Higher education 2015

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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Paying for College Inside: Tips for Making School More Affordable Must-have Supplies for a Successful Year Managing Student-loan Debt

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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Clever ways to navigate college costs (MCC) — College tuition and fees are perpetually on the rise, so it’s no great surprise that today’s students are graduating with more college debt than ever before.

“The average debt of students in Ohio is just over $29,000,” said Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, vice president for enrollment management at Otterbein University, a private college in Westerville.

Though some students might feel helpless with regard to avoiding student-loan debt, there are some clever ways for them to pay for college and stay out of debt.

• Live at home. While living at home is an option available only to those students who attend in-state universities within spitting distance of Mom and Dad, it’s an increasingly reasonable decision for students worried about accruing excessive studentloan debt. Room-and-board fees vary widely — they can range from $9,000-$14,000, Blackburn-Smith said.

Over the course of four years, students will spend nearly $40,000 just to live on campus, and many students will pay those costs via student loans.

Students whose primary goal is to avoid substantial postgraduate debt may find that living at home, while not necessarily ideal, is the most effective way to do just that.

• Get a job. “Most colleges participate in federal work-study programs,” said David Metz, director of financial aid for Columbus State Community College.

Students work for the college and receive money in the form of a paycheck that can help pay for living expenses, he said, adding that jobs can range from clerical work to lab assistants.

“If you can work, that helps, even if it’s not for a federal work program,” said Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid for The Ohio State University. But, she noted, students still have to maintain a balance between their jobs and their

academics.

• Sign up for studies. College students often lament their lack of spending money. That’s especially true today, when many students put their earnings from summer jobs or internships toward their tuition. But opportunities for relatively easy money abound on college campuses, where researchers need subjects for studies.

Signing up to be a subject for a study can be an easy and lucrative way to earn money that can be used to pay tuition or everyday expenses that often go overlooked when planning a budget.

University job boards or department bulletin boards often advertise needs for study participants, so college kids strapped for cash should monitor such boards in an effort to earn some extra income, though the amount a student can earn from different studies varies widely.

• Start a business. Though college kids might not have the time to start building the next Fortune 500 company, starting a small business can be a great way for students to earn money and set their own schedules.

A tutoring business that caters to local high school students or even fellow college kids can be a great way for college students to make practical use of their education. Just a few hours of tutoring each week can be enough to help college students mitigate the costs of campus life, and if the business

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grows big enough, students might even be able to put a dent in their tuition fees.

• Work with a service organization. Many universities are affiliated with nonprofit organizations, and students who work for affiliated organizations may be eligible for scholarships provided by the organization and/or the university.

Wages for workers who take advantage of such programs tend to be very low, but those students who serve full stints could earn scholarships worth several thousand dollars.

Students can explore such opportunities by speaking with their universities to determine if the schools are affiliated with any service organizations.

If not, students with a desire to give back can find charities that reward their workers with college scholarships.

Managing student loan debt (MCC) — Thanks to student loans and other financing options, a college education has become more attainable for a wider array of students. But such loans also can put borrowers in financial hot water if they’re not careful.

Just like any other form of credit, a student loan is easy to spend, but not as easily repaid.

Most educational loans do not require payment until after graduation, so it could seem to a student that he or she is attending classes with no strings attached.

Some students also use loans to finance living arrangements and pay for their books, making it easy for loans to add up quickly.

Loans should be the last option you consider for financing your college education after exhausting financial aid like Pell Grants and scholarships, said Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid for The Ohio State University. Unlike loans, scholarships and need-based financial aid do not need to be repaid, she said.

“You want to take the least amount of loan money that you can,” she said, adding to take what you need — not what you want.

“We like to say, ‘live like a student now so you don’t have to live like a student later,’” she added.

Another potential pitfall of borrowing to finance your education is the uncertainty people have with regard to the terms of their loans. Many

HIGHER EDUCATION Paying for College

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people sign on the dotted line of their lending agreements without reading the fine print, which may dictate repayment terms and interest rates.

The following are a few ways to avoid financial struggles that stem from student loans.

• Know your loans. Learning the terms of your loan is the first step to avoiding delinquency or default.

Take the time to fully understand the type of loan you are receiving as well as when repayment begins and how

much your monthly payments will be.

Loans may be backed by private lenders, but many student loans are issued through federal government programs.

Each type of loan has its own set of regulations. Understand the details of loan forgiveness and what happens if you miss a payment.

• Understand the loan repayment schedule. Every student loan See Manage, page 4

Account Executive Elizabeth Mundy

Higher Education: Paying for College is a publication of The Columbus Dispatch’s Advertising Department.

For more information, call Elizabeth Mundy at (614) 461-7547 or email emundy@dispatch.com.

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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Manage Continued from Page 3 comes with a grace period, or the time between when you graduate and when the first payment must be made.

Grace periods typically range between six and nine months for federal loans, while privately issued loans may have a different grace period.

If you have yet to secure steady employment when your first payment comes due, contact your lender to see if payments can be deferred a little longer.

• Negotiate payment options. Some lenders follow a standard formula for determining a repayment schedule, which typically lasts 10 years.

If that payment amount or schedule seems unattainable, consider speaking with the lender about changing your payments. Repaying the loan over a longer period of time lowers monthly payments, but you will pay more interest over the life of the loan.

If you find you have extra money on hand, make larger payments toward the loan, and ask that this money be applied to the principal.

Paying down the principal significantly reduces the loan and will reduce the interest you’re paying as well.

• Choose an employer wisely. According to

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The Project on Student Debt, some jobs offer loan forgiveness. After 10 years of qualifying payments for people in government, nonprofit and other public service jobs, loans may be written off. There are additional federal loan forgiveness options available to teachers, nurses, AmeriCorps and PeaceCorps volunteers, and other professions, as well as some state, school and private programs.

• Don’t ignore problems. If you are falling behind on your loan payments, take action right away. Doing something is better than doing nothing at all.

An inability to repay your student-loan debt can cause problems later in life, so don’t allow the problem to snowball before you do anything about it.

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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How to approach saving for college (MCC) — Parents typically have a lot on their plates. In addition to juggling life’s daily events, parents also must keep their eyes on the future, which includes planning for retirement and saving money for their kids’ college educations. Though both rank high on priority lists, parents should approach college savings differently than they do retirement savings.

“People find the costs they hear to be so overwhelming,” said Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, vice president of enrollment management for Otterbein University. As such, he advised planning over the course of the child’s life — not trying to come up with $150,000 when your child starts college.

• Prioritize retirement savings over saving for college. Some parents might feel a degree of guilt if they deposit more money into their retirement accounts each month than they do into their kids’ college funds. But such a strategy is nothing to feel at fault about. College students who take out loans have a lifetime ahead of them to repay those loans, while their parents have far less time to grow their retirement savings.

No parent wants their child to be saddled with debt after they earn their degree, but that does not mean parents should sacrifice security in their golden years just so their child can have minimal or no debt when he or she graduates from college.

Studies show that the average college graduate still earns roughly a million dollars more over his or her lifetime than someone with just a high school diploma, so a college diploma still offers financial incentives that can soften the blow of repaying college loans.

Parents should also think carefully about borrowing to help their children pay for college, as all of it has to be repaid, said Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid for The Ohio State University.

• Look into college savings plans.

Simply socking money away in a savings account is no longer enough to finance a college education. That’s because interest rates on standard savings accounts are low, and as The College Board noted, the college tuition rate of increase is substantially higher than the general inflation rate.

In addition, according to The College Board, the average 2013-14 tuition increase was 3.8 percent at private colleges and 2.9 percent at public universities. Both figures are higher than the average increase in personal incomes, meaning parents are earning less while tuition costs are rising.

College education savings plans are an option, and many, including a Coverdell Education Savings Account and the popular 529 Savings Plan, allow earnings in the account to grow tax-free.

Even withdrawals from college

savings plans are typically tax-free so long as those withdrawals are used to finance educational expenses.

(Note: Rules vary depending on the type of account.)

“529 plans can be used toward both two-year and four-year colleges,” said David Metz, director of financial aid for Columbus State Community College.

But college savings plans can also have an impact on a student’s financial aid eligibility, as these investments are often treated as parental assets (retirement account assets are typically not considered parental assets when determining a student’s eligibility for financial aid). So parents should explore all of the various college savings plans available to them before opening any accounts.

• Encourage students to save for their own expenses. Many high school students are not in a position to work a lot or even at all during a school year. And working too much may ultimately affect students’ performance in the classroom. But parents can allow kids to work during summer vacations and encourage them to save a substantial amount of their earnings from summer jobs.

This can teach kids valuable lessons about money management, and money kids save from summer jobs can be used to pay for additional expenses that do not fall under the umbrella of college tuition, including books, food

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or even housing.

Saving for their children’s college education is a priority for many parents, and there are various ways parents can do just that without sacrificing their retirements.

Must-have supplies for a successful college year (BPT) — Packing up the bedroom and leaving for college comes with the promise of a semester of learning, meeting new friends and future peers, and good college fun.

In addition to the clothes and household goods that will be packed into the car, there are some other items every college-bound student will need to consider when creating a college budget.

“Direct expenses will include tuition, fees, room and board,” said Valerie Miller, director of student financial aid and scholarships at Ohio University. “Of course, you will also need to consider the cost of books and supplies, supplies for your dorm room, perhaps a computer or tablet, toiletries, travel expenses to and from campus and the occasional pizza or cup of coffee.”

Here are some of the must-have supplies in order to succeed this school year.

• Laptops — From taking class notes and writing term papers, to checking emails from friends and family back home, a laptop is essential for college survival.

• Textbooks — Start the semester right with all the textbooks you need before you even arrive on campus.

“Textbooks and supplies are a big part of the education budget,” said David Metz, director of financial aid at Columbus State Community College, adding that the average cost of textbooks is $800 per semester for a

full-time student.

One option to save up to 90 percent is to rent your textbooks from Staples.com or buy them used from Amazon, eBay or even Barnes and Noble.

You can then have them shipped to your dorm or apartment so they are waiting for you when you arrive. Plus, it makes the end of the school year much easier to close down — just ship the rented books back, pack up your belongings and depart for your next adventure.

There are some online editions now as well, said Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid for The Ohio State University. Check Amazon for available eTextbooks.

• Extra charging stations — College dorms and apartments are plugged in.

Students have smartphones, laptops, tablets and plenty of other electrical devices that need charging. Stock up on charging stations and portable chargers so you can have them in the dorm room or in a laptop bag or backpack if you need extra power during class.

• Data storage — With so much of college learning occurring online, backing up your computer data is essential. Extra storage like flash drives, external drives or cloud storage will

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help all students feel confident that the hard work they put into taking notes, writing papers and completing projects will never be lost.

Extra storage also makes the work mobile, so classmates working on a group project can share the work between members of the group.

• Bluetooth speakers — Music, videos and online video chatting are

all ways college students like to kick back and relax in between classes and homework studying sessions.

Having a set of Bluetooth-enabled speakers in the dorm room or apartment gives students the quality of audio they want and need for listening to recorded lectures or checking out the latest music videos.

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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Helpful tips for making school more affordable

(MCC) — Few expenses worry parents as much as the rising cost of education. School expenses vary depending on the school, but parents who enroll their children in private schools can expect to pay several hundred dollars per month for their youngsters’ educations.

When those kids are ready to head off to college, those expenses will rise considerably.

Parents commonly look for ways to mitigate education costs, and the following are a few ways to do just that.

Need- and merit-based aid Education costs can be staggering, but the sticker price is not necessarily what families will have to pay out of pocket. Many students receive financial aid, which may come in the form of grants, scholarships or low-interest loans.

The most important thing to do when considering financial aid is to apply by the deadline set by each of the schools to which you are applying.

“File the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to meet the earliest filing priority date of the schools you are considering,” said Valerie Miller, director of student financial aid and scholarships at Ohio University.

“The FAFSA serves as a common application for all types of federal student aid. Additionally, the results are often used by states to determine eligibility for state-funded aid programs and for colleges and universities to award institutional financial aid,” she added.

A private institution like Otterbein University has tuition costs of more than $30,000, but that is before any merit- or need-based aid, said Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, vice president of enrollment management for Otterbein University, a private college in Westerville. “Very few students pay list price,” he said.

Scholarships are typically awarded for academic achievement and are not exclusive to those people with limited financial means.

“Most commonly, scholarships are awarded and funded by the college or university you attend, but may also be through federal, state or private resources. It is important to know what is expected in order to receive and maintain the award if it is renewable,” Miller said.

Certain groups also may sponsor education grants that help students who meet certain criteria finance their educations.

Work ahead High school students may be eligible for advanced placement (AP) courses that count for college credit.

That means being able to take college-level classes in high school without having to pay collegelevel costs. AP courses may be more challenging, but students who qualify for AP courses can save time and money.

Students transferring into college after military training or directly from the workforce may be able to earn college credits for such experience. The more credits a student earns through such opportunities, the less that student has to pay to earn his or her degree.

Students can also save money by attending a less expensive two-year community college, like Columbus State Community College, and then transferring to a four-year college to complete their education, said David Metz, director of financial aid for Columbus State Community College.

Another way to save? Graduate in four years, Blackburn-Smith said. “Student costs and debt increase dramatically (paying for another year of

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“Most commonly, scholarships are awarded and funded by the college or university you attend, but may also be through federal, state or private resources.

It is important to know what is expected in order to receive and maintain the award if it is renewable.”

— Valerie Miller, director of student financial aid and scholarships at Ohio University tuition, books, and room and board) if they stay for a fifth year,” he said.

Budget in advance It’s never too early for parents to begin saving for their children’s educations. Ask friends and family members to contribute to college funds when giving holiday or birthday gifts instead of providing toys or other material items.

Establish tax-deferred or tax-free educational savings accounts that will accrue through the years and make schooling costs more affordable. For example, 529 plans in the United States allow relatives to set aside money to help children or grandchildren save for college. “529 plans are a way to do tax-deferred savings for college,” Blackburn-Smith said. “It’s a great way to maximize your savings.”

Parents should consult with financial planners to determine the best ways to create educational savings accounts. Financial experts will understand tax loopholes and programs that make it easier for parents to save money for their kids’ educations.

Get a job Many school employees are entitled to discounts or even free tuition for their children.

Working for a local high school, college or university can alleviate the concerns parents have about paying for their kids’ educations. And teachers are not the only professions in demand. Schools need administrative staff, IT professionals, recruiters and marketing personnel.

Sibling discounts Schools sometimes offer discounts to parents who enroll multiple students in a school at the same time. Consider having children attend together to qualify for these discounts. In addition, determine if a parent or grandparent’s alma mater offers tuition discounts to future family members who attend the same school.

Apply online Some institutions waive application fees if paperwork is filed online. Costs can quickly add up, and avoiding application fees is another way to trim education costs.

When it comes to scholarship searches or help with filling out applications, never pay, advised Diane Stemper, executive director of financial aid for The Ohio State University. “You can find help for free,” she said.

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THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH | Special Advertising Section | SUNDAY, MARCH 1, 2015

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