Guide to Education Grants

As much as you may love college life, it comes to an end eventually. You may be enthralled by medieval literature, the life cycle of the banana slug or your hot neighbor in the dorms, but it’s important to keep your eventual career in your sights. Here are a few of the fastest growing job markets and the undergraduate majors that lead into them.
1. Computer programmer – Maybe you find yourself tweaking your blog all night.
Or, perhaps you care how games like Guitar Hero and WoW actually work. If this sounds like you, consider a career in computer science. To become a software engineer, network administrator or computer programmer, you’ll need a computer science degree. Expect a lot of lower-division math work—and an eventual base salary around $50,000.

2. Physical or occupational therapist
- Sports minded? If you’re strong in biology and physiology, consider majoring in physical therapy, kinesiology or exercise science. The aging Baby Boomer population ensures a growing healthcare market, and a licensed physical therapy assistant starts at about $45,000 a year. Becoming a licensed physical therapist can bring you about $75,000 a year, but you’ll typically need a master’s degree in physical therapy for that.

3. Nurse or physician’s assistant -
If you’re interested in medicine but are turned off by med school, consider these jobs, which require less training. A registered nurse needs only a two-year degree in a nursing program to earn about $65,000 a year. A physician’s assistant job requires a little more training: a pre-med bachelor’s degree or a B.S. in Nursing, followed by a specialized three-year degree. If that seems like as much trouble as med school, consider this: Business 2.0 magazine projects that the need for physician’s assistants will grow by 50% in the next seven years.

4. Librarian – If you combine a love of books with tech savvy, library science may be the major for you. The internet boom and a large number of retiring librarians has increased the need for librarians to aid in navigating the information maze. Along with your four-year degree, most librarian jobs ask for a three-year Master’s in Library Science. It’s not the fastest growing job market on this list, but consider the peaceful work environment and great hours.5. Pharmacist and pharmacy assistant -
The role of pharmacists is evolving. They now spend less time filling prescriptions and more time interacting with patients, teaching them to inject insulin and administering flu shots, and pill counting is often delegated to assistants. The Doctor of Pharmacy degree, which will put you in line for a $95,000 salary, only requires a two-year degree in order to enter, but most pharmacists enter the program with at least three years of school. To prepare, study pre-med, biology or chemistry as an undergrad.

6. School psychologist -
Touchy-feely and tough love types are equally needed as increases in ADHD and autism diagnoses have lead to a boom in school psychologist jobs. Major in psychology, pre-med or physiology, and expect to enter a graduate program. Once hired, you’ll work just nine months of the year, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. School psychologists make about $65,000.

7. Engineer -
Engineers come in flavors like civil, electrical, aerospace and electrical. You’ll need strong math, science and computer skills. Be warned—your four year degree could turn into a five or six year process. But you can earn between $50,000 and $70,000 with a B.S. degree in any of the above.

8. Fundraiser/development director -
If you’ve got the gift of gab, consider a fundraising job. Non-profit and political organizations need people to communicate with donors, host charity events and coordinate PR campaigns to bring in the cash. Management and business majors are the best candidates, with political science and communications majors close behind. The median salary for experienced fundraisers is $78,000.9. College professor -
A growing number of 18 to 24-year-olds in the U.S. population means a need for college professors in the coming years. The good news? Pick your favorite major. The bad news? You’ll need to pursue it all the way to a doctorate. If you land a tenure-track position, the average pay is about $73,000 a year.

10. Medical scientist -

You’re as logical as Spock or Sherlock Holmes, and you love the laboratory. You should be a medical scientist. This job market will grow about 34% in the next few years due to an aging U.S. population and increases in federal medical research funding, according to Business 2.0 magazine. Major in biology, chemistry, or physiology, and you can enter the field with just a bachelor’s. But you’ll make more money—about $100,000 a year—if you get a PhD.

11. Clergy -
Surprisingly, some clergy members aren’t poor as church mice. The average salary is around $78,000 according to U.S. News and World Report. If you feel a higher calling, a theology degree isn’t your only option—a study of psychology can be highly useful in ministering to your flock. But the hours are rough. Expect to work nights and weekends helping those in need.

12. Database administrator -
Knowledge is power, and as increasing numbers of businesses digitize their record keeping, databases are power, too. Study computer science, information systems or information technology for your four-year degree. You’ll work with sensitive data, so you’ll need to be methodical and reliable. The payoff is about $60,000 a year, or $90,000 plus with a master’s degree.

13. Accountant -
If Excel and Quicken are your best friends and your checkbook’s always in balance, study economics or math as an undergraduate. Accountants can balance books for a corporation, or prepare tax returns for individuals, and salaries range accordingly. At the top end, accountants can pull in six digit salaries.

14. Management consultant
- Put on your power suit and head to the corner office—you’re a management consultant. A wide variety of degrees are useful here, as long as they’re compatible with the businesses you’re consulting with. Business and—surprise!—management degrees are also helpful here. The median pay is about $58,000 a year, and you can expect to make more with an MBA.

15. Editor
- Wordsmiths and literary types can earn about $52,000 a year in full-time editorial positions. You’ll need a degree in journalism, English or communications. Expect to start small with local publications and move your way up the ladder. Don’t forget to polish up your HTML skills—blogs are a growing segment of this market.

Did you know that in July of 2006 PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students) loans, became available to graduate students to pay for their education?  Many people don’t!  In the past, there were limited choices for funding graduate school.  If grad students didn’t qualify for the full amount to pay for their education with Federal Stafford loans their only option was to secure a private loan or acquire the money through some other means such as a home refinance.  The great thing about PLUS loans for graduate students is that just about everyone qualifies!Why Graduate PLUS loans as opposed to private student loans for graduate students?

Low, federally capped interest rates
No collateral required
Based on credit score, not need
Get 100% of the money you need for tuition, fees, living expenses, books, room & board and other school-related expenses
Another benefit of the Graduate PLUS loan is that it comes with many of the repayment benefits of federal student loans such as:

Ability to consolidate student loans through the Federal Consolidation loan program after graduating
Extended repayment – Federal PLUS consolidation loan allows you to extend the repayment term from 10 years up to 30 years, drastically reducing your monthly repayment amount.
Income sensitive repayment – your monthly loan repayment amount can be tailored as a percentage of your gross annual income
How To Obtain a Graduate PLUS loan
1.  Since the PLUS loan is based on credit, you’ll want to take steps to get your credit in the best shape possible before you apply. 

Pay all outstanding debts that are 90 or more days past due
Establish terms with any open collection accounts
Take care of any unsatisfied judgments2.  Apply for a Federal Stafford Loan by filling out a FAFSA form.  The PLUS loan will cover any education expenses above and beyond the amount granted in Federal Stafford Loans.3.  Apply for the PLUS loan by completing the Federal PLUS Loan Application and Master Promissory Note (PLUS MPN).  Once your school certifies your eligibility and the guarantee is received, funds are then distributed through your school’s financial aid office.That’s it!  So if you’ve been dreaming about grad school but thought you could never afford it, the PLUS loan for graduate students opens a whole new world of opportunities.Your Turn to Talk!Have you been avoiding grad school because of the cost?  How did you or someone you know pay for graduate school?  Do you think the PLUS loan for graduate students is a smart way to pay for graduate education?  

Forget the socks and underwear, today’s tech-savvy college students want gifts that fit their lifestyle and look cool.

The “No, I Will Not Fix Your Computer” T-Shirt
It
seems that relatives feel that one of the many benefits of students
coming home for the holidays is a chance to fix up all of the things
that have gone wrong with their computers while they were away. Any
halfway tech savvy student will no doubt be asked the question “maybe
you can take a look at my computer…” while visiting family friends
and relatives during the holiday break. Give your kid a break with the “No, I will not fix your computer” t-shirt and give them the freedom to enjoy the holiday without having to wipe Aunt Marge’s computer of viruses.

 
The Sonic Boom Alarm Clock with Bed Shaker
Geeks
prefer to emerge and in wee hours of the night when all the
distractions of the ‘real’ world have faded along with the sun. But late nights and early morning classes don’t mix well.   When standard alarm clocks just don’t cut it, it’s time to bring in the Sonic Boom Alarm Clock.
Even the heaviest of sleepers won’t be able to doze through the wrath
of the Sonic Boom. The Sonic Boom’s adjustable volume goes up to a full
113 decibels – 13 decibels louder than a jackhammer! If dorm mates and
roommates protest the noise, the Sonic Boom has with another trick.
Turn the volume down and place it under the mattress and be shaken
awake by the vibration.

 
Stainless Steel Single Cup Coffee Maker with Travel Mug
Once
roused by the Sonic Boom, the next step on any college student’s agenda
is getting caffeinated. This stainless steel coffee pot gets a thumbs
up for many different reasons:

Stainless steel (cool)

Small enough to fit on a desk (pretty much the only surface area in the dorm room)

Take and go portable mug (take it to class)

Single serving (no cold coffee to dump out later)

Permanent mesh filter (never run out of filters because none are needed)

The Sling Media Slingbox
If you thought that your geek’s laptop couldn’t serve even more purposes, meet the Sling Media Slingbox.
The Slingbox actually shifts the television signal from the home cable
box or satellite receiver and redirects it to the computer – even if
the computer is 3,000 miles away!That means students can watch
live TV on their laptop from anywhere – at a friend’s dorm room, out in
the grassy common area, while waiting around at the airport – anywhere.
There’s no extra equipment to lug around with your laptop, the Slingbox
gadget stays put on the home/dorm room television. And though you might
expect monthly fees with this kind of service – there are none!

Deluxe Web Hosting Package
How can you make a geek happy for 20 bucks a month?  Their own deluxe hosting package!  A Deluxe Hosting Package will give your college student geek the opportunity to really grow their presence online.  From hosting their own Wordpress blog, to coding experiments like learning AJAX, to making a real website, this is a gift with limitless uses. When shopping around, be sure to find one that supports .net and php.

Gift Guide for College Students (Updated throughout the week)

5 Greatest Geek Gifts

Top 5 Gifts for Business Majors
5 Creative Gifts for Arts and Design Majors

Getting Things DoneThe Book that started a revolution… Groupies of David Allen’s book ‘Getting Things Done’ have even given his style of productivity an acronym, GTD. GTD is everywhere – from blogs to boardrooms. If your business major college student doesn’t have a copy, this is certainly a gift that will be well received!
  Incorporation Kit
College Students like Brin and Sergy (Google) and Michael Dell (Dell Computers) started their empires right from their college dorm. If you’re business student is the entrepreneurial type, how about giving them a head start on their business with a complete incorporation kit. Maybe you’ll even receive the first stock certificate and this gift will turn into an investment!
 

 
The Blackberry Pearl

For the high tech business student, the Blackberry Pearl is an essential gadget! Not only does it look cool, it replaces the cell phone, day planner, and allows the budding manager to keep up on emails and browse the web while out and about.

 
Day Timer “Build-a-Planner” Gift Certificate

The business type tend to be overly organized. You can’t go wrong with almost any type of organizational device for a business student! However, organization is not a one-size-fits-all solution. In order for a planner to be effective, it’s got to be logical to the user. With a Day Timer “Build-a-Planner” Gift Certificate, students can choose a cover, planner pages, and planner accessories to create a completely customized day planner!

Business Planning Software
After spending years learning about how to run a business, it makes perfect sense why so many business students go into business for themselves. Biz Plan Builder software is the perfect way for entrepreneurs to organize their thoughts into a winning business plan.

Gift Guide for College Students (Updated throughout the week)

5 Greatest Geek Gifts

Top 5 Gifts for Business Majors
5 Creative Gifts for Arts and Design Majors

If you’ve been stumped about what to get your artistic-type college student for the holidays, here are a 5 great gift ideas that are sure to be well-received by the creative and artistic college student on your list:

The Artist’s Way Book and Workbook
Artists are rare and unique individuals living in a world of critics and cynics. Over time, even the most incredible of artistic minds can become jaded by the demands of the ‘real world.’ The highly heralded book ‘The Artist’s Way’ and its companion ‘The Artist’s Way Workbook’ offer real world activities and solutions to keep the creative fires alive.

 
Cafe Press Gift Certificate
Creative and artistic college students can design their own t-shirts, hoodies, messenger bags, coffee mugs, mousepads, and so much more at Cafe Press! For college students, creativity is rarely a problem – but money is an issue! With a gift certificate from Cafe Press, your favorite college student can design and purchase their own very own customized gear.

 
Intuos Professional Pen Tablet

The Intuos Professional Pen Tablet gives the sketch artist the ability to bring their ideas to life digitally and the graphic artist more control over their designs. Rather than creating digital designs with an awkward mouse, the pen tablet allows the artist to work with the dexterity of a pen. The Intuos is compatible with PC or Mac so there’s no risk of blowing the surprise by “nonchalantly” asking questions to figure out which type of computer your favorite art student is using these days.

 
Art Portfolio
After 4 years of college, art students can build up an incredible portfolio. After graduation, an art student’s portfolio becomes a powerful sales tool that can help them land a great job so that they can start repaying all of those student loans.Itoya Evolution Art Portfolios come in a variety of sizes, are handsome looking enough for the job interview, and durable enough to last through the years.

 
Writing Journal or Sketch Journal
A creative person can never have enough journals or sketchbooks to jot all of their creative ideas. Just think… every great creative idea began as a single idea on a single piece of paper. The writing journal or sketchbook you give today may just be the foundation of tomorrow’s next big idea!

Gift Guide for College Students (Updated throughout the week)

5 Greatest Geek Gifts

Top 5 Gifts for Business Majors
5 Creative Gifts for Arts and Design Majors

Another Student Loan Resource:
Spurred by the monolithic popularity of iTunes and the decline of CD sales, veteran online retailers like Amazon.com, start-ups like SpiralFrog and other companies are clamoring to get into the fray of digital music on demand.
 
With so much competition, consumers can get great deals and music options, depending on what they’re looking for.
 
 
Amazon Betting on Flexibility to Lure Consumers
 
Amazon’s venture into MP3 sales launched last week with an inventory of nearly 2.3 million songs from the catalogs of major music labels Universal Music Group and EMI Music, as well as thousands of independent labels—and none of these songs are copy-protected with digital rights management technology.
 
DRM technologies, which have been implemented by the music industry both on CDs and digital files, aim to restrict how consumers can use or distribute their music purchases. In the world of downloadable music, these DRM controls will typically restrict, for example, what kind of hardware (iPod, Zune, etc.) a music file will play on, or how many times a digital file can be burned to a CD.
 
While the Universal and EMI songs available from Amazon aren’t subject to DRM, they represent only a portion of the labels’ vast music libraries. Nevertheless, Amazon is setting the stage to compete directly with Apple’s iTunes, which has so far dominated the digital music market.
 
Amazon MP3, as Amazon’s digital-music virtual aisle is called, offers songs for 89 to 99 cents a pop and albums for $5.99 to $9.99 each, a slightly lower price point than iTunes, which sells individual copy-protected songs at a flat rate of 99 cents each and DRM-free songs from EMI for $1.29 apiece. Full album downloads from iTunes typically sell for $9.99.
 
iTunes uses AAC (Advanced Audio Coding) format with proprietary DRM to encode its downloads, which means, unless you spring for the slightly pricier DRM-free songs or if you want something not on the EMI label (which is the only label currently offering DRM-free songs through Apple), your iTunes downloads will only play on an iTunes platform.
 
So if you have any portable digital player other than an iPod or an operating system that doesn’t support iTunes (Linux, for example), you won’t be able to listen or watch your iTunes downloads. And your iPod won’t play any DRM-enabled files that you purchased outside of iTunes.
 
Amazon MP3, on the other hand, by providing all DRM-free content, gives you the freedom to play your purchases on most types of portable devices (including the iPod) and through various desktop media players like iTunes or Windows Media Player.
 
Realizing that flexibility is the convenience factor most music lovers are looking for in their online purchases, Wal-Mart is following in Amazon’s footsteps. The low-cost retailer offers its DRM-free tunes from EMI and Universal Music for 94 cents each and albums for $9.22, which is roughly 27 percent cheaper than iTunes.
 
 
Free Songs: Too Good to Be True?
 
SpiralFrog is taking a different approach, offering its non-DRM downloads free instead of engaging in a price war with online retailers. But the free music comes with a catch: Visitors can download songs at no charge but “have to wait 90 seconds for each track to download, and they must answer questions each month about their buying habits,” explains Joseph Menn in the Los Angeles Times (“SpiralFrog Offers Free Songs—With a Catch,” Sept. 17, 2007).
 
Songs can be stored on your computer but can’t be burned onto a CD. And if you don’t visit the SpiralFrog website at least once a month to watch more ads, your SpiralFrog music library gets digitally locked, and you won’t be able to access your music. You do have the ability to transfer your music files onto two Windows-compatible portable players or mobile phones at a time—but of course, this excludes the Apple iPod, the most popular digital music player out there.
 
The SpiralFrog website opened with a selection of 770,000 songs and 3,500 music videos from numerous independent labels and Universal Music. According to eFluxMedia, SpiralFrog has also recently signed a deal with digital label/publisher INgrooves to make INgrooves’ full catalog of audio and video files available, which adds close to 100,000 songs and 2,000 videos to SpiralFrog’s library, including 4,000 Brazilian albums from INgrooves’ iMúsica division (“SpiralFrog Opens for Business,” Sept. 17, 2007).
 
SpiralFrog makes its money from displaying online advertising. The ad revenue, Menn explains, will be split between SpiralFrog and the labels and music publishers, with the music industry getting more than half.
 
By offering free media downloads, SpiralFrog wants to appeal to customers tired of paying for their entertainment at iTunes or other pay sites.
 
“This is a very viable alternative to selling music because clearly that mode is broken,” says Scott Stagg, a SpiralFrog investor, in a quote in Menn’s article. “This is very similar to TV: You get it for free and the advertisers pay the money.”
 
The record labels, for their part, hope that free sites like SpiralFrog will help keep users away from illegal downloading and unauthorized peer-to-peer share services like LimeWire.
 
 
Whether you decide to get your music free, by dealing with a few restrictions, or at the best deal you can find by shopping around, SpiralFrog, Amazon and Wal-Mart are just a handful of the companies competing for you. Rumor has it Google may also get into the melee of online music sales.
 
Let the games begin.
 
 
 
The Education Finance Advisors at NextStudent can help you figure in all your college expenses so that you get the student loans that best suit your needs. Don’t get caught short. Go to www.nextstudent.com for all your student loan needs.
 
Student Loan Girl
 
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Another Student Loan Resource:
You’re walking along down the street humming a happy tune because you’re having one of those remarkably great days, and then you take the step that stops you dead in your tracks.
 
We all know the feeling of slowly trying to peel our heel up from a gooey sidewalk. This is the unmistakable experience of stepping in freshly chewed gum.
 
But those sticky situations and the unsightly stretches of asphalt pocked with blackened gum may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to British scientists at Bristol University who have created the first non-stick gum, reports Fiona MacRae in the Daily Mail (“Scientists Invent the World’s First Non-Stick Chewing Gum That Washes Off Pavements,” Sep. 13, 2007).
 
The gum, called Revolymer 7, Rev 7 for short, is reportedly still full of taste and has the same chewy consistency, but can be easily peeled off hard surfaces and washed off sidewalks with just water, which could save cities thousands in specialized gum clean-up costs.
 
 
Gumming for Change
 
The United States tops all other nations in gum consumption, with sales reaching around $2 billion a year. All that gum in people’s mouths translates into gobs of discarded gum in movie theaters, on park benches, under tables, and all over pavement and parking lots. Chewing gum doesn’t break down over a period of time, so gum litter accumulates and remains difficult to remove.
 
According to Daimer Steam Cleaners, gum removal procedures cost U.S. taxpayers $2 to $3 per piece of gum. In Great Britain, writes MacRae, gum clean-up can cost councils £150 million—over $300 million—a year.
 
It’s this proliferation of carelessly thrown-down gum that provided the impetus for inventor Terence Cosgrove, a physical chemist and professor at Bristol University.
 
“Chewing gum is a social habit that goes around the world. But unfortunately, a large number of people dispose of their gum inappropriately,” says Cosgrove, quoted in MacRae’s article. “It is unpleasant, could have health issues associated with it, and is unsightly.” 
 
To create the non-stick gum, Cosgrove and his fellow scientists used the basic gum formula of synthetic rubber, chalk, wax, sugar and flavorings, but replaced the gum’s sticky component, an adhesive compound also found in car tires, with a non-stick synthetic substitute.
 
For all you gum chewers and smackers out there, Cosgrove’s creation could be paradise in a stick. At the 2007 Festival of Science held by the British Association for the Advancement of Science, the Bristol team announced that tests of their product showed the non-stick formula is attracted to water, making it effortless to wash away—just rain will do the trick—and easy to remove from both shoe soles and hair.
 
Say goodbye to mashing that messy mixture of peanut butter and ice cubes in your hair to detangle the wads of gum you woke up with on your pillow instead of in your mouth.
 
 
God Save the Sidewalks
 
The new gum, which will only be produced in mint and lemon flavors at first, is scheduled for a small-scale release in the U.K. next year if is meets safety regulations. In the meantime, its creators are continuing to seek a major confectioner for wide distribution.
 
Emma Brennan of the Keep Britain Tidy Campaign expresses optimism about the invention’s potential to make a difference on the walkways of London, where Oxford Street alone, according to MacRae, wears an estimated 300,000 pieces of discarded gum.
 
“It can cost up to £20,000 to use power-washers or steam cleaners to remove gum from town center,” says Brennan.
 
But she hopes the removal of the sticky factor in Cosgrove’s gum doesn’t encourage gum lovers to chew and dispose irresponsibly.
 
Says Brennan, “It is important that people don’t use the invention of non-stick gum to justify dropping it on the pavement rather than putting in the bin.”
 
 
 
Talk to the education finance advisors at NextStudent. They have all the information and advice you need on scholarships, federal student loans and private student loans. Check out www.nextstudent.com.
 
Student Loan Girl
 
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