Loans Debts And Students
Archive for September, 2008
Can Anyone Learn A New Language, Or Am I Just A Bit Thick??
Sep 6th
Just how much time might it take?
There are generally two factors that decide whether a language is easy or harder to learn. These are how much time you have available to devote to learning, and the determination you have to progress. It also makes a difference if the language you want to learn is closely related to your own mother tongue.
You can be looking at a period of around 3 months, if 80% or more words are common with your mother tongue, or 6 months if you don’t have quite so much time to give to studying to become fluent For other languages you may be looking at 2 or 3 years. It is always much easier to learn a new language if you can spend a good amount of time surrounded by people who speak this language, rather than having to learn from a book.
Can anyone learn a new language?
Most people can learn most languages if they work with a sensible method for a reasonable period regularly. Although it is true that some people are really bad at learning languages, there are very few of these. Rather, there are many people who were discouraged by bad experiences in school and who believe that if they dont speak french or german with any fluency after having spent 10 years in school studying it, this is because they are not gifted. That is rubbish!
You don’t have to have any special skills to learn a new language effectively, you just need to have an effective method of learning. Almost anyone can learn, whether they are gifted or not, whether they have a good or a bad memory…don’t forget, you learned your native language didn’t you!
Most people can speak a language like a native if they live in a country where they have to speak it all the time, especially when they are young. For all the others, learning to speak a language without accent is very difficult, something very few achieve. But nonetheless it is possible to learn to speak a language with fluency, to be able to express your thoughts with finesse and understand all the intricacies in the speech of the natives.
The best way to learn is to set targets. Logically, the first of these would be to speak and be understood. This would be hotly followed by being able to understand (this can be difficult due to the variations in local accents). These goals, and your ability to keep pushing them onwards, are the difference between a gifted language student and an average one.
You don’t want to be working constantly to pass for a local, life is just too short, but there will always be room for improvement. There may never be a time when you can say ‘that’s it, I’ve learned all I can’.
Rather, it is an open attitude toward learning, a realisation that even if you speak really well, you could improve it, learn new words or new expressions or perfect your pronunciation. Aim for excellence, and you’ll get it!
About the Author:
About the Author: Clare Innes has a selection of health, exercise and lifestyle websites, including one showcasing the USA’s best selling method of exactly how to learn a new language…and in under 8 weeks! Watch out for more websites in the ‘First For….com’ series that is under development.
Students, Prevent Credit Card Debt
Sep 4th
Credit card companies have learned that most students earn very little income and thus market lots of credit cards specifically to them, trying to get them to rack up credit card debt. Students should do all they can to avoid getting into credit card debt.
Credit Card Debt: Alternatives for Students
Fortunately, there are several ways students can avoid credit card debt by finding ways other than credit cards to purchase the things they need while they are in school.
If you, as a student, find yourself in need of some extra funds to pay for necessities, you may be able to appeal to some of your family members for help. Explain to them that by loaning you some money you will be able to avoid getting into credit card debt. Speaking with your parents about reworking your budget could also be beneficial. Your parents will probably be willing to loan you money at a reasonable rate in order to keep you out of debt with a credit card company.
Students can also use student loans to pay for expenses if their family is not able to support them financially. University financial aid offices are sure to provide you with some potential alternatives to racking up credit card debt.
You may find that you can borrow funds in addition to your expenses for tuition, fees, and books on your student loans. Student loans are generally financed at a lower interest rate than credit card debt, and some tax deductions may be available when you repay your student loans. Consult a licensed tax preparer to answer any questions you have about reducing student credit card debt by borrowing more money on your student loans.
You can get a part-time job if you need to boost you income in order to stay out of debt associated with student credit cards. Colleges often offer part-time jobs that you may be able to get that will not conflict with your class schedule. A part-time job might even lead to a full-time job after you have graduated.
It would be wise on your part to consider all possible alternatives before taking on student credit card debt.
About the Author:
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Student Financial Aid
Sep 4th
It now costs almost $32,000 a year on average to attend a private university,
and around $13,000-$16,000 to attend a public university. Where’s a
middle-class family supposed to get all that money? That’s what this article
is about.
Surprisingly, there are many sources of student financial aid out there.
But you have to be savvy about how to go about applying for it.
The First Steps
In some families, it’s the parents who take on most of the work involved in
applying for student aid; in others, the high school student does it all
himself or herself. In the following, I’ll address the high school student directly
to make things easier, recognizing that most readers of this article will be parents, not students (however, please email this article on to your teen-ager!)
To The Student
As a high school student bound for college, one of the first things you should
do — preferably in your junior year — is to talk to your high school guidance
counselor about available financial aid. He or she can steer you to many
scholarships, loans, and work study programs you’d never find on your own.
Remember: there are thousands of student aid sources available, not just the
few you may be aware of. It’s your guidance counselor’s job to know about
virtually all of them.
One thing your counselor will tell you to do right away is to complete the FAFSA
form. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. This basic form
will be used to determine your financial aid requirements by nearly all schools
and institutions which provide financial aid. So you need to complete it carefully
and accurately. You can access the form online at fafsa.ed.gov. Or you can get
it by calling 1-800-FED-AID.
FAFSA is administered by the United States Department of Education. You
should file it early during the second semester of your senior year, as soon
as your family has prepared their tax return (you’ll need information from that
return to use in the form). It takes 1-2 months to get your evaluation back,
which will be called a Student Aid Report. Based on the financial info you
provide about yourself and your family, the US Department of Education
will estimate how much money you can contribute from your own
resources toward your total college expenses.
So for example, if that figure is $9,000 and your expected total expenses
at a college you plan to attend will be $13,000 for the freshman year, your
“Financial Need” is $4,000. Many colleges will, as part of their acceptance
procedure, offer financial aid packages that cover most or all of the Financial
Need amount.
Also, some schools require the so-called PROFILE forms. These are administered
by the College Board and are used primarily by private colleges to estimate your
eligibility for nongovernmental loans (such as loans provided by the college itself). The PROFILE is somewhat similar to FAFSA but more detailed. You can obtain
and file the PROFILE at: Collegeboard.com.
Be sure to check with your guidance counselor and/or the colleges where you’re
applying to find out if there are any additional forms you need to fill out.
A Few Insider Tips
Note that scholarships, not loans, should be your primary goal. There are a great
many specialized scholarships out there. Maybe you’re an inventor, or maybe you
have a family member in the Armed Services, or maybe you speak an in-demand
language for which the government or some other institution needs translators,
like Chinese or Russian. You’ll be amazed at how many specialized scholarships
you find yourself qualified for. Check with your guidance counselor and also visit
Collegeboard.com to research this subject.
Beware of fee-based scholarship search services on the Web. Some of them are
scams. At a minimum, check with the Better Business Bureau and your guidance
counselor before paying anyone a fee to search for scholarships for you.
Many scholarships require you to write a “scholarship essay.” If so, say the experts, focus on answering the question posed by the essay. The most common reason
for rejection is that the student meanders and drifts off-topic in the essay. Also: be sure to proof-read your essay before submitting!
As for student loans, there are two types: loans provided by the government and
those which are merely guaranteed by the government. The former usually carry
a lower interest rate.
The most commonly-sought student loans today are these two: the Stafford Loan and
the Perkins Loan. You can only borrow about $3000 for your freshman year under the
Stafford Loan (higher amounts for later years), and you must demonstrate at least
moderate financial need to qualify. The Perkins Loan provides up to $4000 for the
freshman year but requires a demonstration of exceptional financial need. The Perkins is considered a very good loan for students because interest does not accrue while you’re attending college.
If you are unable to put together enough aid by means of scholarships and loans,
your parents may be able to take out a PLUS loan (Parents Loan for Undergraduate Students) or borrow from a private lender, such as a bank or other financial institution.
Don’t be shy about applying for admission to the school you really want based on cost. Availability of student aid varies considerably among colleges, and the one you want to attend may have a sizable scholarship endowment, in which case it might turn out to be much less expensive than you think.
When estimating financial requirements, don’t focus just on tuition and room and board. You’ll also need money for books, transportation, and personal expenses (entertainment, clothes, etc.) If a college accepts you and then offers you a financial aid package which you feel is less than adequate — and if this is a school you’ve set your heart on attending — write a letter and ask for more financial aid, say most experts. Address the letter to the Director of the
Financial Aid Office (you can get his/her name from the school switchboard).
In your letter, try to provide a solid, specific reason why you need more aid, such
as “Our family has had a medical emergency,” or “My father has lost his job recently.” If you don’t have a good reason you might try, “We have a large family and all my four brothers will be attending college soon.” That one probably won’t work. However, if you have received a larger financial aid offer from another college, you should definitely mention that fact, say the experts. It’s even a good idea to include the letter offering you the financial assistance. This may sound like hardball but often gets results, provided you’re a student the college would really like to have.
Check out the college-ranking edition of U.S. News & World Report. It includes average amount of student financial aid received by each college’s students. This should give you a pretty good idea if a given college is likely to provide the amount of aid you need. Be very careful you don’t get hooked in by a college that offers a great financial aid package for the freshman year, then cuts it back in
succeeding years. Some colleges do this in order to get top students or athletes to attend. One way to check this out is to talk to current students at the college who are receiving aid. Also check with your guidance counselor, who may be aware of colleges in your area that have a reputation for this type of tactic.
To Do List: Junior Year and Summer Before Senior Year — Research Colleges and all other sources of student financial aid; Senior Year, Fall — Talk to guidance counselor; apply to selected colleges; apply for scholarships; Senior Year, January — File the FAFSA; File the PROFILE; apply for more scholarships and grants; Senior Year, Early Spring — Review accept/decline letters and financial aid offers from colleges, make your final decision.
About the Author:
Joseph Ryan is Director of Washington Research Associates, Inc., Washington DC. The firm’s website, Web Search Guides provides helpful 10-minute tutorials on topics of current interest, such as identity theft, asset-searching, people searching, identity theft, and many others.