USE YOUR RESOURCES

• Your Institution’s Financial Aid Office Be sure to visit your institution’s financial aid office to take advantage of financial aid opportunities and to learn how to apply for scholarships.
• Special Scholarships If you are a veteran, an under-represented student, or an adult student, your institution may have special scholarship opportunities designed for you. Check with the financial aid office for leads on special scholarship opportunities.
• Local United Way Office If your college or university doesn’t offer credit counseling, look online or in the telephone book for credit counseling agencies within the local United Way office.
• Campus Programs Be on the lookout for special campus programs on money management. These programs are often offered in residence halls or through the division of student affairs.
• Business School or College Faculty or staff members within a school or college of business or a division of continuing education sometimes offer a course in personal finance. Check your college catalog or Web site, or call the school, college, or division office to see if there are options that you can take advantage of either this term or next.
• Counseling Center If money problems are related to compulsive shopping or gambling, be sure to seek counseling at your institution’s counseling center.
• Budget Wizard: cashcourse.org. The National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE) offers this free, secure, budgeting tool.
• Free Application for Federal Student Aid: fafsa.ed.gov. The online form allows you to set up an account, complete the application electronically, save your work, and monitor the progress of your application.
• FastWeb: FastWeb.com. Register for this free scholarship-search service and discover sources of educational funding you never knew existed.
• Bankrate: bankrate.com. This free site provides unbiased information about the interest rates, fees, and penalties associated with major credit cards and private loans. It also provides calculators that let you determine the long-term costs of different kinds of borrowing.
• Susan Knox, Financial Basics: A Money-Management Guide for Students. (Columbus: Ohio State University Press, 2004.) The author blends money-management experience with her desire to inform and help students master their finances, sharing experiences about money lessons learned in college, and offering sound solutions and advice for students and their families.