First Time Student Loan Borrower?
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:45:37-04:00You'll Need to Do This. What is the Entrance Counseling? In July of 2016, the U.S. Department of Education made it a requirement that, in order to have [...]
The ABC’s of 529 Savings Plans FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:19:26-04:00What 529 Pays When you decide to have kids, your first thought is not how am I going to pay for college, but it might be your second. I made a decision [...]
Fix it! Repair is Better than New
Michelle Balaun2019-07-13T18:42:55-04:00Repair Shops Car, scooter or bike, oh my! At FSU, you will find all in large numbers. Talk to any student about which is the most useful at FSU and you [...]
Retail Therapy
Michelle Balaun2019-09-09T11:18:23-04:00A Little Retail Therapy There is plenty of shopping in Tallahassee and although your student is up there for school, there is always something that he o [...]
Banks and Credit Unions at FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:16:10-04:00Many Places to Grab Money, Banks Galore! Leaving for college comes with so many new things, but handling their own money can be one of the scariest. We [...]
FAFSA
Michelle Balaun2019-08-06T17:33:59-04:00First Applicants Find Substantial Assets, of course! FAFSA is the national Free Application for Federal Student Aid but, based on how aid is distributed [...]
Planning to Sublease an Apartment at FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:15:29-04:00The Supply is Greater Than the Demand, Here's How to Sublease Have U Heard that when a student moves into an off-campus apartment they generally sign a [...]
Florida Prepaid
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:05:44-04:00What Does Prepaid Pay For? Many of us who have lived in Florida, planned for our students’ education by taking advantage of the Florida Prepaid program. [...]
Money, Money, Money
Michelle Balaun2019-07-22T14:27:22-04:00When Does Financial Aid Get Disbursed? The time has come to pay for your college costs and panic sets in. Time to pony up the money! I remember receivin [...]
What to Get Dad on a Limited Budget
Michelle Balaun2019-04-15T14:34:26-04:00Don't Forget About Dear Old Dad! My sister and I are daddy’s girls but not in the way you would think. We grew up playing sports and having him as our [...]
Accepted
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T18:41:05-04:00Have you been Accepted? Acceptances come out for FSU on January 31st for those that applied and provided all supporting documentation by November 1, 201 [...]
Tax Time
Michelle Balaun2019-07-21T10:25:47-04:00What Month Is It Anyway? April 15th is right around the corner. As you are preparing your return or having a CPA prepare your return, do not forget to [...]
Home Sweet Dorm
Michelle Balaun2019-09-12T11:32:25-04:00Dorm-o-rama! You may be surprised at how one can transition a mass-produced, industrial-looking dorm room into a warm and inviting room/suite. And there [...]
Credit Cards for College Students
Michelle Balaun2019-08-19T10:39:42-04:00What Every Student Should Know Recently I told my daughter to go pay something with a check. She responded by asking me if she had those somewhere. She [...]
Get on The Bus
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:58:39-04:00A Guide to FSU Bus System It can be tiring and time-consuming to find parking around campus, but FSU offers free student transit options that allow indi [...]
Interning in New York City
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:04:08-04:00Who doesn’t want to live in New York City? Ok, I am a little partial. I love New York. I am a born and bred New Yorker, living in S. Florida for 25 plus [...]
Teaching Them to Budget
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:33:12-04:00My Best Budget Advice as a Parent Three times the charm. Well, I suppose that isn’t fair; all three of my kids are charming and adorable. The difference [...]
Care Packages- Because Sometimes They Get Sick
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T17:05:51-04:00Close the distance with some long-distance love. I don’t know about you, but when they call to say they are sick the miles between home and school seem [...]
Budget 101
Michelle Balaun2019-03-06T17:40:28-04:00The Money Talk At orientation we were inundated with information about all sorts of things; from FAFSA forms to meal plans. No one ever really elaborate [...]
What U Should Do Before Heading to FSU
Michelle Balaun2018-08-02T13:43:28-04:00Before you leave Before you leave to take your kid to college, there are a few items you will want to take care of that are extremely important. Most co [...]
First in Family?
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:40:46-04:00Are you first? FSU C.A.R.E. program may be worth applying to... Sending your child off to college is exciting. Sending your child that will be the first [...]
An Insider’s Guide to Living on Campus FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-29T17:28:28-04:00Here is what you need to know! You can certainly read about the dorms and where to live on campus on the FSU Housing pages, but we asked our interns for [...]
What Not to Bring
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T17:48:40-04:00No, you don't need that! If you haven’t started shopping for your incoming freshman yet, whether for things for their dorm or clothes; well, then, we ar [...]
Bright Futures
Michelle Balaun2019-07-02T13:26:16-04:00The Future Is So Bright You'll Need Shades! SEE END OF BLOG FOR CHANGES EFFECTIVE WITH THE 2020-2021 ACADEMIC SCHOOL YEAR Bright Futures has been a grea [...]
Books, Books, Books
Michelle Balaun2019-07-06T13:00:12-04:00Reality Starts, Books, and more Books! Now that our sons and daughters are settled at college the reality begins (not ours, which happened to me the sec [...]
The Next Four Years
Michelle Balaun2019-04-15T14:29:09-04:00Have you begun practicing your Tomahawk chop yet? If you have a student ready to spend the next four years at FSU and plan to visit, you best get your [...]
GAP Year
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:31:59-04:00Should Your Student Take a Gap Year Off Before Graduate School? I remember when I started graduate school and on the first day of class, we were assigne [...]
Food for Thought
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:33:57-04:00No Student Hungry Much like the national campaign No Kid Hungry®, there are many students at colleges throughout the United States that are barely getti [...]
Working While Attending College FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T18:47:35-04:00Need a job? Working it! Some students have to work to pay for college, some consider their school work their only job and fortunately don’t have to fin [...]
Beauty and the Beast
Michelle Balaun2019-04-22T09:50:45-04:00Beauty & The Beast When planning for college, we rarely think about the fact that our kids may still have to visit hair salons and barbershops or ge [...]
Off-Campus Living – Apartments
Michelle Balaun2019-09-07T14:03:36-04:00…Economical to Extravagant, Apartments Galore It happens before you know it. Literally. In about October of your student’s freshman year, he/she most li [...]
Being Thrifty
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:55:41-04:00When You Need to be Thrifty and Stay on Budget With the never-ending date functions and themed events, buying something at the full retail price can lea [...]
Favorite Apartment Rentals
Michelle Balaun2019-09-02T13:46:47-04:00Here are our most favorite apartment tips on rentals. Rentals, it is the future. Not one of my kids or their friends stayed in the dorms beyond their fr [...]
Student Jobs
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T18:37:49-04:00Some students have to work to pay for college. Some consider their school work their only job and fortunately don’t have to find work outside their stud [...]
The Best Apps For Students
Michelle Balaun2019-09-02T14:02:39-04:00FSU and College Studying Apps Remember when you were in college and everything was easily accessible via apps on your phone? No? Well, me either. Our ki [...]
Health Insurance
Michelle Balaun2019-06-04T19:22:35-04:00Get clear on all the health plans. Students at many colleges today must have a health insurance plan that meets their university’s minimum requirement. [...]
Auxiliary Fees for Online Classes
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T15:39:53-04:00Who Pays for Auxiliary Fees for Online Classes? There is no denying that college tuition, itself, is a huge expense; however, on top of the cost, Have u [...]
Types of Student Loans
Michelle Balaun2019-07-20T16:34:57-04:00What are your options? When I attended school back in 1979, my Dad had four of us in college at the same time. It was through student loans that my pare [...]
Dropping A Class at FSU
Michelle Balaun2019-07-29T14:45:02-04:00Class Drop Deadline at FSU I’m not sure which class it was, business calculus or accounting, but the horror stories were coming true. When my son called [...]
Eating on a Budget is More Than Just Ramen
Michelle Balaun2019-06-06T12:34:10-04:00Some students actually keep to a budget. I know this is true because I have had three of my own and they all struggled at the beginning, but eventually [...]
Family Weekend
Michelle Balaun2019-08-16T16:13:35-04:00Early Bird Gets It - Parents Weekend Get the Deals Our first experience with Parents Weekend meant booking a hotel a year in advance, every weekend in O [...]
Meal Plans
Michelle Balaun2019-08-01T13:12:26-04:00Burgers and Pizza and Fries… Oh my… A Guide to Meal Plans Some of us will miss those family dinners. Others will find some relief. Either way, we all wa [...]
Scholarships
Michelle Balaun2019-09-08T13:15:27-04:00Now you'll need to pay for that college! Almost as soon as the first acceptance to college came in, so did the idea of actually having to pay for their [...]
Orientation, Find Yourself
Michelle Balaun2019-07-01T16:33:01-04:00Overwhelm Potential If two nights and two days can make your head spin, these might be the two. It’s not a bad thing, of course; it is just the amount o [...]
Moving Out
Michelle Balaun2019-04-28T18:06:31-04:00Moving Out Moving out can be almost as hectic as moving into the dorms and apartments. It did not make sense for us to drag the entire dorm supplies hom [...]
Lost and Found
Michelle Balaun2019-04-15T13:06:14-04:00Oh No....It Happened! My daughter spent the summer studying abroad. She was warned about pickpockets by friends. And, she has made it through almost tw [...]
Is It Safe? All that stuff at school?
Michelle Balaun2019-09-16T13:03:38-04:00Is Their Stuff Safe? Right up there with the call from my college daughter that she lost her phone, keys, student ID, (fill in the blank), is the call y [...]
Where the Wind Blows
Michelle Balaun2019-08-28T15:20:00-04:00South Florida Native, Knows About Wind Having grown up in South Florida, I have gone through more than 40 Hurricane seasons. I prepared for my first pot [...]