What happens to my loans if I’m no longer in college?

You must start repaying your loans 6 months after you are no longer enrolled in college.

If you take a semester (or longer) off from college, this means that you will need to start making payments on your loans beginning 6 months after your last date of college enrollment.

What if I don’t pay it?

Student loans are one of the most important bills to pay. It’s the only loan that you cannot get rid of through bankruptcy. You must pay it.

Defaulting on (not paying and simply ignoring) your loans results in harsh consequences for your credit. This means it can prevent you from renting an apartment or purchasing a car. It’s a HUGE DEAL.

But, what if I can’t afford to pay it?

There are plenty of repayment options. Call your loan servicer and tell them your situation and they can help determine an affordable payment. You also have a limited amount of forbearance time (when you won’t be billed because you can’t afford to pay) that you can request. You have to get approval for this before you neglect to pay your loans.

Can you help me with this?

Of course. Call, text, or email me anytime.

Now Announcing Alumni Rewards!

Alumni Holiday Party!

YOU’RE INVITED!

We are hosting a Holiday Party for the Class of 2014 on Thursday, December 18th from 5:00-6:30pm in the school library. Come and see your former teachers and classmates. You’ll also receive more information about activities planned for January, special alumni perks and incentives, and the prizes we’ll be awarding this fall and at the end of the school year.

We look forward to seeing you!

Come see your teachers and classmates!

Enjoy music and snacks!

 

Learn how to get your Free Alumni Sweatshirt!

FILL OUT THE FALL ALUMNI SURVEY! (And tell us your sweatshirt size)

Check out the new NOCP video!

Check out your classmates! Leonard (0:14), Teddy (2:07 and 3:53), Gwen (2:21), Joe (2:37), Derriyell (2:39), and ALL OF YOU on stage at graduation (3:21) and declaration day (3:46). You look good!

How to pick classes

Check out this neat website called FirstGenerationStudent.com — it’s filled with tips, stories, student articles, and more, all designed to help you with the challenges of college. In fact, if you’re feeling brave you can even submit your own story to the site!

I saw this article today on picking classes, which will help as you put together your course schedules for the spring.

Check out “The Perfect College Schedule” for answers to the following questions:

• How can I make it easier to plan my class schedule?
• Does it matter what time a course is offered?
• What if I have to work?
• How does my major affect my scheduling?

While you’re reading up on tips, also check out this article “How to Find Support While in College” for more advice on making these last few weeks of the semester count.

What have you learned so far about picking classes? Will you do anything differently for the spring?

2014 Homecoming King and Queen

Awww aren’t they cute? Check out the school blog for the full homecoming court list :o)

Interested in finance, business, law? Apply for SEO-U!

SEO-U is an enrichment program for freshmen and it sets you up to apply for paid internships through SEO Career as an upperclassman. The careers they prepare you for include accounting, finance, law, business, investment banking, philanthropy–working with top companies around the country. You need a 3.0 to apply, so if you’re not there yet, hustle to get your grades up before the March 15th application deadline!

Info on the SEO-U Program for Freshmen: http://www.seocareer.org/paths-a-partners/seo-u

Application: http://www.seocareer.org/apply-now (Select “Yes” to the question “Are you applying to SEO-U Program?”)

What do you do to motivate yourself when you want to give up?

One of my favorite websites is called Quora–it’s like Yahoo Answers, but the most awesome version of it! People pose good questions and the answers are crazy good. Saw this one today and thought you’d like it.

The top-voted answer was “I visualize what the future will be like if I give up today.”

My favorite answer was a series of memes. The ones on the website use some choice language, but I’ve posted some versions below edited to be a bit more alumni blog-friendly.

Remember that core value of Perseverance we talked about at NOCP? Now’s the time to put it to use!

 

 

Criminal Investigation Internship

Interested in criminal investigation? The Orleans Public Defenders Office has just the internship opportunity for you! Check out the website for all of the details and see below for a summary.

Please note that the internship is unpaid. Check with your college to see if they have any funding for upaid summer internship opportunities. Be sure to ask about summer work-study in addition to any other options they may provide.

Important Dates

Priority Application Deadline: February 27, 2015
Final Application Deadline: March 6, 2015
Acceptance Notice: March 20, 2015
Mandatory Training Dates: May 27-29
Term: June 1 – August 7

Application Instructions

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis.

We have two separate deadlines for applications for each semester. Submitting your application by the first deadline, the priority deadline, guarantees early consideration of your application. The second deadline is the final deadline, after which applications will not be considered for that semester. During some semesters, usually summer, we have multiple classes of interns with different start and end dates, although applications for all are due at the same time.

Application Components

Students interested in applying for this program must submit the following:

1. Resume
2. Writing sample – Please include a brief (no more than 500 words) statement of interest
3. Transcripts
4. If you will be in school during your internship and have registered for classes please include your class schedule.

Visit their website for more information!

Wondering what to do with your life?

I had a conversation with two alums this week, and both of them were feeling lost trying to figure out what to do with their lives. In fact, this question weighed so heavily that they were having trouble staying focused in school! Yikes, that’s exactly what we don’t want, right?

I encourage you to stop by your school’s career office for some in-person advice. Some of you have already gone there to take an interest survey and gotten advice on choosing a major and more!

You should also check out these videos from a cool chica named Marie Forleo for some advice on how to tackle this challenge. Enjoy!

What Should I Do With My Life? 

Those “extra resources” Marie references are actually the 3 videos below. You’re welcome! 🙂

Finding Your Purpose

 

How Do I Figure Out What I Want?

 

Turning Pro. (This book is one of my favorite of all time! Check out Marie’s video with author Steven Pressfield below, and if you love it, let me know and I will buy you a copy. Real talk.)

 

Did these videos help you think differently about the question “what should I do with my life?” Any actions you plan to take after watching?