You can’t be what you can’t see

“I fought really hard to get here,” she said with tears filling her eyes. “I’m in my first internship and not only am I the only woman there, but I’m the only person of color. I don’t belong in this field.” I sat across the auditorium, stunned by this statement from a fellow audience member. I was at a forum discussion about women in the computing workforce at Spelman College. I was shaken by what I was hearing. Was it possible that the number of women in computer science is really that imbalanced?

Sadly, the answer is yes. According to research, only 3% of the computing workforce is composed of African American women. Did you know that in 2016, only 19% of Computer Science bachelor’s degree recipients at major research universities were conferred to women (down from 37% in 1985)? See more stats here: ncwit.org/bythenumbers.

As a school counselor educator, I am committed to providing opportunities for all of my students to pursue a career that aligns with their interests. I had never truly considered the systemic barriers, cultural patterns, and access to opportunities that affect our students as they explore interests and select career pathways.

I began talking to more young women at the high school and university level taking computer science courses. “What are the demographics of your computer science classes?” I asked. I repeatedly heard stories of being the “only one” and “feeling behind” or “out of place.” Their words resonated with me because they were not isolated stories but a united demand for change.

I also asked these women what they enjoyed about computer science. Not having a background in the field, I felt like I didn’t know much about technology. I was curious about the persistence of these women. What sparked their interest and inspired them to keep going? It’s all about coding, right?

Wrong!

The women lit up when asked about their interest in computing. I repeatedly heard, “I love solving problems!” “It’s actually a very creative field!” and most often what I heard about was a concept called CS + X. CS stands for Computer Science and the X represents an area of interest. These women talked about the intersection of computer science with other industries like history, art, finance, fashion, and so much more. I learned about how every industry has computer science in it, and these women were finding engaging, creative, and sustainable career opportunities.

As a school counselor, I realized the influence I have to spark an interest in computer science with young women and other underrepresented students. I can demystify what computer science is for all students and use resources like Family Code Night to find free, scripted activities that bring the community together, inspire interest in computing, and engage in career conversations about the intersection of computer science with every area of interest.

Google’s free CS First curriculum engages content area teachers and school counselors! With MIT App Inventor, anyone can build an app! Many schools are using Apple’s Swift curriculum to engage students, build apps, and more! Code.org offers K-12 learning opportunities! There are many opportunities to find the right fit for your students. Explore, Share, and Engage! Ignite interest in sustainable careers of the future!

Want to learn more? Check out these resources:

About the Author

Angela Cleveland is the co-author of “50+ Tech Tools for School Counselors: How to Be More Engaging, Efficient, and Effective” and “Coding Capers: Luci and the Missing Robot.” She has 15 years of experience as a school counselor and received the “2017 New Jersey School Counselor of the Year” award. She is an Executive Board Member and Webmaster for the New Jersey School Counselor Association (NJSCA). She is also the Program Director for NCWIT Counselors for Computing (ncwit.org/c4c), which provides professional school counselors with information and resources they can use to support ALL students as they explore computer science education and careers.

Date March 19, 2020
Author Angela Cleveland
Source Multibriefs Exclusive

College Status Update – COVID-19

Many Colleges & Universities have postponed classes due to COVID-19 and a number have even announced that they will be going online only for the remainder of the semester. Your Seniors who are still in the midst of visiting Colleges and determining which College they will attend are definitely feeling a lot of angst. NACAC has put together a nice tool that provides a status for more than 200 Colleges (with more being added every day). It includes changes in the status of College events and open houses, deposit dates, are they open to having Admission visitors, direct links for more information and a contact for each College.

Here is a link to the tool: https://www.nacacnet.org/college-admission-status-coronavirus

If you are with a College/University and want to get your school listed (it’s free) here is a direct link to the form – https://nacac.formstack.com/forms/covid_19_cu_response

Date March 18, 2020
Author Jason Bullock

10 SAT and ACT tips for your students

Here are 10 great tips from C2 Education that your students can use to get better scores on these tests:

1. Start with a Practice Test: Any test prep plan should start with a practice SAT or practice ACT. Before your students can set a goal, they need to figure out where they are currently scoring – a diagnostic test is the best way to do that. To get the most accurate score, they will need to take their practice test under realistic testing conditions.

2. Create a Study Schedule: Once they have their original test scores, they will need to set some goals. If they already have a list of colleges where you know they want to apply, research the median test scores from prior admitted classes. The College Board’s Big Future website has a search tool that provides this information for hundreds of colleges. Compare their original scores to the average scores for their target schools, and use this information to set score goals.

3. Build on Strengths and Target Weaknesses: One of the most valuable things they can learn from their diagnostic SAT or ACT is where to target their test prep. If there are certain types of questions that they did particularly poorly on, they know they will need to focus on those questions. For example, if their writing score wasn’t as high as they would like and they noticed that they didn’t do very well on organization questions, they know that they will need to spend extra time studying transitions and paragraph cohesion.

4. Read, Read, Read: On both the ACT and the SAT, the reading and writing sections are passage-based, which means there’s a lot of reading to be done in a short amount of time. Both tests also include word problems on the math section – in fact, many students have reported that one of the hardest parts of the SAT math section is that it is very text heavy, so even the math section requires the ability to read efficiently.

There is no shortcut to learn to read quickly and efficiently. The only way to gain that skill is through lots of practice. The more your students read, the better a reader they will become. Whether they prefer to read novels, magazines, or news articles, they should simply pick some reasonably complex text and make sure that they read every single day.

5. Practice Makes Perfect: Especially if they are studying on their own, practice tests are their best friend. Taking practice tests can help them to not only master the content of the tests, but also improve their time management, combat testing anxiety, and boost confidence by allowing them to become familiar with the test format and question types ahead of time.

6. Know the Test: By knowing exactly what they are going to face on test day – the types of questions, how many passages, what the instructions say, and so on – they can enter the testing space with confidence. Testing anxiety is reduced by familiarity, and they won’t waste precious minutes parsing the wording of instructions or wondering what information a particular type of question is asking for.

7. Get a Good Night’s Sleep: It’s tempting to stay up late doing some last minute cramming for the SAT or ACT, but your students best bet is to go to bed early! In fact, researchers at UCLA found that sacrificing sleep for extra study time actually has adverse effects on academic performance. Sleep is important for retention, and the first half of the night contains the largest amounts of so-called “deep sleep,” which is when the brain consolidates new facts.

To get a good night’s sleep, avoid screen time for at least an hour before they plan to hit the hay. The blue light from televisions, smart phones, and computers can make it harder to fall asleep, and lying awake staring at the ceiling won’t help them on test day.

8. Eat a Balanced Breakfast:The SAT or ACT exam is probably going to take place pretty early on a Saturday morning, so it’s easy to rush out the door without eating breakfast first. Like any other organ in the body, the brain needs food to function properly, so breakfast is important! Prep a healthy breakfast the night before and set the alarm a few minutes early so that there is time for brain food. Research shows that a breakfast low in sugar – think whole wheat toast and eggs – improves the ability to maintain attention, and maintaining attention is pretty important when it’s time to take a 3+ hour long test.

9. Gather Supplies: To reduce test day stress, get everything together the night before the test. Be sure to bring an approved calculator, several sharpened pencils with erasers, ID, and registration information. Check the list of banned items for the SAT or ACT so nothing is brought in that isn’t allowed. This includes certain types of calculators, pretty much any electronic device, and food or drink.

10. Overcome Anxiety: A lot of absolutely brilliant students are disappointed by their SAT or ACT scores because they froze up on test day. The ACT and SAT are high stakes tests, so it’s easy to overthink things. Before test day, students should work on some anxiety reducing technigues to beat testing anxiety. For example, try positive visualization – picture looking at really amazing test scores in a few weeks. Or try deep breathing, which has the added benefit of ensuring that the brain has ample oxygen to work with.

If you like these tips check out some of C2 Education’s other blogs linked below:

Understanding Your SAT Score Report: Free Resources

What is a Good SAT Score?

What SAT and ACT Scores Do I Need?

Why the PSAT Matters to You

Top 5 Signs You Need Test Prep Help

Help your students become financially literate

Entering college life might seem like entering into a Utopia for many students. They think it is the ultimate “real world” that can never be compromised for any damn reason.

They imagined it is the perfect time to do something great, have fun, start a new relationship, and many other things. But they often forget that college life is the prime time for taking out responsibilities.

This is the time when many of the students become responsible for their finances. Some students may learn financial basics from their parents. They get personal finance advice from their parents or family members since childhood and hit the ground with confidence.

But many college students didn’t get enough knowledge from their parents about how to manage their finances and fulfill financial goals in life. As a result, they keep struggling with limited funds to cope up with their multiple expenses and forget about how to spend wisely to gain more.

A student must know how to pay for college, and other expenses related to his/her future life. So, let’s get more info on how students can become financially sound by setting up financial goals.

How to set up smart financial goals being a student?

1. Set some financial goals

You need to review your financial situations and write down your financial goals. You need to list your current financial assets and income sources.

There is a concept of setting SMART financial goals, they are practically the characteristics that you want in your financial goals. They are as follows:

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely

Getting rich before your retirement is not a SMART financial goal. But saving to buy a vacation home or a new car before you turn into the ’50s is a SMART goal. Your goal might be saving for retirement or paying down debt, your financial goals should motivate you to work hard and fulfill your targets.

2. Start a budget

You should try to set up a budget as soon as possible. During your college days, you should always control your expenses and save more.

For this reason, you should start budgeting your finances and track your spending. Many financial goals may become successful depending on your budgeting skills.

Your budget should cover these aspects:

A proper monthly spending plan and how to follow it
Options to reduce monthly bills
Managing outstanding debts and avoid more debts
Saving for emergencies
Set up short-term, medium and long-term goals
Keeping provision for family needs

You should calculate your income and expenses for the semester. Make sure you consider fixed expenses and all the variable ones. After considering such expenses you may set up a budget for a month.

Similarly, you may use some financial apps to track your spending. After a month you may see that in which category you have spent more. Then you may try to reduce expenses on that category and save more.

3. Avoid unsecured debts

If being a student you are using credit cards, make sure you use your cards wisely and keep your credit utilization ratio below 33%.

If you are already carrying a heavy debt load (especially unsecured debts such as credit card bills, payday loans, or personal loan debts), you should work on paying then off asap.

Credit card balances, payday loans will carry a high-interest rate compared to other loans. Apart from that, they also have late fees and additional charges which may increase your debt amount. If you miss any payment on credit cards or payday loans, it will be very harmful to your credit.

So, you may consolidate your debts with a low-interest loan and pay your debts off.

Payday loan payment due dates may extend for two weeks or 15 days most of the time. So, if you have taken payday loans from legal lenders, make sure to opt for a payday loan debt consolidation option and get out of that misery once and for all!

4. Look for a decent job

Find out your key skills and improve them. It will be helpful for you to find a decent job with a good salary. As a student, working full-time might not be possible for you. But working for a few hours a week may help you get some extra cash.

You may use your hobbies to earn extra dollars. You may teach online, write online, or sell online and start earning.

5. Keep an eye on your credit score

Your credit score is a strong indicator of your financial health. There are 3 major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion which primarily assign FICO scores, ranging from 300 (poor and high risk) to 850 (excellent and low risk).

Things you should do:

You should review your credit report and get a clear picture of your credit profile. Make sure you look for errors/bad items and remove them asap from your credit report.
You can get a copy of your credit report free once every year from each of the credit bureaus.

Building a high credit score can help you get offers on loans with low-interest rates, credit cards, home loans, and car payments. When you search for a new home and apply for mortgages, or get a new job, your credit history and score will play an important part.

6. Start thinking about retirement savings

I know it is a bit early, but it is wise to start early for retirement savings. The sooner you start saving for retirement, the more chances you may get to grow the resources such as personal savings account, bank savings, investment portfolio, etc.

Conclusion

There are lots of other financial goals that you may choose while in college. Whatever goal you choose, make sure your goals are practical and affordable to you. Best of luck.

Date March 13, 2020
Author Patricia Sanders

Careers to Consider: Become a Teacher

Teaching is a vital and admirable career. As such, it comes with quite a bit of responsibility, both in practice and in preparation. Every state has specific requirements for teachers, and additional qualifications for public school K-12 teachers. The following steps provide a general breakdown of the requirements for teachers:

Earn an undergraduate degree: You’ll need a degree with a specialization in education, and depending on the level you want to teach, you’ll need to earn a significant number of college credits in the subject area you want to teach. Many schools require minimum GPA and SAT scores for acceptance into any education program. You might also need to take basic competency exams, such as the PRAXIS Core before continuing your studies in education.
Participate in supervised teaching: You’ll be required to complete supervised practicum/clinical requirements during and after earning your degree. The school you complete this practical training in needs to be approved by your university, and you’ll have to provide reports and assessments on your progress.
Pass assessment and exams: If you teach at a public school, you’ll be required to fulfill all testing requirements. For advanced grades and subject matter teachers, exams in the specific subject and education-competency exams are required (PRAXIS II or state regents’ exams). Many states have recently adopted a further assessment measure known as EdTPA (Teacher Performance Assessment), which requires teacher candidates to self-assess their classroom performance.
Obtain a state teaching license: Each state has specific teaching licensure requirements, and it’s important to know the exact details before beginning your degree program. States preclude candidates who can’t pass a criminal background check or those who don’t have the requisite GPA.
Pursue graduate studies: Many states expect teachers to earn a master’s degree within a given timeframe of becoming certified teachers. For specific concentrations, like special education, a master’s degree may be required for initial teacher certification in some states.

What Degree Do You Need to Be a Teacher

A bachelor’s degree is the minimum requirement for obtaining a teaching degree in the U.S. For those on the traditional path, teacher education requirements include a degree in education or a major in the subject matter they want to teach along with a teaching component.

A 4-year bachelor’s degree in education (or a program with a teaching practicum) typically includes general education, teaching courses, and one or more supervised classroom experiences. Courses can include:

Fundamentals of teaching
Educational psychology
Student assessment
Instructional planning
Learning methods and intervention
Cultural studies and diversity

To maintain a teaching license, advance in your career, or become a special education teacher, you may need a degree in special education or a master’s degree along with specific certification or licensure endorsements. You can find schools with degree programs offering dual-licensure prep for both elementary and special education as well as those targeting specific student populations or disabilities. A bachelor’s degree can take up to four years, depending on your previous education. A master’s degree in education usually takes around two years. Course topics cover:

Teaching students with disabilities
Intensive support methods
Collaborative curriculum for student success
Prevention and remediation
Legal and ethical teaching practices
Assessment in special education

It’s very important to ensure that the program you choose is accredited by one of the national or regional accrediting agencies and recognized by the Federal Department of Education. Accreditation shows that a program or institution has undergone a rigorous independent peer review process on a regular schedule, usually every 5-7 years. In addition, education/teacher preparatory programs that qualify for teacher certification must be approved by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation.

Teacher Certification

Licensure or certification is only required to teach in K-12 public schools. Education programs include the courses necessary to apply for a state teaching license or certification. Colleges and universities generally offer robust guidance for obtaining teaching licensure for their students. All teacher certification programs include a student teaching experience, which is required to make you eligible to apply for licensure. These programs typically provide test preparation, which is another licensure requirement.

Each state requires teachers to pass at least one teaching certification exam. Many states allow national exams, such as PRAXIS or NES. You might need to take a core exam that tests your general knowledge of teaching pedagogy, policies, and ethics. Depending on what grade level or subject you want to teach, you could also be required to take a more advanced teaching exam as well as subject-specific exams to add those endorsements to your license.

Information provided by http://www.study.com, see additional information including online programs, scholarships for teachers and certification requirements and average salary by state here: https://study.com/requirements_to_be_a_teacher.html

Two New Scholarships available to your students

A couple new scholarship providers contacted us with Scholarships available to your students. Here are the details:

The Rafi Law Firm Golden Gavel Scholarship

Deadline:

March 15th

Eligibility

In order to qualify for the Rafi Law Firm Golden Gavel Scholarship, you must:

Be a junior or senior in high school who has been admitted to a trade school, college, or university OR be currently enrolled in a trade school, college, or university
Have at least a 2.8 GPA
Submit a copy of your transcript, complete our online application, and submit an essay on one of the topics below

Essay Topics

In order to be eligible for the Rafi Law Firm Golden Gavel Scholarship, please submit a 500 to 1,000 word essay on ONE of the topics below:

What are your goals and how will a college degree help you achieve them?
How has your family helped you to create goals and achieve them?

Apply here: https://www.rafilawfirm.com/rafi-law-firm-scholarship/

Passion for Making Scholarship Overview

The Passion for Making scholarship is an annual $1,000 scholarship designed to promote craftsmanship. We’re looking for those who make things either professionally or leisurely to share their passion for creation with us. Students can detail what they create and why they enjoy it, or they can submit photos of a creation to us. Submissions can be in the form of:

An essay
A photo
A video
An animation
A graphic
A poem

Students aren’t limited to the aforementioned media forms. Submissions will be accepted in other multimedia formats as well. Do you carve wooden sculptures? Have you built your own tiny home? Do you build model planes? Do you create your own clothing items? We’d love to see or hear about what it is that you’re passionate about making.

Eligibility & Requirements

The Passion for Making scholarship is open to all US citizens entering or attending a university, college, or trade school in the United States as a full-time student. Applicants must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or above. In addition to submitting a piece on creative passions, students must also submit a completed scholarship application form. The following materials need to be submitted to outreach@fintechabrasives.com by August 15th:

A completed scholarship application form
A media piece (essay, poem, photo, video animation, etc.) demonstrating or explaining your passion for making
A certified copy of the student’s transcripts

Award

The recipient of the Passion for Making scholarship will receive $1,000 to be used only for university, college, or trade school tuition and related educational expenses.
The $1,000 check will be made payable to the recipient’s school.
The application period for the scholarship ends August 15th. The award recipient will be notified of selection by September 7th.
By accepting the scholarship, the student agrees to allow Fintech Industrial Abrasives the right to use the submission content, the student’s name, the student’s school and/or pictures of any of the above on the company’s website and other marketing materials.

Scholarship Deadline

Again, please note, all completed scholarship materials should be emailed to outreach@fintechabrasives.com by August 15th. Any submission emailed after August 15th will not be considered for selection for the current year, but may be considered for selection for the following year. Here is a direct link to apply – https://www.fintechabrasives.com/blog/annual-passion-for-making-scholarship/

Date March 10, 2020
Author Jason Bullock

Counselor Awareness Survey – Starbucks gift card winners

We recently conducted a survey of Counselors to determine their familiarity with specific Colleges & Universities in different parts of the country. 483 Counselors participated and took the survey. Thanks to all those that participated!

We randomly drew the names of 10 Counselors who took the survey and they received a $10 Starbucks gift card. Here are the winners:

Celia Collard – Texas

Sheryl Bond – Illinois

Kim Shipman – Texas

Mendy Stephen – Illinois

Jennifer Kirk – Pennsylvania

Leslie O’Connor – Kentucky

Christine Holladay – Missouri

Debra Wiggins – Alabama

Jama Franklin – Tennessee

Sarah Jane Gibbons – New York

Date February 28, 2020
Author Jason Bullock

Careers to Consider – Cartographer

According to the bureau of labor statistics, the cartographer field is set to grow by 15%, which is much faster than other careers on average. With the increased use of cartographers for maps in government planning, this is a great career your students that have an interest in geography might consider pursuing.

BestColleges.com put together a series of guides that provide a comprehensive overview of this career path.

Geography Degree Series

Program Guide:

If your students choose to pursue a degree in geography, they can expect to learn about everything from climate variability and urban development to deforestation and emerging infectious diseases. Many geography degrees have a geographic information system (GIS) component, which equips students to analyze mapping and spatial data.

A degree in geography covers problems such as world hunger, water management, and urban housing. Here is a link to the program guide:
https://www.bestcolleges.com/features/geography-degree-programs/

Career Outlook:

A geography degree trains students to examine the Earth’s physical features and its human inhabitants. Geography majors learn geographic information system (GIS) mapping technologies, conduct spatial analysis, and gain valuable skills for a variety of career paths. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), geographers earn a median salary of over $80,000, with a bachelor’s degree meeting the entry-level educational requirement for the field.

The skills gained during a geography degree prepare graduates for careers like cartographer, GIS specialist, or surveyor. By earning a master’s in geography, professionals pursue job titles with increased responsibility, such as GIS manager.

Geography students should begin their career planning and job search while earning their degree. Choosing an in-demand specialization or completing an internship to gain professional experience can help geography graduates on the job market. By planning ahead, geography majors may improve their chances of finding a rewarding job in their field. Here is a link to the career outlook:
https://www.bestcolleges.com/careers/humanities-and-social-sciences/geography/

Bachelor’s Programs: Are your students considering getting their degree online. If so, here is a link to some online Bachelor Geography programs BestColleges put together:
https://www.bestcolleges.com/features/top-online-geography-programs/

Date February 27, 2020
Author Jason Bullock

Can One Semester of Low Grades Ruin My Chances of Admission to College?

It happens. A blip on the transcript. A semester or year of low grades. The reasons are endless: divorce, sickness, mental illness, homelessness, death of a parent or sibling, an abusive relationship, caretaking responsibilities, addiction, etc. And then the student pulls through, finds her strength and resilience and her grades go back up. But, her GPA has suffered. How will college admissions officers view this student? Will she have the same college choices she would have if her grades hadn’t suffered?

The Importance of Trends on a Transcript in the Admissions Process:

College admissions officers do not take your GPA at face value. Your grades are viewed in context with several other factors such as the academic rigor on your transcript, the availability of honors, AP and IB courses at your school, your socioeconomic status and your standardized test scores. Admissions officers also look for trends on your transcript. Some transcripts indicate consistency in grades while others show a steady improvement from freshman through senior years. Transcripts that have inconsistent grades or a semester or year of low grades can only be accurately interpreted with more information. Admissions officers will look for an explanation in your teachers’ letters of recommendation, your counselor’s letter of recommendation, your college essay or the “additional information” section of the application.

What You Can Do:

College admissions officers are reading your application and trying to find reasons to admit you to their colleges. They do not want to send you a rejection letter. Therefore, it makes sense to provide them with the information they need to accurately interpret your transcript and understand why your grades suffered. They need this information to determine that you are a good academic fit for their campus and that, if admitted, you will be an academic success.

The additional information section of the application is the best place to explain to admissions officers why you have an academic discrepancy on your transcript. Write a paragraph (or more) explaining what happened and how you handled the challenge. Your explanation should not focus on placing blame. Instead, it should emphasize what has changed in the situation or how you have grown such that you are prepared to take on the academic challenges of college.

Alternatively, you may choose to discuss your concerns with your school counselor and ask him or her to use part of the counselor letter of recommendation to explain the discrepancy on your transcript. While this may work in some situations and with some counselors, you lose control over the message sent to admissions officers. Therefore, I typically recommend that you offer your own explanation.

Some students want to write about the situation in their college essay. The adversity was such a powerful and influential part of their life that they can’t imagine writing about any other topic. While, for some students this may be appropriate, I prefer students use their college essay space as an opportunity to share their positive attributes and characteristics. There are many facets of a student’s life and identity that are relevant to a college’s admissions decision. Use your essay to elaborate on other parts of your story and personality and explain your grades in the “additional information” section.

Will My Explanation of Low Grades Ultimately Help Me Get Accepted?

You should not let one semester or even a year of lower grades hold you back from applying to a college that is a good fit for you. For MOST colleges, it is likely that a period of low grades will not prevent your admission if an explanation is provided and the overall trend in your grades and the level of rigor shown on your transcript matches the colleges’ criteria.

You are an intelligent and motivated student who faced a challenge that was likely not your fault and out of your control. The lessons, skills and maturity you gained from the experience have likely made you a better person. You will be bringing these gifts to college and sharing them with your campus community. You deserve the opportunity to apply so please don’t deny yourself the chance of admission because your GPA is lower than it otherwise would have been. If you are a good fit for a college and they value life experiences, they may well invite you to join the freshman class.

Good luck!

Michelle McAnaney is the founder of The College Spy, a full service independent educational consulting firm that assists students and families across the US and internationally with the college selection and application process. Prior to founding The College Spy, Michelle was a guidance counselor and educator for more than 15 years, including serving as the Director of Guidance at two high schools, an adjunct college professor and a GED tutor. Michelle holds a master’s degree in school counseling and a bachelor’s degree in human development. She recently completed UC Irvine’s certificate program in educational consulting and is a MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator) Certified Practitioner and a NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) Master Practitioner. Michelle visits over 40 colleges each year so that she has first-hand knowledge of the colleges and universities her clients will be considering. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Date February 24, 2020
Author Michelle McAnaney
Source The College Spy

What Students Should Consider When Creating a Budget for College

When thinking about saving money for college, the budget includes more than the initial price of college courses. Students will face a number of costs big and small. If they aren’t familiar with budgeting, there is a good chance they can spend their savings within the first semester. To help high schoolers know what to expect, we have an introduction to the 50-20-30 budgeting rule and a list of college costs to consider.

What is the 50-20-30 budget rule?

A classic budgeting tactic is to spend 50% of your income on “needs” such as rent and food, 20% on savings and 30% on “wants” like hobbies or travel. While most college students don’t have a full time job, this rule can be a good way to think of their spending. Knowing these guidelines can prepare them for when they are working full time and need to budget.

Budgeting for College Needs

There are many needs that will come with college life. Be sure you are budgeting enough to cover all these. If planned properly, this will take up half of your budget.

Tuition

Be sure you know how much tuition will be each semester. This should be a set cost, but there is a chance that prices will fluctuate a little with added fees. Be sure you know the price based on if you are going to a college in-state or out-of-state. Factor in and scholarships you’ve received. Be sure to inquire when these will be paid and if they go directly to the school.

Books

Book costs can add up, especially if your professor requires a new version of the textbook or a unique book that they are the author of. BigFuture allows you to look at the estimated cost of textbooks for your school.

Get thrifty by finding used textbooks online and keep your old textbooks in good condition so you can sell them online. Oftentimes there are electronic versions you can purchase that are cheaper as well. Books are a cost you’ll need to budget for, but taking the time to find a cheaper option could save you hundreds.

Rent

Rent is one of the biggest costs you’ll face. Many schools require students to live in on-campus housing the first year or two. While this is convenient and a fun environment, it will also cost more. Do research to find what these rent prices are (they will usually be per semester). It’s also helpful to know what rent will cost for apartments in your college towns. Use a rent affordability calculator to find how much you should be budgeting for off-campus housing.

Food

Another large cost will be food. Research what the college meal plan is and how much it will cost you. If you have a packed schedule it could be worth investing in this because it’s convenient. It could also be helpful if you don’t have a full kitchen in your dorms. If you have the time in between classes and a full kitchen, grocery shopping and meal prepping will be the cheapest option. Be sure to remind kids to budget for this cost. They may be shocked at how much eating out and not planning can cost.

Budgeting for College Wants

These college “wants” are items that you don’t need, but they will add to your college experience. Be sure to budget for these so you can get everything you want out of your college years.

Transportation

If you want to live away from campus, transportation to and from school will need to be accounted for. If you are bringing a car, you’ll need to consider the price of a parking permit and gas money. You’ll also need to pay for registration and maintenance on your car. These costs can eat up your budget if they aren’t accounted for.

Joining a Club or Sport

If you are planning to rush a sorority or fraternity, there will be dues that you are required to page. Fees are also required for joining other clubs and sports teams. These are not necessary to graduate so they are classified as a want, but they will add to your overall college experience if you budget for them properly.

Social Events

As a college student, you’ll have more freedom to have a social life. There are also more events available to you. Although students get in free to school-sponsored events, there are additional costs of food or other items once you attend. Be sure to consider budgeting for your social events.

Study Abroad

Many students choose to study abroad during their time in college. Each study abroad cost varies, depending on the program you choose. Encourage students to visit their future school’s study abroad site to research how much they should be saving for this experience.

As you can see, these costs can add up. Be sure you are counseling your students on budgeting so they are prepared for these costs. By being financially prepared, they can make the most of their time at college.

Date February 21, 2020
Author Jason Bullock