SAN ANTONIO \u2013 As many college students return to class at UTSA and the University of the Incarnate Word on Monday, financial experts say the start of the school year is also a key time to start planning their financial future.<\/p>\n
From student loans and credit cards to meal plans and emergency savings, college students face major financial choices each semester. <\/p>\n
Dr. Taylor Collins, an associate professor of economics at UIW, said one of the first steps students should take is reviewing their financial aid options.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single year, you should file a new FAFSA form,\u201d Collins said. \u201cThat is the form for federal student loans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Collins said students should prioritize federal student loans before turning to private loans. Federal loans generally offer lower interest rates and may include debt-forgiveness options.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo make sure you\u2019re getting the best interest rates possible, you want to make sure to update that form every single year,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
He also urged students to borrow only what they need, even if they are approved for more.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might get approved to borrow $30,000, but if tuition is only $8,000, don\u2019t take that full $30,000 out,\u201d Collins said.<\/p>\n
Graduating on time can also make a major difference financially. Each additional semester can mean another tuition bill and more time before earning a full-time professional salary.<\/p>\n
Collins said students should also take advantage of resources their universities already offer, including scholarships and financial planning courses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually have a college class for credit called personal financial planning,\u201d Collins said. \u201cIt is one of the best classes that we offer. It takes you from step zero of \u2018I know nothing about how to manage my personal finances\u2019 all the way up through making a plan for once you graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also recommended that students keep a small emergency fund, even around $500, to help cover unexpected expenses.<\/p>\n
When it comes to credit, Collins said students should start small. One option is opening a first credit card and using it for small recurring charges that are paid off in full every month. That can help students begin building a credit history without taking on unnecessary debt.<\/p>\n
Read also:<\/p>\n
Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 As many college students return to class at UTSA and the University of the Incarnate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":416049,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43474,2349,82,84,83,1702,3439],"class_list":["post-416048","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-back-to-school","tag-money","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-uiw","tag-utsa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416048","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=416048"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/416048\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/416049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=416048"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=416048"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=416048"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}