Advising is not only important for making next semester the best experience possible, it can also affect your student loan balance for years to come.

By carefully deciding on the proper major and taking classes at a rate that allows you to graduate on time, you avoid having to pay for another costly semester or even year. That keeps your tuition bill lower, and for most people, that means less borrowing.

Since student loans normally take several years to pay off, staying on track academically can shorten the number of payments or reduce the amount of those payments for years to come.  And, staying on track academically starts with advising and reflection.

It’s the same at colleges everywhere, although Consumer Reports (August 2016 edition, p. 36) notes that smaller private colleges can be cheaper than flagship state schools after considering the ample scholarships that smaller private schools award.

So, lay out your path for this semester, summer school and the upcoming years. Let your advisers know what they can do to help.

 

Valrie Chambers, Ph.D., professor of accounting, and Betty Thorne, Ph.D., professor of statistics and the Christian R. Lindback Chair of Business Administration, write Financial Fridays to bolster students’ financial wellness including preventing financial mistakes, safeguarding their assets and identity, and thinking critically about financial decisions.