The cost of college seems to be on everyone’s minds now more than ever.
Petitions circulate the Internet calling for the forgiveness of all student loans. President Barack Obama altered the Federal Direct Loan Program and Federal Family Education Loan to offer relief to student borrowers.
Just this week, the College Board announced that the average in-state tuition of four-year public universities increased 8.3 percent.
Last April, the Arizona Board of Regents approved a tuition and fee increase of 12-20 percent for the three public universities in 2011, and The Los Angeles Times reports that tuition for Arizona’s three state schools is increasing at one of the fastest rates in the country, only second to California.
While costs to attend ASU soar, students must make sure their benefit of attending ASU increases in lockstep. Managing your time is essential to getting the most out of your college tenure.
Too often, we think managing time means simply having an organized schedule. This is only one step to managing time in a way that gets the most out of what students are paying to attend ASU.
A class schedule needs to be carefully crafted to make sure that students not only go to class, but that they also give proper time and attention to the material and assignments for any given class.
It is also important to ensure that a schedule is arranged to allow a healthy balance of “college life” as well.
Now, more than ever, students are taking more than four years to complete a supposed four-year degree. According to the National Center for Educations Statistics, 45 percent of college graduates in 2009 that continuously attended full-time took longer than four years to complete their “four-year degree.”
Those extra years of tuition can really start to add up. According to Judith Scott Clayton, an assistant professor at the Teachers College at Columbia University, wrote for The New York Times, that the need for more time may have a lot to do with underclassmen’s inability to enroll in classes they need to graduate thanks to overcrowding.
However, students can still use organized time management skills to help complete their degree in as little time as possible. For example, registration appointments for the ASU spring semester began on Oct. 24.
Make sure you know the earliest moment you can register for classes and schedule it in your calendar. This will give you the best chance of getting the classes you need.
Also, while it may be tempting to take only 12 credits a semester — the minimum required to be considered full-time — it is more efficient to take more than this since in most degree programs extra credit hours do not cost more. This also moves you closer to graduation at a quicker pace.
Keeping stress levels in check is important, but by staying organized and planning the semester carefully, this is possible. A well-planned schedule can minimize the burden that extra classes provide.
Finally, taking the time to seek advice from older students in your program and an academic advisor can help you stay on-track and graduate within four years.
Extra time and planning now can helps save students the thousands of dollars of an extra semester or year of tuition.
Reach the columnist at emily.muller@asu.edu
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