Topics Welcome to Spring!
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Spring Student Financial Services Newsletter—Downers Grove April 10, 2012January Volume—March, 2 , Issue Issue 4 01 Topics Welcome to Spring! Welcome The Office of Student Financial Services has had a pretty busy first quarter 2012! In this report, we’d like to update you on our initiatives and preview our spring quarter activities: Thrifty Budget - 2 As students began their 2012-2013 financial aid application process in mid- February, we Enhanced Repayment Resources - 2 kicked off a new initiative called the “Thrifty Budget,” a concept is to make it very easy for students who would like to borrow less to do so. PG Presents Services - 2 In January, we announced our new PGPresents services for 2012 graduates. Read on for more details on videos, listservs by program of study, learning primers, and a toll-free Focus on RepayReady - 3 number for one-on-one assistance through December 2012. We continue to promote RepayReady as a means of tracking and monitoring student loans Financial Literacy Education - 3 while in school as well as establishing an effective strategy when the student enters repay- ment. Federal Work Study - 4 Approximately 40% of all students were invited to participate in a financial literacy study in March; our thanks to those that did join the study. Budget Thoughts - 4 More and more students are enjoying the benefits of Federal Work-Study; in addition to earning some money, students build important professional contacts and relationships. Entertainment on the Budget - 5 How about you? th While the Financial Literacy scholarships will be announced by May 11 , the balance of the th Refund Dates - 5 scholarships will be announced by June 15 . Refund dates for 2012 – 2013? They are on the website. Financial Literacy Calendar of Events - 6 Looking for a comprehensive listing of upcoming Sensible Strategies events and work- shops? Look no further; signup information will be available through links in our email announcements and on the Message Center. Best wishes for a happy, healthy spring and a productive spring quarter! January—March, Issue 01 Thrifty Budgets – Making a Difference? The 2012 – 2013 academic year marks the beginning of a new approach in student borrowing at Midwestern University with the launch of our Thrifty Budgets. The new direction, as part of our Sensible Strategies program, offers students the opportunity to actively choose the amount they will be borrowing. In prior years, students would generally choose to borrow the maximum they are eligible for; this new approach challenges students to consider their choices and make a commitment to borrow less. Through the program, we en- courage students to live with a roommate, share utility costs, reduce the food budget and so forth. By taking a more conservative ap- proach, students can save more than $50,000 over four years! While the savings can be significant, if life circumstances change and a student needs additional funding, they can borrow the additional amount they are eligible for in their specific program. Thus, flexibility is preserved while a student makes better choices. Throughout our Sensible Strategies program, a common theme of living on less, borrowing less and minimizing debt prevails. While the program just launched in mid-February, we are noting an impact already with more than 250 students electing for the Thrifty Budget. Additionally, we have several hundred students who are choosing to live with their parents while attending MWU, another thrifty choice. Small sacrifices today will have a big payoff in the long term! As the old saying goes, “Live like a student when a student so you can live like a doctor when you are a doctor.” Naturally, this pertains to all of our programs across the board. Enhanced Repayment Resources for 2012 Grads The Office of Student Financial Services is dedicated to helping 2012 graduates effectively manage the debt they have incurred while enrolled at Midwestern University. It is important that graduates understand the terms and conditions of their student loans. The more one knows, the easier it is to avoid the pitfalls in the loan repayment process. On our website, graduates will find the resources to help successfully manage student loans by choosing the best repayment strategy based on individual goals and circumstances. While some services are available now, others will become available in late May. PGPresents Services As announced in January, we have partnered with Paul Garrard, Founder and President of PGPresents, an independent student loan consulting company, to provide loan repayment services to graduates. Mr. Garrard is a thirty-year veteran of higher education and student financial aid and is considered by many to be the number one educational debt management expert in the nation, especially when it comes to helping health professions graduates manage their student loans. He works with thousands of health professions grad- uates helping them choose repayment strategies to meet their career, personal, and financial goals. Because of discipline-specific needs and a desire to target the information to the greatest degree possible, we have multiple versions of much of the new content. The services are offered free of charge to all Midwestern University Class of 2012 graduates and are summa- rized in four major categories: Loan Repayment Videos are 3 to 5 minutes in length and have been designed for three specific groups of graduates: the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, the Colleges of Dental Medicine and Graduate Health Professions (all disciplines other than dental and osteopathic). The 12 videos are titled: * Repayment Primer * Consolidation Primer * IBR (Income-Based Repayment) Primer * PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Primer Loan Repayment Handouts: As noted above, specific content is being developed for the Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine, the Colleges of Dental Medicine and General (all disciplines other than dental and osteopathic). The handouts are titled: * Repayment Primer * Consolidation Primer * IBR (Income-Based Repayment) Primer * PSLF (Public Service Loan Forgiveness) Primer MID- WESTERN UNIVERSITY—Downers Grove 555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515 Phone: 630/515-6101 Fax: 630/515-6384 Office of2 Student Financial Services 2 Haspel/Hambrick Hall, Suite 102 8:00 – 4:30 p.m., M-F Federal School Code: 001657 [email protected] / [email protected] January—March, Issue 01 The videos and handouts are now available on our website at: http://www.midwestern.edu/Programs_and_Admission/Repayment_Resources_for_2012_Graduates/PGPresents_Services.html Debt Management Listservs are designed to provide graduates with timely information and reminders about repayment and deadlines. The listservs will be available from May 29, 2012 through December 31, 2012. Graduating students will have the option to sign up for one of the three listservs (Medical, Dental, and Other Graduate Health Professions Programs) beginning in early May 2012. Graduates will be advised through workshops and webinars as to how to sign up through their MWU email account. To insure no one is missed, we will also have notices on our Facebook page and on the Message Center. Finally, a Toll Free Phone Number will allow access to Mr. Garrard from May 29, 2012 through December 31, 2012 for the purpose of getting direct answers to questions graduates may have regarding repayment. The toll-free phone number will be released to 2012 graduates in May. Future announcements on how to access this valuable assistance will be provided through graduates email accounts, on Facebook and through the MWU Online Message Center We’ll monitor progress on all four aspects of the new repayment programs throughout the summer and fall; comments and suggestions to improve these resources are always welcomed. Focus on RepayReady Today’s students are faced with higher debt levels, multiple loan servicers and a changing job market. The most important part of student loan borrowing is learning how to manage student loan debt. Our goal is to make sure that we educate students on how to keep track of their loans and to make on-time payment when they enter repayment. RepayReady helps students achieve both goals. The features of RepayReady include the use of web-based multi-media videos, repayment planning resources and a personalized repayment planning tool called the Electronic Loan Counselor (ELC). RepayReady assists students organizing their loans, determining ways to lower their monthly payments and educating students on what payment options best suits their lifestyle. We offer lunch hour sessions for on-campus students on both campuses as well as an online webinar for off-campus students. As an enhancement for students away from campus on rotations or between quarters, we have placed the recorded eight minute webinar on our home page; to access this, go to https://midwestern.webex.com/midwestern/ldr.php?AT=dw&SP=TC&rID=24137802&act=pf&rKey=cb819f15c78d2736. We are happy to get you started using this valuable tool. Financial Literacy Education Research Project Midwestern University recently began a research study on both campuses to examine the impact and effectiveness of financial literacy education efforts on graduate health professions students’ financial decision-making. MWU is committed to providing a comprehensive financial literacy program that fully supports its students and alumni and can serve as a model to other institutions. In order to do so, we need to identify how our students learn about finances, how they spend their resources, and how they respond to the current financial literacy education efforts at MWU. Evaluating the impact of this program on subsequent financial decision-making of MWU students is paramount for shaping responsible behavior and ensuring success. The MWU Research Board approved study was conducted throughout the month of March. Data was collected through written surveys and focus groups on both campuses. Over 2,000 students were invited to participate in the optional anonymous survey. Each campus also conducted one small focus group session with up to 12 participants.