Newspapers / Methodist University Student Newspaper / Aug. 27, 1997, edition 1 / Page 3
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Pride COLLEGE NEWS Wednesday, August 27, 1997 Upcoming Sports Events Football Sept. 6 at home vs. Chowan, 1 pm Sept. 13 at Guilford College Men’s Soccer Sept. 2 at Mt. Olive Sept. 6 vs. Millsaps at NC Wesleyan Sept. 7 vs. Rhodes at NC Wesleyan Sept. 13 at home vs. Heidelberg, 3 pm Sept. 14 at home vs. New Jersey, 2 pm Women’s Soccer Sept. 2 at home vs. Baldwin Wallace, 4 pm Sept. 6 at Salisbury State Sept. 7 at Christopher Newport Sept. 11 at Greensboro College Cross Country Sept. 6 at UNC-Wilmington Sept. 13 at home, Methodist Invitational Volleyball Sept. 8 at Peace College Sept. 12-13 at Salem Invitational Women’s Golf Sept. 12-13, Lady Monarch Invitational stay up all night organic ohsmistry not banking# Debt counselors advise students to learn to budget now to avoid trouble later H) olleen DeBaise College Press Service Sure, most college freshmen ;in ivc on campus with an apartment- si/t'd refrigerator and new sheets for (he d('nii room Rut what about bring ing a solid plan for money manage ment. loo? After all, most first-year stu dents have never before been respon sible f(>r bank accounts, credit cards, bills, and budgets. Just ask Catherine Dully, 18, a freshman at the Univer sity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In high school, Dufly partici- piated in the International Baccalau- 'reate propram, managed the softball team, and served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper. Fiut when it comes to balanc ing a checkbook, her experience is lim ited. ‘ That's stulTl really have no idea how to do.” she says. “I haven't dealt much w ill) actually going to the bank and getting o^lt money. I suppose I really haven't managed my money yel ■■ Will she open a checking ac count when she moves to Urbana to pay her phone bills, utility bills, and other c.Kpenses? “I don’t know. I re ally don't know," she says. Duffy’s lack of financial knowledge isn't unusual. A national study released in May found most high school seniors lack the basic personal linance knowledge that they will need to manage their lives, such as handling credit cards, paying taxes, and even saving for the future. The study, conducted by Lewis Mandell, Marquette llni\ersity's dean of business, also If you've got better things to do at night than wrestle w^ith your checking account, the College Account from Wachovia is for you. We make it easy, v\/ith free checking and a Wachovia Check Card, for free transactions at any Wachovia ATM, Your card is also accepted anywhere they takeVisa®-so you can pay for everything from pizza to car repairs right from your checking account, but with credit card convenience. And when you need help balancing your checkbook, Wachovia’s toll-free telephone banking lines .ai e.just a phone call away You can get /our balance or find out if a ciieck cleared with our automated Phone Access" service. Or call I-800-WACHOVIA (I 800-922-4684) to reach a real Wachovia banker anytihne,' 24 hour's a day. Plus, you may qualify for special student overdraft protection, credit card and savings accounts. It's easy! (At this point.in your life, shouldn't something, be?) TO concluded students weren’t learning about personal finances in school, ei ther. Just 11 percent of students sur veyed said they learned about it in class. Fifty-eight percent said they rely on their parents, not school, to learn about money management. As a first step, financial ex perts encourage first-year students like Duffy to turn to their parents when they have questions about money mattters. Duffy’s parents, Linda and David, say they plan to keep giving their daughter pointers as she becomes more sophisticated with handling her finances. “The most important thing is just an ongoing conversation about money in general,” says Linda Duffy. “This is our way to break her into money management.” The experts also offer some basic advice for college students to follow. •Banking The first dilemma faced by most college freshmen is where to open a bank account in their new city. “Go with a bank that offers that uni- versify a discount, like free checking,” advises Tess Van Duvall, a debt man agement counselor at Emory Univer sity. Once a student opens an ac count, it’s important to keep a good record of withdrawals and deposits. “Balance your checkbook at all times,: she says, adding that freshmen unfa miliar with a balance sheet should ask their parents to walk through the steps with them. Students should also be aware of bank fees, which can be charged if an account dips below a minimum balance, an ATM card is. Student Government Elections Elections for Freshman Class President and Freshman Class Treasurer will be held on Sept. 9 in the Berns Student Center. Interested candidates can pick up petitions in the Student Life Office beginning Aug. 29 Petitions are due back in the Student Life Office on Sept. 5. Wachovia Bank is a member FDlC. Accounts subject to approval. Credit cards are issued by Wachovia Bank Card Services. Delaware. ^yACHOVIA Family Weekend is coming! Methodist College Family Weekend is Sept. 26-28. Events include a golf tournament, art exhibit, academic open house, and a tailgate party before the Monarchs take on Newport News Apprentice in football. Information is being mailed to parents. For more information, contact the Advancement Office at 630-7200. used at another bank’s machine, or a check bounces. Such fees can add up quickly, says Van Duvall. Even students who handled checking accounts in high school might need to take on greater respon sibility in college. “When it was home, it was easy to say, ‘Hey, Mom, Dad—can you cover it?’” says Steve Rhode, presi dent of Debt Counselors of America, a non-profit agency. “The old joke is, ‘1 can’t be out of money because I have checks in my checkbook.’” When parents are far away, students often feel confused about how to balance a bank account. In those cases, “they should feel free to talk to their banker about how to man age their money,” Rhode says. Van Duvall adds that stu dents should remember to save money in their bank account, not just spend it. “Try to save about 10 percent of any income you get,” she says. “Sav ing is a habit.” •Credit Cards Students are often welcomed to campus by credit card company representatives, who set up informa tion tables in the student union or stuff brochures into the campus bookstore’s bags. “When [students] get on campus, there will be lots of opportu nities for them to apply for credit,” Rhode says. While some companies entice students to sign up by offering free gifts such as beer mugs or cloth ing, Rhode cautions: “Don’t rush into it just for a T-shirt.” Although a charge card can be a good way to establish credit, many students who have them say it’s way too tempting to start charging with reckless abandon. A recent U.S. News & World Report study found that between 1990 and 1995, the av erage outstanding credit card balance of households headed by someone under 25 grew from $885 to $1,721. See BUDGET, page 4 New Web site brings financial aid expertise to students Have you ever wished a fi nancial aid expert wree right there in your dorm room? Someone to help you wade through applications, in structions, and other materials that can help make sense of the financial aid process? While it’s not likely you’ll have a financial aid expert as your roommate, if you have a computer and Internet access, you can gain insight from the next best thing—Financial Aid 101. Financial Aid 101, Sallie Mae’s new multimedia course on pay ing for college, is part of the company’s award-winning Web site, www.sallieniae.com. Financial Aid 101 is located in the College Answers Online section of the Web site, a sec tion providing students with detailed information on financing a college education. The interactive Financial Aid 101 course contains five lessons on various issues related to paying for college, including 1) What is financial aid? 2) How do 1 qualify? 3) How do I apply? 4) What happens after I ap ply? and 5) What do I do if I need a loan? In addition to being named one of the Internet’s “25 Most Incred ibly Useful Sites” by Yahoo! Internet Life, Sallie Mae’s Web site has re ceived a four-star rating by Magellan and a “Choice Site” citation from Starting Point. For more information on the new features of Sallie Mae’s Web site, log on to www.salliemae.com. J'
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