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3 Tips for Managing your Finances as a College Student

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How are things going for you financially? Don’t worry, we won’t judge, we know it’s not easy! Are you doing well with your finances? That’s great! This blog post probably isn’t for you. However, if you think you could use some extra help with managing your money or are just interested in the topic, keep reading! Today we’ll be discussing 3 ways to better manage your finances as a college student.

Quick View:

  • Set a budget & track your spending
  • Open a savings account
  • Get a part-time job
For more information, Keep reading…
Set a Budget & Track your Spending

This is the easiest step any college student can take to help manage their finances. Setting a budget can help you to avoid those tough decisions between a Saturday night out or whether you get to eat dinner on Wednesday night. While it may seem like a pointless thing to do when you have exams, homework, extracurriculars, and Tik Tok to focus on, setting a budget is a great skill to develop early on in your college career. The fact of the matter is, there aren’t classes that teach you how to set a budget and yet it’s likely something you will do in some capacity for the majority of the rest of your life. It may sound scary, but setting a budget can be really simple with a couple of tools. What tools your ask? A computer with Excel and a calculator (or phone) will work perfectly! Open up an excel workbook and begin listing out all of your monthly expenses. Rent, tuition, books, utilities, groceries, car payments, gas, or anything else you spend your money on each month. 

Once you’ve listed out these items, it’s a good idea to organize your excel sheet as best as you can. Depending on your skills with excel, you can get pretty creative with this or you can keep it as a simple list. Then, in a separate area, input your monthly income and see how the numbers equate out. How much money do you have leftover? Are you in the red for this month? If so, take a look at your spending and see where you can make adjustments. Having your spending laid out in an excel sheet allows you to track your spending and make adjustments accordingly so that you can go out on that Saturday night and not feel guilty about it! We recommend doing this each month to see the change over time. 

Open a Savings Account

I know that this may seem scary, but it’s a good idea to start a savings account early. While we may want to use our hard-earned cash on ourselves first, then our bills, and lastly, maybe save a little bit, that’s not a great strategy! It’s a good habit to get into, to pay your bills, contribute to your savings, and then use what’s leftover on yourself. Building these habits now will only benefit you further after graduation. Now that you have a budget in place, you can easily use it as a guide to see where you can limit your spending to contribute more to your savings. Spending a lot on gas? Try using a bike, public transportation, or the Bearline to get to class instead. Computer busted and need a new one? Look into refurbished ones rather than brand new ones. Grocery shopping? Try to avoid the higher-priced, name-brand items and opt for the cheaper ones. There are a lot of different ways to help contribute more money to your savings while attending college. 

Get a Part-Time Job

This is our personal favorite way to better manage your finances! There are so many benefits to working while attending college. Check out our blog post about The Top 5 Benefits of Working While in College to learn more about this! Having a part-time job while in school is not only a great boost to your wallet, but it can be a great resume builder. If you are able to find a job that pertains to your career, you can gain relevant work experience and some extra cash at the same time! What’s better than that? Over the summer months, it’s also a great idea to take advantage of that time (assuming you aren’t taking classes through the summer.) If you can land a paid internship opportunity that great! If not, any part-time or full-time job will be a great way to return to school with some extra cash. If you need assistance applying to or looking for jobs, visit our website or give a call! The Student Employment Office is here to assist you in any way we can in regards to employment while you are attending Missouri State University.

 

What is the Work-Study Program?

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Have you ever heard the term “Work-Study” thrown around by classmates or friends? Have you ever wondered what it is or how it works? Well, we’re going to clear up any confusion regarding the work-study program today!

Quick View:

  • If you qualify for the Pell Grant, you likely qualify for the Work-Study program. 
  • You can use our federal Work-Study calculator below to see how many hours per week you can work.
  • The Work-Study Waitlist opens on August 1st at 7:00 am. The waitlist works on a first-come, first-serve basis.
For more information, Keep reading…
What is the Work-Study Program and Do I Qualify?

The Work-Study program is a method of funding for student employees. On-Campus Jobs, located on our website can require two different types of student status. “Work-Study required” or “Work-Study optional”. Anybody can apply to and land a Work-Study optional position. On the other hand, only people that qualify for the Work-Study program can apply to and land the Work-Study required positions. So, how do you know if you qualify for work-study you ask? There are a few requirements you must meet. 

You must…

  • Have filed a FAFSA for the current academic year, so that we can ensure there is a financial need that has not been met.
  • You must be enrolled in at least 6 credit hours per semester in the Fall and Spring. During the summer you must be in a minimum of 3 credit hours.
  • You must maintain a 2.0 GPA.
  • Work-Study funds must be available, if they are unavailable at the time, you can sign up for our waitlist (see next section).
  • Unfortunately, Graduate students and International students are not eligible for Work-Study.

Another good thing to note is that your Work-Study eligibility is determined by your financial need from your FAFSA results. Students who qualify for a Pell Grant may qualify for the Work-Study program. So, if you’re reading this to figure out if you qualify, check your financial aid records and if you have qualified for, or received a Pell Grant and fulfill all the requirements above, then you likely qualify for Work-Study! Work-study students are paid through federal funding that is allocated to the university. With all of that being said, it is important to know that the Work-Study program does not work as a grant or a loan but rather as a regular job. You will be paid for the hours you work each pay period. While it’s, of course, an option, you are not required to use your earned money towards your tuition. You can use your earnings in any way you need to. Food, housing, gas, books, those jeans you’ve had your eye on that are finally on sale! 

Why Work-Study? 

You may be asking yourself, “why do some positions require work-study qualified students, while others don’t?” That’s because some departments on-campus don’t have the budget to pay a student employee out of their own pockets, but they have plenty of work to go around. This is where work-study comes into play. Work-Study allows the department to hire student employees and pay them without going outside of their departmental budget constraints. 

Let’s discuss the number of hours that Work-Study student employees are allowed to work. The student’s hours are limited by the amount of the work-study award and cannot exceed 1,000 hours in any given 12 month pay period. That means that depending on how much your work-study award is worth, you will be able to calculate how many hours a week you can work. You can find more information about this on our website but here is a simple breakdown. 

To find out how many hours per week you can work to fully maximize your work-study funding, use the formula below. 

Take the award amount and divide that by the number of weeks you plan on working during the academic year, and then divide that by your hourly pay rate. This will get you your allowable hours per week. Example below: 

Award Amount: $3,500 Weeks to Work: 33 Pay Rate: $10.30

$3,500 / 33 Weeks / $10.30 = 10 hours per week

Work-Study Waitlist? 

Have you heard of the ‘Work-Study Waitlist”? This is a question we often get in our office. If you qualify for work-study funding and you did not receive it on your financial aid awards, you can sign up for the work-study waiting list. The link to sign up is located on your My Missouri State menu under the financial aid section. Work-study waitlist funding is awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis as it becomes available. It’s important to take care of these items as soon as possible so that you can be near the top of the waitlist and get a job as soon as possible! The waitlist opens on August 1st at 7:00 am, if you qualify for Work-Study and want to get a job on-campus, be sure to be one of the first people to sign up for the waitlist. For more information about the Work-Study waitlist, visit our website! Image of the Work-Study Waitlist located on the Student section of the My Missouri State Webpage.

We hope this helped to clear up any confusion you had about the Work-Study program. We understand that it is a complicated system that not many students understand. We are always happy to help if you have questions. Feel free to visit our website, give us a call, or come by the office! (Shannon, room 113)

Step by Step Guide: Applying for a Job Through the Student Employment Website

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Have you ever applied for a job through the Student Employment Website? Have you ever tried but got confused and gave up? Well, you’re in luck because we’re about to break it down for you. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to apply for a job through the Missouri State Student Employment website. 

 

Quick View:

  • Visit: www.Missouristate.edu/Studentemp
  • Click the “Find a job button” 
  • Navigate the job portal 
  • Find your perfect job
  • Apply to the perfect job
  • Wait….
  • Get hired!

 

For more information, keep reading…

 

Step 1: Visit: www.Missouristate.edu/Studentemp 

This is step one. Open up a web browser of your choosing and type in www.Missouristate.edu/studentemp. Or if you would like, just go ahead and click that link. Once you are on our website, you should see the words “Student Employment Services” and a photo of a gentleman riding a bicycle across the brick bear head located on campus. If you see this then you’re in the right place. 

 

Step 2: Navigating the website

This just might be the easiest step. You will want to scroll down and click on the button that says “Find a Job”. Simple as that.

 

Step 3: Navigating the Jobs Portal

Once you click on “Find a Job” it will take you to the jobs portal. When this page is pulled up, you will see different filtering options. You can filter jobs for position type, department, location, keywords, and time posted. We would recommend using the “position type” filter and choosing students, as well as the “location” filter, and choose whether you’re interested in on-campus or off-campus employment. Be sure to select your campus. If you attend Missouri State in Springfield, choose the Springfield campus. If you attend Missouri State in West Plains or Mountain Grove, be sure to select the correct campus location. 

 

Step 4: Finding the right job for you

Now that you have your search narrowed, you can begin scrolling and look through the jobs that are currently available. Be sure to click on each listing that interests you to learn more about the position. You’ll find information such as hours, department, pay rate, qualifications, and more. Also, be sure to pay attention to the “Student Status” section of the job listing. Some jobs require students to qualify for the Work-Study program. To learn more about whether or not you qualify for work-study click here. Now that you found your dream student job, let’s apply!

 

Step 5: Applying to a job

Now that you’ve found a job that you want to apply to, let’s apply! In the top right corner of the job listing page, there will be a button that says “Apply for this job”. You’re going to click on that button. Once you click on that, it will bring up a screen asking you to log into your account. If this is the first job that you are applying to through our website, then you’ll want to go ahead and create an account. You can do this by clicking the “create an account” tab on the left-hand side. Please note, this is different from your My Missouri State login. Once you have your account created, you can then begin filling out the application! 

Most applications follow the same format but the required information may differ depending on the job that you’re applying to. The information that you’ll be asked to enter is Personal Information, which are basic things such as name, major, GPA, etc… The next page is applicant documents. This is where you will submit any documents requested from the employer such as a resume, cover letter, references, or certifications. After that, you’ll move onto the previous employment & skills section where you will submit your previous employment experiences and any skills you may have. The last 5 sections of the application process consist of submitting references, your availability and schedule, supplemental questions that the employer may have, and lastly the voluntary identification, disability, and veteran forms. Once you have completed these steps you can then review your application for errors and submit it!

 

Step 6: Now we wait…

Now that you have submitted your application, the ball is in the employer’s court. It usually takes anywhere from 1 to 2 weeks for employers to get back to potential candidates. That is a great time for you to prepare for an interview should you get called back. Learn about the department or business as well as the people that work there. Come up with questions you can ask and ideas you can present. Jobs are won and lost during interviews!

 

So now you know how to apply for a job through our website! Why don’t you go head on over to www.Missouristate.edu/studentemp and apply today!

The Top 5 Benefits of Working While in College

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Are you considering getting a job while attending college? Here are the top five reasons you should get one! 

Quick View:

  • You’ll learn critical time management skills
  • Gain professional work experience
  • Expand your network
  • Improve your grades
  • Fill your pockets – make some extra cash
For more information, Keep reading…

 

Financially, college can be a taxing experience. Yes…that was a finance pun… Student Loans, suffering bank accounts, and most importantly, nightly trips to Taco Bell. While this may not be everyone’s experience, it is common and some would question if you even lived the college experience if these were never your reality. Some students found a wonderful loophole in this lifestyle. The loophole is super secretive and isn’t something that a lot of people know about. It’s called getting a job. Working while you are in school has many benefits other than just earning yourself a nice little paycheck. Having a job as a student can teach time-management skills, provide professional work experience, help to expand your network, increase your grades, and most importantly, put a little extra cash in your pocket. 

 

Time Management Skills

Having time management skills as a student is critical. Being able to balance your class schedule, homework, activities, and sleep can be very difficult. I’m sure at this point you’re thinking “well throwing a job into the mix isn’t going to help”. While you may be right, there are a lot of ways to fit a job into your schedule that will allow you to strengthen your time management skills and allow you to balance those other factors more efficiently. One of the beauties of having a job is the amount of flexibility you can have. You get to pick where you want to work, so if you want to work part-time, you can do that. Find an employer that is very flexible with hours. In a college town like Springfield, employers understand that student’s lives are crazy, they will work with you. Once you land that job and begin working, you will then be able to set up a more structured schedule for yourself and when your schedule becomes more structured, your time becomes better managed. 

 

Professional Work Experience

Getting professional work experience is the name of the game for most college students these days. In many industries, companies are looking right over that GPA on your resume and moving their eyes down to your past work experience. While internships and service-learning are great opportunities, why not get a steady paycheck while gaining experience? There are plenty of departments hiring on campus here at Missouri State and even more hiring off campus! Chances are, you can find a job that applies to your future career that would strengthen your resume and put some money in your pocket. 

 

Expand Your Network

While many people believe that networking can only occur at career fairs and off-campus expositions, plenty of networking can be done right on campus. Many departments on campus have more connections to jobs after college than one might think. Working in one of those departments and doing a great job can be a great way for your boss to recognize your work ethic and bring you up in conversation about job opportunities. Not to mention you have earned yourself another reference for your resume. Before you look into that exposition that’s 500 miles away, stop and think about getting a job somewhere on campus that would allow you to greatly expand your network. Working somewhere such as your campus’s career center or in a department that pertains to your major might be some good places to start.

 

Improving Your Grades

I know what you’re thinking. How can having a job that is going to take more time out of my schedule and take away from my study time, help me improve my grades? Well here is your answer. Writer for CNBC Abigail Hess wrote an article covering this topic and found that students that work part-time jobs have a higher average GPA than non-working students. While the numbers are small, with part-time employed students averaging a 3.13 GPA and non-working students averaging a 3.04, there is a significant correlation between the higher GPA and being employed. However, Hess also found that students working full-time (more than 20 hours per week) averaged a significantly lower GPA of 2.95. Many jobs on campus may come with downtime that allows student employees to work on homework or other tasks. While this may not be encouraged by some employers, there are many around campus that allow it. Overall, working part-time can help you improve your GPA, so what are you waiting for? Visit our website www.missouristate.edu/studentemp to apply today!

 

Fill Your Pockets 

While most jobs you will find as a college student probably won’t be able to fully support you financially, they do offer a nice little stream of income that can come in handy. Whether it’s groceries, transportation, or impulse buying online, all college students have personal expenses. Your income from your part-time job as a student can be a great way to support that spending. You could also put your income towards student loans. I don’t want to tell you how to spend your money, but it does come in handy to have a little extra cash in your back pocket. 

 

Working as a college student comes with many benefits, while it will take up time in your schedule, and probably won’t be the most exciting job you have ever had, it does come with many benefits. Time management skills, professional experience, networking, improved grades, and extra cash are our top five reasons why you should get a job as a student, but maybe you have other reasons. Are you already a student employee? What are your reasons for working as a student? Let us know! 

 

Are you a Missouri State student looking to get a job? Click here to view all of the current on and off-campus job listings! https://www.missouristate.edu/studentemp/