COLLEGE CONNECTIONJuly 2015

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1 your KHEAA COLLEGE CONNECTIONJuly 2015 College students stressed about finances By Jeff Grabmeier, Ohio State University A recent national survey by Ohio State University found that 70 percent of college students are stressed about their personal finances. Co-author Anne McDaniel said the findings suggest that college students are feeling the pressure of student loan debt and making ends meet, according to a July 1 OSU press release. Despite the stress, students feel good about their decision to go to college and think it will pay off in the end, co-author Catherine Montalto said. McDaniel said she was concerned by how many students with loans borrowed right up to their limit. About 30 percent of students with loans said they borrowed the maximum amount for which they qualify each year, which may not always be the best choice, she said. But the good news is that about half the students with loans said they tried to borrow as little as possible. Most students seem to have a good handle on credit card debt, the survey showed. About 43 percent of students don t have a credit card and, of those who do, nearly half (47 percent) pay off the full balance each month. Of those who don t pay off the full balance, the majority (55 percent) owe less than $1,000. KHEAA s booklet It s Money, Baby, highlighted in our April newsletter, can help students deal with that stress. To order a free copy, publications@kheaa.com. Please include your mailing address. An online version of the booklet is available on For help with your higher education and financial aid questions, visit KHEAA is an EEO employer. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

2 Students should check KEES accounts for accuracy Kentucky high school students and 2015 graduates should check their Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES) accounts for accuracy. KEES allows students to earn money for college by getting good grades in high school and for qualifying scores on the ACT or SAT. Students eligible for free or reduced lunches may also earn awards for good scores on Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Cambridge Advanced International exams. To check awards and personal information, students need to use the MyKHEAA function on If they do not already have a MyKHEAA account, they can set one up using the Sign In button on the KHEAA home page. Students can verify their KEES GPA is correct by converting the letter grade for each course taken during the year to a 4.0 scale. On this scale, an A = 4.0, B = 3.0, C = 2.0, D = 1.0, and F = 0. Pluses and minuses count the same, so an A-minus and an A-plus are both worth 4.0 points. AP and IB grades receive an extra point, making an A = 5.0, B = 4.0, etc. The GPA is calculated by adding all the points together and dividing the total by the number of credits earned during the year. In addition to KEES, students should check their personal information: name, date of birth, address and Social Security number. Students who need to have GPAs or other information corrected should contact their high school counselor. If students have problems with their MyKHEAA account or cannot see their KEES information, they should call the KHEAA College Access Team at Interest rates drop on federal student loans Interest rates for federal student loans will be lower for the school year. The interest on Direct Loans, also called Stafford Loans, for undergraduate students will be 4.29 percent this academic year. That s down from 4.66 percent last year. The rate applies to both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. Graduate and professional students can only receive unsubsidized Direct Loans. The rate this year is 5.84 percent, down from 6.21 percent. The rate for PLUS Loans fell to 6.84 percent from last year s 7.21 percent. PLUS Loans are available to the graduate and professional students who have maxed out their Direct Loans and to the parents of undergraduate students. Interest rates are set each year and are based on the yield on the 10-year Treasury note, plus a set percentage. The new interest rates apply only to loans taken out this year. Students who took out loans last year will pay the rate set on the loans at that time. 2

3 Students should take advantage of their meal plan Many colleges require students to have a meal plan, especially if they live on campus. Meal plans vary among colleges, but most will give students a certain number of dining hall meals per week. Students may also be able to add flex dollars to use at the campus food court or other locations. The larger the school is, the greater flexibility students may have. Students who choose their meal plan carefully may be able to cut college costs by selecting the plan that is best for them. Most often, the meal plan will come out of students financial aid or their parents money if they re footing the bill. Funds will be loaded on a card students swipe at on-campus cafeterias and restaurants. Students can waste a lot of money eating off-campus and even rack up credit card debt by charging food. Most meals on campus are already paid for through the meal plan, so students should eat on campus as much as possible. High school planners Freshmen Develop good study habits. Familiarize yourself with your ILP. Make good grades. Make sure you understand how the KEES program works. Set up an account on Sophomores Talk with your counselor about AP, other advanced classes and dual credit courses. Check your ILP to make sure you re on track. Make sure your KEES account information is correct: name, address, Social Security number, date of birth, GPA. Make a list of colleges that interest you. Consider taking the PSAT as a prep for your junior year, when it counts. Juniors Talk with your school counselor about your options and plans. Develop a list of colleges you re interested in. Check out Getting In, a KHEAA publication that lists Kentucky colleges and universities. Ask for a preview of your academic record and profile. Talk with your counselor on how you can get accepted to the school of your choice. Begin planning college visits. Try to time your visit so you can see classes going on. Seniors Ask colleges you re interested in to send you admissions information. If you re applying for Early Decision, start filling out the forms to meet the deadline. If you haven t taken the ACT/SAT or if you think you can do better, take it again. Get with your counselor to find out about the financial aid sources available to you. Use KHEAA s Affording Higher Education. 3

4 Kentuckians have chance to win ipad from KHEAA Kentucky residents have another chance to win a new ipad from KHEAA in a sweepstakes being held through Facebook in August. The contest runs from 12 a.m. on Aug. 1 through 12 a.m. on Sept. 1. To enter, click on the orange graduate icon on the KHEAA Facebook page, answer one question about college, and like KHEAA on Facebook. KHEAA does not share or sell any personal information to a third party. Only Kentucky residents are eligible. Employees of KHEAA or its sister agency, the Kentucky Higher Education Student Loan Corporation (KHESLC), and their immediate family members are not eligible. Prior winners are not eligible. The drawing will be held in early September, and the winner will be notified by . The winner must respond by within three calendar days to receive the ipad. If no response is received within three days, another winner will be drawn. Private loans may fill gaps in student aid Many college-bound students qualify for financial aid to help pay for their education, such as federal and state grants, scholarships and Federal Stafford and PLUS Loans. In addition, local scholarships are often available. A parent can also borrow a federal loan to help pay their child s college costs. Those programs make it easier to pay for college. However, they may not cover all the costs. When that happens, many people turn to private student loans, also called alternative loans. The interest rates on private loans largely depend on the borrower s credit rating. So, students and parents may have to pay higher interest rates than they would on federal student loans. In addition, many lenders require students to have a cosigner, and most require the college to certify that the student needs the loan. Students and parents are encouraged to do research before committing to any loan. They should compare the loans offered by various lenders to find the best possible deal. NEED MORE MONEY FOR COLLEGE? Even if you have federal and state aid, a Kentucky Advantage Education Loan can help you pay your remaining college costs. Kentucky Advantage benefits: Interest rates are FIXED for the life of the loan, start at 4.95% and won t go above 7.59%. Save thousands of dollars over competitors loans. Rates are better than the Federal PLUS Loan. Available to college students and their parents. Available to students enrolled less than half time. Apply online: advantageeducationloan.com More information:

5 USDE mulling financial aid for new online learning The U.S. Department of Education is considering a pilot project that would allow students taking classes through nontraditional methods to apply for federal student aid. The project is a response to the growth of massive open online courses, digital badges, microcredentials and other programs. MOOCs are free courses provided online by some of the most prestigious universities in the world. One Princeton professor told The Chronicle of Higher Education that his MOOC was taken by more than 40,000 students in 113 countries on six continents. Digital badges are earned by showing mastery of subjects taken via online courses, while microcredentials are given for completing programs in specific professional disciplines. Under the pilot project, colleges could sign contracts with education technology companies to provide the online programs. That would allow students taking the programs to be eligible for student aid. No decision has yet been made about continuing with the pilot project, according to the department. KDE survey shows Kentuckians OK with state standards Kentuckians overwhelmingly support the state s current academic standards in English/language arts and mathematics according to data from the Kentucky Core Academic Standards Challenge, according to the Kentucky Department of Education. From August 2014 through April 2015, KDE provided an online survey for anyone in the state to read the standards and provide specific feedback on how the standards could be improved. Academic standards define what Kentucky students are expected to learn at each grade level in order to graduate ready for success in college and career. How the standards are taught the curriculum or methods and materials used is decided at the local level. Nearly 4,000 people took part in the survey. Almost half of them were teachers or former teachers, while 20 percent were parents. Of the respondents, 88 percent said they did not see any need for changes to the standards. The suggested changes will be reviewed, and those that have merit will be considered for revisions to the standards. 5