College savings guide 2017

College Savings

Guide

2017

“An Advertising Supplement to the Sioux City Journal”

J2 | Sunday, September 17, 2017

| COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE

siouxcityjournal.com

There’s no better time to be a Maverick The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) has more to offer than you might imagine. We invite you to come explore campus and “get to know the O”—Nebraska’s premier metropolitan university.

UNO believes in academic excellence by offering coursework that is relevant to the real world. We appreciate learning is a lifelong process and not every route to college is traditional. Students of all backgrounds are welcome on campus. We offer a wide variety of support services and resources to help our students succeed.

We understand higher education is a significant investment. That’s why we work hard to reduce financial barriers by keeping tuition and fees affordable and making sure students know about scholarships and financial aid that can help

them realize their educational goals. UNO students who come from the Midwest benefit from reduced tuition and fees through special regional tuition programs.

UNO is home to six colleges, dedicated to providing rigorous undergraduate and graduate academic programs that are taught by faculty who are global experts in their fields. Our campus combines the resources of a cutting-edge research university with a close-knit community.

What we like to call “Maverick momentum” is everywhere on campus. Within the past decade, we’ve renovated more than half of our academic space and added new teaching and research facilities. We’ve also taken athletics to the next level by joining the ranks of NCAA Division I sports and building our new Baxter Arena,

home of UNO hockey, volleyball, and men’s and women’s basketball.

At UNO, you’ll enjoy an authentic college experience. Our seven housing facilities offer apartment-style suites, regular social events, and learning communities that can help you meet your academic goals. Our newly renovated Milo Bail Student Center offers a wide variety of dining options and support services. Take advantage of our campus health and fitness resources by signing up for a group exercise class or swimming laps in our Olympic-size swimming pool. When it’s time to study, hit the books or use state-of-the-art technology at our Dr. C. C. and Mabel L. Criss Library, including 3D printers, virtual reality headsets, and audio/visual equipment.

There’s no shortage of vi-

brant student life opportunities on campus. We make it easy to get involved. Cheer on the Mavs at a hockey game, discover a new interest by joining a student organization, or make new friends at social events held throughout the year.

Our university is firmly anchored to the community through strong partnerships with business, education, government, arts, and civic organizations. In 2014, UNO received the Presidential Award for Economic Opportunity, certifying UNO as a higher-education leader in community engagement.

This award is the highest honor a university or college can receive from the U.S. government for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement. Our campus is home to the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement

Get a world-class education at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Center, a one-of-a-kind space for collaboration that connects local organizations with our students and faculty for projects that make a difference in our community.

Thanks to UNO’s rich history, Mavericks know they are a part of a university committed to diversity and inclusion. Our faculty, students, and staff build on that history through research and projects focused on the

changing needs of the metropolitan area, state, region, and world. We remain committed to our community through teaching, research, and service. Our students graduate ready to contribute to the workforce and the community.

We invite you to explore our campus, where we’re developing new and innovative ways to educate and improve lives every day.

siouxcityjournal.com

COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE | Sunday, September 17, 2017 | J3

Preparing a

BUDGET Preparing a budget is an important step in being financially independent. Even if your parents are helping you through college, you will be on your own for the first time and likely have more freedoms than ever before.

Set a time frame

The best time frame is dictated by the frequency of your income. If you have a job, this might be weekly or bi-weekly.

Most campus jobs pay once a month, or you could budget a semester at a time — since your funds are more likely to be replenished by loans or your parents at the start of a new one.

List your income and expenses

This includes working out categories specific to your situation and coordinating estimated amounts. This information is a great starting point for you to realize exactly how much money is coming in — and exactly how much is going out.

List your discretionary expenses

These are the things you don’t need but will want to purchase — such as a midnight taco run or a Saturday double-feature with your best friends. Again, list your categories (eating out, entertainment, clothes) and work up estimated amounts.

Know the details

Understand what your expenses cover. Tuition is a big expense, but it is an upfront cost at the beginning of each semester and doesn’t cover the cost of books and supplies.

Know the parameters of your meal plan. How many meals are covered, and is there a flex account attached to it for spending in the book store or student center?

If so, this should also be a line in your “income”).

Involve your family

Have your parents look over your budget. Remember, they’ve been there before. You want to learn from their mistakes. Asking for their help shows maturity.

Take responsibility

Don’t allow your parents to handle everything just because they can. It’s OK if they manage and oversee the big stuff, but you should stay informed.

J4 | Sunday, September 17, 2017

| COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE

siouxcityjournal.com

Visit and be vital with a health career Iowa Lakes + Iowa State University = Debt Free Graduation and Career Visit and be vital by training for a healthcare career at St. Luke’s College-UnityPoint Health.

Interested students can register online at http:// www.stlukescollege.edu/ visit-registration.aspx to attend one of the College’s Fall Visit days: Oct. 19, 24 or 26. Campus visits will begin at 3 p.m. in the College Building located at 2800 Pierce St. in Sioux City. The agenda for the Visit Days will be as follows: • Welcome • Bachelor, Associate and Certificate Program Information • Hands-on activities and tours • Information on Admissions & Financial Aid • Registered visitors will receive a free College T-shirt

Campus Visit Days provide an excellent opportunity for prospective students and their families to learn more about St. Luke’s College.

The college has bachelor’s degree completion programs in nursing and health sciences; associate degree programs in nursing, radiologic technology and respiratory care; and certificate programs in Medical Laboratory Science and Phlebotomy.

The college also provides specialty certification internships in Computerized Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Sonography and Mammography.

An education at St. Luke’s College combines classroom learning with hospital-based clinical experiences. Students use

advanced techniques and leading technology at St. Luke’s-UnityPoint Health, as well as rural community hospitals, clinics, schools and home health agencies.

The college’s small class sizes promote close, personal relationships with other students pursuing the same or similar career goals. In a healthcare industry that is expected to grow, St. Luke’s graduates experience higher than average placement rates and are able to gain employment in a variety of healthcare settings.

Contact the Admissions Office at St. Luke’s College for more information on educational opportunities or to reserve your seat at one of the Fall Campus Visit Days: (712) 279-3149 or visit our website: www. stlukescollege.edu.

Iowa Lakes Community College not only started Cassie Galm on a path to her bachelor’s degree but allowed her to graduate debtfree from Iowa State Galm University.

Now she has a satisfying career as a farm marketing consultant for Hurley and Associates Agri-Marketing in Glenwood, Minn.

“The whole reason I got into grain marketing is an internship Professor Neal Williamsen arranged for me… Overall, my experience at Iowa Lakes was extremely beneficial,” Galm said. “I feel like it had a lot of added value besides what I learned in the classroom.”

Galm prepared herself for debt-free college in high school by taking dual credit courses (at no cost to her) from Iowa Lakes. She was active in 4-H, FFA, sports and other activities.

When it came time for college, she applied for and received numerous scholarships.

“I owe a lot to the educators at Iowa Lakes. They helped me get caught up when I had to miss classes for my FFA state officer duties — there was a lot of travel. It was something I may not have gotten at a larger university,” she said.

At Iowa Lakes, she played golf, had a summer internship in the college’s marketing department and served as a student senator, student ambassador and resident assistant.

After graduation from Iowa Lakes Galm transferred to Iowa State University.

“It was a transition, but Iowa Lakes was a good bridge between high school and Iowa State,” she said.

Again she earned scholarships that covered tuition. Savings from summer internships, renting farmland and working during school helped pay for housing and books.

“I finished all my ‘lecture hall’ courses at Iowa Lakes in classes of 10 to 20 instead of 200 to 400. I really appreciated being able to get to know my professors,” Galm said. “I’m really thankful for the professors and staff at Iowa Lakes. I don’t know where I would be if I hadn’t had those experiences.”

YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR COLLEGE STUDENTS CAN SAVE NEARLY

$5,000 per year in tuition/fees, room & board, and books

AT IOWA LAKES COMMUNITY COLLEGE 100+ AREAS OF STUDY more than

$1 MILLION

in scholarships are available For more about graduation rates and the debt of students completing programs, see our website.

1-866-IA-LAKES www.iowalakes.edu ALGONA • ESTHERVILLE • EMMETSBURG • SPENCER • SPIRIT LAKE

COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE | Sunday, September 17, 2017 | J5

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Enjoy a well-rounded college experience at Iowa Western Community College Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs is a fully accredited educational institution offering more than 80 career, college-transfer and technical programs.

Nestled on 250 beautiful acres in Iowa’s Loess Hills, Iowa Western provides students with a “big-school” atmosphere in a quiet setting. The college, which has won seven team NJCAA Division I National Championships in athletics, is located just minutes from Omaha, Neb. Iowa Western offers a variety of activities that help students enjoy a well-rounded college experience. The Arts Center, which has garnered national awards for its architectural beauty, is home to theater, dance and musical productions in addition to an exciting national touring

season. The college’s radio station, 89.7 The River, broadcasts live from the Council Bluffs campus and offers a popular alternative rock music format. KIWR is one of the top radio stations in the Omaha Metro area.

Iowa Western’s cable news station, CBTV 17, offers news, entertainment and sports programming from a state-of-the-art campus television studio.

Iowa Western’s new student center features a cyber café, culinary arts classrooms, a wireless access library and full-service cafeteria. The student lounge is a great place to hang out and relax with friends, or to challenge someone in a game of Wii, billiards or foosball. The college’s suite-style housing complex and modern apartments give students a chance to encounter the

SUBMITTED PHOTO

Iowa Western Community College unveiled its $16 million Engineering Building, Kinney Hall, in 2015. The building houses Iowa Western’s Robotics program. ultimate college experience on a safe and easily accessible campus. The campus in Council Bluffs is now home to 1,400 residential students.

The college offers a wide array of quality academic career paths, including a

new and challenging robotics program. Iowa Western has partnered with Acieta, LLC of Council Bluffs to begin offering an Associate’s of Applied Science Degree Program in Robotics. Students will be put on a pathway to success with

challenging courses such as Applied Robotics, Robot Controller Maintenance, Application Planning and Layout and Advanced Robotics. Iowa Western opened its new $16 million Engineering Building to house this exciting program

in the summer of 2015.

Call today for more information about one of the fastest growing colleges in the region. Call toll free 800-432-5852, or visit us on the web at www.iwcc. edu. “The World is Waiting” for college graduates!

Visit Campus.

NOW.

Call 800.432.5852 to schedule a campus visit. Your future begins NOW at Iowa Western.

iwcc.edu

J6

| SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2017 | COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE

SIOUXCITYJOURNAL.COM

MONKEY BUSINESS STOCK.ADOBE.CO

Financial aid

QUESTIONS

Your goal should be to try to finish your degree with as little debt as possible.

While at least some amount of student loans might be unavoidable for most students in the U.S., you can take steps to decrease the amount.

Your financial aid office will be able to help you find programs to which you are eligible to apply. Asking the following questions will

help you understand and prepare for the costs of a college education.

What is a FAFSA? FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Every student should fill out one if they are interested in receiving financial aid.

What is the whole cost of the university? Not just tuition and room and board, but everything it takes for a student to live, eat, sleep

and attend college in one year. Costs outside of tuition can add up fast.

How much have costs increased over the last five years? You can’t just be concerned about the current year. This also is likely the amount of time it will take you to finish your degree and will give you a comparable look at how the rate of costs could change during your tenure at the

university.

How much debt do students have when they graduate from this university?

And what percentage of students graduate without debt? This can be a good indicator of your own potential debt accumulation.

Are there any tuition payment plans? This could make the difference in whether you even take out loans. You might not

be able to swing the upfront cost, but could you afford a monthly installment?

What are the deadlines for applying for financial aid? It helps to know for sure. Assuming incorrectly could wreck a whole year.

What academic requirements or other condition are attached to financial aid eligibility? Be clear from the beginning not only what you need to do to re-

ceive money, but what you need to do to keep it.

Is there additional financial aid available? Don’t assume you know what’s available to you. You never know what you might qualify for. Also, don’t forget about the aid awarded to students who end up choosing another university. That aid could now be up for grabs. If you don’t ask, you don’t receive.

COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE | Sunday, September 17, 2017 | J7

siouxcityjournal.com

Come to see what University of South Dakota has to offer The University of South Dakota, just 30 miles northwest of Sioux City in Vermillion, was founded in 1862 and is the only designated public liberal arts university in South Dakota.

Named one of America’s most affordable and beautiful campuses, USD is home of the state’s only School of Medicine and School of Law, as well as an internationally-accredited School of Business.

USD continuously ranks among the nation’s top research universities, and counts many of the state’s political leaders among its graduates. In addition to medicine, law and business, the university offers the College of Arts & Sciences, the School of Ed-

ucation, the state’s only College of Fine Arts, the College of Health Sciences and the Graduate School.

As one of the nation’s most affordable universities, USD offers various tuition options designed to fit student needs. One unique financial opportunity is the Child of Alumni tuition – a plan allowing children of USD alumni to receive instate tuition for an undergraduate degree, regardless of where the student lives.

Iowa residents are now able to attend USD at the same cost as South Dakota residents, as the university offers in-state tuition rates to new Iowa freshmen and new Iowa resident transfers. See www.usd.edu/ Iowa for more information.

USD’s 274-acre campus is located in Vermillion, a historic town of 10,000 near the Missouri River.

The north side of campus recently received a $66 million upgrade to its athletic facilities next to the famous DakotaDome, including a new basketball/ volleyball arena, enhanced training facilities for athletes, academic space for a Science, Health and Research Lab, and an outdoor track and soccer complex.

With an enrollment of more than 10,000, USD is a Division I university with the friendliness and academic excellence of a small private college.

Come for a visit and see USD for yourself. Sign up at www.usd.edu/admissions.

SD Vermillion Sioux City

IA

In-state Tuition For Iowa Students www.usd.edu/iowa | 877-COYOTES

Creative ways to cut college costs The cost of college tuition continues to increase, and college graduates are feeling the burn of that trend when the time comes to begin repaying their student loans.

According to an analysis from higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex, an online resource for students seeking college scholarships, members of the class of 2016 graduated with an average student loan debt of just over $37,000. That projection, was based on federal student loan data and variables including tuition inflation, would be an all-time high. Things are not much better in Canada, where the 2015 Graduating Student Survey by the Canadian University Survey Consortium estimated the average member of the class of 2015 graduated with $27,000 in debt.

Though many prospective college students are beginning to question if college degrees are worth taking on the kind of debt many students must take on to continue their educations after high school, statistics still indicate that college graduates have far greater lifetime earning potential than men and women who enter the professional arena with only high school diplomas.

So what can prospective college students do to avoid graduating without tens of thousands of dollars in debt? The answer might not be so difficult.

• Apply to tuition-free schools. Many students and parents might be surprised to learn that there are several tuition-free schools.

Admittance to these schools

Students who want to save money may benefit by enrolling in a two-year college out of high school and getting all of their prerequisite courses out of the way at a more budgetfriendly cost. is competitive, but students considering equally competitive, high-tuition alternatives might make strong candidates for admission to tuition-free schools.

• Apply to fixed-tuition schools. If tuition-free schools are not an option, students can save money by applying for admittance to fixed-tuition schools.

Such schools guarantee that the tuition students pay in their freshman year will not increase during the ensuing three years. (Note: Tuition may increase if a student needs a fifth year of schooling.) That can lead to considerable savings, as many schools’ tuitions increase dramatically in just four years.

• Begin at a two-year college. Two-year colleges typically charge considerably lower tuition than four-year colleges and universities.

Students who want to save money may benefit by enrolling in a two-year college out of high school and getting all of their prerequisite courses out of the way at a

more budget-friendly cost.

When considering this option, make sure credits at the two-year college fully transfer to the four-year school students hope to enroll in after earning their associate’s degrees.

• Remain in-state for undergraduate degrees.

In-state tuition at public universities remains a considerable bargain over out-of-state tuition or tuition at private universities.

Students planning to do postgraduate work might benefit by enrolling in instate public universities and saving their money to finance their postgraduate educations. Students who hope to attend a public university in a state that borders their home state may be eligible for a border waiver, which grants them in-state tuition even though they attended high school outside of the state.

Attending college has never been more expensive, but students and their parents can explore various options that can help reduce the cost of college tuition.

J8 | Sunday, September 17, 2017

| COLLEGE SAVINGS GUIDE

siouxcityjournal.com

Get a student-friendly education at Little Priest Tribal College The Little Priest Tribal College (LPTC) is a local public community college operating in the states of Nebraska and Iowa. LPTC serves all students from all nations and communities.

The college is named after Chief Little Priest, the last true war chief of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. It was his final words that now encapsulate our mission: “Be Strong and Educate My Children.”

In the Winnebago heritage of respect, integrity and self-reliance, LPTC was chartered in 1996 by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, a sovereign nation, to provide higher education opportunities. LPTC is a land grant institution and is part of the Nebraska Transfer Initiative program.

Our focus is to prepare students to transfer and successfully complete a major at a four-year institution, provide training opportunities for students to upgrade job skills and improve employability, and further, to provide language and culture classes that celebrate and preserve our cultural heritage.

Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, LPTC offers Associates of Arts and Associates of Science degrees in the following areas: • Business • Early Childhood Education • Indigenous Science Environment • Indigenous Science Health

Go to www.littlepriest. edu, CALL, or email admissions@littlepriest.edu Main Campus: 601 East College Drive Winnebago, Nebraska 68071 Phone: 402.878.2380 Sioux City Site: HoChunk Centre 600 4th • Interdisciplinary Stud- Street Sioux City, Iowa ies 51101 Phone: 712-224-0113 • Native American Studies •T eacher Education J’ona Graham, In addition to our outstanding dedicated faculty and a 10:1 student to instructor ratio, LPTC offers their students: • Quality and affordable education • Student housing, employment, financial aid, & scholarships • Academic, career, & personal counseling •W riting & Math Labs • Student technology center •S tudent dining facility • Culturally rich, quality, and comfortable learning environment • Online and distance learning classes • Division II College Athletics • Student government, groups, and activities • Community and Continuing Education Program •G ED testing site •A nd more…

Student Athlete Montgomery, Alabama Coming to Little Priest, they brought me in and made me feel as if I was at home. Professors here Graham give you one-on-one help and care personally about your success.

Tyren King, Student Athlete Farmington, New Mexico

Little Priest Tribal College is a school experience that is a studentfriendly system and King I realized how beneficial it is for the “There is strength students to get an education here. I began to see how in you!” welcoming the community Register for the Fall Se- is around the school. You mester! Classes start Aug. can start to feel and under21. Complete an application stand the Native American culture. today!

601 East College Drive Winnebago Nebraska 68071 402.878.2380

Ho-Chunk Centre 600 4th Street Sioux City, lowa 51101 712.224.0113