Having an internship is ideal for students wishing to know more about their potential career.
'When it comes time to graduate and find a job, employers are going to be interested in what experience you have had, and how you have demonstrated your abilities in the past,' said Matthew Nelson, career advisor for L&S/Human Ecology career services.
Also, even though many internships are not paid, some are and many even can lead to paying jobs.
'Some organizations use internships as a recruiting tool. Instead of hiring recent graduates for entry-level positions, some organizations use their internship program as a testrun to see which students they are interested in hiring on full-time,' Nelson said. 'Bottom line: internships provide great experience, exposure to the field, and increase students' competitiveness when looking for jobs.'
Internships are also not as elusive as they may seem. There are many websites that cater to connecting students with internships in a wide variety of fields and cities. Also many of the career centers on campus have internship listing for students.
'The application deadlines vary greatly according to the organization,' Nelson said. 'Some organizations hire summer interns as early as December, some as late as April. Some students even snag a last minute internship in May. The earlier you can start looking, the better.'
In order to avoid buying expensive course materials, students should seek other alternatives than solely buying from the Underground Textbook Exchange and University Bookstore. According to Steve Scheibel, text manager at the University Bookstore and Troy Gerkey, co-owner of Underground used textbooks are sold for 75 percent of the original price and are bought back for 50 percent at the most. To get the best deal, students should attempt to sell between 50 and 75 percent to benefit both the buyer and seller.
Students may also benefit economically to ask instructors if they can use cheaper, older-edition textbooks. Newer editions are seldom significantly different and often provide little enhanced material.
Libraries across campus also provide class related textbooks as an alternative to buying them. However, the cost of saving money by not purchasing a copy is often convenience.
'Using the library copies requires the flexibility to be able to share the resources among many students and get assignments done during a three hour period when the books are available,' said Carrie Kruse, director at College Library.
Buying books from other students and online websites may also save money, but compromise convenience as it often requires getting course material lists early to search for and order them in advance.
Even if you already have a job, it never hurts to look for a better one. Before the job hunt begins, students should make sure their r??sum??s are updated. After all, there is no need for a paperwork mix-up to keep you from your dream job. Many of the career centers on campus offer r??sum?? help. Also, having poor references should not keep you from having a job either. 'References for the most part should be what we call professional references. Professors are often great references; get to know them and visit them outside of class ?? only if nothing else is available should a student turn to a personal reference (i.e. family, friend, etc),' said Matthew Nelson, career advisor for L&S/Human Ecology career services.
To find a job try looking at the classifieds, your school's career center, or the UW Job Center's website. Once you've found a job, you'll probably have to interview for it. According to the Business Career Centers website, before you interview you should know what you can contribute to the employer, prepare a portfolio (r??sum??s, references, transcripts, pen, paper), you should know your resume, dress in proper interview attire, know where and when the interview will take place, rehearse interview questions and practice with a friend, prepare questions to show interest in the employer and the position, get enough sleep and eat something before your interview.
Once you have your job, manage your new wealth cautiously and keep your eyes peeled for your next dream job.
Actually understand how your credit card works
Credit card offers stuff the mailboxes of nearly every student on campus, but along with the offers of a free cooler, key chain or blanket come sky-high interest rates and the danger of tumbling far into debt and ruining your credit rating.
According to a 2004 Nellie Mae study, 76 percent of all college undergraduates carry at least one credit card and have an average balance of $2,169. Eighty-one percent of all college freshmen have at least one credit card.
Credit cards are not a bad thing'when used correctly, they can establish a credit rating and are useful in a spending emergency. However, the key to selecting a good credit card is research. Many of the cards that target students have high interest rates and fees, including annual fees, late fees and transaction fees. Read the fine print and compare cards'one that offers rewards for using it frequently might have a much higher interest rate than one that has no rewards.
To prevent credit card debt from getting out of control, according to the UW Credit Union, a purchase should always be matched with a source of repayment. That ensures that the balance can be repaid in full each month and the debt will not pile up.
Even though students may be operating on a lean budget, they cannot quit going out cold turkey. There are too many opportunities to spend money that might tempt college students'road trips with friends, going out once, twice or three times a weekend, or relieving finals week stress by buying clothes. These temptations may break any resolve they had to stay on track with their spending.
The key to sticking on budget is looking at it realistically, according to the UW Credit Union website. It is when students completely deprive themselves of something that they tend to overspend. The UW Credit Union offers a worksheet at
uwcu.org/planning/collegespending.asp that helps students track exactly where their money goes and lets them see where they are able to spend a little bit more. The shopping does not need to stop'but it can be a lot easier on the wallet when a student only looks at the sale rack. Students can still go out, but can stick to the drink specials. And, instead of having two or three drinks, they can pay a little more for one really, really strong drink.
Students can start cutting into their student loan debt swhile still in college and decrease their future payments. This can help them alleviate the stress that will hit six months after graduation when the first bill arrives.
'If you pay as you go, you are going to reduce the amount you owe in the very end,' said Susan Fischer, director of financial aid at UW-Madison. 'Otherwise, you are going to be paying on the interest, which is kind of painful. Financially, it is a good decision'if you can do it.'
Interest on unsubsidized Stafford Loans begins to accrue from the moment the loan is accepted, meaning that in the first year of receiving a $2,625 loan, a loan-burdened student already owes $123.37 in interest. Upon graduation, after receiving unsubsidized Stafford loans for four years, a student will owe approximately $1,800 in interest alone.
'Personally, I'd rather see students live within their means, but if all other things are equal'if you have enough food to eat, if you're doing your laundry, taking care of your physical needs'by all means start paying off that interest,' Fischer said. 'It reduces your debt down the road, which is always a good thing.'
