College Prep Guide Spring 2016

CHOOSING A MAJOR

NAVIGATING HIGH SCHOOL FAFSA: 2017-18 BEAT COLLEGE STRESS CHANGES

COLLEGE PACKING CHECKLIST

SPRING 2016

COLLEGE PREP GUIDE

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INSIDE Navigating high school.........................................5-6 Choosing a major..........................................................6 College packing checklist......................................... 7 College debt by the numbers................................8

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FAFSA: Big changes on the way.........................9 3 ways to quickly pay down college debt... 10 Beat college stress....................................................11 www.billingsfcu.org

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Navigating high school If you’re waiting until after your senior year of high school to get ready for college, you’re going to be behind the curve.

Now more than ever before, it is important to start preparing from your freshman year forward. The proof is out there. It’s possible for high school students to concurrently graduate with their diploma and an associate degree.

What student wouldn’t want a two-year head start on her college career?

Even high school may not be soon enough to start making your college plans. Many schools begin preparing their eighth-graders for high school by building coursework plans and schedules. If you’re the parent of an eighth-grader, check in with your school’s principal to see what is offered in terms of early preparation.

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High School

Only a quarter of the 1.8 million graduates who took the ACT college entrance exam in 2013 met readiness benchmarks in all four core subjects, according to annual reports by the corporation. Those four subjects are English, math, science and reading.

That 25 percent mark was down from 2012’s 31 percent measurement. As a student or parent of a student, you should be alarmed by these numbers. You also should choose to do something about it.

If you’re in your third year of high school, you should have plenty of the core subjects in class by now. One of the first steps to preparing for the ACT test is to know if you have a shortcoming in one of the subjects. Extra tutoring and problem-solving exercises can go a long way in readying you for test time.

Continued from 5

FRESHMAN AND SOPHOMORE YEARS It’s never too early to become involved in community activities. Volunteering at your local food pantry or helping non-profit organizations plan for an upcoming event make great additions to your resume. They also open your eyes to new responsibilities and help you make new connections.

In terms of coursework, opt for elective classes that match your interests. If you plan to work as a chef or restaurant owner, take home economics classes whenever they’re offered.

And don’t be afraid to venture into new and unfamiliar subject matter. Getting out of your comfort zone can help expand your educational horizons.

SENIOR YEAR Senior year is not all about visiting campuses and having a summer job. Students should be concerned with partaking in career-related internships that could get their foot in the door with a target company.

Before senior year starts, look at past ACT or SAT scores to find where you could improve. Taking courses in these areas can help bolster your knowledge and prepare you for college classes.

JUNIOR YEAR One of the most crucial tests you’ll take as a high school junior is the ACT test. According to ACT, Inc., many of our high school students are ill prepared for the test.

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College Prep Guide -- Spring 2016

Choosing a major Green Shoot Media Business administration or law enforcement? Teaching or technology? Nursing or web developer? Choosing a college major is one of the most important — and challenging — task for the new student.

And doing so before you start your first college class can play a major role in keeping you on schedule for graduating.

A college major is a specific field in which you will specialize. Most students will go through two years of general studies before taking on industry-specific coursework, but knowing which route you’d like to take can help you get involved in related clubs or organizations.

ASSESS YOURSELF As a high school student, your guidance counselor likely prompted you to complete a skills assessment test. These types of tests ask you questions about your personality, and give you a list of career options for which you may be suited.

You also can take these tests on your own online. Share your test results with your guid-

ance counselor or collegiate advisor to discuss major options. You may just open up some doors you never knew existed.

MAKE A CHOICE It is important that you commit to a major early in your college career to take the right credits for graduation, especially if your alternate strategy is sitting out a semester. Many students end up changing their majors, but you can at least stay on track by staying enrolled full-time.

Sometimes the choice is made for you.

If you specialize in a field such as nursing or engineering, that’s what you’ll major in because you’re learning a specific trade.

Other majors prepare you to enter a range of careers after graduation. For example, a health science major can use her degree to become a physical trainer, athletic consultant or owner of her own workout facility. An accounting major can choose to become a full-fledged CPA, a bookkeeper or financial manager.

You are rarely pigeonholed into one specific career role because of the major you choose.

And remember if you choose to change majors that it’s important to stay focused on the ultimate task: graduating.

College packing checklist

The checklist below will help make sure you get to your dorm or apartment with all the necessary items so you can spend moving night unpacking instead of running to the store for things you forgot.

CLOTHES, BEDDING & LINENS

Clothes are likely the items you’ll remember because they are confined to one central location, making them easy to pack. It’s the little things like shoes and accessories that you have to worry about — along with the bedding and linens that will make your semester comfortable.  Athletic shoes  Dress shoes  Extra sheets and pillowcases  Laundry soap  Fabric softeners  Under-bed shoe storage

COMPUTER ITEMS The onset of technology in classrooms means college students need to be connected at all times. Many of your homework assignments and lesson plans will be available online, so make sure to have a quality laptop and plenty of related tools at your disposal.  Power cables  Printer ink  Flash drive or external hard drive  Surge protector  Headphones  Required software

ROOM & DESK

Your best friend in maintaining quality grades in college will be organization. Keeping your room and desk area tidy will help you stay on track and ahead of schedule on assignments.  Dry erase board or bulletin board  Pins, markers, magnets, erasers  Lamp  Pens, pencils and office supplies  Extra batteries  Radio or television Green Shoot Media

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College debt by the numbers Green Shoot Media Forty million Americans now have at least one outstanding student loan, according to 2014 research by the credit bureau Experian.

Climbing tuition and inadequate college savings are part of the reason for the bigtime boost. In 2008, 29 million consumers had college debt.

Other statistics from Experian:  On average, borrowers are carrying roughly four student loans each, up from less than three in 2008. Meanwhile, the average balance has increased to $29,000 from $23,000.  That has helped to push nation-wide student loan debt to an all-time record of $1.2 trillion, an 84 percent jump since the recession.

Unlike other kind of debt, student lenders are continuing to dish out loans to borrowers so young they don’t have proven financial track records or credit histories.

THE PROS Even if there is a negative stigma attached to college debt, having a couple of smaller loans can actually help a student who otherwise has no credit built up.

If you’re in the position to make payments on time, you could boost your credit at an early age.

This will pay major dividends when it’s time for that first car or mortgage.

Credit agencies like to see that you pay bills on time keep your balances low. Maintaining this strategy during your college career can give you a great springboard into working and making a living for yourself.

THE CONS Alternatively, missing payments or letting too many smaller loans snowball into mounting debt will set you up for a long period of being a slave to that debt.

The interest rate on loans shoots up when you graduate from college — and quickly.

Waiting until you leave school and land employment may sound like a logical idea for paying off your loans, but if you can afford to chip away at the payments while you’re in school, you may save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars in interest payments.

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College Prep Guide -- Spring 2016

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FAFSA: Big changes are on the way for 2017-18 academic year

By Courtesy of SAF Montana students accustomed to completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at the beginning of the calendar year may now fill out this important form in the fall.

In September 2015, President Obama announced that change to the federal student aid process, along with the opportunity for families to use income information from their “prior-prior year’s” taxes to complete the FAFSA. “This is a big change and we don’t know yet how Montana schools, counselors and financial aid officers will revise their processes to address the new circumstances of the FAFSA,” said Rhonda Safford, statewide coordinator of College Goal Montana. “But at Student Assistance Foundation (SAF), we believe it will make filling out the FAFSA easier and less stressful for Montana families.”

As part of the FAFSA changes, this form — that allows students and families to access federal student aid for the 2017-18 academic year— will be available on Oct. 1, 2016.

Safford says this shift in timing better aligns with college application efforts, providing students and families with the ability to tackle both of these tasks at once rather than separately.

In addition, she is particularly encouraged that FAFSA filers this fall will be able to use their 2015 tax information (prior-prior year) to fill out the form.

“FAFSA filers who are trying to meet the priority filing date at Montana colleges on the current system are often unable to take advantage of the IRS data retrieval tool because they haven’t completed their taxes,” Safford said. “By allowing the use of tax information from the prior-prior year, more families will be able to use this tool that automatically populates information in the FAFSA.” Safford emphasizes that the FAFSA process for the 2016-17 academic year remains the same, but students and parents should keep their eyes and ears open for information about changes to the process in coming months.

For more information about the FAFSA, or other postsecondary preparation-related topics, visit SmartAboutCollege.org or call (866) COLG4ME. Student Assistance Foundation is a 501©(3) nonprofit Montana corporation that provides students with the knowledge and tools to pursue and fund their postsecondary education. Funds generated by SAF are returned to Montanans in the form of education grants and public benefit programs - to date more than $30 million. For more information, visit www.safmt.org or www.

SmartAboutCollege.org.

College Prep Guide -- Spring 2016

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3

ways to quickly pay down college debt

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Student loan debt is a big concern for today’s newly minted college graduates. According to an analysis of government data by Edvisors.com, a website that provides financial information about college to students and parents, the average student in the class of 2015 will graduate with more than $35,000 in student debt. That figure is roughly $2,000 more than the class of 2014 graduates faced upon receiving their degrees.

With such substantial debts, it’s no wonder many college graduates find themselves looking for ways to pay down that debt as quickly as possible once they leave campus life behind. Paying down college debt may seem daunting at first, but the following are some ways for recent grads to get out from under that debt sooner rather than later.

1. Pay more than you owe.

The best way to reduce the principal on student loans quickly is to pay more than you owe each month. Once the repayment grace period ends, grads will see what their monthly student loan payment is. Paying more than that amount each month can drastically reduce your repayment period, and you will pay considerably less in interest over the life of the loan. For example, a graduate who owes $25,000 and pays 6 percent interest annually for 10 years will pay roughly $278 per month to eliminate that loan in exactly 120 months. Over those 120 months, grads will have paid more than $8,300 in interest in addition to their $25,000 principal. However, grads who pay an additional $50 per month will pay their loans off nearly two years earlier and pay nearly $2,000 less in interest over the life of the repayment.

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2. Arrange for automatic deposits into a repayment fund.

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College Prep Guide -- Spring 2016

One of the more difficult parts of repaying student loans for recent grads is setting aside enough money to pay them off. Upon landing their first professional jobs, new grads are often making more money than they’ve ever earned in the past, and many have no idea how to manage their newfound financial windfalls. In addition to making your monthly payments via your everyday checking account, arrange for automatic deposits into a savings account you will exclusively use to repay your student loans so you are not tempted to spend that money on more frivolous pursuits. You won’t miss the money if you never get used to having it, and you will celebrate the day the balance in your student loan savings account matches the payoff amount on your student loan balance.

3. Make plans.

Failure to make a plan is one way to miss the opportunity to pay off your college debt as quickly as possible. Make specific financial goals, such as owning your own home in ‘X’ amount of years or saving money for postgraduate tuition. Having specific goals and plans in place can provide the motivation you need to pay down college debt sooner rather than later.

Student loan debt intimidates many recent graduates. But those who stay disciplined can repay their loans quickly and regain some financial freedom as a result.

Beat college stress Staying up late to finish a big chemistry project? Working two jobs to cover your college tuition? Struggling with your first time away from home?

Stress in college is a very real thing.

And if you’re feeling a bit burned out, you’re not alone. College students fall within the category of Americans feeling the most stressed with their lives, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the American Psychological Association.

Though stress can sometimes be a collection of normal feelings associated with upcoming deadlines and important presentations, it can also lead to serious emotional or physical issues. You can take simple steps now to avoid becoming stressed out or diagnosed with issues such as depression or anxiety disorders later.

TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY Your body’s overall health is crucial in your ability to fight off stress. Here’s how you can keep it running strong: Eat healthy meals.

Exercise on a regular basis.

Your future, our focus

Get plenty of sleep.

Give yourself a mental break if you’re feeling stressed.

TALK ABOUT IT Share your problems and feelings with a parent, friend or counselor. Let them know what you’re struggling with and how you’re trying to cope with these challenges.

This is an effective way of dealing with stress; more than half of the Harris survey participants reported learning on their friends and families to help keep them levelheaded.

LISTEN TO MUSIC The Harris survey also discovered that about 60 percent of those feeling stressed listened to music to calm down. Many combined music with working out, going on walks or surfing the Internet to find their inner peace.

Whatever works for you, it is important to have a healthy, repeatable coping mechanism that helps alleviate stress. Doing so will keep you laser-focused on your studies and motivated to complete your degree.

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