1.Head to the Financial Aid Department. If you receive financial aid, find out with an advisor if your financial aid can be applied to your studies abroad. You may also want to check out Title IV of the Higher Education Act and research a little about the requirements necessary for financial aid to cover your tuition abroad.

2.Sallie Mae can be the way. Sallie Mae is a corporation that deals with student loans. If you’re interested in a loan for a study abroad only, you may want to try out Sallie Mae International. See how much they can loan you, ask questions, you don’t have to say yes immediately, but this can be an option if you are finding that there are no other possible ways to finance your studies. Just remember to be careful with loans and be well informed on their policies of interest.

3.Find Scholarships and Grants. A great way to pay for your studying expenses is with free money! Scholarships and grants are a perfect way to pay off that overseas dream you have because you don’t need to pay it back. Many times schools offer scholarships for studying abroad. Take a trip to the study abroad offices at your school and see what they have available. Find out the requirements and how to apply. Apply for scholarships outside of school that are specifically for overseas education. Here are a couple of places where you may want to begin your search Fin Aid and Student Aid, student guides to financial aid . Don’t give up easily, I’m sure you can find one that suits you and will have you studying abroad in no time!

4.Work, work, work! If you can’t find help such as Financial aid, loans, or scholarships, and you may already be working, continue to work as much as you can. Save up for a year or two until you have enough to cover the expenses of studying abroad. Reduce your extra expenditures such as things you do on the weekends like heading to a bar or going out to eat. If you really want this trip, it’ll be worth it in the end.

Author Bio: Carolina is an associate at Advantage Testing.

Tailored specifically for college students, all job posts on Confidently are entry-level. That means you can search for internships without worrying about experience requirements or if you’ll be competing against more experienced applicants. In addition, all the job posts need to pass an approval process to make sure they aren’t a scam. This could save you a lot of headaches and valuable time when it comes to finding your internship. An important consideration for a stressed college student!

Know you need an internship, but not sure where to begin? Check out Confidently’s Job Search Timeline. It walks you step-by-step through each phase of the entry-level job search. Everything from developing your personal brand to what to do after your interview is covered in detail. Registered members can also get discounts on services, such as a mock interview session, from their Confidently Certified job search experts.

Confidently can connect you directly with employers. They’ve included an Employee Search feature that recruiters use to find and contact members based on information in their profile. So even if you’re not looking for a job right now, you might be contacted by a potential employer that is interested in you. This could be a great way to get ahead of the game in the hunt for internships.

Register for Confidently here. It costs $7.99 to join, with no recurring fees ever after that. But, if you’re one of the first 25 to register, you can use the code “PoorCollegeStudent” to get in for free!

College-Based Award
Much like undergraduate programs, colleges and universities do award partial or full scholarships for graduate programs if the student is especially promising. While not as common as undergraduate scholarships, it’s worth looking into whether your school offers them and what, if anything, you need to do to apply for them.

Career-Specific Scholarships
Depending on your chosen career path there may be scholarships to help you pay for the costs of taking classes to get into the field. Nursing and teaching career choices can often present with scholarships to help pay the costs of classes and certifications that are necessary to enter the field.

Research Fellowship
If research will be of particular import to your field there may be fellowship opportunities to help pay for your schooling. Technology, science, and even some math studies can provide scholarships based around the research that you will do and assist in doing while you study for your degree.

Professional Organizations
If you belong to a professional organization as a result of your current job they may offer scholarship money to help you advance your degree and become an even more valuable member of their organization. A little research into what benefits are afforded to members of your organization can result in savings on your degree.

North American Interfraternal Foundation
And you thought joining that fraternity or sorority was just about being social. This foundation awards scholarships to former members of fraternities and sororities that desire to enter into post-graduate studies and need help covering the costs.

Fulbright Program
A government funded program to help relations between us and other countries, the Fulbright program will allow you to study, research, and even teach in your area of discipline in other countries, allowing you to learn and experience the world at the same time.

Rhodes Scholarship
Specific to Oxford College, this scholarship is one of the most prestigious available to graduate students and allows the recipient to study at Oxford and even includes a stipend for living expenses paid by the Rhodes Trust.

Federal Government
The federal government offers numerous scholarships beyond the Fulbright program that can help eliminate or defer the costs of attending a graduate program to get your Master’s degree.

State Government
Your home state may also offer scholarships to potential graduate students, though typically it’s only available to those planning to attend a school within the state.

Minority Scholarships
Available for both ethnic and gender minorities, there are a plethora of scholarships available to help defer the costs of attending school to achieve your Master’s Degree

Ashley V Gause is a teacher that got her masters of teaching online. To learn more about how you can get your masters of teaching visit: http://mastersinteaching.org.

College campuses are not exempt from this report. Theft on and around college campuses is extremely common. The items you are most likely to unexpectedly be without due to someone’s sticky fingers are laptops, cell phones and flat screen TV’s. While career criminals and even some of your peers are out looking for a five finger discount at your expense, it is important that you protect your financial wellbeing with a renter’s insurance policy.

Don’t Be Caught Without It
Renter’s insurance is an absolute must for anyone renting a home, apartment or condo. A renter’s insurance policy insures the contents on your rented home in the event of fire, theft, water damage, weather related damages such as lightning and natural disasters. You never know when these things will happen. That is why it is so important to insure your possessions. What would happen if lightning struck your home or apartment and your electronics were fried? Would you be able to replace those belongings out of pocket? How would that affect your financial situation? Renter’s insurance provides protection and peace of mind from these types of events. Things like water damage to your property caused by your upstairs neighbor’s apartment flooding would be covered under your renter’s insurance policy. There are a myriad of situations that can occur that would normally have an adverse affect on your financial wellbeing, but having your property covered will make you whole when disaster strikes.

Renter’s Insurance Costs
A renter’s insurance policy is incredibly inexpensive when you compare it to all other types of insurance. For as little as $10 a month you can insure your home contents. A renter’s insurance policy will even cover the belongings you keep in your car! You will also be covered in the event of a guest being injured on the property you rent. You may think, “isn’t that my landlord’s responsibility?” The answer is yes and no. The injured party can choose to sue the landlord and the tenant is he is injured on the property since it is both parties responsibility for property maintenance and upkeep. Now that you know how important it is to insure your property, you will need to find the policy that is right for you.

Finding the Right Policy
Finding a policy that is right for you is a simple process. First thing you need to do is inventory the contents of your home. Download a home inventory checklist, print it out and use it to document all of your possessions. It is important for you to take pictures or video for proof of ownership. Documenting brand, product name, serial number, cost of each item and receipt if possible also helps to ensure you receive complete reimbursement for your claim. Once you have inventoried your possessions, total the amount you paid for everything. This will determine how much renter’s insurance coverage you will need to purchase. Shop around for the best rate. Contact a local agent or get renters insurance quotes online. Whatever medium you use, make sure to get multiple quotes in order to find the best deal for the coverage you need. With rates as low as $10 a month, you can’t afford not to be covered!

Matt Johnson is the Editor of an online rental insurance resource that provides tips, advise and free rental insurance quotes to renters throughout the United States.

1. Inspection

The yearly inspection of your vehicle is usually not that big of a deal; unless something goes wrong. The price for inspections varies significantly depending on where you are located, and the laws behind them are always changing. Even having too much tint on your windows can get your car disqualified. No inspection? Get ready for a big ticket.

2. Insurance

Insurance is a colossal cost for almost any driver. Even if you buy a car straight out and get only liability insurance, it still is a sizeable amount. Accidents are a part of life, and insurance typically doesn’t cover as much as you would think. Remember that you are not just insuring your vehicle, but you are also covering other people’s cars- insured and uninsured. Don’t even get me going on the price of medical coverage if someone is hurt in a car accident. In a big city, full coverage insurance (the minimum that auto financers require) can cost hundreds of dollars a month.

3. Registration

Thankfully, you won’t have to get your license plates replaced frequently, but you will have to change your registration sticker yearly. Registration comes in the mail, and you can pay through the mail or at a store; even online in some states. It is just a small fee, but those can add up.

4. Repair

Car repair is costly. If something breaks down, you can get estimates on repairs that vary in the hundreds if not thousands of dollar range. Even if you know someone or have a friend that does car repair, sometimes it just gets pricy. No matter what the age of the car is, all cars will require repair sometime. Thinking about the warranty? Forget it. The moment it expires, the car will break down.

5. Maintenance

Not only does a car need repaired occasionally, but it needs maintained consistently. Oil changes, new tires, fluids changed and topped off. It is an unending battle. Be prepared to pay every ten thousand miles or so for some major maintenance. You can skip it, but remember- you’ll end up paying a lot more for repairs later if you do.

6. Gas

Last but not least, gas prices. At the rate that gas increases every year, investing in a bike sounds like a wise idea. Your car will never get as much mileage as the manufacturer claims. Prepare to spend a lot of money, especially if you live where there’s stop-and-go traffic.

Do you own a car and are in college? What other things would you have someone consider before they bought a car?

Melanie Slaugh is enthusiastic about the growing prospects and opportunities of various industries and writing articles on various consumer goods and services as a freelance writer. She writes extensively for internet service providers and also topics related to internet service providers in my area for presenting the consumers, the information they need to choose the right Internet package for them. She can be reached at slaugh.slaugh907 @ gmail.com.

So if you can’t take your belongings with you, and disposing of them is not an option, what do you do? If you don’t want to burden your parents with your extra stuff, then the next best solution is simple: rent a self-storage unit. These facilities will keep your belongings safe and secure over the course of your college career. Listed below are the top three reasons why you should invest in a self-storage unit.

1. Keep your most valuable possessions safe. Cheap self-storage doesn’t just provide extra space, it also offers top notch security for your most prized possessions. Family heirlooms and other valuables are kept under lock and key at well-lit facilities with extensive security systems.
2. Make room for the items you use. Is your closet or even your floor overflowing with items you only use occasionally? Moving extra items into a storage unit gives you easier access to the everyday items you actually use.
3. Get the most out of your dorm/apartment. While you are in college, odds are you are going to be living in a space smaller than what you grew up in. Self-storage companies let people live in smaller spaces while still being able to store their larger possessions and have convenient access to them.

Depending on where you live, you may want to consider renting a climate controlled unit. In some cities, temperatures can range from very high to very low, and it is always reassuring to know that your belongings that you put in storage are unaffected. For example, many students who attend The University of Arizona have chosen to use storage in Tucson just for that reason, protection from the extreme heat.

The best part is, student storage is not expensive, especially if you know how to shop around to find the cheapest deal available (check out SpareFoot to search for the best deals in your area). And it is well worth it. No one wants their younger sibling rifling through their things while they are away. With self-storage you can easily afford to protect your valuable childhood assets from unwanted hands until you are ready to claim them once again.

About Matt:
Matt Schexnayder is on the SpareFoot marketing team and writes for the SpareFoot blog. SpareFoot is the largest online marketplace for self-storage. With more than 5,000 self-storage facilities listed nationwide, SpareFoot offers consumers the most complete comparison shopping experience in the storage industry.

The course material from MIT or any other top tier university is not necessarily going to be easily learned once you open a file. For many of these courses you need certain academic background or the material won’t make much sense. You don’t get to ask questions of a lecture delivered in a MP3 file. You won’t receive credit for going through this course material, but you don’t have to enroll either. For students who are stalled in their own course material and who need another perspective, the websites listed below might be a welcome – and free – resource. To find these sites, go to the home page for each university and search for “open courseware.”

1.  The Open Courseware Consortium is an organization that has catalogued open courseware courses from sources around the globe.  They also have a comprehensive list of open courseware websites offered by universities on every continent.
2. Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health provides content from the school’s most popular courses.  There are twenty topic areas, each of which has material for multiple classes.  There are courses on fairly focused topics, but there are also introductory courses in such fields as demographics, epidemiology, and biostatistics.
3. University of Notre Dame offers courses from a wide variety of departments and academic disciplines.  There are selected courses in history, political science, sociology, physics, mathematics, civil engineering, and several others.
4. University of California at Berkeley has integrated 170 courses taken from many different departments into a webcast format.  Most have some video or graphics support for the lectures; the format of choice is Apples ubiquitous iPod software.  You can watch any of the lectures if you have the software on your computer by downloading from Berkeley’s iTunesU.
5. Massachusetts Institute of Technology was the impetus for many of the open courseware projects instituted by other universities.  Material from 2,000 courses is available on their website.  The courses include the physics, chemistry, mathematics and engineering programs that the school is known for as well as courses from the humanities, health sciences, and many other areas.  Depending on the course you may find lecture notes, multimedia content, online textbooks, exams and solutions, or some combination of these elements.
6. Carnegie Mellon University has designed their open courseware project around a limited number of departments including biology, chemistry, French, statistics, and physics.  There is also a course in media programming.
7. University of Michigan has launched its open courseware project with selected classes from eleven academic areas including architecture and urban planning; literature, science and the arts; education; engineering; public policy; social work; and five others.  There are not a large number of courses posted yet but more are added on a frequent basis.
8. Stanford University has created Stanford Engineering Everywhere (SEE) which offers extensive material for a limited number of classes from the engineering department.  Materials include complete video lectures, handouts, assignments, exams, and transcripts.  The available material includes an Introduction to Computer Science.
9. University of California at Irvine has developed an open courseware program that offers lectures and materials from a variety of courses.  Participating departments include Social Science, Engineering, Humanities, Health Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Arts.   Some of the lectures are available in video.
10. Yale University has a program called Open Yale Courses with an array of courses from twenty academic departments.  Some departments have just a single course in audio/video format, while others offer several.  Choices range from music to engineering to Spanish and Portuguese.

Bob Hartzell is a freelance writer who writes on a number of topics in education including the use of technology and distance learning for the advancement of learning. His most recent articles cover accredited masters degrees online featured on such sites as Master-Degree-Online.com.

Research conducted by Javelin Strategy & Research (2010) revealed it takes people ages 18 to 24 nearly twice as many days to detect fraud compared to other age groups, making them fraud victims for longer periods of time. Moreover, young adults are less likely to monitor their bank accounts regularly and also are the least likely age group to take advantage of monitoring programs offered by financial institutions. You can also get great coverage from companies like LifeLock, who are dedicated in working to monitor your personal information.

To help prevent fraud and identity theft, Wells Fargo recommends these 10 tips for college students:

• Forward It: The Better Business Bureau recommends having sensitive mail sent to a permanent address such as a parent’s home or a P.O. Box. This includes all financial and medical information, which may contain confidential details. Ask if a paperless statement is an option so you can access account information online instead.
• Don’t “Over Share” It: Social media is increasingly popular, but it’s a good idea to keep personal information private. Fraudsters can use personal information, such as birth date, mother’s maiden name and pet’s name, to help gain access to an account. Also, it’s a good idea to keep other information private such as mobile and home phone numbers, email addresses, and dorm, apartment and home addresses.
• Doubt It: Use a healthy dose of skepticism if someone – claiming to be from your bank or another legitimate company – calls, texts or sends an email asking for personal or financial information, or offers a job or other opportunity that seems too good to be true. Never click on links sent in unsolicited emails from strangers or unknown companies. No matter how urgent someone claims an offer to be – especially those requesting that you deposit a check and send money back – you should first research the legitimacy of the requestor and offer. Remember that you are responsible and liable for items you cash or deposit into your account.
• Sign Up for It: Consider signing up for and using online and mobile banking. This will enable you to monitor your accounts regularly, when it’s convenient for you. Research has shown electronic banking is the quickest way to detect account fraud. Many financial service providers offer online and mobile banking.
• Ask for It: Ask your financial services provider if it offers alerts, which can quickly detect unauthorized use of a bank account. Customized alerts can also be set up in advance. Alerts can be sent to an email address or mobile device based on criteria you select, such as when an account balance drops below a certain amount or your credit card is charged more than a certain amount.
• Lock It: Secure your laptop and desktop computer with a password, firewall and anti-virus software so no one else can access your files, and with a desktop cable lock so no one can remove it. For your mobile device, be sure to use the keypad lock or phone lock function when it is not in use. These functions password-protect your device so that no one else can use it to view your information. Also be sure to store your mobile device in a secure location.
• Shred It: Use a shredder and shred all unwanted credit card offers, insurance and loan applications, bills, credit card receipts and documents that contain your personal or financial information. Thieves steal information from many sources, including mailboxes and garbage cans, and can use it to help gain access to financial accounts.
• Protect It: Consider using a room safe or secure online safe for copies of important documents. Be sure to keep any credit cards and documents that contain personal or financial information – such as a passport, Social Security Card and your bank statement – locked up when not in use.
• Hide It: Never leave a wallet or purse in plain sight in a dorm room. The same goes for documents with personal or financial information.
• Learn More About It: Ask your financial services provider what other services it offers to protect your personal and financial information.

For more information, Wells Fargo has a Fraud Information Center, which provides fraud prevention tips and resolution tools, such as the Identity Theft Repair Kit. This kit includes a checklist for resolving identity theft and resolution worksheets with phone numbers for Wells Fargo, credit bureaus and other agencies.

Additionally, college student can access online educational tools and resources through Wells Fargo’s Student LoanDown^SM blog. Wells Fargo also provides Hands on Banking®, a free, interactive educational program, available in English and Spanish, which explains the basics of money management and features lessons on how customers can protect themselves and keep their information secure. The program, which earned the Parent Tested, Parent Approved seal of approval in 2009, also offers a course specifically for young adults.

This guest post is by Secil Watson, Senior Vice President of Mobile & Online Customer Experience, Money Movement and Fraud Prevention, Wells Fargo Internet Services Group.

1.  Indiana State University charges $7,782 per year for state residents working on an undergraduate degree. The tuition for the online degree, certificate programs and courses is the same as for campus enrollment, but with a $30 per course distance learning fee.
2. Minnesota State University at Mankato has an annual undergraduate tuition and fee rate of $7148. A fulltime online student will pay tuition and fees of $8408. There are a limited number of online bachelor’s programs and dozens of online courses to select from.
3. Eastern Connecticut State University has an annual tuition of $8554 for the 2011-2012 academic year. Online bachelor’s degrees include Public Health, Environmental Management, and Sustainable Energy Management. Online tuition rates are based on a $400 per credit hour charge, about $25 per credit over the campus tuition rate.
4. University of North Dakota costs just $7,092 for an in-state undergraduate. They have a reciprocity agreement with Minnesota so that students from that state pay just $7,716. There are twelve undergraduate degree programs available and many online courses, in part because of the state’s rural nature.
5. University of South Dakota costs $8,789 in tuition and books for undergraduate state residents. This university also has a reciprocity agreement so that Minnesota students can attend with an annual tuition cost of $9,340. Undergraduate degrees and courses cost slightly more per credit hour than campus programs: $277 per credit hour versus $240 per credit hour.
6. University of Idaho costs $5,958 annually for state residents. The online courses and degrees available are principally for graduate study; however there are several certificates and a BS in psychology available via distance learning.
7. New Mexico State University charges $5826 annually for undergraduate tuition. The online section offers several undergraduate degrees and individual courses with tuition based on the campus fee structure but including a $25 per credit distance learning fee.
8. Boise State University offers an annual tuition rate of $7,188. Online programs include an RN to BSN degree for nurses and a degree in respiratory therapy along with dozens of classes.
9. Oregon State University has a sliding tuition rate based on credit hours; for full time undergraduates taking a maximum load the total for tuition and fees is $7,518. The online program offers 13 undergraduate degrees, with tuition that includes a $75 per credit fee for distance learning technology.
10. University of West Virginia has a current annual tuition rate for in-state students of $5,674. The online classes available are priced from $230 – $270 per credit depending on the academic discipline. These are rates for in state students; however some courses are available at in state costs to everybody through the Southern Regional Education Board.

———
Bob Hartzell is a freelance writer who writes on a number of topics in education including the use of technology and distance learning for the advancement of learning. His most recent articles cover online masters programs featured on such sites as Master-Degree-Online.com.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_university_system
http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/best-values-in-public-colleges-2011.html

In fact, college itself is probably the cause of your debt woes and low credit ranking. Your prospects for finding a decent apartment might not seem so great right now, but with a little research and a lot of looking around, it is more than possible.

Can You Afford It?
Before you even bother going out on the hunt for an apartment, you better make sure that you can actually afford the deposit and monthly rent. If you are like most of the current college graduates, you are probably struggling to find a job other than the local coffee shop. In a time of high unemployment, it is that much more difficult for those lacking experience to land a job. If you are currently unemployed and struggling to pay off debt, it may be a better idea to live at home for a little while. Recent college grads that opt to move back in with mom and dad end up saving an average of $700 a month. This is all money that can go towards paying off your car, student loans and credit debt. If you are lucky enough to not be drowning in debt, you can put that money aside and use it to buy a house once you’re financially stable with a secure job. If there is a silver lining to the terrible state of the economy, it is that the stigma of living at home after college has all but disappeared. In fact, many graduates feel that living at home is actually the smarter option, as it allows them to save up for the things that really matter.

Work on Your Credit Score
Did you go crazy with the credit card in college? If so, you may be facing massive credit card bills in addition to debt from college loans. Unfortunately, you are going to have a rough time finding a nice apartment if you have bad credit. Many landlords run credit checks to see how responsible potential tenants will be. If you have a history of paying your bills late or not paying them at all, most landlords aren’t going to want to take on the risk of letting you rent an apartment. You will either need to lower your expectations and find an apartment where a high credit score isn’t a necessity, or move back in with your parents. Wherever you end up living, make it a priority to get your credit score in check. If you find it hard to resist the urge to overspend, freeze your credit card in a block of ice and use cash. Make a budget and stick to it. Even if you are only making small payments each month, you’ll be on your way to getting out of debt and improving your credit score.

Start Hunting
A successful apartment search will require a lot of research. You are going to need to check listings in the newspapers, on the internet and with apartment brokers. Thanks to the recession, a lot of people have had to move out of foreclosed homes and into apartments. As such, the demand for apartment rentals is at an all-time high. This makes it a lot harder to find an apartment, much less one you can afford. You may have had expectations of getting a fancy penthouse apartment in New York City, but you’re going to have to put those on hold for now. Right now, you need to find the most bang for your buck. The ideal is a reasonably priced apartment that is clean and not completely broken down. A little wear and tear is okay if it means a lower rent bill, but you don’t want to completely compromise your standard of life.

Once you’ve started highlighting a few vacancies, it is time to get out there and visit those apartments. Apartment brokers can be very helpful in this step. They are willing to take you out for open houses and show you the ins and outs of various accommodations. If you don’t know how to get started with the apartment search on your own, going through an apartment broker may be a viable option.

If you do find a place that you like and can afford, it is imperative that you pay attention to every detail in the lease. You need to know exactly what you’re getting into and what the risks are of renting from this particular landlord. Knowing the details upfront can save you from a lot of hassle later on.

This guest post article was written and provided by Martha Keagan whose son is just out of college and looking for cheap apartments in Jacksonville close to his job.