I know what you’re thinking: Why would I want to read a book about paying for college when I’m already in college and I’m getting by with student loans/ my parents’ generously footing the bill /or a scholarship?

Well listen up, pretty lady – whatever your situation is you will absolutely get some insight about paying for college that will, without a doubt, help you make better decisions when it comes to financially making it through four years, as well as helping you protect your future post-grad life.

Throughout history, paying for college has been a major issue on everyone’s minds. But although it’s something everyone always seems to talk (and worry) about, it is one thing that usually gets pushed to the side in the application process. Students send their applications out, they get their acceptance letters back, and then – and only then – the question of paying for that highly accredited university to which they’ve been accepted pops up. But with the cost of a college education rising at a pace in polar opposition to our economy, financial disaster is almost inevitable.

Without a lot of financial planning, people turn to student loans, which, as any college student who has taken them out knows, are a major stress-factor that can impact the rest of your life. Not only do students feel like they have to take out more and more loans to supplement an income during college, they feel utterly lost, especially in a world where financial aid offices will tell you anything. In Debt-Free, Zac explains “The role of the financial aid office to make sure that the students the school has admitted are financially able to attend – through whatever means necessary.” Because colleges don’t work as financial advocates for students, more and more students are falling down the rabbit hole of student debt. However, consider Debt-Free as a personal guide that will walk you through all things financial in the college world, by whatever means necessary.

What makes Debt-Free so rich is that in a world where colleges and universities will blatantly lie to prospective and current students about financial options, Zac is here to dispel every rumor, every faulty piece of advice, and to actually help you out. While many financial books promise to get their readers on the right track to becoming millionaires, Debt-Free looks out for its audience by giving the cold, hard facts and a dose of reality with a bit of humor and a lot of helpful tips peppered in.

Especially in this recession, it’s hard for students not to become emotional or enraged about their college financial situations. While some students feel incredibly strongly about student loans (how else would they have gone to college without them?) and others are more indifferent, a growing number of students interested in having more financial autonomy, especially in college, is growing. Regardless of your opinion on student loans or the means to paying for a college education, Zac’s advice will cover everything you need to know to make good decisions with your money (or lack thereof).

Debt-Free covers everything and anything related to paying for college. From the beginning of the application process and how colleges reel students in with promises of scholarship money and financial aid, all the way through the hidden facts regarding student loans. Not only does he offer advice on how to pay for college without making your parents go bankrupt or ruining your financial future with monthly loan payments, Zac offers clarity about whether paying for a private college instead of big public university is worth it. He even addresses the financial situation as a whole – and offers his personal take on how they should improve and what needs to change. Instead of complaining about financial aid issues such as FASFA, Zac is outspoken about the system and how it can be more effective and fair.

All in all, what makes this book refreshing is that Zac practices what he preaches. He’s not some spoiled rich kid with parents paying his way at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst while spouting fake advice. He’s putting his money where his mouth is, and he’s advocating for students across the nation.

And considering the hundreds of thousands of dollars we’re spending on our college educations, it might be a good idea to listen.

[Debt-Free U: How I Paid For An Outstanding College Educaiton Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching Off My Parents hits bookstores on August 31^st. A special thanks to Maureen Cole at Portfolio/Penguin Publishing for providing a press copy.]

Here are the ten worst summer jobs… which might just make bankruptcy look like the better option.

1.  Amusement Park Attendant
You make minimum wage to stand in the blazing heat all summer, get lobster-red sunburns, and keep little kids in check as they anxiously await their turn on the water slide you’d sell your soul to go down.  You deal with cranky parents demanding that you speed up the line (which you can’t, for everyone’s safety), and clean up puke when the little brats get sick off of the giant ice cream cone they inhaled right before getting in your line.  Oh, and you have to wear a doofy polo with the theme park’s logo.  PASS.

2.  Landscaping and Construction.
These jobs are grueling no matter what time of year.  But when it’s 90 degrees and there’s no shade in sight, you can really do some damage to your body.  Sure, it pays well, but you’re going to constantly battle UV rays, dehydration, and straight up muscle exhaustion.  If you’ve been relatively inactive sitting at your desk and studying all summer, taking on such a physically exhausting job will be brutal.

3.  Flyering.
I wouldn’t include this if I hadn’t done it before, since most of you probably have no clue what “flyering” is.  One summer, I took a one-day job hanging 1,000 door hangers advertising a new ice cream shop on residential doorknobs.  It paid $250 for the day, so I thought it would be cool.  However, that day was spent walking around on concrete for 9 hours (even in sneakers this gets painful), and being paranoid that residents would come out with a shotgun after I left shit on their doorknobs.  Oh, I tried to wear sunscreen, but missed two strips of skin and wore a racer-back tank top.  My sunburns left scars, which look like wings on my back.  No lie.

4.  Flyering- Part 2.
If you live in a big city, there are plenty of companies looking for promoters to hand out fliers advertising their product.  Again, one of the sh*ttier jobs I’ve done in my life.  You stand for hours in the blazing heat, trying to give people a deal… and they get MAD at you for it.  They could just walk away and say “No thank you,” but these people feel like you’re targeting them.  As a flyer-er, I’ve seen everything from people saying the product I’m promoting sucks (not my problem, just trying to make a deal), to strangers thinking that my handing them a piece of paper means they should immediately tell me their life story.

5.  Ice Cream Scooper.
One of two things will inevitably happen.  One – you build huge forearm muscles scooping ice cream for obnoxious tourists in plaid shorts and fanny packs.  It’s crazy hot and the ice cream melts down your arms, so you retreat in a sticky mess every night.  Plus, you can’t even eat any of the goods.  Two – you CAN eat as much ice cream as you like, but you’re sedentary for the whole summer and can’t fit into your bathing suit two weeks after starting the gig.  Oh, and after a shower, you have SPRINKLES clogging the drain.

6.  Theme Park Mascot.
We’ve all heard the Disney horror stories, right? About the theme park characters who aren’t allowed to take their “heads” off, even if they get so overheated they puke on themselves? Need I say more…

7.  Any office work that is totally unrelated to your future career plan.
Let’s face it: you need the money so you do secretarial work all summer and miss all of the beautiful summer pool parties and beach outings, yet get no career experience out of it.  Settling for a desk job simply blows.

8.  Babysitting.
Like the office gig, you’re going to miss out on a lot of fun outings this summer.  Babysitting as a part-time job isn’t so bad, but if you’ve somehow committed to wrangling the neighborhood brats every day for the summer, when you say “NO” to your BFF’s beach party road trip, it will feel like a dagger through the heart.

9.  Housekeeping.
You live in a summer tourist mecca where jobs just sprout over the summer.  EVERYONE’S taking their holiday there, and the restaurant and hotel jobs are flourishing.  Yet, you get stuck as a housekeeper.  Remember that scene from Blue Crush when the surfer girl freaks out over cleaning some drunk football player’s shit out of the bathroom? Yeah, picture that before you agree to be a housekeeper.

10.  Lifeguarding at a Senior’s Center.
You’re not going to have the opp to do mouth-to-mouth on anyone remotely attractive.  And you’re going to get depressed about the inevitable future when you see the wrinkled doing “water sports” in the pool each day.  Yeah… need I even explain that one?

Hey, CC’ers, what jobs are you looking forward to (or NOT looking forward to) this summer? And what are the gigs you passed up on because all the money in the world couldn’t persuade you to punch in every day for three months?

If you’re tired of asking Mamadukes and Pops for some cash (or if they just plain won’t give ya any), a part-time job is necessary. Some college jobs can be a total buzzkill (hello scrubbing dishes at the dining commons), but others turn out not too shabby. Here’s a few I suggest:

1. Library. Every campus has one and there are TONS of jobs that need filling. It’s convenient, generally in the heart of the campus, AND it beats working for the dining halls. I spent my four years of college working for the Special Collections and Archives Department where I made around $10/hr, which was more than any other on-campus position around. I could work in between classes and I wound up making one of the best friends I have at that job, not to mention some excellent recommendations when real-life job time comes around. Try it, peeps. Head to the Circulation Department of your Library (or the college job website – there is one, if you didn’t know!) and see what departments are hiring.

2. Restaurants/Bars in town. Every campus has a “downtown” or “uptown” – the happening place on a Friday or Saturday night. If you can’t afford to spend money on drinks, get a job where your friends go; you can make loot and enjoy their company. It’s the best of both worlds. Just pop in to your favorite night hot spots and pick up some applications!

3. College Admin Office. Whether it’s the Administrative Office, the Bursar Office or another department in the Academic and Billing section of your campus, you can find a job that is accommodating to your schedule and pays decently. A friend of mine worked at one of the offices in the billing building and for graduation her boss got her a white gold necklace. Score!

4. Entertainment. Is there a movie theater/arcade/golf course by your campus? I lived in an apartment complex my junior year and a neighbor of mine ran a mini-golf and driving range venue a few miles from campus. He’d go to class then head straight to “work,” which consisted of him hitting golf balls and hanging out with his friends for a decent hourly wage.

5. Starbucks. This place is great because they’re always hiring and they are always around college campuses. And you get free coffee.

6. Delivery. Pizza delivery people – while stuck in a car for a decent time – get invited to the best parties dropping off pies and get to take home whatever he/she wants. Plus, if you’re a female delivery person, think of all the drunk, horny male attention you can get dropping those pizzas off at 2am. Wink wink.

7. Skilled? Got a special skill people on campus could benefit from? Are you an excellent diver and could give lessons on how to master than double flip pike dive? Send out a campus wide email, post fliers up around campus or take an ad out in the school paper and charge for your talent!

8. Parlez-vous le français? Speak French (or Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Latin, etc, etc, etc)? Language requirements can be a royal biotch and lots of students need help. If you’re a pro at rolling your tongue in the French language, tutor! You can make serious BANK and help someone out!

9. RA. Being a Resident Advisor requires some work – weekly meetings, one night a week doing dorm duty and some serious floor socials – but it has its perks too. For one, you get your own room for FREE (!!!!), as well as a bi-weekly stipend. Not to mention, you get to bust all the freshman for drinking in the dorms and hand out free condoms late at night to intoxicated teens who you know will regret their decisions in the morning.

10. Retail. When in doubt, you can always turn to retail. Clothing stores around campus can be local, a way to get great outfits for your nights out at a discount and a good way to socialize with people of the area. Who knows? You could wind up an assistant manager in a year or two and make some decent dough while cracking those books.

So, time’s a wastin’. Go grab those apps and get to workin!

(photo courtesy of wikimedia.com)

A difference to the human race…

–Princeton, Avenue Q

Like so many wide-eyed college students, I decided that the ‘practical’ degree was not for me. I had no intentions of going to med school, which is to the benefit of the general public, and I certainly wasn’t about to take any more math than absolutely necessary. No engineering for me, Mom and Dad, even if you do get set up with interviews through the university. I was majoring in English.

I often lament this rebellion when I look at my checking account. Unfortunately, my other rebellious idea was to move to New York, so being young and broke has taken on an entirely new meaning altogether.

As jaded as the most expensive place in the country has made me of late, I like to pause and reflect on what I can do when I feel like my degree is nothing more than a large receipt with a FINAL SALE stamp on it.

1) Write a book. Everyone with a lit degree is urged by their non-bookish friends to write the next great American novel. This is one of few opportunities to boost your ego by using your liberal arts diploma as a foundation, so please, take advantage and modestly say, “Oh, I’m okay” when you’re introduced as a writer at parties. (Said writing does not guarantee getting published, but hey. It’s a start.)

2) Live the life of a human thesaurus. I probably get four emails/phone calls a week asking for a better word than what a friend of mine is using. See? Maybe you know nothing about actuarial math, but at least you can articulate your ignorance beautifully.

3) Join the Grammar Police force, which justifies your anger when you see typos in an email. Or my personal favorite, the emails where you are addressed by your first name, misspelled, when your email address is actually just your name at an address. Are people really not able to read it??

4) Roll your eyes after a movie and sigh, explaining to whoever accompanied you that “the book was so much better.”

5) Bust out your stellar vocabulary in conversation and remind everyone that while you may not make the big bucks, you’re a walking wealth of knowledge.

6) Become a starving artist… by working in media. You have to pay your dues with a salary that’s almost laughable to start, but eventually, in 3-5 years, you may be able to support yourself. Part of the starving artist mentality is taking a second job, like, say, freelancing. Take a breath and remember you’ll survive, at least your work sounds interesting.

7) Get thee to a graduate program. No one wants to crush your hopes and dreams in undergrad, but you’ll realize a year or so after you graduate that passion can’t always pay the bills. You can join all the frat boys you graduated with in taking the LSATs, try and re-learn basic math for the GRE, or throw yourself completely out of your element and go for the GMAT so you can go pursue an MBA and go on to wearing a suit for your 9-to-5.

Any other ideas? Please share with us!