Weekly Feature

Hey my fellow readers, here is Thursday's deals for college students who are low on dough. There are ways that us financially challenged students can get more bang for our buck. Here are 5 ways to save: 1. Reduce the amount of times you eat out and try to stay home and make a meal. Usually you can buy more food with the money you would spend out at restaurants and the food will last for days. 2. Walking instead of driving saves on gas and money. If you're headed to a place that isn't too far, try to use what you got. Your legs 3. Buy off brand items. Most times buying items with a name brand has a fee, but those good 'ol off brands are cheaper and may be just as good. 4. Save bottles and cans for cashing in. Cashing in recyclables is helps saves the environment and you can save the green you get from it. 5. Get a cheaper cell phone plan. You don't need a huge amount of data. Find out what you need, and then let go of the rest. I hope these tips find you all well. Let me know if any of you use one of these tips or all and how it went? See you all in the pages.

How to focus better for finals

With finals coming up we are all either getting stressed out with the massive amount of work to finish OR feeling like we should just not go to school anymore. Either way, we need focus to help finish off our last couple days left. Mycollegeandcareers.com lists a couple ways to help you focus. Some of the ways are to find a quiet place to study, turn off your cell phones and block distracting sites from your computer, get a tutor and reward yourself after you finish an assignment. All of these are listed on the website along with others to help! Here is a video that gives a couple other tips of how to focus better while studying.

Poor College Students And Their Poor Eating Habits

          Every one has heard that saying, "I'm a poor college student," well this statement shouldn't be taken lightly. Students, nowadays, are poor. Tuition hikes have caused students to resort to horrible eating habits. One food that remains the poster child-food for college students is Ramen Noodles. This food, high in sodium, but low in cost, is the staple nourishment many students depend on. Especially for on campus students. Costing .99 cents a package, this affordable meal has become so common that an array of recipes have been created by other students. On the web site, Daily Emerald, an article titled Ramen Noodles:Creative Recipes for the College Student's Best Friend, offers diverse mixes to liven up the otherwise boring noodles.
          In keeping with the cheaper food for college students topic, another article titled, Saving Cash In College gives helpful tips to the student who is light-in-pocket. Tips such as buying generic foods or eating fast food to save money are explained further. Although, many of the options listed in money savers aren't always the best ways to go nutritionally, they still promote cheaper living. And to a college student, nothing is better than a good deal of good deals.

Textbooks Too Expensive to Purchase

          College students are told on the first day of school to purchase textbooks. Some classes have multiple textbooks that are required of students and say that having them is integral for their success in the class. In spite of the initial promptings, less and less students are shelling out the dough for them. An article done by Edward Nawotka titled Are College Students Buying Required Textbooks? 75% In US Say No talks about this in detail. One statistic that is listed in the article is that 75% of US students don't buy textbooks. I can definitely see the truth in that number. As a student, I try my absolute best not to purchase books or if I have to I will rent them on Chegg.com or buy the old editions off Amazon.com.
          Every quarter I begin with the mindset that "I probably won't need a book," and then see how things go without one. I don't really need to explain why I choose not to buy textbooks because it is obvious. Tuition costs are crazy. I like to wait things out. Sometimes I even barrow another student's book if I desparately need some information. What I have gathered from the many years I have attended CSUSB, is that buying books are a waste of money. If you go to class and are a good note taker, then earning that A won't be hard. Books don't guarantee good grades. If anything they are unecessary and are just another way to gouge money out of students. It's not right. It is upsetting to think that these book publishers redo a few chapters in a book and then charge more. Students are hip to this and have found ways around paying for brand new books, that they will only use for a quarter.
          I was in class with a student who gladly announced that he had never bought a textbook. He was close to graduating and said he got amazing grades and had been very successful in his dealings. He claimed that he had never needed a textbook and thought they were a waste of money.
          It truly makes you wonder. How can a student survive without the one thing instructors force down your throat every class? It is very possible to make it without buying textbooks. There are many ways around this routine as listed above. If worse comes to worse, you can buy the book and then resale it to another student who will take that exact course with the exact instructor and hope they'll be using your book.

Where is our money going??

Classes at four year universities are becoming more expensive and scarcer. I started out as a transfer student from a local community college to commute to a California State University. The community college I attended was Riverside Community College, there I had no problem getting the classes I needed AND I was able to pay for my classes, parking, and books without breaking my bank. When I transferred to California State University of San Bernardino my luck changed. My first quarter was alright and same with my second, but my third quarter was not the case! My third quarter I had the toughest time enrolling in classes I needed and fit my schedule. There is the argument where maybe I need fewer classes, therefore it is going to be harder to fit it in a two day schedule; I see that as being partially true. The argument that I think validates this case more is the fact that classes are being cut. Chancellor from University California, Riverside said in an article from NY times “I’d be lying if I said what we offer students hasn’t been changed and that there hasn’t been a degradation of the learning environment”. This should make my peers angry with concern of where our money goes. If our money was going towards our education, making it the best it can be by promoting the professors or congratulating them with rewards, new books or parking structures, then I’m sure the students will be more accepting to the increase of tuition. But when there is an increase with tuition and an increase of classes being cut is when students need to have a voice protesting against the way the administrators are spending our money.

weekly feature

Since college student's pockets usually aren't very deep, here are some websites that are FREE to sign up but have GREAT deals to purchase. Groupon and Livingsocial have specials available for local businesses around you! Have fun and save at the same time!!

No Jobs For College Graduates

          The reason every student attends college is to land a great job in the career of their choice. The large amounts of money spent on books, racked up loans, late nights spent studying, will all be worth it once the student receives their degree, which in turn will get them that awesome job they've always dreamt about. Although, this is the fantasy for many students, waiting for the pay back might have to be added to the list. Jobs have become more and more scarcer since the economy took a hit. This has forced graduates to take jobs that are lower level such as bartending or waitressing, to provide them with enough means to live until they land a job in the career of their choosing. The article In Weak Job Market, One In Two College Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed goes more in depth about this phenomenon.
          Achieving the "American Dream" is the goal students work for, but as the years go by, that concept becomes more like a mirage. The article Half of Recent College Graduates Lack Full Time Job Study Says  talks about students having a hard time finding full time work, let alone a job that allows them the chance to utilize their degree. A graduate from Cal State Fullerton talks of her embarrassment dealing with the reality of having a degree and working at a bank. The article also goes more in depth about the statistics of graduates and jobs. Check out these articles. Hopefully they will be interesting to you all.

How do they sleep at night?

The Cal State system is at its absolute worst. With tuition rates raising each quarter, semester, and year students are forced to make some tough decisions. They either have to drop out or take out more student loans than they can afford. The most unfortunate part of it all is that Cal state administrators are making a “cushy” six figure salary. To be honest the pay isn’t what really upsets me it’s all of the little extras they are getting on top of a very generous income. According to an article published in the Orange County Register the new president of Cal State Fullerton will receive, on top of her $324,500 a year annual salary, an auto allowance of $12,000. Another Cal State President will receive a $303,660 annual salary with a $60,000 housing allowance and a $12,000 auto allowance.

Something doesn’t seem right here… With the newly proposed tax cuts, Cal State students are being told that tuition is being raised, class sizes will get larger, and classes will be cut. For someone to be so dedicated on helping students further their education and strive to make their goals a reality they sure don’t mind making it financially impossible for us to do so. Seriously, how do they sleep at night? "While we understand the administration has limited options, higher education is the state's main economic driver, and we cannot improve our economy without an educated workforce," said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. on calstate.edu. Excuse me Chancellor but you won’t have an educated workforce if you keep raising tuition and keep approving salary increases for Cal State Presidents. Maybe instead of asking the students to pay more, ask the administrators to give up their housing allowances or car allowances, or maybe, just maybe, NOT take a salary increase but do the right thing and say instead of taking my 10% increase I am going to put the money back into the school and keep more professors. Ranting aside, I am proud to be a Cal State student I just wish they would trim the so called “fat” from the top then squeeze it from the bottom.  

 

Keep on Pushing on

                Higher education is slipping out of our hands as fast as it is taking our money.  With rising tuition we have bigger class sizes, fewer course options and less full time teachers… Welcome to the real world, where everything does not make sense. It would make sense if the outcome of raised tuition was smaller class sizes and more classes to choose from, but that is not the case. It is discouraging to hear about class availability becoming slimmer and slimmer. An interesting article from Foxbusiness.com discusses the implications of raising tuition in California. The article is informative to help see how it will affect the students, the schools and California.

              As a student who would like to enter in the field of teaching higher education, I find this news to be discouraging. We work our butts off and strive to be the best students we can, in order to graduate in (timely matter) and then land our dream job (or at least something close to it). I am sure I am not the only one who is discouraged about the rise of tuition. Hereis a link that will help jive some ideas of how to stay motivated to graduate and keep on pushing towards that dream career. The five tips they discuss are good starting points if you’re really feeling down.  

CSUSB's Outrageous Payment Plan

          Hello my fellow readers today I would like to talk about the so called, "payment plan" CSUSB offers and how horrible it is. Also how it could be improved. Cal State's payment plan is as follows, you have to pay a third of your tuition, and then you have a whole month to pay the rest. Wow! What a thoughtful, and considerate offer. Not really. I do think that a payment plan option is a good idea. Many students rather pay with their own money opposed to using student loans. Other students don't have a choice, but to use their own hard earned cash, due to not qualifying for financial aid or loans. Their only option would be to pay in full or to utilize the payment plan. My problem with it is the short window they offer students to pay. ONE MONTH! How preposterous! Maybe that length of time was reasonable ten years ago, but with the sky rocketing tuition, the time allotted needs to be extended. Ten years ago, tuition cost less than $1200 a quarter. I definitely think paying $400 initially then having a month to pay the rest was a fitting plan for the way things were, but with the major financial changes, our school payment plan should have changed too. It's no wonder we have so many students dropping out of college. Check out this article written in 2008 describing the climbing drop out rate for college students then, High Tuition Costs Force Students to Dropout. Here is another article written by a student, telling of the last resort of dropping out that more and more students are having to take, High College Tuition Increasing Dropout Rate. I understand that universities are being ran, now more than ever, like businesses rather than institutions who pride their selves on making higher education reachable for most. Because of that, we can expect things to be done based off the premise, are we making money and not based off of how understanding are we being to the students struggling to pay tuition.
          I have a friend who did not want to receive student loans and couldn't receive grants, so she decided to pay cash for her tuition. I remember her every quarter,stressing out to make her payment in such a short time. She told me once, " They want me to pay it in a month, but I don't even make enough in a month to pay them in a month." Obviously there was and still is a glitch in this "payment plan". Sadly  to say, my friend dropped out due to tuition and her lack of money.
          If I had it my way, the payment plan would go as follows: students will be expected to pay a third of tuition a week before that quarter begins and then they will receive the rest of the quarter to pay off their balance. If the student does not comply by the deadline, then a hold will be placed on their account until payment is made. To me that is more reasonable for the state our school's economy.

Students and Faculty Protesting Cuts

          Students and faculty have been largely affected by budget cuts in the last decade and have made it clear they aren't happy about it. Protesting seems to be the route most students are taking. This tactic may not put things back the way they were, but it gives a voice to the silent.
          At Santa Monica Community College, on April 4th of this year, students raised hell, protesting the huge cuts this year. The students who are already low on cash, feared their future in school. You can check out the rest of the article to get the full story  on, Hikes Caused by Budget Cuts.
          Another example of students protesting is the March on March. This is an annual protest against budget cuts, that students and faculty attend.It is held at the California State Capitol. This year the protest held 10,000 people. Some students made a commitment since the budget cuts began, to go to every protest march. For the extended article check out College Students Protest Cuts to Higher Education.
          Protesting allows for the unheard to be heard. Students and faculty alike choose to use the First Amendment to its advantages. Freedom of speech may be the tool students and faculty need to persuade the powers that be.

"Broke as a Joke"

                I’d like to dedicate this post to the picture “Broke as a Joke”. As a college student I am able to completely relate to this shirt. On freemoneywisdom.com they discuss some ideas to help college students save money. One of the tips they gave was to cut expenses, such as going out to eat, use of transportation and entertainment. For commuters this would be a more difficult task. Having to take the bus from city to city would be worthwhile financially, but it would waste a lot of time as well. Cutting out entertainment? That is was easier said than done. There are ways to have inexpensive entertainment, such as buying a board game and having your friends come over, or getting a redbox movie (just don’t forget to return it). Being a full time student is rough, you deserve to enjoy yourself, the trick is to plan it out and be smart with it.      

             Another tip discussed was to stay busy. The idea here is that the busier we are the less likely we are to spend money. The article suggests doing homework and studying, which makes sense because it is school that is making us broke. But sometimes you need  a break from studying and school. This is where buying a board game or deck of cards can come in handy help with this freetime.

            Freemoneywisdom.com had some great ideas, some you may like to adopt or tweak a little but they can definitely help with any financial struggle you may have while in college.

Anything But A Visa Credit Card: An Argument Against the Lack of Common Payment Forms

          For most students, paying for tuition is a stressful process. The idea of loads of money, that took them long hours to make, being sucked out of their account as if it was never there can be disheartening. Students who don't have the luxury of mom and dad paying their way, do not take financing their education lightly; especially when the payment options are limited. At CSUSB, the payment options are, to me, unpractical. The Bursars office accepts payments in the form of cash, visa debit and/or credit card. The credit cards they accept are Master Card, American Express and Discover. They accept Visa debit cards, but not Visa Credit cards.
         Compared to American Express and Master Card, Visa Credit cards are way more common.(Check out this link on most used credit card statistics.) Knowing this concept, why wouldn't CSUSB, modify their payment options to enable students to pay for tuition with what they have? If the board would take into consideration the socioeconomic status of the majority of its students, then they would see the need for a Visa Credit card option. Most students can barely afford paying their high tuition, let alone a bill from American Express that expects you to pay all  moneys used, in full. This complete inconsideration for students is more relevant now than ever. I have experienced this horrible payment system and have almost exploded due to not having the appropriate payment form required.
          Just this year, I had to pay my tuition. I waited in line at the Bursar's office and when finally making it up to the window, I was informed I had the wrong payment form. I thought, like other students have thought, that my common Visa credit card would no doubt be accepted. Not at all. They said they only took Visa debit cards. Already fuming from the shocking increase in tuition and now on the verge of a meltdown, I had to leave Cal State and go to my bank to have them take money out of my credit card. This inconvenient, inconsiderate, event happens every quarter. I am appalled that this has been going on for so long. We need consideration from the board and we need it now. It's very sad that the simplest ways to help improve student satisfaction in the midst of so much dissatisfaction, are being avoided.

Is The Price of Education Worth It?

          Paying for higher education currently, is a feat, next to graduating. Students in state colleges are using loans more and more due to the disappearing governmental grants. Although the loans assist students in allowing them to pay for tuition, they also pile up, waiting for the student to graduate or to leave school long enough for them to kick in. A study done by The Project on Student Debt at The Institute for College Access and Success found that students who graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree had an average of $26,000 in debt. (You can check the full article, Students graduating with more student loan debt). That is like paying a car payment on a new Toyota Carolla. The loans, that are meant to help you, actually seem to work against you. They enable you to finish school, but also make finding a job an even more serious decision. In the current state of our economy, job finding can be compared to finding a needle in a hay stack. A great example of this is of my close friend, who will remain nameless. She graduated about two years ago and has yet to find a job. She has student loans that have already demanded attention and pays for them by working at a bank. If it wasn't for the constant threat of an endless loan payment looming over her head, she would lose the motivation for looking for a job in her chosen career. (If you're interested here's a site that helps with loan repayment, its called Educational Debt Manual).
           My husband will be graduating in Winter 2012 and sadly, he's not a stranger to loans. He has attended CSUSB for over 8 years and had to make the same hard decision in the last two years; to accept large unsubsidized loans that would cover one year's tuition and then some or to accept subsidized loans that may not cover the whole year. How backwards is that?! You as a borrower, don't have much of a choice. You could choose one and have enough money to pay for that year's tuition, but create a loan that clones itself instantly, or you could choose the other and scrape up money that you don't have and hope to pay the first quarter's tuition on time before they drop your classes.
          Depending on loans is stressful. There are students who choose to continue with classes after they graduate with their BA just to avoid paying loans. We go into college in hopes to leave with a well rounded education and to receive the job of our dreams. Due to large amounts of debt, those hopes may have to take a back seat. McDonald's here we come!!!

Stress, the List Goes On and On

The list is endless when it comes to the number of things college students stress about. Grades are obviously number one on the list but tuition is right behind it in second. It does not take a genius to realize that tuition rates have risen astronomically these past years. In an article on articlebase.com they come up with three “solutions” for college students; 1- student loans, 2-student credit cards, 3- part time job. These solutions are old, and have not helped out the majority of college students with stress over tuition. I have two jobs, one full time, one part time while going to school full time. If I wanted just a quick fix I would take out a large loan or put all my expenses on my credit card and  just spend the rest of my life (slight exaggeration) paying it off. I would much rather work just my one part time job, not worry about tuition and just focus on my classes and the material I need to learn. Instead I am working like a dog trying to keep up with my classes, getting average grades, paying above average rates.  

                Stress is a leading factor that brings students to drop out. In an article entitled StudentDrop Out Rates Linked to High Stress Over Finances states, "The conventional wisdom is that students leave school because they aren't willing to work hard and aren't really interested in more education," Jean Johnson, executive vice president of Public Agenda, told the New York Times. "What we found was almost precisely the opposite. Most work and go to school at the same time, and most are not getting financial help from their families or the system itself." We need to become more active in our educational system to insure that the reason for the rise of tuition is for the better of the students; because right now it is not. The rapid rise of tuition has just given college students a bigger burden to carry.

Like us on Facebook and follow and  Twitter @thehighcost

The Fight For Higher Education

The Fight For Higher Education- Prop. 30 or 38

By Erica James on October 18, 2012 

          Due to recent, and enormous budget cuts in higher education, voting this year is a must. The threat of an additional $6 billion cut looms as the fight between Propositions 30 and 38 ensues. What to vote for? As students, educating ourselves on beneficial information is not something we’re unfamiliar with. That’s why I wanted to enlighten a few on the benefits of learning about each.

          The argument for and against Prop. 30 and 38 are extensive. I don't want to get into it because then I would be swaying people's decisions. If you click here then you can inform yourselves on unbiased info on Proposition 30. Here is also an article that talks about student's views on both the propositions.Our colleges are telling us what to vote for, but we need to be proactive in trying to understand each proposition. It may take some time to compare notes, but that is the only way to make a clear decision.

          Higher education has way too much to lose to competitors. Students, instructors, and all the other people who work in some aspect of education, have way too much to lose. I

          I remember when school cost $1,200 a quarter in 2004 and parking passes were $80. Now, eight years and millions of dollars of cuts later, tuition has almost tripled. This fall has definitely been a trying time for me and many students. The feeling of discouragement seems to burden most. How are we supposed to feel about education, when massive amounts of money are ripped away from our grasp? Since 2008 higher education has been on a slippery slope and the only way to level the playing field is for us to vote for what will help higher education. You decide.

One Really Expensive Hat

“And this mess is so big, And so deep and so tall, We cannot pick it up. There is no way at all!” ― Dr. Seuss, The Cat in the Hat. We all grew up hearing these words from Dr. Seuss’ classic book. Something that we have heard since our elementary years is applicable to today’s college education. Getting a college degree is crucial in today’s society, but it comes with a price, a very expensive price. The prices do vary for each individual, as we will discuss in further detail in posts to come. But right now, I would just like to focus on “the mess” or in other words rapid rise of tuition at four year universities. Here is a link to a report titled “Trends in College Spending, 1999-2009”. In the report, the section of “Trends in Employee Compensation 2002-2009” notes, “Wage and benefit gaps have widened, with public institutions spending more on benefits at the expense of wage increases, while private institutions have managed a better balance between the two. Benefit costs per full-time public employee increased by about 5 percent per year, a rate that is two to three times the growth at private institutions, and far exceeds growth in the average salary per employee at public institutions”. This is one of many main reasons why college students are becoming buried more and more in debt. I am a firm believer in compensation for teachers and professors, but there is a line drawn that perhaps has already been crossed. I feel I should mention that I am a college student going to school to be a communications professor. I see this information to be vital for you to know before I state my opinion on compensations for full time professors at four year universities as you would think my opinion on the matter would be biased, but it is not. A teacher is known to be someone who wants to help their students succeed in certain aspects of life. Education is one of the obvious aspects, but student’s finances should be a concern as well. From the information that I gathered it seems that our educational leaders have left their moral nest and have become more selfish than selfless. I am also aware that teachers do not get to make these decisions by themselves. Although, there is the argument that they are not denying the benefits that they are earning or informing their students of this injustice. In no way am I advocating for teachers to be underpaid, rather I am advocating for students to not be ripped off because professors and administrators (mostly administrators) need or want more money in their pension. The hat or cap we will wear on our graduation day will be a combination of one of greatest days of achievement and  the greatest day of failure. As we walk across the stage we will have our degree in one hand and our mound of debt in another, making the day a little more bitter than sweet. I am not here just to inform you or rant about these issues, I will post information about voting and other ways to be a more active member of society in posts to come. Stay tuned so we can pick up “this mess” and wear our caps proudly!

Assignment 2

Peer Group Reconnaissance (Erica James)
#1-Michele McNeil -Politics K-12 Blog http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/
-Education Week produces the content.
-This page talks about the president seeing education as an investment in our future. The blog also talks about how teachers are feeling the hurt. I believe this blog fits with our topic well.
-There are recent comments that are posted on a side bar and there are other comments on the bottom. It's news centered.
-They publish content many times a week.
-They have Twitter.

#2 Abel Herreo & Conni Scott- Another Pre-election Conversion for Education Blog
 http://www.tsta.org/grading-texas/school-budget-cuts/another-pre-election-conversion-for-education#more-1001
-There are multiple blogs showing content like education reformers and legislator rewriting anti-education, but there are no comments.
-I believe the motivation is personal interest.
-The content seems to be updated weekly.
-They have Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flikr.

#3Claire Cardona- Job Ratings Up http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2012/10/texas-poll-finds-romney-ahead-of-obama-perry-job-approval-ratings-up.html/ 
-Dallas Morning News
-There's video on the site and other political articles.
-This site does not directly correlate to our blog.
-They have Facebook, Twitter, Google
-There's not many comments.

#4 Amanda Greene-Senate Cuts Could Hurt South East NC Schools 
-The content is produced by Star News Online
-The blog is dedicated to K-12 and higher education.
-I believe this blog fits with our social issue.
-There are links to other posts and school Galleries.
-There are links to Twitter, Face Book. and other social forums.

Assignment 2

　

Below is a link to a blog made by Phoebe Connelly. The content this site produces is very similar to my social issue. The author is reporting facts and uses testimonies to help support her case. This is a personal interest to Phoebe. The viewers of her blog have taken over, and her replies are limited. The threads became somewhat hostile and harsh, definitely showing a clash of opinions. The blog has the presence of twitter, faceboook, youtube and g+.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/student-loans-basically-ruined-life-yahoo-news-readers-105332697.html

Below is a link to Yi Ding's blog who is a student that is in debt. The content of this blog has posts that are directly related to my social issue, but most have to do with common finance problems. Yi's posts are of personal interest and news related material. Yi posts frequently about financial issues. There is not presence of social media in Yi's blog.

http://blog.studentindebt.com/

　

Below is a link to usatoday's website on an atricle regarding student debt, written by Mary Beth Marklein. Mary's article is news related material about student loans relating directly to my social issue. The article is for the public good and is biased towards high loan interest. Twitter, facebook and youtube are all present on the site.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012/09/26/report-shows-increase-in-those-with-student-debt-loans/57846684/1

　

The link below is to Georgia State Univeristies newspaper article on unfair distribution of financial aid, written by Sherice Hayes. Sherice specifcally talks about FAFSA and where all of the money goes. This is an article of personal interest to Sherice. She uses facts that are unbiased, but also uses biased facts and opinions to show her position on the social issue. Facebook, twitter and g+ are all present on the webpage.

http://www.gsusignal.com/2.14076/unfair-distribution-of-financial-aid-favors-ivy-league-schools-1.1951348