How to Pay for Your Degree
Posted on May 27, 2010
Filed Under Business Degrees | Leave a Comment
So you’ve decided that you need a degree for the career, income level, and future of your dreams. But how do you pay for it?
Going back to school as an adult is an expensive and time-consuming proposition. Finding the time for school is something that every one of us needs to figure out for ourselves, but luckily there are resources to help you at least finance your continuing education.
Employer Reimbursement
Some employers offer reimbursement programs to help their employees pursue a degree. Some employers only offer reimbursement for a degree in their industry, whereas others will help you pay for just about any degree. There is usually a cap on how much they will pay a year, perhaps $4,000 or $5,000. Usually your employer will reimburse you for the classes after you get your grades, so you will need to pay for them up front unless your school lets you defer payment.
Although paying for your classes up front is a bit difficult for many students, employer reimbursement programs are great because the money is, essentially, free money — and easy to take advantage of, if your employer offers it.
Scholarships and Grants
You may also be able to get some scholarships and grants, another great source of “free” money. There are a variety of different kinds you can get. The government gives grants to students based on need, so if you qualify you may be able to get so much money per year for classes. Some private scholarships are also based on need. Others might be given out to students in specific fields, such as a medical scholarship or a psychology scholarship.
Student Loans
Borrowing money ought to be your last approach, pursued only after you have already worked with the financial aid department to try to figure out a way to finance your education that you don’t have to pay back. There are two kinds of student loans, government loans — which usually offer a lower interest rate — and private loans — through a bank. Interest usually begins to accrue immediately, even though your first payment isn’t due until after you graduate, so you should try to limit your borrowing as much as possible.
Even if it seems like you will never be able to pay for your degree, don’t worry — there are numerous ways to get financing. I know it’s overwhelming, so make an appointment with someone in your school’s financial aid department, and let them help you figure it out!
My Favorite Christmas Gift
Posted on December 25, 2009
Filed Under Society | 1 Comment
Even though the whole point of the Christmas season isn’t gift giving, for me, gifts are the highlights. It is interesting to see what people buy for you and the gifts are a good indication of how well they actually know you.
This year, it was kind of a mixed bag when it came to my Christmas gifts. Most of the gifts that I received were kind of generic, such as the five bath gift baskets I received and that really made me kind of sad. It really hurt that my in-laws were one of the people that bought me a bath gift basket – you would think that they should know me better than that.
My husband didn’t do much better either. Even though I had mentioned to him that I really wanted some scrapbooking supplies for Christmas (I even made him a list), he didn’t really follow through with it. Instead he bought me some gift cards (which are about as impersonal as you can get), which made me feel like he didn’t make any time for me. Definitely a disappointment.
But my favorite gift this year was from my parents. They bought me one of the college diploma frames that I had been talking about for months, and now I will finally be able to hang my diploma on the wall. It makes me feel really good to know that they were listening all those times I was talking about the university diploma frame, and their purchase was definitely my favorite gift this year.
5 Best Degrees to Get Online
Posted on December 21, 2009
Filed Under Education | Leave a Comment
I did my entire college degree online approximately ten years ago. At that time, getting a degree online was practically unheard of. These days it’s common. Still, there are some degrees that are better than others to get online.
5 degrees that are good to get online are:
- Education degrees. You can learn a lot about what you need to know for teaching from taking an online course.
- Writing degrees. There is no reason that you need to attend a campus-based program to learn and practice writing.
- Anything related to computers. After all, you’re going to be working on computers anyway. Notably you don’t have to just get advanced degrees online in this area. You can also do certification programs. For example Cisco online training is great for people who need to take a Cisco training course.
- Business degrees. You can get both certification classes and advanced degrees in business via online classes.
- Anything that interests you. Getting a degree online requires that you are very self-motivated. It is a lot easier to be self-motivated if you truly enjoy what you are studying. If you don’t like your degree program then you will have a much tougher time completing your online degree.
A Well Deserved Break from Cooking School
Posted on December 18, 2009
Filed Under Culinary Arts | Leave a Comment
Now that the holiday season is upon us, it is time for a well deserved break from cooking school. This is my first year there, and it has been a hard four months of work.
I never really thought that cooking would be a subject that would be difficult to master, but as it turns out, it is. My biggest challenge was to get rid of my dependence on cook books since before I enrolled in classes, that is the way I cooked.
There is a lot of practice required to become a master of the culinary arts and I have had my share of dishes that really didn’t taste very good. Out of all my failures, the worst was when I was trying to cook macaroni and cheese from scratch – the first few tries were some of the most disgusting dishes that I had ever eaten.
But I am happy to say that if you tried my cooking back in September and compared it to my skills now, you would taste the difference. Even though I have a ways to go before becoming a master chef, you can feel the excitement in your taste buds when you take the first bite of any dish I create. I know, because I will see the smile on your face.
5 Great Green Classes to Take
Posted on December 17, 2009
Filed Under Trades & Vocational | 1 Comment
Do you want to be greener than you are? If so then you should think about taking some green classes in the year to come. Take a look at these five terrific green classes that you can take:
- Green cooking classes. There are a variety of green cooking classes that you can take through both normal educational institutions and private businesses. Take a class in buying locally, supporting the Slow Food movement or vegan cooking.
- LEED Green Associate classes. If you are interested in green building then you should pursue the option of getting LEED training this year.
- Green business practices. The local chapter of your Small Business Association probably offers free classes in basic green business practices.
- Marine biology courses. Any type of class that teaches you about animal life on this planet is a good one to take if you’re interested in green topics. Marine biology classes are particularly fun and informative.
- Health and healing classes. Have you ever wanted to take a class in acupuncture or massage therapy? There are a lot of green features to these types of healing classes. Even yoga classes have a green component to them.
It’s a great time to get a green education. Find an area of the green movement that really interests you and learn more about it this year!
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