Bottom Line

Managing your money is an integral part of college. Higher education costs a lot; making wise financial decisions will help you avoid unwanted stress and unfortunate long-term consequences, such as excessive debt. Particularly when it comes to paying your tuition bill, it’s important to know your options and pick the one that’s best for you. Below is some advice for paying your balance (click image to download).

For more advice on how to succeed in college, visit our 7 Steps to Success homepage.

From working professionals to stay-at-home parents, people manage busy schedules to make sure that they can get all their tasks done. For busy college students, this skill is essential for success! The key to time management is setting up a system that works for you.

First, pick a calendar or planning tool. You can find a traditional planner at a local department or office supply store, such as Target or Staples. If you have a PDA or Smartphone, you may choose to use Google Calendar, Outlook, iCal, Toodledo, or some other online tool. Select the tool that is easiest and most convenient for you and then use it! At Bottom Line, we provide our students with the following handout for weekly time management (click image to download):

For more advice on how to succeed in college, visit our 7 Steps to Success homepage.

This month, newly graduated high school seniors from Boston and Worcester, MA, attended Training Camps at Bottom Line’s Boston office, UMass Boston, and Worcester State University. Each Training Camp featured four workshops designed to prepare these incoming freshman for college. Here’s a recap of the advice that we gave to these students:

Be engaged during class.
If you sit up front, listen, take notes, and raise your hand during class, chances are that you’ll get a much better grade than the student who comes in late, sits in back, texts, browses the internet, and falls asleep during lectures. Not only do many professors count class participation as part of your grade, but your professor is more likely to remember you if you speak up. When your professor learns about a scholarship, research opportunity, or job, he or she may think of you! And don’t forget, you’re spending time and money to be in college: you don’t want to be paying for an F.

Read and understand your class syllabi.
A class syllabus contains pertinent information about what a professor expects of you in his or her class, including the number of allowable absences; what books you need to rent or buy; what assignments you’ll be completing, when they’re due, and how much each will contribute to your final grade. A syllabus will also list your professor’s contact information and office hours, so you can reach out or meet with him or her if you need extra help!

Manage your time.
College is busy, exciting, and full of expectations. You may need to fit class, homework assignments, studying, sports practice, theater rehearsal, work, family obligations, and your social life into one week. To ensure that you meet all of your commitments and keep up on your class work, you should use a planner, whiteboard, Google calendar, or other tool of your choice to block off your time during the week. This will keep you organized, on task, and on time!

Be open to your college’s community but also prepared to encounter cultural differences. The community at your college may or may not be completely different from the place that you grew up or the high school you attended. Entering college with an open mind will help you meet new people and feel connected to life on campus. Should you encounter jarring class, race, or religious differences, just remember that you are all part of the same community and pursuing the same goal: a college degree. Should you ever feel maligned based on your background, speak up! Colleges are supposed to be learning environments where it’s safe to explore differences and learn about new cultures.

With these tips, our students will be better prepared to tackle college life and academics this fall!

Sarah Place
Program Director – MA

The sunshine is out and homework is nowhere in sight. Yes, as a college student, it’s tempting to spend the entire summer on vacation. After all the work you’ve done during the school year, you deserve a break. But the summer is also a good time to get a job that can offer you a number of benefits, including:

Huy (Suffolk University, 2012) at Sun Life Financial.

Money – Beyond being satisfying, getting a regular paycheck means you can save money to pay for tuition and books. While your life may be monopolized by classes and homework during the busy semester, summer break leaves plenty of time to earn some cash. Whether you take the part-time mail room job you work at school to full-time for the summer or find a seasonal job waiting tables, saving money is a smart idea.

Experience – Summer break also allows you to pursue internships and professional development opportunities in fields that interest you. Particularly if you know what job you want to pursue after college, finding an internship can allow you to test drive a particular job or develop skills that will increase your qualifications for your intended career path. For example, if you are interested in marketing, perhaps you will apply to be a Social Media Intern at a local museum. If you are interested in becoming a veterinarian, you could apply to be an assistant at a local animal hospital.

Responsibility – In addition to gaining some work experience, a summer job can give you a taste of real-world responsibility. Learning about the expectations of employers and the consequences of decisions and performance at a job is an important lesson to learn before graduating from college and one that you won’t learn in the classroom.

Freedom – On the flip-side of responsibility is independence. While you explore the expectations of the working world, you can also experience the freedom that comes with having your own money and managing your own schedule. Having decision-making power with your own time and finances is liberating and exciting, and will help you prepare for becoming a fully self-sufficient adult.

Connections – The saying is true: it’s all in who you know. If a manager comes to appreciate you as a hard worker and dependable employee, chances are that he/she will feel comfortable serving as a reference for you in the future. Networking is a key component to landing great jobs, but connecting with co-workers and managers also has a more immediate payoff: you can learn a lot from smart and supportive colleagues. While your professors at school teach you a lot through theory, formulas, and research, co-workers can teach you about on-the-job skills such as time management, professional demeanor, and negotiating work-life balance. Learning about these things early on will make you a more desirable job candidate.

While finally picking a college and mailing out a deposit is relieving, there’s plenty left to do to ensure that a student can officially begin college. Fulfilling final requirements to enroll in the fall and planning for the transition to college should be a top priority. Here’s the steps a student should take over the summer to successfully begin freshman year:

-May–
Set up your email account and online system log in. Your school has probably already started to send you important emails at your school account! Make sure you are aware of them. If you have trouble logging in, call your college’s IT department.

Sign up for on-campus orientation. This may be your first chance to meet classmates, become familiar with your campus, and get excited about college! While orientation is often mandatory, it will introduce you to the college life and help you feel more comfortable there come September.

Complete housing forms (if you will live on campus). This paperwork ensures that your dorm and roommate are good matches for you. Housing forms should be mailed to you by your college. Contact your school’s Residential Life office if you do not receive them.

Sign up for a payment plan (if necessary). A payment plan will help you manage your bills and ensure your tuition is paid on time. These plans can typically be set up online, but call your Financial Aid office if you need assistance.

-June–
Submit a final transcript and any AP score records. These documents should be sent to your college’s Admissions Office by your high school guidance counselor. For that reason, try to get this done before school is out for the summer.

Schedule a doctor’s appointment. Required health and immunization forms must be completed by your doctor and submitted to your college. These forms should be mailed to you, but they can also be found on your school’s Health Services webpage. Be sure to tell your doctor that you need a check-up for college since he/she will need to sign several forms.

-July-
Finalize your payment plan. Make sure you know how you will pay your bill for the fall semester and the remainder of the year. Payment plans can typically be changed online or through your Financial Aid office.

Complete loan paperwork. If you have loans, you need to fill out the appropriate forms to release the funds to your college. Completing this now will ensure a balance isn’t left on your account when the semester begins.

Complete health insurance paperwork. Whether you will receive health insurance through your college, the state, or your family’s policy, you need to inform your college of this decision. These forms can typically be found on your college’s website or at the Health Services Center.

Take any required placement tests. Many schools require students to complete math placement tests. This ensures that you will be enrolled in a class level that suits your current abilities rather than a course that you may find overly challenging or under-engaging.

Apply for work study jobs (if applicable). Work study is a great way to earn some money on campus. These jobs fill up quickly, so apply ASAP! Work study jobs are typically listed on your school’s website.

-August-
Prepare for move-in day. If you are living on campus, you will need to go shopping for dorm room supplies. While this can be stressful and costly, don’t forget to have fun as you prepare for your new life!

Last week, Attorney General Martha Coakley announced the recipients of mini grants distributed through the Cure Lounge Settlement Supporting African-American Students Seeking Higher Education. At the Freedom House in Dorchester, AG Coakley was accompanied by Boston City Councilwoman Ayanna Pressley, Chairman of the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination Julian Tynes, members of the Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division, and representatives of the recipient organizations, including Bottom Line’s Executive Director Greg Johnson and Director of Development Mike Wasserman (above). See more photos of this event>>>

$28,500 in total was awarded to Bottom Line, the Freedom House, Cambridge College, and the United Negro College Fund. These grants will support the organizations’ efforts to serve college-bound students in Boston and Worcester, specifically the provision of direct scholarships, college counseling services, assistance with college applications and financial aid, and college preparatory classes.

The grants are part of a settlement that the MA Attorney General’s Civil Rights Division reached with Paige Hospitality, Inc. after an incident that occurred at the Cure Lounge in Boston last fall.

Read more about this settlement>>>
Read more about this grant initiative>>>

Throughout the country, thousands of students are walking across stages to accept a milestone for which they have worked tirelessly: their college diploma. The month of May marks the culmination of numerous study sessions, group projects, and research papers as well as the beginning of a new journey. Particularly for low-income and first-generation college graduates, this time is transformative.

Last week, Odalis Polanco, a new graduate of Northeastern University and Bottom Line’s College Success Program, was profiled on Boston.com and The Chronicle of Higher Education.  As a Torch Scholar and a Bottom Line student, Odalis demonstrates the determination that many students from low-income and first-generation backgrounds exhibit. To Odalis and the many other students graduating this month, congratulations. To the organizations, institutions, and individuals who supported these remarkable students, thank you.

Hear what Odalis says about working with Bottom Line…

Me and my current roommate Darlene having fun (after doing our homework!)

One of my greatest fears when deciding to come to college was living with a roommate. My fear did not revolve around having to share a room, since I’ve shared a room with my siblings my entire life; I was more concerned with whether or not I would get along with my roommate. (In case you are wondering, my college has a limited amount of single rooms, which are usually occupied by seniors.) I’ve had two roommates in the past two years and, luckily, everything has turned out just fine.

Since I had no friends from home attending Holy Cross with me, I had to complete a Roommate Questionnaire before freshman year that asked me about my living preferences. Based on my answers, I was randomly assigned with a roommate in a freshmen dorm hall (Wheeler!). We quickly added each other on Facebook and started sending messages back and forth in an attempt to get to know one another before schools started. We lived together throughout the entire year and I got along with her very well. Although we are no longer roommates, we still remain friends. 🙂

This year, I live in Clark (Sophomore dorm) with my friend, Darlene. She lived three doors down from me in Wheeler last year and since we had a class together we instantly bonded. We spent a lot of time together and I have to admit that I would not have had such an amazing freshmen year if it weren’t for her friendship. Whether it was doing homework in the library, sledding on top of plastic bin containers (when we should have been studying for finals!), going around taking silly pictures, or randomly walking around campus with footed pajamas and masks on, we always had an amazing time. It was obvious that we should dorm together our sophomore year.

Our only fear about rooming together was whether it would negatively affect our friendship. Rooming with a best friend is hit or miss. It can either go very well or it can be a complete disaster. The last thing I wanted was for our friendship to be strained because we were not good roommates. Luckily, rooming together did not ruin our friendship and we are still good friends. 🙂

Many students who will be freshmen in the fall have the same fear I did when I was a freshman. I can assure you that everything will turn out fine. If there is any problem that cannot be resolved by talking it out, you can always seek out your Resident Assistant or Resident Director for advice or (in dire circumstances) request a roommate change. So don’t sweat it!

Until next month,

Kristie

Samantha Louis, Bridgewater State University '11, shares her college experiences with Bottom Line.

During a video interview conducted last fall, Samantha Louis—a senior at Bridgewater State University who will graduate this spring with a degree in Psychology—was asked what might have gone differently if she hadn’t worked with Bottom Line. She described the benefits of campus visits and help filling out the FAFSA, and ultimately replied that she probably would have enrolled in a community college rather than the 4-year university she currently attends.

This isn’t the first time a Bottom Line student has given this answer. Jeanette Sanchez, a senior studying Writing, Literature, and Publishing at Emerson College, said that she would have gone to community college because it had a lower price tag. But with a 4.5 high school GPA and a goal of earning a bachelor’s degree in writing, Jeanette was already well-suited for directly enrolling in a 4-year college. In education lingo, Samantha and Jeanette both said they would have “undermatched” if they had not come to Bottom Line for help with college applications.

The concept of undermatching has been talked about more and more since the release of Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America’s Public Universities, written by William G. Bowen, Matthew M. Chingos, and Michael S. McPherson. Undermatching basically means that a student doesn’t enroll in the best college that he/she could have. This problem is particularly prevalent among students from low-income households or the first generation of their family to attend college. As economics columnist David Leonhardt recapped in The New York Times, “about half of low-income students with a high school grade-point average of at least 3.5 and an SAT score of at least 1200 do not attend the best college they could have. Many don’t even apply.”

So why is undermatching a problem? The National Center for Educational Statistics released a study in December 2010 that states only 12% of students who start at community colleges earn a bachelor’s degree within six years. Of the first-time, public 2-year college students who transferred to a 4-year college, 29% attained a bachelor’s degree and 15% remained enrolled at a 4-year college. While many community colleges have effective transfer programs and continue to build partnerships with 4-year colleges, on a broad national scale, your chances of earning a bachelor’s degree are higher if you initially enroll in a 4-year college. In many ways, this is a shorter and less complex journey. For this reason, if your goal is to earn a bachelor’s degree, it makes sense to enroll directly in a 4-year college if you can.

To ensure that the low-income/first-generation students who are qualified to enroll directly into a 4-year college do so, they need a knowledgeable guide to lay out their feasible college options. Having an informed mentor allows students to make decisions based on all the information—information they don’t necessarily have access to through their immediate friends and family or, in some cases, their high schools. By building a relationship with a counselor, these students have someone who will lead them step by step through the inconceivably complex world of higher education.

But undermatching isn’t the only danger for low-income/first-generation students. Helping a student get to the right college is just the first step. Samantha illustrated this when she explained that Bottom Line was on campus every year helping her fill out the FAFSA. She insisted she would have had student loans if it weren’t for this help.

When asked what motivated her to succeed, Samantha said her mother and the fact that she is a minority. “I don’t want to be one of those statistics,” she said. If there’s anything to be learned from Bottom Line students, it’s how ambitious and resilient you have to be to succeed in today’s higher education system. Bottom Line students show that undermatching or dropping out of college doesn’t occur from any lack of motivation or effort.

Bowen, Chingos, and McPherson said they think undermatching is caused by “a combination of inertia, lack of information, lack of forward planning for college, and lack of encouragement.” To address this wide range of reasons, the advice low-income and first-generation students receive needs to be holistic: academic, financial, vocational, and personal. This need is particularly apparent this month as high school seniors from the Class of 2011 are making final decisions about where they will attend college during the next 4 or more years.

While we have a long way to go before our public schools and higher education systems completely adapt to accommodate the needs of the modern-day student, it’s comforting to know that there are solutions brewing, some of them as seemingly simple as offering a one-on-one counselor.

Ernest J. Newborn II, chairman of the USA Funds board of trustees congratulates Greg Johnson, Executive Director of Bottom Line

If you haven’t heard yet, Bottom Line was recently selected as the winner of a national competition for a $1 million award to support college success. Out of the 51 applications they received from across the country, USA Funds decided to present Bottom Line with the Trustee’s National Award for College Success. The award was created to “advance the complementary national goals of increasing the percentage of American adults with college degrees to 60 percent by 2025.”

Last week, USA Fund’s staff and board traveled to Boston to announce the award, with Bottom Line staff, students, and board members also in attendance. Ernest J. Newborn II and Greg Johnson (above) both spoke about the need for programs that help students succeed in college and how Bottom Line and USA Funds will work to meet those needs. Javier Hernandez, a graduating senior at UMass Boston and active participant in Bottom Line’s College Success Program, was able to share how Bottom Line has affected his life.

The generous grant will be paid to Bottom Line over the next three years; it will ultimately help Bottom Line replicate the College Access and College Success Programs in New York City and expand to serve 3,200 students annually across Massachusetts and New York by 2015.

Our staff and students are very grateful to our supporters (that means you!) for helping Bottom Line reach this exciting point in our growth and success. Because of your belief in our mission, we will continue expanding to help more students reach their full potential.