Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with finance and college

What scholarships are available for law/business school?

HLS — Sat, 09 May 2009 14:57:54 -0800

Scholarships/Fellowships for a law/business student interested in entrepreneurship and the environment. In September, I will begin getting a joint degree at Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School (JD/MBA). I am very excited about this. The only problem is the cost - tuition alone is about $45,000/year, and the program is 4 or 5 years long. My mother is disabled and my family will not be able to contribute at all.

I am looking for fellowships or scholarships which could help me pay for this. I have already applied for financial aid through Harvard, which is only paying for part of it.

I am very interested in entrepreneurship, particularly environmental or social entrepreneurship. I tried to start a clean energy company after graduating from college, but it did not work. I am going to grad school to help make my next company a success.

I plan to apply for scholarships throughout the year, so don't worry if the deadline has already passed.

If I knew then, what I know now...

nineRED — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 05:36:29 -0800

Writing a finance 'book' for my niece...What do you know now about money that you wish you knew at 17? What have you learned the hard way? My niece will be starting college next year and I wanted to buy her a finance book aimed at teenagers in an effort to help her learn about money, pitfalls/scams to avoid, and generally helpful hints about credit, saving, taxes, etc. However, I have instead decided to write a personalized ‘book’ for her filled with beneficial tips, stories, and examples gleaned from various sources.
What would YOU include in a book like this? What do you know now about money that you wish you knew at 17? What have you learned the hard way? Additional topics I should be covering, such as credit cards, car payments, income taxes, credit scores, insurance, online banking, scams, and saving, as well as helpful anecdotes or tips (“Don’t sign up for a credit card on campus just to get the free frisbee…”) are welcome. Bonus points for college-specific stories.
No one taught me about money when I was growing up and I want to make sure that my niece has all the information she needs to make wise decisions.

Level-up, Economics.

dead_ — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:28:09 -0800

I'm looking for a good, intermediate economics textbook. I would like to get a few recommendations on intermediate/advanced economics textbooks that are well suited to self-study. I am particularly interested in macroeconomics and development economics. What are the standard books typically assigned in college courses? Which books have been particularly helpful in moving you from a beginner to intermediate understanding of macroeconomics? Also, books that have associated online content (quizzes, tests) are a plus.

So i'm frugal, but what's next ?

fizzix — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:28:42 -0800

I am a frugal person entering his senior year in college [age 21]. I have been following advice like the stuff in thread 84915and thread 99852 and living below my means. I sought advice in Financial books for college kids my age [for example, generation debt], but left feeling wanting more because they focus primarily on how to cut expenses [skipping the latte, etc]. So, I have some student loans already, but will need more for my senior year. I also have some money set aside, but I should I use this money to lower the loan amount that I'll take out or use this money for an investment (Roth IRA, index fund), and take out more for my student loans ? Here's my scenario:

- I have NO debt - EXCEPT from my Student Loan Debt

($46,025.40 for undergrad so far, heading into my senior year).
($27,519.40 are government loans - fixed rates, ),
the rest is from a private company, at variable rate -
A combination of federal and private loans
I am getting VERY Scared about affording this (right now, I have
estimated payments of $ 541.34, given the current interest rates and a normal payment schedule that is not income contingent).

- I have NO credit cards.

- I do have a checking account (with a debit card).

- I have a saving account (only 1.05% APR) of $ 800 (a 6 month
emergency reserve).

- In the past 5 months or so, I have saved 40 % of my income to a
general savings and a checking account

(it's only 1.05 APR, and I know there's better ones (ING, etc) but
both my [savings and checking]
banks charge a rather large fee (of $30 or so) for transactions from
one bank account to another,
for retirement.

My most important question is THAT I have received conflicting advice
regarding the following
situation:

This fall, I'll need to take out an additional $5,500 (estimated) for
living expenses (this is living frugally, rent, utilities, etc) (I am aware that I could work off campus more hours, but I have tentatively decided not to do that.
(I decided not to work more than 12-15 hours a week, while in school,
which can be for metatalk if you want to discuss that).

Should I take that 40% [which I saved - $650] and my federal work study job income ($2220) towards my expenses and take out a smaller loan (the advice from a counselor at the school financial aid office) ?
(Because any rate that I get on investing wouldn't be higher than my loan rate)
(I have not applied for the loan yet, so not sure of the rates that I'd be getting. This loan would be a private loan, because I am already taking out the maximum from Stafford and Perkins loans. I am looking at PLUS Loans - another govt loan, but that may not work, because my parents do not want a loan in their name).

Should I take that money and put it into certain investments for retirement (Roth IRA, Index Fund,etc) ?

Should I put that into something more safer like a money market account (Andrew Tobias' advice for those with less than $5,000) ?

Should I study Finance or Management?

Theloupgarou — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 05:50:34 -0800

Is it better to get any degree or to get the degree that I want? I'm about to start my senior year of college but I find myself wanting to switch majors! What to do? Management: What I’ve been studying so far. I’m doing good, but it doesn’t excite me anymore.

Finance: This is what I really want to learn. I look at people studying this and I’m attracted; I want to be like them.

I’ve actually already done the paperwork to switch majors :P I find myself having second thoughts now. But I can easily do the paperwork to switch back.

Here are my overall concerns:
-I have no real experience in finance and don’t know what to expect apart from it being hard (at least it seems so to me). Part of what attracts me, however, is precisely that challenge – I feel good about taking it head on and I feel great about my math skills, which have improved immensely since entering college.

-I do realize that another part of what attracts me to this switch of major is simply being a senior and the uncertainty of entering the job market. Finance, after I get into the curriculum, is going to tack on a few extra months of work and possibly an extra semester (which will keep freedom – horrible, horrible freedom – at bay, at least for a little bit). And though finance seems to be more competitive than management, it also seems to me to pay way better at entry-level. That is the biggest draw.

-If I stay with management I can be done this year. Not kidding – it would be nice to be done and grin and not add more to my debt load.

-As far as work after college is concerned, I just want to make as much money as possible and live as comfortably as possible… at least at first (say… maybe first 5, 10 years, so I can get out of the hole and build some wealth. In that case, maybe accounting would have been a better major choice). Ultimately I want to work for government or an international organization like the UN or similar, so that I can work for the commonweal and feel all nice inside. I’m lucky to have good language skills: I’m bilingual in English/Spanish, have a good knowledge of French (which I’m constantly improving), and I’m very willing to learn other languages (Chinese or Arabic, maybe?)

Bottom-line is that I KNOW that I want to learn finance, I just don’t know if this is the right time to do it or not, and what I should do, and so I ask, what would you do?

Shall I get greedy or follow my heart?

saxamo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:15:20 -0800

It it worth it for me to put an amount of money into an immediate fixed annuity and take out a loan to pay for tuition, or is it alright to just pay off my tuition with the money available to me. Hello, yet another question on tuition unlike those in the past. I realize the best person to speak to would be a financial planner, but I don't think the amount is enough to warrant an independent planner.

I'm currently still in college and I have 34K in CD's that will mature very shortly. I have taken out a loan last year and I want to do everything I can do to prevent doing that again. I strongly want to minimize the amount of debt I graduate with.

I am being offered an immediate fixed annuity on the 34K which will lock up the principal for five years and give me a payout on the interest every quarter. If I do this, I will undoubtedly have to take out loans for my remaining years in school. I am weary of the annuity for this reason, along with the fact that they grant high commissions.

What I would like do is to simply use this money to pay for the rest of my education. No harm in that, right? Put it in a high yield savings account and take it one year at a time. Can anyone give me a reason why this would be a bad idea or otherwise work against me?

I've been told that this is not necessarily the best way of handling my money, and that I should try and gain capital off of it while I'm in school so that I can make a down payment on an apartment or car or whatever when I graduate. I feel that a large sum upon graduation that will probably just go to my loans would not help me much.

Is there any alternative? Is it imperative that I rapidly try to accumulate more wealth on this sum of money and dive further into debt, or is it okay to spend it on my tuition with less stress upon entering the "real" world.

How do I ask for more financial assistance / financing options as an international in the US?

Anonymous — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 10:32:38 -0800

How do I ask for more financial assistance / financing options as an international undergraduate in a US college? I am now considering my options for university next year. I am an international student (east asian female) from a middle-class family with a pretty big mortgage. I hold a conditional offer from Cambridge Uni in the UK and an unconditional one from Amherst in the US, but I'm favouring Amherst at the moment because of the liberal arts aspect.

I applied for financial aid from Amherst, but they determined that I do not have any need. I suspect that they do not include mortgages in their calculations. The finance office told me that I can do work-study, but I know that the around $2000 I earn per year will not help much to offset the yearly $45000+ tuition my parents have to pay. My family is living fairly comfortably now, but I don't want to put an undue burden on my parents (the tuition will be around 1/3 of my family's yearly disposible income).

Is there any chance of an appeal working, or some loans that I can take from the college? What I've seen mostly is that loans are only made to US students, and I've never heard of an international student with loans in their aid package.

And should I do this quickly before I accept their offer in May, or is there room for discussion after that?

Paying for graduate school

dead_ — Thu, 10 May 2007 08:17:45 -0800

Help me figure out the best way to finance graduate school abroad. This may be a bit of a premature post (as I haven't heard back from all of my institutions yet), but here it goes anyway...

I will be attending graduate school in Japan this fall (getting an MA in international relations). Though I already have some money saved up, it isn't nearly enough to cover everything (not just tuition, but living costs, food, transport, etc).

In all likelihood, I will be getting some portion of my tuition discounted by the university, and will also be able to hold a part-time job on campus in addition to some teaching assistantships. Regardless, this is only a minor amount of money coming in, compared with how much will be going out.

So I need to figure out the best way to finance this. I'm looking for advice on specific banks and loans, as well as advice on financing (international) graduate school in general. This is something that I really want to do, and I recognize the major amount of debt it will be putting me under, so any general comments on the matter (positive or negative) would be great. I'm basically looking for advice on financing graduate school. Help!

RESP...still don't know what it means for me

acoutu — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 19:47:28 -0800

College savings: Does the government care how you spend a college savings plan in Canada? More than a year ago, I asked about registered educational savings plans. Now I'm wondering how the (Canadian) government regulates how you spend them.

I understand when my child(ren) can withdraw the funds and that they have to be registered in a post-secondary program. But, aside from that, how does the government check to see what you spent the money on?

I see that there's a $42,000 contribution limit over your child's lifetime. Let's say this grows to $78k. Tuition in, say, 2023, is $12k per year and my child needs a total of $50k to cover four years while living at home. My child also works at some internships and part-time jobs that cover, say, $24k of expenses. After they kick that in, there's around $50k left in the RESP. Heck, let's say there's even $25k left.

Do you have to spend this money on room and board? What's to stop someone from using this to save for a downpayment on a condo that they help their child upon graduation? Or for a car to help them get to school? Or for some other purpose? (I recognize the money is taxed in the child's hands upon withdrawal, but let's assume the child hangs on to the withdrawn money.)

And, if your child only does a one-semester program, can they pull all the money out at once? The government's RESP page is pretty vague.

Finance or Information Systems as a major?

blueplasticfish — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 13:49:34 -0800

Between Finance and Information Systems, which would be the more productive, proactive, desired, and usable degree? Keep in mind I have lots of programming and database experience, this is how I have paid my way through college. I am thinking that majoring in Finance would round me off, and give me a change to work in Finance, while majoring in I.S. might paint me as uni-dimensional.

However, I think I would probably enjoy a job in IS more than a job in finance. Although, I have never had a job in the finance arena I have had many in IS and enjoy them.

Which degree would pay better? Which is better in the long run? Which would look better on an application to MBA school?

Cosigning for a student loan

charmston — Sat, 01 Jul 2006 19:40:42 -0800

CreditFilter: Does co-signing for my student loans affect my parents' credit? My parents are concerned that cosigning for my student loans (which, before I complete my undergraduate studies, will probably amount to approximately $50,000) will adversely affect their credit. If not their FICO credit score, at least show up as some sort of debt that they are responsible for that might hurt their chances at getting future loans.

Are there any credit or financial experts that might know the specifics regarding this? Many thanks!

How much do you spend in a semester's time?

limeonaire — Fri, 16 Dec 2005 10:43:06 -0800

Two-part question about money and spending per semester: first part for college students, second part for those in the post-collegiate working world. College students: How much do you spend in an average semester on expenses other than housing, tuition, and books? (I.e. money spent that doesn't go to your university in some form. If you don't live in on-campus housing, pretend you do by leaving out your housing/cooking/utilities expenses.) The expenses I'm interested in getting a feeling for are a combination of incidentals (eating out, shopping, entertainment) and unavoidable regular expenses (toiletries, cell phone bill).

Post-collegiates: How much do you currently spend in the same categories in the same period of time, i.e. approximately 3.5 months? (Bonus: About how much did you spend per semester when you were an undergraduate?)

I raise this question because as a current college senior, I had my first paying job this semester, albeit one that pays approximately $3.20 an hour, and as I was looking over my bank account activity for the semester...I found that I'd managed to spend a very significant chunk of my meager earnings.

So my recent review of the semester got me wondering how much others in a similar situation are spending, and how much those who are out of college (making "real" money) spend in the same amount of time.

Note: I'm not casting a value judgment on how much people spend (or don't spend), and you shouldn't either when answering this question. Whether you spend $200/semester or $2,000/semester, I simply ask that you refrain from castigating those who spend significantly more or less. Spending levels can be a very touchy subject for some, I've noticed. I'm not interested in hang-ups or value judgments—I just want the facts, whether that means an itemized accounting of your spending or a semester total.

RESP...tell me what it means to me...

acoutu — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 15:34:23 -0800

CanadaFinancialFilter: What's the best way to invest in an RESP? My husband and I recently opened a no-fee bank RESP for our son. We plan to use the bank RESP until we have enough money to warrant opening a self-directed RESP. However, we know some people who have gone with "scholarship trust" plans. It sounds like these programs involve a bit of a risk, in that your child may not pursue four years of post-secondary education. My husband and I both have masters degrees, but we recognize that our children may not be interested or even suited to university. We want to make sure that the maximum amount of our contributions/interest/grants will be available for RRSP transfer, cash out or what-have-you, in the event that our children do not pursue post-secondary programs. We don't want our children to feel guilty or pressured about university, even though we think there is a strong likelihood that they will pursue some form of post-secondary education.

Canadian parents...what do you think the best way to invest in an RESP is?

I’m looking for help establishing a college fund for the children of a murder victim.

Doug — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 20:35:08 -0800

I’m looking for help establishing a college fund for the children of a murder victim. Here’s the situation: I learned last week that the 24 year old sister of my high school friend was murdered. It was a fairly high profile case in the Long Island area. The girl was the mother of a newborn, and a 5 year old son. This family has been through a lot even before this, and are really wonderful people, so my friends and I want to get together and do something for them. We don’t have a lot of money to give, but we would like to establish some kind of college fund. Unfortunately, none of us know where to begin to do something like this. Any information on what we should do, and how we should do it would be appreciated.

To complicate the matter, however, is the fact that the newborn is the child of the man who is suspected of killing her, and is now in the custody of that man’s family. Contact with him may be difficult, if not outright undesirable.

Student Loans

ElfWord — Wed, 26 Jan 2005 20:27:37 -0800

FinanceFilter: I recently experienced the wonderful epiphany of 'college student = poor' as I finished paying bills and checking my bank accounts today. It seems that I've spent almost all of my summer job savings, and by February 1st I will have the grand total of approximately $12 to my name.

My basic question is: what should I know before taking out student loans? I'm looking for personal experiences, warnings, recommendations, etc. I want to make sure I do this right so a few years from now I won't be posting an AskMe question about trying to get out of my many-times-deferred loans. I'm not hardcore set on taking out student loans, but it's an option that seems favorable at first glance and has been recommended and pursued by many of my friends. [MI] My situation: I am 2nd-semester freshman majoring in Information Technology. I've already done a few web design jobs in the past, and plan on continuing to do more to rebuild my savings. Getting a steady job would be possible, but not preferable at the moment due to my 18 hours of classes + stage managing a play. Over the summer I'd be more willing to commit less time to classes and more time to a steady week-long job.

I'm in Georgia(U.S.A.) and have the HOPE scholarship, which pays for my tuition, and my mother is currently paying for my rent and other major bills. But she is insistent(rightly so) that I contribute to supporting myself by paying my car insurance, gas money, and providing my own spending money. I want to be able to do this, but at the same time I don't feel like I can do well in classes if I'm also having to add a full-time job on top of that. A student loan is a tempting option that would allow me to contribute while not having to pay for the contribution until I have time for a job.