The Outro - A Farewell
We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the significant contributions of our talented communications intern, Sydney Scott. Sydney has written all of our monthly blog posts for Career Compass since December 2018 -- a total of 27 insightful, humorous, and informative pieces on her life and times as a Louisiana college student. Sydney is in her final semester of college at Southeastern Louisiana University and has stepped away from the blog to focus on finishing up her degree and polishing up her already impressive resume for prospective employers. She remains our social media director, and you can still enjoy her work on Facebook and Instagram. Thank you, Sydney, for documenting your experience and offering up your wisdom to Gen Z!
The Intro - Meet John Liu
World, meet John Liu, our new student blogger. John is currently a senior at Pineville High who plans to study business economics and social impact entrepreneurship at NYU Stern in the upcoming fall. From tips on how to survive high school like a pro, to acing your college application essays, his terrible dad jokes and sarcastic humor is one will surely make you cringe, and maybe make you interested in the following: applying to local scholarships, studying, or even finally asking your English teacher for that overdue recommendation letter.
Hi, friend! Whether you’re an ambitious, effervescent freshman who just can’t wait any longer to take your first AP exam next month (because you’ve totally been studying), a senioritis-ridden 12th grader who is anticipating your first college result that’s not a waitlist, or a college student who can’t wait for the semester to end, you may be hearing about these stimulus checks and wondering if you qualify for one.
On March 11, 2021, President Joe Biden signed into law a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus relief package, known as the American Rescue Plan, which includes a third national stimulus check of $1,400 aimed at financially assisting Americans with lower incomes. Okay, I’m guessing by now, you’re probably asking “how do we know if we’re qualified,” “where do we get our stimmy payments,” and “how many bags of Cheetos can I buy?” Don’t worry, by the end of this blog post, all of your burning questions will be answered.
Do I Qualify?
Depending on their adjusted gross income, your parents may be eligible to receive the stimulus funding. This stimulus package did expand eligibility for those who would receive the stimulus checks from only families of dependent children under 17 (eligibility from the first stimulus check) to all dependents (children over 16, elderly, college students under 23, etc.). However, there are income requirements to receive the stimulus checks, so not everyone will receive one. The income thresholds are different from the last two rounds of stimulus checks, too. The limits are:
Individuals: $75,000 adjusted gross income (AGI)
Head of Household: $112,500 (AGI)
Joint/Married Filers: $150,000 (AGI)
Teen dependents, like you and I, don’t actually receive individual stimulus checks. Likewise, if you’re a college student who’s a dependent, “meaning someone claims you on their income tax return,” the person claiming you (parents or guardians) will receive an additional $1,400 in their bank accounts. Dependent stimulus checks, according to the third stimulus check eligibility rules, add funds directly to your household’s total check. “With the third check, dependents of any age will add up to $1,400 each to the family's check. The total amount of money allocated in the third payment depends on your [parents’] adjusted gross income.”
So no, we don’t get our own stimmy checks, but also, we’re most likely not the ones paying for Wifi, electricity/water bills, mortgage/rent, or home insurance. But, if you are an independent college student, meaning you are responsible for financially supporting yourself and no one can claim you on their tax return, you may qualify to receive your own stimulus check. If you do qualify, check the status of your check here.
More About The American Rescue Plan
The American Rescue Plan emphasizes payment to families that had not received the original $1,200 stimulus checks that were given through the CARES act ($2,400 for married couples, in addition to $500 per qualifying child) months back. The ARP also extends a $300 per week unemployment insurance aid (until Sept. 6) and increases the child tax credit for a year. According to Jacob Pramuk of CNBC, the spending package will contribute nearly “$25 billion into rental and utility assistance, $20 billion into Covid-19 vaccination [distribution], and $350 billion into state, local and tribal relief,” to reopen schools, colleges, local businesses, and other public institutions.
Additional Help for College Students
College students may have another avenue for receiving emergency financial aid. Emergency grants were originally signed into law under the CARES Act by President Trump and are continuing through 2021. Some colleges and universities are providing these emergency grants for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to COVID-19. The grants can help cover eligible expenses such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care. Each school has the discretion to decide on the criteria and timelines for these emergency grants, so if you’re a college student, you should check with your financial aid office.
Conclusion
You’re probably still wondering about how many bags of Cheetos you can look forward to. Well, you’ll need to ask your folks to buy them for you since they are the ones who would be entitled to the stimulus check. But I’ll tell you anyway: Since each 8.5oz bag of Cheetos cost $2.50 (at Walmart), $1,400 would give you 560 bags of Cheetos, or an estimated 133,000 individual Cheeto. I didn’t calculate the sales tax yet though.
Want more?
Check us out on Instagram and Facebook @careercompassla to see what we’re up to and to get important updates.
The Career Compass mobile app is available for free in the App Store and Google Play. Students and their parents can find scholarships, FAFSA and TOPS information, ACT and SAT reminders, application dates, important reminders, and more!