Understanding College Credit Cards
Today credit cards are everywhere you look and even college students are great candidates for owning their own college credit cards. Many students are now living on their own or in dorms and need to learn to maintain their own expenses making college credit cards a necessity for many students.
College credit cards are basically just like regular credit cards. However, since college students do not have any type of credit history, they are usually unable to apply for and receive a regular credit card.
However, the question remains, why would a credit card company be willing to give college students credit cards if they have no way of paying back the money they charge on their college credit card?
Well, there are two very good reasons. Most credit card companies that offer college credit cards see a large opportunity in college student population. In fact, the majority of college students stay loyal to their credit card company even after they graduate from college.
It has also been reported that many college students will, in fact, pay on time and give the companies workable income. With the proper use of credit cards, college students can ensure they have good credit when the time comes for them to purchase a new car or new home.
College credit cards are usually preferred by most parents. They know their children may have the chance to overspend but they also know that with their own college credit card they will be building a stable financial future and receive other benefits that regular credit cards do not offer.
College students can use their cards to pay tuition fees. Some college credit cards even offer many unique benefits such as rewards if they pay their balances in a timely manner.
Most college credit cards also offer students lower interest rates as long as the college student maintains good grades. The use of credit can teach the importance of how to create and live on a budget and is great for parents that cannot afford to finance or manage all of their college student’s spending.
College student credit cards can also be set up by parents as pre-paid accounts; this way if the college student needs a little extra money, parents can always add to the credit card but ensure they use the credit card wisely and do not overspend.
The ultimate goal with college credit cards should be for students to learn how to use credit cards responsibly and to learn what they charge on their card is their responsibility.
Is the College Admissions Process Changing?
What college will be a good match for me? Are you currently or did you ever ask yourself that question? Deciding on a college is a decision that can’t be taken lightly and a college search requires a lot of dedication and time. What makes a college a good match? There are many factors that should be accounted for when deciding on a good fit for each student. For example, academic programs, sports programs, the social scene, extra-curricular activities, and school credentials may be very important for a student. Every student should evaluate where and how far they want to go in life in order to be sure to choose a college that will allow them to fulfill all of their most wildest dreams.
With this being said, it is important that every student takes a close look at each school they are wanting to attend. If a student is planning on furthering their education by going to a graduate school or a medical school, the student should find information on the undergraduate programs at the college they are wanting to attend. If the student is planning on attending medical school, he/she should find out if the chemistry department and biology department at the college of their choice is prestigious enough for him/her to get accepted into medical school. Even so, whether or not the student is planning on attending graduate school, he/she should find out information on the undergraduate program that he/she will be attending.
What students seem to forget is that they aren’t the only ones trying to impress someone. Colleges too are constantly trying to impress their prospective students. Therefore, if students are serious about getting the best education, they should do their own research on each college they are considering. Many students forget that the process goes both ways are happy to be accepted anywhere.
Even though I have done very well academically, I don’t consider my academic performance to be a complete measure of my current or future success. Colleges realize that academics aren’t the only way to find the most motivated students who will have success in the real world. Therefore, they are always looking for better ways to learn about future prospects and the kind of character that will be added to their campus through the students they recruit.
It wasn’t too long ago when I myself went through the whole painstaking ordeal of being accepted into the college of my choice. What I enjoyed about my ordeal however, is that the college admissions officers took a look at more than just my test scores and grades. There were many of us prospective students who spent a weekend doing various activities on that college campus while college admissions officers watched us closely and interviewed many of us. By doing so, there were able to see more of who I was and not just that I had awesome test scores. (I don’t mean to brag, but, they were pretty good.) Nevertheless, I was happy with how the entire ordeal was run and that I was considered to be more than just a test score.
College admissions processes are still a work in progress. Many schools nationwide are looking for new ideas to improve the way they deal with college admissions, trying to find a way to make prospective students more than just grades and test scores. With so many applicants, it makes it very difficult for college admissions offices to look at each student in depth. A quicker way to filter through student applications would be an ideal way to better the process.
Advancements in science and technology has helped to lessen the headache of the process of admission to college for the colleges and students. Online applications have made the process much easier for students. There are also new and exciting ways for college admission officers to recruit students. College recruiting is going to be taken to the next level soon with new programs that allow students to showcase themselves to any college of their choice. For example, the Yale Admissions Officers or Harvard Admissions Officials can now recruit using online services in order to find potential students.
Need Admissions and Financial Aid Help? Here’s How To Hire a Private College Counselor
In a recent college admission industry journal a brave admissions Vice President commented that “Sadly, in the last 20 years we have lost our way in admissions. Colleges are no longer centered on counseling students; we are focused more on recruiting and competing for them. The students are just a way of keeping score. Furthermore, we charge different prices to students whom we value more or less because of our internal institutional priorities…Private counselors who strike a balance between helping students find the right match for their abilities, interests, and personality and assisting families in locating affordable choices are valuable.”
We couldn’t agree more. So who is looking out for your student in the admissions and financial aid process? Not the colleges anymore. Independent counselors, however, have no agenda other than what is best for their students. College is big business, first and foremost. You may not need a CPA to do your basic taxes and you may not need legal help for routine matters. But if you’re facing an IRS audit or having to go to court you want a professional in your corner. The same can be said of college admission and financial aid. The stakes are high, to say the least. Given that a bachelors degree from a public institution will cost $50,000 to $75,000 and a degree from a private institution can cost upwards of $175,000 or more the dollars alone beg for a professional’s expertise. Consider also that the difference in average lifetime earnings between a high school graduate and a college graduate is $1.2 million and climbing.
So where can you find help? And how do you know that you’ve found a professional?
In an ideal world, the first place to seek assistance would be from your high school counseling office. But in reality, too many high school counselors are not ‘college’ counselors per se; only a small amount of their time and resources are dedicated to college admission and only very rarely do counselors understand the intricacies of the financial aid process. Too many counselors are simply overworked and lack the time and resources to offer meaningful personal attention and guidance.
There are also no widely-known and recognized certifications for independent counselors such as the CFP or CPA designations, although such certifications do exist. And it is all too easy to find ‘independent counselors’ with little or no experience other than their own children’s admissions and financial aid processes. A disgruntled parent can make a bad counselor.
However, armed with the right questions, you can find true experienced professionals. When interviewing an independent college counselor be sure to have these questions answered to your satisfaction:
1. Professional Credentials/Experience
Do not ask if they have college admission and college counseling experience – ask them to tell you specifically how many years in admissions, how many years in financial aid, how many years in college counseling, how many years in private practice, and which institutions they served. The ideal is to find someone – or a team – who has direct experience in all of these areas and knows the tips, tricks, ins, outs, politics, processes, calendars, expectations, and language of college admission and financial aid.
2. Professional Associations
Ask if your independent counselor is a current member of professional associations. Professional associations, such as regional chapters of the National Association of College Admission Counseling, keep counselors up to speed with developments, issues, ethics, and news within the college admission and financial aid industries, not to mention that such associations foster collegial relationships between professionals. It would be nice to have your counselor personally know the deans and directors at the colleges your student will apply to.
3. Number of students
You want to know that your counselor is a full time professional and will work with your student appropriately. However, you also want your counselor to have a reasonable case load. You do not want your student to be that counselor’s fourth (why so few – does she know what she’s doing?) nor his 400th (will he be able to spend any time with my student?).
4. College & Campus Familiarity
You want to know that your counselor has personal experience with many different campuses and that they visit different colleges whenever possible. Matching the student to the right college is crucial. Colleges have personalities. Students have personalities. If your counselor has not visited the campus they do not have a good understanding of the college, period. It would be like finding a mate through an old-fashioned classified ad (nice college with leafy trees and okay professors seeks student with 1200 SAT score…). The better the counselor knows the colleges and knows the students the more successful the matching. 45% of students who start college do not finish; often this is because the it’s just not the right place for them and, frustrated and demoralized, they drop out.
5. Money Matters
No, we’re not talking about counselor fees here (although these vary wildly – we’ve seen everything between $500 and $30,000). You need to know to what extent your counselor understands the financial aid process. Ask if they fill out or help you with the FAFSA and CSS Profile applications for need-based financial aid. Ask them if they think you need to fill out the forms even if you don’t think you will qualify for need-based aid (the answer is yes, of course, so you can be eligible for merit awards and loan packages). Ask if they will be able to provide you with a college funding plan with a breakdown of estimated family contribution numbers, line-by-line estimated financial aid packages, and if they work with a financial planner or college funding specialist to suggest ways to improve the family’s bottom line. Most independent college counselors do little to none of this, so you may want to cut them some slack; just know that such help is out there for those who want and need it.
The stakes are high, but there is excellent help available. Just be sure you find a pro, someone you trust, respect, and whom you know will work well with your student.
College Students Credit Card 101
College students credit card are the credit cards that have been specially designed for college students. College students credit card are more popularly known as student credit cards. college students credit card allow the students to experience the benefits of credit cards much earlier in their life. Through college students credit card, the college students are able to learn more about credit cards and their use. In fact, for most of the students, their college students credit card is their first credit card that acts as a gateway to the world of credit cards. Some other students might have previously used supplementary credit cards linked to their father’s credit card account; however, for such students too, their college students credit card is the first one that is truly theirs.
A college students credit card is not very different from other types of credit cards in the basic sense; they function in the same way as any credit card would. However, there are some differences, which basically arise from the fact that college students credit card are used by people who have no prior experience with credit cards and who perhaps don’t understand the concept of credit cards completely. Hence, the credit card supplier is at risk with issuing credit cards (college students credit card) to such people whom he is not sure about. Most of the students don’t have a credit history either. In such a case, the supplier of college credit card cannot be sure of receiving the credit card bill payments in time (and even receiving them at all). To counter such risks, the supplier of college credit card requires the parent of the student to co-sign the college credit card application form as a guarantee. Moreover, the credit limit on college students credit card is generally around $500-$1000 per month, which is lower than what it is for other credit cards (this credit limit is generally sufficient to fulfil the typical needs of a student). Another risk mitigation instrument used by the college credit card suppliers is the interest rate or APR. The APR on college credit cards is generally higher than that for other credit cards. Again, this is done to dissuade the students from overspending on their college students credit card (and finally not being able to pay their credit card bills).
However, if we were to look at these impositions in a positive sense, we would find that these are actually in favour of the student (who is still getting trained to take on the real world of credit cards). Moreover, college students credit card also help the students in establishing a (good) credit history which is another important benefit that becomes handy when the student needs any type of loan at a later stage in his/her life.
So, a college students credit card is really something that every student should consider going for.
Quick Facts: College Essay Writing
For college students, College Essay Writing is a requirement. Writing a college essay differs according to the topic, length, style and format. A student who would just enter in college world is also required to have a college essay writing during the application process at least one college essay paper before applying. Once the students enter, College Essay writing is often done depending on the professorsâ?? or teachersâ?? requirements.
Moreover, the format style in college essay writing is like an opinion essay wherein the students need to put his opinion on some issues in certain topic. College essay writing has no limitations and there are no wrong or right answers in composing the essay, but it is graded on the completeness of the opinion throughout the essay and on how students deliver their message in writing college essay.
College Essay Writing also gives opportunity for the students to communicate in their school on personal level such as the grades, scores and their recommendations regarding the school. In this essay, students also reveal who they are. Like with the standard essay, the college essay writing is also composed of three parts which is the introduction, body and conclusion. To have an effective essay, these parts must be seen in the studentsâ?? college essay writing.
The most common types of college essay writing are the College Admission Essay and the College Application Essay. College Admission Essay is written and has a great influence in admitting into the school that students have chosen. Through College Admission Essay the students have given a chance to highlight all their accomplishments, true potentials, experiences and will serve as a tool to distinguish them among others. While College Application Essay, provides an information about the grades, scores and extra curricular activities of the students and based on the personal information of the students. In writing College Application Essay, the students may also tell about themselves that will capture the attention of the readers.
What’s more, College Essay Writing has been a screening factor of the college application. Moreover, it serves as a basis of many universities to know the student’s personalities and abilities. It also shows how students express their thoughts. In other words college essay writing became effective criteria in accepting students in a university.
These are the characteristic of an effective college essay.
Be Original, write a unique college essay. Think about it the College Admissions board reads thousands of college essay in a year so they would want an essay that will shine or differs from the rest
Tell An Interesting Story â??A student’s writing style tells us much about the student as the actual story itself.
Be Creative, I think that every student should use their creative juices to come up with an interesting way of talking about his family and personal experiences.
Be Concise and Clear, when writing a college essay the idea that you convey should be concise and clear.
Write Straight from the Heart. When you write a college essay always remember that it is very appealing to read if the applicant can show his/her emotion in the written essay.
Show Your Personality. The college essay youâ??ve written must show your personality it should not be a regurgitation of information that is already in your resume.
Summing up, College Essay Writing plays a vital role in our society most especially to students because College Essay Writing expresses studentsâ?? organization of ideas and it tells how student identify important things to be written and things which are less important and not to be written. There are times that College Essay Writing also shows student’s behavior: why or if he really fit at the school and university he wants to apply.
College Student Loans: Shaping your Career
The expenses of education are increasing day by day. You can regard yourself as under the shadow of good luck if you gain any scholarship for pursuing higher studies. But there are among the many, who are barred from this makeover and still hoping to have some monetary aid due to economical inadequacy. For such category of students, financial relief has come under the loan scheme named as college student loans. College student loans are easy process to availing financial aid and offers variety of flexible loan programmes for all your college cost.
College student loans are for under graduate, graduate, and professional students at low cost and interest rates. Individuals who have deferred payments can also subscribe the provision. The student college loans are classified into two types- subsidized (the government pays the interest while you are in school and during grace and approved deferment periods) and unsubsidized (borrower of the loan pays the interest, and payments can be delayed until student leave school). The privileges can be obtained even if you are obliged towards a lender for a loan.
There are two simple approval procedures adopted by college student loans: traditional and online. By requesting though online, you can get fast approval compared to typical approach. While applying through the online application method, make sure you enclose the details accurately as required. Financial experts agree that college student loans are smart financial strategy for students as they can help families having economical challenges at below market rates and generous terms.
Considering College Student Loans can make it easier to meet the ends for student’s like- buying a computer, books, accommodation, food, travel expenses and corresponding demands. Besides the primary demands, students can also consolidate the due payments accumulated by the use of credit card. So, the support of college student loans is a benediction and assistance to carry out their studies in a sparing manner.
