Financial Literacy at Berklee
In addition to your physical and mental health, it's important to take care of your financial wellbeing. Understanding the world of money will directly affect you, your education, and your professional career. Student Financial Services has compiled resources to help you stay on top of your budget, loan debt, and other financial matters.
This includes information on the following:
- Federal financial aid
- Setting financial goals
- How to manage overspending
- Preventing identity theft
- Understanding credit
Conversations about Your Finances
The topics covered below are aimed at helping you make informed decisions so you can be successful academically, artistically, and financially. They come from a variety of sources, and you are encouraged to seek out your own information and do as much research as possible.
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Check out the results of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling's 2019 Consumer Financial Literacy Survey.
Federal Financial Aid–Related Topics
- Filing Your FAFSA
- Student Loans: Know What You Owe
- National Student Loan Data System Website
- Helpful Quiz: What Is Your Financial Attitude?
- The Importance of Student Loan Exit Counseling
Exit Counseling Guide.pdf - Remember to File Your FAFSA
Budgeting Topics
- How Do I Choose a Bank?
- Financial Literacy Guidance
- How Do I Create a Budget?
- Budgeting Tips: Expect the Unexpected
- How Can I Cut Costs?
- Budgeting Apps and Personal Finance Tools
- Best Budget Apps and Personal Finance Tools for 2019 (NerdWallet)
- Wants versus Needs: The Secret to Successfully Prioritzing Your Expenses
Loan Repayment Topics
- Student Loan Repayment Options
- Is It Smart to Consolidate Your Student Loans?
- What Is the Difference between Deferment and Forbearance?
- Smart Ways to Repay Your Student Loans
- How to Avoid Default (Avoiding Delinquency and Default Video)
Financial Literacy
- Managing Your Financial Records
- Lynda.com Video Course: Managing Your Personal Finances
- Setting Aside Savings (ECMC)
- Practical Money Skills: Savings
- Avengers Savings: Mad Money Skills
- How Can I Find an Outside Scholarship?
- Types of Credit
- Credit Scores and Reports
- Video: WTFinance Is a Credit Score? Common Questions Answered
- Video: Financial Literacy in College: Are These Students You?
- Identity Theft: What Do I Need to Know?
- Video: 10 Steps for Students to Avoid Being a Target of Identity Theft
- How to Obtain My Credit Report, and Why I Should
- Video: Financial Literacy: Credit Reports and Credit Scores
- More Important Information on Consumer Credit from the Federal Trade Commission
- Understanding Insurance: Automobile, Health, etc.
- Insurance: A Deeper Dive
- Managing Your Money
Finances and College Life
- How Can I Apply for Student Employment at the Conservatory?
- How Can I Apply for Student Employment at the College?
- Renting an Apartment
- Six Apartment Renting Tips for Students
- The Art of the Side Hustle
Financial Resources
We have teamed up with Educational Credit Management Corporation (ECMC) Solutions, a nonprofit organization with numerous student resources designed to increase financial understanding. Their Financial Awareness Basics (FAB) tool is a great place to get the ball rolling towards a more financially confident future.
Find more helpful resources within the Paying for your Education pages.
Do you have other questions? The staff at the Office of Student Financial Services is here to help. Contact us at financialaid@berklee.edu or by phone at 617-747-2274.