In - Your Guide to College Admissions from The Princeton Review

Money-Saving Tips for College Students

In college, you’ll probably face an unusual financial situation.

While your expenses will be limited (you and your family will pay up front for your housing and meals at the start of each semester), you probably won’t have much disposable income, either. The reason? Unless your parents are fairly well off, college bills will seriously drain their cash flow—i.e., you shouldn’t expect a bigger allowance than the one you had in high school. While you can get an on-campus job (in fact, I recommend it), these jobs usually don’t accommodate extravagant student lifestyles.

So how can you make the most of the limited cash you have as a college student? TheRealCollegeGuide.com recently offered the following money-saving tips for students.

• When going out, limit your pocket cash (and leave your credit card in your dorm room).
• Buy quality clothing that won’t fall apart.
• Switch your prescriptions to generic brands, if possible.
• When dining out, order water instead of soda.
• Find online discounts or coupons.

Click here to read more about each of these pointers.

Add Twitter to Your College Search

As many admissions offices now have Twitter accounts (click here to see some of the best ones), you should add Twitter to your arsenal of college search tools. Admissions offices tweet everything from on-campus news to “open house” info to application deadline reminders.

Additionally, savvy students are using Twitter to network with school officials and find out what current student are saying about particular schools. Click here to read more about these strategies on SmartCollegeVisit.com.

Thanks to Montgomery Educational Consulting for the great tip!

Scholarships and Grants Covered More College Costs Last Year

In a recent study, students and families said that scholarships and grants covered one third of their college costs during the 2010–2011 academic year, an increase of 10 percent from the previous year. They also reported paying 9 percent less for college than they did a year ago.

The study, from student-loan giant Sallie Mae, included more than 1,600 college students and their families.

Click here to read more on the Wall Street Journal.

Reader Response: H.S. Students Take More, Tougher Classes

Earlier this week, I posted on a report that high school students today have more challenging class schedules than they did 20 years ago.

I recently received the following reply from Holly K. (a high school junior):

This is funny because those are the same people who call us lazy. Good to know.

Would you like to add to the conversation? If so, email me at INblog@review.com.

How to Choose a College Credit Card

As students return to campus in the fall, so do credit card companies. They send their most likable employees to man booths and tables in common areas. Each offers a variety of incentives—and usually a gimmick or two—to convince you to get their card.

So how can you tell whether a given card is a good deal or just an illusion of one?

To start, a recent article on the Huffington Post advises students to pass on the following gimmicks:

• No co-signer required
• Good GPA discounts
• Shiny rewards programs
• Prepaid debit cards

Click here to read more.

Irene Alters Move-In Plans for College Students

With Hurricane Irene scheduled to hit the East Coast this weekend, colleges and universities in the region are urging—and, in some cases, forcing—students to change their move-in plans.

St. Mary's College of Maryland has pushed the first day of classes from Monday to Tuesday to accommodate late move-ins.

In New York City, both NYU and Columbia have postponed their planned freshman move-ins from Sunday to Monday.

In Massachusetts, Harvard opened its houses yesterday—two days early—to let new and returning students move in early.

Click here to read about hurricane-related reschedulings at other schools on the East Coast.

Irene is currently a Category 3 hurricane. If you plan to arrive on campus on the East Coast this weekend, be sure to contact your school to see if it has altered the student move-in schedule.

Video: Penn State Welcomes Students Back to Campus

Looking for motivation to fill out your college applications? Check out the below video from Penn State. (Thanks to the Tweed blog for the great find.)

New College Freshman: If You Need Help, Just Ask!

Many new college students don’t like asking “the adults” on campus— i.e., professors and administrators—for help.

They might have several reasons for this, including: not wanting to admit a mistake, not believing a situation can be improved, and not knowing that “the adults” actually want to help. After all, college can seem a little scary, particularly to first-generation students.

In this vein, a college administrator recently posted about her previous experience as a student who was afraid to ask for help. It’s valuable to hear how her college years could have been a lot easier if she had asked for a few extensions or taken a few incompletes. Click here to check out her post on the Campus Overload blog.

H.S. Students Take More, Tougher Classes

It turns out that “kids today” do listen after all.

High school students are routinely told they should have a challenging schedule of classes if they want to get into a good college. This means more “real” classes (instead of, say, Ceramics) and more classes overall.

According to a recent report by the National Center of Education Statistics (NCES), students have taken this instruction to heart.

The typical H.S. grad in 2009 had earned over three credits more than the typical grad had earned in 1990. Additionally, 2009 grads were much more likely to have completed a standard high school curriculum—75 percent of them did so, compared to only 59 percent of 1990 grads.

Click here to read more on the NACAC blog.

Dropping out of College is a Costly Move...

. . . for both the student and taxpayers, according to a new report by the American Institutes for Research (AIR).

Taxpayers assist college students through both grants and loan subsidies. It is expected that college graduates will repay this generosity by earning more—and therefore paying more taxes—once they enter the workforce.

According to AIR, the students of the class of 2006 who dropped out before completing their degree have cost the U.S. $4.5 billion in lost tax revenue.

Of course, dropping out is also tough on the student. A dropout has spent money and possibly taken out loans for college yet doesn’t enjoy the increased earning power of a college graduate.

Click here to read more on DailyFinance.com.