For students that are leaving home and moving out of state to go to school, there are quite a few bonuses awaiting students.  Many airlines offer deals to students that are flying to school.  Make sure that you check out airlines and their fees because in the fall they generally have better deals that are aimed at college students and their parents.

For example, Southwest Airlines currently offers its customers free baggage.  This means that  passengers can check in up to two bags for no additional cost and a third bag for only $50.  That means a student is going to save a lot of money.  Many students want to take a lot of their clothes with them, and financially this allows them too. 

Beth Matthews will be traveling from Kentucky to North Carolina in order to go to school.  Luckily her mother is traveling with her, so she can use her mother’s two bags free.  All in all, Beth will be able to check in four bags of luggage for free and still have her carry-on baggage.  At one point, Southwest even offered double flier points to college students at all times, but they have since limited them.

Southwest only offered double miles on premium fares to college students between July 9 and September 3, 2009.  Students should understand that even though these offers may end, make sure to shop around when looking for student airfare. 

There are great deals that can help you with your budget.  Do a little research and I’m sure that you can find some great deals that will not only save you money, but also get you some perks later down the road.

Because of the economy many students are rethinking their expensive private school education.  Rachel Harrison who had been attending an expensive private school in New York has had to make a difficult decision.  Should she continue at her $40,000-a-year-private school or leave and enroll at a cheaper school near her home in Arizona. 

After weighing the pros and cons, Harrison decided that she like many other students across the nation would move home and attend a cheaper university.  Not only would she get in state tuition in Arizona, but it would also be cheaper to live there.

Attending classes at her private college was no longer financially possible, unless she wanted to leave school over $100,000 dollars in debt.  The one year of school, almost drained her college fund.  Not only are college students being forced to make a college change, but high school seniors are also being forced to make this same decision.

Many high school seniors have already decided to forgo costly schools.  Instead they have decided to attend schools that are closer to home and have cheaper tuition.  Many public colleges have seen an increase in the number of transfer applications this year.  Many students reported their decision to transfer was due to money.

Some tips for determining whether an expensive institution is right for you.  First of all, make sure that the expensive private school is really what you want and need.  Second, make sure that you will still be able to go to grad school, medical, or law school after earning your bachelor’s degree. 

And if you already attended the expensive school but are considering transferring to a different school but you have already completed two years of a degree, then it may be better to stay at your school.  Otherwise, you might have to spend an extra semester or two retaking classes required by the new school.

So the take home message is make sure that an expensive institution is right for you.  Make sure you have a lot of money and a financial plan beyond the first year.  Have realistic expectations and really consider your options.  And make sure that when you have chosen a degree that you are going to stick with it; or else you will waste a lot of time and money.
 

Benjamin Franklin once quipped that there are two certainties in life — death and taxes. But as every college student knows, life also has a third certainty — rising tuition.

At most schools, tuition increases at a rate of about 3-5% per year. On average, the cost of one-year’s worth of school, including tuition, housing, transportation, and other fees, amounts to about $12,000 per year at a public school and $32,000 per year at a private school. That means that the cost of a bachelor’s degree is anywhere from $50,000 to a staggering $125,000.

Still, even with the rising cost of education, there are several promising signs for college students (and their parents). Perhaps the most widely televised indicator is the bill recently passed in Congress that will allocate more money for Pell grants. Currently, recipients of federally-funded Pell grants get $4,310 each year. The bill, which passed 78-18, would raise that amount to $5,400. The bill would also provide loan forgiveness to students who take jobs in public service following graduation and make payments for ten years.

What this means is that more Pell grant recipients — typically, the poorest college students — will get a significant boost from the federal government in the form of financial aid that does not have to be repaid. As such, these students can reduce their need for financial aid that does need to repaid — namely loans. For more information about this bill as well a subsequent bill that targets the financial aid application process and the problem of conflicted interests between banks and colleges, see “Senate Votes to Increase Grants, Loans.”

A second promising sign is the recent move by Amherst College to eliminate student loans entirely and replace them with scholarships. This move provides greater flexibility for both the school and prospective students. On the one hand, it allows Amherst to draw on a broader pool of applicants — not just the ones who can pay for school outright or who can be reasonably expected to repay loans. On the other hand, it grants students greater flexibility after graduation.

"Too often, students who graduate from college with debt feel compelled to make career choices based in part on their need to pay off their student loans," said Tom Parker, dean of admission and financial aid. "Graduates from low- and middle-income families should have the same array of career options as graduates from upper-income families."

In doing away with student loans, Amherst joins other notables like Princeton and Davidson, who have likewise replaced student loans with scholarships. Hopefully, the move by Amherst and others will open up a dialogue at other institutions and herald similar moves in the near future. To read more about how Amherst intends to implement (and pay for) its new program, see “Amherst Cuts Loans in College Aid.”

The third and final indicator is perhaps the most anecdotal but also the most promising of the three, at least potentially. It deals with the long-standing gripe of both students and faculty at colleges and universities around the country — namely, the price of textbooks. Well, it seems one professor has finally had enough.

Ron Hammond, a sociology professor at Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah, announced recently that he will no longer use textbooks in his courses. In “Textbook Prices Too Much, So UVSC Professor Eliminates Their Use,” Hammond said, "I think it’s immoral because of the cost of it." Instead, he’s tailoring his classes to cover similar material by drawing on other sources, such as those available for free online, and by opting for his own tests and questions rather than those provided by the textbook.

While Hammond is only an isolated case — at least for now — he does represent a growing number of disaffected teachers who are looking for alternatives to the overpriced textbooks provided by a handful of well-established publishers. If other professors follow suit — and it is almost certain they will — publishers will need to respond or risk losing a lucrative but increasingly hostile market. If they don’t, they could see migration en masse to textbook-less courses such as those offered by Professor Hammond, leaving behind a stack of high-priced but now worthless textbooks, which would give disgruntled college students something they’ve clamored for for years — a good old-fashioned book burning.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Benjamin Welch has been a college instructor in writing and composition for nearly six years. When he’s not teaching or playing golf, he offers advice for students seeking information about online education and online degrees.