Your basic application.

In no long period of time on Planet College you'll notice you do a lot of applying.

Applying for jobs. Applying for internships. Maybe even applying for special programs. You may have noticed that basically the drill is essentially the same. If you recall from your original college application some information is continuously necessary. Name, address, phone number, date of birth are among the standards necessary on most types of applications. Additionally, employment applications often ask for previous employers and often ask for references.

For this reason Planet College once again suggests that as a busy student it is useful for you to keep a file. A file can be anything but a sturdy manila folder like the kind use for business is very useful. This file could contain your essential information plus clear copies of relevant documents such as your birth certificate. Also it is useful to compile a list of your employers. This list can contain the name of the business, the location, your supervisor with, if possible, a phone number and your position i.e. the type of work you did.

Another useful list is a list of references. At this point there are usually at least two kinds. One employment references and the list of employers above may suffice. The second is academic. This is a list of instructors who are familiar with your efforts as a student. This is useful because you may need this type of references should you apply for, as mentioned, an internship, an advanced course or degree or a scholarship.

Having all of this basic information available in one file can significantly expedite the many application processes that you as a student experience on Planet College

What is help?

Because most students on Planet College feel that by this point in their lives they ought to be able to handle anything, often even recognizing the need for help is difficult. Basically is there something in your life which is overall distracting you from completing your current term with passing grades? If you can identify something which you can't currently manage you may need help. Often these are seemingly trivial things which gradually have gotten out of hand. Noisy building, difficult instructor, unreasonable manager at work, these types of things are common, but, over time each, any or all of them can become stressful. Large things, end of a relationship, failing grade in a required course, cancellation of financial aid are major stressors. Major stressors are easily identified.

Whatever is the cause, events leading to a feeling of helplessness are usually a sign that you could benefit from help.

Now that we know the general outline of when help seems necessary, we need to learn what help actually is.

On Planet College we have a slogan about help. This slogan comes in the form of a riddle. The slogan is : What is Help? Then answer? Help is help. That is what help is. Any resource even remotely bearing on the subject can be considered help. Some times its obvious. When you're building gets too noisy talking with your RA couldn't hurt. Any other instructor might be able to help you see your way clear through a course with a difficult instructor. Difficult managers at work are often something that simply needs to be endured. Still talking with someone, anyone, about work can help.

Larger things, which usually involve sudden loss, call for help but on a more comprehensive scale. Help can be found through individual counselors or group counseling both of which are often available on campus and often at no costs.

What ever the cause there often is not any better help on Planet College than talking things over with a friend.

Then next thing we need to look at is how to ask.

Asking For Help.

As posted above Students on Planet College often have a difficulty recognizing when they need help. When you actually recognize that you do need help, the question that arises is whom do I ask. Often this depends on the nature of the difficulty. Is it financial? Is it academic? Is it personal? Whatever the difficulties, students often feel they should be able to deal with any problem on their own. . They think, by now, they ought to be grown up enough to handle everything. Yet problems persist.

When a problem becomes out of hand most student's stress level rises and their work, including school is affected.


After deciding, "Yes I need help." and even locating some resources the challenge then becomes simply asking. How does a student tell some one, " I think I need help." Sounds simple but often not easy. Here is a Planet college suggestion. Talk the situation over with a friend. Just simply say, " I think I need some help." Then talk. If they can listen fine. If they need to make suggestions fine. What is important is to hear yourself speak, out loud, about what is on your mind. Often a student is able to say, after talking it out, " You know it ocurred to me while I was talking, maybe I could . . .".

This can happen, but first the student needs to start talking about what is going on. Just ask someone to listen.

Planet College final suggestion: If you have no close friend currently it might be wise to try the Student Health Center. Whomever you find it can be a relief just to hear your self talking. Help is where you find it.

Staying off of The Paycheck Loan Wheel

Remaining off of the Paycheck Loan wheel usually requires some help. Initially, you may be unable to pay the outstanding balances on the paycheck loans. As suggested below contact the lender and discuss re-payment possibilities. It can be very helpful if you have a plan and even can make a payment, however small. If you do arrange a re-payment schedule be vigilant about sticking to this plan.

Now, as a student who works, you may still be borderline poverty stricken. You may not be aware that there are often sources of cash available on campus for students. Some colleges have emergency loans for registered students. Some departments have similar programs. At one campus locally these amount to $200.00 for part-time students and $400.00 for full time. Additionally, campus clubs and organization sometimes have a few bucks available for members. These funds are almost always loans. So, once again remember these loans have to be paid back.

There is more. Staying off The Paycheck Loan Wheel takes maintenance. This maintenance includes diligence and support. Clearly as a student you are almost always in need of money.
If you have survived The Paycheck Loan Wheel you have paid for an expensive lesson in personal finance. Recognizing this can assist you in developing an awareness of your spending habits. Since money management has now become a priority some assistance might be useful.

Locally, maybe even on your campus, there are groups and sometimes even individuals who can offer help to students with money management. Sometimes this help is a support group. Sometimes this help is counseling. Maybe even a friendly talk with someone on campus, a finance instructor, a financial aid worker, someone you know in the Bursur's office, could provide clarity.

Just to review; avoid any further short term debt. Arrange a realistic payment schedule for that debt which you have. Explore campus sources for short term cash help. Survey the campus community for individual or group financial management support. This help could be a class, a group or individual counseling.

And one final Planet College Tip. When ever you get any money, paycheck, gift, tip, grant, loan or whatever put some portion of it into your own personal savings account. No matter what and no matter how small, even if it is only a dollar, whenever you get any income at all put something into a savings account. This simple habit will definitely help your own money security factor.

That's it. Get off the Paycheck loan wheel through a doable re-payment plan. Stay off the Paycheck Loan wheel by getting help. Finally, Whenever you get any money at all put some in a savings account.

You know how hard you work. So you know how hard money is to get. Now you know money is even harder to keep than it is to get.

The Paycheck Loan Wheel: The Solution Starts

The solution to the frustrating paycheck wheel habit starts with stop. Don't do it. No matter how desperate you are - and especially if you have several of these working at once- don't do another one.

Next step, remain in communication with those from whom you have borrowed money. There is nothing more annoying to a lender, and that is what these places are really, than not being able to contact people who owe them money. Going to them first when you can't make the payment will demonstrate your good faith in eventually paying the money back. It often helps to tell them your are a student, that you are working as well as going to school. If you have already missed a payment or even several it is wise to prepare a plan to repay the past due money. It is also helpful to bring a friend with you for support.

The Paycheck Loan Wheel Really Continues.

After having used and paid the paycheck service a few times some students realize they are consistenly coming up short. One solution often employed is to get another loan from another service. This short term but convenient solution soon compunds the initial problem, a funds shortage. At times some students have applied for and recieved several "payday" loans simultaneously. At Planet College the record we've heard of is eight. Maybe you've heard of more. Maybe you've had more.
There is one primary tactic to this costly downward spiral. Stop. Stop getting those expensive short term loans. Especially if you are using one to pay another.
This may seem far far easier said than done. Especialy if the lenders can call you at work or at home reminding you your payment is past due.

If you are in this frustrating position you probably need some help. Help beyond just don't do it.

The Paycheck Loan Wheel Continues.

This is the paycheck wheel continuing story. Now that the student has the hundred dollars from the pay day enterprise they may freely and happily spend it on anything they want. Often though this money is for and emergency like a car payment, cell phone bill or credit card payment. Whatever. It is promptly spent. Gone.
Now time goes by. Usually until the student's next payday. ( This is usually when such payday advances are due.) The student is paid, the business deposits the post-dated check and zoom that money is gone from that student's account. The student's account is now minus one hundred and sixteen dollars.
This might be a simple and even helpful, albeit expensive, transaction if it weren't for a few Planet College Basics. First new costs for students are constantly ocurring. Second most student workers think in terms of their entire pay being available. Thirdly, a significant amount of money disappearing from your checking account is really discouraging.
These effects from this seemingly simple and convenient transaction sometime lead a student to repeat the transaction in order to make up for the shortfall from their current earnings. This is part two of The Paycheck Wheel.