Students that are utilizing the semester based academic calendar (versus the quarter system) should be finishing out their Fall term. This means that now is the time for all the big projects to be coming due and final exams are just around the corner. It is important that you stay focused and complete the semester on a high note. Reason being- it sure would be a bummer for all your hard work to go down the drain and for you to receive a sub par grade on your course or even worse… a failing grade that requires you to repeat the course. Since repeating a course usually means paying twice, I am pleased to share the following guest article submission from our friends at Dictionary.com in hopes that it helps you ace out your semester and avoid unnecessary fees from having to take a redo on any of your courses. If the tips below are not helpful in keeping your grades where you want them to be, you can always try submitting this humorous change of grade request form to your professor…

Finals week is chaotic to say the least – exams, papers, group projects, and those ever-present distractions which attempt to lure you away from your studies.  Don’t stress, young scholar, Dictionary.com has a few tips that will enable you to master the art of preparation and bring that migraine down to a faint numb.

• Prioritize: don’t neglect your brain and body by skipping a meal or depriving yourself of sleep.  Stay organized and use study-tools so that you can be prepared without wasting time.
  • stream·line to alter in order to make more efficient or simple.
    
• Mobilize: don’t confine yourself to a stuffy dorm-room.   Mobile  apps now provide numerous resources you can pull from your back-pocket, whether you are holed up in the library, or cramming in the back seat during a road trip.
  • Swiss army knife a small knife with blades and other tools, such as a nail file and corkscrew, all folding into the handle.
    
• Flashcards: when it comes to memorizing those complex vocabulary words that inevitably make their way into your multiple-choice exams, visualization and repetition are essential.  This time-tested technique has been automated by Dictionary.com in order to maximize one’s study time and ensure retention of information.
  • re·gur·gi·tate to give back or repeat, esp. something not fully understood or assimilated: to regurgitate the teacher’s lectures on the exam.
    
• Expand: If you need to give that term paper an extra kick to really grab your professor’s attention, sauce-up your syntax by using a thesaurus.  This is the number one tool for eliminating redundant phrases and adding an extra flair of sophistication to any written piece.
  • e·lab·o·rate (adj.) worked out with great care and nicety of detail; executed with great minuteness: elaborate preparations; elaborate care. (verb) to work out carefully or minutely; develop to perfection.
    

In January, I will be reaching the one year mark for CheapScholar.org.  It is quite a milestone because I didn’t even know if I would make it past the first month when I initially started this little college money blog. It has been quite a journey and I am greatly excited about what lies ahead (for me and CheapScholar.org). In an effort to help my readers, friends, and family better understand my commitment to CheapScholar.org and the impact it has on me, I decided to come up with the Top Eight Reasons I Blog on CheapScholar.org. Hope you find them informative and a little bit amusing all at the same time!

1. Fortune: This is why anybody does anything right? 😉 Let me tell you that fortune (money) should not be a motivating factor for anyone wanting to enter into the world of blogging. As you can probably garner, everything on CheapScholar.org is free and there is no monetary incentive that keeps me engaged with my blogging efforts. I believe strongly in college accessibility and affordability – so much so that I am glad to volunteer my time and efforts with CheapScholar.org to help others.
2. Fame: I don’t anticipate being on the cover of Time Magazine anytime soon but I can tell you that blogging has opened up a number of doors for me. I have had the opportunity to be quoted in articles, referenced in research studies, published in various mediums, and I even made an appearance on NBC news in a story that was covering college costs and funding sources. I am still holding out to hear from Matt Lauer in the near future for a guest spot on the Today Show! 😉
3. Helps Me Do My Job Better: I work in higher education in the student financial services arena. Most everyone that reads this blog probably knows that. By blogging on topics that are impacting students and their financial ability to access higher education, I am able to stay abreast of current trends related to paying for college. This helps me to be a better resource to not only my university but it also allows me the opportunity to better counsel the students and families in which I talk with day in and day out.
4. Amazing Networking: Over the past year, I have had the fortune of meeting some really neat people that are experts in their fields. A few of these folks have been fellow bloggers but a good number of them have been industry leaders working for companies and organizations that are helping to shape the future framework of higher education. It is awesome to be on their “radar” and have the opportunity to “talk shop” with these great minds.
5. Better Organized and Task Minded: Have you ever tried to work a full time job, manage a household, raise three children under the age of three, volunteer within your community on various boards and somehow think that you still have enough time to start a blog? I did…and more. Fortunately, I have a supportive spouse that helps out with many of the things I mentioned above. However, it does take time and you have to adopt a strict philosophy on time management if you are to survive. Most of my attention on this blog comes from when I am eating my packed lunch in my office during the week but I also sneak other hours in on the weekends when the kids are napping or sometimes after they have gone to bed in the evening. This blog always takes third place (sometimes fourth or fifth) after my family and my job but it is an important part of who I am so I always make sure to schedule time to get good content out here and respond to reader inquiries.
6. The Warm Fuzzies: It is like Christmas all year long for me. Not in the sense of gift getting, more in the sense of gift giving. I have always liked the Christmas season because it seems to be the one time of year when everyone is more charitable with their time, talents, and money. The “warm fuzzies” of human nature shine at this time of year and people care more about others than they do themselves. I like this. So, as I dedicate my time, talent and resources to CheapScholar.org throughout the year, I feel accomplished in knowing that I am probably helping people (and lots of them) achieve their educational goals and dreams… hence the “warm fuzzies”…
7. Its All About The Karma: This kind of falls in line with number six but it is a little bit different. I used to watch a show called My Name Is Earl and it was all about Karma and the impact that it had on the main character – Earl. As with any sitcom I watch, this one was canceled but the lifelong lesson I learned was Karma. Karma basically states that if you do good things (or deeds) for others than good deeds (or things) will be done unto you. Inversely, the opposite also holds true – bad deeds equal bad things… I look at CheapScholar.org as my way of doing good deeds for others and hopefully increasing the positive Karma in my life.
8. Enhancing My Writing Skills: I hate to write (seriously.. I really loathe writing) and unfortunately you can’t have a successful blog unless you write (content is king!). I think my displeasure for writing comes from my lack of creativity or from my college years and all those mandated writing intensive courses (you have to love a liberal arts education!). Regardless, CheapScholar.org forces me to face my fears of writing. By writing articles for CheapScholar.org, I am slowly getting over my writing inhibitions and learning to express myself and thoughts in literary form.  I won’t be writing a novel anytime soon but at least this is a start! Now if I can just start prufreading a little bitter… 😉

Hope you enjoyed my reasons for why I blog on CheapScholar.org. I am sure this list will grow over time but for now it provides a great snapshot of what keeps me engaged, excited, and motivated to keep plugging away.

Can you imagine having to pay your college if you want to graduate with honors? I have never heard of this before. I am not sure if this a new fee or if it is just something that has not crossed my purview during the last decade and a half that I have spent as a college administrator.

Apparently 629 students that recently withdrew from the honors program at the University of Arizona don’t believe in paying this type of fee as well. The University imposed a $500 annual fee onto participating students this last year. Attendance in the program quickly went from 3,745 students down to 3,116 as students started dropping out left and right stating that the fee was the cause for their departure.

Kiki Wykstra is a senior at the college and she provided the following quote for the campus newspaper: “With the implementation of the fee, I didn’t want to pay money for something that wouldn’t benefit me and I haven’t seen any benefits so far,” Wykstra said. “Not that there aren’t (any benefits) but just for myself there wasn’t anything further that I wanted.”

In defense of the University of Arizona, they stated that the newly imposed $500 fee is going to help provide funding for special programs, presentations, and speakers for the honor students at a level that was not achievable prior to the fee.  They also shared that an Honor Fee is becoming more common and sited the following three institutions as having a similar fee: Barrett Honors program at Arizona State University – $1000 a year, Kitteridge Honors program at University of Colorado – $765 a year, and the University of South Carolina – $600 a year

In addition, the college has set up a scholarship program to help students that find the new fee financially burdensome and may have to cease being a part of the program due to inability to pay. Here is a copy of the application form to be considered for this scholarship.

If you are interested in learning more about the policy supporting the implementation of this fee, you can check out the “small print” here.

As for me, I am not a big fan of miscellaneous fees popping up on campuses across the nation. However, I understand the importance of them as they provide needed funding for critical programs and services that students enjoy. So.. the lesson for today… if finances are a driving force behind your college selection process, make sure you have a full understanding of all the fees that you may encounter at the school of your choice.