Interest, Subsidised or Unsubsidised

Planet College is virtually awash in new to most students terms. Just the language of Financial Aid is significant and extensive. Financial Aid contains several terms which might be new to a student on Planet College. Two of these terms have to do with interest. Interest is the money you pay to borrow money. On most college loans there are two types of interest. Subsidised and Unsubsidised. When you take out a loan for most purposes, like a car for example, you usually begin paying it back immediately. This is not true for loans for school. Most of these loans are structured so you do not have to start making payments on your loan(s) until after you have finished school. In order to help students keep their debt total down the government initiated a system some time a go to allow students to defer the accumulation of interest on their loan while they are attending school. The federal government subsidises this interest until the student has graduated or discontinued attending school. This type of loan is called a Subsidised loan. There are also loans available under some circumstances which are called Unsubsidised loans. With this type of loan the interest begins accumulating as soon as the student receives the funds from the loan. When a student begins paying this type of loan, Unsubsidised, interest will already have been added to the total of the loan due. When a student begins paying back the Subsidised loan the interest will begin accumulating only then. This means that a "subsidised" loan will be cheaper than an "unsubsidised" loan.
Remember. Either way, subsidised or unsubsidised, loans are loans and they must be paid back. That is the word from Planet College

Screwin' around.

Screwin' around can become one of the favorite pastimes on Planet College. We've all done it. What is your favorite form? Video games instead of the lab report. One more Nine-ball game when you were supposed to be at class ten minutes ago. The list is endless. It can go on and on. It can assume many forms. Yes, even taking unnecessary courses to avoid declaring a major. One of the favored forms of screwin' around is coming up real soon. Spring Break. Authorized and even organized, raucous and loud, sometimes fairly costly. And you know what? It is all necessary. A certain amount of frolicking, procrastination and even outright irresponsibility is built in to our human selves. Most of us just have to goof off some time to some degree. When, however is it too much? Only you know. You know you are doing it. And you know when you are overdoing it. Screwin' around is often a necessary release of tension. A relief from the boring day to day drudgery that life on Planet College often can be. Give your self some slack when you just have to screw around. But. Don't give yourself too much slack. Keep your eye on graduation. With a degree. Get your diploma. Then? Well, then you can screw around as much as you can afford to. Right now? Keep the screwin' around to a minimum. Just graduate, baby.

Bored of Education?

Are you bored? In school. Do you stare out the window a lot. Are you unstimulated by your classes? Probably the answer, at least sometimes is yes. This is common. Sitting in a classroom under flourescent lights in a sometimes windowless room can be boring. The setting is provided in this manner to allow students like you to concentrate on the subject at hand. Often if the presentation is unimaginative and sometimes even when it is the result for a typical student like you is boredom. Then often sleep. When you look around especially in afternoon classes you see a lot of other students on the obligatory snooze cruise. Basically there is no antidote. Like life, much of what you do to become an educated person is repetitive and potentially boring. Through all this in order to complete your courses and graduate you must find a way to hang tough. Don't let boring classroom presentations defeat your quest for a degree. Part of the art of becoming an educated person is dealing with everyday boredom. Eventually you will be able to tell how worthwhile this is.

Planet college grade review.

All of your grades from last term have been posted by now. You've seen the results. And you've seen your GPA. How did it go? How did you do? Better? Better than ever? Better than average? Worse? Well? Here is another Planet College tip: Talk to the instructor of your lowest graded class. Now that there is nothing in it for you meaning, no hope of sucking up for a better grade, find her and ask her about your grade. Ask her about your performance in class, if she (or he) remembers. Track her down and campus sometime soon and say,'I'd like to talk about your class." Ask her what you might have done to earn a better grade. Just keep it a nice general friendly and brief conversation. Be polite and thank her for her time. Sometime later seriously review with your self what this instructor said. Did you miss important assignment dates. Were you not in class often. Did you sit near the rear entrance and IM your friends. How could you have improved your grade. It is probably just a few small things which can be easily corrected. Now that you know. Give it a try, you might learn something.

Orderly Withdrawls, when it all gets to be too much.

Life on Planet College is very, very demanding. Sometimes given our resources and continuing demands for our attention it can be too demanding. And we feel like quitting. This is understandable. We are limited, finite, human. When we not only feel like quitting but leaving school seems to be the most useful option there are some things to consider.
First of all you are probably stressed. The urge to quit usually occurs when somewhere inside we feel like we can't handle it. That is why it is probably a good idea to talk to someone. Someone who can listen and not judge. Sometimes its a friend. Sometimes not. On Planet College there are often a number of resources available to discuss your current life pressures. Counselors, former instructors maybe even whoever is covering the Interfaith desk this week in the Student Center. Whoever. It is simply useful and practical to find someone to talk it out with. Leaving school is a serious decision. It carries a lot of implications. Sometimes it is your best option. If you choose to do so, make sure you follow the guidelines required by your school. They are probably available at the Registrar's office. If currently college is more than you can handle you could probably use a break. While "quitting" sounds discouraging, it may be that a break for now can help you sort out your choices. Just remember. Don't just walk away. Talk to someone. If it still seems to be the way to go, follow your school's procedures for withdrawing. Get the forms, get the required signatures, turn them in to the appropriate offices. Also if you have time stop by and say thanks to instructors, coaches, office workers, your first RA, anybody who may have been helpful along the way. Remember you may want to return some time in the future.

Volunteer

This is a post to encourage you to find a way to volunteer for something this term. Planet College is mostly about finding enough time to do all the things you need to do to stay on track to graduate. Planet College is also about finding ways to get enough money to pay for school and sustain yourself until you graduate. This in itself is a pretty tall order. Still ,this post is to ask you to find time in your over busy schedule to give what you have with no thought of return. Not for more money, not for a better grade. Just you spending some time giving yourself, your talent, your interest, your time. For free. Sound foolish? Sound bothersome with all you have to do? Well, then maybe it is. Yet many students on Planet College have found volunteering to be uniquely rewarding. Rewarding beyond the usual expectations of return for effort.
Where to volunteer? The literacy campaign at the library. The local animal shelter. After school tutoring at a local school. Reading to a resident at the Senior Center. Sorting donations at the recycling center. There are lots of possibilities. Give it some thought. You may be surprised at the rewards. And who knows it might even be fun.

I think it's at my mom's.

A little further down there's a post called "Life. Now it can be yours". This is about record keeping. Birth Certificates, immunization records, passport, stuff like that. It says Keep a record as Planet College recommends. If you read it and said to yourself, "I think that stuff is at my mom's." that post was for you. If you've been around the campus for a few semesters you know that stuff comes up regularly in your annual life. Which is why Planet College recommends you get your own copies. Mom's are usually excellent record keepers. They've been doing it for you since day one. Of course they have a copy of your birth certificate, they were there. Sure your mom has your last TB shot record, she probably took you to the clinic. Now, though, it is time for you to become your own record keeper. If that stuff is still with your mom get it. That post was directed to you. This is part of the process of having your own life. Yes it is dull, grown-up stuff. But, it is important for you to do this for your self.