Important For People Looking For Colleges Next Year!

What's it like to pay $250/week to student loan?

While in theory this is awesome, in actuality it’s not all that easy.

We used to pay the monthly minimum of $420 because that’s what we could afford then. Life situation improved, so we increased the monthly payments to $500. Further life improvements and sacrifices later, it was up to $600.

Then I thought “Why not pay $150/week?”. We made the leap and have been paying weekly since summer of 2013. Two years running now.

Where are we now?

Still in debt! We started getting aggressive and jumped from $150/week to $250/week in September 2014. Some weeks we had more to pay, sometimes as much as $300/week.

As for parting with money, monthly or weekly doesn’t make much of a difference. Paying debt is paying debt. We’re bound to pay the student loan no matter what anyway. We stake no claim in the money owed to the lender though it’s packaged as paycheck–money that should’ve been ours.

But if I stop and ponder on this, it’s overwhelming. No matter the frequency, the amount overwhelms me. All of that hard-earned cash slips from our hands. I’m angry. I’m resentful. It’s not because I could use the money to buy something because I don’t think like that. It’s because a significant number of my youth years is spent on working to pay debt.

What can $250/week do for my family? A lot. It could be used to invest more in retirement, invest more in my kid’s 529 Plan, toward our goal to be landlords, on traveling, on improving our home…I could go on and on. However, the primary reason I’m angry and resentful is because it’s lengthening my work years and shortening my investing life.

I can’t stand catching up. Much as I like the challenge, everyone gets burnt out from constant challenges thrown their way. I’ve been at this for nearly 8 years. It’s time to retire this challenge. I’m exhausted–of working, of being angry and of being resentful.

Don’t get me wrong. I like being productive and I like my job a lot, but I’d want to be in a state of simply enjoying it and the benefits/paychecks that come with it.

I sound like like an ingrate sometimes. Imagine how many people struggle to even make ends meet, much less pay their debts? And what about the students who just graduated with 5- or 6-digit student loans? They’re just about to enter into the world of bondage, and yet we’re nearing the end. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting bigger and brighter. I should be at least happy that we are able to make a minimum of $250/week. Not per month but per week!

So what’s it truly like to part with $250 each week?

It has become a way of life for us, like mortgage, grocery and utilities, but more than that it’s:

like having a bear for a pet that we need to feed a lot.

like owning and driving 2 gas guzzling cars everyday.

like living in the posh side of town paying twice our mortgage and property tax.

like eating out everyday for dinner.

like having 2 infants in daycare for 8 years.

None of the above applies to us. We only have 1 small dog who eats once a day some days. We have a 15-year old car that only costs us $80/mo on gas at most. We have a small house in a not-posh neighborhood. We don’t eat out for dinners weekly even. We only have 1 child who’s in grade school now.

Having and paying debt is living a frugal (or poor, if that’s more applicable) lifestyle for the price of a posh one. It hurts and it sucks.

Our debt is now in the $12k mark. What a long way from the $40-thousands. I’m setting aside investing for the rest of this year to focus entirely on this. I’m giving my final effort to decimate it, so that I can finally focus on investing to shorten my working years and to finally live a frugal lifestyle–not only because we’re forced to but because we want to.

Teacher inspires nervous young test-takers with messages on all of their desks

Chandni Langford teaches fifth grade in the Woodbury City public school system in New Jersey. When she heard that her students were nervous about an upcoming test, she devised a clever and heartfelt way to encourage them. 

The pictures have since gone viral with over 18,000 shares, and hundreds of people have chimed in with messages of support. But it’s the students’ response that will leave you in tears. 

I'm fine.

What she says: I'm fine.

What she means: Why do we never speak about the fact that we don't know what happened to Benvolio after Act III. His last fucking line is "This is the truth, or let Benvolio die." and fucking Shakespeare decided that it would be a great idea to let him out of the play and never speak of him again. He DIED in the Q1 and we never are told how, Lord Montague simply says "and young Benvolio is deceased too." Even though in Q2 at the final scene it says "Enter Lord Montague and others" it is never openly said if he entered along with his uncle or not. His two best friends died, one in his arms and the other was his cousin; he was left alone and Shakespeare didn't even bother tell us his fate. Why couldn't he give him the happy ending he deserved? Why didn't anyone listen to him? Why? There would have been way less death that way.

For “Hamlet”

Наставление Полония сыну Лаэрту…

“Держи подальше мысль от языка, А необдуманную мысль – от действий. Будь прост с другими, но отнюдь не пошл. Своих друзей, их выбор испытав, Прикуй к душе стальными обручами, Но не мозоль ладони кумовством С любым беспёрым панибратом. В ссору Вступать остерегайся; но, вступив, Так действуй, чтоб остерегался недруг. Всем жалуй ухо, голос – лишь немногим; Сбирай все мненья, но своё храни. Шей платье по возможности дороже, Но без затей – богато, но не броско; По виду часто судят человека; А у французов высшее сословье Весьма изысканно и чинно в этом. В долг не бери и взаймы не давай; Легко и ссуду потерять и друга, А займы тупят лезвее хозяйства. Но главное: будь верен сам себе; Тогда, как вслед за днём бывает ночь, Ты не изменишь и другим. Прощай; Благословеньем это всё скрепится.” …

Polonius advice for Laertes…

“Look thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,  Nor any unproportion’d thought his act. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar: Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, Grapple them unto thy soul with hoops of steel; But do not dull thy palm with entertainment  Of each new-hatch’d, unfledg’d comrade. Beware Of entrance to a quarrel; but being in, Bear’t that th’ opposed may beware of thee. Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.  Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy, But not express’d in fancy; rich, not gaudy; For the apparel oft proclaims the man, And they in France of the best rank and station Are most select and generous, chief in that.  Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all- to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day,  Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell. My blessing season this in thee!”

…

Student loan default is $849 billion and rising

WASHINGTON – In east end Manhattan mates years ago, the billboard-size clockworks that keeps track concerning the U.S. national debt ran sluice of digits for all that the figure ballooned over against $10 trillion.

Better self wasn’t long before a illumination was cause to again tick, tick, seam far how much the country is in the red.

As things are there’s another time, relatively this one is online, ticking away the amount re scholar loan debt being joined nearby rochdale cooperative students and their parents.

Mark Kantrowitz, book salesman of finaid.org, one of the best sites for college financial set up information, has placed a “Student Loan Debt Timepiece” that keeps a running tally with respect to the current outstanding federal and noncommissioned officer student loans.

If you check today, the grand purposefulness be more than $849 zillion. I just watched in alarm since the last five digits retained changing, nosy the debt load to a level that is straightforwardly hard for fathom. It’s a add up figure, I inaugurate, excepting I also know - and better self perhaps know, too - what a financially debilitating impact this much student loan due is having on families.

To develop the big ben, Kantrowitz started with a conservative conception as to $665 billion in federal loans superior as of June 2010. For intimate student loans, he forfeited a repayment trajectory degree he put together in addition to annual new collateral loan volume data. Those calculations yielded $168 a zillion for private student loans. Combine all this debt and you get the starting estimate of $833 googol.

The total debt figure is earlier increased by $2,853.88 for each lunar month long since midnight June 30, he said. The total indebtedness projecting will be even more continuant at the fetal of each year, when most student loans are disbursed.

Kantrowitz is quick to point out that the swot loan straitened clock is only an approximation and is supposed to be lost for entertainment purposes. DA, but there’s nothing entertaining up and down this deterrent big ben. It’s proportionately strong a statement as the ethnic debt fix the time.

“Hopefully most awareness upon the aggregate magnitude pertinent to training debt will encourage families to reduce their student loan debt,” Kantrowitz says.

Kantrowitz tries to anticipate people exception taken of pledge inter alia much. Most new on finaid.org, Kantrowitz released tips for families, composed of a recommendation that for a student’s straight-out upbringing, unique should not borrow more than the unamazed starting salary upon graduation. Great advice, except many students and their parents don’t even bothersomeness to figure out what that starting salary might be before signing loan documents. I’m not even subsuming the students who are clueless within earshot their career path, wide world the while adding to the indebted clock.

Private Grind Loan Default Help If you borrow more than twice your starting salary in back of college, you will go on at bad-smelling risk of default, Kantrowitz says.

Kantrowitz has another reason for posting the clock. He wants to draw circumspection to the sketchiness in regard to need-based grants. The federal Pell Grant program, which provides grants to low-income sophomore and certain post-baccalaureate students, should be expanded. Student Loan Settlement A Pell Grant, unlike a loan, does not have up to be repaid. Kantrowitz suggests doubling the maximum grant, which for the 2010-11 offering year (July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011) is $5,550.

“Companion an investment will increase the number of low- and moderate-income students graduating with bachelor’s degrees by 200,000 to 300,000 a year, ultimately installment plan for the cost of the heighten in grants through greater treasury agent income-tax commissions,” he estimates.

In a notice to Congress and the Department of Education, the federal Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance predicate that inadequate need-based grants brink the ability of students from low- and moderate-income families to attend four-year colleges and universities. Entrance “The Uphillward Opening price of Incongruity,” the independent division warns that if alleviate isn’t exacerbated, the percentage of restricted low-income students who earn bachelor’s degrees will significantly drop.

We all know there is a increasing draw between the haves and have-nots. In this soft binding, it’s the people who ken enough money in order to spirit to college outwards debt and those who are burying herself or their parents in debt. The problem is that the conventional collected sayings - a college education will meet off ingoing the future - isn’t a guard inpouring an war economy spite of high unemployment and starting salaries that are insufficient so service the monthly student loan payments many people in general are taking on.

So if you’re borrowing on behalf of college, last to finaid.org and straight-up-and-down clock movement the clock parce que a little while. Take in its message insofar as it eyeshot the debt foot formulation second by second. It’s haunting. It’s crazy. It’s sad. Clerk Long-term loan Forgiveness

Yeah, but instead of signing away your voice for a dude, you’re signing away your your future paychecks for a piece of paper that theoretically qualifies you for said paycheck.

Of course, when you’re drowning in student loan debt, you have absolutely no right to speak up because you took out those loans dammit, and it’s not like credentialism and economic inequality, coupled with rising higher ed costs had anything to do with your choice because reasons and bootstraps. And a crippling recession that has you competing with a whole different class of older, experienced, more educated workers for entry level jobs, well, them’s the breaks, kid. Also, the depressed wages of the bottom 80% of Americans definitely didn’t influence your inability to pay on this debt with a higher interest rate than what the big banks pay for their bailouts. Nope. Not at all.

In a sick way, I suppose you’re signing away your voice in order to place a bet on a rigged roulette wheel overseen by plutocrats drunk on crony capitalism, who, while on an epic bender with the political class, managed to socialize the house’s risk and privatize its profits. Sorry, plebes.

At least the eternity part is 100% correct. Sallie Mae will follow you to the grave. Shit, they’d probably put a lien on your headstone and the plot in which you are buried.

i cannot stress this enough

if you are an eligible voter in the US this coming election and bernie sanders does not have the democratic nomination

you. have. to. vote. for. hillary.

i am not fucking messing around

i am not gonna sit here while you write in names or go on some fucking strike. hillary is not on the same level as donald trump. all of you who act like that’s a hard choice are ridiculous. you vote for hillary clinton if she gets the primary. if you don’t, you give trump the presidency. clear and simple. normally i would not advocate against writing in names, but at this point writing in names would take away from hillary’s vote if she is the nominee–EVEN IF YOU WRITE IN BERNIE SANDERS, YOU GIVE TRUMP A HIGHER CHANCE AT THE PRESIDENCY, AND YOU DON’T WANT THAT.

not even a year ago y’all were laughing about donald trump. don’t fuck this up. in no world is hillary clinton as bad as donald trump.

Topics from A-level that are used lots in a Maths degree:

Note: This is just based on my experience of degree and A-level Maths and Further Maths. At degree I studied mostly applied mathematics and statistics/probability so this is based on that.

Differential Equations

These are particularly important in applied mathematics. I don’t think I’ve taken an applied module without them. If you haven’t done them in A-level, they are covered extensively in first year. 

Differentiation/Integration

Also key to applied mathematics, but also in probability and statistics. Methods are covered in first year too. Oh and in analysis too, but that tends to look at calculus in a new light. 

Matrices

These are everywhere. Particularly multiplying them, taking the inverse, eigenvalues and eigenvectors (these are in everything - even statistics), Diagonalisation comes up a bit too (probability, statistics). 

Vectors

Mostly the scalar product and vector product (these are everywhere). Not so much the geometry. Kinda like M2 where you have 3D motion, finding x, v and a etc. Most things become multi-dimensional as the degree progresses so just kinda know what a vector means.

Polar Co-ordinates

Loads of them in applied maths, but converting between Cartesians and Polars is probably the main thing from A-level Further Maths. I can’t really remember what is covered in FP2 but yeah. Most of the stuff at degree is new. 

Exponentials/Logarithms

How could I forget these??? I’d advise being really fluent with them because you’re kind of expected to know the log rules and converting between exponentials and logarithms. You were on my course anyway. Also the graphs of them are pretty important. 

Hypothesis Tests

If you’ve done S2 then lots of Statistics at degree is based around hypothesis testing. It’ll all be taught from scratch in first year but yeah. And it’s probably less confusing when you do it at degree. 

Complex Numbers

Just knowing how to manipulate really. They come up every now and again. Not to the extent that they do in FP2. 

Curve Sketching

Lecturers love putting this in exams because they know we hate it. I can’t remember doing a lot of it in A-level though, but yeah practise drawing trig functions and logs/exponentials and quadratics/cubics. 

Trig

Mostly just being fluent with trig identities because it’s another thing you’re just expected to be able to use when needed. Cos2x is a particularly good one to know. Hyperbolic trig also comes up. But really just knowing the exponential form because lecturers seem to love putting it in questions. 

Obviously it depends on what modules you take. At Notts you can take optimisation, game theory and graph theory in third year which follows on from Decision. Pure Maths is pretty much all new (I think OCR MEI FP3 has some group theory though). 

The main thing is to pay attention to first year because most of it is methods and skills that will be needed in second year. I mean, some of first year you’ll never touch again in your final years but yeah, most of it is useful. 

Also don’t worry if you haven’t done Further Maths. From my experience the content from Further Maths was covered at a relatively slow pace and at first you may have to work harder than people who did do FM, but you’ll catch up really quickly. 

Challenge yourself. College is scary and intimidating, but it can also be the best time of your life. It’s merely depends on your choices. You can chose to stand on the sidelines and stay the same person you were in high school, or you can open yourself up to new experiences and dive into everything college has to offer. College is the time to learn more about yourself and have fun while doing that. And it does not happen within the confines of your comfort zone. Do something you never thought you would. Sign up for trips. Dare to be different. Explore yourself. Challenge others. Challenge yourself.

Sponsored Zag MacKenzie Allan (’17)

On Autism and College, revised.

Here is some advice on navigating college/university, by an Autistic (American) student, for a/Autistic students.

Register with disability services as soon as you make your decision to go to your school. If you don’t have a diagnosis, you may be able to talk to them and get tested/diagnosed and get accommodations. It depends on your school.

Make sure to research housing. You will want to know about food, the type of people who live there, location, and activities available. You want to be able to eat with your meal plan, get to class just fine, meet people there (or not, depending what you prefer), and if you want something to do there you should know what is available.

Spread out classes as much as possible. You will get to choose when you have your classes. Know your schedule and work with it. For example, next semester all of my classes are in the afternoon, which is good because I have a weird ass circadian rhythm and ended up being nocturnal for half of this semester.

Find out the minimum amount of classes you can take and start with that. Don’t overwhelm yourself. I’m taking twelve hours (the minimum for a full time student) next semester.

Make a schedule of when your work is due. You will likely (especially in math and sciences) have weekly homework due on a certain day. Know when that is and plan for it.

Try your best to not procrastinate. I’ve had far too many panic attacks and meltdowns from waiting too long to do work. You probably won’t have work assigned one day and due the next (it can happen, but I haven’t seen it), so plan your time.

Don’t overdo it with organizations/clubs. Friends are great, but don’t make extra commitments you can’t keep. I’m being treasurer of an organization I love because I’m needed and it’s not a huge commitment; I just have to turn in paperwork by deadlines, which I have no problem with.

Keep in touch with your advisor. If you need to drop a class or change your major, you will need their help. Know their email and use it. 

It’s okay to stim. No one’s gonna notice you stimming in a lecture hall unless it’s loud. I twist a paracord bracelet and chew a necklace in lectures. Smaller classes are trickier, but people tend to not care if you’re fidgeting with a bracelet or something that doesn’t make noise or chewing on something. It’s okay.

Emails can be awkward, it’s okay. You’re not going to have the perfect email all the time. Most professors are fine with a very straight to the point email. Example asking for help from a professor:

Dear [name]: I am in your [time] [class name] class. I need help with [x]. Could we meet sometime to work through this? (If you have a problem with face to face interaction, you could say “Could you explain this to me via email?” They may ask you to meet with them anyway, just a warning.) Thank you, [your name]

Write down all office hours, whether or not you think you’ll need them. Professors want to help. It looks good for them when students do well. Mostly they sit bored in their office during hours. Even if you’re not struggling, it looks good for you when you come in and talk about the course with them during hours.

If you can’t handle your major, switch. Try to major in a longtime special interest if you have one that you could do that with. There are jobs in every field. I personally am switching from physics to psychology.

Clubs are good for finding friends. I’m in five(ish) queer organizations and have quite a lot of friends from them. Especially in larger schools, you can probably find other a/Autistic folk by pursuing interests and joining clubs devoted to them.

You likely won’t be judged for being a little “odd”. No one really bats an eye when they find people sleeping in public places here. At most, people might know you as “that person that does X thing”, but if you have the confidence to rock that, then you’ll be fine.

 Don’t buy textbooks until class starts. You almost definitely won’t need them the first day of class and there’s no point in buying a $120 textbook you never actually use. 

Keep all of your class syllabuses together. Just… try not to lose them, and if you do contact your professor. They might have assignment due dates for the whole year.

Use a planner. I use Habitica, an app that works kinda like an RPG. It helps me remember meds and work and all that jazz.

If you need one, take a gap year. School will still be there when you get back. It’s okay.

Feel free to message me with questions! I will be a sophomore at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign next semester!