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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 19, 2008 13:11:03 GMT -5
Money problems got you down... here is a sure fire way to save some bucks. I will start with info on Frontier Campus. frontier.ipsd.org/Subpage.aspx/AboutFrontierAbout Frontier Campus In conjunction with the College of Du Page, Indian Prairie School District 204 has set a new standard in education. Frontier Campus offers a college-like setting where high school seniors can earn college credit while completing their high school education. Frontier Campus 2244 W. 95th Street, Suite 200 Naperville, IL 60564 630.428.5570 Why Frontier Campus? Over the past two decades, coursework offered in public schools has accelerated, resulting in most subjects shifting down a grade level. As a result, many students are left with a less-than full schedule their senior year. While studies show the best thing a senior can do to get ready for college is take an academically challenging senior year, many of our students have late arrival and early dismissal and very few classes. At the same time, the average student now attends college for five years to earn a bachelor's degree. That extra year of tuition at an Illinois university costs a family on average $7,587, not to mention room and board and textbooks. In addition to providing a challenging senior year and saving tuition cost, helping our students succeed as they transition into higher education is a priority. Research shows that 17% of students drop out of state colleges and universities during their first year. While there can be many reasons a student fails, transitioning to a new educational environment with an increased academic rigor plays a major role. Frontier Campus addresses all of these concerns and sets a new standard in education. Life at Frontier Campus Frontier Campus offers something unique to seniors. Classes are held away from the main campus in a space shared by District 204 and College of Du Page. Students take classes on a block schedule. As in college, the classes meet for three hours a week during two 90-minute periods on either Tuesday/Thursday or Monday/Wednesday. Fridays are "Flex" days where students can schedule meetings with teachers for tutoring or to make-up work missed during the week. Benefits of Frontier Campus Challenges, Rewards and Freedom Seniors can take a wide selection of entry-level college courses, challenging themselves while earning college credit. The environment is unique for high school students and very different from what they traditionally experience. The college setting and block schedule create a greater sense of freedom for students. Students have the opportunity to graduate from high school with a semester of college credit—without having to pay college tuition! Frontier Campus students taking College of DuPage courses pay only a $10 enrollment fee per semester. While students are responsible for purchasing their college textbooks, the program represents a significant tuition savings for families. Frontier Campus offers high school students the chance to "test drive" college with a safety net. Block scheduling closely resembles college life, helping students at Frontier become acquainted with the study skills necessary to succeed in college. Unlike college, if a student's cumulative grade drops below a "C", the student is required to meet with the teacher to receive extra assistance on Fridays. In short, Frontier offers a college opportunity in a college setting with the safety of high school. Our students have the best of both worlds. ____$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$_____ You can see there are many benefits to Frontier campus ...I am going to focus on how this campus can save parents of "college bound students" mega cash. Mega cash that is in short supply in our present economy. Here is the scenario. A senior in high school parks their rear end over at frontier and gets the grades necessary to get a full semester credit at COD. In the mean time both parent and student get in touch with the counselors in charge of college admission. The parent and student inform the counselor that they are looking for a "Steal of a deal" on a college education. The game plan goes like this, the counselor puts together a curriculum based on the students most probable major going into junior year of college. After graduating from Frontier the student starts immediately at COD taking 9=/- hours in summer school. Then takes 15-18 hours in both fall and spring semesters. Finally finishing COD in the summer session with another 6-9 hours. The newly minted graduate with 2 years under his/her belt now have a choice. Work like a dog and get 10-20k stashed in the bank, or continue as a junior at a University. The cost assuming the student hangs with mom and dad is $4,860 (108/credit hr. X 45 hrs, remember the first 15 hours was on 204 district) there are obviously other costs like transportation,books and fees. But remember this student can enter a university as a junior but still be a full year ahead of his counterparts. Now lets really do some interesting math shall we: 1st Two Years on the Cheap... $4860 + $1,000 books + $3000 transportation = $8,860 total 1st Two Years in Traditional State University (Northern, Illinois State, Western) cost is approximately $17,000 for tuition R&B, fees, etc. per year. That would + $34,000 + spending money and transportation. Hmmm. $8,860 compared to $34,000 ++, and remember the COD student is one year younger as a junior. You can assign a cost factor to the "time value of money". This may seem complicated at first glance. I assure you, we have able- bodied knowledgeable support staff that can accommodate this scenario with little fuss. Some may ask,"is this an ideal plan", well maybe or maybe not. I do know this, it is an executable plan that saves a ton of cash and still gives a student the option to experience university campus life. The plan also saves both parent and student time and money.
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Post by gatordog on Oct 20, 2008 7:46:18 GMT -5
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 21, 2008 10:36:37 GMT -5
Back to school in a credit crunch Tighter lending has hurt students too. But you'll be okay as long as you borrow from the right source. By Amanda Gengler, Money Magazine writer October 21, 2008: 10:41 AM ET money.cnn.com/2008/10/21/pf/college/grad_school_loans.moneymag/index.htm?postversion=2008102110NEW YORK (Money) -- Given the recent wave of lay offs, people around the country are contemplating their next step. Hiring has slowed. Job seekers are taking an average 4.5 months today to land a new gig, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So more adults are thinking now is the time to return to the classroom. So far this year the number of GMAT tests taken by hopeful biz school students is up 15% from 2006, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. Applications for graduate school at Arizona State University have jumped by double digits, said ASU President Michael Crow at a recent New York panel dinner of college and university presidents. But the credit crunch has made it tougher even for students to borrow. So will grad school hopefuls be able to get a loan? Yes, says Kal Chany, author of "Paying for College without Going Broke" and president of the Manhattan based financial aid advisory firm Campus Consultants, as long as you know where to look. "If you're willing to sign on the dotted line and you don't have a dime, you can still go to law, medical or business school." Skip private loans. You may be tempted to first turn to the private bank you borrowed from in college. Bad idea. That company may not offer graduate loans anymore, as many have exited the market altogether. The remaining lenders have tightened standards so severely that students with credit scores below 700 often will not qualify, says Kevin Walker, president and CEO of simpletuition.com, an online student loan comparison Web site. Even students with scores above that often need a co-signer with a score at least that high - rarely the case a few years ago, he says. What's more, you'll generally pay higher fees and interest rates on private loans than you will with federal aid. Today private rates average about 13%, four percentage points or more above federal loans, estimates Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a financial aid information Web site. They are also typically variable, meaning you'll owe more when interest rates rise. Start with Stafford loans. Fortunately, it is now possible to fully fund graduate school without any private money. In 2006 the government began providing graduate students enough federal aid to cover the entire cost - even living and transportation expenses. This government aid charges fixed interest rates. To secure this assistance, first complete the FAFSA, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Your school may also require a separate form to apply for its aid, so be sure to ask. (Graduate students are typically considered independents, so even if the aid forms require your parents' financial details, their assets generally do not lower your federal aid, says Chany.) This information is used to determine if you qualify for need-based aid, such as Perkins or subsidized (the government pays the interest while you are in school) Stafford loans. Take them if you get them. All students, regardless of need, can borrow up to $20,500 (medical students have higher maximums) total in subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans. These loans come with a fixed low rate of 6.8%, although you will typically have to pay a 3-4% fee, says Walker. Finish with PLUS loans. If you need more than that, look to a graduate PLUS loan. It charges a fixed interest rate of 7.9% if your school allows you to borrow directly from the government, or 8.5% if you must go through a private bank. (Don't be confused. You are still securing a government-backed loan, but getting it from a private company.) Your school's financial aid office can recommend lenders. You can borrow enough money in PLUS loans to fully cover the remainder of your education, including books and living expenses. Better yet, nearly all students will be approved for this loan - no co-signer needed. "There is a credit check, but as long as you don't have adverse credit history, you will qualify," says Chany. So you cannot be 90 days or more late on a debt payment (180 days on mortgage or medical bills) or have had a foreclosure, bankruptcy or tax lien in the previous five years. If you clear that test, consider yourself fully funded. ****************************************************************************************************** This information may be of some help for those contemplating, financing a college education. Note that the maximums of $20,000 +/- are based over a number of years, see a financial advisor for the particulars.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 27, 2008 12:09:42 GMT -5
Student loan fugitives When faced with unaffordable monthly payments and relentless creditors, some see leaving the country as their only way out. By Jen Haley, CNN October 24, 2008: 7:12 AM ET money.cnn.com/2008/10/23/pf/college/student_loan_fugitives/index.htm?postversion=2008102407NEW YORK (CNN) -- Carl, a Florida native now living overseas, is afraid to move back to the United States. That's because he can't afford to pay his student loans. Carl (who doesn't want his last name used) stopped making his $450 monthly payments after his family incurred some unexpected medical expenses, and his $55,000 private loans went into default. That's when the phone calls from debt collectors started, and Carl decided not to come back. "It was made clear that if I ever came home, I'm screwed," says Carl. Today, he estimates his private loans are more than $70,000. Though he hopes to move home one day, for now, staying abroad is the only option he can see. "If it means I have to live in exile from friends and family...well, that's the breaks. So be it. But I won't put my family in a situation where they are afraid," he says. While most Americans are burdened with debt of some kind, student loan repayment can be a particularly scary prospect for young people struggling to start a career. Payments are often higher than expected, and the loans can't easily be discharged. Added pressure from debt collectors causes some grads to flee their loans by fleeing the country. "These are people new to borrowing and they didn't understand what they were getting into," says Mark Kantrowitz of Finaid.org, an online student loan information Web site. "It's a very sorry situation that it comes to students feeling they have no option than to leave the country," he says. "It's a sign the system is broken." To date, there is about $60 billion in defaulted student loan debt according to Chris Lang of the New York-based debt collection agency, ConServe. But while skipping town to avoid paying student loans isn't very common - Lang estimates that only about 2% to 4% of delinquent student loan debt is owed from students abroad - for some, it seems like the only way out. International addresses make it more difficult to find people, and collection companies would usually need to hire an international counsel or a third party collector to recoup the debt, cutting into their profits and reducing their incentive to go after a debtor. "It increases our expenses to go overseas," says Justin Berg of American Profit Recovery, a debt collection agency in Massachusetts. "Our revenues are cut by more than half," he says. Very little relief Chris left the country to help pay his debt, not to avoid it. But when that didn't work out, he saw his foreign address as the only way to escape. Chris (who doesn't want his last name used) graduated with about $160,000 in student loan debt with a master's degree in music. "At the time I thought I could handle it. I thought the most I'd be paying was $600 a month," he says. But his payments were $2,400 a month. So Chris started looking for jobs overseas. He thought he'd be able to earn more and pay off his loans. But it didn't turn out that way. His salary was even less than what he was making back home. He realized there was no way he could make his payments, so he changed his address. "They think I'm living somewhere in Arizona," he says. His last payment was a year and a half ago. "I am upset at myself. I could have gone to a cheaper school," Chris says. "But I'm most angry at the fact that for anyone who has debt that's not student loan debt, there's relief. You can get into $150,000 worth of credit card debt and you can declare bankruptcy and you can go on with your life. But with student loans, you're being punished for being a better person." While getting student loans discharged through bankruptcy is no easy task, that doesn't mean it can't be done. "There's a mythology that private student loans can't be discharged. But sometimes they can and should," says Kantrowitz. To get your student loans discharged, you must file an undue hardship petition. To qualify, you have to satisfy three conditions: First, you must not be able to repay your student loan and also maintain a minimal standard of living based on your income and your expenses. Second, your situation must likely persist for a significant portion of the repayment period of the loan. Finally, you must have made good faith efforts to repay the loans. In about half of cases of people who do file for this hardship petition, debt will be partially or totally discharged, says Kantrowitz. Lifting the burden If you're having trouble paying your student loans there are steps you can take, according to Kantrowitz. If your income isn't sufficient to repay a federal loan, you can apply for an economic hardship deferment or forbearance which would suspend or reduce your monthly payments. To find out if you qualify for these programs, check out the hardship calculator at www.finaid.org/. If your money problems are longer term - say your career path doesn't pay well - there are some alternate payment plans that you can explore. An extended repayment plan could lower your payments. But it also increases the life of your loan so you'll wind up paying more in the long run. If you have federal loans through the Direct Loan program, you may qualify for an income contingent repayment plan. In this case your payments are based on your income and your debt load . These steps must be taken before you default on your loan. If your loan is already in default, you won't qualify for deferments or forbearances. If you can't resolve an issue, contact the Federal Student Aid Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.ed.gov/ or call 1-877-557-2575. If you have defaulted on a federal loan, you can rehabilitate yourself. It will require you to make nine to twelve full payments of some agreed-upon amounts within a certain time period to the Department of Education. For more information on this, contact the Department at 1-800-621-3115. And there's another way to get help if you're buried under student loans. Talk to a non-profit counselor. The counseling session should be free of charge. Make sure you ask if the agency works with student loans. And in addition to helping you with your student loan payments, these agencies can work with you to manage your spending and your budget. If you are put on a managed debt program, there is typically a small fee. To find a non-profit credit counselor in your area go to the National Foundation for Credit Counseling at www.nfcc.org. ************************************************************************* This is rather sad situation. Proper planning will be needed for many students entering college. If anyone has info on how much a student should have in college loans, when compared to anticipated income, feel free to respond.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Oct 29, 2008 11:33:43 GMT -5
College costs rise Cost of private schools up 5.9%, according to a College Board report. By Kenneth Musante, CNNMoney.com staff writer Last Updated: October 29, 2008: 11:49 AM ET money.cnn.com/2008/10/29/pf/college/college/index.htm?postversion=2008102911NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The total cost of going to a private four-year college rose to $34,132 on average for the 2008-09 academic year, according to a report released Wednesday. The average published tuition for the upcoming school year at a private four-year college rose $1,398 from the prior year, or 5.9% to $25,143, excluding room and board, according to the College Board, a non-profit association of more than 5,200 schools, colleges and universities. Room and board charges rose to $8,989, a 4.8% increase from the prior school year. Meanwhile published tuition prices for full time in-state students at public four-year schools rose $394 on average, or 6.4% to $6,585 compared to the year before. Students paid an average of $14,333, an increase of 5.7% once room and board are factored in. Out-of-state students at public four-year schools pay a total of $25,200, up 5.2% from last year. Over the past ten years, tuition fees at four-year public colleges have grown at a rate of about 4.2% a year after inflation, according to the College Board. Tuition has grown at an annual average of 2.4% at private four-year schools, and at a rate of 1.4% a year at public two-year schools. But as the cost of attending college increases, so does the need for financial assistance for students. Total student aid has jumped by 5.5% in inflation-adjusted dollars in the 2007-08 year, according to the College Board. Over the past decade, total aid has risen by 84%. Across the board, undergrads received an average of $8,896 in financial aid, which included $4,656 in grants, and $3,650 in federal loans.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 1, 2008 10:57:41 GMT -5
How to Buy Cheap College Textbooks www.wikihow.com/Buy-Cheap-College-TextbooksCollege is a big business, and one of the biggest expenses in this business -- next to tuition, room, and board, is college textbooks. Nothing hits your party pocketbook like a trip to the campus bookstore. Reselling books may recoup some of your investment, but not all. Don’t take out the extra loans. Just follow this lesson to lessen the cost of your education. [edit] Steps 1. Register for your classes as early as possible. Start researching courses as soon as you can, and solidify your schedule early. If you have to change classes at the last minute, it’ll be hard to escape high textbook prices. 2. Find out what books you’ll need for your classes. Go to the bookstore just to browse. Leave the wallet at home, but bring a pen and paper. Look for your classes and the new semester's required books. Ask the bookstore employees to assist you if needed. If your classes' book requirements are not in yet, inquire as to when they will be and come back on that date. You may also be able to get this information off the bookstore’s website or your classes’ web pages. 3. Write down the following information for each book: * the name and volume/edition of the book * the name of the author * the book’s International Standard Book Number (ISBN), found on or near the barcode on the back of book * the price 4. Type the name of the topic that you study in google.com. For example, if you study compressible flow type compressible flow in google and you will get a link to a free book www.potto.org. 5. Try to find the books in the library. Check the catalogs of your school library and the local public library. If you can’t find a book there, try to obtain the book via interlibrary loan. Depending on the library’s borrowing policies, you may be able to check out books for the whole semester or at least for as long as you’ll need them. You’ll want to get on this early, though, because supplies will be limited. 6. The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) Search for books on the Internet. If you can’t get a book at the library, or if you’ll need to be able to keep a book or write in it, look for better prices online. Usually all you’ll need is the book’s ISBN. In the search box of your favorite search engine, enter only the ISBN number, without the dashes that separate the digits. You should come up with several exact matches; in the unlikely event that you don’t, try searching by title. Verify you have the correct book using the other information you wrote down. 7. Buy bundles. Bundled books save you money by allowing you to buy your books in one shrinkwrapped package, often at a discount. 8. Shop around online. Most likely just about any price you find online will be cheaper than the bookstore, but check as many sites as possible to find the cheapest possible book. Check out online auction marketplaces. While you won’t be able to find as many books at auctions, you may be able to find screaming deals. 9. Check out local bookstores. You may be able to find a good deal locally, especially once you factor in shipping charges. Even if you can’t quite match an online price locally, you’ll be able to see the book before you purchase and you’ll get the satisfaction of helping local merchants. 10. Consider used books. Used books are almost always cheaper than new ones, and if you can find a used version online in good condition it may be a good bet. You may also be able to get used books at your campus bookstore, especially if you shop early or pre-order. Compare prices to find the best deal. Also used books may have the previous students notes in them which is a plus because you won't have to make them. 11. Inquire about earlier editions. If the current edition's used price is still too much, use the book name to find an earlier edition: enter the book title in the search box and remove any references to what edition it is. Before buying, ask your professor or TA if the earlier edition is acceptable. It is often not acceptable because of changes to editions and page numbers, not to mention content, and you don’t want to have to pay for a book twice. 12. Scour your campus. Some colleges have student groups that sell used textbooks for older students or that otherwise facilitate buying and selling of books. Ask your friends, look at flyers around campus, and watch the student paper for deals. 13. Resell your books. If you don’t foresee that you’ll need a book after the semester ends, try to resell it as soon as possible. Find out what your campus bookstore and local booksellers will pay, and consider putting up flyers around campus and/or selling it online. If your book is in high demand, you may be able to sell a book online within a day, and at a much higher price than you’ll get at the bookstore. See the Related wikiHows below for more information on how to do this. [edit] Tips * Consider electronic versions of textbooks from sites like iChapters or Safari. Online books can't be resold but they often sell for as little as fifty percent of a new book's price. Classic literature no longer under copyright, can be downloaded for free at sites like Bartleby. * If a search engine search isn’t very fruitful, try searching directly at online booksellers’ sites. * Try to search in search engines that specializes in book searches, like addall.com, bookfinder.com , or similar. They compare prices from different online vendors. * Find out if any books are optional, and think twice about buying them. Some optional books are really quite necessary, while others aren’t. Ask your professor or TA for advice if in doubt, and consider your own study habits. If you tend to ignore the optional materials anyway, then there's no point in wasting your money on it. * If your Internet search for the ISBN brings up a lot of unrelated items, try entering the ISBN along with the letters “ISBN” in the search bar. * Always include shipping costs in your calculations. You may be able to save money on shipping by purchasing several books from one merchant. * Don't forget about international editions. They're generally exactly the same as their American counterparts, except they often come only in paperback, and the pages may feel a bit different. * Different professors teaching the same course often use different books. Find out which professor requires the least expensive books and sign up for his or her course. * Using more than a few online book resellers might not be beneficial. Don't waste time and confuse yourself with multiple sites; focus on finding what you need, especially if the prices all appear to be about the same. * The best time to buy is between semesters, when people online are trying to get rid of their old books, but before people are buying new ones. It's usually between 2 and 4 weeks before classes start. If you track sale prices over time, you can see the dip, then a radical increase. Buy when the price is low, but you still have at least 2 weeks for shipping before school. If you want to sell, try selling the first week of school, or the week before when everyone is running around like madmen. * If you are taking a literature course, consider buying individual books instead of the anthology. Usually an up-to-date anthology will run at at least $80, but if you look on the syllabus, you're usually not reading more than 12 books/stories. These are usually classics that have been published over and over, and will run at about 50 cents on Amazon. So if each book costs $4 including shipping, that's $48 instead of $80. If you are doing this, make sure to Google short stories, as many are free online. Also, you can resell these books to a local used bookstore, usually for credit, which will enable you to buy more classics without any money changing hands. (All used bookstores have an abundance of classics, so be sure to check there too and save on shipping.) * Look for unofficial off-campus bookstores. Sometimes they are 10%-20% cheaper than the on-campus bookstore. * When shopping online, try to shop with some sort of rewards program (such as Ebates.com, Mypoints.com, etc.) and use a points-accruing credit card if you can. This way, you'll be getting an additional (albeit deferred) savings on your purchase. Some bookstores have their own affiliate programs. Sign up for the program, then buy all your textbooks through your 'referral link.' Convince others to do the same (splitting the money, maybe) and altogether you could save a half decent amount of money. * There are times when some professors will list books for their class that they admittedly have no intention of using. If you have not purchased books for a class early on, go ahead and wait until you've been to class once or twice and found out if any books will not be used. You'll have to balance the risk of getting a bad deal vs. the risk of having to sell back a used book you never opened. * It may be worth getting a membership with stores such as Barnes and Noble, since they offer 10% off. The membership is $25 per year, but after getting 2 semesters' worth of books, it's something to consider. * Most websites will offer free shipping and can get to you within 3 days. Some areas could get the order the same day. * If you and a friend have the same class, but at different times of the day, work out a deal with them (like supporting them half of the cost of the book, etc.) to let you borrow their book every day for the time that you need it, then return it to them between classes. This tactic works even better if you share a dormitory with them, as it will be easier to locate them. [edit] Warnings * Allow ample time for your book to arrive for the new semester. It's normally okay for you not to have the book for the first few days of class, but if you procrastinate, you may be forced to go to the bookstore and it'll cost you. * Always make sure you’re purchasing the right book, especially if you’re buying online. Remember, sometimes the correct edition of a book is absolutely necessary, and if you get the wrong book, you’ll end up either paying for two books or pay shipping to return one. * Weigh your risks when purchasing a used book that might not be in the best condition. There could be missing pages that would be critical for studying. * Used books don't always save you money. If you buy a used book but there is a software package bundled with the new texts, you won't get the software and may not be able to get it. If it's required for class, you're out of luck. At the very least, you will have to buy it separately, which could end up costing you more than the new textbook bundle. * Remember when getting the book from the library that the library giveth and the library taketh away. Sometimes the library will request you return the book mid-semester due to high demand for the book. (i.e. other frugal students like yourself want the book too.) ********************************************************************************************************************* With a little planning these ideas can really help. To motivate your student a great plan is to inform him/her that any saving will be split with the student getting a percentage of the savings.
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Post by gatordog on Nov 1, 2008 11:11:12 GMT -5
SSSM, you are like the Burger King in those commercials....putting money in all our pockets. And your currency is C-notes, not singles! Thanks!
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 1, 2008 11:15:22 GMT -5
Gatordog ,I am a firm believer of spreading the wealth or more importantly the knowledge gained on both blue and green. Thanks for the compliment, but realistically my frugal son has come up with some "real whoppers" regarding the idea of saving cash. And at this point I am thankful for that.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 2, 2008 12:28:24 GMT -5
Personal bankruptcies soar in financial crisis By David Lazarus November 2, 2008 www.chicagotribune.com/business/yourmoney/chi-ym-bankruptcy-1102nov02,0,2614839.story Matthew Shelbourn knows money. The 27-year-old Cerritos, Calif., resident studied accounting as an undergraduate and kicked around various jobs in the financial sector before settling into his current position as controller at a pipe-manufacturing company. By year-end, though, Shelbourn said he's all but certain to file for bankruptcy protection. He said he's struggling to crawl out from under about $150,000 in student loans, $25,000 in credit card debt and $20,000 in medical bills, not to mention a pile of late fees that have accumulated because of missed payments. "If I had to pay it all back, I'd find a way," Shelbourn said. "But I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life. I want a clean slate." Like a lot of people, he's nervous about the economy sliding into a prolonged recession and the effect this could have on his job, his health insurance and his ability to survive. Shelbourn said he decided to seek bankruptcy protection before things grew worse. It's a decision many people have made in recent weeks. Consumer bankruptcy filings rose 28.6 percent nationwide in September from a year before, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. In August, bankruptcy filings were up 29.2 percent from a year earlier. "The continued rise in personal bankruptcies reflects high consumer debt, made worse by energy costs and the weak housing market, trapping many households in homes they can neither afford nor sell," said Samuel Gerdano, the institute's executive director. "We expect consumer bankruptcies to exceed 1.1 million new cases by year-end." If he's right, that would handily top the 822,590 bankruptcies recorded last year and would be the highest level since 2005, when a law took effect that was intended to revamp the bankruptcy process and make it harder for people to escape their debts. American consumers owe nearly $2.6 trillion in non-mortgage debt, or about $8,460 for every man, woman and child, according to the Federal Reserve. Credit card debt alone is fast approaching $1 trillion. Henry Sommer, president of the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys, said these are boom times for people in his line of work. Many bankruptcy-related law firms are working full tilt and rapidly bringing on additional staff. "There's a lot of business," he said. This wasn't supposed to be the case. When the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act took effect three years ago, it was seen by many as a gift to the credit industry, which had long complained that its most-indebted customers were shirking their obligations by filing for Chapter 7 protection. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which Shelbourn intends to seek, essentially releases a debtor from responsibility to pay most outstanding bills to creditors. The downside is it leaves a black mark on your credit record for 10 years and could make it difficult to obtain loans in the future. A Chapter 7 filing also can result in the loss of your home, car and other property if their value surpasses certain levels. The 2005 law made it tougher, and more expensive, to file for Chapter 7 protection and attempted to steer more people into Chapter 13 bankruptcies, which require repayment of debts within three to five years. Yet of 597,965 consumer bankruptcy cases filed in 2006, more than 58 percent qualified for Chapter 7 under a means test imposed by the law. Nearly 61 percent of bankruptcies qualified last year. That percentage rose to 64 percent in the first quarter of 2008 and almost 68 percent in the second quarter. "What that tells us is that the people who are filing for bankruptcy are people who don't have a lot of money or who can't afford to pay these debts back," said Maureen Thompson, legislative director for the bankruptcy attorneys' association. "It's now harder to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy," she said. "You have to pay more to do it. But people still qualify." To qualify, a filer's income must be below the state's median, or the filer must meet other requirements for living expenses, unsecured debt or special circumstances, such as loss of a job. Shelbourn, who makes about $41,000 a year, said he agonized over whether to go down the bankruptcy road. "I'm a practical, numbers person," Shelbourn said. "I know I got in over my head and made some mistakes. But I really felt like the prudent thing to do would be to start over." David Lazarus is a staff reporter for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune Co. newspaper.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 2, 2008 12:41:54 GMT -5
Is it just me or do others see the irony of an accounting student 4-5 years out of college working for corporate America as a controller ... claiming personal bankruptcy.
He said he's struggling to crawl out from under about $150,000 in student loans, $25,000 in credit card debt and $20,000 in medical bills, not to mention a pile of late fees that have accumulated because of missed payments.
"If I had to pay it all back, I'd find a way," Shelbourn said. "But I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life. I want a clean slate."
So should that mean because things are tough and you don't want to dig yourself out of a hole that was "self induced", it is ok to claim personal B-K. Your a bum, a deadbeat, a washout. Get a life, others in this great country did not "bust their butts" so you, an able bodied well educated person can go b-k at 27 because it is convenient. I would love to be the judge you face with regard to this situation. I would also love to be your boss so I could kick your butt from one end of your office to the other.
This is truly a crappy story.
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Post by gatormom on Nov 2, 2008 17:22:19 GMT -5
Is it just me or do others see the irony of an accounting student 4-5 years out of college working for corporate America as a controller ... claiming personal bankruptcy. He said he's struggling to crawl out from under about $150,000 in student loans, $25,000 in credit card debt and $20,000 in medical bills, not to mention a pile of late fees that have accumulated because of missed payments. "If I had to pay it all back, I'd find a way," Shelbourn said. "But I feel like I'm at a turning point in my life. I want a clean slate." So should that mean because things are tough and you don't want to dig yourself out of a hole that was "self induced", it is ok to claim personal B-K. Your a bum, a deadbeat, a washout. Get a life, others in this great country did not "bust their butts" so you, an able bodied well educated person can go b-k at 27 because it is convenient. I would love to be the judge you face with regard to this situation. I would also love to be your boss so I could kick your butt from one end of your office to the other. This is truly a crappy story. He has $150,000 in student loans AND $25,000 in credit card debt? Crappy is not the word I would chose SSSM. I do love the "If I had to pay it all back, I'd find a way". Buddy, just because its easier to start over doesn't make it right. Hopefully he finds that way, or a judge makes him find a way.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 4, 2008 21:07:02 GMT -5
Ways to get less expensive airline tickets. Wall Street Journal: Flying to College on the Cheap As Fares Rise Tue, 10/14/2008 - 08:53 — Paula Berg URL: www.wsj.com/article/SB122393525342230309.htmlFlying to College on the Cheap As Fares Rise, Students and Teachers Can Still Snare Deals By SCOTT MCCARTNEY Higher airfares have raised the cost of higher education, from trips home for college students at Thanksgiving to study-abroad semesters. But two little-known companies that negotiate big discounts with airlines can save hundreds of dollars for students and their ticket-buying parents. Even though airlines have piled on fees and eliminated most special discounts like senior-citizen fares and half-price tickets for young children, one vestige of airline goodwill remains. Several air carriers still offer special deals for students -- and teachers as well. To read more, visit: www.wsj.com/article/SB122393525342230309.html
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Post by wvhsparent on Nov 7, 2008 12:41:12 GMT -5
Pssst! Wanna Go to College for Free? By Alison Damast Alison Damast Thu Nov 6, 8:08 am ET Tim Stroud's alarm goes off at 3:40 a.m. every weekday morning, a time when most of his classmates at the College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout, Mo., are fast asleep. By 4:30 a.m., he is out in the pasture in his work boots gathering the college's herd of 50 Holstein cows into the barn for their morning milking session. His unusual campus job -- working in the dairy 15 hours a week -- is a small price to pay for what he sees as one of the best deals today in higher education: a free degree.
At the College of the Ozarks, all students' tuition costs are offset by a mandatory work-study program. "If I was going to go to school, I was going to try to do it with the least amount of debt possible," said Stroud, a sophomore from Hume, N.Y., who wants to pursue a career in agriculture.
The cost of college is a red hot issue today, with students and parents fretting about how they will be able to foot the skyrocketing tuition bills at many private and public colleges. The College Board reported on Oct. 22 that tuition at public and private colleges for the 2007-08 academic year continued to outpace inflation (BusinessWeek.com, 10/22/07). Tuition prices at private colleges and universities average almost $24,000 this year, and that's not including room and board.
Focusing on Specialized Education
Stroud is one of several thousand students in the U.S. taking advantage of colleges that come with no sticker shock. Tuition-free colleges -- also known as full-scholarship colleges -- remain one of higher education's best-kept secrets. True to their name, they are institutions that guarantee to cover the entire student-body's tuition. There are only a handful of such schools in the U.S., which is one reason they are often overlooked by students, parents, and high school guidance counselors during the college search, says Sandy Baum, a senior policy analyst at the College Board. "It's not a trend of the future. It's just a certain niche market. These schools have unique situations that allow them to go tuition-free," she said.
They range from an urban college like the Cooper Union in New York's East Village to Deep Springs College, a remote, all-male school deep in the California desert. Many are specialized institutions, often focusing on engineering, such as the F.W. Olin College of Engineering in Needham, Mass.; or on music, like the Curtis Institute in Pennsylvania. A handful -- the College of the Ozarks or Berea College in Kentucky -- have mandatory work-study programs. Perhaps the most well-known of them is the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., which offers free college tuition in exchange for five years of service after graduation.
Students who attend these schools walk away from college with little to no loans, debt, and financial worries after they graduate. In most cases, the only fee students need to pay is room and board, a cost separate from college tuition. It's a financial situation with almost irresistible appeal for college students with limited means, said Rick Darvis, co-founder of the National Institute of Certified College Planners, an organization founded in 2002 to help families navigate the college loan and financial aid market. "For kids coming out of college today, debt-free is pretty rare," Darvis said. "As far as a kid having a summer job to help pay off college, that's not going to happen anymore."
Salvation for Parents Who Didn't Plan
Though finding tuition-free schools can take some legwork, parents and students say the payoff is worth it in the long run.
Pamela Clemens, the mother of Erin Clemens, a college senior, said she still remembers how relieved she was when her daughter received an acceptance letter from the College of the Ozarks. Clemens and her husband, a self-employed handyman in Lebanon, Miss., had failed to save properly for their daughter's college education and were frantic about how they were going to foot her tuition bills, she said. "We were free from the burden of figuring out where we were going to get the money or take out loans for my daughter's college education," Clemens said. "Just knowing we won't have to deal with that for all these years is just such a feeling of freedom."
Aside from saving parents and students from financial burden, attending a tuition-free school has other benefits. These schools create an environment where all students can feel comfortable with each other regardless of their personal finances, said Andrew McCreary, a second-year student from Salt Lake City at Deep Springs College. "Everyone came here as an equal, and everyone has the same free opportunity, so money never has to come up," said McCreary. "We are all on the same footing."
Endowments Help
Covering the tuition cost of an entire student body is not an easy task in today's higher-education market where the cost of faculty salaries, fringe benefits, and supplies and materials continues to rise. The inflation gauge used by higher education officials to track the costs of running a university, the Higher Education Price Index, increased by 3.4% in the 2007 fiscal year.
Fortunately, most tuition-free colleges are cushioned from the shock of these spiraling costs by large endowments given to the schools by benefactors. For example, the Cooper Union, a four-year college specializing in engineering, art, and architecture, has an endowment worth more than $600 million, the bulk of which is New York City real estate and securitized investments, said George Campbell, the school's president. The school spends $35 million annually to fund the tuition costs of its 950 students, in addition to $15 million for other operating expenses.
The endowment allows the school to maintain the mission of industrialist and inventor Peter Cooper, who founded the school in 1859 with the vision that "education should be as free as water or air," Campbell said, adding "It's a mandate that we hold close to us even today. We think we make a very unique and important contribution in the constellation of higher-education institutions that virtually no one else makes."
Olin a Recent Arrival
At the College of the Ozarks, the $375 million endowment is the "backbone" of the school's financial operation, along with donations from alumni, said Jerry Davis, the college's president. The school supplements its operating budget through mandatory work-study program, where students can work a job at one of 80 work stations, ranging from overseeing the school's hog farm to cooking in the fruitcake and jelly kitchen.
Students are appreciative of their free education, not complaining about their work loads or the college's strict chapel requirements and dress code, Davis said. "We think it's a bad idea to settle young people with modest means with heavy debt, so the students who come here are very fortunate and I think most people know that," he added.
While most of the country's tuition-free schools have been around for 100 years, some newer ones have been established in the past decade, such as the Olin College of Engineering. The engineering school officially launched in academic year 2002-2003 with the help off a $460 million endowment gift from the F.W. Olin Foundation.
Running a tuition-free school in today's financial market proved to be harder than the founders initially thought, said Stephen Hannabury, Olin's vice-president for administration and finance. There were some initial challenges as the school struggled to get off the ground. For example, the endowment did not grow as quickly as the school had anticipated and it had to scale back on the number of students it planned to admit. Since then, the endowment has climbed to $491 million and the school has graduated two classes of students.
"It is a little bit more complicated to set up this type of school today, but I think it is certainly worth other institutions' considering it if they have the financial resources to do it," Hannabury said. "The cost of higher education is getting to the point where different solutions, if you will, need to be looked at."
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Nov 25, 2008 10:36:44 GMT -5
Top Money Saving Tips for College Freshmen Save Money and Reduce Stress With These Financially Sound Strategies by Mike Hardcastle teenadvice.about.com/cs/collegelife/a/bl10moneytips.htm Making the transition from high school student to college student can be confusing. There are a lot of changes and many new responsibilities. Adapting to college is full of life lessons and the biggest lesson involves handling money. Living at Home Is Easy When teens live at home there are many financial decisions that they never have to make. Parents worry about how much to spend on housing, food, bills, clothes and entertainment. These things never have to cross the high school students mind. In college teens suddenly have to handle these things on their own. If you spend money recklessly you will quickly find yourself tapped. Smart money saving tactics can make a major impact on your finances and your future. Here are some tips and ideas to make your financial transition that much easier. Know Your Cost of Living Make a list of your mandatory monthly expenses so you understand where your money has to go. Things like, rent, utilities, transportation, groceries, parking, school supplies, debt repayment, and student or activity fees fall in this category. Once you know where your money has to go each month you'll be able to set up a discretionary fund and a savings plan. Give Yourself an Allowance Put yourself on an allowance for things like entertainment, eating out, clothing, and special purchases. Stay on budget no matter how tight things get. It's never too early to start saving money. Even if it's only $20 a week try to put something aside in a savings account. Organize Your Receipts Keep your bills, bank statements and receipts all in one place. Organize them by month and by category, for example; rent, bills, and expenses. Keep them in a safe place. Make sure to go over your bank statements carefully and keep all ATM receipts. Have your bank return cashed checks to you or at least ensure that you can see copies of all cashed checks online. Become Frugal Look for creative ways to save money. Consider carpooling, public transit or enviro-friendly biking as a means of getting around. Bring lunches and snacks from home. Buy your text books and lab supplies second hand if possible. Instead of paying a tutor set up a peer study group in classes that you need extra help with. Understand Your Debt Load Student loans aside there are other ways that students get in to debt. Credit card companies target cash strapped students, most of whom are inexperienced with unsecured debt. When handled responsibly credit cards can be good things to have. If you do any shopping on the Internet you will probably need to have a credit card. Many credit card companies offer theft and fraud protection. Read the fine print of your credit card agreement to find out if you’re covered for these things. It's a good idea to have a credit card for emergencies or for major purchases like books or a bike but avoid using plastic for day-to-day spending or for entertainment. Watch Out for Identity Theft You are never too young to fall victim to identity theft. In fact, young people with little or no credit history are good targets. Keep your personal information well guarded. Limit the information you post in your profiles on the Internet to first name and last initial, gender and general area of residence. Social networking sites have become havens for people looking to steal identities. Never leave ATM or debit receipts behind, always take them with you. Keep your credit card numbers private and only use them on web sites you know you can trust. Always shield your personal identity number (PIN) from prying eyes. Follow these guidelines and you'll be in good financial shape now and in the future.
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Post by southsidesignmaker on Dec 14, 2008 13:29:48 GMT -5
The college equation: obtaining financial aid is vital to retirement savings balancing act By Gail MarksJarvis December 14, 2008 www.chicagotribune.com/sports/olympics/sns-yourmoney-1214college,0,4897248.story Sending a child to college is a retirement issue. Families must grapple with that reality as high school seniors apply for college: If parents have lost jobs or had their retirement savings ravaged by the stock market, they could be putting themselves in a precarious position if they tell children to pursue any dream, and Mom and Dad will simply pay. After all, if you devote too much money to college now, you won't be able to go to a bank when you are 80 and ask for a loan to cover food, medicine and electricity. But that doesn't mean to say no to your child's dreams or to focus only on the cheapest school nearby. In fact, doing that could cause you to spend more than necessary. If you have lost your job, you might be in better shape for college expenses than when you were employed. That's because some colleges provide substantial financial aid, in the form of free money or grants, to students if parents are unemployed. But you can't assume that a particular college will do this. Financial aid practices vary between institutions, and the way one college would look at a particular student is different than the way another would. So parents and their college-bound children will need to concentrate on college and financial-aid applications as a second job over the next few weeks to maximize the aid that might be available. Your first move is to determine what you can and can't afford by running an estimate of how you are positioned financially. If you are out of work, don't consider credit card debt or home equity loans as a way to get through the college years. And if you have a job, make sure you are on course to handle emergencies and retirement. Try the "ballpark estimate" calculator at www.choosetosave.org to see if you are likely to have enough savings for retirement. Then, do a calculation to see how much financial aid your family might receive. You need what's called an "expected family contribution" calculator. Find one at www.finaid.org/calculators/finaidestimate.phtml, and do both the "federal" and "institutional" calculation. The federal calculation applies primarily to public colleges and universities, and the public institutions generally have less financial aid available for middle-income families. Private colleges can be a better bet because they often have more grants and scholarships available for middle- and upper-middle-income families. The institutional calculation will give you a sense of how you might fare at a private college. If you are likely to qualify for aid, you must work hard to obtain it. Students must polish essays and applications and may find books on essay writing helpful. Clever applications can attract more aid. Kalman Chany, author of "Paying for College Without Going Broke," encourages students to apply to about a dozen colleges, with a mixture of public and private schools and close to home and away from home. "Do not rule out any school as too expensive," he said. Colleges look for different types of students. They seek certain talents and skills and geographic and cultural diversity, as well as grades or SAT and ACT scores that are slightly above their average. Don't try to judge ahead what they will want. One year a school might be trying, for example, to fill a certain seat in the band, and another year that school won't have such a need. On that basis, schools use financial aid to sweeten the deal to certain prospective students, Chany said. "This is a business," he said. "They will ration financial aid and give what they think they have to, to get you into the class." This, of course, is less true of the most elite colleges. But they try to attract low-income students who might otherwise think that a top college is out of reach. In fact, the most elite, including Harvard, admit students free if they are from low-income households. With the word out about those practices, competition is great to be admitted to the colleges. While the most prestigious schools often have the most aid available, those that are less popular sometimes compete more by offering aid to students who would not normally qualify. Use the U.S. News and World Report college guide to identify second- and third-tier schools, which might be under some pressure to fill the freshman class when families are cutting back on college spending. "What people don't realize is applying to an out-of-state public university can be the most expensive option for a family," Chany said. That's because financial aid might not be available to middle-income people who could receive substantial grants at private schools. He suggests parents have a frank discussion with children, urging them to apply to all schools that interest them, but realizing they may have to bypass some if the aid offer is deficient. Once students receive offers, they can compare financial aid packages. Sometimes they can use an offer from one school to negotiate a better deal from a top-choice college. To enhance chances of obtaining aid, check the average SAT and ACT scores at each college in guidebooks. A student will be most attractive to schools where his or her score exceeds the average. By inducing students with high scores to attend, the colleges can lift their rankings on various lists, and that helps them attract more students later. To obtain aid, families have to fill out forms called the FAFSA or Profile. It's a laborious process that takes as much care as a tax return. It's easy to make a mistake, such as reporting 401(k) savings as assets even though retirement money does not have to be reported as an asset, Chany said. His book alerts families to strategies that enhance financial aid awards. Along with those forms, families must provide a tax return to financial aid offices. In the case of a recent job loss, they must submit a special letter letting officials know their tax returns overstate their ability to pay for college. Your child can finance part, or all, of the cost of college through low-interest government loans called Stafford or Perkins loans. Low-interest state loans also may be available. Start by seeking information from college financial aid offices rather than going directly to a bank. Meanwhile, if you find that your family cannot get adequate financial aid and your retirement savings are substandard, try this strategy: consider a nearby state college for a student's first two years of college so you can cut costs. Then, if a student wants the prestige of a diploma from an elite college, it's possible to try to transfer for the last two years of school. Gail MarksJarvis is a Your Money columnist. Contact her at gmarksjarvis@tribune.com. ****************************************************** Some of the above topics have been touched on in other articles. I found the information with regard to out of state "state schools" interesting especially the idea that private colleges can be considerable less that paying out of state tuition. It makes sense to compare all your options.
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