money saving tips for students

1. tudents improve scores on standardized tests
2. Bargains in higher education
3. Best little-known Colleges
4. Best Graduate Schools
5. New investment opportunity : College housing
6. Get on the right track with the right education.

• Get to know the test beforehand. Every standardized test is different. Important: Read the test booklet provided by the testing firm to find out what subjects will be covered, the precise form questions will take and the directions. If you have to spend two minutes reading the directions when the test is in progress, you'll lose two minutes of valuable test-taking time.
• Review the subjects that will be covered. If the test you're planning to take has a mathematical section, bone up on math beforehand. Likewise with logical reasoning, science, and so on. Start reviewing basic skills three or four months in advance.
• Take practice tests. Sample exams prepared and distributed by the testing organizations themselves are best. They will familiarize you with the material and give a fair indication of your actual exam score. If you are unhappy with your projected score, delay taking the exam until you have improved and are satisfied that you can do well.
• Come prepared. Bring your admission ticket, personal identification, and six No. 2 pencils with dull points -- they allow you to fill in the circles faster than sharp points and don't break as easily. If you're prone to headaches, bring an aspirin or your favorite analgesic.
• Arrive an hour in advance. If you're unfamiliar with the test site, make a trial run a few days beforehand.
• Keep anxiety in check. Cramming the night before the exam encourages anxiety. If you become anxious during the exam, breathe slowly and deeply. Get up and walk around during the break.
• Use strategies. Answer the short or easy questions first. Save the long reading passages for last.

In reading comprehension sections, some find it easier to scan the questions before reading the passage. This will clue you in on what to look for as you read.

If you finish the test early, go back over your answers.

• Mark answers carefully. Make sure the circle you're marking corresponds to the question you intend to answer. Many students mark column after column of circles only to discover they're ahead or behind where they should be.

• Know when -- and when not -- to guess. A few tests penalize you for wrong answers (the SAT, for instance), others don't. Find out beforehand whether your test does.

In some exams (the SAT for instance) questions at the beginning of each section are usually easier than those toward the end. As a result, if you arrive at a quick, easy answer on an early question, and that answer is listed among the multiple choices, chances are you have the right answer. But if you come up with a quick, easy answer on a question deep into the exam and that answer is among the multiple choices, watch out. There are no easy answers at the end of the test.

• Don't let difficult questions rattle you. If one section seems harder or less clear than the other, it could be an experimental section being used to try out new questions and will not count toward your score. Just do your best.
• Don't panic! If you think you bombed the test, notify the testing organization immediately (use overnight mail). For most tests you have a few days following the exam to ask that your test not be scored. You can take it again without penalty, although your record will show that you canceled a previous test.
• If your test is scored and your performance falls shy of what you had hoped for, you can always take the test again. Most schools look only at the highest score. Exception: Most law schools average your scores.

Typically, the private colleges are small liberal arts institutions in the South and Midwest that were founded by religious denominations. Many of them have become independent of church control in recent years. Although they retain some ties with the founding church, none of those listed make any religious demands on their pupils

All seek a geographically diverse student body, offer academic programs of substantial quality, and attract capable students. The percentage of pupils receiving financial aid varies from 44% to 90%. They've grouped here by the level of tuition and fees from least to most expensive. (Room, board and books are extra.) The figures in parentheses indicate the size of the undergraduate body. Take in consideration the travel expense if one of these institutions are nearby.

• Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Al. A church related (United Methodist) institution regionally famous for its strong liberal arts program (1,200).
• Drury College, Springfield, MO. A liberal arts college founded by Congregationalists. It is now independent, but it maintains ties with the United Church of Christ (950).
• University of Dallas, Irving, TX. A church related (Roman Catholic) liberal arts institution conducted by the diocese of Dallas/Fort Worth. Nearly one third of its students are non-Catholic (1,000).
• Hanover College, Hanover, IN. An independent liberal arts college that maintains some ties with the United Presbyterian Church. It has been providing quality education for students in the Midwest for generations (1,100).
• Hendrix College, Conway, AR. A church related (United Methodist) institution that attracts its student body largely from the South but welcomes students from other parts of the country (900-1,000).
• Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Ga. An independent liberal arts college that attracts about 25% of its students from the Mid-Atlantic region (1,150).
• Wesleyan College, Macon, GA. A liberal arts and fine arts college for women. Although independent, it maintains ties with the United Methodist Church (430)
• Austin College, Sherman, TX. A church related (Presbyterian) liberal arts college. Students choose a relatively structured academic program or considerable freedom in planning their own courses of study (1,200)
• Butler University, Indianapolis, IN. Founded by the Disciples of Christ, Butler is now an independent liberal arts institution that places considerable emphasis on career-oriented programs (3,730).
• Furman University, Greenville, SC. A high quality, church related (Southern Baptist) liberal arts institution that offers a highly successful work/study program (2,475).
• Guilford College, Greensboro, NC. A church related (Friends) institution. It has a four-day academic week. Wednesdays are for such activities as independent study (1,200)
• Nebraska Wesleyan, Lincoln, NE. An independent liberal arts college that maintains ties with the United Methodist Church. It places considerable emphasis on career-oriented courses of study (1,340)
• Rockford College, Rockford, IL. An independent liberal arts college whose students are evenly divided between those pursuing intellectual/academic interests and those concerned with developing marketable skills (1,600).
• Rosary College, River Forest, IL. Founded by the Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa as a Roman Catholic liberal arts college for women. Now coed (1,920)
• Trinity University, San Antonio, TX. Founded by Presbyterians more than 100 years ago, it is now independent but retains ties with the church. It currently sends nearly half of its pupils on to graduate and professional schools (2,200)

• University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Limits out of state enrollment to 10% of the entering class. Nearly half of its students enter careers in business and industry after graduation (35,975)
• Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS. A land-grant institution that places no limit on out of state pupils. The large majority of students are drawn from Kansas and neighboring states (20, 775).
• University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY. Attracts students who are interested primarily in career-oriented fields (24,280).
• University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. Founded as the nation's first municipal university, it became a state institution in 1070. It has a large number of commuting students but welcomes students from other parts of the country (21,825).
• Texas A&M at Galveston, Galveston, TX. An independent campus of Texas A&M University. This campus attracts substantial numbers of students from New England and the Mid-Atlantic states (1,160)
• Mary Washington College, Fredericksburg, VA. For many years the coordinate women's college of the University of Virginia. It is now an autonomous, coeducational liberal arts college (3,700)
• University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Has an unusually cosmopolitan student body. It is located in a residential area of Tucson (23,250)
• Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga. A prestigious southern engineering school. It attracts substantial numbers of students from the Northeast and the Midwest (12,900)
• University of Idaho, Moscow, ID. Includes seven colleges, of which the College of Letters and Science is the largest (11,540)
• Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Founded in 1855 as the nation's first land-grant college. It now ranks as a major academic institution (37,350).

A recent study by the Higher Education Research Institute of Los Angeles rated the quality of individual undergraduate departments. Since the study excluded departments that also had "distinguished graduate programs" whose prestige might reflect on the undergraduate program, the undergraduate departments of some prestigious schools were not assessed.

Six rating criteria were used in the Research Institute's assessment:

• Overall quality of undergraduate education.
• Preparation of student for graduate school.
• Preparation of student for employment.
• Faculty commitment to undergraduate teaching.
• Scholarly accomplishment of faculty.
• Innovativeness of curriculum.

• Beloit College, Beloit, WI: Sociology.
• Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME: Biology.
• Carroll College, Waukesha, WI: Biology.
• Denison University, Granville, OH: Economics.
• Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA: Chemistry.
• Hamline University, St. Paul, MN: Chemistry.
• MacAlester College, St. Paul, MN: Economics.
• Ripon College, Ripon, WI: Chemistry and sociology
• Lawrence University, Appleton, WI: Chemistry.

• California Institute of Technology: Chemistry, geoscience, physics.
• U. of California, Davis: Botany.
• U. of California, San Francisco: Physiology.
• U. Chicago: Sociology.
• Harvard: Classics, philosophy, Spanish language and literature, zoology.
• MIT: Biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, economics, electrical engineering, linguistics, mechanical engineering, microbiology.
• U. of Minnesota: Chemical engineering, geography.
• New York University: Art history.
• Princeton: German language and literature, mathematics.
• Stanford: Computer sciences, psychology.
• Yale: English and French language and literature, political science.

For middle-class families who can afford the down payment, the tax advantages and appreciation pay off even in the short term of a four-year education. Example of how it works:

Parents of a university student in New York City wanted a safe apartment near the campus for their daughter. They found a studio for $60,000. With a down payment of $15,000 and a $45,000 mortgage at 12% for 30 years, the monthly loan payment was $463. Adding on the $300 maintenance fee, the monthly total was $763. Tax break: Initially, all the mortgage payment and half the maintenance fee ($613) total) were deductible. Since the family was in the 28% tax bracket, the net after-tax cost per month worked out to $591. Bonus: The child finds a roommate to share the apartment for $400 a month, which reduces the monthly cost to $191. After four years of school, the apartment is sold at (or above) the original price, and the initial investment is recouped -- usually with a profit.

If several students share you child's condominium, the rental income may be high enough for the apartment to be treated as ordinary investment rental property, with big deductions for depreciation. The test is whether income from the other students represents fair market value for rent.

• Dormitory costs: The average cost of college housing runs upward of $2,500 a year. Obviously the higher the cost, the more incentive there is to find an alternative.
• Campus restrictions: Some colleges have sufficient housing for their students, so the need for off-campus housing is minimal, making the condominium alternative riskier.