[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like social media blackout!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

One of the big buzz topics surrounding colleges in the last couple of years has been an administrative push to get everyone to graduate “on time” – as in, the four year model. Florida’s university system thinks they might have found the answer – as a number of other colleges have – in “block tuition”. Block tuition is basically just a flat rate system where every student pays a set price for a year or semester, regardless of how many credit hours they take. I can see some serious advantages to this program – that might be completely outweighed by the disadvantages.

On the one hand, anybody taking a heavy course load essentially gets a couple of free classes since most block tuition systems are set up around 15 credit hours. Anyone who’s already taking 18 credits, then, is getting a break on her education. Also, somebody who might want to graduate earlier could possibly get a lot of their credits packed into a year without having to pay extra – awesome! The system obviously works because it’s become a norm for private universities along with some big names like the University of Texas at Austin and UCLA. Read More »

I’m grateful of my parents for many things: bringing me into this world, my killer sense of humor, taking me to morning band practice in high school at 6a.m., etc. However, there is one thing that I’m grateful for that most people is crazy:

I thank my parents for making me pay for my own college education.

You’d think that any parent with the financial ability would just automatically pay for their child’s education. It’s their duty, right? Well, my parents decided to take a different route. They believe that paying for your own college forces you to do better. To them, if your parents are paying for your college, it doesn’t matter if you fail a class. Mommy and daddy can just pay for you to take it again. They believe that not only will I most likely do better, but that I will appreciate my education more if I pay for it myself.

What I love about this is that in my family, I’m treated like an adult. I may be the youngest of three and to my parents I will always be the baby, but they acknowledge the fact that they raised an independent and mature daughter. My parents were the complete opposite of helicopter parents. They gave me enough space to make my own mistakes, learn from them, and now I’m much more self reliant and stronger. To me, paying for my own college is my parents’ final lesson.

If I can do this, I’m ready for the real world. Read More »

Whether you’re a first year student or heading back to campus for yet another year of academics and parties, there is indisputably one book you need to bring along with you: Debt-Free U: How I Paid for An Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching Off My Parents, by Zac Bissonnette.

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. Read More »

The University Experience sure has changed. It’s now normal to take longer than four years to complete your degree; students are known to switch majors repeatedly (and often at the last minute); and transfer admissions offices are swamped with applicants who realize that the college they chose senior year of high school just isn’t making the grade.

I know all about the stress of transferring and adjusting to a new school. When I began my undergraduate career, I wasn’t content with attending the state university that 83% of my classmates were enrolling in. Oh, no – I had to get away. So I enrolled in a small private school in London, England.

My freshman year was a blast– I was in a major city, surrounded by hot men with hotter accents, and I didn’t even need a fake ID. But eventually, reality sank in, and I opted to transfer back to the same state school that I’d once adamantly rejected in order to prevent graduating with student loans up the wazoo.

My first semester at the state university was miserable. I’d missed out on all of the freshman year bonding, got stuck with a lame random roommate, and when I did go out, it was because one of my high school friends was kind enough to let me tag along with her group. It was so bad that I took a semester off to figure out if I wanted to go through the transfer process again. I ended up going back to the state school, and – thankfully – things got better. In fact, college kicked some major ass.

So, having been on the Maybe-I-Should-Transfer fence and a member of the Transfer Students Association, I thought I’d share some pro’s and cons with anyone who isn’t quite sure that they are attending the right school. Read More »