The Truth about the Month of August
When I was in junior high, old enough to value sleeping in but young enough to have nowhere to go all summer, I remember some smart-alecky type kid, upon hearing when my birthday fell, tell me, What a great birthday present! Just in time for back to school!
It wasn’t always this way. I remember, or am I imagining?, a time when Labor Day marked the true end of summer, when all of August, including the birthdays that fell therein, was ours to enjoy. But as years went on, the school year slowly, methodically began edging out this once only-summer month. In today’s schools, some college kids begin heading back in mid-August, some even earlier. My friend, a fourth grade teacher, had her orientation last night, and classes start Monday. It’s a tragedy, in my opinion, especially for us late-Augusters, for what’s a birthday to look forward to when you have school to start?
The silver lining, for me at least, is that school is over, so August means little by way of bad reminder. (Rather than returning to school, I *got* to work all summer long, never returning because of never leaving!) But I, ahem, am getting off track.
The subject is school. Returning to it.
The College Money Network I keep telling you about, the one with the great contributors and helpful information and big, HUGE, GREAT giveaway, is consistently churning out great advice for the back-to-school crew. Here’s a round-up of what’s been written so far, including those I highlighted last week:
6 Ways to Track Your Expenses Online
Maximizing Financial Aid
5 Things Every College Freshman Should Know
Buying Textbooks Online: a Primer
How to Make This the Year for Scholarships!
Get an Internship and Make It Count
Broke Student’s Guide to Free Software
Off-Campus Fun on the Cheap
Beginner’s Guide to Staying on Top of Student Loans
There are more coming this weekend, so stay tuned. BTW: Let us know what you’re thinking of the round-up, and hey–have you subscribed to our sites yet?
Feel free to start with This Writer’s Wallet! 
Image: House of Sims
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3 Responses to “The Truth about the Month of August”
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i feel your late august pain! the worst was going to a new school and not being able to build friendships in time for a birthday party.
My birthday is August 30th. My husband (who’s birthday is in May) loves to remind me that the end of August is back to school time, while May is the start of summer fun
When I was in school, we never went back until after Labor Day, but the elementary school in our neighborhood started back on 8/12 this year.
My sister’s birthday is August 20, and we NEVER started school before her birthday growing up. Now it seems that all the schools do. I’m not sure why - my dad says maybe because most all of the schools have air conditioning now, so they can start earlier.