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Cash Back vs. Rewards Points – Which is Best For You?

26 Apr

CASH BACK: Funds back programs let you earn funds based on a percentage of your every day charges. For most cards it’s a flat rate; for others you can earn more or less depending on what type of purchase you’re making. My card, for example, lets me earn up to 5% funds back on gas. (A lovely bonus if you’re planning a road trip.) Other cards let you earn more funds back for things like food or using your card at definite stores.

One of the lovely things about having a credit card is the perks. Card companies love to offer incentives to customers so they will use their cards more. Three of the most popular – and useful for customers – are funds back and rewards points programs. Which program works best for college students? Let’s break them down.

REWARDS POINTS: Points programs earn you a specific number of points for every dollar you spend. Those points can then be used like a gift card at definite stores designated by your card company. Three of the most common types of rewards points programs are airline miles cards. (I would highly recommend this if you are going far away to school and will need to fly home a couple of times per year.) Read the rest of this entry »

 
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A Quick Consolidation Tip

26 Apr

Looking to consolidate federal & private student loans? While you can’t consolidate them together – & you wouldn’t require to anyway, you can take the consolidation of both types of loans to your advantage.

You can consolidate your federal student loans any time after you graduate or drop below halftime enrollment. Always consolidate federal loans first. Consolidating your loans will improve your credit rating, & when you go to consolidate your private loans, which are credit-based, you will have a better score & most likely receive a lower interest rate.

 
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4 Great Uses for a Private Student Loan

26 Apr

When it comes to private student loans, plenty of potential borrowers believe they only can be used on tuition. Thankfully, this assumption is false. In reality, a private student loan is a flexible lending option that lets you take out as much money as you require (based on creditworthiness) to cover expenses that federal products or scholarships may leave behind. Let’s take a look at some uses for a private student loan:

1) Books

2) Apartment Rent

Textbooks are expensive, to put it mildly. On an average semester, I paid anywhere between $300-450 on textbooks for a two class load. I graduated this past year, so those numbers are current… in case you were wondering. This number can sometimes be reduced if you purchase used books online or rent them, but not all titles are available consistently.

If you live off-campus, finding the money to pay the rent, utilities, food costs etc. can be a struggle while you are in school. During my time at college, my average rent was in the $550/month region (in Boston, MA), utilities averaged about $60/month, & I spent $60-80/week on food/groceries. That rent figure is based off living with multiple roommates; if I lived by myself, it would be more like $1100-1300/month.
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Life After Undergrad: MBA Edition

26 Apr

Before you select on an MBA, you must choose how much it could actually help you. First, if you currently have a job, ask around to find out what kind of salary bumps or promotions are available to MBA recipients. Lots of companies may even offer tuition reimbursement to an employee willing to advance his or her degree.

These days, it seems like everyone is getting an MBA. What was one time a ticket to a higher salary is now becoming a prerequisite for a job in the promotion or accounting fields. If you’re objective is to hit Wall Street or you need to run your own business, a Masters in Business Administration might be the way to get there.

One great option if there’s not hours in the day is an online MBA. If your job already runs you 40-50 hours a week and/or you have a relatives to take care of, an online degree is flexible to help you get your degree. For more information, visit Edvisors.com. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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New Program if you are Interested in Digital Media

26 Apr

I was reading some news on Google today and came across this announcement from Columbia University about their new Master degree program:

The new joint-degree program, which was approved by Columbia University’s Faculty Senate on April 2, and is now up for final approval by the New York State Education Department, is designed to provide graduate students with both the article and technological skills to produce new applications and online tools that could help redefine journalism in a fast-changing digital media environment.

Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science have announced designs to launch a dual-degree Master of Science Program in Computer Science and Journalism that will prepare a new generation of professionals with skills in the technical aspects of both digital media and news production. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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Interest Rates: Is Private or Federal higher?

26 Apr

Federal Student Loans

A frequent query I see through Twitter & our forums is that of interest rates: “where can I get the lowest two?”, “how are federal loan rates different than private ones?” Well, let’s walk through both & figure out exactly how it all shakes out.

In general, federal loan interest rates are thought about more stunning because they are all fixed. In a nutshell, this means that during the entire life of the loan (unless you are delinquent or default, aka miss a payment or one), your payments will be stable & never deviate from your repayment plan. There’s no crazy jumps in payment amounts due to the economy or greedy banks trying to run you out of house & home to collect your payments.

The current interest rates (2010-2011):

* Unsubsidized Stafford loan: 6.8%
* Subsidized Stafford loan: 4.5%
* Perkins loan: 5%
* Parent / Grad PLUS loan: 8.5%

Private Student Loans
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Your Student Loan Options for Studying Abroad

26 Apr

College is a great time to see the world, & four of the best ways to make that a reality is to study abroad.

After all, why study Spanish in the U.S. when you can learn it along the avenues of Paris? If you’re majoring in architecture, why limit yourself to local structures when you can travel to Greece & view the Parthenon, in person?

Whatever your reasons, studying abroad is a amazing opportunity for any college student. The query is, how do you pay for it?

Fortunately, if you already get federal aid (Stafford, PLUS, Pell grants), those loans may well be used even if you are not studying on campus or even in the U.S. If the courses you take count toward your degree, then you ought to be able to use them to cover tuition & other costs overseas.
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Did you know you can get IBR on a Federal Loan Consolidation?

25 Apr

It’s true! If you are unfamiliar with Income Based Repayment (IBR), I would recommend reading my blog and then consulting the Student Loan Network’s handy payment estimator chart under the new repayment plan.

There’s a couple reasons why. First, IBR takes your income in to account when it computes what your every month payment is going to be for your new consolidation loan. For instance, if you are single and make less than $15,000, you would actually qualify for $0 payments until your income rises closer to $20,000 per year. This income number actually goes up depending on how lots of people live in your household. Click the link above for SLN’s payment estimator chart for more details.

Why is IBR better than the normal plan?
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How to Handle Grad School Rejection

25 Apr

With the job market in a state of disrepair over the last few years, some of young post-grads have turned their eyes to graduate school. Companies across the nation have begun raising their expectations for new hires, as well as a graduate school degree is rapidly becoming a staple among them. What that means is grad school has become much more competitive, for popular degree programs, such as MBAs.

Unfortunately, that means plenty of people won’t be getting in to their first-choice schools. When that happens to you, what steps can you take?

First, try improving your grad school resume. Seven of the major criteria looked at by graduate school admissions offices are check scores, references and essays. Fortunately, these are all easily improved. Look at where you stand with regard to the school’s maximum check score requirements. If you are hovering at the maximum, think about retaking your GRE’s or other such tests for a higher score. Show your admissions essay to a writing coach or other trusted source. Try seeking out more prestigious references. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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I go to a FFEL School. What happens next?

25 Apr

If you feel nervous or confused about the student aid changes in the next few months, don’t worry at all. Take a deep, relaxing breath. Let’s walk through exactly what will happen from your point of view, so you know what to expect & what processes might be different going forward when you apply for a federal student loan.

1) Your existing loans are not touched at all.

It’s true, they aren’t being changed in any way. So, if you have a loan (or a few) through a private bank such as Sallie Mae or Discover, you will still be going to them for customer service, repayment, etc.

In a nutshell, this means that if you are taking out any new federal student loans for college after June, they will all come directly through the federal government (specifically, the Department of Education). Most of this will be automated by the school, but if you require to apply for an unsubsidized Stafford or Parent PLUS loan, you’ll require to use the Direct Loan Servicing web-site. Quick tip: This site currently doesn’t work with the Google Chrome browser, so if it doesn’t load, try Web Explorer or Firefox.
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