Why should you be embracing an Internship?

According to MonsterTrak, Employers overwhelmingly point to internship experience as the most important factor they consider in hiring new college graduates for full-time positions, and they have a variety of self-serving reasons for feeling that way.
Here's what a few of your fellow students and recent graduates had to say:

Gain Industry Knowledge You Won't Learn Anywhere Else
Accumulate Evidence of Your Abilities
Make Critical Professional Contacts
Your Confidence Will Improve
Possibly Land a Full-Time Job
-Research shows that 85 percent of companies use internships and similar experiential education programs to recruit for their full-time workforces.

MonsterTrak can help you find an internship opportunity!

Let us at Collegeanalyzers know what you're thinking...send us a comment/thought on internship experiences that you've had.

College Insurance coverage?

Did you know in the US there are over 50,000 property crimes reported on college campuses annually? There are more than 1,800 fires. Many more students suffer damages from accidents ranging from major floods to ordinary spills that wreak havoc with their computers, phones, clothing and other essential personal property. None of these losses are insured by the school.

CSI Insurance may have a policy to help you.

Internships...How to get the best opportunites!

There are many resources available for finding an internship. Networking, attending career fairs, looking for internship listings online as well as identifying potential employers through classified ads, the local Chambers of Commerce or phone book are ways to begin conducting your internship search. Finding an internship requires some research and planning for finding the right internship opportunities but the results are definitely worth the effort.

1. Begin Looking Early
Be aware that certain industries and internships have early deadlines, and recruit and hire as early as November. Beginning your internship search during winter break affords you additional time to look for internships and perhaps make some valuable connections with alumni or professionals within organizations of interest prior to returning to college. You can check with your college's Career Services Office for assistance and to find out which internships recruit early.


2. Identify Career Interests
First of all, it is important for you to know what you want to do. Gaining experience in a number of career fields is an especially good idea if you have no idea what career you're interested in pursuing after college. Do you want to work with children or are you more interested in investment banking? Are you interested in social activism and making a difference in the world? Maybe ' like to work in an art museum or at a major advertising agency. Internships can give you exposure to opportunities such as these and a chance to "test the waters" of new and exciting career fields.

3. Network
Speak with family, friends, faculty, college advisors, and career counselors in the Career Services Office at your college about what type of internship you want and when and where you want to do it. Contacting alumni from your college and doing informational interviews can provide you with valuable information on career options you can pursue as an internship. Be sure to send a thank you note expressing your appreciation to them for sharing their time and expertise.

4. Checking Out Online Resources
MonsterTrak is recognized as the top college job search database that also lists many internships. Contact your Career Services Office to see if they partner with Monster and ask how to obtain a password. InternWeb.com and InternshipPrograms.com from Wetfeet.com also list internships in a variety of career fields and locations. Last but not least, you can check out the classified ads in your local newspaper.

5. Attend Career Fairs
Check with your Career Services Office at your college to identify career and/or internship fairs occurring during winter break. Top employers attend career fairs to recruit, screen, and hire talented interns and employees. Be prepared to give a 60 second introduction that describes your skills, interests, experience, and motivation to the employer. Be sure to follow up with any recruiters you speak with at the fair.

6. Contact Employers
Telephone or visit employers in your geographic and/or career areas of interest and inquire about summer jobs/internships. Be prepared to give a 60 second promo regarding your skills, strengths, and motivation for working for them. Focus on summer jobs available and, if interested, consider camp or resort opportunities to gain additional interpersonal and communication skills. Temp agencies also provide information about the employment needs of local employers. Be sure to follow up with employers whenever possible to arrange an in-person or telephone interview.

7. Become an Entrepreneur
Do you have special skills or a way of meeting a market need? I recently spoke with a college student who made over $2500 a week selling ice cream from a truck he rented for the summer. He was so pleasantly shocked by the success of his venture that he planned an extended trip throughout Europe. If you have a special skill or talent and an entrepreneurial spirit, it may surprise you at how successful you might be.

8. Gain Experience as a New Graduate or Career Changer
New graduates and career changers can also do internships to gain perspective on new career fields and develop new knowledge and skills. Internships can be the bridge between an unsatisfying career and a potentially new and exciting venture. You can use both internship and job search databases to identify organizations that meet your criteria.

Student Checking From Wachovia

When I was preparing to go to college I set up a bank account with the bank that I thought would be on campus when I got there. It turned out that What I thought to be National City turned out to be County National. Needless to say I was disappointed, but I also found this to be especially difficult because I had to pay fees and travel off campus if I needed to make deposits (those checks from mom don't cash themselves!). It seems that lots of students have had the same problems that I did and banks have responded with student focused checking accounts. Wachovia has the best one yet.

Wachovia's free student checking offers all of the frills with none of the costs. What's great about this account is 12 non-network ATM transactions per month with no charge! This comes in handy if your bank isn't on campus like mine wasn't. Check it out here for more specifics.

The Beauty Of Used Books

When your buying things to prepare yourself for that first year of college, the tendency is to buy new stuff. Most kids don't already have their own ironing boards and laundry baskets. These things you can find at Dollar General. There is one item however that if you can buy used you absolutley should. BUY USED TEXTBOOKS!!! This may be the biggest money saver of all. Depending on your major and how many classes that you plan to take, your books can run anywhere from $200 to $1500 per semester! You have to have the book to do the class assignments so there really are not a lot of options to cut corners here. Used books however, are typically less money and may already have notes in the margins and highlighted passages. Here are some tips about buying used:



-Buy early-there is a limited supply of these and they go fast

-Look online-if you know what book you need, you may be able to find it on Amazon or Half.com

-Check your campus bookstore too-some stores have a buyback program



Good luck and happy hunting!

Some loan opportunities from Sallie Mae:

According to Sallie Mae here are some of your alternative loan sources. These loans should be supplemental to aid already received from federally guaranteed sources. Almost any bank will have loans available; they just might be called something different, but you should shop around for rates and make sure you understand the repayment structure and how it works. In this area(repayment) it is buyer beware. Many companies have loop holes that allow them to really penalize anyone that would miss or even be late on a payment!

Private loans are designed to bridge the gap between available funds and school costs. Considered alternative loans, private loans should be used to supplement federal loan programs. If you don't qualify for a federal loan or if what you were awarded won't cover expenses, a private loan might work for you.

Sallie Mae offers a comprehensive, affordable source of funds that could meet all your education financing needs.

Loans for Undergraduate Students

* Signature Student Loan®
* Tuition Answer®Loan
* Signature Student Loan® for Community Colleges
* Continuing Education LoanSM
* Career Training LoanSM

Loans for Parents

* Signature Student Loan®
* Tuition Answer® Loan
* K-12 Family Education LoanSM
* Tutorial Financing Loan

The Chances Of Getting Into Your 1st Choice

When you apply for college its always a good idea to apply to several. You set your sights high with a school that you would love to go to but you also hedge your bets and apply to others. Most often the magic number is three, top school, second choice, and "safety" school.

In order to make the most of your decisions I've found a website that can help. At www.go4ivy.com they have a series of questions that can help you more accuratley find out what the chances are of getting into your schools of choice. There may be a fee involved but I would make the argument that you may save more money in the long run on application fees.

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A Job With The US Government

I've been asked many times about internships and jobs with the United States government. Many people opt to take the civil service examination and then are pointed in a direction that may determine the rest of their lives. I've found a site called StudentJobs.gov that helps students in high school or college to research jobs and apply for internships. This puts the public sector in your control. Check it out if you ever thought about a future in government work. Maybe the next President of the United States could be reading this!

Credit Card Mistakes

Okay, so you've gotten to college, taken my advice and gotten a credit card to use for emergency purposes. I'm sure having access to all that "free" cash on your card is tempting. After all, you bust your hump in school so that you can have a better life later, why take a little break and go spend some money. Maybe you want to go to a bar, a bookstore, or Target (I swear I spend more money at that place). In any case think about the consequences of your actions and read this article I found about the ten worst credit card mistakes that college students make. It could save your financial life!

$126.00 annual fee for "dorm insurance"

Off to school? Protect those valuables. The main choices a student should consider when looking at dorm insurance are:

1. Should the student be added to Mom and Dad's homeowners policy?
2. Should the student get a separate policy of their own?

Insurance companies offer renter's insurance and it is probably a better option than Mom and Dad's policy, here's why:

Renter's insurance has a deductible of 25-50.00, while Mom and Dad's policy probably has a deductible of 500.00-1,000.00.
It is much easier to replace those items that are 1500.00 (laptop) on renter's insurance... replacement cost 50.00 compared to 500.00-1,000.00 on the homeowner's, and the more expensive homeowner's policy is protected from going up due to claims from the student whos been ripped off at school.

Let us know if this article is useful to you...

Do You Need Insurance?

Believe it or not, as a college student you will accumulate possessions that are considered valuable. Whether its a laptop, PC, television, Ipod, cell phone, or whatever else you can think of, your "stuff" will be very expensive to replace. If there is a flood, fire, theft, or even if you just lose or break something, there will be hassles involved with getting that stuff back.

• You could turn to your parents for cash
• You could spend money that you may not have (credit cards)
• You could get STUDENT POSSESSION INSURANCE

That's right, students have the ability to insure all of their worldly possessions for replacement value. What's great about this is that the rates are very low because most students don't have that much stuff. This may not be for everybody but I think its at least worth a look. They say that insurance is for what you can't think of. In college that could never be more true.

Need some Testing Accommodations?

If you have some special needs for college board tests here are some things to review:

1. The first things to consider
2. General information
3. Eligibility forms

More and more potential students are requesting "special needs" from schools as they prepare for college boards, SAT's, and ACT's.

Check out our friends at collegeboard.com to learn more.

Give us some feedback on our Blog.
Thanks, Mike.

Where Do You Bank While In College

In addition to the classes you decide to take, the clubs and activities that you decide to join, and even the sports that you play, the decision of where to bank can eliminate quite a few headaches in a college career. Such a choice holds especially true if the institution is a far distance from home. For instance, and I speak from experience, what happens when you need money in Pennsylvania, but mom and dad live in Nebraska?

• Can they wire the money? They could, but there is a stiff fee for doing so, plus you have to travel to a designated spot to get the cash.
• How about sending it through the mail? That may work also, but what if you need the money quickly?

These are things to consider when you are looking to set up a bank account for college. Collegeview.com provides some insight to this dilemma along with other aspects of student life that you may not be thinking about. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Credit Cards...Beware!

College students turn to credit cards….

As conventional college financing becomes more difficult to get and college tuition continues to soar students are turning to a quick and easy fix…credit cards. Be careful…credit card companies have some enticing schemes to get cards into college students hands.

Some facts:

• 51% of college students got their first credit card before starting college.
• 45 % said they are interested in getting another card in the upcoming year.
• 1 in 4 said they had been charged a late fee. 45% say more than 1 late fee.

College students are an attractive market to many credit card companies because most adults already have too many cards. According to a PIRG survey of 1500 students at 40 colleges in 14 states the average senior is graduating with an average of 2,500.00 in credit card debt.

Here are some helpful tips:

• Get a low limit card with a good interest rate.
• If you have an outstanding balance, make sure you pay more than the minimum
• Don’t be late or miss a payment
• Have a plan to pay down the debt before you use it again
• Get a part-time job or a second job to help pay down debt
• Transfer balance to a lower interest card…be careful of transfer fees
• Get advice from Mom and Dad

Credit Pitfalls

I went to college to get an education. I wanted to learn about business and finance, maybe a little marketing and take some art classes. I left school with a degree in business and a $3500 balance on a credit card. Mind you I didn't use it to pay for the education that I got. In fact, I couldn't honestly tell you what I even bought. All I know is I got that card two weeks into my freshman year because they were giving out free t-shirts with every application.

I may sound like an idiot running up a balance like that but the truth is I am not alone. On average students carry $2200 in credit card debt, and that figure doubles if they decide to go to grad school.

The key to avoiding these pitfalls is education, and the right kind of card. I found a site that specializes in cards designed just for students. Check it out and see if any fit your needs. More to come!