Students who write for the College Connect blog describe their own experiences handling and managing money and credit.
The blog writers attend Arizona State University, the University of Missouri School of Journalism and the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication. This personal finance blog project is funded by Denver-based National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
Spring 2021
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia
College Credit: How Credit Cards Help and Hurt Students
By Ian Allen
College students face a unique financial situation: they put a steady income on hold and instead spend an average of over $35,000 annually for their education according to EducationData.org. Read more…
Car Insurance Considerations for Young Drivers
By Caroline Ballard
Car insurance for young adults and teenagers is historically more expensive than it is for those over the age of 30, according to an article published on Bankrate.com. Read more…
Understanding the hidden costs of attending college
By Alex Bavosa
Jack Donovan, a junior political science major at the University of Georgia, is a part of UGA’s Army ROTC program, which means he’s not the typical student when it comes to paying for college. Read more…
How to build a budget you can follow
By Izzy Bisges
Four days a week, Caroline Hull works as a nanny, caring for and playing with the children she watches. The money she earns from the part time job doesn’t stretch far for the University of Georgia senior, who has tried to create a budget she can follow. Read more…
Exploring student entrepreneurship
By Allison Caso
Over 4.4 million business were started in the United States last year, according to Oberlo, an online advice platform for people starting businesses. Read more…
Winning Scholarships Through Effort and Patience
By Ryan Cleland
The average American student graduating high school and entering college will receive between $1,000 and $5,000 in scholarship money, according to Scholarships.com. Read more…
The decision to attend graduate school and how to pay for it
By Mikaela Cohen
The decision to attend graduate school immediately after finishing my undergraduate degrees was not an easy decision. I was hesitant to jump into another degree program and prolong entering the workforce. Read more…
Renters Insurance: Blessing or Burden
By Kate Hester
Renter’s insurance is another fee to be added to the growing list of expenses for college students in Athens, Georgia, as property managers increasingly require such a policy, according to a local insurance agent. Read more…
Apartment leasing bounces back from COVID-19 decline
By Drew Hubbard
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, college students toured apartment complexes freely as they looked for a new place to call home while they studied through school. Now, students have to navigate a pandemic world as they look for a place to live, according to a local leasing agent. Read more…
Tips for Financing Graduate School: Plan Ahead
By Lexie Little
When Grant Bauer decided to pursue his master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma last year, he adopted a plan to finance the degree. Read more…
Pets Can Create a Monetary Strain for College Students
By Jake Maness
A dog costs its owner at least $326 on average each year after their first year of adoption, according to Pet Finder, an animal adoption agency. Read more…
Part-time jobs boost resumes, fill students’ pandemic downtime
By William Newlin
Anna Blair began her working life at a frozen yogurt shop when she was 15. Her dad dropped her off at the interview. Now a fourth-year student at the University of Georgia studying supply chain management, Blair is back dishing out frozen yogurt in Athens, Georgia, to scoop up extra cash. Read more…
Understanding FAFSA, the ticket to higher ed financial aid
By Emily Petraglia
Paul Kusibab, a junior biology major at the University of Georgia, said that one of his biggest reasons for joining the military was for access to federal financial aid programs. Read more…
Managing the creeping costs of multiple streaming services
By Caroline Poston
When Grace Mutimer sits down on a Friday night with a bag of popcorn to watch a movie, Netflix is her first choice. What started out as paying a costly cable bill has now shifted into a new era of entertainment through streaming services. Many who have chosen “cord cutting” now use such services to access a wide variety of movies and shows. Read more…
How to plan for a gap year
By Seth Rainey
When Sophia Bonomi arrives in Taiwan this upcoming fall in her bid to broaden both her life experiences and linguistic horizons, she’ll be much more prepared than the version of herself who spent ten months submerged in French culture three years ago. Read more…
Taxes 101: Filing Advice for Students
By Kayla Roberson
Filing taxes can be a daunting process for college students, but a former accountant who is now a teacher, said they must overcome the mindset that the process is intimidating. Read more…
How college students should handle unexpected financial emergencies
By Austin Roper
Sebastian Sanchez, a junior business major at the University of Georgia, has compiled a financial safety net if ever faced with an unexpected financial emergency. Read more…
What college students need to know about managing their payment apps
By Augusta Stone
Madison Headley, a sophomore pharmaceutical sciences student at the University of Georgia, first downloaded Venmo before her freshman year in summer 2019. She needed to make a payment and figured a mobile app would work best. Read more…
Tuition Costs and Scholarship Awards Influence Higher Ed Decisions
By Mollie Tolbert
For many students, continuing their education is a necessity for their career path, but the cost of an education becomes a major factor when choosing a school. Read more…
Cooking versus eating out from a mother’s perspective
By George Zeliff
Rucker Reeves can’t cook. The second-year business management student at the University of Georgia said he spends at least $400 a month on food, and he buys bread, milk and cereal from the grocery store. Read more…