As students finalize their decision on the college that they will attend, begin the arduous process of making living arrangements, in conjunction to deciding on the materials that they will bring with them, they will be presented with an experience that some have yet to encounter –the financial aid process. Completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), deciding on how much money to take out in loans, determining if a co-signer would be the most advantageous to reduce their long-term debt and finalizing their decision by signing the elusive promissory note; all of these hoops that a novel university student must jump through may seem daunting; yet, it is a necessary aspect of the university experience that the majority of students will encounter.

Let’s face it, only a minority of university students come from affluent backgrounds and the rest of us are pursuing a college education as a means of undergoing intra-generational mobility. We want to have a better life than our parents could provide and the only means to accomplish this is by increasing one’s understanding of the world. Whether one desires to improve themselves through the humanities, social or physical sciences, the decision to pursue a college education is a significant step that should not be decided on a whim. There are severe consequences for individuals who do not sufficiently analyze their current life situation to determine if a college education is the most appropriate. I am a tenured professor at a mid-tier University and have unfortunately seen a large portion of the student population pursue higher education to party 24/7 for 4+ years. That is not saying that one should not enjoy the college experience while they are bettering themselves, but deciding to accumulate more than $100,000 in debt to fulfill a need to party should not be the main determinant for such a serious endeavor. The university system in the United States is more or less a ‘legal Mafia’, whereby they are allowed to charge absorbent fees for a service that has been deemed a human right in other first world nations. These expenses cannot be paid out of pocket by most and thus, student loans are the only option.

If the decision to attend a university is the most appropriate, then one must fully understand the different types of financial aid. The below is a brief summary of the different types of loans provided by lenders.

• A subsidized loan is awarded to a student based upon their financial need. Filling out the FAFSA requires a student to answer general questions about their income, their family’s contribution, and other factors that may affect their financial viability. This information is used to calculate the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and the amount of financial aid awarded is not subjected to interest while attending school at least half-time. Furthermore, a student is provided with a six-month grace period after they leave school and are provided with the opportunity to defer their loans if they are experiencing financial hardship. Alas, a student is responsible for paying any interest that accrues during the grace period and is only provided a certain number of deferments depending upon their career option, i.e. working in a non-profit provides one with greater flexibility for repaying their loans.
• An unsubsidized loan is NOT based on financial need and any individual who submits a FAFSA can obtain financial aid through this loan program. Unfortunately, interest begins accruing immediately after the loans have been disbursed and the interest is capitalized onto the principal. This means that any grace period, deferment or forbearance that a student wishes to utilize will be subjected to accruing interest and this can significantly increase the amount of money that they will be required to repay.
• A private loan is provided by a third party that is not directly associated with the federal government. As such, the rules and regulations associated with the loan agreement are vastly different from subsidized and unsubsidized loans. This (typically) results in higher interest rates, less flexibility with repayment options and fewer resources that are provided by the federal government. Although the amount of money that a student is required to pay for a higher education is absurd in the United States, increasing the educational status of its citizens is advantageous to the federal government and they are willing to work with a student to reduce the financial constraints of their student loans. A private loan lender is only concerned about profit maximization and therefore, they are less willing to work with an individual to reduce their student loan debt.

The type of loan that one chooses will largely depend upon their family’s socio-economic status, their ability to balance work with school and the amount of debt that they are willing to accumulate while pursuing their academic dreams. The decision to obtain student loans must not be taken lightly and each entity who will be involved with the loan, i.e. the student, parent or any other cosigner, must be fully aware of the loans terms and conditions, as well as the long-term consequences of the loans.

Consider my previous situation as an excellent example of the consequences of the student loan process. My total educational debt was $80,000 at a loan interest rate of 6.8%. My loan term was 10-years and my minimum payments were $920.64 a month. This means that my average debt per year was $20,000 and this is relatively minimal when considering that some educational programs result in debts greater than $35,000 per year. After my 10-year loan term ended, I ended up paying back more than $110,000, which equated to about $30,000 in interest paid. $30,000 is a significant amount of money and as you can see, the decision to pursue higher education should not be taken lightly. Before beginning the financial aid process, set aside some time to reflect on the personal and professional goals that you wish to accomplish with higher education. If a college education is the only way that you can pursue your dream, then DO IT! If there are other alternatives that you would rather pursue that do not involve accumulating unfathomable amounts of debt; consider saving the $30,000 in interest paid (in my situation) and embark on a career that truly makes you happy…Good luck to all the aspiring academics out there and we wish you only the best!

College is a huge concept in our society. People start planning for it before their children are born, kids grow up hearing myths about it starting almost in kindergarten, and every day of high school seems geared towards the SAT’s and job readiness. With such high stakes, how is it possible to get through day-to-day life in a way that helps you maximize what you’re getting out of your education?

The biggest goal, obviously, is your degree, and some people may attach other goals to that: Graduate with a 4.0. Make Phi Beta Kappa. Chug an entire keg. Whatever. But when the goal is that big, it’s difficult to come up with smaller goals. That is why I used to use the following framework:

Every term, I would sit down with my advisor. If you don’t have an advisor, sit down with someone you trust: a mentor, a parent, or even your roommate.

1. List your biggest goals. Think on the timeline of 4-5 years out, when you will ideally be graduating. Subdivide this list into personal and professional / educational goals.
2. List your academic and personal goals for the term. Think about what you want to have accomplished this term. A 4.0? Registering for the LSAT (oh, you poor fool!)? Earning a black belt? Running a half marathon?
3. Create a mid-term checkup checklist. Decide on a date (preferably one with no midterm exams or papers due) and sit down with your mentor. They have to be your accountability partner.
4. Every week, take 5-10 minutes on Friday afternoon. Write down what you have done that you are proud of and what you have done to achieve your goals. If it’s nothing, be honest. At least write it down.
5. At the midterm checkup, ask yourself: Am I doing what I need to do to achieve my goals? Ask your accountability partner: Do you think I could be doing something else / something more? If so, what?
6. At the midterm checkup, revise your goals, and add notes as to why. Be really honest, but not hard on yourself. “I realized that I need another term to train for a marathon” is fine, because now you have a new goal. “I bombed the midterm because I was hung-over, so I don’t think I’ll make an A in organic chemistry” is honest. The point of this is to be honest with yourself and develop useful goal-making habits.

Of course this process doesn’t even have to be formal. However, I do think it’s really important to share it with someone else. Sometimes you can be really hard on yourself if you don’t meet your goals. It’s really important to realize that sometimes, changing the goals you make is a more important reflection of your growth than actually achieving the goals. And the point of college, in some ways, should be to grow as a person and understand yourself more.

Keep your goals on the horizon. Work smarter, not harder, and see if any of our friendly professors can help you today.

If the most important thing about college is networking, and talking to strangers is something you would maybe want to do if the only alternative was a root canal, then you may feel defeated and upset. But don’t despair! There are plenty of ways to network, even if you consider yourself awkward and shy (and, protip: most people think they are awkward and shy).

1. Network online. LinkedIn is the most obvious choice, but student message boards, Facebook groups, subreddits, and other online communities can allow you to think about what you say. You may think online networking isn’t as useful, but connecting with people in your major on an online community, or answering incoming freshmen’s questions on Facebook is really valuable and can help you connect to people who share your interests. Just because you start talking to people online doesn’t mean it has to stay online, and if you already have something in common, it’s easier to get started in real life.
2. Talk to your professors during office hours, especially if you are hesitant about asking a question in front of an entire lecture hall. This doesn’t mean you should bug them with inane questions whose answers are on the syllabus (cough), but go and introduce yourself to professors you respect or who are in fields you want to work in. Read their work (articles, books) first if possible, and be ready to have a professional conversation about the field. Professors love this, so you will make a positive impression. This is obviously easier to do if you are actually excited about the topic and field. If you find yourself zoning out when it’s about your own major, maybe you should consider switching.
3. Make small social goals. On Monday, you might make it a goal to make eye contact and smile at three new people. On Tuesday, decide you will strike up a conversation with someone in the cafeteria or student union. You might never become best friends with these people, but the practice in getting to know people and start conversations will be invaluable. It gets easier every time.
4. Consider it your conversational goal to find things in common with people. Ask questions about others, and think about ways they are like you. Good questions to start conversations with peers include where they’re from, what they do for fun, etc. As a project, think about how many questions you have to ask in order to be able to say “Wow, me too!” to someone.
5. Throw a party. This is a great way to play social experimenter and get a bunch of people together for casual interaction, and if there are a ton of people, the pressure’s off you to carry all the conversations.
6. Work hard on being an empathetic listener. If you’re shy, don’t tell yourself that. Work on telling others – with your actions – that you’re a great listener. People love that, and it is a very positive quality in this day and age.

One of our friendly, tweed-wearing Unemployed Professors is happy to help you with your next term paper.

Nobody likes job interviews. They are a weird combination of everything that sucks about a first date, without even the distant possibility of hooking up at the end (if you are the type of person who hooks up at the end of job interviews, you probably don’t need this article). Adding to the stress are the facts that you need to do well at an interview to get a job and you need a job to pay for food. Here are some tips to reduce the stress:

1. Practice, practice, practice. Oh, yeah, everyone has told you to have a practice job interview. It’s boring as hell, but actually pretty good advice. Try it at your school’s career center, try it with your friends, or ask a professor (or all of the above).
2. Just like you Google-stalk your dates before going out (come on, you totally do), you should find out a little about the person who will be interviewing you; if you don’t know the exact name of your interviewer, you should look up the company. Don’t just look at their website, look up what other people are saying about them. Have a few comments and suggestions for them. For example, if you’re interviewing for a restaurant, consider the negative Yelp reviews they inevitably have and be ready to propose a few concrete action steps for them to remedy the issue.
3. If you have anxiety, manage it. I don’t mean to drug yourself into a stupor, but I mean think carefully about what makes you anxious and how you can soothe yourself. If you take medications that do not impair your judgment, take them well ahead of time.
4. Do the usual things. Dress professionally for the context, and if you happen to know the office is extra casual or extra conservative, dress accordingly. Be polite and follow cues from the interviewer and others in the office (if they say it’s okay, use first names).
5. Think before you speak, and try not to psych yourself out. At the end of the day, the job interview is just a conversation in a professional setting. You don’t have to ace your first job interview, and you only have to ace one to get a job. Sometimes you botch an interview, and that’s okay. Sometimes you botch an interview and still get the job. As long as you came out of the interview with some insight as to what you did and how to do better next time, then you’ve already aced it.

One of our friendly, tweed-wearing Unemployed Professors is happy to help you with your next term paper.

Everyone dreams of throwing a killer spring break party. But there is so much work that goes into party planning. Here are some tips to help make sure your party is a success:

1. Plan early and plan strategically. Plan your party for a night when everyone will be in town, but not when they are cramming for midterms. Spring break parties can be tough because you want to get people after midterms, but before they go away for the break or before dorms close.
2. Get decorations for cheap without getting gouged on seasonal things. Oriental Trading, Goodwill (or any used goods store), Michael’s / JoAnn’s and the Dollar Store are all great options for cheap party decorations, and you could even re-use them for future parties.
3. Come up with a theme and go all out. Themed parties are more fun and give people more to anticipate, which is half the fun of a party. Consider deciding on the theme AFTER you go shopping for decorations, since you don’t want to be locked into anything if another theme is cheaper! A North Pole Spring Break could mean cheap clearance decorations and an interesting twist for decorations and activities– think Sexy Santa and Mrs. Claus or Naughty Elves in a Hot Tub. Be creative!
4. Organize the space you will have the party. You will want to have water stations, multiple bathrooms, and places for people to crash if they get too drunk to drive. For real, if you aren’t prepared to let guests sleep it off on your couch, don’t throw a party. You can even appointment someone the “key guardian” and have people check in their car keys when they get there. Be sure you have “puke points” aplenty, and trash / recycling stations for empties. Bonus points if you live in an area where you can get the bottle deposits back: it’s like a small party refund!
5. Consider the weather and be flexible. Spring break, in some areas, is Spring Break in Name Only, and pool parties in March may not actually be fun. Similarly, unseasonably warm weather might make people wishing they were outside, instead of at an indoor dance party. Be ready to move the party inside or outside, or put up a tent, if the weather might change.

One of our friendly, tweed-wearing Unemployed Professors is happy to help you with your next writing project.

Of course, the best extracurricular activity to improve your chances at a job is an actual job, but when you can’t, or when you want to stay on campus, it’s important to pick extracurricular activities that will pay off in terms of fun, resume building, or network building. But when you’re walking the cafeteria tables at the activity fair, and everyone is earnestly making eye contact for you for clubs ranging from African Dance to Zoophilia (it’s for volunteering at the zoo, you sicko), how can you decide?

Nothing is guaranteed to get you a job, and ultimately, the activities you choose aren’t as important as the roles you take on within them and the ways that you can demonstrate leadership and skill building. Passively attending the Vagina Monologues for Feminist Club is great, but becoming treasurer of the acapella singing group or writing a successful travel grant to help your group compete is even better.

Ultimately, you should sit down and think about what story you want to tell about your skills on your resume or C.V.. Then you should pursue activities that, first and foremost, you value and find fun. Next, infiltrate those organizations and become leader (I mean, join them and become proactive). The important thing is not which activities you choose, but the roles you take on within them, and the . Quirky activities may get you eyeballs, but being able to demonstrate or quantify your achievements will get you further than being able to say you were a warm body in a room: “I started a tutoring program for inner-city youths. By the end of the first year, we matched 10 middle schoolers to tutors and on average, the students’ GPAs improved by half a letter grade.” “After I became treasurer of horseback riding club, I implemented a service program to provide grants to autistic children, and we got a state-level grant for $500 that let us provide 20 hours of lessons to autistic children. I also improved my teaching and speaking abilities while doing this.” See? Even “fun” activities can help you on the job market or at an interview – if you can prove that you developed or honed important skills while doing them. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but demonstrated success and leadership in a few extracurricular activities is far better than simply checking off a list – and in many cases, it’s better to be a big fish in a small pond (i.e., leader of a more obscure club) than just another face in the crowd of a bigger one.

One of our friendly, tweed-wearing Unemployed Professors is happy to help you tame the essay writing monster.