How to fund college if you aren’t rich
August 5, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
There are a wealth of resources available for funding a college education including grants, scholarships, loans, savings accounts, etc. For the purpose of this article, I have taken the following from another article that I recently wrote under the title “Do You Need a College Funding Consultant?”.
Some traditional methods of paying for college that both parent and student can take advantage of:
-Apply for many scholarships including academic, athletic, music, and so forth. Whatever your interest or talent there is a scholarship available for it.
-Apply for FAFSA which is a free application for federal financial aid based on financial need. Colleges also use this form to review your financial situation and doing this can get you thousands in aid both loan based and grant based. Grants never need to be repaid.
Taking private loans from companies such as Sallie Mae or AES. You are a fool if you go to a traditional bank for a loan for school. Many of these companies handle your federal loans so are well and ready to assist you in getting private loans. You should always apply to these AFTER federal and school aid.
Some newer methods (mainly for the parents):
Upromise- Companies like these allow you to link many of your store cards (ie savings cards you have on your keychains for various stores) to transfer a percentage of your purchase amount or trade store credits into dollars towards your child’s college education. Generally these work best if started when the child is an infant.
Investing- Generally if you are starting when the child is an infant you can look for a high interest savings account like ING Direct and commit a percentage of your monthly income to it year after year. With interest rates on these accounts reaching 5 percent, its a free setup and a sure way to save your money and make it grow. DO NOT tap into your 401K or retirement savings for college expenses.
You can also consult your school’s financial aid office, FAFSA, and others in college for advice and tips; don’t waste your money on a consultant who is going to charge you a ton of money to tell you what you can find out for free.
Written by MaxwellPayne
How To Pay College Tuition
July 19, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
We all know the boulder that is on every student’s shoulders when it comes to the tuition deadline. It’s probably the most stressful factor that we have to face during our college experience; even more stressful than 5 exams we have during finals week (Even though the world seems about to end during that week too!). What can a student do to better prepare for the tuition payments? I will list a few things that can be done to help alleviate the stress during this time: FAFSA, Scholarships, Budgeting.
File for FAFSA. FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and I demand that every student do one and do it early as possible! The earlier you apply, the better chance of you being able to receive more funds from the federal government either in the form of grants or unsubsidized/subsidized student loans. The Federal Pell Grants are free from the government and are not to be repaid at all. Next in line, in terms of federal funding, would be a subsidized student loan. A Subsidized Loan is a loan the government gives out to students that DOES NOT accrue interest while you are in school full-time. In fact, all students with good money management skills can take these if you plan on using YOUR money to fund college. Use the government subsidized loans to pay your college and place your money (money that was to be used to pay tuition) into an interest bearing savings or money market account to earn interest. When you complete your college degree and when the government subsidized loan decides to kick in – Use the funds earning money in the interest bearing account and pay off the loan in full. Not only were you able to fund your college with government money interest free, but also were able to earn money in your interest-bearing account and are now student loan free. Having your money in another account also can be there for emergency situations – such as medical bills, vehicle costs or any other unexpected tragic situation. An unsubsidized government loan is an interest-bearing loan that accrues interest the day it is sent to university/college. These are normally lower interest loans compared to other private lenders on average. (Check on the FAFSA.ed.gov website for further information and explanation)
Apply for scholarships. What better way to honor your hard work in academics and campus life than with free money from a scholarship? Initially, one always says, “There’s no way I could receive one” etc., but honestly, you never know until you apply. The College/University offers VASTS amount of scholarships either through general awards or through college specific (check your college website on http://www.uakron.edu for more details regarding scholarships).
Budget. When you are working during the school year and during the summers, calculate the amount of funds needed to pay your tuition/books and based on your current pay and after factoring in scholarships and financial aid. Find the percentage you need to set aside per month to reach your goal. Sure it sounds doable while writing and reading this, but actually PRACTICING it sure can make the difference. Of course, this will be different upon your personal tuition burden after factoring in the above 2 sections. These are just a few methods that can help reduce the stress and bearing moment of the tuition payment. Make sure to explore all options of funding and do your due diligence before taking action.
Written by LannyB3123
MBA Finance Student finding ways to Make Money work for Him
Find More Average College Tuition Articles
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment ? Badruka College
July 17, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
About the College
Seth Ghasiram Gopikishan Badruka Educational Society
In the year 1950, Late Raja Bankatlal Badrukaji, Shri Pannalal Pitti and others mooted a proposal for establishing a Commerce College in Hindi Medium. It was decided that the Vice Chancellor of Osmania University should be contacted to progress the proposal.
Nawab Ali Yawar Bahadur, the then Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University appreciated the initiative but suggested that the college should be started in English or Hindi Medium with a endowment fund of 2.5 Lakhs to which Raja Bankatlalji readily accepted.
Thus, a beginning was made to promote quality education. The first exclusive institution for students of commerce came into existence on 2nd August 1950 and was
inaugurated by the then Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University.
The year 2000-01 was the Golden Jubilee year for the Badruka Educational Society established on 2nd August 1950.
Developments
Each of the colleges under the society has established its own reputation in the respective fields like Commerce, Management, Information Technology, etc.
Business Courses Offered
MBA programme
Marketing - Product Management ,Promotion and Distribution Management ,Consumer Behaviour ,Services Marketing
Finance – Strategic Financial Decisions ,Financial System and Services ,International Finance ,Security Analysis and Portfolio Management
Human Resource Management – Organizational Development and Team Building ,Leadership and Change Management ,Performance Appraisal and Counseling, Industrial Relations and Labour Laws
Information Systems - Relational Database Management Systems ,Electronic Commerce
Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade BIFT
Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade (BIFT) was established in October 2001. BIFT offers the Masters Program in International Business (MPIB), which draws its curriculum from MBA (IB) course of IIFT. Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade based organization of academic excellence and thought leaders in management education. It is provide the excellent faculty with good knowledge & skills and high quality education.
Courses offered
Master of Business Administration
Post Graduate Diploma In Management
Masters Program in International Business (MPIB)
Ranking
Business India- A+
Placement
The Placement library is equipped with books and CDs, relevant to Grooming, Spoken English and tackling Interview Questions. Model Question Bank is also available. Boardroom facility is provided for Communication Skills Sessions, Mock interviews, and Group Discussion (GD) Sessions, Resume writing etc.
Students are also appraised on continuous basis through seminars and workshops.Activity based training is imparted for Personality Development. A Blood Donation camp, service at orphanage is a part of understanding various aspects of life. Students also regularly conduct and participate in management festivals, conferences and seminars.Industrial Visits and guest lectures by eminent personalities are a regular feature.
Asian Paints, Bank of America, Airtel, Bank of America, Citibank, APITCO, bajaj Auto, Deloitte Consulting, ARM Ltd., Bartronics India Ltd., DCL Finance Ltd, Aurobindo Pharma, Biocon, General Motors, Baan Invensys, Blue Star, HCL-HP, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, BPL India, HDFC Bank, Hartex Rubber Ltd., CARE Foundation, Indian School of Business (ISB), India Infocom.
About The campus
Classrooms The Centre has big, well-ventilated classrooms that can comfortably accommodate about 60 students each. Each classroom is decked with advanced pedagogy tools such as Overhead Projectors, etc.The classrooms are spacious enough to conduct various activities such as business games, simulation, etc.
Computer Lab Equipped with state-of-the-art infrastructure, the lab has a LAN bridged with 60 terminals and legal software. The students, faculty and non-teaching staff have 10-hour Internet access to global information through a high-speed leased line.
Library With a wide collection of rich and rare Management books, the library has over 6500 books and subscribes to 4 international and 17 national journals. The libarary is spread over an area of 100 sq.mt and a seating capacity of 35.
Audio-Visual Room The Audio-Visual Room has teaching aids like LCDs slide projectors, film projectors, VCR, VCD players, etc. These aids are regularly used to make the classroom sessions more interesting and informative. A good collection of cassettes and CDs covering diverse topics is available for the benefit of students and faculty.
Seminar Hall and Auditorium The College is well equipped with a Seminar Hall and an Auditorium. The Seminar hall and the Auditorium can accommodate 150 and 600 people respectively. Various Seminars and student activities take place in the Seminar Hall and the Auditorium.
These facilities provide a great ambience for organising:
Executive Development Programmes (EDPs)
Management Development Programmes (MDPs)
Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs)
Location
Dept. of Business Management
Badruka College PG Centre
Kachiguda, Hyderabad 500027
AP, India
Telephone +91-40-24658236, 24606927
E-mail badrukaplacement@yahoo.com
badruka@30gigs.com
MBA Seat Allotment
Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
96 M BC_D AU OC_GEN_UR
148 F OC AU OC_GIRLS_UR
191 M BC_A AU BC_A_GEN_UR
305 M BC_D SVU BC_D_GEN_UR
366 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
461 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
481 F OC OU OC_GIRLS_OU
519 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
568 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
594 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
648 F OC OU OC_GIRLS_OU
659 F OC OU OC_GIRLS_OU
680 F BC_E OU BC_E_GEN_UR
724 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
726 M OC OU OC_GEN_OU
816 M BC_B OU BC_B_GEN_OU
853 M BC_B OU BC_B_GEN_OU
929 F OC AU OC_CAP_GIRLS_UR
935 M BC_B OU BC_B_GEN_OU
943 M BC_B OU BC_B_GEN_OU
948 M BC_D OU BC_D_GEN_OU
955 M BC_B OU BC_B_GEN_OU
1044 M BC_D OU BC_D_GEN_OU
1085 F BC_D OU BC_D_GIRLS_OU
1254 F BC_B OU BC_B_GIRLS_OU
1331 F BC_D OU BC_D_GIRLS_OU
1672 M BC_E OU BC_E_GEN_OU
2258 F BC_E OU BC_E_GIRLS_OU
2557 F SC OU SC_GIRLS_OU
2582 F BC_A OU BC_A_GIRLS_OU
3646 M BC_A OU BC_A_GEN_OU
3941 M SC OU SC_GEN_OU
4602 F SC OU SC_GIRLS_OU
4640 M SC OU SC_GEN_OU
4723 F SC OU SC_GEN_OU
4840 M SC OU SC_GEN_OU
6364 F BC_C OU BC_C_GIRLS_OU
10873 M ST OU ST_GEN_OU
26680 F ST OU ST_GIRLS_OU
3226 M SC OU SC_PHH_GEN_OU
88768 M ST OU ST_NCC_GEN_OU
All the Best guys….
To Know More –
ICET 2009 Counseling Dates, Rank wise College Allotment
Icet 2010 Counseling Dates, Web-Counseling Details
Icet 2010 Counseling Dates, Rankwise College Allotment
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Part 2
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Part 3
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Osmania University
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Osmania University (Oucbsf)
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Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Avanthi Degree & PG College (Avnt)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Viswa Bharathi College of Engg (Vbce)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment –vignana Bharati Institute of Technology (Vbit)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Teegala Krishna Reddy Engg College (Tkem)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Swami Vivekananda Institute of Technology (Svit)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – St.martins Engg College (Mrtn)
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Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rishi Ubr PG College For Women (Rish)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rbvrr
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rbvrr Institute of Technology (Rjbh)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Princeton PG College of Mgmt (Prnm)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Malla Reddy College of Engg For Women (Mcew)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment –loyola Academy Degree & PG College (Loyl)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – JB Inst of Engg & Tech (Jbiet)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Institute of Aeronautical Engg (Iare)
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Written by Robert De
Top 5 Ways to Reduce Or Save Money On College Tuition Cost
July 14, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
Many bloom careers, decidedly the academy advantageous careers, such as physicians or avant-garde convenance nurses, crave at atomic a bachelor’s degree. Additionally, all physicians charge access a medical doctorate which about entails addition four abounding years of college. Associate’s degrees can alike be cost-prohibitive for abounding bodies gluttonous affiliated bloom careers.
Paying for such all-encompassing educational requirements can be overwhelming. Plus, extenuative money for academy is acceptable added challenging, as costs of active and aggrandizement abide to outdistance boilerplate incomes. By authoritative a few key choices aboriginal in your educational career, you could barber bags of dollars, or alike tens of bags of dollars, off of your charge bill.
If you don’t authorize for a scholarship, grant, or added allotment to advice pay for your academy education, these simple approach could be the acknowledgment for extenuative big bucks as you complete the educational coursework bare for assorted medical jobs. As you will see, planning avant-garde and authoritative important decisions aboriginal in your educational career is key to extenuative money on academy costs.
AP Coursework:
“AP” classes, or “advanced placement” are college-level courses offered to aerial academy students, accouterment a befalling to acquire academy credits by casual an assay at the end of the course. Aerial academy classes for academy acclaim = chargeless college!! If you or your adolescent is gluttonous to access into a medical acreage acute a bachelor’s or avant-garde degree, AP courses could be one way to save some money on the absolute apprenticeship bill.
Collective Acceptance in Academy and Aerial School:
Collective enrollment or demography academy courses while commutual aerial school is addition way to save some money on academy tuition. Typically, bounded association colleges are a bit beneath big-ticket than accompaniment or clandestine colleges. Also, collective acceptance allows you to acquire academy credits after the active costs of actuality abroad at college. Check with your academy advisor to see if collective acceptance is accustomed during chief year of aerial school.
Accumulated Bachelor’s and Medical amount programs:
The archetypal aisle to a medical amount entails four abounding years (or more) of undergraduate studies to acquire a bachelor’s degree, additional four added years of medical academy for the medical doctorate. Some colleges and universities action accumulated programs, which accommodate a bachelor’s amount and the medical amount aural a six year advance of study, extenuative you two abounding years of academy charge and costs! Alike if the absolute charge accumulations do not agree to two abounding years, you will absolutely save on two abounding years of active expenses, additional you’ll be able to alpha earning money two years sooner!
Accessible university & In-state tuition:
It may complete obvious, but allotment an accessible in-state academy or university can save tens of bags of dollars. Most analytic bloom careers are in such abundant demand, actual few jobs or administration is activity to crave ivy-league apprenticeship or cher clandestine academy credentials. Additionally, if you appear an accessible university, you may be added acceptable to rank academy in your class, which additionally looks acceptable on a resume’.
Stay the Course:
The added you change schools, or change majors, the added time you lose, and in college, time is money. Each time you accomplish a transition, you are acceptable to lose at atomic a few advance credits which may not alteration to your new academy or new major. Therefore, try to accept wisely afore you access college, and stick with your aboriginal plan if possible.
Written by ganeshgolha
Find More College Tuition Cost Articles
The Six Minute Book Summary of The Busy Adult?s Guide To Making College Happen by Geoffrey Schmidt
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
Executive Summary
Many people that attend college for the first time usually do not realize the seriousness or the difficulty of attending college. Most of the first time students are one’s that have just graduated from high school and think that college is going to be almost, if not exactly, the same as it was for them in high school. Cramming at the last minute for a test, or never even having to study and still pull out A’s and B’s. Newcomer’s think the only difference between the transitions is the total freedom from your parents and the party lifestyle that comes with the freedom.
The new college students are in for such a rude awakening once they take their first exam. College is a completely different experience compared to high school. Yes you do have the freedom and fun parties, but with such freedoms comes tons of responsibilities along with it. It is totally up to you to be able to attend classes, do projects, and study for upcoming exams. There is no one that will be there to hold your hand every step of the way like you had in high school.
Fortunately, here are a few helpful pointers that will help you with the transition from childhood to adulthood. You must make productive use of all of your spare time. You need to figure out where your “hidden gold” is and make productive use of it in order to do well in college. The use of “time management” is one that will not only help you succeed in college, but help you in long past that and into your career.
Find the major that is right for you! The only way that college is going to be any easier for you is if you study for a career that will keep you interested in, and you wanting more out of it. It is okay if you have not decided on a particular major right away, but one of the main focuses of attending college is finding yourself. You do not want to choose a major that someone else is wants you to do just because they found success in that field. Not everyone is the same person; everyone has a little difference in them.
Finally, getting help and support from those that are around you to assist you on your long journey through college. Your family is always going to be your biggest supporter of anything you do. This is why it is important for you to have them around for moral support to assist you along the way. And do not be afraid to ask any of your professors or advisors for any questions pertaining to your classes. That is what they are there for, to teach and give you a hand with anything you may need in order for you to succeed. You can also make use of the on-campus tutoring sessions that are provided to the students.
The Ten Things Managers Need to Know from The Busy Adult’s Guide is:
Make use of “time management” by using a daily planner to record your daily activities.
Finding your “hidden gold” and making use of that spare time.
Your family will always be there to be your biggest supporter.
There has to be a balance between work time and planning fun time for you and your family.
Make and maintain contacts that you have made throughout your lifetime. You never know when they will come in handy in the future.
Maintaining the motivation that has made you successful to remain successful in your not so distant future.
Able to overcome those naysayer’s.
Choosing the right applicant for the job opening at hand.
Staying on top of your entire job requirements.
Never just settle, always want more.
Full Summary of The Busy Adults Guide to Making College Happen.
Introduction:
When deciding on whether or not college is for you, there are several factors that must be weighed out before you decide on being one that goes. Going to college is very time consuming, but also very costly especially for an individual that has sat out of school after graduating from high school. Even more difficult for one that has sat out and has already began starting a family. Fortunately for those potential students, there are hundreds of colleges that have made it easy for those who have decided to go back to school to earn a college degree. The author, Geoffrey Schmidt, was a person that fell right into this category. Schmidt had already been out of school for eight years and was working different types of odd jobs ranging from construction to low paying sales jobs. Until one day, his girlfriend at the time had already received her undergraduate’s degree and was close to finishing up with her master’s degree. She came to Schmidt and laid it all out for him, she saw where the relationship was going for them and she needed him to choose a path that would be beneficial to both in order to continue their lives together. After thinking about what his girlfriend had said to him, he did some thinking and realized that what she brought to his attention was what needed to be done. He then began reading “success” books and stumbled across a simple success formula many people have lived by: Determine what you want, where you want to go, and what is needed to get you from here to there.
Schmidt had realized what he wanted, which was in fact a college degree. He changed jobs allowing him to not have to work late at night in order to be able to study and attend classes. He found the college that was right for which was Northeastern Illinois University, which had a good business program. He graduated magna cum laude-with high honors. Then went on to Grad School at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, which has a premier MBA program. How was he able to achieve all of this while starting a family and working a full time job? Let’s find out!
Finding the Time:
Time management becomes a key aspect in not only someone who is looking to go to college while working, but in life past that in order to be successful. The best solution for enabling one to manage their time better, a daily planner! When first starting off with a daily planner, you do not want to just write down the major events you have to do that day. For example, only writing down when you have work or classes. When you are just starting out with using a planner, you want to write down everything you do. When you are eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, when you are watching television, when you are studying, etc… You want to list everything you have planned that day so you can later find what Schmidt refers to as “hidden gold”. You want to go back through your day and find those time periods that you do not have anything planned and turn that into having something planned. This step is one that I personally adopted about two years ago. I needed to become more organized with my studies being intertwined with me also working and partying. I would write down my library time, tailgating for LSU football games, Saints games, even nap times. It helped me find out the little down time that I had with everything going on and study in between for school.
Finding the Motivation:
“Success equals taking ongoing action steps toward your goal.” Summarization, get off your butt and start doing something. Motivation is key to starting your future. Instead of drifting through life by just getting by, set a goal and motivate yourself to work towards achieving that goal. However, there are other factors that do come into play for accomplishing your own goals. One of the bigger reasons that people have as an obstacle in achieving their goals is the ability of procrastination. When going through college, especially right after high school, most students have plenty of time for their studies and school work; they just do not use their extra time effectively. A lot of the time, people like to procrastinate and throw something together at the last minute just to get by. For most people, this philosophy will carry over into their professional career and some will fine and will not affect their future. For the most part, most of the people with this philosophy on life will end up keeping them from a very luxurious lifestyle and leave you with a mediocre future.
Begin With the Goal of Maximum Success:
You have now decided to go to college, but what exactly do you want out of your whole college experience. Do you just want to stop at getting your degree or do you want to go further than just a degree? Perhaps go on to Grad School to obtain a Master’s Degree. Or perhaps you do decide to go straight into the work force and start applying for job openings. You will land a good job for a recent college graduate and be making a good start off salary and you will be content with this job at first. What happens if you come to realize that your job is not as fulfilling as you thought it was when you first started? You go and start the process all over again but only this time you go for a much better job with higher pay and higher standards. Meaning better extracurricular activities, higher GPA, or a more impressive work experience. All of which do come into affect when going through the job hiring process. This is important because you do not want to get beat out by someone because of something that you could have prevented if only you had taken college more seriously. Which is the case with anything you do in life because there will always be someone there that will be able to complete your job just as well, if not better, to replace you.
Paying for College is Easier than You Think:
One of the biggest factors that lead to people to choose to not attend college is that they feel that they cannot afford to go to college. It may appear this way since the costs of attending college have risen in the past fifteen years to double the average costs of goods and services, however, being able to pay for college today is now easier than ever. How is this so? Surprisingly, it is our government which allows for us to do so! The U.S. government looks at loaning money to citizen in need of it to attend college as a future investment for the entire nation. The better educated you are, the likelihood of you getting a good job with good pay, which will then result into higher taxes.
The government and college’s are able to do so through four different forms of payment to go towards earning your college degree. Two of the four forms of financial aid come to as a free form towards college; these are called grants and scholarships. Grants are usually given to a student when their family’s average level of income is below normal standards. In such cases, when a student receives a grant, it is pretty much considered receiving free money. Another form of free payments towards college is not quite like a grant, scholarships are given by the university to pay for your tuition, but they come with a price. Usually scholarships are given to someone that is a good athletic prospect to play on that school’s team. You may also receive a scholarship is you excel in a particular subject or activity such as art or music. The two types of loans that are not considered free are a Federal loan such as a Stafford or Perkins loan, or work study programs. The Stafford and Perkins loan is probably the most common of loan to be issued. You receive a loan and you are responsible to pay the loan back once you have graduated or earned a respectable job. A work study program involves you working on campus for a wage or assistance towards tuition, which usually involves you working in your college of interest.
Education Programs:
Many of the colleges today have had to adjust their curriculum in order to accommodate for such untraditional students. Meaning students that are working a full-time job while attending classes, students with families, or even students which do not live in the immediate area of the university campus. Colleges have move toward this accommodation by offering online classes and providing classes at off-campus building like the Livingston or St. Tammany campuses Southeastern provides. Both of these are great for the untraditional student that has to accommodate for other obstacles that life has thrown in their path.
Choosing the Major that is Right for You:
“Your major defines you!” Once you have decided on the major that you think is right for you, you now have a direction into the path in which you want to take in life. Even if you have been accepted into a college but have not yet decided on a major, you still have plenty of time to decide. However, you want to decide on a major that is right for you, not just a major to get an easy degree with no general direction for your future. A good place to start when trying to decide on your major is to construct a list. This list will be composed of three sections listing your interests, hobbies, and different things you wanted to be when you were growing up. You now have a starting point for deciding a major. If for some reason that once you have decided on a major and realize that it is not the right one for you, not to worry because you can always change your major. That is part of the whole college experience which is to help find the true you.
Getting Support from your Family:
If you are one of those people that are going to school and are in the midst of starting a family, your family is going to be your biggest supporter to help you get through this life changing obstacle. They should be able to assist you in taking a little load off of your plate when it comes to little things around the house that someone else can easily do themselves. Anything that your family can do to give you more time for you and your studies will add up in a tremendous amount. But everything cannot always be about you and your studies. There has to be some kind of play time for you otherwise you will overload yourself and go nuts! This plays back to time management, you want to find all that spare time you have for your studies, but you want to also throw in some fun time as well.
Here Comes the Opposition:
In pursuit to obtaining your college degree, there are many obstacles that one will have to overcome in order to obtain that degree. Every so often, some of those obstacles may include some of your closest friends. I know this sounds ridiculous thinking that, “none of my friends would do that to me!” It will depend on whether those friends are or have gone through what you are about to embark upon. If your friends have or are going to go through what you will, than I am sure that they will be behind one-hundred percent. It is the friends that were not successful or opted to not pursue a college degree that will be the obstacle to jump over.
I can totally relate to this very situation. My close friends from high school, there was about fifteen that I hung out with on a daily basis. I and four others are the only ones that are still pursuing our degree. The rest either chose not to attend college, or they did try and have given up on obtaining their degree. Once I got to college, I was the only one of my friends from high school that chose to attend Southeastern so I made a new set of friends. I started to hang around another group composed of about ten people, and of that ten only three have graduated. I started to see myself fall off track and removed myself from that situation and moved on to another city. My friends of now, all are attending school with the same kind of mindset which is to better ourselves and provide a happy and fortunate life for each other in our not so distant futures.
If there are any obstacles that are in your path that are preventing you from obtaining your goal, the easy solution would be to give up and let it bring you down. What really defines a person’s character is how they are able to overcome those obstacles in life in order to obtain what your goal is in life.
What to do Your First Year:
For most first time college students, they walk into the door thinking that college is going to be the same as high school except for a lot more partying. You soon come to realize that college is absolutely nothing like high school. You have now entered the grown up world! No professor is going to hold your hand, make sure you do your work, or have your parents wake you up for class to make sure you get there on time. There are a few helpful tips that can come in handy for any first year student to achieve success. Utilizing your resources through the university is one of the better tips to help a new college student. This is big for when scheduling classes, needing tutoring for classes, and asking for extra help from professors. You can never go wrong for asking any kind of help when it comes to your future. Staying organized is another tip. This also plays in part with “time management”. You will not be able to go solely off of pure memory in order to succeed in college. Of course, study hard! Probably the most obvious of all the tips given, but without a doubt the most over looked and never practiced. I can almost guarantee you that it is a slim chance that any student has made it through college without ever having to study for any exam.
What to do Your Last Year:
Congratulations, you have made it to the end of the tunnel and oh what a journey it has been. But you do not want to slack off just yet; you still have one more full year before you walk across that stage. Continue to stay on your studies as if you were a sophomore; even try to get an early start on your senior project paper (if you are assigned one). You may even want to reward yourself by taking an interesting class that is outside of your curriculum. As long as you keep one thing in mind, your end result is to walk across that stage and receive that diploma with your name on it.
Getting a Job in Your Field:
Once you are getting close to that final day to walk across that stage and move on into the working world, your next step is to get a job. First, you need to get an interview in order to get any job of interest to you. Although the more interviews that you apply for will indeed increase your chances of getting a good job, you also need to have good interviewing skills in order to get one of those jobs offered. You can take classes either through your school or even off-campus classes to improve your interviewing skills. When searching for a job to apply for, you can search at many different places to obtain job openings. You can check around school in your college building on bulletins, you will flyers for openings for part time college students or full time college graduates. You can even try e-recruiter services such as monster.com, this web-site will help you find a job to your appeal.
Once you do get an interview, you want to make sure that you make a lasting impression for the interviewer to remember what separates you from the many applicants interested in the same opening. You want to be informed of the company’s vision and mission and be able to ask any questions about the company and the company’s future. The more you know about the company, the better the impression you make and the likelihood of you getting another interview.
Many Levels Left to Climb:
Congrats, you have made it to the top of the mountain. But, do not just stop with this one life changing goal that you have set for yourself. Create a new goal, and keep climbing those mountains to reach the best of all of your expectations. That is what life is all about, overcoming obstacles and getting right back up and hurdle the next obstacle that is put in front of you. Do not just be satisfied with settling for something that you can gain more from. Continue to climb, continue to achieve, and when you do so, life will reward you for all of your hard work and determination.
Why I think:
The author is one of the most brilliant people around because it is not every day that someone is capable to graduate from one of the most prestigious Business School’s with a master’s degree. I more so admire the fact that this man was able to do so all while working a full time job and while raising a family. I use to work two part time jobs all while being a full-time student at Southeastern. I could not imagine how difficult it must be to attend school while working a forty plus hours a week and starting a family. The thought just sends chills up my spine. Plus this man received his undergraduate’s degree as magna cum laude with honors. Anyone that is able to accomplish such a tremendous feat has nothing but the upmost respect from me.
If I were the author of the book, I would have done these three things differently:
I would not have mentioned my wife as much throughout the book as Mr. Schmidt had done in his book. Now I know that she was his inspiration to go back to school, however, I just think that he stayed focused on the objectives at hand instead of mentioning her as much.
I also would have tried to appeal to not just the reader’s that are thinking of going back to school, but to the reader’s that are looking for a little more direction while are about to attend college. There were many different topics that were mentioned throughout this book that are great tools for anyone that is attending college, some of which I have used myself while attending Southeastern. It just seemed more focused towards the reader that has sat out of school for a few years and are interested in going back.
Finally, I think that Mr. Schmidt should have touched on a little bit more about what to do after you have obtained your college degree. The book mostly focused on what to do before going to college, it does not cover too much about what to do after you have finished college.
Reading this book made me think differently about the topic in these ways:
The Busy Adults Guide made me realize that I wish I could turn back time and start over with college. If I had read this book before my first day of orientation, I probably would not have ended up in the situation of being on academic probation for three years. I would like to think that I would be sitting quite nicely instead of having to stress over whether or not I would be graduating in December or not!
This book has made me realize to continue on the path of making and maintaining those friends that have been such a positive influence in my life the past few years. Because it is true, positive friends around you set up for positive things to come.
Last but not least, it has brought to my attention that I should look into classes for preparing for a job interview. Southeastern has had some classes that have touched on the subject, but the more prepared you are for a job interview the better the chance you have to land the job you are interviewing for.
I’ll apply what I’ve learned in this book in my career by:
I will always remember to make good use of my spare time directed towards my job and career. Instead of using all of my spare time to just relax and watch television, I will try and make use of this time to work towards my job work at home to stay on top, if not ahead, of the game.
I will continue to hang on to my friends and contacts that I have made while attending college just in case if there is ever a time that I will need in my future. It is true, it’s not always what you know, but sometimes it is who you know.
Finally, I will continue to use a daily planner to stay organized and stay aware of important dates that will be coming up in the future. If you miss one of those important dates, it is not going to be like college where all you get is a zero on a grade, instead it may cost you a job in the end.
Here is a sampling of what others have said about the book and the author:
There were two people that had reviews on amazon.com that said that said that this was a truly inspirational book. The book gave them a lot of insight to making going back to college and helping them finding the time to juggle both the responsibilities of school and home life. The fact that he uses his own life as an example to show how easy it was to go back to school and earning his undergraduates and masters degree is truly inspirational.
Bibliography:
Mclaughlin, Margaret. (March 10, 2009) The Busy Adult’s Guide to Making College Happen.
Retrieved March 25, 2010, from Amazon’s Review website:
Schmidt, Geoffrey (2008). The Busy Adult’s Guide to Making College Happen. Chappaqua, NY: Break Free Publishing LLC.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To contact the author of this “Summary and Review of The Busy Adult’s Guide,” please email W0291061@selu.edu.
Biography
David C. Wyld (dwyld.kwu@gmail.com) is the Robert Maurin Professor of Management at Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond, Louisiana. He is a management consultant, researcher/writer, and executive educator. His blog, Wyld About Business, can be viewed at http://wyld-business.blogspot.com/. He also serves as the Director of the Reverse Auction Research Center (http://reverseauctionresearch.blogspot.com/), a hub of research and news in the expanding world of competitive bidding. Dr. Wyld also maintains compilations of works he has helped his students to turn into editorially-reviewed publications at the following sites:
Management Concepts (http://toptenmanagement.blogspot.com/)
Book Reviews (http://wyld-about-books.blogspot.com/) and
Travel and International Foods (http://wyld-about-food.blogspot.com/).
Written by David Wyld
Professor of Management, Southeastern Louisiana University
Icet 2010 Counseling Dates, Rankwise College Allotment
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
ICET 2010 is an Integrated Common Entrance Test for admission into M.B.A and M.C.A courses of all universities in Andhra Pradesh and their affiliated colleges. This test is being conducted by Andhra University Visakhapatnam on behalf of Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education.
ICET 2010 exam is conducted this year 27th May, by Andhra University. With the increase in demand for higher education, competitive examinations likeICET see ever growing participation from aspirants. This year there are less people have written ICET exam. So this year the competition is not very high compared to last year.
This year there are less people applied (1, 74,094) for the ICET Examination compared to last year. In that 1, 62,381 students are appeared for the exam in which 1, 50,715 students are passed in ICET exam.
ICET results were announced by Andhra University on 14th June. Still some body saying the counseling will be held on in between 1st or 2nd week of July. But still ICET conveners did not mention the exact dates of counseling.
The candidates who want to study MBA, MCA are in dilemma to know the ICET counseling dates, rank wise college allotment. In this links you will know the counseling process and reservation category everything whatever you want information.
Here are the list of Rank wise College Allotment -
MBA Seat Allotment
AVANTHI DEGREE AND PG COLLEGE (AVNT)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
773 M OC AU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
84239 F SC OU SC_CAP_GIRLS_UR
DVR PG INST OF MNGT STUDIES (DVRC)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
1314 M OC AU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
104421 M BC_D OU OC_PHH_GEN_OU
INFO AND RESEARCH INST OF AURORA (AURORAS P G COLLEGE)(IRAP)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
4027 M BC_D SVU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
65736 M BC_B OU BC_B_NCC_GEN_OU
INST OF AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING (IARE)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
3988 F OC AU OC_GIRLS_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
143072 F ST OU ST_GIRLS_OU
JB INST OF ENGG AND TECH (JBET)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
2486 M BC_D SVU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
159776 F BC_D OU BC_D_CAP_GIRLS_UR
KAKATIYAUNIVERSITY COLLEGE(KUCV)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
866 M OC OU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
84184 M ST OU ST_PHO_GEN_OU
LOYOLA ACADEMY DEGREE AND PG COLLEGE (LOYL)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
5834 M OC OU CHR_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
26731 M OC OU CHR_GEN_OU
MALLA REDDY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING FOR WOMEN (MCEW)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
4856 F OC AU OC_GIRLS_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
146615 F ST SVU ST_GIRLS_UR
JNTMSF – Hyderabad
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
53 F OC AU OC_GIRLS_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
114468 F SC OU SC_PHO_GIRLS_OU
KAKATIYAUNIVERSITYPG COLLEGE (KUPSSF)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
2137 M BC_B OU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
155188 M BC_D OU BC_D_SG_GEN_OU
MATRUSRI INSTITUTE OF PG STUDIES (MSRI)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
526 F OC NL OC_GIRLS_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
168996 M OC OU OC_PHH_GEN_OU
NIZAMCOLLEGE(NIZBSF)
1st Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
317 M OC AU OC_GEN_UR
Last Rank M/F Category Region AllottedCategory
51305 M BC_E OU BC_E_CAP_GEN_UR
I think this will help you some kind of information regarding rank wise college allotements.
The conveners of Andhra University will definitely announce the right date at least a week before the Counseling center. So don’t get panic and beware of counseling date and college allotments.
All I can say is Good Luck and look for information about best colleges for MBA or MCA.
To know more information –
Icet 2010 Counseling Dates, Web-Counseling Details
ICET 2009 Counseling Dates, Rank wise College Allotment
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Part 2
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Part 3
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Osmania University
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Osmania University (Oucbsf)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Andhra University
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Andhra University (Aucbsf)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (Jntu)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Kakatiya University
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Kakatiya University (Kupssf)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Badruka College
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Pragati Mahavidyalaya Post Graduate College
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Nizam College
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – University College For Women (Oucw)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Bvbv
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Vivekananda School (Vvsp)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Matrusri Institute of PG Studies
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Aurora PG College
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Snist
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Arpp
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Avanthi Degree & PG College (Avnt)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Viswa Bharathi College of Engg (Vbce)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment –vignana Bharati Institute of Technology (Vbit)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Teegala Krishna Reddy Engg College (Tkem)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Swami Vivekananda Institute of Technology (Svit)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – St.martins Engg College (Mrtn)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Sri Indu PG College (Indv)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Sri Indu College of Engg & Tech (Indu)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Sai Sudhir PG College (Ssud)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rishi Ubr PG College For Women (Rish)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rbvrr
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Rbvrr Institute of Technology (Rjbh)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Princeton PG College of Mgmt (Prnm)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Malla Reddy College of Engg For Women (Mcew)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment –loyola Academy Degree & PG College (Loyl)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – JB Inst of Engg & Tech (Jbiet)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Institute of Aeronautical Engg (Iare)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Information & Research Inst of Aurora (Irap)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – Dvr PG Institute of Mgmt Studies (Dvrc)
Icet 2010 Rankwise College Allotment – St. Martins Institute of Business Mgmt (Mrtm)
Written by Robert De
Why Joining The Military is a Good Idea
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
Get Paid
Now is the time to join the military because of our economic downfall. Being in the military will give young people a paycheck every 2 weeks. Most young Americans have trouble finding a job, let alone raking in a paycheck twice a month. The pay is not bad either. An E-1, who just joined earns approximately ,000 in their first year. That does not include any kind of deployment pay such as combat pay, hazardous duty pay, sea pay, family separation pay, or any kind of bonus. I’m going to reference to the Marine Corps throughout this lens because all of the services are different and I’m a Marine so it will make things easier. That Marine we just referenced will shortly become a Private First Class, then 6 months later a Lance Corporal. So, at about the 2 year mark, that Marine is averaging about ,000. Not bad for an enlisted Marine that does his job without getting into trouble. By the time you’ve reached 4 years and E-4, you’re brining in the same amount of money as someone who is making an hour!! That’s not bad eh’? A Marine who has served 20 years of active duty and reached the rank of E-9 averages about ,000 a year. Thats a pretty good salary for someone with no college education.
Go to College for FREE!!!
That’s right, the military will pay for you to go to school!! The Marine Corps and Air Force will pay ,500 a year for tuition. The Navy has unlimited Tuition Assistance.That’s a great number considering most military-friendly schools lower their tution to 0 per credit hour, costing only 0 per course. That means you can achieve your Bachelor’s Degree in about 2 years or so, taking classes year round. Of course, there is the Post 9/11 Montgomery GI Bill as well. That is more than ,000 you can put toward college. Also, if you don’t use your GI Bill, you can transfer it to your spouse or your children! It’s a pretty awesome deal. I am currently working on my degree and I haven’t spent a dime…take advantage of the awesome benefits, speaking of benefits—
Take paid Leave
Military personnel accure 2.5 days per month of paid leave. That’s 30 days a year that you can take off and get paid for it. Better than that, most military jobs are like a regular job, working 5 days a week and getting the weekends off. Of course, that’s not always true but it does happen. Also, military personnel get holiday days off, just like everyone else and the paycheck doesn’t change. You still get paid on the 1st and 15th, no matter what (as long as you didn’t get court martialed or non-judicial punishment).
Deploy and Serve your Country
Honor, Courage, Commitment
Deployment is something that isn’t for everyone, however, most people who are in the Military love to deploy. You gain a plethora of entitlement pays (they vary depending on where you go and what you do) that substantially raise your paycheck. Most of the entitlement pays I listed previously are gained upon deployment. The Marine Corps typically does 6-7 month deployments with about a year back in the States before deploying again. Deployments can be tough on families and relationships but they can also make you stronger. Being deployed is also a great time to build strong relationships with your fellow service members, as we all work together to fight the war. Also, deployments can give you a sense of accomplishment and worthiness.
Other Benefits
The Military provides health insurance (yep, your worth 0,000) and dental care, not only for you but for your family as well. I can’t imagine paying for health insurance and dental care and having kids, geez it’s got to be expensive….it IS expensive. That’s another perk to being in the military. Family benefits is something that you can’t put a price tag on or even quantify it. The amount of physical, mental, or any other problems could cost thousands of dollars, especially if you have any kind of disorder or your child does that needs constant care or medication. There are thousands of great programs for military members, other than just benefits. Wounded Warriors and many many other organizations are put together to support military personnel who have been injured or need help some time along the way. There are so many of them, I could make a complete lens for each one because they are all very supportive of the troops.
Gain Skills for the Civilian World!
If the Military isn’t a career choice, then use the skills you’ve learned while being in the Military, in the civilian world! Most MOS’s (Military Occupation Specialty) are very easily transitioned into the civilian work force. By the end of your contract (4-5 years), you are usually a professional and very proficient in your job, which makes it easy to transition into the work force. Also, you could have gained a college degree during that first enlistment and you can use that to your advantage, along with your on the job training. There are people in the military who have the specific job to help you successfully transition into the civilian work force. There are also many websites dedicated to the very same thing.
RETIRE!!!
After 20 years of loyal service, you can retire and live the rest of your days in peace, knowing you are still getting paid and you don’t have to work. If you retire at 20 years, you get about 50% of your base pay, and 75% at 30 years, not to mention the disability pays as well (hearing, sight, and so on). Twenty years is a very short time to work and retire, if you joined at 18 after high school, you could retire at 38 and still be young enough to start another career doing whatever you want, just for extra money. A lot of retirees go on to be teachers, politicians and many other jobs that help give back to the community. Military retirees are usually people with great leadership skills and can contribute a great deal to local communities. I, for one, can’t wait to retire and go into business!
Written by JoeStone
I’m a writer and a Marine
More Montgomery College Tuition Cost Articles
Best Technical Schools: How To Find Accredited Technical Programs
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
At colleges and universities, the school of applied sciences offers technical degree programs. These types of degrees differ from other degrees in several ways. Technical programs often lead to a certificate, associate degree, bachelor’s degree or master’s degree. Depending on the school, technical programs may lead to a certificate in automotive repair or ultrasound technology or a bachelor’s degree in engineering or information technology. Technical schools typically prepare students for work in the field through a combination of coursework and hands-on training. Some of the nation’s best technical schools also have a 90 percent plus placement rate.
To locate the best technical schools, you can begin your search online. College ranking websites such as Princetonreview.com college rankings or U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2010 are a great start. Both sites list hundreds top technical schools along with rankings, tuition rates, and links to official websites. You can also use Google, Yahoo! or Bing or search college directory websites such as Best-Technical-Schools.com.
The best technical schools are accredited by U.S. Department of Education recognized agencies. Just a few recognized accrediting agencies include:
-Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (regional)
-New England Association of Schools and Colleges (regional)
-North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (regional)
-Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (regional)
-Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (regional)
-The Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)
-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
-The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
-The Distance Education and Training Council (DETC)
-Western Association of Schools and Colleges (regional)
The agencies listed here are not the only recognized accrediting agencies. So please visit the U.S. Department of Education website at http://www.ed.gov for an official list. Continue reading to find out which top U.S. technical schools made the list of World’s Best Technical Schools by U.S. News & World Report.
World’s Best Technical Schools-Programs (U.S.)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (#1)
University of California, Berkeley (#2)
Stanford University (#3)
California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (#5)
Carnegie Mellon University (#9)
Georgia Institute of Technology (#12)
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) (#18)
Harvard University (#22)
Princeton University (#23)
Cornell University (#24)
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (#25)
University of Texas at Austin (#36)
Purdue University (#37)
University of Michigan (#41)
University of California, San Diego (#43)
Resources:
For more information on the best technical schools, including curriculum and program info for technical programs, visit best-technical-schools.com.
For information about technical schools, visit the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov/.
Written by WJContent
Why University And College Textbooks Are Expensive
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
Textbooks cost money — lots of it. For many students, the most painful moment in every semester (after the moment they troop through the registrar’s office to pay their tuition, that is) is when they’re standing at the cashier’s booth in the campus bookstore with an armful of books and a credit card that’s already groaning under the weight of a too-high balance. And the problem is getting worse, too: Associated Press reported a few years ago that the cost of textbooks has almost doubled in the past twenty years, outstripping the average rate of inflation, so that it’s now 25% of student’s tuition costs at public-school tuition levels.
Student griping about textbooks most commonly blames the campus bookstores, and to be fair, those stores do have some share of the responsibility. They do not make it easy for students to save money on textbooks. While many of them do sell used books repurchased from previous students, they add a steep markup there, too. (The campus bookstore therefore acts as a sort of combined new and used bookseller; it charges its customary markup when it sells the book new, and then charges that markup again when it sells the exact same book used to next year’s students.) And some are even bolder; Harvard’s Coop bookstore, for example, supposedly ejected some students who were writing down ISBN numbers so they could look up cheaper copies of the book for sale online.
So much for the campus bookstore, but there is far more to the story. Most of the painfully high price of the book has been taken care of even before it reaches campus, because publishers have three things working in their favour: students have to buy the books (unlike regular customers, who can walk away without consequences when the price makes them uncomfortable), they can publish new editions annually with minimal new material to quash used book sales, and they can justify this on the grounds that academic knowledge is constantly changing and requires regular updating, unlike the more static book market outside of the Ivory Tower. Fortunately, there are some ways for students to combat these challenges.
Students Have No Choice
College classes are instructed by their professors to buy specific textbooks. Students therefore have little choice in the matter, save for the very dangerous choice of choosing not to buy the book at all and take their chances that they will be able to succeed by paying close attention to the lectures and occasionally glancing at a friend’s copy.
In any other part of the publishing industry, customers have to be given incentives, like sales, discount prices, or at least reasonably attractive standard prices that don’t make them want to race out of the store in a panic. Students, however, do not need incentives, because publishers realize that they’ve already done the hard part of selling the book when they convinced the professor to put it on his course syllabus. Unfortunately for students, most professors consider the book’s price a more or less irrelevant factor in their decisions: they choose what they believe is the best book to teach the course, and hope that students will be able to cope.
This Year’s Edition: Better Than Ever!
Well, not really, but textbook publishers are becoming increasingly adept at packing textbooks with more or less irrelevant content that justifies publishing a new edition, yanking the old one out of print, and thus forcing professors to have all their students upgrade to the brand-new copy rather than making do with older, cheaper ones. If the old edition is out of print, moreover, professors don’t really have any options: the bookstore can’t order more of the old book in for them, and they can’t risk hoping that the bookstore will be able to collect enough used copies to supply the incoming class.
Of course, publishers advance a very different explanation for the constant upgrade cycle: the Ivory Tower is a place of constant change. Academic knowledge is in a state of perpetual flux; today’s accepted knowledge is tomorrow’s antiquated foolishness. To a certain extent this is certainly true. Moreover, the academic market, even the textbook market, is never going to compete in sales volume with the latest books on the New York Timesbestseller list. So the prices were going to be higher anyways.
Of course, the extent of this influence is debatable. The “accepted knowledge” at the first-year survey level, for example, is pretty much accepted knowledge yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Save for a few political science and economics textbooks that need to be regularly updated to account for current events, it seems hard to believe that this winter’s edition of a first-year textbook in most academic subjects contains any meaningful differences from the edition that was published six years ago, save perhaps for some minor organizational tweaking.
Plus, that excuse would be easier to stomach, however, if it were not for the various other methods textbook publishers then stoop to. When I took my first university classes nine years ago, it was uncommon but not unheard of for a textbook to come wrapped with plastic on account of a special enclosed CD (nowadays, a DVD) with a special supplementary study guide, or perhaps a long password that would get you access to a special database of articles and study tips online. Nowadays, these gimmicks are far more commonplace.
Consider the value of these. Students didn’t need them thirty years ago, or ten years ago. Why are they needed today? A cynic might say that the real reason for these expensive additions is because they require the book to be sold in shrinkwrap. A shrinkwrapped book, on most campuses, can’t be returned for a refund once the seal is broken. So you’re stuck with it, even if you realize you don’t need it or if you decide to drop the class a couple weeks in. And in many cases the bookstores will refuse to take them back for resale, either.
Resist the Publishers!
There are four major academic publishers — Houghton Mifflin, Cengage (once Thomson), McGraw-Hill, and Pearson. The recession isn’t helping them much, but none of them are exactly bankrupt, and all of them are very large. You as a student have no friends in the industry, and few in the bookstore either. But there are always options.
The less scrupulous of my friends perform what could charitably be described as copyright fraud by buying books, photocopying them, and then returning them for a return fund. This is a copyright violation, at the very least, I am sure, so obviously I’m not recommending you do that. But there are more legal options.
The first king to keep in mind is that there is never a rush to buy the book. Put off that act as long as possible. First, the lineups will shrink; and second, it gives you time to plan your approach. Can it be bought used, on eBay or Half.com or Amazon Marketplace? Can you simply check it out of the library (not usually, unfortunately)? Do online stores like Amazon or Barnes & Noble (or Chapters-Indigo in Canada) sell it at a discounted price?
Some textbooks also have international editions, printed for sale in developing countries at steeply discounted rates. To cut corners, the printers usually use cheap paper, switch out the colour photos for black and white, and pull other tricks to reduce their costs. But the essential content of the book is still the same, and there are large numbers of book sellers in places like India who sell these editions back to First World students through the Internet.
Last but not least, if this textbook was already published in an earlier edition, find a copy of it. These are invariably cheap because there is no demand for them, and very often, as I stated above, the changes will have been quite superficial. If you check it out and find that that’s the case, consider just buying the old edition and paying close attention to places where there are minor differences. You can pick up old editions from pretty much anywhere — old students and the Internet being the most obvious choices.
Written by AndrewVogt
Essential money management tips for college students
July 11, 2011 by admin
Filed under College Tuition Costs
College is a financially stressful time for many college students. Not only is it the first time that many students have had to deal with the bulk of their financial burden and responsibilities, but most college students do not have the benefit of a sufficient stable income. Despite financial aid and scholarships, many college students are forced to work long hours just to pay for tuition. Add on the cost of books, groceries, insurance payments, cell phone bills and other essentials, its not surprising that most people graduate college already knee-deep in debt.
Most would agree that academic performance should be the most important goal for any college student. For some, this means working less in order to study more. However, no matter what their income, there are certain steps that any college student can take to help insure that they leave college with as little debt as possible. After all, we all know that a college education is much more than what is learned in the classroom. Learning to manage money is one of the most important lessons that college can provide.
Once you get the hang of it, managing your finances doesn’t have to take a lot of time or effort and you will be forming healthy habits that will continue to benefit you throughout your life.
Here are a few guidelines to help get you started:
Make a budget. Yes, I know its not how you’d prefer to spend your Friday evening, but in the end you will be glad you did. Many of us don’t realize where our money is really going until we actually take the time to write down our expenses. It’s much easier to overspend when we don’t keep track of our purchases.
Start by writing down all of your essential expenses, such as tuition, rent, car insurance, groceries, cell phone, gas money, etc. Then write down any sources of income, such as weekly paycheck, financial aid and money from student loans or scholarships. Now take the two totals and compare them. Hopefully, your income exceeds your expenses, otherwise it is time to look for ways to cut back on spending or start filling out job applications. If your budget shows a positive balance, you should decide ahead of time where you want this money to go. Ideally, a percentage should go into savings or low-risk investments every month.
Don’t worry, having a budget doesn’t mean that you can’t buy a new pair of jeans or indulge your occasional late night pizza craving once in awhile – it just means that you have to include entertainment and other non-essential expenses
into your monthly calculations. Once you’ve created your budget, the important thing is to stick to it. If your budget only allows for per month for entertainment, keep track of what you spend eating out with friends, going to the movies or at the bar.
2. Avoid credit cards. Credit cards may seem like a college student’s best friend, but in reality they are typically your worst enemy. They may be convenient, but it is just too easy for even the most financially responsible student to get carried away. Relying on credit cards can lead to a dangerous pattern of impulse buying and before long balances are adding up and the amount of cards in your wallet keeps increasing. High interest rates and other fees can add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to your credit card debt.
If you must keep a credit card around for emergency situations, keep only one and remember that a new pair of shoes does not constitute an emergency. Don’t just sign up for the first credit card offer that you receive. Shop around and find the best interest rate. Credit card companies love to suck you in by offering low introductory rates, but then jack up rates when the introductory period ends. If you do need to make charges when unexpected expenses arise, such as car repairs or medical bills, try to pay off your balance in full at the end of the month.
3. Don’t rely too heavily on student loans. While it’s typically better to take out student loans than it is to rely on credit cards, many students look at loans as “free money”. As a freshman or sophomore, graduation can seem so far away, but time flies and soon your student loans will begin accruing interest and you will be required to make hefty monthly payments. Even with a low interest rate, the more loans you have taken out the more interest that you will accrue. While its okay to use student loans for essential expenses like rent or food, don’t think of it as an excuse to go on a shopping spree or a means of funding your spring break.
4. Stick to it. Like anything else, a financial management plan only works when you stick to it. Expect there to be a few hiccups along the way; nobody’s perfect after all and it will be hard at first if you are used to being financially irresponsible. In time it will become less difficult, especially as your bank balance grows and you can see the rewards of properly managing your money. Unless you started out with a significant amount of savings, you’re most likely not going to graduate college without at least a little debt under your belt. However, if you spend wisely and budget properly, you can keep this debt to a very manageable amount that will be fairly easy to pay off once you enter the work world.
Written by DarlaGregor
Editor in chief
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