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Don’t forget that the deadline for filing your 2007 taxes is quickly approaching.  For some college students this might not mean much because their taxes may be handled by their parents, or it they at least get help from their parents while doing their taxes.  For the latter, we are on our own when it comes to taxes and with the semester coming to an end we could be so buried in our studies that we forget to file our taxes.  I can assure you that the IRS will not take our forgetfulness lightly,nor will they listen to any excuses we have for not filing.

One of the few financial benefits to being a college student is that we are able to claim our tuition on our taxes and usually receive a nice chunk of change back for the government. Of course this money is already spent on tuition, housing, books, and other things, but it is still nice to receive some money for a change instead of spending all of ours.  If you have an accountant or use a tax service then they will handle the filing for you and make sure that you receive the maximum deduction from being a student.  If you do your taxes on your own however you will need to be sure that you add your cost for tuition as a deductible.  I’m not a finance major so I can’t give you all the details on this deduction…..my accountant handles that!  I’m sure if you need more information about it you can ask you financial aid officers and they will be able to help you.  After all, it is their job to be blood sucking parasites.  Just kidding, no pun intended. I’m just having a little fun tonight!

Thanks for using SMB College Life!

As college students we often feel stressed, overworked and like there is not enough time.  Time management is one of the keys to success throughout one’s college life as it will make or break your college experience.  Not only is time management important for finishing homework, projects, and other assignments on time it is also very important to keep yourself sane throughout your college life.  Stress can wear you down quick, as can lack of sleep, improper eating habits, and constant rushing to get things done.  This stress will not only have a negative effect on your health but will effect your relationship with others as you will not be able to find time for the people in your life.

Because of these things it is very important that you manage your time wisely so that you can make time for the things that relax you.  If you get all of your homework assignments done in advance then you will have extra time to play video games, enjoy the outdoors, or pick up your favorite instrument.  You must always remember that time management is important to you success and lifestyle as a college student.  Lack of proper time management skills will end up in a snowball effect of increased stress, malnutrition, lack of sleep and much more.  When will it stop?  Only you can decide when and how to effectively manage your time so that your college life and personal life does not suffer from poor time management.

I recently answered some questions for an interview performed by www.webmasterjournal.com about myself and SMB College Life. There were a lot of good questions asked which allowed me to really analyze my progress over the past year as well as the progress of SMB College Life. I was presented this opportunity by a fellow webmaster who runs www.ivyresearch.com which holds a lot of useful college information, tips, and more. If you are interested in reading the interview use the following link:
http://www.webmasterjournal.com/2008/03/27/interview-with-smb-college-life-blog-publisher-shawn-borelli/

As far as progress goes with SMB College Life, we are currently working on editing the SMB College Life Planning Guide and are planning its release in late May or early June of 2008. We have a ton of information to offer through this publication and are hoping that this will help thousands of high school student across the country to plan, save and succeed in their college lives. For more information please visit the recent post concerning this publication:
http://www.smbcollegelife.com/blog/2008/03/29/smb-college-life-publication/

I would like to start off by saying happy April Fool’s Day to everyone. With that said the US Department of Education has announced today that it will be paying the tuition bill for all students enrolled as a full-time student in a credited university in the United States. This means that the ‘average Joe’ will finally get funding to pay for his/her college education. Before the only people to receive money for college was athletes, minorities, foreign exchange students, extremely wealthy people with power, and extremely poor people.

The average student is no longer being stepped over but is being given a chance to shine! We are no longer being suppressed by lack of funding, financial struggles, and not being dumb but athletic enough to receive a full ride to college. The weight is being lifted from our shoulders so that we won’t have to work 20+ hours per week, limit our meals to two packets of Ramon noodles per day, or bum rides from other friends because we will now be able to keep some money in our bank accounts. What will happen with all this extra money that millions of college students will have at their disposal? We will shop!!

With hundreds, if not thousands of dollars at their disposal millions of college students across the country will go on massive shopping sprees; finally buy food, clothing, basic necessities such as toothpaste, deodorant and soap, perhaps even textbooks. This will be positive step forward for America as our nose diving economy will soon be stimulated by the spending of college students across the nation. It was all thanks to the help of our wonderful government finally deciding to give the average college student a chance to succeed. Suppressed no more, we will stand up to lead this country into a new era.

Other changes stimulated by this action will include communities joining together to clean up waste and begin working towards a greener future, gas prices falling to an all time low, government tax decreases for middle and lower class families, and Britney Spears finally cleaning her act up. This is a great step for everyone all because the system was changed to help the majority of college students instead of the latter. It seems as though the people in Washington finally work up from their 8 year nap and have decided to do something for our country instead of 3rd world countries who don’t even want our help. By distributing billions of dollars to the American college students instead of the Middle East to build sand dunes we will finally be able to regain our strength as the worlds strongest nation!

I wish this were true. Happy April Fool’s Day!