How to Pay for Your Degree

By Alcides Hoy Jr.

You've been waiting for this moment for nearly 18 years: Your baby is almost ready for college. Your finances, not so much. The market's protracted free fall means that your college fund is now worth just a fraction of what you need. Your home's value has no doubt dropped sharply too - no help there. The only thing that keeps going up, you guessed it, is college tuition. So it's goodbye, Dream School U., hello, Central State, right?

Wrong. While there's no denying times are tough, you have more options to help pay for that BA than you think. From targeting the right schools to taking advantage of new financial aid rules and tax breaks, you can get the price to a manageable level. These steps will ensure your kid ends up at a great school you can really afford.

1. Use your savings strategically

The typical 529 college savings plan of a high school junior or senior has dropped 12.5% in value over the past year. And if you didn't invest in an age-based portfolio that automatically shifted into safer investments as your child got older, your losses may be far worse. The big question before you: Should you try to hold off withdrawing money from the account to give your savings time to bounce back?

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Its Almost Time for Graduation Do you Know Where Your Job Is?

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

For many seniors graduation is approaching and many of you seemed puzzled in your job search. I spoke to one senior the other day and he told me he hasn’t received any job offers. Things like this hurt many of us who work so hard in college and then get let down by the real world. Everyone wants to know where the jobs are but are afraid to make that move if necessary. And YES, I’m talking bout THE MOVE. In some cases your city will not be the place where the jobs are so you might need to relocate. Don’t be afraid to make the move because it could work out best in your favor. I can definitely tell you that right now cities like Detroit and Fresno are not the place to be while they have recorded a thirteen percent jobless rate. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out how bad of a jobless percentage that is. One option for some who don’t mind traveling overseas would be to step into the Indian and Chinese job market where many of graduates with proper credentials are starting off around 125,000 US dollars. This is more than many of us can say within the US. Or for those who choose to stay local you might want to seek cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

Indian Job Market

CNN MONEY

CAMPUS BUZZ

Being Wealthy = Getting Accepted

By Kaitlin Lanier

As the recession wears on, potential college students are taking a beating when it comes to being accepted. However, it doesn’t hurt the student to have a few bucks in his wallet. Colleges and universities are providing much more financial aid to help families during the recession, so in turn they are accepting more wealthy students to offset the extra costs. Although schools have always somewhat considered a student’s financial needs during acceptance, the recession has changed that outlook since schools are now struggling to remain above water in the finance department.

This is bad news for a student that finds himself outside the wealthy category. These wealthy students are now supplied with an advantage, where not only are they more likely to be accepted, but they are also more likely to receive scholarships, taking them away from other students who are less fortunate. Although it was thought that colleges would try to increase tuition expenses, schools have basically decided to admit one student with financial need for each accepted student with no financial need whatsoever. So everyone, find a partner.

Sources:
As Wealthy Fill Top Colleges, Concerns Grow Over Fairness by David Leonhardt
For College Admissions, It Pays to Have Money by Peter Schworm
State Should Support All Students by The Triangle Editorial Board