10 Steps to Make Your Junior Year Count

From: http://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/nerdscholar/2014/steps-make-junior-year-count/

Your junior year is a pivotal point in your college experience: You’ve officially surpassed the halfway mark to achieving a college diploma and taken on the role of an upperclassman. Now is the time to take your experience one step further.

After two years of adjusting to college, your junior year is about digging in to your college experience and seriously weighing your post-graduation options.

NerdScholar asked the experts to offer their best advice for college juniors. Whether you’re a transfer or traditional four-year student, make this year count by staying on track to graduate with these 10 steps.

In the first few months…

1. Reflect on your college experience so far.

Let your experiences from your first two years inform your next two. Think about what you’ve enjoyed up to this point and continue down that path. If that means sticking with a club you’ve been involved in, find ways to take your experience there to the next level.

The beginning of junior year also marks a huge transition for transfer students, those who’ve just come from another two- or four-year college.

“I would highly recommend they spend time thinking about what they felt was lacking at their previous institution, if that was their reason for transferring, and seek out ways to find that connection or resource at their new institution,” says Leslie Page, the assistant director of orientation services in the center for student progress at Youngstown State University in Ohio. “Hopefully if they find what they felt they were missing elsewhere, they will already be happier or more comfortable at the new institution.”

2. Engage in your major.

“Students need to engage deeply in the curriculum of their college and major, says Richard Handler, director of the University of Virginia’s global development studies program and a professor of anthropology. “They need to learn ways of understanding and analyzing the world that employers will respect. Often employers are less interested in narrowly defined ‘skills’ than in the ability to tackle a problem, conceptually, from a variety of perspectives,” he says.

Dive into your major by getting to know your professors, tackling extra research assignments or joining clubs within your major. Aim for a high grade point average, especially if you’re considering graduate school.

3. Study abroad.

If you didn’t plan to study abroad in your first semester, seriously consider applying for the next one. Studying abroad in your third year is an especially good time because you’ve adjusted to the demands of college and can still enjoy ample time on campus after your travels.

“Any international travel experience you can have will expose you to new cultures, languages, methods, customs, traditions,” says Brian Duggan, the assistant class dean of first-year programs at Babson College in Massachusetts. “In our global economy,” he says, “these experiences will provide you with a valuable perspective that will last long after you graduate from college.”

Know that you don’t have to decide between studying abroad and gaining valuable work experience. Many study abroad programs will help you find an internship in your host city. Arrange an internship while you’re studying or, better yet, consider extending your trip and taking on a job after you program ends, says Lisa Gavigan, the director of career services at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. Not only will you gain the experience employers want to see, you’ll also learn more about your city’s culture than you might’ve otherwise.

By halfway through the year…

4. Interact with alumni in your field.

“Build your network before you need it,” says Meredith Tornabene, the assistant director of career counseling at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies in New York. Alumni are typically willing to lend a helping hand to students of their alma mater. Make connections while you’re still in school and get a feel for what life in your dream job might be like. “Definitely utilize any resource that can put you in touch with alumni who work in a career you’re considering since they were in your exact shoes at some point and are a goldmine of advice,” Tornabene says.

5. Develop a professional online presence.

It goes without saying nowadays that your online presence plays a large role in defining your personal brand—namely, how you represent yourself as a professional. Enhance your online presence well before you enter the professional world. “A solid LinkedIn profile can give a college junior a competitive edge for any career opportunity, says Eric Melniczek, a career adviser at High Point University in North Carolina. He recommends using social media to develop your emerging personal brand, which will serve you well long after college is in the rearview mirror.

Blogging is an easy way to gain exposure. “Consider publishing something about your career interest either on a personal blog, Tumblr, or just a post on LinkedIn,” Tornabene says. “Even a ‘Top 5 Things I Learned At My Internship’ post can speak volumes about your writing ability and readiness to join the workforce.”

6. Craft your story to share with employers.

“Your resume looks like the resume of a lot of other college junior [and] seniors,” Duggan says. “Your story makes you stand out.” Be prepared to talk about yourself and market your experiences when meeting potential employers during interviews or at career fairs. Duggan says to refine your story by explaining what you’ve done and how you were affected by that experience.

7. Get internships.

Whether it’s a paid or unpaid internship position, the experience will look great on a resume and will help you nail down your interests. Better yet, “do several [internships] to experience what particular careers choices might be like if [you] were to choose [them],” says Dr. Dianna Dale, vice president of student affairs and dean of students at the College of Mount Saint Vincent in New York.

“If you’re struggling to get your first internship,” says Tornabene, “then think about how you can find a similar role on campus, whether it’s in an office or through a position in a student organization. That experience might convince an employer you’re ready for the next step.”

8. Go to a career fair.

“Attend job or internship fairs and career development workshops,” recommends Kelly N. Harris, the director of career services at Eureka College in Illinois. Career fairs are a great place to interact with recruiters at elite companies and employers. By attending fairs your junior year, you’ll be free to make connections and learn about companies long before your job search really starts. Plus, getting the lay of the land now will help you maximize your experience at any career fairs the following year.

[Be sure to read 9 Career Fair Tips to Get You Hired.]

By the end of the year…

9. Make a plan for senior year.

Solidifying your post-graduate plans is important, but it isn’t the whole picture. College is short, and your final year will come and go quicker than you expect, so make sure you’re embracing every step of the process.

“Reflect on how to maximize the opportunities that are afforded to you on your college campus so that you leave with no regrets,” says Dr. Leanna Fenneberg, assistant vice president of student development at Saint Louis University. Always wanted to take that art course or volunteer for a program on campus? Take advantage of this time to try new things.

For transfer students nearing the end of their first year on campus, Page recommends reflecting on how it compares to your experiences at your former school.

“If a student still feels like something is missing from their experience,” she says, “they really need to connect with someone on campus to ask questions about where to find what they are missing.”

10. Consider graduate school.

As you near the end of your third year, start thinking about what you’ll do after you graduate. If you’re entertaining the idea of graduate school, now’s the time to research application requirements and deadlines, Fenneberg says. Consider which schools you should apply to and what about them inspires you, she says.

Because many graduate school applications are due in the fall, register for any entrances exams and prepare your application materials, including letters of recommendation, before your senior year arrives.

Why Every College Student Should File A FAFSA

The federal government provides billions in grants, loans and work-study opportunities to undergraduate and graduate students each year. The College Board estimates that two-thirds of full-time undergraduates receive some government help with college costs. Completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step students must take to access this aid. Even those that believe they are not qualified for aid should file each year to determine eligibility.

Why file a FAFSA?

Grants, which do not have to be paid back, and low-interest loans can help ease the burden of tuition costs. Federally funded work-study programs can put some extra money in a student’s pocket to help with incidental expenses during the school year. Additionally, many states that offer financial assistant to students require students first complete the federal application.

Who is eligible for federal financial aid?

Government aid is based on financial need. Adult students as well as recent high school graduates are eligible. Unlike many scholarship programs, federal student aid does not consider academic performance, although students receiving aid must meet their college’s standard for satisfactory academic progress to continue receiving aid.  Students must be enrolled in a degree or certificate granting program at least half-time (six or more credit hours) to be eligible. Additionally, male students ages 18 through 25 must register for Selective Service to be considered for financial aid.

Is there an application fee?

As the name of the application suggests, applying for aid is free. Note that some websites appear to be the federal free site, but applicants will be asked to pay a fee. The official federal site is FAFSA.ed.gov. Some students may wish to hire a professional to help complete the form, but in recent years, FAFSA has been simplified and usually can be completed online in less than one hour. A new feature, the IRS Retrieval Tool, allows many applicants to automatically transfer income information from the IRS into the FAFSA.

When should students file a FAFSA?

The deadline for filing a FAFSA is June 30, but students should complete the application as soon after Jan. 1 as possible each year they plan to attend college. Funds do run out, and applying early will help ensure students receive the aid for which they are eligible. While having a completed tax return available is helpful, it is not necessary. Students can add income information from pay stubs and W-2 forms. If a student or parent, after completing their tax return, discovers new information, the FAFSA may be amended.

Must a student include parent’s income information?

Dependent students must include parent or guardian income information. In most cases, if the student has not reached age 24 by Dec. 31 of the school year, the student is considered a dependent, even if he or she is living independently or expects no help from their parents with college expenses.

There are cases when a student younger than 24 may be considered independent. Married students, students with dependents, homeless students or students in danger of becoming homeless and those who are legally declared emancipated may be granted independent status and can exclude parents income from their FAFSA application. In cases where a student has no contact with their parents, the student should file a FAFSA and then contact the financial aid office where they plan to attend college and explain their circumstances.

How much aid can a student expect?

The U.S. Department of Education provides an online calculator for students that wish to get a rough approximation of how much federal aid, and what type of aid, they may expect. Enter income, household and college costs information into the FAFSA 4caster  and the calculator will return with an estimate of Pell grants, student loans and work-study opportunities. States will have separate grant and loan programs for which a student may be eligible. Applications for these may link directly to the FAFSA so information will automatically transfer into the state form. Note that state deadlines are often different from the federal filing deadline.

Top 5 College Application Mistakes to Avoid

From: http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/blogs/college-transitions/top-college-application-mistakes-to-avoid/article_65563e3f-49d4-58ff-b80d-062e88095009.html

With the majority of college application deadlines looming, it’s important to perform a thorough review of your applications to make sure an easily identifiable mistake doesn’t cost you an acceptance letter. Serious colleges want serious applicants, and a short-sighted error can spell disaster for your admission prospects. Below are our top 5 college application mistakes you’ll want to avoid before submitting your application:

1. Typos

Let’s start with the most obvious mistake—the dreaded typo. In life, they happen. Auto-corrected texts can turn your “dear friend” into your “dead friend” and bad grammar can mean the difference between knowing your crap and knowing you’re crap.

Reread your application, then reread it again, then ask everyone you know to read it. Because when it comes to grammar or dandruff in your 1980s perm, you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

2. Be professional

Okay, we know that your Partystud1@hotmail.com account has served you well ever since 6th grade. While others in your social group traded in their hotmail accounts for gmail eons ago, you’ve held steady. You’re not partystud 2, 34, or 79—you’re partystud1. We encourage you to keep your goofy/offensive/nonsensical email accounts and use them without shame…except when you are emailing prospective colleges.

Your best bet is to open a new account that is as close to your legal name as possible:FirstName.LastName@whatever.com. If your name is Mike Jones you might have to add a 6 digit number after your name but that’s okay. And don’t worry, partystud1 may have to lie dormant for a few months, but he’ll entertain himself—he’s partystud1!

3. Beating a dead horse

Of course, we’re using a cliché here and not referring to the actual postmortem equine abuse (tip: that wouldn’t look good on an app either). Admissions officers do not like to read the same thing over and over. In other words, don’t weave the same tale of overcoming adversity through field hockey into every essay topic.

Real estate on an application is as valuable as Park Place. Don’t treat it like Baltic or Mediterranean Avenue (even if hotels are cheaper to build and it’s all part of your grand plan to be a Monopoly slumlord). Use every open space on an application to reveal something new and important about who you are. That’s what it’s there for.

4. The never-ending activity page

“Oh, you organized a potato sack race at your family reunion when you were ten? Welcome to Stanford, young man!” says the man in the tweed jacket as he hands a teenage boy a celebratory cigar.

Perhaps this absurd, never-gonna-happen scenario is the fantasy driving applications who submit activity pages and resumes longer than that of the average head of state. Keep your resumes/activity pages short but sweet, which also happens to be the title of a delightful episode of Different Strokes where Arnold Drummond searches for love. Colleges know that no matter how accomplished an 18 year old you may be, you’re still a teenager. The great majority of your resume-worthy achievements lie ahead.

5. Keep mom and dad on a leash

Speak to any group of college admissions officials and tales of overly-involved parents abound and make no mistake, excessive parental intervention can harm your admissions chances. Emails and phone calls to the admissions office should come exclusively from you, the applicant, not your parents. Your application should not show any traces of mom or dad’s handwriting or middle-aged writing styles.

Here's What to Do While Waiting for Admission Decisions

From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeannie-borin/heres-what-to-do-while-waiting-for-admission-decisions_b_6126620.html

Tips for keeping track of your submitted college applications:

You have undoubtedly worked hard to complete your applications and finally they are submitted! Now what? For the next few weeks, you may feel the anxiousness of the notorious college waiting game as nerves build and decision time gets closer.

Have the colleges received my application? An email is generally sent by the colleges confirming that they have received your application. If you do not hear back,contact the admissions office to confirm that they have received your materials. Every university has their unique admission requirements. So, do check and make sure you have followed all directions. If your application is incomplete, this could delay their review and your decision.

How can I check the status of my application? How often should I check it? There are applications status links on most every college website. Use the same log in information you used for your application and you should be able to access the university websites. Receipts of transcripts, letters of recommendation, and test scores are sometimes on these status pages, so feel free to check back as often as you like.

What should I do while I wait? This is a good time to make universities aware of changes or additions to your files. Have you moved? Changed schools? Improved grades? Won any additional awards not posted on your application? Participated in additional and/or relevant activities? Also, you could do additional research on the colleges on your list so you can make an informed decision when the time comes.

How are admissions decisions made? It's hard to be certain about why a particular applicant gains acceptance as there are so many variables that enter into the decision making process. Some universities divide up applications based on geographical region and regional representatives review those applications. Other colleges may have several admission committees who make the final choices. In addition to your transcripts, essays, recommendations, completed applications, test scores (where required) and anything else you have toiled over, your high school will send a high school profile. This is information about the curriculum offerings at your high and perhaps its college acceptance history

When will I find out? If you applied for early decision, you should be notified around December 15th. If you applied to colleges where there is rolling admission, it generally can take six to eight weeks to receive a decision. Regular admission deadlines are around the 1st of the year and those decisions are revealed in March and April. You can obtain more specific information by visiting the colleges' websites.

When should I be concerned if I have not heard from a college? Don't wait more than three weeks to contact colleges if you have not received a confirmation. If you haven't received a response, call or email the admissions office to check your status. You can also check the application status link on their websites.

Can I find my admission decision online? Most colleges send decisions electronically through the application status link and follow up with a letter.
What if I am accepted to one of the more likely schools on my list before I hear from one of my top choices? You generally have weeks before you need to respond to a college with your decision whether to attend or not. Don't respond right away. This is a huge decision! Give yourself and your family time to receive all your acceptances so you can make the best choice. Have faith that you have completed the best applications possible and now it is out of your hands.
Best of luck!

Visit us: http://www.college-connections.com

Mistakes Parents Make With Financial Aid

The Timing of Certain Financial Decisions Can Hurt Students' Eligibility for Assistance

Most families know the basics of college financial aid: Several months before school starts, students apply for assistance, parents detail their financial situations, and then everybody waits for the powers that be to tab the bill.

What many don't know—or at least, don't realize until it's too late—is that the timing of certain financial decisions made well before and even during college can significantly alter a student's eligibility for aid from both the federal government and the university itself.

"It's like trying to pilot a plane from New York City to Los Angeles," says Kalman Chany, a college financial-aid adviser in Manhattan. "If you're off by a half of a degree in the beginning and you don't notice early enough, by the time you're on the other side of the country, you'll be hundreds of miles off course."

Unwelcome Surprise

That's how Deborah Carney-Gumpper feels now.

As a single mother, Mrs. Carney-Gumpper pushed college on her son, Brian Carney, figuring that her $50,000 annual income would qualify him for a lot of need-based aid.

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When she remarried several years before her son applied to college, the East Brunswick, N.J., mother says she never imagined that her new husband's income would be factored into financial-aid calculations. Brian was her son, after all, and when the time came, she figured the government and her son's future alma mater would understand.

They didn't.

According to the Higher Education Act of 1965, remarried parents like Mrs. Carney-Gumpper, whose incomes will be used in filing for financial aid, must report their new spouses' incomes on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa). Many private colleges use additional forms, such as the College Scholarship Service (CSS/Financial Aid Profile), which can take into account the incomes of as many as four adults—both parents and their respective spouses, if a couple is divorced and each party remarried.

ENLARGE

Suddenly, Mrs. Carney-Gumpper found herself with what looked like a much higher income and a much smaller aid package than she expected.

To pay for his degree at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey, Mr. Carney would go on to borrow $89,380 in Higher Education Student Assistance Authority NJClass loans, which actually are private loans with more restrictive terms than their federal counterparts.

After graduation, a long search for full-time employment, a series of loan deferments, collection fees and interest, Mr. Carney now owes nearly $140,000 to NJClass and is facing default at age 25.

"Had I known all this, I would have just waited to remarry," his mother says on a recent Sunday afternoon, sitting at the Red Lobster near the Jersey Turnpike, where her son now works as a server on the two days off from his full-time job at software reseller SHI International Corp.

Retiring? Think Carefully

The biggest mistake people make in these situations is thinking that intentions matter to financial-aid committees, says Mark Kantrowitz, a financial-aid expert and publisher at Edvisors Network Inc.

He comes across parents who think financial-aid officers will accept informal agreements about money, or who believe they can explain that assets from, say, the sale of a home or an inheritance are intended for retirement and shouldn't be factored into any aid calculation. Aid officers, he says, tend to make decisions on something more concrete than intentions—specifically, how much money there is, where it is and when it will be available.

Tim Higgins, president of 3meritus Wealth Management in Southborough, Mass., says some families make another big mistake: They forget or don't understand that financial-aid eligibility is recalculated annually. After the first year's aid is granted, many of these parents go on to make financial moves that make them look less needy than they first appeared, he says.

They buy vacation homes without realizing that colleges view such equity as liquid assets. Grandparents make substantial gifts to students—or pay universities directly—as the school year is gearing up, which only makes a family's income appear larger, reducing aid eligibility for the next year.

Some parents take out home-equity loans to cover college expenses, only to find themselves penalized for having a lot of cash sitting around.

"If you put it in your checking account, it's going to be fully assessed in financial-aid eligibility," says Mr. Higgins. (A better bet, he says, is a home-equity line of credit, which functions more like a credit card, allowing users to withdraw money as needed rather than all at once.)

Even retiring can cause problems, according to Deborah Fox, a San Diego financial planner and founder of Fox College Funding, an advisory firm that specializes in helping families reduce their college expenses. Sure, most of the time family income declines in retirement, she says, but things like stock-option vesting, requirements to sell a former employer's stock within a short time frame, and other corporate retirement perks could mean a temporary asset spike, skewing a family's eligibility for aid.

Dean Skarlis, president and founder of The College Advisor of New York, a college-admissions and financial-aid counseling firm, says the entire four-year period between Jan. 1 of a student's junior year of high school all the way through to Dec. 31 of the student's senior year of college is a danger zone, a time when parents need to be very careful about their money decisions.

No Control

To be sure, the timing of some events can be beyond a family's control.

Karri Mickelson was receiving around $27,000 in federal and institutional aid for her second year at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2013 when her aunt died, leaving the student with $140,000 in life-insurance payouts. Although the history major says she was fine using the inheritance to pay for college, reporting it reduced her aid eligibility to about $5,000 in grants and $3,000 in work study.

While families may not be able to time something like an unexpected bequest, advisers say there could be ways to mitigate its effect on financial aid.

Estates, for example, take time to settle, says Ms. Fox, the San Diego financial planner. "If an estate is in the process of being settled, even if there are dedicated assets, they don't have to be reported until they're settled," she says, and that could take years.

Make Your Case

Parents who believe they are the victims of bad timing can appeal their case to the school's financial-aid office.

Some colleges will reassess a family's financial situation through a process called "professional judgment," says Sandy Baum, a senior fellow at George Washington University who focuses on higher-education finance.

Although professional judgment is typically intended for those whose financial situations have worsened during the course of college, some schools may adjust aid offers for those whose families may have appeared at the time of reporting to have more resources than they actually do.

The key, she says, is to be honest and up front with financial-aid officers, who often deal with many parents making similar appeals.

She says there is a fine line between wealthy parents gaming the system, and families whose needs truly are inaccurately calculated.

Mr. Wells is a news editor for The Wall Street Journal in New York. Email him atcharlie.wells@wsj.com.