Blog

Attention recent college graduates: You CAN find a job in your field...it just might be overseas.

Based on the analysis of the migration patterns of LinkedIn members in 2013, there are 10 destination cities that most recent college graduates flock to after graduation. By examining the geographic movement of its members over the last year and taking into consideration every new position added to a user's profile between November 2012 and November 2013 (excluding movements that did not exceed 100 miles), LinkedIn ranked each destination city by “the percentage of movers who were recent graduates.” Check out the 10 cities with the highest percentages of recent college grads below:

• Sao Paulo, Brazil – 34%
• Bangalore, India – 34%
• San Francisco Bay Area – 34%
• London – 35%
• Chicago – 38%
• New York City – 38%
• Madrid – 40%
• Minneapolis-St. Paul – 40%
• Washington, D.C. – 40%
• Paris – 42%

For more on the methodology behind this study, head over to LinkedIn. And for more info on adjusting to life after college, check out Scholarships.com: We've come up with some resources to ease you into that transition with information on everything from becoming a young professional to deciding whether it makes financial sense to move out of your parents’ house and into your own place. Browse through our Life After College section to put your worries at ease!

Each year, the Princeton Review releases its comprehensive list of colleges ranked by the extracurricular and social offerings on their campuses, how happy their students are, and which are the most religious or LGBT-friendly, among countless other categories. But the distinction that gets the most attention year after year is the school the review dubbed as the top "party school" - an honor that may be lauded by students by dreaded by school administrators and parents. Interested in knowing who made the cut? Check out the top 10 below:

1. Syracuse University
2. University of Iowa
3. University of California – Santa Barbara
4. West Virginia University
5. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
6. Lehigh University
7. Penn State University
8. University of Wisconsin – Madison
9. Bucknell University
10. University of Florida

Curious as to how the ranking are determined? The Princeton Review collects its data based on survey responses from 130,000 students across more than 370 college campuses. The "party school" ranking comes from responses on alcohol and drug use, hours spent studying and how prevalent Greek life is on each campus. For more on their methodology, click here. And for more information on the schools listed or countless others, use our College Search tool today!

How much you end up spending on room and board will vary greatly depending on the school you attend and how flexible you are in terms of your choice of housing. And with the average cost for room and board for the 2014-2015 school year hovering around $10,000, considering schools with more affordable options may be essential to managing your college budget. Check out the list below from U.S. News and World Report for the top 10 schools with the least expensive room and board below:

• Rust College - $4,000
• Oklahoma Panhandle State University - $4,200
• Cameron University - $4,664
• Blue Mountain College - $4,800
• Thomas University - $5,050
• Auburn University at Montgomery - $5,390
• Alabama State University - $5,422
• Mayville State University - $5,430
• Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University - $5,440
• University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma - $5,470

Did your prospective college make the list? Would you consider a school based on room and board affordability? Share your thoughts in the comments sections. And don’t forget to try and fund your education with as much free money as possible – a great place to start is by creating a free profile on Scholarships.com, where you’ll get matched with financial aid that is unique to you!

Despite the hefty sticker price associated with all Ivy League institutions, estimated yearly costs are actually quite affordable. In fact, Ivy Leaguers graduate with less debt than their peers who attended less prestigious schools. How? Turns out healthy endowment funds play a huge role in aiding low-income, middle-income and even upper-income students with tuition costs. Score!

According to statistics from U.S. News & World Report, many of the best colleges in the county are relative steals for the lucky few who earn admission. For example, Princeton University students graduate with about $5,096 of debt for all four years – the lowest sum for alumni leaving a national university with debt. Amy Laitinen, a former White House education adviser now at the New America Foundation, said, "Folks look at the sticker price and assume that's what everyone is paying. The truth is that the more elite schools have more resources."

But with acceptance rates hovering at less than 10 percent, gaining access to those Ivy League dollars is fiercely competitive. Do you think it’s fair for students who don’t meet the Ivies’ steep admissions standards to be saddled with crippling debt or should the few that do be rewarded with an affordable, brand name education? Let us know what you think in the comments section.

Have you ever encountered a situation where superhuman strength would have come in handy? Sure, who hasn’t? Well, thanks to four engineering students from the University of Pennsylvania, it seems as though comic book-like brawn may soon become a reality.

The Titan Arm was designed to help ordinary individuals undergoing physical rehabilitation or those who would benefit from a little extra muscle. The upper-body exoskeleton is essentially a battery-powered arm brace attached to a backpack that would provide the wearer with the ability to carry an additional 40 pounds. The students – Nick Parrotta, Elizabeth Beattie, Nick McGill and Niko Vladimirov – have already won at least $75,000 in prize money for their design. "There is certainly a market, but it's slowly emerging because the systems are not perfect as yet," said Paolo Bonato, director of the Motion Analysis Lab at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston. With that in mind, the Titan Arm team hopes to refine their prototype, considering different control strategies, more innovative materials and manufacturing. (For more on this story, click here.)

Do you think the Titan Arm has the potential to change lives for the better? Let us know in the comments section.

With the cost of a college education continuing to skyrocket, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become increasingly popular. If you’re not familiar with MOOCs, they provide students with the opportunity to study high quality courses online with prestigious universities – we’re talking Harvard, Yale and Stanford – for free. Well, at least, that used to be the case: Udacity, one of the three MOOC providers, said on Wednesday that it would no longer give the opportunity to earn free, “non-identity-verified” certificates.

On the bright side, students will still be able to view Udacity’s online-course materials without paying but those looking to earn a certificate to prove they've mastered the material will have to pay for it. The policy change, effective May 16th, is to help employers take MOOCs more seriously, Udacity’s founder Sebastian Thrun said in a blog post. “Discontinuing the ‘free’ certificates has been one of the most difficult decisions we’ve made,” wrote Thrun. “We know that many of our hardworking students can’t afford to pay for classes. At the same time, we cannot hope that our certificates will ever carry great value if we don’t make this change.” Currently, Udacity offers two types of courses: full and free. (The “full” courses cost $150 per month and include personalized support, project-based assignments, job-placement services and the coveted verified certificate while the free courses only include access to the online course material.) “We keep working hard to bring you the best learning experience. Sometimes it means making tough choices – this was one – to maximize the learning outcome for our students,” he said. “I can’t wait to see more employers seek you out for the skills you develop on Udacity.” (For more on this story, click here.)

Do you agree with Udacity’s policy change? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

If you’re a high school senior, you’ll be faced with a major decision in the coming months: choosing the right college. And while there are myriad factors to consider when making your decision, campus housing can be a crucial piece of the puzzle. For the most part, students are required to live in campus housing during their freshman year while upperclassmen tend to live off-campus in apartments. The reason: Most larger universities just don’t offer enough on-campus housing to accommodate their entire undergraduate populations. Yet, that’s not always the case because some prominent institutions with large endowments offer housing for all undergraduates.

According to an analysis of student housing data provided by the U.S. News & World Report, students at many of the country’s top ranked schools opt to remain on campus until they graduate. Of the top 10 national universities with the highest percentage of students living on campus, five are Ivy League institutions. Check out the complete list below (schools are ranked by the percentage of their undergraduate student body living on campus).

1. Harvard University
2. Princeton University
3. California Institute of Technology
4. Columbia University
5. Stanford University
6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
7. St. Mary's University of Minnesota
8. Yale University
9. Dartmouth College
10. Vanderbilt University

High school seniors, are you down about not getting a fat envelope from any of the colleges you applied to? College students, are you looking to transfer from your existing institution? Don’t freak out: There are hundreds of colleges that are still accepting applications.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling's (NACAC) annual College Openings Update, 270 schools are still accepting applications for freshmen and transfers as of May 9th. The list is comprised of schools that didn’t fill all open spots for next year’s freshman class, are seeking transfer students or have enrollment deposit deadlines later than the May 1st norm. While the majority of schools on the list are small, private colleges with enrollment between 1,000 and 5,000 students, there are a few large, public institutions on the list, too. Check out a sampling below:

• University of Arizona
• Maryville University
• Cabrini College
• Illinois State University
• Alma College
• Baylor University
• Clarke University
• University of Florida
• Hawaii Pacific University
• Kennesaw State University
• Felician College
• Missouri State University
• William Peace University
• Arizona State University
• Newbury College

For the full list of colleges still accepting applications, click here. Will you be taking advantage of this helpful resource?

Unless you plan on paying for your college education out-of-pocket, completing the FAFSA and applying for scholarships are essential in your quest for financial aid. But have you considered federal programs that forgive student loan debt almost entirely? It’s an increasingly popular option: According to reports, government officials are trying to rein in federal programs that forgive some student debt, amid rising concerns over the plans’ costs and the possibility they could encourage colleges to push tuition even higher.

The fastest-growing plan requires borrowers to pay 10 percent a year of their discretionary income in monthly installments. The unpaid balances for those working in the public sector or for nonprofits are forgiven after 10 years while those private-sector workers see their debt wiped clear after 20 years. And while there is currently no limit on such debt, the Obama administration has proposed to cap the amount eligible for forgiveness at $57,500 per student. The cost? A report last week from the Brookings Institution estimated that the plan could cost taxpayers $14 billion a year! “Loan forgiveness creates incentives for students to borrow too much to attend college, potentially contributing to rising college prices for everyone,” the study said. The authors went on to recommend the forgiveness provisions to be scrapped entirely. (For more on this story, click here.)

Share your thoughts on federal student debt forgiveness programs in the comments and check out our financial aid section for more information on how to fund your college education.

If you're a recent college graduate, chances are you'll have to start paying off your student loans sooner than you think. And even with the economy in a slump, don't expect a free pass on not paying them back. So while keeping track of the multiple loans you've accrued during your college career is tasking, it's important to understand your options. An often overlooked possibility is private loan consolidation. Aren't familiar? Allow me to explain.

A consolidation loan can simplify the loan repayment process by allowing the borrower to combine several types of loans into one. And often, the interest rate on a consolidation loan is lower than the rate on a typical student loan. Until recently though, few banks have offered consolidation loans for private student debt. Why? According to a report last year by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, part of the problem was the high cost of marketing to potential borrowers and finding adequate financing to provide the loans. But that may be changing: In January, Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Bank said it would begin offering private consolidation loans which could signal that change is afoot nationally. Wondering who should consider a consolidation loan? It's an ideal option for students who have finished school, are gainfully employed and have been making on-time payments on your private student loans for at least a year or two. The real advantage of refinancing is the chance to get a lower interest rate on your debt and to simplify their monthly payments into a single bill. (For more on this story, click here.)

For more information on student loan consolidation, borrowing responsibly and tips on repaying your student loans, head over to Scholarships.com financial aid section.