Odwiedzone strony: GET:http://survivingthecostofcollege.com/index.php/author/bobsherman/ http code: 200Zrzut ostatniej (http://survivingthecostofcollege.com/index.php/author/bobsherman/) :Bob Sherman | Surviving the Cost of College
The only act more gut wrenching than watching your daughter run off to the prom for the first time in a slinky dress, is giving her a credit card for the first time and watching her run off to the mall to buy something you hope she will only wear inside the house.
Once our daughter began driving to high school, there was no reason why she should not become familiar with the fuel gauge, tire pressure, tread wear, oil change due date, windshield wipers, braking irregularities, shocks, and alignment. (Read our column on Car Care.) We started her off with filling the gas tank, which meant she needed a credit card to use at the pump, and that’s where she had us.
We began by loaning her one of our cards, but we knew she would eventually need one of her own. Of course, the bank would send me a duplicate with her name on it, but this was mere pretense, with no accrued benefit.
We quickly learned, the minimum age to open a credit card account was 18, and even then, a co-signer was often required. An alternative approach is a pre-paid card that allows you to spend up to a limit that you pay in advance, but where’s the fun in that?
Credit Score
So, if you can’t get one, why bother? Well, because. Because a credit card is necessary to earn a credit score which in turn is necessary to purchase a car, get insurance, rent an apartment, purchase appliances, and eventually purchase a house into which you put all those things you purchased with that card. And most of all, a good credit score is necessary to get a good credit card. Wait! Isn’t that where we began?
During the summer, before our college-bound took up with others in one of those plush dorms, we filled out a credit-card application for our daughter. She was now 18, had a substantial savings account and a direct-deposit checking account that received her earnings from a part-time job with a catering company.
“Sorry,” said the bank, “we can only issue a card if you have a full-time job.”
“Well,” I said to my daughter, “I guess that rules out going to college.”
A week later, after bemoaning our experience to a friend with an equally destined daughter, and following his suggestion, we found another bank that was eager to assist and offered our daughter a credit card if she opened a bank account with at least a $25 balance. Finally. Something we could afford. Two weeks later, she received a bright red card in the mail that would change her life forever.
Shop Around
Our daughter closed her savings account with the family bank and deposited that money with the new bank. The family bank wasn’t happy. Too bad. This is lesson number one. In business, nothing is forever. If your bank does not provide you with the services you require, go elsewhere, and that is true with insurance companies as well. Always be on the lookout for ways to reduce your expenses. So, what is lesson number two?
Lesson number two is everything else that comes before you insert that piece of plastic into a card reader, which is:
Intelligent Spending, acting on the difference between what you need and what you want, which is everything else, and
Money Management, which is establishing a level of expense that is below your net income minus your saving’s plan. These are the essentials that every parent must teach their children, beginning when they are young, and hopefully, by example.
Life is not easy. We are surrounded by profiteers who would empty our wallet. Here are two of the traps laid before us.
Sales: When you purchase a $60 item marked down to $30, you do not save $30, you spend $30. If the item weren’t on sale, you wouldn’t have bought it, and if you hadn’t bought it, you would never know it was missing from your closet. Catch my drift.
Exceptions. if you need a refrigerator or stove, wait for a sale.
Discounts: Items are discounted every day and you may think that is saving you money, but look at it from the retailer’s point of view. Stores discount items that are either overstocked or out of date, to reduce their inventory. Stale bread comes to mind. Discounts are also part of their business plan. They do not lose money, because the cost of the discount is built into their overall pricing. The price of an item you buy today, also covers the discount you receive on the item you buy tomorrow. The moral is, don’t buy something you don’t need just because it is discounted, because you will be spending money that could be put to better use. Are you catching on?
Golden Rule of Credit Card Use Now that our daughter has her first credit card, and is paying off the monthly balance, we are comfortable in knowing she is assiduously following the Golden Rule, which is, don’t purchase more than you can afford to pay. To put it another way. Don’t carry a monthly balance. Remember, credit card balances are expensive. Families who carry a credit card balance, pay on average, $1,200 a year in interest. There are better uses for that money.
Credit Card Benefits After skirting the dangers of using a credit card, it is important to note their benefits. Here are my two favorites. Because you pay off a credit card balanced once month, no money leaves my wallet until I have tried and tested the product I bought. My second favorite reason for using a credit card, is that I can track and review my expenses, and make adjustments when necessary.
Which Credit Card is best for a College Student?
Credit card companies want your business and offer incentives. Interest rates are constantly shifting to entice new members, though let us hope you will never need to use them. The second major promotion is the promise of cash-back rewards on purchases and points earned for travel. Cash-back rewards are easy to understand, travel points, not so much. There are websites devoted to showing you how to maximize travel points by switching back and forth between cards, but the learning curve is steep. I have a friend who travels abroad two or three times a year, and never pays more than $70 a trip. I bow to his acumen.
U.S. News Credit Card Report …..Best Student Credit Cards for 2017
For the rest of us, a U.S. News research team has put together a comprehensive credit card report for college students that describes how credit cards work, the cost of using credit cards, types of student credit cards available, credit card best practices, and, for parents, teaching teens about money. Parents and students should take advantage of this information.
Go to: U.S. News CreditCard Report.
A year has gone by since my daughter began using her own credit card, and now that I know she understands the principles and practices of credit card management, and the gas tank is full, all I have to worry about, is that slinky dress.
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Special thanks to Ashley McNamara for the information she provided.
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Our young 9th Grade college-bound daughter has announced that she would like to visit colleges. A little early, don’t you think!?
Answer 🙂
Most people consider visiting college campuses and taking tours to be one of the final steps in college selection, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The good news is she is thinking about attending college which will motivate her to be the best student she can be. And if visiting a few college campuses will keep her motivated, and the schools are within easy driving distance, then you have nothing to lose.
Window Shopping
Look at these visitations as window shopping, house hunting or car buying. Adults spend a lot of time looking before making a decision, if one is made at all. Your daughter is window shopping colleges. In exchange for the time you will be taking transporting her, you could ask her to go online and search for some basic information about the schools she wanted to visit. She should know the size of student population, SAT and ACT requirements to get in, and the cost of tuition. She should also plan her visit by printing out a map and deciding where she wants to go on campus.
You could sign up for a tour. Registration is usually online. If you can’t find it, call the Admission’s Office. Before the campus and building tour begins, there is a group orientation that provides an overview of what the college has to offer. You could also ask when tours are given and just show to tag along with one of the groups. No one minds, and everyone has fun. The student tour-guide is there to sell you on the benefits of the college. Take along our College Visit Checklist and Evaluation form.
Communication
Your daughter has opened the door for you to share her future plans, giving you an opportunity to learn what she would like to study in college and what she thinks she might be doing for a career after college. Don’t loose this opportunity by telling her where you think she should go to school or what she should study. Imposed parameters at this stage will be viewed as a negative response and could shut down further discussion. Listen to what she has to offer without interruption and encourage her to continue thinking and planning. Let her know you support what she is doing.
Don’t worry if she is not sure what she wants to do or has several ideas. This is not important for two reasons. First, you can now have a two-way conversation about her future providing ideas and guidance. Second, whatever she wants to study, especially in the STEM fields, probably won’t be around by the time she gets into college, so don’t worry about it.
An important message Visiting a college while in the 9th or even 10th. Grade is not choosing a college. Choosing a college comes after selecting a major, or at least a general field of study. Then you can search for colleges offering a strong program in that field, is affordable, can be completed in four years, and is some place she wants to spend four years of her life.
Finding the Right School
How important is finding a campus and facilities that you absolutely “love”? Appearances are often the deal breaker with the majority of students making that four-year commitment. On average, 1 in five students drop out of college during or right after their freshman year citing the environment as the reason. Don’t waste a year of college, your time and your money on a place your student doesn’t like a whole lot.
So it is okay to begin window shopping early. The answer is yes. The more schools you visit the more information you will have to make that final decision, and you can never have too much information. _______________________________________
Undergraduate college students are faced with the daunting task of completing a graduate program if they want to enter any of the professional fields. Unless graduate school is funded by the University, this translates into delayed income from employment and increased student debt.
This increased debt comes from taking out more loans typically from either the Federal Graduate PLUS loan program charging 5.13 percent at the moment or a private local bank or other financial.
Students can go online to calculate monthly payments of a loan in any amount at any interest rate, but rule-of-thumb is that for every $10,000 you borrow, expect to pay back $120 a month for ten years.
Opening Doors
Choosing a graduate school that will teach you the skills required to be successful is smart. Choosing the best inexpensive graduate school is even smarter.
Some people think that attending the “best” and more expensive school will open the door to more jobs. And although you may be able to spread a wider net for employment opportunities, that’s of little value if they do not exist. Remember, jobs are only available when someone leaves or a new job is created. Accept for certain STEM fields, there is not a lot of that happening in today’s economy.
In either case, remember that for every position that is open, you will be competing with a dozen other graduate students, and possibly a half-dozen ten professionals with five years of experience.
Student Responsibility. Before choosing a graduate school, at the very least, students should complete a preliminary job search to learn where and whether jobs are available, as well as the average beginning salary.
Warning. Some fields that were hot a few years ago are cooling down. Watch the trends. Physical Therapy comes to mind.
Rigorous Planning and cosines
I use the term rigorous, because people’s interpretation of what it means to plan ranges from: “I’ve been thinking about it,” (Lord have mercy), to creating a written plan with options. (Praise the Lord).
While we want the best for our children, students walking through life with vague aspirations and expecting life to tumble favorably their way without forethought or financial planning usually leads to significant economic difficulties down the road.
When it come to private loans, unless the student has an adequate income and credit score as determined by the lending institution, someone, usually the parent, will be asked to co-sign the loan.
The first question the parent should ask is have they exhausted all possible federal loans. The next question the parent should ask is should I co-sign the loan? This is what 500 parents reported in survey conducted by LendEDU.
Survey Says:
90 percent of all private loans are cosigned
33 percent did not know the risks of co-signing
34 percent of students made late payments that hurt co-signers credit
34 percent said it hurt their ability to qualify for mortgages or auto loans.
51 percent felt that co-signing put their retirement in jeopardy
34 percent of the parents said they would never do it again.
The Federal Trade Commission reports that as many as three out of four co-signers are ultimately asked to repay the loan.
Here are the Facts
When you co-sign, you are able to do so because the bank sees that you have good credit and the ability to pay back the loan. The bank doesn’t pay much attention to your son or daughter, because they know you will pay if they don’t. And once you sign on the bottom line, you’re responsible until the loan is paid off.
Co-signing a student loan increases your debt burden, and your debt to income ratio. This could prevent you from refinancing your house or financing a car in the future.
Co-signing a student loan increases your debt burden. A bank consideration for financing a new car or home repairs is your debt-to-income ratio. If your debt increases, the bank may not loan you money because your debt is now too high.
If the student fails to make one or two payments, the bank charges late fees, which increases the cost of the loan. The bank may also report the late payment to the credit bureau. This could reduce the co-signers credit score, which in turn increases the rate of interest charged on future loans.
If the loan is not paid, the lender can garnish the co-signers wages. Of course you can count on your son or daughter to make the loan payments, unless, that is, they lose their job or suffer a major medical condition that prevents them from working. These are not uncommon sceneries, by the way.
Loosing Federal Rights and Protection
Taking out a private student loan, rather than a Federal Graduate PLUS Loan, results in the loss of two important protections.
1 Students can defer federal loan payments for a period of time in the face of a catastrophic financial hardship that may be due to medical or failed employment reasons, and
2 Students can apply for a flexible repayment plan based on their income level and ability to pay. They may also have a portion of their loan forgiven after a number of payments, usually 120.
Graduate Students Overlook This Funding Source
The most overlooked source of funding made by graduate students is to take advantage of their independence. That is, they are now eligible to fill out the FAFSA application as an Independent Student. Once their meager income and assets are fed into the formula, their Expected Family Contribution (EFC) usually drops to Zero and their access to federal funding increases greatly.
Students can print out the one page federal government Independent Student EFC Formula B Worksheet to calculate their Expected Family Contribution.
By the Way
If someone knocks on your door or calls you at dinner time offering to consolidate your son’s or daughter’s student loans by refinancing your house, remember that the protections described above are lost. And if they tell you your payments could be reduced and ask: “what do you have to lose?” Look around you, because what you have to lose is the house you’re standing in while talking on the phone.
…The fact is, not everyone has to go to college to be successful.
Who needs to go to college? The answer is, not everyone, despite what you may have heard or read. And not going does not have to lead you down the road to financial ruin.
This suggestion may seem counter-intuitive for parents of college-bound students, but given that 20 percent of students attending college fail to finish, the belief that everyone must have a college degree to be successful deserves serious attention. And by a college degree, I am referring to a four-year, dollar-ingesting, core-curriculum institution that frequently requires five or more years to complete.
Is it true that college graduates earn 50 percent more than non-college graduates over a lifetime? On average, across the country, that may be the case, but average numbers carry little weight when my electrician earns as much as a graduate from MIT, and the owner of a service station selling gas, pizza strips and slushies lives in a million-dollar home.
Door Number One: The Rewards of not Attending College
The first two rewards are obvious. 1. You don’t have to come up with 100,000 or more dollars to pay for college and 2. You have four years to earn money and get a head start in a career ahead of your neighbor taking courses that may not relate to his or her interests while racking up thousands of dollars in debt.
A less obvious reward is not going into debt, which is an absolutely crippling condition. College debt is often an impenetrable steel door slammed shut on all future financial growth and stability.
An even less, but equally valuable reward is that four years of work produces a level of maturity and business wisdom that is worth far more than that average 50 percent income differential so frequently reported by the press.
And finally, if you find a job you like, you will have four years of valuable work experience over your college-graduate neighbor who just joined up. You could also be driving a cool car why he or she is driving a 10-year-old Nissan and paying off those debts.
If you have any doubt about college, check off the following reasons not to go. 1 Because your parents want you to go, 2 your friends are going, 3 it is a cool way to spend 4-years drinking beer, and 4 you really don’t want to go.
Door Number Two:
How to be Successful Without Going to College
To begin with, find a job in area that you enjoy and are willing to learn and work long hours, because to be successful you have to work hard and working hard only works if you enjoy what you’re doing. That may seem circular and obvious. It is circular but it is not obvious, when the majority of people report that they do not enjoy their work most of the time. In fact, reread the introductory sentence because it is one of the five secrets to life.
Of course, you don’t have to be successful. You can get a job somewhere and live life as you see fit. I’m not disparaging that idea, but if you’d like more, here are three things you “gotta” do, and it begins with changing your mindset.
1 You must be able to make and follow a personal plan with goals. Seriously!
2 You must be able to develop habits/daily-routines that will get the job done, whatever it is. You cannot rely on willpower because it will eventually wane, just as Aspirations abate, diligence dissolves, dedication dissipates, resolve recedes and intersections in life interrupt. When people chide you for being a creature of habit and those habits are leading you to success, you’re on the right track. I would urge you to include in your habits, eating healthy food and exercising daily, because it is your good health that will allow to carry-on.
3 You must be willing to live in a state and city/town where there are jobs. Forget your neighborhood and any ties you may have. If the jobs are not there, it’s time to get out of Dodge. To be successful you have to go where the jobs are, period. This is equally true for college students. Also, in today’s business culture, pay raises come with job change. You will have to change jobs four to six times before you retire if you want to continue up that shaky ladder of success.
Door Number Three:
Good Jobs that do no require a College Degree
Here are a few jobs that do not require a college degree. To be truly successful you will want to find a job that could lead to starting a business of your own once you have the skills. Usually, people work in a field for at least ten years before making that jump.
You can Google any job listed below for more information.
Agriculture, Air Conditioning/ Refrigeration, Air traffic controllers, Armed Forces, Auto Repair Technician, Brick-mason, Computer Programmers, Computer User Support Specialist, Commercial pilot, Construction (wood steel fiberglass),, Construction Supervisor, Carpenter, Dental Hygienist, Electric Power-line Installer, Electrician, Elevator installers and repairers, Fireman, Food industry (Management, Sales, Chef), Gas plant operators , Health Information Technician, Heating, Insurance (Agents and Claims Adjusters), Industrial Machinery (Mechanic, Lathe Operator), Massage Therapist, Petroleum pumps system operators, refinery operators, Police work, Plumber, Post office and mail delivery, Power plant operations, Purchasing Agents, Retail management, Sales, Retail and wholesale, Subway, street car and bus operators, Transportation, storage and distribution, Warehouse operation, Truck driver, Dispatcher, Web developers, Welders.
Many of these jobs take a while to learn and some require a year or two of schooling either at a technical or community college, but everyone can lead to a satisfactory and financially rewarding career. I’ve known more than one salesman with a nice home, car, and a boat in the water.
The Long Haul
While I have spent most of my time advocating college for high-school students and have written about ways to save and pay for higher education, if everyone did go to college and neglected the jobs mentioned above, civilization as we know it would collapse around our ears leaving shattered lives on every doorstep.
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For most students, there are three sources from which to borrow money for college.
1 Parents and others willing to loan money with or without interest. 2 Government loans that are obtained through the college Finance Office. 3 Private loans offered by banks and online financial institutions.
When is a loan not a loan? When no interest is charged, and you only pay back the money if you can afford to.
Purdue University
The Fourth OptionIncome Share Agreements
Purdue University, in Lafayette, Indiana, has created a fourth option they call “Back a Boiler.” Purdue students are known as Boilers or Boilermakers, which is the name of the schools’ intercollegiate athletic teams.
The official name of this fourth option is the Income Share Agreement (ISA) program in which there is no principle or interest. Instead, students sign a contract agreeing to pay back a small percentage of their income over a set period of time, which, in the case of Purdue University, is 100 months.
In some respects, this program is similar to a combination of the federal government Income Based Repayment Plan (IBR) which reduces payment on federal loans to a percentage of disposable income, and federally subsidized loans, which eliminates interest charges while the student is in college. These programs, however, are limited to low-income students, and shortly, according to the present administration’s budget, will be eliminated entirely.
So let’s go back to the idea that you can borrow money to pay for college and there is no principle or interest on the loan. Instead of paying interest, or a percentage of the amount borrowed, students pay a percentage of their earnings. That is, once you are employed, you share your income with the fund that loaned you the money to pay your college tuition.
This would provide a significant return for money loaned to someone like Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, but most likely, a little less for students like your son or my daughter, although we can always dream.
Actually, the maximum amount a student is obligated to pay is no more than 2.5 times the amount received, and to pay that amount the student would have to be incredibly successful. If you borrowed $20,000, and earned an average middle-class income, you might end up paying back $30,000 over a 100-month period, or $300 a month.
If you took out a federal loan for $20,000 at an interest rate of 4.29 percent, you would pay back $24,631 plus interest for the years you attended college, or 205.26 a month for 120 months.
It Pays to Compare
Undergraduate students may find that it is cheaper to use federal loans to finance their education, than an ISA. However, and this is a big However, undergrads can only borrow up to 22,000 over a four period. Students needing more money are forced to borrow at rates as high as 7 percent or more. Under these circumstances, an ISA contract would be a far better choice.
Another However
The difference between ISAs and traditional student loans is that under no circumstances, other than your demise, can a student loan be discharged. Even in bankruptcy, you still owe that money, and the financial institution will take it out of any source of income you receive leaving you pennilessness and on the streets, or worse, your parent’s basement. This, by the way, is the reason we have a trillion- dollar student debt problem today. With an ISA, your payment is automatically adjusted to your income, AND with no obligation to pay if you earn $20,000 or less.
Income Sharing, a New Idea?
Actually, Income Share Agreements were first proposed in 1955 by economist Milton Friedman. Conceptually, money would be invested in all students who wish to receive an education with the knowledge that most of those students would earn enough money to pay back more than they received, keeping the fund solvent. Income Share Agreements allow all students to attend college without the fear of going into debt, which is absolutely not the case with a federal or private loan. You might look at this as a form of buying an insurance policy. Some students will need to collect on the policy, and others will not.
Oregon proposed a model that would allow students to attend college tuition free and pay back that money with a portion of their future salary. In 2014, Marco Rubio introduced Senate Bill S-2230 that would ‘broaden the use’ of Income Share Agreements and provide federal oversight. This bill, by the way, stipulates that the individual will not be obligated to share his or her income for more than 360 months. What? A student could be indentured for 30 years?
A University Recruiting Tool
Cynics have suggested that schools would offer an Income Sharing Agreement contracts only to students in the most employable fields of study, that is, the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and business majors. However, Purdue points out that they offer ISA contracts to eligible students in all of their 196 majors. And if you think about it, to do otherwise would create a public relations black eye.
Income Share Agreements are a great recruiting tool and may tip the balance for that desirable student deciding between Purdue and another university.
Another criticism levied at the program is that students become indentured to the University. That is certainly true. However, if you had to borrow money to attend college, who would you rather be indentured to, the federal government, a private bank, or your Alma Mata that will forgive your debt if you can’t afford to pay?
Could the ISA model solve the student debt crises? Not the present one, that’s for sure, but it would certainly reduce student debt in the future, at least for Purdue Students. So far, the University has distributed over $2 million to 160 juniors and seniors in 79 different majors, and they plan to expand the program next year. Sheila Bair, president of Washington College, in Chestertown, Maryland, has announced the inauguration of a similar program to be administered by Vemo Education,the same company that manages the Purdue University ISA.
Look for a College or University near you to offer ISAs? You may have to educate these schools first. Ask anyone you know if they’ve heard about ISAs. You most likely response will be: “Is that Pilsner?”
Fun Fact. Purdue University’s nickname, the “Boilermakers” was coined by a sports writer for the Crawfordsville Daily News, who wrote, after Purdue beat Wabash in a game of football 44 to zero on October 26, 1891, “Slaughter of Innocents: Wabash Snowed Completely Under by the Burly Boiler Makers from Purdue.” At the time, Purdue was a hands-on engineering school, where students’ shoveled coal into the schools forges to mold metal.
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If you watched television between 1990 and 1995, you probably saw at least one episode of the award-winning show Northern Exposure consecutively ranked in the top 10 shows.
The lead character was a young Jewish doctor from New York City. The only way he had to pay off his student loans was to take a job in a remote Alaskan town. How this young neurotic physician got along with the list of eccentric characters living so far North, that moose were just as common downtown as pedestrians, led to one of the most popular and award-winning shows in the history of television.
While the stories were created by a talented team of writers, the underlying reason for Dr. Joel Fleischman to be working in a geographically remote location that would never see a doctor without a significant financial incentive from a federal or state program is alive and well today.
There are thousands of rural areas in the United States, without going to Alaska, with low populations that cannot afford to pay for a doctor, teachers, social workers, public defenders and even law enforcement personnel without the salaries of these professionals being subsidized by tax dollars, usually in the form of a federal loan forgiveness program, officially known as Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program PSLF.
National Health Care
There is no health care without a doctor caring for your health. Nurses and physician assistants are a great start, but in the end, you need a doctor when the going gets rough. Fortunately, about 40 percent of medical school graduates plan to take advantage of student-loan forgiveness programs according to MD Magazine.
And of course, there is no education without teachers, social services without social workers, protection of the law without public defenders, or protection from the criminal element without police officers. And as mentioned earlier, college graduates with student debt may choose to work in an area of need, to have their loans forgiven as well.
Loan Forgiveness Terms
Under the PSLF Program, payments are made on federal loans, not private loans, for ten years, or 120 payments, after which the balance is forgiven. The ten-year clock does not start ticking until you have signed up with for this program, and you are employed.
Medical students spend the longest time in college racking up high debt loads. There are additional opportunities to unload their debt that include working for the military, the institute of National Health, or Indian Health services for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Sign Me Up
Ten years ago, 550,000 students were willing to take on significant student debt to finish college, because they had signed an agreement with the Department of Education that they would work in public service during those ten years after which their loans would be forgiven.
The Good News. The ten years for many of these students will be up in October. With only four payments left, the students look forward to being free of their remaining federal debt.
The Bad News. Under the new administration, these students have been told the letters of agreement are no longer binding, and they may not have their loans discharged, but thanks for your public service anyway.
The Worse News. Under the new federal administration proposed budget, The Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, PSLF will be eliminated along with $700 million in Perkins loans for disadvantaged students; half the money used for the college work-study programs, and $490 million from the Subsidized loan program.
The funds that the administration proposes to cut are only available to families with incomes below $60,000. That is, the loss of this revenue and these options to pay back student loans will prevent millions of low-income students from attending college.
Happy First Day of Snow
Northern Exposure’s disc jockey, Chris Stevens, would provide laid-back social commentary that would often upset the town leaders. Sometime in October, everyone in town eagerly looks forward to the first day of snow, which blankets the town with white, covering up everything underneath that no-one will have to think about until next spring. The camera lens would be pointing across the street through the window of the radio station. Snowflakes would be falling and Chris would be looking out the window and then announce to anyone listening, “Happy first day of snow everyone.”
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For a print version, click below Northern Exposure
For an alphabetical list of website subjects click on Explore
Each State offers a 529 College Savings Plan that parents and relatives of future college students can open up with a very small deposit. This account will increase in value based on the continued deposits and growth of the stocks in the plan’s portfolio.
The selling point of the 529 is that the increased value of the stock (capital gains) in the plan is not taxable, unlike capital gains in a regular stock market account. That is, 529 plans grow tax free.
An additional incentive for opening a 529 in your state is that you may receive a state tax credit, which will reduce your state taxes. If you buy an out-of-state plan, you would not earn this credit. However, some state plans grow faster than others, which could more than offset the loss of a state credit. Shop Wisely.
Important. There are alternative ways to save for college, but no alternative for not saving for college. Not saving is tantamount to forcing your child into a future labor-camp of debt. Create a record of your expense for a month, including cell phone plans, cable TV, Buying coffee at coffee shops, eating out, etc. then decide which of those is more important than your son or daughter attending college without going into twenty-five years of debt. OK. I’m done.
The Basics
1 The value of a 529 plan is based on the amount of money you deposit and how much the plan grows over the years. Your plan could increase in value if the stock market does well, or you could lose money if: 1 the market experiences a significant downturn, or 2 the money managers invest poorly.
value of a 529 plan is based on the amount of money you deposit and how much the plan grows over the years. Your plan could significantly increase in value if the stock market does well, or you could lose money if the market experiences a significant downturn or the money managers invest poorly.
2 The value of your 529 plan is reduced by the amount of money deducted from your account by the licensed professionals who manage your plan. That’s how they earn their living. Forbes online Magazine offers a state-by-state comparison.
Find a Plan Near You
Go online and Google 529 plans and your state name. You will find almost everything you need to know and you will be able to apply online, but don’t! Wait until you have compared plans and then call a representative of the plan you have selected. It is better to establish a personal contact, because you will be calling them in the future anyway. These plans, by the way, are managed by multi-billion dollar financial institutions that offer a large number of other financial products and services.
Go online a second time and Google “best 529 plans.” A few sites will come up allowing you to compare every state plan for growth and fees. For example, MorningStarcompared 33 plans. Take your time and compare plans before you buy. This purchase is just as important as buying a new home.
When to Buy
Purchase your 529 plan the day after you bring your child home from the hospital with his or her wrist band and social security number, which is required to set up the account. Throw in a hundred bucks and contribute when you can, but set it up right away. Seriously.
Investment Options
Upon opening an account, you will be asked to consider an array of investment options. Unless you fancy yourself a stock market guru, tell them you want an aged-based portfolio and let it go at that. They have already set up thousands of these accounts based on the age of your child and know what to do. If you want a say in the process with minimal risk, ask them to invest your money in Index Funds. Your plan will grow with the ups and downs of the overall market. You can then loosely track the growth of your account every evening by watching the business news updates on television. If you suffer from low blood pressure, this will surely help.
You can change the investment strategy, (choice of stocks, mutual funds, etc.), once a year if you wish.
You can also create a bank-deposit portfolio that includes savings, CDs, etc. that will not lose money. This might be a better choice if you are opening your account five or fewer years before the start of college.
529 Plan Owners and Beneficiaries
The owner is the person who opens the account and makes the deposits, the same way you would take out an insurance policy. The beneficiary is the person listed in the account to receive the money, again the same as an insurance policy.
For purposes of the FAFSA calculation of the parents Expected Family Contribution (EFC) related to federal grants and loans for college savings owned by parents, the Feds only expect parents to contribute about 5 percent of their savings, whereas they expect students to contribute 20 percent.
Beneficiaries must be related* to the owner of the account. Ninety percent of all accounts are created by parents for their children, but there are other exceptions. Grandparents, aunts and uncles can also set up accounts for college-bound relatives. Parents can set up a 529 account for each child and one for themselves if they are taking college courses.
* Being related is defined broadly to include stepchildren, foster children, adopted children, son-in-laws and the spouse of any listed above.
The Flexible Flyer
According to IRS Publication 970, Tax Benefits on Education, 529 Plan owners have three options for moving the money around to where it is needed most.
1 Account owners may transfer money from one 529 account to another within the family, if you need to boost revenue for an upcoming college expense. Thisrollover must occur within 60 days of distribution.
2 Account owners may change beneficiaries. For example, if you have $10,000 in an account for student A who no longer needs the money, you can change the account’s beneficiary to your next in line, or you can rollover the amount of money you need to pay a college bill into a second 529 plan as described in number 1 above.
3 Account owners, who find themselves in a no-growth account, or move to another state, have the option of rolling over their money into rollover another 529 plan for the same beneficiary. This is allowed once every 12 months.
Qualified Expenses
529 funds may be used to pay for Qualified Higher Education Expenses, which include college tuition, room, board, books and supplies. If the student lives off campus and is paying rent and buying groceries, funds can be used to pay for these expenses up to an amount equal to living on campus with a meal plan. You might get away with a little more, but not much.
You cannot use the money to pay for off-campus living unless you are at least a half-time student, and you cannot use funds to pay for transportation to and from school.
The Penalty for withdrawing funds for Non-Qualified expenses is 10 percent of the plan’s earnings. Translation. If you take money out of your 529 account for personal use, you will be charged 10 percent of the amount your plan has grown based on stock growth. You will not lose any of the dollars you or someone else has deposited. The 10 percent number is as of 2017. The government may change this number in the future.
Three Ways to Withdraw Funds
For tax purposes, the cleanest way to disburse 529 funds is to have the financial company holding the account, write a check to the college.
Account owners can also have a disbursement paid to them or the beneficiary either by paper check or direct deposit. It is incumbent upon the account owner to carefully record how this disbursement paid for college expenses. Keep your receipts.
Tax Credits
Remember, if you use tax-free earnings from a 529 plan to pay college expenses, you cannot claim either the American Opportunities Tax Credit (AOTC) of $2,500 or a Life Long Learning tax credit. That is, no double dipping.
You must also reduce the college expense claimed in the AOTC tax credit by any amount of money received from a Pell Grant, Employee-provided educational assistance (section 127 tuition reimbursement plans), veteran’s educational assistance, or any other tax–free assistance.
If your college student gets a scholarship, you can withdraw 529 funds in that amount for non-college purposes without a penalty.
Scholarships
If the college student receives a scholarship, you may withdraw that amount of money from your 529 account without penalty.
If your college student is accepted into a US military academy, becomes disabled or is deceased, you may withdraw those 529 funds for your personal use without a tax penalty.
Money Left Over
If you have money left over, and don’t wish to incur a penalty, you can 1 Transfer the funds to another beneficiary in the family or 2 use the funds for your grandchildren by changing the name of the beneficiary.
FunFact. Speaking of rolling over, Grandparents, aunts and uncles have been known to change the beneficiary of their 529 account if that beneficiary goes off the deep end or otherwise becomes a less favored relative. This is just one more reason why children should learn to behave well at an early age
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Now that you will be bringing your car to college, here are a few things you should know. To begin with, most people pay little attention to their car until something goes wrong. Dirt on the inside and outside and an accumulation of junk is your first tip-off. This is thoughtless and expensive. Don’t be one of those people.
Treat your car as you would a friend, with care and concern, and it will take you where you want to go. If you neglect your car, it may not always be there for you and require an expensive repair.
Your car is made up of many moving parts that work together to keep you safe. If one part fails, (for example, the brakes or power steering) your life could be in danger. Fortunately, the car will give you plenty of warning if you pay attention to unusual sounds and driving characteristics.
Complete the My Car Information form below, and see how well you do. You can do it in your head or print out your own copy by clicking on the form.
On the Renew Dates, it is okay to cheat by looking up the dates in your cell phone calendar where you put them as reminder. You did that, right? If not, go ahead and do it now. I’ll wait.
After you answer these questions, open the driver’s door of your car and look down for two stickers that will give you the answer to these questions.
…1 What is the car’s tire size, and recommended tire pressure? …2 Where was car built, and on what date? …3 What is the car’s VIN (Vehicle Identification Number)? ……….Extra credit: What is code for exterior body paint color?
…Decoding tire size numbers: for example: 205/65R15 ……..205 = width of tread in millimeters ……..65 = ratio of sidewall height to tire width ……..16 = the size of the wheel in inches
Where were our cars built? My daughter and I drive the same make of car. Mine was built in Kentucky; her car was built in Canada, which explains why every time she goes shopping with my credit card, she says, “I won’t be gone long, Eh.”
The First Path to Knowledge begins by walking to the front of the car and looking on the ground below the engine for signs of leaked fluids. if there is oil on the ground, check the oil level and have the leak checked by a mechanic. In the summer there will usually be water on the ground from the air conditioner.
Continue walking to the car and notice the registration sticker on your license plate and due date. Then look at the inspection sticker on the front windshield. Notice the year and month your next car inspection is due. Keep those dates in mind, especially if you only have a couple of months left before the due dates.
Tires. Look at each tire for the amount of tread remaining and whether the tread is worn on one side or the other. If there is very little tread left, it is time for new tires. If the tread is worn unevenly, there is a problem with the front end of your car that should be looked at by a mechanic. Also notice whether any tire has less air, looks flatter, than the other. Circle the car looking at each tire. At the same time check the body for any new dents or scratches you didn’t have before. Inspection time: 25 seconds.
The Second Path to Knowledge, takes place from inside the car in the glove compartment box and on the electronic display in front of you.
Part 1. Glove Compartment. Open the glove compartment. Remove any junk and throw it away or store it somewhere else. Find your 1Insurance Card and 2the Car Registration from the Department of Motor Vehicles. Keep them together inside the driver’s manual, envelope, or somewhere where they won’t get lost and are easy to find when you need them. Before you put them away, notice the due dates so you are not caught off guard later. If you do not have a current insurance card, go online to your insurance company and print one. If you do not have an up-to-date card, the police will impound your car if you get pulled over. The third item should be your receipt-of-purchase for your tires with warrantee date. If you are on the road and have a problem, it would be nice to drive right to the tire store for assistance if they are nearby. The fourth item in your glove compartment, or wallet, should be a Triple-A, or other tow-service card that you can call in an emergency. Inspection time: 2 minutes once a month.
Part 2. Electronic Display. Begin by starting the engine and looking at the electronic display in front of you. There are four warning lights to look for.
If the Oil light is on, add oil before you go anywhere. This could be serious and you may need three or four quarts before it is safe to drive. Go see your mechanic to find the problem.
If the Engine light is on, you will need a mechanic to plug a Diagnostic Code Reader into the car’s On Board Diagnostic OBD port, which is found under the dash, to read what is wrong with the car. Yes, you can buy your own reader, and even use your iPhone, but after you learn the problem, you’ll still need a mechanic to fix it.
If the Maintenance light is on, you may need an oil change, tire rotation, or something else, but you are not in any danger and can drive the car.
If the Battery light is on, the battery is not being charged, which could be a problem with an alternator or generator. The car will run until you drain the battery. Open the hood to make sure your battery cables are tight. A mechanic will be able to locate the electrical problem. Inspection time: 3 seconds.
TIP 1: Take a picture of your License, Registration, Insurance card, AAA card if you have one, and your car showing the license plate. Hide these photos in a separate folder. This will give you the documents you will need for any situation.
Tip 2: If your car smells funny when you drive, it may be time to change the Cabin Filter, which is often behind the glove compartment box. The filters are inexpensive, and it is easy to remove the box and replace them. Google the make and model of your car and the words “cabin filter” and several DIY videos will pop up. View video here. Make your own and become famous.
The Third Path to Knowledge begins when you are driving. Notice how the car is handling. If your steering is hard or making noise when you turn, you may be low on power steering fluid. If your steering wheel vibrates on the highway, your tires may be out of balance. If the car rides hard or bangs when going over bumps, have the suspension system looked at. If the muffler is noisy, it should be replaced. If the breaks squeak, see a mechanic. If you hear a noise but are not sure where it is coming from, bring a friend along to help find the location, and then see a mechanic. Time required. 0 seconds. Just be aware of what the car is doing.
The Disposables. The cost of owning a car includes paying for things that were meant to be used up. The most obvious disposable is gasoline. You pay for it, burn it up and buy more. The next disposable is engine oil, which protects your engine for three thousand miles or more, and then must be replaced. The third disposable is brakes. The brake pads and drums that slow the car will wear down and eventually have to be replaced. The fourth disposable is tires. The rubber tread wears off, and the tires need to be replaced. Wiper blades are your fifth disposable. The rubber wears off these also, and they must be replaced when they do not clean your windshield in the rain.
The point is to understand that these disposables are a normal part of car ownership. Prepare yourself for the cost of replacement and don’t get upset when the time comes. You can predict the replacement periods. Oil is replaced every 3,000 or 5,000 miles depending on the type of oil used, brakes last between 35,000 and 50,000 miles depending on how you drive. If you jam on the brakes at every intersection, they won’t last long. Tires are good for 50,000 miles or more, again depending on how you drive.
The more carefully you drive, the longer the parts will last and the more money you will save.
Look at the cost this way. Let’s say you need a brake job for $400 and new tires for $600, or a total of $1,000 every 50,000 miles. Divide 1,000 by 50,000 and you see that those disposables cost you two cents a mile. At the end of each week, if you put 2 cents in a cup for every mile you drive, you’ll have the money to pay for the disposables when the time comes. What could be easier? Put 50 cents in the cup and you can buy a new car.
The Fourth Path to Knowledge lies under the hood. Don’t be afraid to open it up and don’t be intimidated by what you see. Look around and explore.
The first step is to look at your battery. Clean it off, and if there is any buildup where the wires connect with the battery posts clean that off. You may need a small wire brush and paper towels. Electricity must flow freely from the batter terminals to the wires. The wires should be tight.
Warning. The post on the left, usually with a red cap, is positive. The post on the right is negative. If you touch both at the same time you will be seriously injured.
There are six fluids your car needs to run safely. Become familiar with what they are and what they do. Then make sure there is enough to keep the car running clean and safe. Start by clicking on this Consumer Report DIY Videoto learn how to check and change the fluids in your car. This will reduce the mystery and the anxiety. It really is a simple process.
Engine Oil. Pull the engine oil dipstick, wipe it clean, put it back in and remove it again. Look at the oil level and cleanliness. If the oil is dirty, it should be changed. If it is low add enough to fill it up. If you change your oil every 3,000 miles, and the engine is not leaking or burning oil, there should never be a problem. Do this once a month. If the engine oil light comes on, stop the car and add oil. Engine oil lubricates the engine parts to keep them from grinding against each other.
Anti-Freeze / Radiator Coolant. Look for the plastic container in front of the car with a hose going to the radiator. Fill it with anti-freeze up to the full mark. Radiator coolant is pumped through tubes in the engine to remove the excess heat. The heated coolant continues to the radiator where it is cooled by the air then returns to the engine for its next trip. Engines are designed to run hot, so a thermostat in the radiator decides when the water pump should pump the coolant through the engine. The heated coolant also produces the heat for inside your car during the winter
Windshield Washer Fluid. This should be filled to the top with fluid that won’t freeze during the winter. Check this once a week, especially in the winter when you would use it most.
Brake Fluid. This plastic container is often on the driver’s side at the back of the engine. The plastic container should also be filled to the full line. Stepping on the brake pedal pushes the brake fluid from the master cylinder to a wheel cylinder that either pushes the brake pads against the brake drum, or squeezes the brake shoes together against a rotor to cause friction and stop the car.
Power Steering. Find the plastic container labeled power steering. Unscrew the top and, if necessary, fill with steering fluid up to the full mark. Power steering fluid, pressurized by a pump, pushes a piston that helps turn the front wheels right or left, making it easier for you to steer the car.
Automatic Transmission Fluid. Pull the dip stick. Fluid should be full and clear. If you have concerns, talk to a trusted mechanic.
Important. When returning a dip stick, make sure they are on tight and clipped in if a clip is provided.
Do you really have to go out and buy all these fluids? No. When you have your oil changed, ask the mechanic to check and top-off the fluids that are low.
Tip 3: While you are under the hood, change your air filter. It is easy to do unless you own a Mercedes. Compare the video for theCorolla with the video for a Mercedes.
First Hybrid Car
How to Find a Good Repair Shop
Of course you are fortunate, because you have already found a good shop, but you won’t always be living close by. When you have moved to a new area and are looking for a good repair shop for your car, start by asking friends, relatives, work associates and even the auto-supply store staff who they would recommend.
When you get there, notice the range of services the shop offers. If they have a one-bay business, they may not be able to take care of your every need.
If you feel more comfortable going to a dealer, know that you will be paying 15 to 20 percent more than a local repair shop that doesn’t have that level of overhead.
Test out a shop with something simple like an oil change. If you are unhappy with the price, conditions or attitude, you’ve lost nothing, and you can continue searching. If you are happy, bring the car back. Your trust and confidence will either build or not build over a period of time, just like any relationship.
Look for a shop where the mechanics appear to be efficient and attentive, not wandering around looking for tools or instruction, happily answer your questions and appear to enjoy their work. If you have a chance to wait for a repair job with other customers, don’t grumble, talk to your new friends to find out what they think of the place. The best recommendation is a happy customer.
Once you have found a good repair shop, count your blessings and recommend it to others.
Tip 4: Put the business card of the repair shop in the glove compartment. If you need your car towed, you’ll have the name and address of the repair shop at your fingertips. You can also put the information in your phone, which works well as long as your phone is charged. Do the same with a body shop so when someone runs into your car, it won’t get towed to some unknown shop in East Chappeepee.
Tip 5: If you are out of town and need wiper blades, light bulbs, windshield fluid, a new battery, oil, or other fluids, the larger automotive stores will sell you these parts and install them for you, or help you install them yourself. They also have special tools you can borrow. If the engine light comes on and you need a computer analysis, they will do that too. At least you’ll have an idea of what is wrong and whether it is safe to drive your car to a repair shop.
Tip 6: Don’t park the car under a tree, or the sap will drop on the roof and eat the paint away.
Tip 7: Ask your parents to check out under the hood with you. This is would be a good learning experience for everyone.
Happy Motoring and remember my credit card limit!
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Yes, there is a lot of alcohol available for underage students on almost every college campus in the United States. I say “almost” to prevent being taken to task by any school that might be dry, although I don’t know of any. To continue-
Sixty percent or more of students drink on campus. Of those, 2 out of 3 engage in binge drinking at one time or another, with some making this a weekend ritual. The first six weeks of college are the most vulnerable time for our precious little darlings, and 1 out of the 4 of those who imbibe, report academic consequences. These average numbers, reported by the National Institute of Health (NIH) are higher at certain colleges and Universities. If you want to know which ones, Google “party schools” and several lists will come up. The number-one party school this year according to the Princeton Review is the University of Wisconsin-Madison followed by West Virginia University (my alma mater, I must confess, but I was a dweeb, and never got invited anywhere).
You would probably guess that alcohol consumption is lowest among commuting students, and thankfully it is. The reason given by most students is the continuing parental influence. Students living on campus who choose not to drink, also attribute this to their parent, family values and upbringing. So that’s one for the good guys.
Contrasting Considerations
While some parents ask: “what’s wrong with colleges that they can’t prevent underage drinking on their campus,” college administrators ask: “what’s wrong with parents that they haven’t raised their children to be more responsible?”
By the way, these statistics are unique to American students. In most other countries, alcohol is more common, especially at meal time, with students learning to drink responsibly at home and at an earlier age.
Rationalization
One of the classic reasons college students give for drinking hard, is to “forget” the academic pressures of the week. Unfortunately for many, the forgetting includes vital pieces of information they need when it comes time to take a test.
The University of Minnesota has completed extensive research on college drinking. Their surveys found that the top five reasons student’s drink, are to:
1 Break the Ice 74%
2 Enhance social activity 74%
3 Give them something to do 71 %
4 Give them something to talk about 66%
5 Have more fun 63%
Organized Crime
Unless the student is an alcoholic, drinking is an organized operation that occurs largely in fraternity houses, dorm rooms and at special events. That is, drinking takes place wherever two or more gather together away from the watchful eye of adults tasked with keeping kids responsible. A drinking party is planned out more carefully than some end-of-year class projects. First an older student, or a younger-student perpetrator with a false ID, must be secured to buy the alcohol, and then the younger set must find a place and time to meet, that will not draw anyone’s attention, no matter how much fun they are having.
It is after the drinking begins, that the herd mentality takes over. By the third drink, no one thinks, plans, or cares about anything other than fitting in and having a good time. Although adults may well ask, how do they measure having a good time? Alcohol is a depressant, and in the right amount, creates disinclination and lethargy, or as they say in the Marines, it makes you slow, dumb and senseless, which lead us to-
Binge Drinking
Binge drinking, as noted in the previous column on Health Care, is the number one health problem on college campuses today. Binge drinking is a pattern of consumption that quickly brings the student to a level of intoxication. Additional drinking leads to incapacitation and eventually Blackout.
Blackout is seen by some students as the Holy Grail. As described in the New York Times article written by Ashton Katherine Carrick when she was a senior at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Blackout is the Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free card because while the student is that condition, they are no longer responsible for any of their embarrassing or more egregious behavior. The accepted logic works this way. Since they didn’t know what they were doing and later did not remember what they had done, they are not culpable. In effect, Blackout gives the student immunity from prosecution allowing them to do as they please.
Blackout is also a last-man standing competition to see who can drink the most in the shortest period of time and remain upright. If you want all the details, read Carrick’s excellent article by clicking onNew York Times-Carrick.
Fun Fact 1 Fortunately, most fraternities on most campuses do not act this way. In fact, fraternity-hosted parties at my daughter’s school include designated-brothers wearing Greek-letter shirts that do not drink. They are responsible for checking in guests against a computerized list of invitees, keeping the drinking at safe levels and knowing where party goers are at all times.
Fun Fact 2. MIPs, or Minors In Possession of Alcohol are subject to prosecution for what is usually a misdemeanor, if no harm to others has resulted from drinking. You can find each state’s drinking laws by clicking an interactive map.
College Tour
Now that you have included health-care and counseling questions in your campus-tour notes, turn your attention to the school’s policy and preventative steps they have in place to help curtail underage drinking. And while their first response might rightfully be, ‘if you are that concerned about your son or daughter drinking at college, then you better have a serious talk with them! However, given that 1,800 college students die each year from alcohol related causes, 690,000 students report alcohol related assaults, and 97,000 report sexual assaults, you have the right to know what the school is doing in your student’s favor. For example, do they employ any of the interventions described in College AIM (Alcohol Intervention Matrix), or similar program? These are strategies that have been developed for use on campus based on a survey of the school’s needs.
What’s a parent to do?
What can a parent do but ask, wait and watch? Lead by example, of course. In all things good and bad, moderation is the key to survival and the source of all wisdom. And if you suspect your son or daughter of having an alcohol-related problem, jump in quick with professional help. Don’t go it alone. Even if you’re an expert, a good doctor is never good enough to cure their own child.
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As you drive off campus after completing one more college tour, you remember forgetting to visit the two most important facilities on the grounds. Should you go back? Reaching the highway entry ramp, you quickly decide: ‘forget about it. Who visits there anyway?’ In fact, if you did visit, they’d be surprised to see you. They’re not on the tour because emphasizing their damage control capabilities only serves to emphasize the possibility of damage occurring in the first place, and during your campus tour, no one wants to think about anything going wrong during your student’s freshman year.
And yet, everyone gets sick sometime, and often enough to keep a trillion- dollar health-care industry alive. You may pass on, but they’ll be around forever. The numbers of students who require medical attention while in high-school does not diminish when they go to college. In fact, the frequency of illness only increases when you cram a whole bunch of students into small living spaces. A situation exacerbated by those few who make unhealthy choices.
College Health-Care Centers
Faced with an illness or damaged body, the student should make his or her way to the college health center for diagnosis and treatment, in much the same way you or I would enter a walk-in-clinic for treatment of our non-life-threatening afflictions. If the condition is beyond the center’s ability to provide treatment, students are transported to a hospital emergency room or other facility either by campus security or an ambulance. If the student becomes sick when the health center is not open, again, campus security is trained to assist the student with either transportation, or calling 911 for emergency medical treatment.
The point of knowing this is to know it. Parents need to feel secure in knowing that the college they are considering has the capability and a procedure for handling every medical emergency. Because health-care services are different at every school, parents need to determine what services are available and how they are funded. This brings your health insurance into the equation. All schools offer a health plan. Parents should compare their plan with what the college has to offer, and then weigh the costs. Health-care providers are obligated to keep students on their parent’s plan up to the age of 26, and that may be enough coverage, but you won’t know until you compare.
College Counseling Services
Given that about a third of our population have or will experience significant feelings of anxiety and depression, it should be no surprise that the same ratio applies to college students. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America put the numbers slightly higher. When a million freshmen become unstuck from parental guidance and control, the world can turn upside down. Giving less weight to behavioral consequences, becoming overwhelmed with tougher academic requirements, and overrun by the number of choices that have to be made every day, the safety net offered by student-counseling services becomes critical. In fact, the one-two punch of counseling services and the academic resource center is often necessary to keep the student on track and prevent them from dropping out at the end of their freshman year.
Not to Frighten, but to Enlighten
Parents should know that the three major health problems on campus are: 1 Binge drinking 2 Poor food choices 3 Becoming overwhelmed with course requirements, and poor choices.
Binge drinking is jumping out of a plane without a parachute and will be covered in next week’s column. Poor food choices are discussed with remedies in the Freshman Weight Gain column and being overwhelmed is covered in the How to Study, How to Learn column.
Unfortunately There is More
Those three major problems lead to, or are symptomatic of other equally, or more serious problems that include: Anxiety Disorder, Eating Disorder, Depression, STD, Alcohol and Drug addiction, and Suicide.
Unfortunately, suicide is the leading cause of death among college students today. Harvey Mudd College, a small (800 students) elite engineering school with the standards of Stanford and MIT, has experienced three student deaths since July 2017. Students have been protesting for, among other things, additional student counseling services.
Where Do We Stand as a Country?
The increasing pressures we all face do not bode well for our overall mental health. The World Happiness Report, a 188 page document that you can download here, records on page 22 that the United States is ranked below twelve other countries in satisfaction with workplace, social support, life expectancy, freedom to make choice, health care, economic, etc.
Of course no student expects or accepts that personal development and counseling services are necessary, and so, most students don’t ask for help until a crises has occurred. Prior to that, however, roommates and parents can help by becoming aware of the symptoms and indicators of the more serious conditions that befall our college population. Here are three conditions of concern.
1 Symptoms of Anxiety include: Overwhelming stress, inability to concentrate, shortness of breath, dizziness, sweating, headaches, muscle pain, fear and the inability to move.
2 Symptoms of Depression include: Feeling sad most of the time, loss of interest in social activities, fatigue, anger, guilt, lack of concentration, indecisiveness and change in appetite.
3 Indicators of Suicide include: Threatening to kill or hurt themselves and have a plan combined with withdrawal, depression, talk or write about death and risky life-threatening behavior.
On Your Next College Tour
As we have said, your college student will most likely dismiss the need for any of these services, and hopefully they are right, but parents should sleep a little better knowing they exist and how to access them. So during your next college tour, send your student and your spouse off on the grand tour while you check out the health and counseling services. Tell counseling the quality of their program is important in your college decision-making process, then sit down in their most comfortable chair, unload your problems, and see how well they perform. I would begin by mentioning that you are under appreciated.
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