What to do over the summer...

As this is my last post required for my English 301 project, I would like to encourage my readers not to get lazy over the summer. The summer months for college students is a get time for them to get ready for the next school year. They can get a job, either professional (related to their field) or just something simple like a fast food restaurant. The idea is to start saving money, if you can do that while obtaining professional work experience, great! 

During the summer is a great time to start looking how college students plan their payments for the next year of school. Will you have enough scholarships and grants to cover your tuition? If not, how do you plan to cover the rest? Will your parents pay, will you get a loan? If you are planning on taking out a loan, the summer is the ideal time to research different types of loans and finding out which one best suites your needs and purposes.

During the summer, students can also start planning for other costs they'll have in the school year. For example, will they live on or off campus? How will they pay for it? It's very easy to get lazy and procrastinate during the summer, but the fall semester can sneak up pretty quickly if you're not careful. The best way to prepared to deal with the next school year is to plan ahead. Get things done sooner rather than later. This will help you from stressing out and forgetting something in the last few weeks before school. The last thing college students want are to end up in the week before classes and realize they have no idea how they are going to pay for that semester of school.

Plan ahead, be better prepared and you could save some money and keep from getting any more educational debt than needed.

Education Debt at WVU Newsletter

Here's a newsletter concerning many of the topics I've discussed on my blog. Even though you may have kept up on my blog, I encourage you to read over this anyways. Click here.

Also, if you want to know more about the information and topics in the newsletter, here are a list of my sources, listed in order of appearance on the newsletter.

1. Supiano, Beckie. "When Life Gets in the Way of Paying for College. (Cover story)." Chronicle of Higher Education 57.22 (2011): A1-A20. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. http://chronicle.com/section/Home/5. 
2. http://www.wvuf.org/?q=stepup&cat=9.  
3. "Common scholarship scams." FinAid.org. Mark Kantrowitz, n.d. Web. April 6, 2011. http://www.finaid.org/scholarships/scams.phtml.
4. "Guide to financial aid scam." Onlinecollegeguru.com. Global Scholar, n.d. Web. April 8, 2011. http://www.onlinecollegeguru.com/educational-resources/financial-aid/financial-aid-scams/.
5. McMillian, Zane. "House approves Pell Grant increase, other aid reforms." Statenews.com. Mar. 21, 2010. Web. April 6, 2011. http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2010/03/house_approves_pell_grant_increase_other_aid_reforms.

Be Aware! Financial Aid Scams

I have talked a lot about resources that will help you find additional financial assistance for college, but I feel that I should also warn you against some of the dangers of looking for financial aid on your own, specifically financial aid scams. Yes, there are people out there so low as to take money from people already desperately searching for money to fund their college education. Each year, hundreds of thousands of college students and their families fall victim to these scams. This is a serious problem, especially for those new to the financial aid process and searching for additional resources. In this post, I hope to help you be able to tell the difference between a genuine financial aid help source and a scam. 

1. Financial aid agencies do not ask for a fee for their services. If you come across a program or agency that asks for a fee, do not give any money and do not give them your credit card number or bank account number. If you have to pay money to receive money, it's a scam.
2. Most people who apply for financial aid receive some kind of help in one form or another, but it isn't guaranteed. If a program or agency states that you will receive financial aid guaranteed or your money back, don't give them money. 
3. If you hear of any seminars that will be discussing financial aid tips, be wary. Most of these seminars charge a fee to go, and most of them are not done by real financial aid agencies. Instead they are done by insurance companies and other companies that have over-priced items they will try to sell you. Do not pay for these seminars and do not buy their products. 
4. If you find a loan with a very low interest rate, don't get too excited. Check to see if they charge an advance-fee loan. Official loans don't charge people a fee before they receive the loan. Check to see if the lender is a recognizable government agency or private organization. If an agency asks for an advance-fee loan, don't pay it and don't accept it. 

If you see any one of these characteristics on a financial aid help source, don’t give any private identity information, don’t give them any money or credit card numbers, and legally, you might be obliged to report any suspicious looking financial aid help sources to the appropriate government officials or law enforcement. There are many more people out there will fall victim to financial aid scams and their college dreams and goals might be taken with their money. If you come across something suspicious, report it and save someone else from being scammed. Be safe and careful in your own search for financial aid. For additional information and help, click here.