How to Be a Financially Savvy College Student & Advice for International Students

If you are an international student or parent, or anyone who wants to cut costs in college, you won’t want to miss last week’s episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation. Guest host Sally Ganga had experts on hand to talk about the many aspects of college admissions and enrollment for international students, and she welcomed a recent and gainfully employed college graduate, who shared some fantastic college cost-saving advice with our listeners. Advice for International Students Applying for College in the USA Sally’s first guest was Karen Karidoyanes, Director of International Admissions at Bentley University in Boston. Karen offered international students valuable advice about how to progress through their high school years and summers to prepare for admission to American colleges and universities. She shared insights about how to research colleges and prepare successful essays, and discussed the importance of college visits and showing “demonstrated interest” in colleges. During her conversation with Sally, she also gave some great examples of both bad and good college essays—you won’t want to miss them! Sally’s next guest, Christine Lookner (also from Bentley), is their Director of Center for International Students and Scholars. She stressed the importance of assessing the culture and fit of an institution when visiting, and offered suggestions for what international students can look for during those college visits. She also encouraged international students to take full advantage of support services and extracurricular activities to maximize their college experience. She and Sally agreed—engaged students, no matter where they’re from, are more successful students! How to Be a Financially Savvy College Student Finally, Sally welcomed Candace Ng, who was recently featured as a financially savvy millennial in an article on bankrate.com. Candace is a special education teacher in Massachusetts who made it through her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programs with only $3,000 in student loan debt, which she paid off before her grace period ended! Candace offered our listeners some wonderful tips on how to save money in college, including some advice about the best work study jobs, how to pay less for text books, and even some ideas about how to have fun for less money. She concluded the segment with thoughts on the financial challenges of transitioning to college (very relevant for the Class of 2017 who are headed off in the next few weeks). Don’t forget to join us for our next episode when guest host Ian Fisher and his guests will explore the inner workings of the Swarthmore admissions office, talk about starting your college essay, and discuss the financial aid implications of having grandma or grandpa helping to pay for college.