Preparing the Perfect On-Boarding for Student Affairs

First impressions are everything, as they say.

Starting a new job is no different. The early days are highly impactful in how they shape your relationship with a new organization, its culture, expectations, and where you fit in.

I'm sure all of us have had less than ideal onboarding processes throughout our careers. I know I have. I was just thrust into a job with literally no training or any sort of warm welcome. I felt isolated and confused about how to navigate the organization and my role in it. Needless to say, I was figuring my way out pretty early on and didn't engage deeply with the work or the institution. They had someone in the role doing the work, but my productivity could have been so much more if I was better supported at the start.

I'll include more resources at the end of this post, but I'll boil down the essence of them all here and you can see what the wisdom of the crowd is.

Plan Ahead

This may seem straightforward, but from my experience and those of others I know, it warrants being said. Give this important time in a new team member's life cycle the attention and thought it deserves. Figure out what you might want to change from previous onboardings (hopefully you have feedback from previous new hires). How are they going to spend their first day? First week? First month? The more you figure out ahead of time will greatly benefit you. Chat with your new hire to figure out what they're going to need too. Which leads me to my next point...

Get Everything Set Up and Prepared

Once you know your plan, put it into action. Set up meetings with important people, get their tech situated, and figure out any other details they might need like parking, office supplies, new furniture in their space. It doesn't give the new hire a good impression to walk in and not have what they need to do their job, make them have to figure things out on their own, or force them to run around getting things set up. It makes it seem like you don't care. 

Introduce Them and Show Them Around

Meeting new people can be awkward. Especially when you work with them and don't know how you'll be interacting with them moving forward. Being a sort of "wing-person" to your new hire will help a lot with this. They'll meet with the most important people relevant to their role and get a little context for the relationship. You can also schedule quality time versus time that might feel rushed and need to be focused on other demands. 

What Do They Need To Know

Sometimes we go a little overboard with unloading information on a new hire. We think we're benefitting them by giving them every morsel of the institution they could ever possibly need to know. You would be better off trimming off some of the fat and keeping the initial content lean. There is going to be so much to transition to in a new role that if you give too much info, then you'll overwhelm your new team member and stress them out. Dole out info as it is needed and when it is relevant so it exists in context versus just static text or video trainings. 

This is just the simple, distilled guidance on this topic. There is so much more to explore and things that would be unique to your institution or the role you're hiring for. Hopefully this at least gets you thinking differently about how you onboard new hires. It's a really important time to make a positive impression and a smooth transition. 

Resources:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamvanderbloemen/2017/03/16/how-to-build-an-effective-employee-onboarding-system/#632a31273a6f

https://www.higheredjobs.com/articles/articleDisplay.cfm?ID=1022

https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/new-employee-onboarding-guide.aspx

https://www.inc.com/guides/2010/04/building-an-onboarding-plan.html

https://www.peopleadmin.com/2017/08/onboarding-processes-driving-away-higher-educations-employees/

https://www.humanity.com/blog/employee-onboarding-guide.html

Bye Bye College, Hello... Business?

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The aim for every young person as they work through college is to reach the other side and then be ready to face the world doing what they have worked so hard to achieve throughout their school years. But what happens to you if you decide that starting up a business is your calling?

Coming straight from college to entrepreneurship is a huge lifestyle change. You may not realize exactly how hard this aspect of your working life will be until you get out of the education system and start up your empire. Before you do get started on your business venture, here are some of the things you will want to think about...

Is your idea good enough?

It is crucial when you are planning to start a business that your idea is actionable and will work. It might be worth doing some market research to find out where there is a gap in the market for what to want to create, and also whether someone else has already thought up the idea before you.

Are You ready to start?

The next question you must ask yourself is whether or not you are ready to jump in and start up your business right away. Think about whether you have the funding and resources to create your product or service, and think about premises. Is this something you can work on from home or will you need to build a workshop out of Armstrong Steel to complete the work?

Are you prepared for hurdles?

Starting up a business isn’t just as simple as making your product and selling it on, you will likely face many challenges along the way. There will be people who will doubt your ability to succeed, and you may find it hard to reach out to your target audience to begin with. To run a business you must develop a thick skin and be able to deal with everything that comes your way.
 

Alone or with a team?

Think about the type of business you want to set up and whether it is something you need help for, or if you can set it up yourself. You might possess the skills and resources to start up the business alone, but it can be greatly beneficial to have someone there helping you along the way and giving their ideas to the project too. Decide if there is anyone you know who you could go into business with.
 

Can you afford it?

Running a business is an incredibly expensive business when you take into account the taxes, materials, shipping, employee wages and office rent. Decide whether or not you can possibly afford to run the business in the first place before you just dive in blindly. You could find that you need the help of an investor or even a loan from your bank to get you up and running before you are stable enough to go it alone.

Surviving A Company Take Over

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When a company exchanges hands, it makes sense for the new owners to keep on the existing staff. The team will be a great asset to the owners as they already know what they are doing and will be able to keep the place running smoothly as the changes take root. Because there will be changes. But what does it all mean for the employees? A take over doesn’t have to be a cutthroat as it sounds. But it can cause a host of issues. Look at Jozef Opdeweegh who said that ‘Unless the ownership transition is undertaken with great care, it can undermine the continued success of the company and its value.’ Yet a lot of takeovers happen with speed for one reason or another, and speed doesn’t always allow time for care. So how do you survive?

Time

Give things time to settle down. Everything will be a bit confusing. If you work in the lower ranks, there shouldn’t be too much upheaval for you, but there will be for management. If you are part of management, remember that the people under you will be looking to you for stability and answers. The new owners will want to go through all of the company paperwork with a fine tooth comb. The original owners will have sold for some reason, and the new owners will want to see where the mistakes have been made. Where the financial leaks are. Entrepreneur states three reasons that businesses might be sold as ‘Business value...Tired of risk...Change.’ And hopefully, the company you work for will be changing hands for one of these reasons instead. Regardless, they will still be looking through everything to see where they can make changes to make things more efficient. So be patient. Things will settle down again. Once the dust clears there might be a few changes, but don’t tear your hair out and quit during the transitional period.

Changes

Changes are going to happen, and there is no point in fighting them. If you’re high up in the pecking order, you can voice your concerns, but don’t expect them to listen without evidence to back up what you’re saying. They might make changes and then come to realise that you were better off before and be changed back. And they might make some that work out better for everyone, and they might change some things that work just the same as the old system. But you can’t fight it if you want to keep your job. It’s possible that changes will be small and not affect you; rebranding a company looks huge, but it doesn’t have much to do with how it operates. And they might bring in new software and systems that will take some getting used to. You just need to keep your head down and learn what you need to and teach those under you how to do the same.

Ear to the floor

Keep an ear out for news throughout the whole transition. If there will be new software, the sooner you can prepare for the change the better. You will also be able to keep an ear out for if there are going to be changes to staff. Don’t spread gossip, particularly bad things, this will just create panic within the ranks, but it’s worth knowing for yourself. Plus bad mouthing the new boss is a sure way to get fired - a lot of new owners look to make their authoritative mark on the company, and a simple way of doing that is to making staffing changes. It might not happen, but in a just in case scenario, you should keep your mouth shut.

Work hard

Just because you have new bosses does not mean that you should work less. During the turbulence of the transfer, it can be tricky to keep things running as smoothly as before, and it’s your job to see that your work is on the same level as it was prior to the business being sold. If you didn’t get the opportunity to rise through the ranks under the old management, now could be that chance to show you can deal with change and pressure. See the new ownership as a new opportunity; hopefully the business will grow, nad there will be people who decide to move on because they don't like the changes being made. And it is always better to promote in house than to hire externally - which is what most companies aim to do.

What College Success Really Looks Like

When you really get down to it, we need to prepare students for success in college before they even set foot on campus. We can do a lot to help them once they're here, but if we work smart beforehand, we can get them off to a strong start.

For example, we need to choose the right environment for students to thrive in and then maximize that time. This could mean homeschooling, charter school, or boarding school. Then, they need to try to take advantage of Advanced Placement (AP) courses to get college credit and also look into summer college programs that will help them to also get credit but more importantly understand what is going to be expected of them once they arrive on campus. Any of these ideas can be cost prohibitive, so try to find the most affordable options or see about scholarships to help defray the cost. Especially with AP courses, the upfront cost of textbooks and exams is still far less than the cost of multiple credits of tuition and a full semester of your time while at college. 

Once they're proper college students, we need to work to give them the highest level of support they need. The common buzz phrase, "meeting students where they're at", is about far more than figuring out if your office should get a Snapchat account. It means adapting your campus and services to the students' needs. This could take the shape of student success coaches, peer mentor guidance, financial assistance, emergency funds, or in the case of Paul Quinn College, dramatically reshape your entire campus life. 

There is never going to be a one size fits all approach to college success and student services. It all depends on the students you have and what they need. These are some generally applicable tips however, and I hope you find them useful.

There are a lot of choices one needs to make when it comes to their own schooling, much less our own children, or students we work with. We can make the most of the time that is given to us to prepare, then do what we must to ensure that all students have equal access to the resources they need to be successful. 

Student Life: Excel Doesn’t Always Have To Give You A Headache

If you are sick and tired of getting a headache every single time you open up MS Excel and you want to put an end to it then it’s now easier than ever for you to do so. Excel is a love-hate program. Some people are genuine wizards when it comes to using the software and others would rather sit in a corner and cry rather than open up the dreaded formula interface. If you are a student however then there is a high chance that you will need to learn how Excel works and you may even have to use it to complete your studies as well. For that reason, if you want some good reasons to learn Excel then take a look below.

Formulas are Important

Formulas will actually go on to help you in your career. If the word formula is enough to give you a migraine then you’ll be glad to know that there are plenty of VBA training classes available for you to choose from. This will help you to get an edge in a huge range of jobs, and it is a great way for you to enhance your already growing career prospects.

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Working Solutions

Formulas are also a great way for you to try and capture a working solution. For example, if you study science and you need to account for a ton of variables then formulas are a great way for you to do this and you can easily calculate almost anything you need in seconds. This can save you a ton of time when it comes to your studies and they are ideal if you have a bad memory because you can save the formulas for whenever you need them next.

Your Vision

Have you ever wanted to explain what you want to do, but you can’t seem to get it done? For example, you may want to work out how you are going to plan your budget for that month or even your expenses. This can be hard when you have a faulty calculator and an A3 pad of lined paper to hand. If you want to solve all of this then Excel can help. The best thing about Excel is that you can set it to automatically update your totals as you go along. When someone deducts something from the total, all you have to do is type it into Excel and the program will then work out the final amount for you in less than a second.

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Because Nobody is Good at Excel

When you are good at Excel, you can really help to increase your productivity and you can even get more value out of the work that you do. Businesses love productivity and it is a great way for you to earn some money on the side. For example, you could build formulas for people or you could even offer a tutoring service when it comes to Excel as well. If you can get good with formulas then this will open up a ton of doors for you, and it is a great way for you to really take advantage of everything that it has to offer.

Excel may not be the most-liked MS program out there, but as a student, it really is essential to your study and even your career.

Making Quick Cash in the New Year

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January is finally here, and most of us are taking our first steps towards fulfilling our New Year’s Resolutions. Now, many of us may be focusing on health and fitness, breaking bad habits, taking our first steps on the property ladder or moving our career forwards. But for many of us, our resolutions involve finances. After the busy Christmas period, hundreds of thousands of people across the nation have found themselves in debt from gift giving and celebrating. So we want to get ourselves out of the red and back into the black. But how can we do this without having to wait for the next payday to roll around? Well, you’ll be glad to hear that there are plenty of quick money making schemes out there that will allow you to make a little extra cash on the side of our usual income. This can go towards clearing credit cards, paying off finance plans, and generally helping us to get back into a more comfortable financial position. Here are a few for you to consider!

Day Trading

It’s surprising how few people seem to have heard of day trading. Especially considering it pays out so quickly! This really is one of the fastest ways to make a profit. So what actually is it? Well, day trading is defined as the buying and selling of a security in a single working day. While it can take place in any marketplace, foreign exchange markets and stock markets tend to be the most popular spaces for this kind of activity to take place. Now, if you look for “day trading” in any online search engine, you’ll come across pages of controversies and complicated anecdotes. This is because scam artists have recently capitalised on people’s lack of knowledge in the area by promising that they will make a fortune in turnovers in no time. Don’t buy into this. After all, if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is. When participating in day trading, you’re not going to earn enough to put a deposit down on a property, book an extended vacation and pay the kids through college within a single day. But you can make some relatively substantial returns! You just have to go into it with more of a realistic mindset. So, if you fancy getting started, take a look at investormint.com. Their article on the best online trading platforms will prove extremely beneficial as you get started out!

Participate in Paid Market Research

Sure, taking part in market research doesn’t tend to pay out big bucks each time. But if you complete a few different activities (such as surveys, focus groups, and interviews), the cash will mount up pretty quickly. Retail companies tend to do a lot of this type of work as the new year begins, as sales will lull after the big festive splurge and they will want to launch new products to get consumers spending again following the January sales. Look out for market research agencies and get your contact details on their books!

When it comes to clearing your debts, or stabilizing your finances, remember that things may take a little time and patience. But there are a few activities out there that will help you along the way!

Why You Can Rely On The Internet For Everything

These days, more than most people rely on the internet every day, and it’s completely normal too. With all of the resources it has to offer, why would you look anywhere else for things you want? You may argue that not everything you can find in stores will be online, you might be surprised that that’s really not the case at all. Even the most unique items can be found online, as you have access to the intellectual property of billions of people online. Just because you can’t find something online, doesn’t mean it’s not there; because the chances are, you can find it with the right knowledge.

Shopping around

If you know where to look, the internet can be really eye-opening. You never know what you’re going to find, as you have access to so much more than you would in your local town. Hopping around to different sites can really help you to find things you didn’t even know you wanted, whether it be a new item of clothing, or a gadget that you’d never even heard of. You may even find out about events going on that hasn’t been advertised anywhere else before, and suddenly you’re interested. Being able to order things on the spot is really useful, especially if the items are of limited time. Take event tickets, for example.

A lot of the time if you’re going to an anticipated event, the tickets will likely sell out at some point, which makes getting them now much more important. If you need to find out more about events you could be missing, you could look at sites like The Ticket Merchant to give you ideas of what you might like to do. A lot of people lack creativity and often don’t even consider such things until they see them. Seeing the opportunity can be what coaxes you into buying it, so look around and explore your options!

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Global news

Within ten seconds of being online, you can access the global news at any time of the day. Taking advantage of this can help you to stay in touch with the events going on in the world, and for some people, it’s extremely helpful for their occupation. It might be that you’re planning to go on holiday, and you want to check the news for that area to make sure your timing is right. You wouldn’t want to book a holiday to then find out there’s been a flood around your destination, so stay informed!

Second opinions

If you look online, you can find out about almost everything you want to know. An important thing to look into is reviews! If you’re thinking of investing into something expensive, you want to know that you receive what you’re expecting, so having a look into what everyone else has said about it can help you make that decision. Reviews are a generally good place to turn to if you’re not sure about a purchase, as you can get multiple opinions of what various people thought, allowing you to make an educated choice.

Reading Up: Bookish Ways To Improve Your Life

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When you’re a bookworm, there’s nothing quite like the idea of getting your hands on the next book in your favorite series, or cozying up with a new discovery that you picked up in a second-hand book shop. Reading can quite easily consume your life, and you wouldn’t want it any other way. But if you’re not much of an avid bookworm, but you do love to read, you may find that you could benefit from adding a little more literature into your life. Because reading is a really great way to better yourself.

There are many benefits of reading. But many say that it makes you smarter. So if you’re looking to improve yourself while at college, or at any point in your career, you should always look to books. However, that being said, you don’t have just to assume that you have to read textbooks or classics. Of course, they will help you to broaden your understanding of both literature and the world, but they’re not your only options. There are so many weird and wonderful ways that books and bookworm related ideas can help you to flourish. So, we’re going to talk through ten different bookish ways that you can improve your life.

Challenging Yourself

First up, we’re going to talk about those classics. Because they really should be read at some stage. Not every classic is going to appeal to you, but you will find that reading one or two will really help to open your eyes to words and literature, and inspire your mind too. If you’re new to reading the classics, or you want to push yourself, this classic books challenge could be exactly what you need to get inspired. Simply slotting in a classic every now and again should be enough for you to challenge yourself and benefit from some of the best literature the world has to offer.

Researching

And you really ought to consider picking up a nonfiction book every now and again if you want to grow. We’re not necessarily talking straight up textbooks here, but if you fancy flicking through one, give it a go. In general, if you commit to doing some kind of research within your reading, you’re going to improve your life. You’ll be learning, taking in new things, and broadening your understanding of a certain topic - and that can only ever be a good thing.

Reading The News

Now we’re going to talk about another form of reading you should commit to on a regular basis if you want to improve. Newspapers are still wildly relevant. Even if you tent to pick up snippets of world events on social media, don’t forget about the classic dailies and more in-depth broadsheets stuffed full of interesting articles and thought-provoking insight. Yes, you can get a lot of this online, but there’s nothing like a paper.

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Taking On Different Opinions

Similarly, what about reading a magazine or two? And we’re not talking the gossip rags or something about cars. Of course, feel free to take these in two if they’re what you really love. But, if you’re trying to push yourself with your reading, opt for something criticism or comment lead - every a literary magazine. These are the kind of options that are going to challenge you to think differently.

Learning A New Language

Maybe you’d like to take the idea of learning something new a step forward and opt for a new language? Although you may be used to this being taught in a lesson format, you can learn a new language by reading literature if you put your mind too it. And that’s always going to be something that’ll allow you to better yourself.

Discovering A New Interest

Perhaps you’re curious about one type of literature in particular, or even a topic in life? Reading can help you with this. Whether it’s reading up on literary fiction, or getting to know more about lakes, reading can certainly increase your interests. Sometimes, you never really know that you’re going to discover said new interest. So you have to be willing to pick up a book in order to access the opportunity at all.

Reading Up On The Past

And what about history? Are you fascinated by the fifties? Or have you always wanted to know more about the battle of Britain? Either way, reading is the best way to find out. After all, not only are there several texts written about historical events, with even more being published each year, there are titles that were written in history too. So you can get to know a topic via the words of someone that was around at the time.

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Escaping

But reading doesn’t just have to be about intellectual growth; it can aid in emotional growth too. Because sometimes, we all just need to escape. When that’s the case for you, you need to try something such as LitRPG books or even some romance. Anything that feels far enough away from your daily grind to give you some kind of escape as you read.

Increasing Your Knowledge

However, we can’t really ignore the fact that reading does really increase your intellect. Because as you read anything, you learn more. From new words to new ideas, it’s all something that we can absorb. So you should always look to have some kind if reading material with you, no matter what it is. When you do, and you commit to reading something each day, you will increase your knowledge. And as knowledge is power, this will always improve your life.

Teaching Yourself Something New

Finally, you could also use reading as a way of teaching yourself a new skill. Yes, you can learn things and discover new information, you can even teach yourself to speak a new language, but you can also gain practical skills when you read too. From woodwork to fishing, there’s a lot of skills that you could choose to teach yourself when you make more time for reading. So the world really is yours at the flick of a page.

Using Your Commute To Better Yourself

Who can honestly say that they like their commute? Commuting, is, unfortunately a part of life for most people, offering the same dreary drudgery on a daily basis. Time passes slowly, and your end destination is work. Instead of wasting your hours (and energy) lamenting the time spent getting to the office, why not use it as a time to better yourself? Your daily journey into work can actually be more valuable than you think, allowing you to get stuff done while also learning something new.

Image: Pexels

Why not use your morning commute to better yourself? Take a look at some of the ways to do this below.

Read

Yes, reading is a popular commuting pastime, but how often do you read as you travel to work? Reading broadens your horizons, and reading books that are relevant to your job or career can help make you work better and harder as well as help to fuel your passion for your career. Take a look at the top business books of 2017 and create yourself a new reading list to feed your brain in the mornings.

Listen to podcasts

Love listening to music or the radio in the mornings? Swap them for a podcast instead! A great podcast is a fantastic way to enjoy comment and debate and give you some food for thought. There are podcasts available on all sorts of topics from managing your life and career to light-hearted and comedic podcasts. While music is great for helping to relax you, a podcast can offer a more educational experience that will make your commute more enjoyable.

Study

Why not use your morning commute to do some informal study? Use your time to learn a language or develop your knowledge on a range of topics. One morning you could be learning more about the history of World War One on Wikipedia, the next you could be learning about Bitcoin gambling with BitcoinGambling101.com. Reading the news and interesting articles will help keep your brain active, giving your mind a good warm up before you get into the office for a day at work.

Take care of life admin

Do you always complain that you don’t have time to carry out basic jobs because of your busy work/social life? Stop whining and start doing. Your morning commute is the perfect time to pay bills, manage your savings, tackle your expenses - whatever needs doing that you don’t normally have time to do. Even if you can’t complete all your tasks during your morning commute, you can at least make a schedule of when you’re going to fit things in to start being more organized and in control.

Commuting may feel like a drag right now, but it doesn’t have to be. Start using that precious time to yourself in a more productive way that will pass the time while also bettering yourself. It’s a simple lifestyle change to make, but one that could offer many benefits. Who knows, you might even start wishing your commute was longer to fit even more in!

Keeping Your Finances Strong As A Student

Being a student has its ups and downs. On the whole, most people will find it to be a particularly enjoyable and enlightening experience. But that is not to say that there are never any difficulties; of course there are, and it is up to the student to learn to deal with them as well as possible. One of the major stresses of student life for most people is the financial side of things. It is notoriously hard keeping your finances in check when you are studying, so it’s worth taking a look at what you can do to improve it before you start. In this post, we are going to go through some of the most essential financial tips which a student can benefit from. Bear the following in mind, and you should be in a much better position with regard to your finances.

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Making The Most Of Benefits

There are many ways in which students do actually benefit from their particular lifestyle, and many examples of the society providing certain boons in a financial sense. It’s a good idea to get to know what benefits there are out there for you to take hold of, as doing so will ensure that you really are making the most of the situation you find yourself in. A good example is that when buying many goods on the high street, you can usually find student cards or discounts for students. You might as well make as much use of these as you can, as it all helps in keeping your finances in check. Similarly, you will be able to save money by not paying as much council tax - something that can usually be notoriously expensive. All of these things add up to make for a cheaper way of living - and you might find that it is absolutely essential to take advantage of them if you are to enjoy student life as much as possible.

Free Cash

It might seem like it’s too good to be true, but you can actually get hold of free cash in order to help your studies along. Whether or not you have already looked into this, it’s something you will want to consider if you are going to make the most of being a student. This money can come in many forms. Most commonly, it is in the form of a governmental or local grant - which usually means you won’t even need to pay it back. There are also examples of other, more specific grants for those studying certain courses or at particular institutions. As with everything, it is worth taking the time to check it out yourself so you can make sure you are getting all the money that is truly bowed to you. The money is there to be had, so you really may as well make the most of it. If you do, your life as a student will be considerably easier, and you will be able to focus more on the studies themselves, rather than spending your time worrying about money.

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Applying For A Scholarship

There is another kind of free money which you should look into, primarily because there is a good chance you can get it. If you apply for a scholarship, you can often have your way completely funded throughout your education - something which is bound to make a significant difference to your studies as well. Scholarships are not easy to come by, but when you get them they are notable for being a mark of distinction as well as making your life a lot easier. It’s worth at least trying to get one if you are serious about both your studies and your financial situation being as strong as possible. The right scholarship can really make all the difference.

The Right Bank Account

As a student, you are often entitled to a range of specifically student-focused bank accounts. These tend to offer a variety of benefits and characteristics which you might find useful. You might need an overdraft with a small interest rate, or maybe you just need to make sure that you will never have to pay to hold the account in question. Either way, student accounts are the way to go. Sometimes, you even get further gifts for signing up, which can be geared towards helping your studies in some way or another. Bear in mind, however, that you should spend your time and make sure you end up with the account that really is right for you. Otherwise you might find yourself stuck with an account which you should not really have, or which does not actually serve you all that well. This is a difficult situation which is hard to escape from. It’s best to really take your time when it comes to opening up your student bank account and do your research well; this is a skill you’re going to need once you’re at college proper, so why not start now? Make sure that every aspect of your life, work, and studying is going to be covered by the bank account you have picked; there are banks for students in California, for example, which clearly are going to suit some more than others. Other banks will offer online-only banking with fewer fees, or they will have branches you can assess and talk to a real person at. What do you need from a bank? Know that and you’re halfway there.

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Selling Back Your Belongings

You will often find that you no longer need some of your textbooks as you continue your study. For example, in your second year it is unlikely that you will need many of the texts from the first year. You can use this situation to put yourself in a better financial position just by selling those books on to someone else. There are many ways to do that - you can sell them locally or to a friend you have in the lower year. Or you could use a service like buybackexpress.com for more money to come rolling in. However you decide to do it, it is worth looking into. Books are likely to be your main expense, or one of them, and selling them on when you are done with them ensures that you are going to keep in the best financial position you possibly can. Of course, it can extend beyond just books - you can sell any old clothes or anything that you no longer want or need. You might be amazed at how much money you can bring in this way, so it is definitely worth doing.

Save On Travel

Wherever you study, chances are you are going to have to use public transport a lot to get around. Fortunately, this in itself is a great opportunity to save some money, as you can easily help yourself to one of the many travel cards that abound. If you live in a big city, it’s likely that such a scheme does exist, and it’s definitely worth making use of it. Be sure to look out for specifically student-related cards, as these might save you even more money in the long run, and you might as well. But even just using an ordinary travel card will help you to save money overall, so it’s always worth looking into.

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Budget Your Loans

If you are going to be receiving loans for studying, then you will need to make sure that you are sensible with them. It can be tempting as a student to spend it all at once, but you want to avoid this trap if you are going to live as well as possible. You need to learn the basic act of budgeting, something which is relatively easy as long as you have patience and some basic skills in arithmetic. As long as you work out exactly how much money you will need and how to spend what where, you can be sure of being much more sensible with your money. That will mean that your loans last you as long as they are meant to, which will make the student life much less stressful on the whole. Learning to budget can make a huge difference to how well you live, and how successfully you live life as a student in particular.

Save On Energy

Wherever you live, you are going to want to make sure that you are not overpaying for the energy supply. One of the first things to do, therefore, is to make sure that you are with the cheapest supplier you can find. This is a simple matter of using a comparison service to ensure that you have chosen the right one. It might not seem like much of a difference at first, but over the space of a year it really can make a huge difference to your finances, so it’s definitely worth looking into if you are serious about looking after your money as well as you can. Saving on energy is one of the most central things here, and you should make sure that you are doing it right if you want to save money.

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Cooking From Scratch

It is often during higher education that many people learn to properly cook for the first time. You will soon enough learn that cooking from scratch is definitely better. Not only does it taste better, is more enjoyable and skilful, but it also means that you will spend less money on food. This is a fact, and it’s one that you should make the most of if you are keen to be in the best possible financial situation. Cooking form scratch, buy your food in bulk, and you will be well on your way to financial success as a student.