Don't Be Denied by your dream college! Research, plan & execute to beat your competition.

We are all aware of the pesky recession that has forced us into making some rather life-altering adjustments.  Because of its negative effect on the number of jobs available, many of those affected have resorted to going back to school.  Furthermore, deep budget cuts by public state universities and an increase in the number of college applicants have resulted in fierce competition for college admittance.

This means three things: A large number of college bound applicants will be:
•  Rejected from public schools due to limited budgets
•  Forced to attend expensive private institutions
•  Set back due to unavailable classes in overcrowded community colleges

For those planning your college search and application process, keep in mind that in addition to your peers, a higher number of your peers are resorting to college due to limited job prospects, you may have to also compete with laid off employees.  Therefore, make sure to do your research early; knowing what it takes to be accepted by your ideal college will definitely give you an advantage in competing with others.

I have listed a few sites that may help you in your college planning:
•    Plan for College offered by College Board. This will help high school students during their first phase of college preparation.


•    Wilson Daily Prep. This SAT Prep program is affordable and has been featured in Time, The New York Times, CBS, and on NBC & ABC news.  This site also gives an SAT prep timetable.


•    Apply to College offered by College Board. Find resources that will help you during your college application process including tips on essay writing.


If you have any suggestions for the college bound please post in comments below.

College can be expensive; adopt smart budgeting habits and avoid financial debt.

Many of you are college attendees or graduates; therefore you know what it means to stretch a buck and what it feels like to have a bank account balance of $9.00 until financial aid is released for the semester.  A lot of us do not make the effort to research smart budgeting methods and/or execute these practices. 97 Ways to Save Money in College is a article posted on MRI Technician Schools blog site. I have chosen what I believe to be the top ten tips from this article that students can easily adopt and benefit from, financially, while attending college. Consider it a gift as I suspect many of you are currently headed into another semester of school and needless to say –another semester of spending.

10. Rent Movies From the Library: Public and school libraries alike often rent movies for free.

9. Take Advantage of Public Transportation: In larger cities with reliable public transportation or smaller towns conducive to walking, ditch having a car and all its associated expenses.

8. Barter With Friends: Figure out ways to trade goods and services with other students in order to get things done without ever having to spend a penny.

7. Buy Store Brand Goods: Store-brand goods are almost always as good as the name brands, and many stores offer additional savings when buying store brand products while using store discount cards.

6. Buy International Editions of Textbooks: In the occasional instance where used books are not available, buy international editions of textbooks online. They are usually much cheaper and contain the same content in the same language as the domestic.

5. Drink Tap Water: Ditch the bottled stuff and drink straight from the sink. You’ll save tons of cash.

4. Set Up a Definitive Budget: Budgeting money ahead of time is one of the best financial decisions anyone – not just college students – can make.

3. Apply for Scholarships: Apply to as many as possible to help defray some tuition expenses.

2. Eat at Home: Sometimes, the cost of a meal at a reasonably priced restaurant can be used to prepare 3-5 meals at home.

1. Save the Credit Card for Emergencies Only: Use your credit card only when faced with an absolute financial emergency…and sorry, but needing that adorable Coach purse does not qualify as a dire situation.

For more ideas on how to save money while in college visit 97 Ways to Save Money in College.

College Campus Virtual Tours at OnlineUniversities.com

OnlineUniversities.com offers virtual tours of several college campuses. This site might be useful to those of you in the process of researching colleges to attend or if you are in the final stages of deciding what university name to fill in on your fall 2010 tuition check and are unable to travel.

The site also offers virtual tours of museums, famous landmarks and buildings and even has a list of Google Earth virtual collections. Check out these offering at Online Universities’ College Campus Virtual Tours page.