Internships

March 31st, 2008

This week, we had the opportunity to interview Sarah Barber, Lisa Collins, and Jamie Marsh in the Business Career Center to talk about internships. According to Sarah, internships give students the opportunity to gain experience in a career area that they are interested in. It also allows students, to receive new training and develop skills that will put them at an advantage for full time employment positions.

Students can either do a summer or a semester internship. However, Linda Collins says that the downside to a semester internship is that it may delay your graduation and you would not be covered by your parent’s insurance during that semester. The upside to a semester internship is that you could have more opportunities to work for a company for a longer period of time. For example, you could intern during the spring semester in addition to the summer.

Many students wonder if it is better to work for a smaller or larger company. According to Sarah Barber, it really depends on your situation. Advantages to working for a smaller company include more exposure to senior management and possibly more responsibility provided based on your performance. One advantage to working for a larger company are a well-known name to have on your resume. Additionally, many larger companies have a structured internship program that is specifically designed to give you technical training in its industry.

Once a student receives an internship, it is important for them to take into consideration housing, transportation, and living expenses. Many internships offer student housing and within walking distance to the company or close to a public transportation service. According to Jamie Marsh, 99 percent of internships are paid, so chances are you will be able to pay for your daily living expenses. Salaries range depending on location and the cost of living in the area, but most employers take this into account. At the same time, the purpose of an internship is to get your foot into an industry, so don’t expect to make a fortune. Internships are extremely beneficial and often times lead to full time employment.

For more information on interviewing techniques and how to get your ideal internship, feel free to post questions on our forum and students can visit their school’s career center.

Click below to hear the whole interview. –Chris Adams, Talking Cents Team Member

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Mysteries of Financial Aid

March 24th, 2008

This week I met with Jim Buske of the Student from UW’s Student Financial Services Office to learn about financial aid. There are four types of financial aid: scholarships (merit-based), grants (need-based), loans, student employment

There are two basic distinctions for financial aid: need based and non-need based. Need based aid is determined by information students submit on their FAFSA. Students can begin filling out their FAFSA on January 1, but tax information is required so a student needs to have both their tax information and their parent’s tax information prior to completing his or her FAFSA. Since financial aid does run out, students should get their FAFSA submitted as early as possible. The government uses a student’s FAFSA to determine a family’s Expected Family Contribution (EFC). That information is then sent to UW, where the Student Financial Services Office subtracts a student’s EFC from the cost of their education and develops a financial aid offer for the difference.

Most of the financial aid offers are federal student loan offers, FELP loans. There are two types of FELP loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. Subsidized loans are loans that the government will pay interest on while student is in school and for a short period of time thereafter. Unsubsidized loans are loans that accrue simple interest while students are in school, but that interest is then added to the principal amount when a student graduates. In addition to federal loans, there are non-traditional loans offered by most banks that can help supplement the cost of education. Students should carefully assess non-traditional loan offers before accepting one and should avoid borrowing more than they absolutely need. Furthermore, student loan payments are not tax deductible. Students are able to consolidate their federal student loans once throughout their lifetime.

Students are also encouraged to apply for scholarships on campus. Each school on campus has different application forms and deadlines, so students should contact their department to get scholarship information. Start inquiring about scholarships the November of the year before you want to get your scholarship.

Click below to hear the whole interview. -Brittany Burr, Talking Cents Team Member

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What’s Happening with the Economy?

March 12th, 2008

Today I had the opportunity to sit down with Steve Rick, a senior economist with Credit Union National Association in Madison and an Econ 102 professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison. We had a great discussion about the current state of the economy and how the economic crisis will affect students.

Steve mentioned the problems with the credit crunch. The credit crunch is when lenders are more hesitant to lend money to consumers. This means that consumers cannot get the money needed to help stimulate the economy. He described how from 2001 until 2003 the economy was in need of economic stimulus, so the government lowered the rate at which banks can borrow money (called federal funds rate). This lower rate allowed a large amount of money to become available for lenders to give out to people, which eventually led to a lot of the problems we are experiencing today such as the housing boom and bust, the credit crunch, and the potential for a recession.

Steve believes, along with a lot of other economists, that the United States economy is in a recession, but states that you can never know if you are in one usually until after it is over. However, he does believe that this recession will be longer and more severe than past ones. He says that the Fed might continue to lower rates below 2% and that the economic stimulus package from the government in the form of increased tax rebates may not have the intended affect the government would wish for. He believes that the money to fund these rebates will most likely come from borrowing from other countries, such as China or Japan. The government would like this money to be spent on goods from the United States to help stimulate our economy, but Steve says that many economists believe that this money could go back to China or Japan as US consumers spend the money on foreign goods.

The credit crunch will also affect college students. With the hesitance of lenders to loan money to consumers, college students might see increased rates in student loans or have more difficulty in getting money to pay for college. Credit card companies are also starting to lower limits, increase rates and increase fees and penalties. All of the issues affecting the economy will have the potential to affect college students in some way or another.

Click below to hear the whole interview. -Kelsey Balcaitis

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Welcome to Talking Cents

March 11th, 2008

Hello Everyone! Welcome to the Talking Cents blog. Here we will be posting our links to our podcasts for our weekly radio show. If you have any questions about us, what we do, who we are or have questions about the show’s topics or have a suggestion for a future show, post a comment or email us at talkingcents@yahoo.com.

Enjoy!