THE DIAMONDBACK
money guide 2025
CONTENTS
3 Money Social Poll 4 Jobs Guide
5 Financial Resources
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Fiona Flowers
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The Center of of McKeldin Mall on April 4th, 2024. (Akash Raghu/The Diamondback)
How do Terps manage their money?
By Adam Hudacek I Tabloids editor
Juggling classes, clubs, practices and part-time jobs alongside bills, dues and other financial obligations can be tough. So The Diamondback asked our Instagram followers to find out how they manage their money during the semester and what advice they might have for their fellow Terps.
What’s your best money-saving tip for other students?
“ Eat at the dining hall every meal you can.”
@risi_rv
“ Don’t buy anything while you’re sad … [you’re] more likely to overspend.”
@_ashley__n_
“ Shopping at Lidl and using student discounts for everything.”
@_julialitovchick
“ Delete Amazon, UberEats, DoorDash & Lyft on your phone.”
@nnguyen1708
During the semester…
4% of respondents said they work full time 64% of respondents said they work part time 32% of respondents said they don’t work
How do you budget effectively while navigating college life?
“ [I] have a physical binder I tape my receipts into [to] track my spending.”
@alicethefish
“ Occasionally, I tell myself “no” instead of getting a sweet treat.”
@tulalock
“ Any small refund is my spending money, everything else I work for goes into savings.”
@w.watkins_mill_road
Fromthenewsroom:Introducing The Diamondback jobs guide
In February 2023, we launched The Diamondback Jobs Guide, a site that empowers users to explore historic student wages and discover campus jobs. The Jobs Guide is designed to help students make informed decisions while looking for employment around the campus. Drawing inspiration from The Diamondback Salary Guide, the Jobs Guide empowers users to explore the data independently.
Sometimes, what worked in the past can be reimagined for the present. In print newspapers, including historical editions of The Diamondback, the classified section was an avenue to communicate local opportunities. We envision our Jobs Guide serving a similar purpose for the University of Maryland community.
With the Jobs Guide and future reporting, The Diamondback seeks to be data-driven in
By Diamondback Staff
its approach to service the broader University of Maryland community. Thank you to the readers, students, focus group members and The Diamondback staff for driving this mission forward.
Explore The Diamondback Jobs Guide
here (jobs.dbknews.com). This guide was made possible by Nataraj Shivaprasad, Rina Torchinsky and Sri Kanipakala.
Students interact wtih booths during the career fair at Stamp Student Union on Sept. 26, 2024. (Giuseppe LoPiccolo/The Diamondback)
Resources to manage finances
College presents students with a unique set of challenges, such as managing finances. It’s one of the most crucial skills to develop to ensure successful habits later in life. Here is a list of valuable resources to take advantage of to ensure financial success.
Use a net price calculator
Federal law requires accredited schools that participate in federal financial aid to offer a public net price calculator to understand financial contribution estimates. This is a useful tool when developing a budget and planning out finances. Accessing this calculator will help you allocate funds for required school supplies, tuition, fees and room and board.
Visit the Federal Student Aid website
The website provides information on accessing grants, work-study programs and federal loans. Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is one of the most crucial steps to understanding the finances behind higher education. Some states even require high school students to complete the form as a graduation requirement.
Make a spreadsheet of expected income and expens-
es
By making a spreadsheet, you have a visual representation of your finances. This makes it easier to understand your expenses in regards to your income.
Use your bank app to track spending
Most banks offer mobile tracking options in apps, making it easier to view your spending habits and review where you spend most of your money. By analyzing your financial statements on a
By Fiona Flowers I For The Diamondback
regular basis, you can better understand your spending habits and learn how your expenses compare to what you saved.
Use separate checking and savings accounts
Keeping one account reserved solely for required expenses, such as rent, insurance or tuition, and another for more spontaneous uses, such as an occasional restaurant meal, ensures you won’t tap into your savings account for recreational spending. This can be set up through your bank.
Use direct deposit
If you have a fixed income coming in on a scheduled basis, you can automatically designate how much money goes into your checking or savings accounts. If a portion of your paycheck is inserted directly into your savings account, you won’t be tempted to use it as spending money — it’s an effective resource to improve your financial habits.
Invest in a coin sorter or piggy bank
It may be easy for students to write off extra cash as easy spending money. By investing in a resource to keep and save these physical funds, you can see how it adds up over time. This way, you’ll always have some sort of financial fund in case of an emergency.
Take advantage of student discounts
Apple, Amazon Prime, Microsoft 365 and Verizon offer student discounts, while Hulu, Peacock and Paramount+ offer cheaper streaming services to students. Adidas, Anthropologie, UGG and Under Armour also provide student discounts.
Negotiate for cheaper prices with second-hand selling platforms
By using resources like Facebook Marketplace, Nextdoor and even Craigslist, you can find dorm and apartment decor for cheaper prices. For clothes, Poshmark, Depop and ThredUp offer name brands at discounted prices. Many universities also have Facebook groups for students to sell old textbooks or required school supplies at cheap prices.
Use digital credit monitoring applications
Certain mobile apps and digital software such as Credit Karma, Intuit Mint and Credit Sesame are designed to help better understand and manage your credit score.
Contact your university’s financial aid office
A straightforward visit to a financial advisor at your college or university is often the easiest way to access and plan your educational finances. Do not be shy to reach out to the financial aid office — advisors exist to help students understand intimidating costs and develop effective strategies to tackle them.
Prince George’s County residents divided over minimum wage legislation
By Charlotte Kanner I For The Diamondback
The Prince George’s County Council unanimously passed a bill on Nov. 19, 2024 that will annually adjust the county’s minimum wage based on national inflation rates.
The legislation aligns the county’s minimum wage rate with the Consumer Price Index — a measure that tracks the average price change of goods and services such as food, housing and transportation, according to the U.S. Labor Department.
The legislation is expected to take effect on July 1 and adjust minimum wage annually based on the average percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index over the previous 12 months.
The county last increased its minimum wage in 2017, but no adjustments for inflation were included, according to the county’s committee report for the 2024 legislative season. Last January, the state’s minimum wage increased to $15 per hour.
Supporters of the legislation argued it’s a necessary step to protect workers from inflation. But some county residents said the legislation could have unintended consequences for direct support professionals — workers who support people with disabilities.
Service providers in Maryland typically receive most of their funding through reimbursement rates set by the state, which are based on the state’s minimum wage, not the county’s, according to Robert Baynard, board of director’s chair for the Prince George’s Provider Council.
This means that if the county’s minimum wage is higher than the state’s, providers would have to absorb the increased wage costs without additional resources from the state, Baynard said at the Nov. 19 meeting.
Rob Malone, CEO of The Arc Prince George’s County — an organization that supports people with developmental and intellectual disabilities and their families — said this legislation could lead to less financial resources for direct support professionals, who provide support and services to people with disabilities.
Many direct support professionals are Black women and classified as low-wage workers despite the demanding nature of their roles, Malone said. He emphasized that these workers should be compensated adequately and urged the council to amend the bill to address this disparity.
“We hope you will not pull this car out of the garage without putting brakes in it and let’s make sure the bill is done correctly,” Malone said.
Like Malone, Baynard said the bill’s current structure could strain service providers.
Without additional state funding, Baynard emphasized that organizations like The Arc would struggle to absorb the increased costs and potentially jeopardize care for many people.
Lisa Shames, whose daughter lives in a group home managed by The Arc, expressed fears about the legislation’s potential impact on care for people with disabilities. She recalled the challenges The Arc faced during the COVID-19 pandemic as patients often faced life-threatening risks when group homes lacked sufficient staff.
Shames constantly worried whether her daughter would receive the correct dosage of her medications at the right time, she said.
“Please don’t help one community at the risk of hurting another community,” Shames said.
Jim Stockton, parent of an adult daughter with developmental disabilities, also spoke at the meeting and voiced concerns about the impact the proposed legislation will have on organizations like The Arc.
Direct support professionals are underpaid despite serving a critical role in ensuring the well-being of people with disabilities, such as his daughter, Stockton said. He expressed concerns that increasing the county’s minimum wage without adjusting state reimbursement rates could lead to staffing shortages as direct support professionals may leave the field for higherpaying jobs.
He urged the council to amend the bill to ensure any minimum wage increases are matched with adequate funding for service providers to ensure individuals with disabilities continue to receive their necessary care.
But other speakers at the meeting championed the legislation as a lifeline for workers struggling with rising living costs.
Christopher Meyer, a research analyst at the Maryland Center on Economic Policy, presented data to support the legislation’s potential benefits. He said that tying minimum wage to cost-of-living would increase wages for nearly 44,000 workers by more than $20 million annually.
More than half of county workers experiencing poverty would see wage increases, with significant gains for women and people of color, Meyer added.
District 7 county council member Krystal Oriadha said the minimum wage needs to be adjusted because of Prince George’s County’s high cost of living and the struggles many residents face to make ends meet. But she also acknowledged the concerns highlighted by community members.
“It’s really dangerous to pit two groups in need against each other and to make this issue that it’s about either minimum wage workers have to suffer or the individuals that service our disability community have to suffer,” Oriadha said.
UMD GSG urges university to lower fees, administrative costs for international students
The University of Maryland GSG president approved two resolutions on March 19 calling on this university to lower fees and administrative costs for international students.
The Graduate Student Government legislature voted in favor of the two resolutions, which were first introduced at its general assembly meeting on Feb. 28. The legislation calls on this university to change the fee structure for Maryland English Institute courses — English classes offered for non-native speakers — and to abolish the $125 per semester international student fee.
The first resolution, which representatives voted to approve 21-1-1, calls for this university to make MEI courses for credit or to cover the course fees. The resolution states that the classes, which are required for students who didn’t pass an English proficiency exam upon admission to this university, can carry additional fees of thousands of dollars which cannot be covered by tuition remission because they are not offered for credit.
Some departments choose to cover the course fees but several others do not, according to the resolution.
The second resolution, which representatives approved 18-2-3, says the $125 per semester international student fee is “inequitable.”
“This fee is an additional burden to a group that is already financially stressed due to visa-related costs, restrictions on secondary employment and lack of access to major federal grants, in addition to other immigration-related vulnerabilities,” the resolution read.
Divon Pender, GSG’s legislative affairs vice president, said since both pieces of legislation are approved, they will be sent to relevant parties, including the university president’s office, International Student and Scholar Services and the student affairs vice president. The legislation will serve as the body’s official position, Pender added.
“In the future or in the long term, someone can’t say, ‘Oh, well, graduate students are okay with it,’” the higher education, student affairs and international education policy graduate student said. “No, they’re not, because they’ve actually passed this legislation to show that they’re actually opposing what it is that’s going on.”
In 2017, graduate students said the implementation of the international student fee did not follow the required review process for mandatory fees, The Diamondback previously reported. Neither the university’s student fees review committee nor the GSG were involved or consulted during the initial creation of the fee, The Diamondback reported.
By Anastasia Merkulova | Staff writer
University president Darryll Pines said in an interview with The Diamondback that the academic affairs division and several other offices at this university are looking at ways to provide financial assistance for some MEI courses through graduate assistantships.
Graduate teaching assistants who have to take the MEI English course have their fees covered, according to the Maryland English Institute website.
GSG neuroscience and cognitive science representative Rose Ying is an author of both resolutions.
“I know many [international students] who came here with $100 in their pocket, who worked really hard to get here just to be able to continue their education,” the neuroscience and cognitive science doctoral student said. “I feel like the university sees international students as an extra revenue source.”
Ying said as an organizer with the Graduate Labor Union, she has heard numerous complaints about the lack of communication from the university and the financial stress placed on students from the mandatory MEI courses.
Javier Marinkovic, a computer science doctoral student from Chile, said he did not receive adequate communication about the high price of the required MEI courses before enrolling in them.
Marinkovic said he did not pass his first English proficiency exam, so he took an MEI course. He thought the course would cost about $100 or $200, but said he was charged about $3,000.
“[Graduate students] usually live paycheck to paycheck and suddenly getting a fee of more than my monthly stipend was world ending,” Marinkovic said.
“When they told me I would have to pay this, all these thoughts came to my mind, like how I’m going to pay rent this month, how I’m going to get food.”
Marinkovic said he went to the graduate school, the computer science department and the Maryland English Institute to ask for help covering the fee. He said he was able to bring the fee down to about $1,000, which he had to pay out of pocket from his savings and with some help from friends.
Pines said he thinks the international student fee is reasonable as it funds infrastructure, programs and services that are used “solely to support international students.”
Pines added that this university works to reduce costs for graduate students through changes including moving about $500 of mandatory fees to students’ tuition, which allows some students to cover them through tuition remission.
Marinkovic said the international student fee hurts the people who can afford to pay it the least.
“We have to either have savings or family who support us,” Marinkovic said. “But people who don’t have either of these, I don’t know how the hell they do it.”
A sign for the International Student and Scholar Services Office on Feb. 13, 2025. (Alexa Yang/The Diamondback)
