Get Help Financing Your Future

Tucked into a corner of the SUB’s basement, in what was once a bathroom, sits one of MSU’s most quietly helpful services — the Office of Financial Education. One slice of the Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success, the office exists to help students manage their financial futures.

“Finances aren’t always that fun to talk about,” admitted Keith Hamburg, the office’s associate director, adding, “but 10 years from now, you’ll thank yourself for using this service.”

According to its website, the office’s mission is to “educate and support our students to ensure that they can manage debt, thoughtfully consider the role of both loans and savings and develop sound budgeting skills.”

The office helps students look for scholarships, file their FAFSA and other financial aid forms and more. The office also offers many workshops, ranging from explaining credit or student debt to one colloquially referred to as “Adulting 101.”

For students, being on top of their finances can help ensure they graduate on time and are in a good monetary position when the big day comes. Students who get into money trouble may be more likely to take a semester or more off to work instead of attending school full time. “Retention and graduation rates are on our minds,” Hamburg explained. “We like to say, ‘live like a college student today, so you don’t have to tomorrow.’”

While the majority of students at MSU are financially sound, Hamburg said that “most incoming 18-year-olds don’t know much about finances.” That’s not huge a problem, however — students, staff and faculty are all able to use the office free of charge, regardless of their level of financial literacy.

The Office of Financial Education is finishing its sixth year, after being formed in 2012. It has grown significantly since its inauspicious beginnings — the office didn’t have its own space until 2014. In its first few years open, the office saw, by Hamburg’s estimation, as few as 300-400 students. This year, it will have reached close to 6,000 unique students, including 1,400 one-on-one consultation meetings.

Hamburg attributed the office’s growth to successful outreach. The office engages in outreach to many groups across campus, including other MSU departments and student clubs and organizations. The workshops and the groups can range from classes to fraternities — any student group can request a meeting on a topic of their choice, and the office will send an employee to meet the organization. At the moment, the Office of Financial Education employs one full-time and two part-time financial coaches, and one part-time student associate.

Hamburg’s happy with one initiative in particular — the “Know Your Debt” letters the office mails out periodically. The letters are mailed to students who are deemed to be at risk for financial problems, after looking at the amount they’ve already borrowed, their major (and thus, their expected post-graduation earnings) and other factors. “It’s informing, not like ‘Oh, you did something wrong,’” he said with a laugh. The goal is to catch students before they have a chance to get into serious financial trouble, when they still have an opportunity to change their habits before graduation. Recipients are also rewarded with a $20 gift card if they bring the letter in to a meeting with one of the office’s financial coaches.

The “Know Your Debt” program was such an immediate success it was featured on Bloomberg TV after one of its first semesters showed significant changes in student behavior. According to an MSU News article in 2015, research by several “economics professors — Christiana Stoddard and Carly Urban of MSU as well as Maximilian Schmeiser, an economist with the Federal Reserve Board — found that students receiving [Know Your Debt] letters reduced their debt loads in the subsequent semester by about one-third (or $1,360), took more credits and had higher GPAs in the subsequent semester.”

Hire-A-Bobcat is another successful program run by the Office of Financial Education. The initiative helps connect students seeking part-time jobs while in school with potential employers. Many students will need help not just paying for school while attending MSU, but after graduation as well. While the Student Employment Services, another subsection of The Allen Yarnell Center for Student Success helps students find careers after graduating, the Office of Financial Education can help visitors with negotiating starting salary, moving expenses and more. It can also advise visitors on what careers and public service positions can qualify for loan forgiveness.

“The tough stories are students taking out debt that haven’t thought about paying it back,” said Hamburg. “We recommend not taking on more debt during your college career than you expect to make in your first year’s salary.”

The office’s success stories are students who manage to graduate with little or no debt, free to start the next step of their lives. Hamburg still remembers one student who came to MSU saddled with thousands of dollars in credit card debt, who managed to change their spending habits and eventually graduated debt-free. “It’s about how hard the student worked to change their habits and make good, sound decisions,” he said. “I enjoy the chance to make a small difference in a student’s life.”