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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/scholarship-tips-and-mistakes.png" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.submitinfographics.com/full-size-infographics/scholarship-tips-and-mistakes.png" alt="infographic" width="430"><br /> Click to Enlarge </a><br />Via <a href="http://www.studentscholarshipsearch.com/tips/scholarship-tips-and-mistakes.php"> StudentScholarshipSearch.com </a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This infographic was submitted to us by StudentScholarshipSearch.com

This is a really useful tool for anyone looking for ways to fund their college education. It’s cleverly designed so it’s really fun to look at, and it definitely offers some good tips. I like the notes from Mom and the procrastination meter–”NO MONEY FOR YOU!”

There’s a lot of numbers that are important for applicants to know, but unfortunately only 1 data set is visualized–the range in award money. The rest of the data is just written out, or expanded upon in another way. For example, “41 out of 50 states offer scholarships” could’ve been a map of the US with the 9 states that don’t offer scholarships in a contrasting color. And while the procrastination meter is cute, it doesn’t seem to illustrate hard data.

This infographic would benefit from a reduction in text, a slight simplification on design (my eye is looking everywhere–it’s a great concept but a bit too busy) and a bump in data viz. That way busy students could check in quickly to see what they should be doing, rather than taking the time to read. If there are any available stats on how many students say they put off their scholarship apps, or a survey on the average number of scholarships students apply for, that would supplement the data really well.

As an infographic I’d give this a C, but as a useful tool for students, an A!

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<div align="center"><a href="http://www.collegescholarships.org/research/student-loans/" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.collegescholarships.org/research/student-loans.jpg" border="0" alt="Student Loans Scheme." /></a>Infographic by <a href="http://www.collegescholarships.org/" target="_blank">College Scholarships.org</a><br />View Other <a href="http://www.submitinfographics.com" target="_blank">Infographics</a></div> <p>

This is a great infographic created by CollegeScholarships.org that sheds light on the controversial student loan industry. The infographic begins with one simple, yet frightening fact: US student loan debt is up to $829 Billion. To explain this deficit, the infographic continues down a short time line from 1965 to 2005 to show all the points in history that led our nation to this dilemma. Next it points out that a variety of consumer protections have been taken away from student loans, making it harder to pay back loans and providing lenders far more power than one could imagine. As the infographic states, “mobsters would be jealous” of the power that lenders have when trying to get their money back from students.

Beyond simply stating the problem, this infographic continues to explain how student loans work and then suggest solutions and ways to stay out of debt. Since knowledge is power, this infographic will hopefully give prospective students the knowledge they need to steer clear of bad loans.

All in all, this infographic is well put together with a variety of great design elements that keep the viewer engaged and information easy to take in. One could spend a few seconds or a few minutes looking through it and would come away with an overwhelming need to look elsewhere for college funding, like scholarships. Therefor, the infographic serves its purpose in more ways than one.