The Beat-Tuition Blog

The Beat-Tuition Blog is a great way to keep up with new info about money for college on the site! Click that orange button for the feed, and keep up to date.

Student Loan Payoff - Loan Forgiveness

I am collecting resources for a page on paying off student loans quickly, as well as loan forgiveness.

I should have the page up this week.

It's very easy to get yourself into problems with your student loans. You can get them easily while you go to school, and sometimes you might be over optimistic about how fast you can pay them back.

I know, I've been there. But some students just go nuts - or at least that's how it looks.

I read a story just the other day about a woman with something like $500K in student loans to become a doctor.

People, get a grip! That's too much!

Seriously, you need an education, but don't shoot yourself in the foot at the same time - keep your student debts as low as you can.

Sometimes that means skipping a student loan even though you are approved. Or going to a less expensive and less prestigious school.

It's rough, but debt - student loans - can live a long time. Do your best to avoid that, and only borrow what you absolutely need.

Come back in a couple of days and I'll have some resources up for you to look over to get your loans of all kinds under control.

Till then!

Save Tuition and Finish Your College Degree Fast

Here's a quick strategy to help you save tuition money and finish your college degree faster.

I've know several people who used this method and succeeded, and a few who have failed at it - you'll see why below.

Do More
That's the essence of it. My wife took 21 credits our final semester to she finish with me, and she did. She even had a higher GPA than many other semesters.

Also, I just bought a book by Lawson Lau, Ph.D. called Undergraduate Studies in the USA, where he says he finished a 4 year degree in - are you ready for this? - 18 months at Wheaton College.

He admits that he did transfer a few classes from Singapore and London. He points out that he took a very heavy load to cut down on tuition costs. But it worked.

He even took a full load during the summer term.

Those who didn't make it with this idea may have gotten sick or injured. Or perhaps they overestimated their capability. Keep that in mind if you try this.

You can finish your college degree fast, and save tuition with this strategy, if you can keep up!

Scholarship Contests: 15 to Enter, plus 3 Tips

Scholarship contests offer a great opportunity to college students – free money! You can enter a bunch on this page, plus tips on your entries

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President Obama's Student Loan Program

President Obama proposed some interesting changes to government guaranteed student loans in his state of the union speech for 2010.

In case you didn't see it, below is a summary of the plan:

- Limit payments to 10% of your income

- Limit repayment terms to 10 years for public servant jobs, then forgive the balance of the loan

- Limit repayment terms to 20 years for everyone else, then forgive balance of the loan

- The forgiveness would not be taxable

As I understand it, you would use your adjusted gross income to calculate the payments.

The plan will require some work from congress, but I think he'll probably get it through.

President Obama's student loan program makes clear that he seriously wants to make a university degree affordable for everyone.

Hope this helps you!

Finding Money For College - 4 Flavors of Student Loans

Finding money for college can be easier than you think. Look here for the 4 flavors of student loans and how to get them.

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Tuition is on our minds - and another college topic

Tuition seems to dominate the conversation.

Thanks for your participation in the 1 question poll I put up. I had some great answers, and learned a few things.

First, of course, that you need help with tuition. Finding grants, scholarships and even loans to finish up a degree take a lot of brain power and time.

I have some solutions on the way.

The poll also had some answers that included why university students have to take classes unrelated to their major.

Those classes are supposed to make you a more rounded person. I know, you might not ever use that class in your life.

You can go to schools that don't require those classes. Some school like ITT, UofP and others minimize out of major classes. Saves time, gets you through faster.

I'll get back to those tuition solutions for you as soon as I can.

Keep going and finish that education!

January 2010 Beat-Tuition poll

What is your biggest challenge or problem with going to school? Take the Beat-Tuition poll

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Beat-Tuition in the New Year

Hey! It's a whole new year. I have some great ways to Beat Tuition coming up.

I took some time off recently, so I'm just getting back with it.

I want to ask for your help. I only have one question:

What is you biggest problem going to school?

Is it finding the money for tuition? Expensive textbooks? Juggling work and school?

I'll put up a little poll box to allow you to answer, but I haven't got it yet. If you can't wait, you can just click on the Contact us button and send me your question.

Once I have a few responses, about 50, I'll start to see the trends and I'll answer them with new pages on the site.

For your question though, I'll try to send you an answer right away.

Make it a great new year, and finish that degree!

Happy Holidays!

What a great time of year! Hope you and yours are having a great time, too.

I am going to add something special to my site here in the next little while - I'll have some new information on finding loans in tough times...

I still find lenders, but they not the same as usual. You may have to look a little harder.

Student loans can be difficult to get, and if you don't have enough money from other sources like grants, you may not have many options for paying tuition. Rough, right?

So come back soon and I'll have some new answers to get you going to school again - or to keep you in - if your only option is a loan.

For now, enjoy the season!

Private Student Loan: Pros and Cons, Plus A Few Extra Tips

Should you get a private student loan? What’s better, a Stafford loan or a private student loan? Why? Learn the answers here, plus a few extra tips on paying for college.

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College Student Loan: Where to Get One Now, Plus 3 Tips

If you need a college student loan, do you know where to get one now? Learn who has money, and 3 great tips on student loans.

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FTC Guidelines

As of December 1, new FTC guidelines go into effect for bloggers and websites in general to disclose paid relationships and other statements on the internet.

I am in the process of updating my site to reflect these guidelines. In general, my ads look like ads. In a few places, I have links that I may get paid for. I'll update the site to disclose those relationships.

In the mean time, click on the link with this post to learn a bit more about my site, or visit the FTC website for the actual guidelines.

Thanks for visiting, and remember - stay in school, and finish! ;o)

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Reduce Credit Card Debt in College: 5 Reasons to Get Started

5 quick reasons to reduce credit card debt while you are in college, and how to get started.

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Medical Insurance for College Students: 3 Reminders

Many colleges now require medical insurance for college students. 3 reminders to keep yourself covered.

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Injuries and Roadblocks along the way to a degree and tuition

Some of you have noticed I haven't been posting much. I had a little family emergency that has prevented it, along with plain old distractions.

My wife and I are doing some remodeling, and replacing some appliances. While searching for the right ones, we had an accident - an appliance fell on my 4 year old.

I have been looking out for our other kids while my wife stays at the hospital with her.

Maybe you can relate.

After going through ER and getting settled into a room, I went home for the night. My wife asked me to bring her college textbooks when I came back. Then she could study while our daughter sleeps.

But in a situation like this, how much studying will she get done?

Not much.

You'll have distractions and roadblocks along the way. Do what you can to work through them. Of course, any time something like this happens, the family comes first.

It's weird, but just before this happened, I wrote a short article on health insurance for college students. I'll try to put on here early next week.

Like I said, the 4 year old comes first.

Missing School or Midterms Because You Are Sick? Quick Story...

If you find yourself sick and missing school, let me give you a little hope.

When my wife was in college getting a BA degree, she had a operation that kept her out of college for a while.

She had some help during recovery to keep up with most of her classes. At least one required class for her major didn't work out.

Sad to say, she didn't get what you would call a passing grade.

Since she needed this class to graduate, the question came up a couple of years later whether she would have to take it again.

After an appeal to the professor who teaches the class, she worked out a deal to complete the assignments in the class, and then the professor would change her grade.

I can't promise every university or college will do this for free. But if you can't finish a class, you might ask for an incomplete instead of a failing grade.

You might also ask for a P, which stands for passing.

In our case, missing school and midterms didn't keep her from graduating, and we graduated on the same day ;)

Get better, and good luck!

The Scholarship Interview: 2 Important Questions to Ask

Many students worry about their scholarship interview without realizing they have more opportunities than they think. Learn some tricks to a great interview here.

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I'm Back!

I've been on vacation for a couple of weeks, but I'm back!

I'll have some great information for you to use on scholarships this week.

And if you have been waiting on an email from me - sorry! Some time off just had too much appeal. I'll get a note to you as soon as I can, as I get caught up.

More ways for you to beat tuition coming up!

Cheap Textbooks in Key West?

I am traveling right now, and my relatives in Key West take evening and distance classes. Sometimes it seems like everyone is going to school!

If you haven't found all your textbooks yet, and you still want to get them cheap, now can be a great time.

Students who started a class, then decided to go on vacation ;0) might not get their money back, and will have to sell them online. Could work out for you.

And if you are the one stuck with the book, you might try going to the prerequisite class and offering everyone in the class a deal. Just make up a little flyer with your email or Facebook/MySpace name or cell #, and drop it on all of the desks before class.

I sold one of my books this way, except I did it without the flyer - I just told people I had a book for sale for the next class.

It worked. I sold the book. Cool. 8) <-sunglasses & smile.

Hope you are doing well and getting a good education. Bye, from Key West FL.

New Weird Way to Finance College Tuition

I heard about a news story that reminded me of a weird way to finance your college tuition.

Apparently, a woman is panhandling to help her son attend a prestigious school of dance in California - a high school. She needs several thousand dollars, so whe is begging for it.

This reminded me of another method you may have heard of: Cyberbegging.

It is almost just like it sounds.

In cyberbegging, you set up a website and tell your story, then ask for donations. If people find you in need enough and want to help, they will paypal you a few dollars.

While I haven't tried this method, I thought some of you might like to know.

It's not the traditional way to finance your school, but some people do find cyberbegging helps pay the tuition.