Tag: College

Categories
Health

Delta variant sparks renewed curiosity in faculty tuition insurance coverage

Delta variant sparks renewed interest in college tuition insurance

A year ago, rising coronavirus cases ended the fall semester at many universities abruptly when classes began.

This year, too, the Delta variant threatens school closings again. And the possibility of further campus closures has sparked renewed interest in college refund policies and tuition insurance.

According to a survey by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, about 78% of colleges and universities plan to resume all classroom courses for the fall, and only 19% plan a mix of classroom and online courses.

More from Personal Finance:
Schools weigh up vaccination and mask requirements
College plans recovery, although cost is a major concern
Colleges and unvaccinated students face a stalemate

However, some colleges and universities have already announced that they will start remotely due to rising cases of Covid, including the University of Texas at San Antonio and Stanislaus State in California.

“Due to the Delta variant of Covid-19 and the need to reduce potential exposures on campus, we are temporarily postponing the start of face-to-face teaching and resettlement plans until October 1,” said Stanislaus President Ellen Junn in a letter the community.

For most students, distance learning is a poor substitute for face-to-face teaching. And almost everyone says it’s not worth the same high cost.

“Paying full price for a fraction of the college experience is going to piss off a lot of people,” said Jill Gonzalez, an analyst at WalletHub.

Almost half of the students believe universities haven’t done enough to support them during the pandemic, a recent report from WalletHub found.

In the future, some families will become more proactive about protecting their investments.

Laura Hoder, 52, recently purchased a tuition refund policy for her daughter who will be a junior at Dean College in Franklin, Massachusetts. “It is unknown what will happen to Covid,” she said.

Hoder, who works as a nurse in Fairfield, Connecticut, said she wanted the extra coverage also because of her job and the increased risk posed by her family. “There’s an added level of fear just because of what I’ve seen and know,” she said.

Laura Hoder with her daughter at Dean College.

Source: Laura Hoder

While a number of colleges and universities have announced that they will reimburse fees and room and board if campus closes again, reimbursement policies vary from school to school – and almost all have drawn the line on tuition.

Depending on when a student de-signs out during a semester, a school’s refund policy can reimburse a significant amount (especially if it is done within the first month or so of the semester, although this varies by school).

However, refunds are usually staggered and most schools don’t give any money back after the fifth week of classes.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Typical refund policy for schools

Source: GradGuard

Many schools now also offer protection from outside lessons or can be purchased directly from a provider such as GradGuard or AWG Dewar up to the first day of class.

Tuition insurance, also known as Tuition Reimbursement Insurance, generally covers families for medical or psychological reasons, with some obvious exclusions, such as:

GradGuard tuition insurance starts at $ 39.95 for $ 2,500 per semester coverage. Most families, however, buy $ 10,000 per term insurance coverage starting at $ 106 to cover their expenses, excluding loans and grants. This covers tuition fees as well as financial losses from room and board and tuition fees.

Since the beginning of Covid, we have seen dramatic interest from schools, students and families.

Natalie Tarangioli

Marketing manager at GradGuard

“Since the beginning of Covid, we’ve seen dramatic interest from schools, students and families,” said Natalie Tarangioli, Marketing Director of GradGuard. The company now works with more than 400 universities.

Before the pandemic, health conditions such as mononucleosis and pneumonia were among the top diseases that stood in the way of timely or even conclusion.

“The real concern last year was that the students were getting Covid,” said Tarangioli. There are additional concerns this year given the Delta variant, mental health and well-being, and other risks, she added. “Sales are more than four times as high as in 2019 and twice as high as in 2020.”

Even though 63% of parents said their child’s plans after high school have returned to what they were before the coronavirus crisis, cost remains a top concern.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $ 50,770 for the 2020-21 school year. It was $ 22,180 at four-year state colleges, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college pricing and student grants.

When you add other expenses, the total bill can be in excess of $ 70,000 a year for students at some private colleges, or even for students out of state attending public four-year schools.

While the cost of a four-year college degree continues to skyrocket, tuition insurance is relatively inexpensive, said Nick Holeman, director of financial planning at Betterment.

Additionally, some tuition insurance policies will reimburse you for up to 100% of the total cost of attending – not just tuition fees – including room and board and even books and other materials.

However, not all policies offer the same level of protection, added Holeman.

“Many Covid-19 tuition fee insurances only pay out if your child actually falls ill with the disease,” he said. “So you will not be reimbursed if you pull your child out due to Delta variant concerns or future outbreaks.”

“You are also non-refundable if your child’s college changes their teaching method from face-to-face to virtual,” added Holeman, which means you can still be hooked on college courses through Zoom.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Categories
Health

Filipino-American faculty college students’ psychological well being suffered throughout Covid

Filipino-American college students' mental health suffered during Covid

When Covid-19 cases soared nationwide during the first few months of the pandemic, Amelia Catacutan said that her mental health was at an “all-time low.”

Catacutan, a Filipino-American college student entering her sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said it was hard to cope with the social isolation, virtual learning environment and anxiety over her family’s well-being plus the rise in anti-Asian hate during the pandemic.

As she adapted to this new reality, Catacutan said she felt like she was being crushed by more and more stress and anxiety piling on top of her, making it difficult to express her emotions and go about her daily life.

Amelia Catacunan, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Source: Ciboney Reglos

Catacutan was not alone in experiencing mental health struggles. Nearly half (46%) of Asian-Americans reported anxiety during the pandemic and 15% reported depressive symptoms, according to a Stop AAPI Hate survey.

But another survey conducted by the UC Davis Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies during the first half of 2020 indicates that the pandemic may have had a higher impact on the mental health of Filipino-Americans in particular.

The Filipinx Count Survey found that 81% of Filipino-Americans reported anxiety during the pandemic and 73% experienced depression.

For Filipino-American college students, there were a lot of factors that took a toll on their mental health.

 “The pandemic was just a recipe for disaster for so many Filipino-American students,” said Christine Catipon, a licensed clinical psychologist in Los Angeles, who works with college students. “They had to balance family duties and working on top of a more rigorous learning environment, like every student did, but also had stressors like moving back into a multigenerational household with intergenerational conflict, cultural pressures, fears about their family’s well-being as health workers and more,” Catipon said.

Family members on the front lines

Catipon said many of her clients had heightened anxiety about family members who were health-care or essential workers during the pandemic. She noted that they had a “constant fear” of those front-line family members contracting the virus.

This was true for Catacutan. She said one of the major sources of her mental health struggles during the pandemic was having parents who worked as health-care workers in the Covid units of their respective hospitals.

Filipinos make up a large portion of the health-care industry in the U.S., with 4% of registered nurses nationwide being Filipino, according to a 2020 report from National Nurses United. During the pandemic, nearly 32% of registered nurses in the nation who have died of Covid-19 and related complications were Filipino, the report said.

More from College Voices:
College graduates are struggling to make up for the ‘lost year’ created by the coronavirus pandemic
Why Black and Latinx women are more likely to struggle with impostor syndrome—and how to overcome it
Women in STEM: 3 Challenges we face ̶ and how to overcome them

Catacutan said this disproportionate impact of the pandemic on Filipino health workers brought her a substantial amount of stress and anxiety. With her parents working on the frontline, she said she worried tirelessly about their safety, was left to take over household responsibilities and even decided to quit her part-time job at a local restaurant.

“I had to put a lot of things on hold, like my job, just to make sure that I wasn’t risking their safety even more and that I could take care of the house,” Catacutan said.

But Catacutan said her decision to quit her part-time job was also due to heightened anxiety over the rise in hate towards Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, or AAPI, during the pandemic.

Racism targeting Asian-Americans is nothing new in the U.S. There were actually federal policies that barred immigration from Asia until 1965. But inflammatory political rhetoric about the coronavirus, such as the term “China virus,” prompted a surge in hate crimes against AAPI during the pandemic, according to Stop AAPI Hate.

For example, Anti-Asian hate crimes in 16 of America’s largest cities increased by nearly 150% in 2020, according to data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino. The data also indicated that the first spike occurred in March and April, the outset of the Covid pandemic when the harmful rhetoric first proliferated.

Catacutan said the rise in AAPI hate stoked anxiety about her own safety, which played a role in her decision to quit her part-time job.

“I had people who refused to touch me when I worked because they were scared that I carried the virus. It was really hurtful and felt really, really othering,” Catacutan said. “I ended up quitting, partly because the industry was a bit slow, but also because I was starting to receive racial remarks. I didn’t feel safe.”

The stress of moving back home

Catipon, who works with college students, noted that many of her Filipino-American clients experienced a decline in their mental health after moving back home with their family during the pandemic.

Catipon said when students go home, they may encounter intergenerational conflict with their immigrant parents, which refers to a disparity in values between different generations.

For example, some Filipino immigrant parents may have differing beliefs about racial issues, an over-emphasis on academics, or may be prone to unsolicited comments about their child’s appearance and life, she said.

This was the case for Carolene Ulep, a rising fifth year at Texas Tech University, who said her mental health worsened after sheltering at home with her family during the pandemic.

Ulep pointed to “toxic” Filipino family dynamics, recounting a time when her dad made unsolicited comments about her appearance. While Ulep said her dad did not intend to hurt her, she said his comments stuck with her long after.

“When he makes those kinds of comments, or when my mom makes comments about things I should be doing when I already have so much on my plate, I start thinking that I can do so much more. But in reality, I can’t,” Ulep said. “So, it’s difficult because I feel pressure to please my parents about these things, but at the same time, I know it’s my life.”

Carolene Ulep, a fifth year student at Texas Tech University

Source: Ashley Parker

Ulep added that Filipino family dynamics also include showing the utmost respect to elders, which leaves her unable to correct her parents when they make hurtful comments.

Roy Taggueg, the author of the Filipinx Count Survey and a Ph.D. student at UC Davis, also underscored the academic pressures that Filipino-American college students face when they move back home, and how it impacts their mental health.

“The pandemic puts students under really intense scrutiny of their parents when it comes to school since many had to go back home,” Taggueg said. “Students get stressed trying to meet their parents’ expectations to do well, and it goes back to the whole idea of ‘utang na loob.’”

“Utang na loob” is a Filipino cultural value that translates to “debt of gratitude.” Taggueg said it describes when Filipinos feel a sense of debt towards their family members who have made sacrifices for them, such as bringing them to the U.S. from the Philippines, raising them and supporting them throughout their lives.

Catacutan said she felt this pressure to excel academically and to “make her parents proud.” She said it caused her to push herself to the extreme when it came to school and increased her mental stress as a result.

“My parents are both immigrants and they both came here from the bottom up. A big part of the pressure comes from feeling so grateful for them so that you feel like you have to spend all of your time accomplishing just so you can pay them back for everything – all the opportunities that they gave you,” Catacutan said.

“And it’s a constant drive from both them and myself to keep going and going. And I never really learned how to take a break, I just get too busy trying to attain the most,” Catacutan continued.

“Sometimes we think that’s what’s healthy for us and it’s not at all.”

No social outlet

Catacutan also said the pandemic left her with “no outlets” to relieve the heightened mental stress from school, pointing to the lack of social interaction.

This was a trend that Catipon, who works with college students, noticed among her own Filipino-American clients. She said for many students, socializing and spending time with peers served as a “respite” from stressors in their lives.

When pandemic shutdowns across the nation cut off the social lives of students, Catipon said their mental health issues were amplified and they were left with no way to cope with new stressors from the pandemic, such as the rise in AAPI hate and fears about their health-care worker parents contracting the virus.

This was true for Jolene Soriano, a rising junior at the University of Michigan, who said social isolation led to a decline in her mental health.

“The pandemic forced me to be in my room alone with my own thoughts a lot,” Soriano said. “I found that to be a very scary thing, because a lot of thoughts were not the greatest and the pandemic really brought out my feelings about the stressful things in my life.”

Jolene Soriano, a junior at the University of Michigan

Source: Kristina Mallabo

“There were plenty of moments during my second semester where I was so overwhelmed with everything,” Soriano continued. “Sometimes I would set off into a crying fit, or I’d start hyperventilating, and then it would feel like a downward spiral.”

Like Soriano, Ulep said her mental health reached a “low point” during pandemic shutdowns that left her unable to socialize with her peers.

She said social isolation led to loneliness and a significant loss in motivation, which became detrimental to her academic performance.

“I was so used to seeing my classmates and friends during school. Being in lockdown just made me really, really sad and unmotivated,” Ulep said. “I just had no sense of responsibility and I didn’t try my best or get the best grades.”

Prioritizing mental health

While Soriano’s mental health undoubtedly took a hit during the pandemic, she said she now feels “more in tune with it” as she prepares to return to in-person classes in the fall.

“As opposed to just ignoring the problems like I did before, the pandemic has forced me to really look at and prioritize my mental health,” Soriano said. “And as we go back to some sense of normalcy, I’m definitely more aware of it, and trying to make sure I’m taking care of myself in that regard.”

This represents the broader change that Taggueg said needs to occur within the Filipino-American diaspora.

Taggueg said many Filipino-Americans and Filpinos still don’t regard mental health as an issue.

“We have been categorized to be a quote-unquote ‘perfect’ migrant in the U.S. that doesn’t cause problems, that adapts to hardships and does what’s needed because we want to work hard,” Taggueg said.

“That outlook has been shaped by the history of colonialism in the Philippines and has been used by generations of Filipinos to make sense of the world. And when it comes to mental health, it doesn’t fit into that world,” he continued.

However, Taggueg said organizations like the Bulosan Center are making progress in researching and raising awareness about mental health issues among Filipino-Americans.

Resources to help

There are several resources available for Filipino-Americans struggling with their mental health, including the Asian American Psychological Association’s Division on Filipinx Americans. The organization promotes awareness of Filipino-American mental health and provides services such as therapy referrals.

The Filipino Mental Health Initiative of San Francisco is another resource that provides services for Filipino-Americans and aims to destigmatize mental health issues. While they are based in Northern California, they provide resources such as a free suicide hotline with trained and experienced counselors, in-person or virtual wellness workshops and “Mental Health First Aid” training in English and Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.

Catipon recommended that college students of all backgrounds who are struggling with their mental health utilize the resources available on college campuses, such as counseling centers.

For those who are apprehensive about seeking counseling or therapy, Catipon encouraged attending workshops or peer mentoring groups within their local community.

Catacunan said that she is hoping to re-establish her “boundaries surrounding school” and focus on balancing her wants and needs.

“As stressful as school and navigating my professional life is, it isn’t everything. I want to reinvigorate my love for myself, my hobbies and the people and places around me,” Catacunan said, adding that it is important for college students to prioritize their mental health.

“There’s a reason students are considered ‘part-time’ or ‘full-time’ — being a student is a physically, mentally and emotionally draining job and sometimes we gloss over the fact that we are doing our best, especially in this altered society,” Catacunan said.

“You know your needs better than anyone else and listening to them is so important for your well-being,” she continued. “People tend to think of mental health as being one big entity when the reality is that it isn’t. It’s a multitude of little things that we neglect and that truly add up. So it’s important to take things step by step in order to thrive in the stressful conditions of academia.”

CNBC’s “College Voices″ is a series written by CNBC interns from universities across the country about getting their college education, managing their own money and launching their careers during these extraordinary times. Annika Kim Constantino is a senior at the University of California, Berkeley, studying media studies, music and journalism. She is an intern on CNBC’s politics desk. Her mentor is Dawn Kopecki. The series is edited by Cindy Perman.

Categories
Politics

Russia Bans Bard School – The New York Occasions

Russia Bans Bard College - The New York Times

Michael C. Kimmage, a former State Department official who specializes in US-Russian relations, said the bard action sent a terrifying message to academics.

“I can’t think of a responsible administrator at an American college or exchange program who doesn’t take this seriously and is concerned,” said Dr. Kimmage, now professor at the Catholic University of America in Washington.

Russia has taken several steps to reduce educational exchanges between the two countries, despite trying to establish educational partnerships elsewhere and improve the quality of its domestic public universities.

In 2014, the Russian government withdrew from the Future Leaders Exchange program, a US State Department-funded initiative to promote US study by foreign high school students, after a Russian teenager studying in Michigan sought political asylum had. More recently, limited consulate services have made it difficult for Russian students to obtain a visa to study in the United States.

Suspicions have also increased in the USA. In 2019, a program at the American University in Washington was criticized as being too soft on Russia, and the Russian ambassador, Anatoly Antonov, accused the US news media of Russophobia while calling for increased cultural exchange between the countries.

Several American universities set up programs in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but some of them have closed in recent years. In 2018, Stanford University announced that it was suspending its Russian study abroad programs, citing security issues. That same year, Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts began phasing out its program at Astrakhan State University in Astrakhan, Russia, citing the cost and difficulty of managing its program from the United States as reasons.

The decline may be largely symbolic, indicative of the deterioration in relations between countries. Russia has never been a major partner in international study programs with the United States and ranks low on the list of countries whose students come to the United States. And according to the Institute of International Education, the number of Americans studying abroad in Russia fell to 1,305 in 2019, and data is available for the last year, from 1,827 in 2011.

Categories
Health

Faculty tuition insurance coverage might assist with uncertainty attributable to Covid

College tuition insurance could help with uncertainty due to Covid

Even before the pandemic, Eden Schiano, 19, had concerns about her freshman year.

Schiano suffered from anorexia in high school and wasn’t sure how fall 2020 would go as a freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Being largely isolated in her dormitory quickly took its toll. “I was in my dorm, taking online classes and starting to lose weight,” she said. In October, Schiano decided to retire.

Whether because of mental illness or concerns about Covid, the number of students taking time off has skyrocketed in the past year.

However, withdrawing in the middle of the semester could be associated with high financial costs.

More from Personal Finance:
College plans recovery, although cost is a major concern
Hundreds of colleges say Covid vaccines will be mandatory
Colleges and unvaccinated students face a stalemate

While a number of colleges and universities have announced that they will reimburse fees and room and board if campus closes again, reimbursement policies vary from school to school – and almost all have drawn the line on tuition.

Depending on when a student de-signs out during a semester, a school’s refund policy can reimburse a significant amount (especially if it is done within the first month or so of the semester, although this varies by school).

However, refunds are usually staggered and most schools don’t give any money back after the fifth week of classes.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Typical refund policy for schools

Source: GradGuard

There is another way of doing it: Many schools also offer protection from outside lessons or this can be obtained directly from a provider such as GradGuard or AWG Dewar.

Tuition insurance, also known as Tuition Reimbursement Insurance, generally covers families for medical or psychological reasons, with some obvious exclusions, such as:

GradGuard’s tuition insurance starts at $ 39.95 for $ 2,500 per semester, although most families buy $ 10,000 per semester in insurance that starts at $ 106 to cover their own expenses with no loans and grants protect. This covers tuition fees as well as financial losses from room and board and tuition fees.

Schiano said her tuition insurance helped ease pressure to stay in school despite her deteriorating condition.

“It took away the shame and guilt factor of having to go and feel like it was going to be such a burden on my parents,” she said.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards

Even though nearly two-thirds of parents, or 63%, said their child’s plans after high school returned to what they were before the coronavirus crisis, cost remains a top concern.

Tuition and fees plus room and board for a four-year private college averaged $ 50,770 for the 2020-21 school year; It was $ 22,180 at four-year state colleges, according to the College Board, which tracks trends in college awards and student grants.

When you add other expenses, the total bill can be in excess of $ 70,000 a year for students at some private colleges, or even for students out of state attending public four-year schools.

At the same time, Covid cases are on the rise again, and the possibility of further campus closures has sparked renewed interest in college reimbursement policies and tuition insurance.

Trisha Jung recently bought a GradGuard policy for her stepdaughter, who will be a junior at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. “It just seemed like a good idea based on the world of today.”

Jung, who is from Nashville, Tennessee, said she wouldn’t have considered doing this before the pandemic. “Life is full of unexpected events,” she said.

“Since the beginning of Covid, we’ve seen dramatic interest from schools, students and families,” said Natalie Tarangioli, Marketing Director at GradGuard, which now works with more than 400 universities.

Before the pandemic, health conditions such as mononucleosis and pneumonia were among the top diseases that stood in the way of timely or even conclusion.

“The real concern last year was that the students would get Covid; There are additional mental health and wellbeing concerns this year, ”Tarangioli said.

“We have already more than doubled the number of tuition insurance policies sold this fall compared to last year,” she added.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Categories
Politics

Supreme Court docket guidelines in opposition to NCAA in compensation struggle with faculty athletes

Supreme Court rules against NCAA in compensation fight with college athletes

The Supreme Court handed a unanimous victory Monday to Division I college athletes in their fight against the National Collegiate Athletic Association over caps it sought to impose on compensation related to education.

The court voted 9-0 to affirm lower court rulings that found that antitrust law prevented the NCAA from restricting payments to athletes for items such as musical instruments or as compensation for internships. The justices rejected the NCAA’s argument that its players’ amateur status would be impossible to maintain if they could receive pay, even for education-related expenses.

“Put simply, this suit involves admitted horizontal price fixing in a market where the defendants exercise monopoly control,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote for the court.

The conservative justice, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, wrote that it was “unclear exactly what the NCAA seeks.”

“To the extent it means to propose a sort of judicially ordained immunity from the terms of the Sherman Act for its restraints of trade — that we should overlook its restrictions because they happen to fall at the intersection of higher education, sports, and money — we cannot agree,” Gorsuch wrote.

The outcome was largely expected following oral argument in March. The decision upheld an injunction imposed by a federal district court that barred the NCAA from limiting “compensation and benefits related to education.” The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier approved of the injunction.

In allowing the injunction, Gorsuch wrote that the NCAA can ask lawmakers to carve out an exception for it.

“The NCAA is free to argue that, ‘because of the special characteristics of [its] particular industry,’ it should be exempt from the usual operation of the antitrust laws — but that appeal is ‘properly addressed to Congress,'” Gorsuch wrote.

“Nor has Congress been insensitive to such requests. It has modified the antitrust laws for certain industries in the past, and it may do so again in the future,” Gorsuch wrote. “But until Congress says otherwise, the only law it has asked us to enforce is the Sherman Act, and that law is predicated on one assumption alone — ‘competition is the best method of allocating resources’ in the Nation’s economy.”

The case was originally brought by Shawne Alston, a former West Virginia running back, and other student athletes. The dispute, known as National Collegiate Athletic Assn. v. Alston, No. 20-512, is separate from the ongoing controversy over NCAA rules that restrict athletes from being paid to play or for doing endorsement deals.

The latter rules have not yet come before the Supreme Court, and the court’s opinion did not weigh on their legality.

However, Trump appointee Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested in a blistering concurrence to Monday’s opinion that those rules may also run afoul of antitrust law. He wrote that “The NCAA is not above the law” and that “The NCAA’s business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America.”

“Everyone agrees that the NCAA can require student athletes to be enrolled students in good standing. But the NCAA’s business model of using unpaid student athletes to generate billions of dollars in revenue for the colleges raises serious questions under the antitrust laws,” Kavanaugh wrote.

He added that it was “highly questionable whether the NCAA and its member colleges can justify not paying student athletes a fair share of the revenues on the circular theory that the defining characteristic of college sports is that the colleges do not pay student athletes.”

“And if that asserted justification is unavailing, it is not clear how the NCAA can legally defend its remaining compensation rules,” Kavanaugh wrote.

Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said Monday that the White House was supportive of the Supreme Court’s decison, which she said recognized that athletes’ “hard work should not be exploited.”

“The president believes that everyone should be compensated fairly for his or her labor,” Psaki said.

Categories
Business

529 Plans for Faculty: Store Round and Save Charges

529 Plans for College: Shop Around and Save Fees

However, the outcome could have been different if the bug had occurred during a downturn, said Madeline Hume, a Morningstar analyst. She has recommended that you be familiar with the performance of your plan so that you can assess whether returns seem unusual and be careful when your plan notifies you of any changes. “It’s important to know what communication is coming out,” she said.

The company rates 529 plans on factors such as fees, investment options, and plan monitoring. Most plans are rated gold, silver, or bronze, which indicates that they offer a net benefit to investors. However, eight plans received “negative” ratings, mainly due to excessive fees.

Here are some questions and answers about 529 savings plans:

What college expenses can 529 funds be used for?

Savings in a 529 can be used to pay college expenses including tuition, room and board, mandatory fees, books, supplies, and required equipment.

Can I use 529 funds to pay for student loans?

Yes. According to a law passed in 2019, up to $ 10,000 from a 529 account can be used to repay a beneficiary’s student loan. An additional $ 10,000 each can be used to repay student loans borrowed from the beneficiary’s siblings.

Can grandparents save on a 529 account for a grandchild?

Yes – and an upcoming change to an important grant form, the Free State Student Aid Application (FAFSA), should help make this more attractive. Currently, contributions from 529 grandparent-owned plans are reported by the FAFSA as untaxed cash assistance for the student, which may decrease eligibility for financial assistance, financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz said. However, an updated FAFSA will remove the issue of cash assistance, so distributions from 529 grandparent-owned distributions are no longer on the form. The change is expected to take place at FAFSA in late 2022 for the 2023-24 academic year.

However, the change doesn’t affect another form of tuition grant, the CSS profile, which is required by many more expensive private colleges, Kantrowitz said.

Categories
Business

TikTok, Bumble, others are hiring school college students as model ambassadors

TikTok, Bumble, others are hiring college students as brand ambassadors

Companies like TikTok and Bumble are hiring students to work as brand ambassadors on campus. These jobs pay off better than typical college jobs like food service and retail – and provide valuable work experience.

Students say they learned about marketing, content creation, and management while working as brand ambassadors – and expanded their network by connecting with other campus representatives across the country. And in a highly competitive internship and job market, the experience of being a brand ambassador is a way to stand out, the students said.

“My life changed with the TikTok Ambassador Program,” said Bita Motiie, a senior at the University of North Texas who studied marketing.

Bita Motiie, a senior at the University of North Texas, says she has opened many job opportunities as a brand ambassador for TikTok.

Photo: Michael Chavira

Motiie has been working as a campus rep for the social media platform since fall 2019 and said this has helped her recognize her interest in branding and building online communities – and advance her career.

“I had so many new job opportunities,” said Motiie. “Even at the place where I currently work, they hired me specifically because I had experience as a TikTok brand ambassador.”

Campus ambassador programs also benefit brands. A study by Jonah Berger, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and research firm Keller Fay Group found that 82% of consumers are likely to follow a recommendation from a micro-influencer (a person with greater reach) than the average person – although not a celebrity – in a very specific category or demographic such as college students).

More of College votes::
I want to move to New York after graduation. Can i afford it?
College students are urging lawmakers to raise the minimum wage to $ 15 an hour
How college students turn hobbies into sideline jobs – and extra cash

“These programs are a win-win as they provide brands with valuable insight while students gain marketing experience as they near graduation,” said Julie Jatlow, partner at Fuse, an agency that runs college ambassador programs for TikTok , Amazon and other brands.

Depending on the company, campus ambassador duties typically include posting content on social media, handing out goods or samples, hosting branded events, and reaching out to student organizations.

“Finding creative and passionate students whose traits are specifically tailored to the brand’s DNA is of the utmost importance,” said Jatlow. “We are always on the lookout for proactive students with drive and enthusiasm.”

Student representatives are usually compensated by an hourly rate or a monthly grant and can work on their own schedule. In fact, campus ambassador wages are between $ 15 and $ 25 an hour, according to job postings on the employment website. This is well above the hourly rate for jobs common among college students, like food and beverage service, which pays around $ 11 an hour, and retail sales, which are around $ 13 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Hour pays.

“It’s a lot more flexible than a normal job as a working student,” said Cedoni Francis, a 2020 graduate of Vanderbilt University who worked at the school for brands like TikTok, dating app Bumble and beer company Anheuser-Busch.

Cedoni Francis, a 2020 graduate of Vanderbilt University, worked as a student brand ambassador for TikTok, Bumble and Anheuser-Busch. She now works in marketing at Google.

Photo: Warner Tidwell

Francis, who is now an associate product marketing manager at Google, said her experience with campus ambassador programs helped her develop skills like time management and stakeholder engagement.

In particular, her experience with TikTok gave her a crash course on viral marketing, expertise that she uses in her current job.

“It’s a good primer,” said Francis. “There are certain things that other people have to teach how to do that. I don’t have to learn how to do it.”

Peter Corrigan, assistant director of employer and alumni connections for Student Engagement and Career Development at the University of Arizona, said working as brand ambassadors on campus helps students build key skills.

“Students improve their communication skills when they speak to a large number of people who are trying to create brand awareness on campus,” Corrigan said. “It takes students out of their comfort zone and gives them sales experience with companies they might want to work for.”

Candice Nguyen, a third year public administration student at Drexel University, represents brands such as Bumble, Victoria’s Secret Pink and Red Bull on her campus.

Candice Nguyen, a student at Drexel University, represents brands such as Bumble, Victoria’s Secret Pink and Red Bull on her campus.

Source: Candice Nguyen

Like Francis, Nguyen said her work as a campus ambassador resulted in work experience. She recently completed a certification in project management and is a full-time intern in a project management role.

“I realized that a lot of my job was project management, like running events and being able to oversee and coordinate with teams,” said Nguyen of her experience as a brand ambassador.

Montserrat Lewin Mejia, a senior at Michigan State University, began campus ambassador programs in her second semester of her junior year as a representative of retail brand Rent the Runway before the Covid-19 pandemic closed the program. She is now a brand ambassador for Bumble and the fashion start-up Qatch.

Montserrat Lewin Mejia, an engineering student at Michigan State University, has worked as a brand ambassador for Rent the Runway, Bumble and the fashion start-up Qatch. Your new career goal is to become a full-time influencer.

Photo: Mindy Melinda Carmack

As an engineering student, Mejia said that the campus brand ambassador programs introduced her to the world of influencer marketing and helped her achieve new career goals.

“I’ve had a really big goal since I started, potentially becoming a full-time influencer,” Mejia said.

TikTok campus rep, Tatum Riley, Junior at Duke University, sees college ambassador programs help build brand awareness. Riley and her brand colleagues on campus attempted to “personalize” advertising through catering events and targeted contact with Duke students.

Tatum Riley, Junior at Duke University, represents TikTok on their campus.

Photo: Griffin Riley

Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.

Categories
Business

Monetary Assist: Grades, Advantage and Speaking to Youngsters About Paying for School

Financial Aid: Grades, Merit and Talking to Kids About Paying for College

If you raise your eyebrows now, admins will feel for you. They also dislike the equity impact of Earnings Aid, even when affluent families receiving $ 20,000 off in many schools can help subsidize low-income families.

However, these enrollment managers also wonder why you are so shocked that they seek Earning Aid in the first place. After all, it’s terribly difficult to fundamentally change the character of a college – its location, the permanent faculty, the types of students who come year after year, what the brand stands for in the entry-level employment market, and 22-year-old law students.

But price? Administrators can change that in no time.

“I get impatient with people who think it’s an easy decision or that schools that do much more merit than we do are somehow morally corrupt,” said Brian Rosenberg, former president of Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn I try to keep their schools open. “

In fact, it’s just a business or something.

“The better the student – and this includes both curriculum choices and grades – the more money will be required to change a student’s choice of enrollment,” said Robert Massa, a longtime administrator of admissions, financial assistance and Communications when he was working at Drew University in New Jersey before becoming a consultant.

But when I pointed out to Mr Massa that it was obvious that students should know how this works – so that they can take harder grades and aim for better grades if they so choose – he winced a little. “Take a heavy load because you want to,” he said. “Not because you think I want you to.”

If this all sounds pretty stressful, know that the experts in the field haven’t quite figured out what they’re going to say to their own children, either. Maureen McRae Goldberg is the former financial assistance director at Occidental College and now has a similar role at Santa Barbara City College. She seemed both resigned and annoyed when I asked what she would say to her daughter when the time comes.

Would it be ridiculous to explain that her high school achievement could be worth a six-figure discount? Is it even fair to bring it up when many schools – especially private colleges – fail to reveal which brand a teenager needs to hit to get any earnings support at all?

“I’m afraid so,” she said. “These are the same questions I’ve been asking for 20 years, and in my naivete I thought we’d fixed some of them now.”

Categories
Politics

With Selfies, Emojis and Little Disruption, the Electoral School Makes It Official

With Selfies, Emojis and Little Disruption, the Electoral College Makes It Official

In the end, democracy carried the day.

Wisconsin’s 10 voters quietly walked into a quiet state capitol on Monday and saw more police officers than protesters. While waiting to officially cast their ballots, the socially distant Democratic officials and activists took selfies in an ornate wood-paneled room. When the vote finally came, one voter added hearts to the controls on the lines for the Democratic President’s ticket in a rare expression of emotion.

“We did it,” said Governor Tony Evers, relieved after he announced the final settlement – a unanimous vote for Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Kamala Harris.

When the electoral college cast their ballots for Mr. Biden on Monday, the moment felt both extraordinary and repetitive. After all, the elected president and his team have won the election since November and have repeatedly emerged victorious in legal proceedings, hearings and recounts.

But President Trump and his allies’ extraordinary attack on the elections and their efforts to deprive millions of voters of the voting rights exposed the creaky governance of American democracy.

And on Monday the bureaucracy withdrew.

From Hillary Clinton giving a thumbs up after casting her vote as New York Electress to the shadow gatherings Republicans held in battlefield states, it was a day marked by more symbolism and emotion than surprise for some was.

Robin Smith, a Democratic activist and librarian in Lansing, Michigan, was suffocated while casting her vote for the president-elect. She wore a Biden / Harris face mask and donkey needle with red, white and blue jewels for the Democratic Party.

‘Stay there, Mom. Be in the moment,’ ‘Ms. Smith said, her daughter pressing for text. “As a black woman, it really means everything to me.”

Prior to the official votes in Maryland, Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican who early criticized Mr Trump’s efforts to cast doubt on the election results, described the event as a “civic lesson” – perhaps a nameless confrontation with the president.

“The peaceful change of power in which we are officially participating here today is a hallmark of our democracy, which has been passed on for more than 220 years,” said Hogan. “It is a reminder that despite our differences, we are united as Americans who honor the will of the people.”

As Mr Hogan noted, there was a history of American democracy – as well as its many quirks.

In Kentucky, voters promised they would not be engaged in a deadly weapon duel, part of the state’s oath added in the early 19th century because too many residents killed each other.

In Alabama, voters heard a lecture on the story of their role from an actor dressed as Uncle Sam before casting their nine votes for Mr. Trump.

And in New Hampshire, Mary Carey Foley, a retired high school teacher who first met Mr. Biden nearly four decades ago, described her political ancestry as a third-generation elector and described the voices of her mother in 1972 and grandmother in the year 1946.

Perhaps the most unusual thing was that anyone was talking about voters at all. As the country recorded 300,000 deaths from the coronavirus and eagerly watched the introduction of a vaccine, Americans were bombarded by obscure officials who cast ballots and signed them multiple times – procedures that were shown on cable news throughout the day.

Voters sought transparency through flawed internet streams, both to refute the conspiracy theories that have resonated with Trump’s supporters and to implicitly admit that some conservatives are unlikely to accept the election result. Those theories blossomed in the live chat streams that accompanied the meetings, a unique mix of champagne emojis and conspiracy theories for 2020.

In Nevada, six voters who met during a live publicly broadcast video chat held signed ballots on their screens, which were counted by Mark Wlashin, assistant secretary of state for elections. The chatter offered a glimpse into a divided nation.

“We all know Trump is having a breakdown!” wrote one user walking from Clorox Bleach followed by four laughing emoji faces.

Hillbilly shot back: “I’m a Trump supporter and not angry because Biden will never be president.”

Last week, the Supreme Court turned down the desperate efforts of Trump allies to change the election result and smashed a long-term strategy that depended on banning four states won by Mr Biden from casting their votes and convincing Republican-controlled legislators with alternative legislators Choose slate friendly voters.

Mr Trump now has few resources to change the election result, although that did little to deter some supporters from continuing to advance fantastic plans.

Much of the recent effort has centered on what some Trump allies have called the “alternate voter roll” – die-hard supporters who gathered in state capitals to vote for Mr. Trump. The self-appointed voters are not certified by state executives and, according to legal experts, have no legal position.

That didn’t stop them from playing a little live-action role-playing game of the typical everyday inner workings of democracy.

Outside the Michigan State Capitol on Monday 10 of the so-called Republican voters vowed to cast their ballots for Mr. Trump before being denied entry by state police.

Bernadette Comfort, president of the Trump campaign in Pennsylvania, described the shadow event in her state as a “procedural vote” carried out at the request of the campaign.

“This was in no way an effort to usurp or dispute the will of Pennsylvania voters,” she said.

Josh Shapiro, the Democratic attorney general and one of his 20 voters, was far less sympathetic: “A ridiculous charade,” he told CNN shortly after Mr Biden was elected.

Across the country, some of Mr. Trump’s allies seemed far more willing to accept the reality of the elections. After California officially confirmed Mr Biden’s victory, several Republican senators finally recognized the Democrat as president-elect on Monday night, a reversal of weeks of public opposition among GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Top Republican leaders in the Michigan legislature recognized the loss of Mr Trump on Monday and reiterated their refusal to give in to the president’s demands for interference in the electoral process.

“I fought hard for President Trump – nobody wanted him to win more than me,” said spokesman Lee Chatfield. “But I also love our republic. I can’t believe risking our norms, traditions and institutions to pass a resolution that will retroactively change voters for Trump. “

He added, “I’m afraid we will lose our country forever.”

After weeks of harassment and death threats against election officials, only a handful of Trump supporters gathered outside the state capital’s buildings on Monday – a sign of waning hope, even among the more ardent supporters of the president, that he could prevail.

In Madison, a small group marched slowly around the Capitol on a cold afternoon, wearing rosaries, statutes of the Blessed Virgin, and many complaints about the elections.

“We don’t protest, we pray,” said Geralyn Kettermann, 65, of Fulton Township, Wisconsin, who saw a sign that read “Jail Wisconsin Election Commission! All Trump votes stolen!”

The Democrats also saw an opportunity to fuel their political struggles. Nikema Williams, the leader of the Democratic Party in Georgia, opened the proceedings with a small victory round. As she spoke, long voting lines grew across the state, with the beginning of personal voting in two crucial runoff elections that will determine control of the Senate.

“Georgian voters are very powerful and we will soon prove it again,” said Ms. Williams. “Georgians have known for years, and now the nation knows Georgia is a blue state.”

Mrs. Williams looked forward to the next month. And others also looked ahead – with a less certain view that this chapter is really coming to an end.

Since November 7, when Mr Biden won the presidency and the Trump campaign hastened its attacks on the process, Americans had viewed the vote in the electoral college as the finish line.

Now that the country was crossing it, not everyone was so confident.

“Towards the end of this event, it is evident that this is neither the end of the discussion about the 2020 election nor the way we conduct future elections,” said Katie Hobbs, Arizona Democratic Secretary of State. “This is probably the start of a long debate.”

The coverage was contributed by Kathleen Gray of Lansing, Michigan. Kay Nolan of Madison, Wisconsin; Reid J. Epstein from Washington; and Isabella Grullón Paz from New York.

Categories
World News

Biden wins majority of Electoral Faculty votes, securing presidency

Biden wins majority of Electoral College votes, securing presidency

WASHINGTON – The electoral college voted Monday to consolidate President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election.

The ballots were cast throughout the day by individual voters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia and reflect their state’s referendum.

Just before 5:30 p.m. ET, California voters cast their 55 votes for Biden, pushing him past the crucial 270-ballot threshold. Around 7.15 p.m., Hawaii cast the last 4 votes of the day for Biden, who won a total of 306 votes. Trump won 232 votes.

Biden plans to address the nation on Monday evening, where he will stress that “the integrity of our elections remains intact”.

“And so now is the time to turn the page. To unite. To heal,” Biden will say, according to the snippets released by the transition.

Democratic voter Stacey Abrams leads her fellow voters through the process of voting for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President-elect Kamala Harris in the Georgia Senate Chambers in the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, December 14. 2020.

Elijah Nouvelage | Reuters

Voting in the electoral college is usually a formality that takes place more than a month after the vote is cast on election day. But Trump’s unprecedented legal and legislative efforts to reverse election results this year have made the process more important.

The president, his campaigning and political allies have filed dozens of lawsuits since election day, urging federal and state courts to invalidate the election results on the basis of countless unfounded allegations of irregularities.

These efforts failed repeatedly, prompting the president to change tactics in early December and personally pressure the Republican legislature to intervene in the selection of individual voters. This has also failed so far.

Still, Trump continues to falsely claim that he was not Biden, the legitimate winner of the November election, and that he was the victim of a massive, coordinated nationwide conspiracy to change the votes in Biden’s favor.

In Pennsylvania (below) and Arizona, two major swing states that Biden won, Trump supporters met outside their state capitals on Monday to protest the election of the electoral college.

A small group of Trump supporters march with flags as voters gather to cast their votes for the U.S. presidential election at the State Capitol complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the United States, on December 14, 2020.

Joanathan Ernst | Reuters

In Michigan, voters were given police escorts under threat of violence in the state capital. A Republican official was stripped of committee assignments by GOP leaders Monday after refusing to rule out violence in the capital, Lansing, during the election.

Meanwhile, Congressional Republicans, fearful of angering their Trump-loving voters, have largely lagged behind the president and have refused to recognize Biden’s victory.

After voters officially register their votes for the President and Vice-President, the next big event in the electoral college process is a joint congressional session on January 6th when both houses will officially count the votes.

Vice President Mike Pence, in his formal role as President of the Senate, is expected to lead the trial on January 6th. These tasks also include announcing the results.

All congressional objections to voting must be submitted in writing and signed by at least one member of the House and one senator. If an objection is raised, the two chambers will consider the objection separately.

Alabama Republican MP Mo Brooks has already announced that he will question the results of the House Electoral College census. In the Senate, Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson has not ruled out filing a similar objection.

But not all Republicans are in favor of Brooks’ plan to increase the number of elections to challenge the results, which are sure to fail. And several Republican senators, who have yet to publicly acknowledge Biden’s victory, have announced that they will accept the results of Monday’s vote in the electoral college as the final verdict on the 2020 presidential election.

Still, some Republicans’ rejection of Biden’s victory in Congress is likely to extend into January and beyond.

In a December 6 poll by the Washington Post of all 249 Republicans in Congress, only 27 said they would accept Biden as legally elected president. Another 220 GOP lawmakers gave an unclear answer or didn’t respond, and two, Brooks and Rep. Paul A. Gosar of Arizona, said they believed Trump was the rightful election winner.

Since Election Day, Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris have tried largely to defy Trump’s increasingly desperate campaign to reverse the results.

While a small team of Biden campaign lawyers oversees Trump’s lawsuits, the former vice president goes through a formal transition process, announcing his candidates for his new cabinet, and putting forward a plan to aggressively fight the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office .

Biden and Harris are sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States on January 20, the day of their inauguration.