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10 Tips for Dealing With Parents
Tweet Share on Facebook September 23, 2009 Comment (81)One of the most exciting things about starting college is finally being able to make your own decisions—no family rules to heed or break. But then it turns out that being responsible means you're the only one to blame when things go wrong, and suddenly independence doesn't seem all that great. This week, visiting blogger Marjorie Savage, parent program director at the University of Minnesota and author of You're on Your Own (But I'm Here If You Need Me) offers 10 tips for college students as they figure out a new relationship with their family:
1. Keep in touch. With all the technology out there—E-mail, texting, Skype, Facebook, Twitter—your parents don't just have the tools to talk to you every day, they can even see you. And if they paid for your phone and laptop, they probably expect you to use those gifts to contact them at least occasionally. Texting and E-mailing are ideal for checking in quickly without facing a lengthy conversation. The once-a-week or twice-a-month phone calls, though, are helpful for keeping up with what's happening at home and letting your parents know you're still thinking about them.
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10 Tips for Transferring From Community College
Tweet Share on Facebook September 16, 2009 Comment (16)Community colleges are hot, even among those students who expect to go on to get a bachelor's at a four-year college. The regents of the University of California report that 30 percent of UC graduates attended a community college before transferring to the UC. And among all those earning a bachelor's degree in Virginia, a third began at, or supplemented their education with classes from, a Virginia community college.
We were eager to find out a little more about how to make the transition from a community college to a four-year college, so we invited guest blogger Glenn DuBois, chancellor of Virginia's community colleges and himself a graduate of a community college, to offer a 10-step plan for making the leap. Here's what he had to say:
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10 Questions to Ask Yourself the First Week of Classes
Tweet Share on Facebook September 9, 2009 Comment (5)The first week of the college semester is a very stressful and busy time. But no matter how crazy things get, all students should take a few minutes to assess the classes they're taking to make sure they've made the right choices. Bad choices can net you a whole semester of intense boredom, pain, and suffering—not to mention wasting all that good money you spent on tuition. But how to decide?
After the very first class, ask yourself these 10 questions about what you've just witnessed:
1. Is the teacher good? Even after the first class (or the first couple of classes if the first class is just an intro), you should be able to tell if the prof knows his or her stuff and can present the material in a clear, organized, and coherent way. Another thing to look for is whether the lecture has a point. A good teacher will center each class around one or two main topics; a loser will wander aimlessly through lots of unrelated detail, just dumping whatever he or she knows about the topic.
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What's New in College Financial Aid?
Tweet Share on Facebook September 3, 2009 Comment (10)The college financial aid system rivals only the IRS in its complexity. But change is on the way. This week, we've asked visiting blogger Sandy Baum, professor of economics at Skidmore College and special consultant to the College Board, to bring us up to speed on college financial aid. Here are the six most important developments:
1. More generous Pell grants. The Pell grant is the cornerstone of federal student aid: The government provides grants to dependent students with family incomes up to about $50,000 and to independent students with low incomes. The maximum grant is set every year by Congress and has not kept up with the price of college. In 2008-09, the maximum grant was $4,731; in 2009-10, it will be $5,350.
2. Income-based repayment for federal student loans. As of July 1, the federal government has a new system that will limit monthly payments on federal student loans to a reasonable percentage of the borrower's income. Those whose incomes are below 150 percent of the poverty line for their family size will not have any payments due; others will owe no more than 15 percent of the amount by which their incomes exceed this level.
This system is not perfect. The government will pay the interest for some borrowers whose payments don't cover it, but others will see their debts grow as interest accrues. After 25 years, remaining debt will be forgiven, but unless Congress makes a change, this will be a taxable event. And it's important to remember that only federal loans—not loans from private lenders that don't come with a federal guarantee—are covered by this important new program.
