DailyFinance.com

Coming Soon: A New Way to Find Student Financial Aid

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:00:00 EST

Last month we wrote about the Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge, a national competition organized by MTV, the College Board, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to re-imagine and simplify the college financial-aid process by using digital tools. The submissions were winnowed down to three finalists. People voted for their favorite, and the winner was announced by former President Bill Clinton at his annual Clinton Global Initiative University conference on April 2.

Devin Valencia, a 24-year-old recent graduate from the University of Nevada, got the most votes for Connect Fund, a Facebook app that she created. It lets prospective college students interact, ask questions and get tips and info on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process, scholarships and grants. Valencia receives $10,000 in prize money and her Connect Fund idea will be turned into reality by MTV and the College Board. Money College got to talk to Valencia about her big win.

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What Good Is a Liberal Arts Degree in the Job Market?

Vanessa Richardson — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

Liberal-arts degrees get a bum rap. After all, what in the world are you going to do with that philosophy or American history degree? And why spend $30,000 and upwards annually to learn about it?

Well, actually, it's because a liberal-arts degree is a versatile ticket to a wide range of jobs, and it's sought out by many employers. Few jobs are out of the reach of a liberal-arts major, says Katharine Hansen, writer for the job-hunting website Quintessential Careers and author of A Foot in the Door: Networking Your Way Into the Hidden Job Market.

"Sometimes liberal-arts majors struggle a bit more than other majors when launching their careers, but the evidence shows that they tend to advance farther and be more sought out by CEOs for high-level jobs," Hansen says.

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Five Ways Inside the 'Hidden Job Market'

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Careers, Financial Aid

As college graduation nears, the Internet is probably the first place you're going to look for work, search for online job postings and blast your resume into cyberspace. Big mistake. In this job market, when you're competing with dozens, even hundreds, of people, you have to do something different to catch an employer's eye.

More than half of all jobs are filled before they ever make it to online job boards. And in a tough economy, when supply exceeds demand, more jobs go to those with an inside connection, says Donald Asher, a career coach and author of the new book, Cracking the Hidden Job Market.

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Vote on the Best Way to Simplify Financial Aid

Vanessa Richardson — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 06:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

Applying for financial aid is a byzantine process that frustrates even the smartest whiz kid. Now there's a contest geared toward finding new ways toward simplifying the process -- and you get to vote on the idea you think is best.

The Get Schooled College Affordability Challenge is a national competition organized by MTV, the College Board, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It recently asked current and aspiring college students to re-imagine and simplify the financial aid process by coming up with creative uses of digital tools. Hundreds of submissions came from students in 48 states, and were winnowed down to entries from three finalists, who then got to work with the consulting firm Frog Design to flesh out their ideas and come up with prototypes. Between now and March 21, you can vote for one of those three.

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$17,000 a Year for a Dorm Room? Lower Your College Housing Costs

Vanessa Richardson — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

Wow, who would have thought that a state school would have some of the highest-priced dorm rooms in the nation? But yes, the University of California at Berkeley (right) has the second most-expensive dorm rent, at $15,307 per year.

The award for the highest-priced dorm goes to Eugene Lang College, part of the New School in (where else?) New York City. It charges $17,710, partly because it's located near hip Union Square and Washington Square Park, and is in buildings that are designated historical landmarks.

CampusGrotto.com recently listed the 10 most expensive college dorms for the 2010-11 school year. The good news is that the average room and board costs is nearly half that at Berkeley and Eugene Lang, costing $8,535 at public schools and $9,700 at private colleges. The bad news is that room and board prices rose last year by 4.6% at public schools and 3.9% at the private ones, and probably won't stop rising.

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From College Grads to College Advisers

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 06:32:00 EST

Filed under: Careers, Family Money, Financial Aid

Alex Withrow graduated in 2009 with a communications degree from the University of Missouri, intending to have a glamorous, jet-setting career in public relations. But after doing an internship in the field, she wasn't sure if that was the route she really wanted to take.

By chance, she heard about the university's College Advising Corps, which sends out a group of new graduates every year to high schools and community colleges across the state to work as college advisers. After listening to three advisers who were passionate about their jobs, Withrow decided to enlist.

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Save Money for College With Rebate Programs

Vanessa Richardson — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

Tuition is climbing, but the stock market is risky and safe investments like certificates of deposit are paying 1% or less. So what's a good way to save money for college? One option to consider is signing up for rebate programs that build up hundreds, or thousands, of extra dollars every year for college savings.

They're similar to frequent-flyer programs: Use their credit card, or register your own cards with the programs, and they track the purchases you make using the cards, giving you a reward in the form of tuition benefits, such as credits to a Section 529 plan for your children.

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$100,000 Cash Grants -- for Dropouts Only

Vanessa Richardson — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

We've all been told that a requirement of success now is a four-year college degree, at the very minimum. But Peter Thiel disagrees. That idea, says the PayPal co-founder, is so 20th century, that the self-made billionaire plans to award cash grants of $100,000 to college students -- if they'll drop out of school.

At a tech conference in October, Thiel announced a two-year program called "20 Under 20" that will grant $100,000 to 20 aspiring entrepreneurs under the age of 20. In addition to the cash, the two-year program offers mentoring, training and employment opportunities with Thiel's personal network of tech entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and philanthropists. Deadline to apply is Dec. 31, and fellows will be announced in early 2011.

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Make the Most Out of Your First Job After College

Vanessa Richardson — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Careers, Financial Aid

Elizabeth Crowley recently graduated with a master's degree from Villanova University. Her dream job is to be a college teacher. But for the past two years, her job has been as a "crew member" at the supermarket chain Trader Joe's.

Crowley, 27, bags groceries and walks the aisles, asking customers if they need help. It's a far cry from her goal to work in academia, but Crowley is not alone in having a job that's not her desired career path.

In this tough economy, a lot of recent college grads have to settle for jobs they don't want -- if they can find them -- and lower-than-expected salaries. According to a survey last month by CareerBuilder.com., 36% of college graduates wish they had chosen a different college major, and 19% of college grads with jobs have one outside their chosen field.

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College Students' Most Wanted Employers, But Are They Hiring?

Vanessa Richardson — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

There are many polls published each year that rank the companies college students want to work for most. For the most part, they have similar results: everyone wants to work for Google, followed by major accounting and consulting firms, with Wall Street banking firms sliding down the list.

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Debit or credit: What card type is better for college students?

Vanessa Richardson — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Credit, Debt, Credit Cards, Financial Aid

There's a big change on college campuses this year. In the past, you would have seen tables outside the student union, featuring logos of banks and credit card companies, luring gullible freshmen with offers of free coupons and T-shirts in exchange for filling out a credit card application. No longer.

This year, President Obama signed the Credit Card Act into law, and a part of it has rules concerning credit card use by anyone under age 21 (go to Title III on page 14 for the details). In short, they can't get a credit card unless they have an independent source of funds to pay the bills. If they don't have that, they'll need a parent to co-sign the card application, and submit written permission from the parent before they can get a hike on their credit limit).

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How much is a college degree really worth?

Vanessa Richardson — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

It's amazing that college tuition continues to go up while the average family income remains stagnant. And those who can afford to graduate, finish with ever-growing college-loan debt. So what is a college degree really worth?

That's what the College Board tried to figure out in a new report titled "Education Pays," which details the financial, career and even health benefits of earning a college degree. The College Board started this study in 2004, updated it in 2007 and again this year. Its final results, however, have remained the same: employees with a four-year college degree earn much more and are less likely to be unemployed than those with just a high school diploma. Median earnings for full-time workers with bachelor's degrees in 2008 were $55,700, compared to $33,800 for those without them.

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Walmart gives away millions in scholarships

Vanessa Richardson — Fri, 08 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

While Walmart is not known for its high-skills, high-paying jobs, it certainly gives away a lot of money to college students who strive to get that type of work. In 2009, the Walmart Foundation gave more than $53 million to fund educational programs nationwide, and it awarded more than $9 million in academic scholarships in the 2010-11 school year.

The money is distributed to a wide swath of people, from WalMart employees and their dependents to needy teachers and college students with no connections to the company. "And our giving continues to increase," says Walmart Foundation spokesperson Kelly Cheeseman. "It's a big focus for our foundation."

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Scholarships for single moms make second chance easier

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

My friend Mae is 29 and just entered college for the first time. She got married and had her daughter right after graduating from school, then became a stay-at-home mom. But after the marriage ended a decade later, Mae was on her own for the first time.

The fact that her 10-year-old daughter was in school for most of the day, and that her own mom offered to babysit, made it easier for Mae to decide the time was right to go back to school. "The hardest decision though is coming up with the money to pay for it," Mae told me. "Where do I find it? Are there any scholarships for single moms like me?"

Actually, there are. Governments, nonprofits and corporations recognize that single parents need help to pay for school, and have created scholarships and grants specifically to help single moms get through college. Here are some good scholarships for single moms to research:

Jeanette Rankin Foundation Women's Scholarship Fund. The Jeannette Rankin Foundation has awarded scholarships for single moms since 1978 to "single women 35 and older," who are low income. That could easily apply to many single moms, as nearly 40% of them live near or below the poverty level. The application time is between November and February, and scholarship winners are announced in July.

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Bright Futures scholarship undergoes change in Florida

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

Florida students aiming for the state's "Bright Futures" scholarship, you better make sure you have good grades. And don't expect the scholarship to cover all of your college expenses.

That's because, thanks to the recession, Florida lawmakers passed recent changes to cut state spending on the Bright Futures scholarship program by more than $100 million a year. What does that mean for you? The Bright Futures scholarship, once an easy catch for many Florida students, is not so easy to get - nor hold onto once you have it.

The Bright Futures scholarship program was started in 1997 with the goal of keeping Florida students from leaving the state for college elsewhere. It's funded by the Florida lottery and has awarded more than $3 billion to half a million students in the past 13 years. However, as the recession has gotten rockier, tightening government funds and reducing the amount of money people have to spend on lottery tickets, the number of students who can qualify for the Bright Futures scholarship has quadrupled.

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Hispanic scholarships worth checking out

Vanessa Richardson — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Financial Aid

At a time when the Hispanic population in the U.S. is growing fast, not enough of them are graduating from college. According to a study done last month by the Education Trust, 60% of white college students nationwide earn their bachelor degrees in six years or less, but only 49% of Hispanic college students complete that goal.

The researchers think the reasons behind that shortfall may be that Latinos don't have as much access to strong academic preparation, such as private tutors or Kaplan courses, as white students may have, and come from families without the financial resources to pay for four or more years of college.

The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) aims to change those numbers. Since it was started 35 years ago, HSF has given out more college financial aid to the Hispanic community than any other U.S. organization in the country -- more than $300 million totaling nearly 100,000 scholarships to Latino students seeking Hispanic scholarships.

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Take a cooking class to add elegance to home meals and save money

Vanessa Richardson — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 11:30:00 EST

Filed under: Food, Personal Finance, How to Save Money, Economy

While visiting a friend in Los Angeles last month, I got roped into taking a cooking class. "C'mon, it'll be a nice change from going to a restaurant," my friend Laurie told me. Afterward, I agreed she was right. And I have to add that not only is attending a cooking class a fun alternative to eating at a pricey restaurant, it's a good way to save money on meals in the long run.

The cooking class we took was at Hipcooks in West L.A., which recently was written up by Cyndia Zwahlen in a Los Angeles Times story about the rising trend of foodies learning how to eat well without paying restaurant prices. More cooking schools are gearing courses toward budget-conscious gourmands, offering classes like "Brown-Bagging It" and "Budget-Conscious Comfort Food."

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Pfizer extends free aid for unemployed using its drugs

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:00:00 EST

Filed under: Health Care, Economizer, Fantastic Freebies, How to Save Money

In December, I wrote about the drug maker Pfizer offering free prescription drugs to people who lost their jobs and health coverage in 2009. After that, I got an e-mail from a James Walker at APCO Worldwide, Pfizer's public-relations firm, that the company is extending the measure through 2010.

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A new spin on charitable donations

Vanessa Richardson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:30:00 EST

Filed under: Retail, Charity, Spending

I blogged recently about how few nonprofits don't let you make microloans directly to recipients. That's a bummer if you, say, want to aid earthquake victims in Haiti or Chile. You want to make sure your money gets where you want it to go.

I came across a new Web site called What I Did Not Buy, and while it also doesn't go into specifics about who exactly gets your donations, it doesn't do a bad job explaining its intentions, it's connected to a reputable charity, and it gives a good spin on why you should donate your money.

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Bank branches in high schools a good financial lesson

Vanessa Richardson — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:00:00 EST

Filed under: School, Banking, Family Money, Credit Unions, Savings Accounts

High schools with bank branches, ATMs and tellers to help students withdraw money? Can we trust teenagers with these just down the hall from chem lab? I gave it some thought last week when I went to pick up my cousin Cate, who I blogged about recently regarding her pondering the merits of public versus private colleges. She needed a ride home from her high school, but I needed to stop on the way and withdraw some cash from an ATM. "No problem," Cate told me. "You can do it here."

What? "Yeah, my school has a bank branch here," Cate said.

She led me down a hallway of classrooms to the newest branch of the Golden 1 Credit Union, opened last fall. It's a tiny room but it's stocked with computer screens, brochures on the credit union's checking and savings accounts, and student bank tellers working behind the counter.

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