Task Force or the SSTF in the academic year 2011-2012. The 20-member task force came up with 22 recommendations which are similar enough to the president’s plan. Most of the economists feel that the plan Obama has decided to implement may help to make education affordable for all. The community colleges have already taken the initiative to implement the recommendations by SSTF, so it’s easier to assume how the president’s plan may develop in future.

According to the Student Success Act of 2012, students must make satisfactory progress in academics to be eligible to waive the enrollment fees. The provision took effect on 1st January 2013. The standards for academic progress will work in accordance with the other standards compulsory to get financial aid from federal and state government. As a consequence, the community colleges have become more responsible to support students for better academic performance so that they can achieve all their goals without any financial obligation.

The Student Success Scorecard, introduced by the SSTF, provides students with all the needed information about the college rankings. The scorecard offered by the SSTF will provide all the necessary information about a college’s retention rate, transfer rate, overall success rate, graduation rate completion and so on. With the help of this information, students may check the ranking and select the right college with better success rate. This will ensure a better career for students and thus they will be able to live a debt free life.

There is still much more to do to keep student loan debt under control. By following the recommendations by SSTF, community colleges are trying to assists students to get affordable education without much trouble. As student loan debt is still excluded from bankruptcy, it becomes more essential for students to get affordable education to graduate without debt. However, the techniques that community colleges follow must be adapted by every college to make education actually affordable for all.

Another Student is On His Way to Graduating DEBT-FREE!

Another student is on his way to graduating college DEBT-FREE!

Are you going to be the next person on her way to graduating college DEBT-FREE?

www.debtfreecollegegrad.com

Public Colleges: Pros & Cons

Are public colleges better than private colleges?

With so many different colleges to choose from, it can get overwhelming as a high school senior. Should you pick from one of the many public colleges to attend? Or should you choose a private college? Lets begin by breaking down the pros and the cons of public colleges.

 

Pros of Public Colleges

• Tuition- Public colleges are very affordable to attend, especially for students that attend the college in the same state that they live. Tuition at public colleges and universities are a lot less expensive than private college tuition.
• Diversity- Public colleges typically have many different types of people that you can meet. They have a large student population and people come from different states, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc. Along with being diverse in people that you will meet, public colleges also offer an abundance of extracurricular activities.
• Course Availability - Public colleges provide a lot of flexibility when it comes to signing up for and taking your courses. Courses are offered at different times through out the day so if you want to work during the day, you are able to take night classes and if you want to work a night shift, you can sign up for day courses. Public colleges can incorporate their curriculum into your schedule very easily.

Cons of Public Colleges

• Larger class sizes- Since there are a lot of people that attend public colleges, public colleges tend to have more students in each class. Some classes consist of lecture halls filled with students. There can be one hundred students or more in some classes with only one teacher. For some people, it is difficult to learn in a huge lecture hall full of students and the professors are not able to give students individual attention.
• Overcrowded Campus-  Due to the high number of students that enroll in public colleges each semester, classes will get filled up quickly---especially the courses with the "best" professors. Also, lines at lunch, the bookstore, and other popular places on campus can be long since there are so many students that attend the public college.
• Communication with Professors- Professors at public colleges can have hundreds of students each semester. Due to having so many students, professors at public colleges might have limited times where they will communicate with. You might have to visit during their set office hours or schedule an appointment with them before just dropping by to ask a question.

***Note: Not all public colleges have a lot of students that attend. Some public colleges have classes with only 10 or 20 students in them each semester. It all depends on which public college you choose to go to and what classes you choose to enroll in. You can still find smaller class sizes at a public college.

After knowing about the pros and cons of public colleges, would you want to attend a public college? Leave a comment letting me know if you would or wouldn't and why.

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Private Colleges: Pros & Cons

Are private colleges better than public colleges?

With so many different colleges to choose from, it can get overwhelming as a high school senior. Should you pick from one of the many private colleges to attend? Or should you choose a public college? Lets start by breaking down the pros and the cons of private colleges.

Pros of Private Colleges

• Smaller class sizes- One of the biggest positives of private colleges are their smaller class sizes. For some people, it is difficult to learn in a huge lecture hall full of students. With smaller class sizes, the professors will be able to get to know you personally and can make sure that everyone in the class understands the lecture material.
• Scholarships-  Private colleges tend to give out a lot of money to the students in the form of merit scholarships because they receive a lot of endowments and donations.
• Close Community of Students- Private colleges have a close-knit community where the students are able to communicate with the professors and everyone is involved in campus activities. Also, there will be more student involvement in the classroom so private colleges are more academically driven and focused.

Cons of Private Colleges

• Lack of Diversity- Private colleges are not known for being very diverse in their student population. Private colleges typically attract a specific type of student, which comprises the majority of their student population.
• Tuition- Private colleges are the most expensive type of college to attend. Yes, we said that private colleges give a lot of financial assistance in the form of scholarships, but those typically go to the students that are at the top of their class, have the highest GPA and SAT scores.
• Credit Transfers- Private college credits are usually difficult to transfer to other colleges or are non-transferable. This means if you want to transfer to a different college after attending a semester or two (or more) at a private college, you will most likely lose some of the credits that you have earned at the private college. For example, you took 30 credits at a private college. When you transfer over to a different college, only 15 credits might transfer over to the new college. If you want to transfer colleges after attending a private college, you might have to take some classes over at the new university.

After knowing about the pros and cons of private colleges, would you want to attend a private college? Leave a comment letting me know if you would or wouldn't and why.

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

High Blood Pressure Linked to Student Loan Debt!

Did you know that high blood pressure and poor health in young adults is linked to debt?

Just think about all of that student loan debt that some young adults have acquired. The average amount of student loan debt in 2012 was about $29,000.

Did you know that this student loan debt could be making you SICK and causing you to have high blood pressure?

Researchers at Northwestern University conducted a study which discovered that young adults between the ages of 24 to 32 with high financial debt/ student loan debt were more likely to have higher blood pressure readings AND were more likely to feel stressed and depressed.

This study, which was published in the Social Science and Medicine Journal, found that young adults with higher debt had a 1.3% increase in their diastolic blood pressure reading. 1.3% may not seem like a huge increase, however, an increase of the diastolic blood pressure by only two points will increase the risk of a stroke by 15 percent.

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Study Abroad to Save Money on College

Did you know that if you study abroad you can actually save money on college?

 

Most people think it costs a lot of money to study abroad. If you are going to study abroad through a college in the United States, it will be costly. However, if you study abroad by actually attending a college that is out of the country, it can be a cheaper alternative.

I had a new client walk in today which reminded me of this study abroad trick to saving money on college. She was finishing up her undergraduate degree in Biology this December, but still did not know what she wanted to do career wise. She majored in Biology because she thought she wanted to go to Medical School, but now she was not as certain. Although she did not know what direction she wanted to go in, she was set on continuing her education anyways. After talking to her for a while, I found out that she was originally born in Sweden and was thinking of moving back since she loved it so much the last time that she visited.

I suggested that she should study abroad in Sweden since that is where she is thinking of moving to eventually. Since she was a dual citizen of Sweden and the United States, if she wanted to study abroad and go to school in Sweden it might be cheaper for her (especially since she had already acquired student loan debt). When you study abroad, some colleges that are overseas will offer free tuition or very reduced tuition fees. However, each country has different requirements so the client would have to look into that country's specific requirements to see if she would qualify for the reduced or free tuition.

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Is 4 Years of College Worth A Lifetime of Debt?

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Recently, there have been a lot of articles surfacing about skyrocketing college costs and the effects that student loan debt has on graduates. Usually, the student loan debt that graduates end up with is so abundant that it puts a serious burden on them. The burden is so great that it poses the question, "Is 4 Years of College Worth A Lifetime of Debt?"

Yahoo! Finance spotlighted "7 College Graduates Whose Lives Were Wrecked by Student Loan Debt." These 7 people's stories and experiences can help you be the judge--- Is 4 years of college worth a lifetime of debt?

"Stephanie Snyder, 44, graduated in 2005 with a B.A. in Public Administration. She worked three jobs at one time to pay down her $38,000 student loan balance."

"Carla Ruiz, 53, earned her MBA in 2006. Today, she's $120,000 in debt and lives in an attic apartment."

"Kyle Laffin, 25, asked his dad to co-sign a $100,000+ private student loan for a B.A. in accounting. Now, he has $1,200 monthly payments. His dad is working two jobs and dipping into his retirement savings to help him pay it down." 
  
"Since earning his MBA in 2004, Michael Pope, 38, has been bankrupt, homeless, and unable to find a job that pays well enough to tackle his $140,000 loan debt."

I've only summarized 4 of the 7 people in the Yahoo! finance article whose lives were wrecked by student loans. (To read the full article, go to: finance.yahoo.com/news/7-college-graduates-whose-lives-were-wrecked-by-student-loan-debt-151703790.html?page=all)

So back to the question, "Is 4 years of college worth a lifetime of debt?" After reading these stories, I think not. College is supposed to help you obtain a better life, but being submerged in debt will not help you accomplish that goal.

Would you trade a lifetime in debt for a college degree? Leave your comment below.

Testimony from A DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com Graduate

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

I met Floyd Clark in April 2013. He told me that his son, Tavion Clark, was considering joining the military because he didn't have any money to go to college and didn't want to put the burden on him [his father]. Floyd really hoped that his son wouldn't join the military so he asked for my advice. I revealed to Floyd and his son some of my scholarship and grant secrets. Now, it's September 2013 and Tavion Clark is attending Old Dominion University in Virginia. All of his college expenses are covered and he is even receiving refund checks back from the college. I'm so glad that Tavion really followed my instructions and took his scholarship search seriously. In less than 5 months, Tavion went from having no money for college to having more than enough.

Are Refund Checks Real?

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

After one of my last posts, I've been getting a lot of questions about college refund checks. One of the most common questions that I received was, "Can you really get refund checks back from the college? Is that really true?" The answer is yes.

What do you think happens when you get more money than it costs to attend college? It's just like when you overpay a bill. Or like when you purchase something that costs $5 and you only have a $20 bill. The store does not get to keep the difference. You get the change back. The same applies when you go to college and get more money than what it costs to attend. You get the change back. With college, the "change" that you would get from that $20 bill is in the form of a refund check.

The college will give you refund checks when you get more money than what it costs to attend college. No, I don't mean have your grandparents or parents make a bigger payment than what you need, of course that will work too, but that defeats the purpose. You get more money than what the college costs by winning scholarships.

FAFSA Tip: Should You Put Assets In Your Child’s Name?

BIGGEST FAFSA MISTAKE

Stocks, bonds, real estate investments, money in checking and savings accounts, and other assets are very valuable to have. I am a huge advocate of parents teaching their children early on about these things. It is even better if the children learn how to and actually invest in these assets themselves.

However, it is NOT a good thing when it comes to filling out the FAFSA and other financial aid forms for college.

 

Assets that are in the student’s name will get penalized heavily when it comes to the FAFSA and other financial aid forms. When it comes to financial aid from the FAFSA form, 20% of the student’s assets will be counted in the FAFSA’s financial aid calculations as opposed to only 5.64% of the parent’s assets being counted in the financial aid calculations on the FAFSA form. This is a difference of nearly 14%.
Also, parents can “protect” some of their assets. This means that the FAFSA form will not count a percentage of the assets at all when trying to determine the amount of financial aid that the student will qualify for.

Overall, putting assets in the students name versus the parent’s name could be the difference between your child qualifying for some financial aid through the FAFSA form and not qualifying for any financial aid.

Money Saving Tip for Your Master's Degree

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Have you ever thought about getting your Master's degree?

If you have, you have probably started looking at the fees associated with it. A Master's degree can be

pretty expensive for only two years worth of education. For example, if you want to get a Master's degree at Harvard University, you can expect to pay $40,000 per year for only tuition--- this doesn't include room and board or other fees. Usually it takes 2 years (sometimes more) to complete your Master's degree so you are looking at $80,000 total at the very least. That will be a lot of money, especially if you already have a student loan tab from your undergraduate degree.

To help decrease the costs associated with obtaining a Master's degree, I am going to share with you a money saving tip for your Master's degree.

One money saving tip for people that are thinking about getting a Master's degree is to get the Master's degree overseas. Usually the Master's degree programs overseas only take 1 year to complete. That means even if the tuition is still the same, you would only have to pay $40,000 versus $80,000 for your Master's degree in the United States so you already saving 50% of the cost. However, tuition is not the same. In addition to the overseas Master's degrees taking less time to complete, they are also cheaper.

Although going overseas to get a Master's degree will be cheaper and quicker, you might want to check with your potential employers first to make sure that they will accept it.

Student Loan Forgiveness Programs: Do You Qualify?

With all of the concern and discussions on the debt crisis, can you believe that there are actually student loan forgiveness programs?

According to a recent study, over 33 million workers can qualify for student loan forgiveness.

If you work in a school, hospital, city hall, or join the military, you can be eligible for the student loan forgiveness program. Teachers, firefighters, police officers, soldiers, and even health care workers can qualify for these student loan forgiveness programs. Clerks at state department of motor vehicle offices, secretaries at city halls, and accountants that work at non-profit art groups can also qualify.

One of my friends that graduated with student loan debt signed up to become a teacher through a student loan forgiveness program. She had to work in an under-served area, committed to working there for a set amount of time, and took a pay cut, but to her it was worth it. At the end of her contract, she will be free of student loan debt.

Would you make that trade off--- taking a pay cut and working in an under-served area for a specified amount of time to rid yourself of your student loan debt? Leave a comment below with a "yes" or "no" and why you would or wouldn't.

By: Shanice Miller, founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Parent Plus Loan, Who Is To Blame?

In the last two posts titled, "Parents, Are You To Blame," we discussed the rapidly increasing amount of student loan debt through Stafford loans and the Parent plus loan.

There we posed the question: who is actually to blame for all of this student loan debt that has been accumulating over the years through the parent plus loan.

If you didn't get to read the first part of the article, you can view it here.

If you missed the second part of the article, view it here.

In this last part of the three part series, we will come to the conclusion on who is to blame for the student loan debt crisis through Stafford loans, private loans, and the parent plus loan.

 

One last thing that I noticed when I was in college was that the students who were responsible for paying for their own college education took college more seriously than the students whose parents took the responsibility. I remember being in my Pre-Calculus class with another student. He was a junior at the time (and I was just a freshman). I asked him what he was majoring in. He said he didn't know. He was just going to college because his parents told him to and they were paying for it. If you are a junior in college and you still don't know your major, you are most likely not graduating in 4 years. You are going to need an extra year or two years (maybe more) before you are able to graduate unless you just major in general studies. Parents, understand that an extra year or two in college means extra money that it will cost before graduation. For some, this will equate to more student loans, including the parent plus loan, that will have to be taken out.

So who is actually to blame for the student loan debt crisis through parent plus loans?

Sure, we can blame the government and colleges. They shouldn't have allowed it to get this out of control. But ultimately, students and parents are to blame for the student loan debt crisis through stafford, private, and parent plus loans. At the end of the day, it is your debt that you signed up for. Each person has to take responsibility for their own actions.

One last note: Parents and students, if you don't know something or don't understand something completely, you should seek help from a professional.

By: Shanice Miller, Founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com

Parents, Are You To BLAME for Stafford Loans?

In the last post titled, "Parents, Are You To Blame for Student Loan Debt," we discussed the rapidly increasing amount of student loan debt through Stafford loans.

There we posed the question: who is actually to blame for all of this student loan debt that has been accumulating over the years through Stafford loans. If you didn't get to read the first part of the article, you can view it here.

In this continuation of the article, we will further discuss the student loan debt crisis and who is to blame for all of these Stafford loans.

Reminiscing back on my college days, I remember a particular roommate that my friend had. Right after the semester started he was so excited because he was getting money back from the college. Yes, refund checks are wonderful. But, not this refund check. See this student wasn't getting a refund check back from an abundance of scholarships, he was getting a refund check back for an abundance of loans--- Stafford loans! Now that isn't good at all.

Right now some people might be wondering how can that be. Let me explain. When you sign up for Stafford loans or any other loans, you can either chose to sign up for the maximum amount that you are eligible for or you can just opt to take out what you need. Now some people would take out the maximum amount of Stafford loans to use for other expenses like books and living expenses.

This particular student would take out the maximum amount of money that he qualified for in Stafford loans. He would use some of the Stafford loans on books, but with the rest of it, he would buy things that made him happy like clothes, video games, or the latest phone. At the time he just saw it as "free money" but that "free money" was actually a debt tab that he was quickly increasing.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't the only student that did this. Parents, students do NOT need to take out the maximum amount of money that they qualify for in Stafford loans or any other student loans. You should only take out what is necessary to cover tuition and the school fees--- nothing more. Taking Stafford loan money and using it for the child's pleasure is a sure way to be swimming in debt upon college graduation.

In the next post, we will follow up on one last reason why we have a student loan debt crisis and how you can avoid your student from being part of that statistic so stay tuned!

By: Shanice Miller, Founder of DebtFreeCollegeGrad.com