6 Ways to Pay for Private School

6 Ways to Pay for Private School Attending a boarding school isnt cheap, we all know that. And today, many tuitions can cost a family as much as $70,000 a year (now multiply that by four years). Most private schools seem to be topping out around $45,000 to $55,000 a year, but some go well above that amount. Day school tuition typically runs about half that cost, or even less, depending on where you live. Even the primary grades cost a fortune these days. Paying for a private school education requires tremendous sacrifice for most parents. So how do you do it? How do you manage to pay for private school  tuition over the course of your childs education? Here are six ways you can manage those large tuition bills. Earn Cash Back on Tuition Payments Most schools expect payment of fees in two installments: one due in the summer, typically by July 1, and the other due in the late fall, typically by the end of November of the current academic year. Other schools may do their billing by semester or term though, so it varies. But, a little tip that not many families know is that schools will permit payment with a credit card. Simply make your tuition payment twice a year on a credit card with a rewards program, like a cash back card or one that will earn miles,  and then make your regularly scheduled monthly payments on the card. Lump Sum Discounts Schools always hate chasing down families who are late on their bills, which can have some negative results. But if you work with the school and pay your bill upfront, its often met with a discount. If youre able to pay your tuition bill in full by July 1, the school may offer you a  five to ten percent discount on the overall amount. Discount plus earning cash back with credit card payments? That sounds like a deal to me.   Tuition Payment Plans Not everyone can make lump sum payments and use a credit card to do so. For those families, there are still plenty of options. Most schools participate in tuition payment plans which are offered by outside providers, if not the school itself. The way these plans work is that you pay one-tenth of the expenses each month to the payment plan provider, which in turn pays the school on an agreed basis. It can be a real boon to your cash flow by allowing the payments to be spread equally over a number of months. The schools like the fact that they dont have to manage your billing. Its a win-win.   Financial Aid and Scholarships Almost every school offers some form of financial aid. You have to file an application for aid with the school and also file a standardized form, such as the Parents Financial Statement. The amount of aid which you can reasonably expect depends to a great extent on the size of the schools endowment, how much the school really wants to recruit your child, and how the school allots its scholarships. Several schools now offer a virtually free education if your family income is below $60,000 to $75,000 annually. So, if you need financial aid, see what the various schools on your short list can offer. Finally, be sure to ask around in your community. Many civic and religious groups provide scholarships. Loans Just like in college, loans are an option to pay for private school, though these are usually in the parents names, while college loans are often in the students names. Families have the ability to borrow against their assets to pay for private school education. There are also some specialized educational loan programs available, and your private school might offer or contract with a loan program, as well. It is always a good idea to consult your tax adviser and financial planner before making a major financial decision such as this. Company Benefits Many major corporations will pay for tuition and related educational expenses for dependent children of expatriate employees. So if you are posted to Belgium tomorrow, the main issue you will face is getting your children into the local international school. Fortunately for you, the tuition expenses will be paid for you by your company. Ask your Human Resources department for details. Edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development

The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development By Mark Nichol Plot develops out of conflict, either external, such as a person or an event that precipitates a series of actions the main character undertakes, or internal, driven by the protagonist’s wants and/or needs. How that character, and others, makes choices and otherwise responds to stimuli determines the course of events. The traditional structure of a plot is linear, in which the protagonist’s actions are charted in a more or less straight line, although many stories shift from that person’s point of view to that of one or more other characters as the tale progresses. Others involve one or more flashbacks, introducing new elements to the overarching plot or by explaining elements that appeared in previous acts (known as Chekhov’s Gun). In one sense, there are innumerable stories; looking at storytelling another way, various analysts have discovered variable finite numbers of basic plots (such as the quest, which is ubiquitous in all genres), though these types have a seemingly infinite number of variations, as a visit to any large bookstore or library will attest. But stories almost invariably follow a simple pattern, in which rising action propels the protagonist through a series of complications that result in a climax, followed by the falling action of the resolution. At this point, the character, or at least the character’s circumstances, have changed, though most readers (and writers) find it most satisfying if the character has experienced significant growth or change and has accomplished a palpable goal, such as a physical journey that has allowed the character to achieve some reward, or an intangible goal that still satisfies the reader’s desire for the protagonist to undergo a metamorphosis of some kind. Writer Annie Lamott created a helpful mnemonic catechism, ABCDE, to help writers remember the basics. Here are the elements: Action: Set the scene with an event that launches the series of events that constitutes a story. This scene should happen as early as possible, and though writers renowned and obscure alike have broken this rule with some degree of success, observe it unless you have an outstanding reason not to. Background: Context is essential to settle your readers into the story, though, as indicated above, it usually follows initiating action. Pay it out parsimoniously, however, and don’t let your reader get ahead of your protagonist, or you’ll likely release the dramatic tension prematurely. Conflict: Such tension is produced by your protagonist’s impetus to achieve a goal. That goal should be specific, and, for the story to be compelling, it should be something the character can’t live without. To be even more so, it shouldn’t be easy for the character to satisfy that desire. The tension is produced by desire, but it is sustained by obstacles to attainment of that desire. Development: This element constitutes the bulk of the plot; it is the journey, and all the events and incidents along the way. These happenings should bring the protagonist ever closer to resolution of the conflict, and they should steadily escalate in import and impact to heighten the suspense and keep the reader engaged in the story. End: The final step is further subdivided into a mnemonic trio: The crisis is the stage at which the protagonist must decide how to resolve the conflict, the climax is the tipping point at which the conflict is resolved, and the consequences consist of the state of affairs that exists after the crisis and the climax has the main character changed, or has the main character changed the world in some way? What is the outcome of all that has come before? This stage in a story, also called the denouement, is the final, necessary release of dramatic tension. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?Letter Writing 101

Movie review and analysis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

And analysis - Movie Review Example The film is splendid visually beginning from the costumes, sets, Mississippi location and the props. The FBI agents according to Bradford (1965) were not anywhere close to heroes and the civil rights activists; it was solely because of the social movement by the black Americans that the struggle succeeded as they took their destiny in their own hands and not because the paternalistic figures of white authority rescued them. This film practically dramatizes the death of the three civil rights activists. In the process of investigating the murders, the two FBI agents cajole and charms their way into the lips of the Mississippi residents. They solve the this murder case via exerting some influence on a worker in a beauty parlor, McDormand Frances, who wants to revenge the beatings she received from her husband, Brad Dourif, who happens to be connected to the Klan. The movie implicates that the social movement may not have attained a momentum without the white participants. Almost half o f the movie is taken up with various scenes of flame and smoke. The death of the three civil rights activists and the investigations make show how the social movement is part of the whole script. ... Majority of the debates in the film is focused on the disagreements in portraying the key events in history of the civil rights movement. The presentation of the white southern women and men, the determination of the FBI agents to fight for the cause of the civil rights, and the depiction of the process of capturing those who were at fault of the murder of the civil rights activists by the two FBI agents were the major focus of the debates in the film. In the film, I learned that the civil rights movement was purposely created to fight the racial discrimination in Mississippi of the black Americans. The movement emerged due to the consistent discrimination and violation of the civil rights of the blacks. The fight went on during the year 1964, until June the 21st when three civil rights activists were murdered by the Ku Klux Klan. The FBI agents were assigned to investigate the murders and this gave the black Americans hopes of continuing with the fight against discrimination. The ci vil rights movement first emerged in Mississippi and has spread all over the United States. As stated earlier, racial discrimination led to the emergence of this social movement by the black Americans. The major goal for the campaign of the civil rights movement was to eliminate the discrimination of the blacks and sell the idea that all people are supposed to be treated equally and with equity in as much as events and resources are concerned. The story of the movie surrounds the murder of the civil rights activists. The two FBI agents sent to Mississippi for investigation of the murder by the Ku Klux Klan enforced the social movement. The two agents agreed on the objective of the investigation, but they had constant disagreement on the methods and mechanism of how to best attain their