School Solutions – Trellis Company

Student Information

Money Tips for College Students

Get to know your college and how to utilize the services

From small community colleges to large universities, many campuses offer helpful resources for new and returning students. Even adult students can benefit from campus resources!

You can start by figuring out where all the following resources are:

Health services office.
Career services office.
Dining halls.

Financial aid office.
Academic advising office.
Tutoring services and academic assistance.

These campus resources exist to help you succeed, and they can help you save a little money along the way!

At your financial aid office, you can ask trained financial aid officers about scholarships and grant opportunities you may qualify for to find more “free money” and be less dependent on borrowing.

Financial aid officers can also get information on available work-study programs, along with any current student loans you may have or any you are thinking about taking out.

Your academic advisor can help you map out your college career and find the degree you’re most interested in. Additionally, your advisor can help you figure out what classes to take and when to take them if you’re a working student. If you are considering dropping a class, your academic advisor can provide you with the pros and cons and what it could mean financially.

If your school doesn’t have career counselors, your academic advisor may also be able to help guide you through career questions.

Tutors and other members of your school’s academic support staff are there to help you when you need extra instruction.

If your school provides tutors, use them! They can help you maintain your grades and keep any academic merit scholarships you’ve earned.

Many times, you’ll need to make satisfactory academic progress (SAP) to keep receiving financial aid. In fact, it’s a requirement for federal financial aid.

If you have access to campus health services, use them! It will likely be cheaper to go to a doctor on campus than an outside one.

Many costs of these health services are already covered by your tuition and fees, so it doesn’t make much sense to go elsewhere unless absolutely necessary. Don’t spend more money on something you’ve already paid for!

Maybe you’re thinking, “I don’t need to think about my career yet. It’s only my first semester! I’ll worry about all that later.”

Think again. While you want to make a smart choice, it’s never too early to start thinking about your career plan in college.

If your school provides career counseling, meeting with a career counselor can help you set your career goals and figure out how to reach them.

If you have a meal plan, use it. Again: don’t spend money on things you’ve already bought!
Make sure you know about all the dining halls you’re covered by if you purchased a meal plan. Most universities have several dining halls. Knowing which one is closest to you can save both time and money.

Budgeting and tracking your money in college helps you stay on top of your finances so you can avoid unnecessary borrowing. For example, budgeting helps you know basics like:

How much money you have.
Where it comes from and when.
Where you need to spend it.
How much you need to spend and when.

A simple budget can help you track necessary expenses (housing, food, transportation, tuition) and the not-so-necessary ones (ordering pizza, going out with friends, vacationing).

Managing your cash flow (when money comes in and when your bills are due) can help you decide when you can spend money and what you can spend it on.

Together, budgeting your money and managing your cash flow help you prioritize your spending and ensure you don’t spend more money than you have.

Budgets come in many shapes and sizes.

It’s often best to start with a basic one and then add over time. You can separate your budget into days, weeks, or even pay periods (if you’re a working student).

Track all your income sources

To figure out how much money you can dish out, you must know how much is coming in.

Track all the money you receive each week, month, or whatever period of time works best for you. This includes money from your job, financial aid, and/or parents.

Figure out what your expenses are and when you need to pay them.

This includes regular, periodic, or one-time essentials.

Some expenses to start your budget with include:

Housing and rent.
Groceries.
Transportation costs, like gas and insurance for your car if you have one, or public transit costs.
Textbooks, tuition, and fees.
Credit card or loan payments.
All the non-essential spending on things like entertainment, restaurants, drinks, and similar stuff.

Compare your income to your expenses

Comparing income to expenses can provide some visibility into where you’re spending your money and if you’re spending more than your income.

If your expenses are higher than your income, try to reduce what you spend on non-essentials. That’s usually a good place to start.

And if possible, it’s good to have some money at the end of each month for to put toward savings for unexpected expenses. Even a little bit each month goes a long way!

If you’ve tried all these things and still have more money going out than coming in, talk to your financial aid office about your specific situation to see about additional school aid that may be available.

Cash flow management is all about timing income and expenses, so they overlap in your favor. It helps keep your finances in good working order.

You want to make sure you have enough money in your bank account to pay bills, especially if you have them set to pay out of your bank account automatically.

For regular income and expenses, cash flow planning is straightforward and can be set up on a schedule. Managing non-regular income and expenses requires more thought.
For example, if you are counting a financial aid refund as income, and it covers part of your living expenses, you may need to set aside enough money to last until your next financial aid check arrives. In this situation, it’s even more important to have a handle on your budget so you know how much to set aside.

Here are some key tips for great cash flow management:

Establish a base amount for your bank account

Only go below this amount in emergencies. This helps prevent overdraft or other bank fees.

Use your budget to identify when you get paid and when bills are due each month

With money coming and going all the time, this can help you understand what your daily balance will be in your bank account.

Include income and expenses that don’t happen monthly

This helps you prepare for non-regular expenses, and it helps you remember how and why some months were more prosperous than others.

Buy and pay for things on a schedule or at different periods each month

It can require some discipline to wait and make your impulse buys later (or not at all), but you must take care of your essential expenses first.

Here is the comprehensive link to FSA’s calculator: studentaid.gov/loan-simulator.

School Information

Get notified whenever a default aversion assistance request is filed on a Trellis Company-guaranteed loan. A school may make a blanket request to be notified whenever any of their current or former FFELP loan borrowers are the subject of a default aversion assistance request (DAAR).

Upon receipt of this request, Trellis Company will notify the school or school’s agent of the lender’s request for default aversion assistance. There is no charge to the school or school’s agent for this notification. The information provided on the report is derived directly from DAAR updates received from lenders and servicers. If your school has implemented a default management program, these reports may be valuable to you.

Need help or want more information?

If you are interested in receiving a report that lists your current and former students’ delinquencies, please contact Trellis Company by emailing TrellisHelps@trelliscompany.org.