munky.org|v3.0

Ok, so it’s not that joyful. Ok, maybe a psychology major might enjoy it, I’m just saying. As you can see, its been months since I’ve posted. Why? Because my “relatively light” 13 credit hours towards my dual bachelor’s of science in mechanical engineering and physics are a real drag on my time. What little time I do have is spent with the family or working on the house. That’s my life.

So it may not be all sweet roses and candy, but is it worth it? Absolutely! I’m challenging myself to be better all around and to be able to do something I enjoy for a living. Is it for everyone? Probably not.

Coming in as a non-traditional student has its advantages and disadvantages. Most non-traditionals are there because they want to be there. Something about growing up gives a new perspective to time and money, and it seems most non-trads have decided it is worth the time and money to come back to school, so they give it their all.  We’re not here because mommy and daddy or the school counselor said we had to go. We’re most here because either we never went the first time and have personally lived through the difficulties of not having that paper, or because we’ve decided to change career directions.

It’s easier because we know we want to be here, and we are willing to give it our all. But on the same note, it is also more difficult. We have mortgages or rent payments to make, car payments, credit cards, the works. We’re more like the typical college student’s parents than the student his or herself. A lot of us also have spouses and children. Our time gets eaten up between the school/family balance, and I haven’t even included what a job puts into the equation as well.

We are also further away from the high school education that in theory prepared us for college. I find it humurous that when I first started going back, I was in a high school algebra 2 equivalent development class. I’m in calculus 3 now, working towards degree requirements plus an additional minor in math. All of that math and chemistry and biology, well, most of us never needed much of it in the real world, so it all went to the wayside.

We’re also more willing to participate in more leadership positions within the student organizations we join. Sometimes we are too limited by work to be involved, but if we are not, then we stretch our valuable time even more.

So basically, for all of those 18,19, 20, 21 year old students who are in college or will soon be in college, make sure you give plenty of respect to those older students in your class. They have worked harder than you go get to this point, and they also have the wisdom and experience that only comes from age.

Was there a point to this? Maybe, maybe not. But I pay the bills for this domain, so if I want to vent, then I’ll vent =)

Off to go test my beam for the required freshman engineering class I’m in. Thank god for next semester when I’ll be a bonefide sophomore soon to be junior.

Is it just me, or is the economy giving us mixed signals. The Dow Jones has recovered nearly 3000 points from it’s low, yet 84 banks have failed this year as of last week. That averages out to 2.5 bank failures per week. Ouch! There are still signs of things sinking, particularly in commercial real estate. Yet other signs show we are improving. Mix signals? As the only vice presidential candidate we’d wanna see in a centerfold would say, “you betcha!”

However, this is a little bit of silver to an otherwise dreary lining. Our recession is moving through its progressions, which equals progress.  Our markets are also clueing us in that the big picture ahead is looking brighter. Just remember that the markets don’t reflect our current reality, but our perceived future. We’re continuing to hit turning points, which is good news for our future.

Unfortunately for us laid off folk, future doesn’t fix the present.

But being laid off does have its advantages. Especially in a recession. This is the perfect time to step back and take stock in our life. Do we like where we were going being we were laid off? Should we change paths? Would furthering my education advance me, or should I look at another career. Some of us may be used to working in industries that routinely lay off and rehire (defense contractors and the like are notorious for this. My friend’s dad has been laid off and rehired between Solectron and General Dynamics for almost two decades, ouch!). Maybe this one stings a little bit more, and makes us realize we need to find something more stable.

So to all my fellow unemployed/underemployed persons, use this as your opportunity to start going in the direction you want to go. Although the “potential employee” pool is larger than normal, we now have the opportunity to make a move and shine. So take advantage,

As for me, I used this as my sign to go ahead and finish school. I was almost done with my associates when I was laid off (I graduated in July), but instead of taking time off before transferring to a 4-year, I took being laid off as my sign to go ahead and get it done with. I’m now in my first semester at UNCC, majoring in Mechanical Engineering and Physics, with a minor in Mathematics. I still have withdrawal pains from the job world, and it is still weird being the “old fart” around campus. yet it has already been challenging and rewarding, and I can now focus on everything a lot more. By the time we’ve mostly recovered from this recession, I will have positioned myself to be a strong candidate for anywhere I want to go.

So use this opportunity wisely, recessions don’t happen everyday.

Anyone paying for college knows the feeling

FFELP? That’s short for the Federal Family Education Loan Program. If you have a federal Stafford or PLUS student loan, odds are you got it through the FFELP. It is the private student loan program subsidized by the federal government. It is also the program that came under fire a couple of years back for kick-backs to colleges for sending student borrowers their way.

Now it looks like the Obama may be cutting it out completely, leaving only the Federal Direct Loan Program (FDLP). While there are specific benefits to taxpayers by removing public subsidies (the administration believes it can save taxpayers $4 billion a year, and $47.5 billion in the first 10 years, mainly from subsidy removal), the benefits to borrows (students and their parents) aren’t so clear.

Why? Most FFELP lenders offer rate reductions for qualified buyers. Take for example the NC Advantage Program through the CFI (and endorsed through the College Foundation of North Carolina and the North Carolina State Employee’s Credit Union, etc.) offers savings for automatic draft. For loans before September 20th of last year, a student loan could get a 1% reduction for making your first payment on time, and another 1.5% off for using automatic draft. While not so glamorous, even its .25% discount for automatic draft is still worth it (bring the rate to approximately 6.55%, in line with many automobile loans).

The administration has not made it clear if it will offer any type of rate reductions or incentives. Overall, this could be a good move for students and parents if they decide it drop rates across the board. However, looking at the recent bubble burt reminds us of the dangers of easy money.

Being a college student who may need to get a loan after transferring, this is of particular interest to me. We’ll have to watch and see what the administration does. Although there are significant reasons that these types of loans should be moved to be strictly governmental, the move should be done not just to help the taxpayer, but improves the borrowing situation for students. These loans are for a very specific purpose, and their value should not be lost just to bean counters.

But while we are on the topic of paying for college, Congress needs to set its sight on another, maybe even more important goal. Cleaning up the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as the FAFSA. Anyone who has ever filled it out knows that it nearly takes a postgraduate to fill out this thing. It may be a free application, but you pay for it in time and confusion. They did away with some of the confusion by moving it strictly online, but it is still painful and difficult. I have one out every year, and honestly, I look forward to finals week more. You can see more on the problems with the FAFSA here.

And for my final $0.02 worth, there is one change that I believe is worth of merit. Currently, individuals under the age of 24 MUST claim their parents’ and/or legal guardians’ income. While for a number of students this makes sense, given that they are only independent because they are off to college, but in the essential use, they are still dependents. However, there are students who are penalized hard with this requirement. Take for example myself. My wife and I were married young and had a child young (I was 21, she was 19). We were completely independent, owning our own home, raising our own child, and receiving very little financial from any relatives. The most we got was free child care. In our first year of marriage, we earned about $27,000. Guess what, neither one of us could get financial aid. A couple of years later I finally started going to school, and was paying completely out of pocket because I was still unable to collect financial aid. Thankfully community college is affordable, but books are still ridiculous. I was smart enough to scrape during the semester to have enough for the next. Finally, the year I turned 24, I was finally eligible for financial aid. I had to scrape and starve to pay for that fall semester, so when I found out I was getting a refund because I got aid, relieved would not cover it.

I made too much last year though, and I’m not eligible for the Pell Grant, NC Community College Incentive, or the NC Lottery grants anymore. Unfortunately, in order to get scholarships (I wouldn’t have been able to afford this semester without a scholarship), I still have to fill out that damned form. I’d rather do my taxes again.