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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1994)
| 17th & 'N' St. I No Appointments Necessary 476-9466 $6 Off Oil Changes Service ■ now for $1 Q 95 ! ONLY J- O (reg. $24.95) •We change oil, oil filter up to 5 quarts. •We lubricate the chassis. •We check and fill: Automatic transmision fluid |>nly, brake fluid, battery fluid, power steering fluid and washer fluid. * *Wc check anti freeze, air filler, wiper blades, tire t>rcssurc, vacuum interior, and wash your windows Best Service in Just 10 Minutes Most brands available Expires 8-31-94 Mon-Fri 8-6 Sat 8-4 Nontraditional students find a place at UNL By Jill O’Brien Staff Reporter The difference between part-time nontraditional students and full-time students is day and night, according to Bob Mathiasen, an academic advisor at the University of Nebraska-Lin coln. Many part-time adult students old er than 25 take one or two evening classes, while the majority of full-time adult students attend day classes, Mathiasen said. “For evening students the univer sity is a small aspect of their life and they spend about six or eight hours a week on campus. They either aren’t interested or don’thave the time. Peo ple enrolled during the day are prob ably a little more involved in campus life. That’s the main thing I sec,” he said. In more ways than one, Mathiasen represents the typical nontraditional Welcome Parents & Out-Of-Town Visitors TOWN HOUSE MINI-SUITES 800-279-1744 Stay with us when visiting in Lincoln 1744 M STREET, LINCOLN, NE 68508 (402) 475-3000 nocturnal student. r At the age of 22, after acquiring his f Bachelors of Arts degrees in Sociolo- c gy and Psychology, he was finished c with school, he said. “...or so I thought,” he said. “Once t I got working in the field, I soon c realized if I’m going to advance any- 1 where, I need a master’s, so I started t back to school when 1 was 30.” f He attended the University of Ne- s braska at Omaha part-time for six I years before he received his master’s i degree. Now, at 41, he assists nearly 900 students in the part-time evening < program at the Division of Continu- t ing Education and helps adults wade through the process of re-entering 1 school, he said. < Reasons why an adult re-enters college or decides to build on a high i school education vary, Mathiasen said. \ “Sometimes, people have cither been working in a specific field and t arc pretty maxed-out and may need I - -| | DON'T LET AN ACCIDENT TRIP YOU UP ! If you are not covered by your parent's medical insurance there is a student insurance program available to you. Enrollment is open with the beginning of fall semester for 30 days. For complete information, please call the Student Insurance Info Line at 472-7437. Umoln's Fitness end Cycling Center — Trek - Schwinn - KHS - Fisher - Specialized • Touring, racing, mountain, city #Oneof the widest selections of bikes and exercise equipment parts and accessories in • A truely great selection of m‘dwest clothing and shoes for men, • EXPERT REPAIRS women & children ON ALL BRANDS __ ' ■■ ■ ■■■ »— ^_Open 7 ■ wtet 27th & Vne - 475-BIKI - _, lore education to get oeyona tnat ield or they are wanting to make a areer change that would involve a re ducation,” he said. The “Handbook for the Adult Part ime Student,” lists those reasons and ithers that trigger a return to school, 'he book, available from the Division if Continuing Education, was com liled by Sue M. Scott, Lynnette Cottrell nd Deanna Eversoll, director of <vening Programs and Lifelong Leani ng Services. The authors covered many of the :oncems shared by full-time and part ime nontraditional students. For instance, how can students lalance an education with work, per onal development, and family life? “I’d say 90 percent of our students n the evening programs are married vith families,” Mathison said. Although single when he returned o school, Mathison wasn’t exempt fom stress. Like many adult students, ic held down a full-time job while ittending classes. “Time was a big deal,” he said. Working full-time was a matter of ;eparating personal time from work ng and school. A lot was trying to find lome balance there.” Adult students seeking a balance :an turn to advisors or refer to the idult student handbook. Other re sources, in me iorm oi viueuiapcs aic available from the Nontraditional Stu dent Resource Center, Mathison said. “Plus, every spring and fall the Division of Continuing Studies has workshops aimed at adults thinking about coming back to the university. We have a one-stop shopping center here where adults can visit with repre sentatives from all over campus.” The workshops inform adul ts about the System of Interactive Guidance Admission or S1GI Plus, a computer ized program. SIGI assesses an indi vidual’s skills, and accesses informa tion relevant to careers a student may be interested in, he said. Still, handbooks and videos don’t always provide answers to problems new adult students face. James Buckly, Coordinator ofCam pus Programs encourages nontradi tional students to link up with the Adult Student Network, which meets every Friday, beginning August 26, at the Nebraska Union from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. “It’s an opportunity to meet others going through similar experiences — juggling a spouse, kids, a job... things younger undergrads haven’t dealt with,” Buckley said. “Besides...it’s a nice change of pace for older students to sit in a room with people substan tially closer in age.” Student income taxed By Sam Kepfield Staff Reporter_ If you’re on your own now, away from your parents for the first time, that may mean many things — in cluding paying taxes. So, how do federal tax laws affect students any way? According to IRS Publication No.4, Student’s Guide to Federal Income Tax, the answer is that they operate pretty much the same as on other citizens, with a few differenc es. To begin with, if you work for someone else, delivering pizzas, fed eral income lax is withheld from your check, along with state tax. If you happen to be an enterprising sort, and open your own pizza place or crib sheet service, then you need to make estimated tax payments on your income. You must do this if you expect to owe $500 when you file your returns — which are due four times a year, in April, June, September, and Jan uary 15. This is done on a 1040ES form. Is there any way to get out of paying taxes? There is, surprisingly enough. If you have a part-time job, but don’t tnink vou’ll make enough to pay any tax, then you can ask your employer not to withhold your taxes. However, you have to meet three conditions—you didn’t pay any tax last year, you don’t expect to pay any this year, and you make more than $600 and cannot be claimed as a dependent by anyone. That $600 line is the magic number for deter mining whether you need to file a return or not. If you make less than $600, then you don’t need to file a 1040 form. How do you know if you’re a dependent? Ask. If your parents, or someone else, provides more than half your support for the year, they can generally claim you as a depen dent. This support includes food, clothing, payments on your dorm room or apartment, tuition, medical care, transportation or recreation. You may have a scholarship or fellowship to help pay those tuition bills. You may also nave to use it to pay taxes on the scholarship itself. That’s right — the part of the scholarship that you do NOT use for tuition or other educational expenses is subject to being counted as income. This does not apply to certain types of grants, such as ROTC assis tance benefits. Pell grants, or Fulbright Scholarships, or scholar ships won in a contest. when the taxes arc due in April and it comes time to fill out the forms, you can take certain deduc tions. If you are adependent, you can make the standard deduction of $600, or if you are not a dependent, then the amount is $3700. Chances are you can use the 1040EZ form. If you have any in vestment income, over $400 of tax able interest income, or fan self employment income, then you have to do the longer 1040 or 1040A form, with the appropriate sched ules. After you fill these out, it’s a good idea to keep a copy of the return and your W-2 forms for at least three years after you filed the return, or two years after you paid the tax, whichever is later. You should get all your W-2 forms by the end of January. Although the forms are due April 15, it’s a good idea to send them in as soon as possible. Taking the ten or fifteen minutes to fill out your 1040EZ form on February 1 wilt mean that you get that refund before most people arc even thinking about filling out their forms. If you have any more questions, you can pick up IKS publications to answer your questions. IRS publica tion No. 4, No. 505, and No. 919 are especially helpful, and they are writ ten in plain English.