Topics - Midwestern University

Summer Student Financial Services Newsletter—Downers
Topics
June 26,
2012 Volume 2 Issue
, Issue01
5
January—March,
Welcome to Midwestern University!
Welcome
1
Thrifty Budget
1
Financial Literacy Scholarships
2
Sensible Strategies
3
Armed Forces Day
3
Repay Ready Update
3
New Student Resources Before You Get to Campus
Peer Counselors
4
Enhanced Resources
4
What Do Recent Grads Say
5
Refund and Tuition Due Dates
5
Our office recognizes the need for sound financial advice and guidance as
we help students navigate the financial aid and student billing processes at
Midwestern University. We have developed a number of resources to help
educate new students about our processes. In the past year, our office has
expanded these resources to include recorded videos, podcasts and webinars. The recorded offerings are now available on our website. Click Here
Contact Us
5
We’d like to welcome to campus the new students in the Physician Assistant
and Physical Therapy programs that began on June 11th. We publish this
newsletter on a quarterly basis – hopefully you will find this a great resource
from our office. We are here to serve you.
For those continuing students also enrolled for the Summer Quarter,
welcome back! There is a lot of information to share for the coming year.
Thrifty Budget Impact
With the launch of the new “Thrifty Budget” concept this year, students on
both campuses have embraced the new approach to reducing their debt
levels. The new concept offers students an opportunity to exercise a more
conservative approach to student borrowing. More than 500 students
have signed up for new “Thrifty Budget” on both campuses. In addition, we
have several hundred students who are opting to live with their parents
while attending MWU, another thrifty choice. In the end, this new
approach will pay huge dividends as students make better choices about
their borrowing.
January—March, Issue 01
Financial Literacy Scholarships Awarded In Early May – Downers Grove
In 2011, Midwestern University offered Financial Literacy Scholarships for the first time. In the Spring 2012 cycle, 110
students on both campuses submitted essays. The objective in submitting these essays is to demonstrate best practices in
terms of minimizing debt and controlling spending while a student. As the old saying goes, we want our students “to live
like students while a student so you can live a doctor when you’re a doctor!” (Our apologies to other professions – the
sentiments are exactly the same!) The 51 essays from Downers Grove were excellent making the choices difficult
On the Downers Grove campus, the following four recipients were recognized:
$5,000 – Nicole Fortuna, CCOM 2014. Nicole’s essay, “Working towards the Bigger Goal,” clearly illustrated the
sacrifices she had to make to control and minimize debt.
$2,500 - Rebecca Ledeboer-Martinez, CCP 2013. Rebecca’s essay, “Going Dutch,” clearly illustrates the tough
choices and decisions she had to make to control costs and minimize debt. She has demonstrated that sacrifices
today will yield big dividends down the road.
$2,500 – Daniel Molinaro, CCOM 2012. Daniel’s essay, “Penny Pinching Perfected,” illustrates how Daniel
controlled his spending and reduced his indebtedness during his enrollment at MWU.
$2,500 – Rebecca Petroski, CCOM 2012. Rebecca’s essay, “Financial Literacy,” details how she educated herself
on making better choices to minimize her debt and understand what it takes to be successful.
We would like to thank all those individuals that participated in this scholarship effort. All of the 2012 essays for both
campuses are posted on our website’s Financial Literacy page as part of our Sensible Strategies program. Click Here
MIDMIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY—Downers Grove
555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630/515-6101 Fax: 630/515-6384
2
2
Office of Student
Financial Services
Haspel/Hambrick Hall, Suite 102
8:00 – 4:30 p.m., M-F
Federal School Code: 001657 ilfinaid@midwestern.edu / ilbursar@midwestern.edu
January—March, Issue 01
Sensible Strategies – What We’ve Accomplished This Year!
This past year has represented the first full year that we have been able to deliver a full
range of Financial Literary programs within the context of our Sensible Strategies umbrella.
We anticipate that the program will continue to grow as we further develop and deliver
content. In total, an estimated 2,500 students, spouses and significant others benefited
from these programs in 2011-2012.
2011 – 2012 saw some significant additions to our programs. Examples include:
We offered two “Real Estate Basics Workshops” this year – 56 participants benefited from the realistic and helpful information provided.
We offered nine “Budgeting for MWU Students Workshops” that were attended by 175 students; our aim is to provide
practical tips for living on less as well as developing a better understanding of the living expense refunds.
Finally, we’ve ramped up the resources for 2012 graduates by offering webinars in addition to in-person workshops.
As we gain even more experience, we’ll continue to fine tune our offerings to the benefit of our students.
Sensible Strategies - What’s Planned for 2012 – 2013?
An even greater commitment to our signature financial literacy program is planned for the coming year on the Downers
Grove Campus. In total, we plan on offering approximately 60 different events and workshops that feature Sensible Strategies. We plan on using Survey Monkey surveys as a means of measuring the impact and value of our activities; we’ll be
asking participants for their comments on how we can more effectively focus our efforts to meet your needs.
One common theme in the exit surveys for 2012 graduates was a request for greater access to on-campus events and
programs while away on rotations. To that end, we are exploring taping workshops and posting them on the website as well
as providing webinars for particular topics.
Finally, in mid-July, we’ll be providing a presentation at a national financial aid conference in Chicago on Sensible Strategies
and its’ impact. We believe our steps are absolutely essential to assist students in becoming more informed consumers that
are actively managing their financial future.
Armed Forces Day – Downers Grove
We hosted our first annual Armed Forces Day event on April 17th. At 5:30 PM, the event opened with brief comments from
the three military branches present. The 8 medical professionals in attendance met with students to discuss both medical
and military career opportunities. The focus of the discussions was on loan repayment and scholarship options. With plenty
of good food and a pleasant evening, the event went on informally until 7:30 PM. We look forward to our next Armed Forces Day in April 2013.
RepayReady Update
Expanding access to and participation in RepayReady, the innovative loan tracking and modeling tool that Midwestern
University provides to students at no additional cost are major goals. For the Downers Grove Campus, we currently have
391 students and graduates that have enrolled.
MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY—Downers Grove
555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630/515-6101 Fax: 630/515-6384
3
Office of 3Student Financial Services
Haspel/Hambrick Hall, Suite 102
8:00 – 4:30 p.m., M-F
Federal School Code: 001657 ilfinaid@midwestern.edu / ilbursar@midwestern.edu
January—March, Issue 01
Peer Counselors Coming!
The Student Financial Services Team is committed to working with student peer counselors in the delivery of our
programs, workshops and events. Research has shown that students learn more effectively from peers – thus our
commitment. For the coming year, we plan to add peer counselors to our ranks to help deliver our workshops. At
the June 7th orientation, we asked for volunteers to help us out. Please contact our office if you are interested in
the peer counselor’s position.
Enhanced Resources for 2012 Graduates
2012 graduates have access to expanded and enhanced resources this year. In addition to
workshops, webinars and individual/small group sessions, we have expanded access through
Sensible Strategies to Paul Garrard, Founder and President of PGPresents, an independent
student loan consulting company. Mr. Garrard is a thirty year veteran of higher education and
is considered by many to be one of the top educational debt management experts in the nation for health professions graduates. He has worked with literally thousands of graduates as
they have selected repayment strategies to meet their personal, career and financial goals.
Mr. Garrard developed a series of special repayment “Primers” to help inform graduates on
whether or not these should be part of their repayment strategy. Topics on our website include:
Consolidation
Income Based Repayment (IBR)
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program
A series of short, informative videos are available on our website as well. Topics include Repayment Strategies,
Income Based Repayment, Consolidation and Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
Debt Management Listservs, designed to provide graduates with timely information and reminders about repayment and deadlines will be available through December 31st.
Finally, graduates will have access to a toll-free number to call Mr. Garrard and get answers to individual questions
regarding loan repayment issues through December 31st as well.
Currently enrolled students may access the primers and videos as well; Click Here
MIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY—Downers Grove
555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630/515-6101 Fax: 630/515-6384
4
Office of 4Student Financial Services
Haspel/Hambrick Hall, Suite 102
8:00 – 4:30 p.m., M-F
Federal School Code: 001657 ilfinaid@midwestern.edu / ilbursar@midwestern.edu
January—March, Issue 01
What Do Recent Grads Say?
We’ve been asking our 2012 grads to complete an exit survey as part of their clearance process to graduate. Many
have taken the time to complete the brief survey; the information is invaluable in helping us improve what we do so
as to better serve you.
A prime focus this year was the information we have been providing through our Sensible Strategies financial literacy program. Simply stated, the request was for more information to be presented more frequently and to use some
different modes of delivery to assist students on rotations. You’ll see new modes of delivery this year as well as
more workshops and events; there are nearly 60 planned at this point so there should be something for everyone.
There were three quotes from 2012 grads that stood out. No edits to these quotes:
“The presentations covered a wide variety of subjects, very thorough.”
“Keep up the emails, there is valuable information in them and I greatly appreciate them.”
“Continue to offer incoming students presentations on financial aid and discuss how much repayment will be
monthly on an average loan debt.”
We would actively encourage you to act on the advice of those have gone before you – borrow less, know what you
have borrowed and utilize all of the resources we offer, including RepayReady, so that you can leave Midwestern
University with the least amount of debt possible.
Links to Tuition Due Dates and Refund Dates
Be in the know! Make sure you are managing your funds wisely and plan for tuition due dates as well as refunds for
your living expenses. All of this information (and much more) is available on our website:
Tuition Due Dates
Refund Dates
Downers Grove Staff contact information
Our office is ready to assist you with your financial aid and student billing questions. Students are assigned a financial aid administrator based on the first letter of your last name. Financial aid administrators are available to meet
with student daily by phone or on a walk-in basis. Contact your financial aid administrator if you have specific questions about your financial aid.
A—D:
E—K:
L—P:
Q—Z:
Emily Meyer
Svetlana Okouneva
Dolly Dietrich
Debbie O’Connor
630-515-6127
630-515-6128
630-971-6082
630-515-6230
emeyer@midwestern.edu
sokoun@midwestern.edu
idietr@midwestern.edu
doconn@midwestern.edu
Contact your accounts receivable representative if you have specific questions about student billing.
Melissa Simmons
Brandy Davis
AR Coordinator
AR Representative
630-515-6036 msimmo@midwestern.edu
630-515-7364 bdavis@midwestern.edu
MIDMIDWESTERN UNIVERSITY—Downers Grove
555 31st Street, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Phone: 630/515-6101 Fax: 630/515-6384
5
Office of 5Student Financial Services
Haspel/Hambrick Hall, Suite 102
8:00 – 4:30 p.m., M-F
Federal School Code: 001657 ilfinaid@midwestern.edu / ilbursar@midwestern.edu