The U.S. News & World Report published a
list today of ten ways students can raise money for college. The list:
- Money from Relatives: Grandparents, aunts, uncles, everything—they're all often willing to pony up for a loved one's future.
- Tax Breaks: The American Opportunity tax break should give approximately 2 million tuition payers up to $2,500 in refunds.
- Scholarships: Some state and private scholarships are floundering, but Pell Grants continue to help out low-income students, and U.S. News says there are still plenty of private scholarships available to students.
- Affordable Schools: 40 percent of Americans are taking college courses in some capacity this year—that's a new record—and U.S. News says the biggest jump in enrollment has been in two-year community colleges, where students on average were able to get enough financial aid to fully cover tuition.
- Limiting Spending: Cutting down on clothes shopping or selecting a cheaper meal plan can help save hundreds of dollars a year, which comes in handy for essentials like textbooks.
- Student Jobs: Students can earn around $100 a week at many work-study jobs, which tend to ask for modest hours so as not to interfere with studies.
- Federal Student Loans: U.S. News says 6 million students are receiving money from Stafford loans this year, which is 2 million more than 2007. The amounts are generous (freshmen can get up to $5,500, and upperclassmen 24 or older can receive as much as $12,500), and the government allows grads to cap their payments at 15 percent of their monthly incomes.
- Federal Parent Loans (sort of): The government has likewise made it easier for parents to take out loans to cover tuition, but U.S. News cautions that these loans might leave many in debt after their children graduate.
- Parent Savings: Even if your parents are shelling out a lot of cash to keep you in school, it might help them to know that they can save as much as $4,000 a year in everyday expenses while you're living somewhere else.
- Corporate Savings: Credit cards and services like Upromise and BabyMint can offer valuable rebates, and over 200 private schools give out scholarships to students that participate in the Tuition Rewards program.
What do you think of this list? What did/do you to pay for college?
Comments (117)
Because I couldn't get enough hours at any one job to pay for school, I worked six jobs (some student, some off-campus) simultaneously and maintained a high enough GPA to keep some need-based and academic scholarships. Two semesters I couldn't quite make my tuition/books, so my aunt and uncle asssisted.
I also barely spent money on ANYTHING other than direct school costs.
The jobs:
Resident Adviser (on-campus)
Computer lab assistant (on-campus)
Library assistant (on-campus)
College newspaper staff (on-campus/scholarship-based)
Vocal accompanist (on-campus)
Coffee shop barista (off-campus)
And I babysat on occasion for professors
If you can avoid doing THAT much, I do urge you to. I wouldn't trade my education for anything, but I think there are more affordable schools that would have afforded me a lot more leisure time and less stress. :)
Money from Relatives
My relatives are mostly in Vietnam and asking my family for money. The ones in the States are struggling financially themselves with young children.
Tax Breaks
I didn't get jackshit back from the government!
Scholarships
I mostly relied on school scholarship. Pell started out good, but then dwindled down to a few measly hundreds...
Affordable Schools
Now THIS is sound advice: I wish I had started at the local community college since tuition was 1/4th to 1/3rd of what I paid at uni.
Limiting Spending
This only applied to people who were spending to begin with... I have always scrimped and saved due to situation (growning up in Vietnam) and also because I knew I was going to be paying for my own college education. NOT MY PARENTS!!!!
Student Jobs
Odd jobs are what kept me afloat through most of school. I was working 30-50 hrs each week in addition to going to school full time. During the summer when others were going to the beach and taking trips to Europe I was busting my ass to save for the upcoming year's tuition.
Federal Student Loans
I only took out loans, even subsidized Stafford loans, as little as possible.
Federal Parent Loans (sort of)
I never understood this mentality that parents should be paying for kids' college tuitions...
Parent Savings
This is just moronic. The $4,000 they're "saving" is going to pay for your college living expenses... which will be a hell of a lot more than if you were living at home.
Corporate Savings
Start eating cereals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner then!
THIS LIST IS mostly MORONIC. Work hard. Save money. Study hard. Simple.
Work hard!!!! I know it sounds cruhhhkazyyy but. It. Works.
1, 4, 5, and 7. As well as government grants.
@tigerdauphin@xanga - I'm in the same boat as you. My parents paying for my college?? Haha yeah right. In my dreams. Maybe in a million years.
i want to go to school, but worried about more debt in life...lol
the military, people. they'll help you out. you can always avoid the fight by going into the navy and air force for sure
My relatives currently are paying for me but they know I'll pay them back once I graduate. :) Also, I'm lucky that my school offered me a huge scholarship, otherwise my debt for education would've been over 20k!
@tigerdauphin@xanga - actually, not really. So relatives cant just hand you money. But if they give you gifts for Christmas or your birthday, ask for the money instead. Even if it is only $10, it is just $10.
As a student, you must have been doing something wrong if you worked as much as you said you did and didnt get anything back. (There is of course and exception to this statement. And that is if you had anticipated the refund you would have gotten and adjusted your withholding appropriately. Then you wont get a refund, but you will have paid that much less in taxes. So it is still extra money in your pocket regardless.)
As a student, you should know that every few cents helps. So even if you dont get much from things like Upromise and BabyMint, it is still something.
I also find it funny that you call this mostly moronic when you, yourself, have admited to doing many of these!
Suggestion: pose nude for print or video. This, is for the daring type.
@der_lila_Stern@xanga - we don't celebrate Christmas. There's no such thing as giving gifts or money willy nilly like other families do. But that's your tradition, not mine. Don't make assumption. There's no money even when it's birthdays. My parents give me money but I know they can't afford it so I give it back! I have no other relatives with money in the States OR DID YOU NOT READ THAT PART???
And I "must have been doing something wrong"????? WTF does that even mean?
Ever heard of making too much money to qualify but not quite enough to take care of it yourself?
And of course I did all the loans and scholarship - it's all part of FAFSA. That's why I said this list is moronic b/c it points out the obvious: FAFSA, and the rest of it (besides choosing an affordable school and have school jobs) are "asking for money."
Excuse me but last I check you are financially responsible for yourself once you're 18. If you're lucky like some/most Americans who have parents and relatives, especially grandparents that give out money every other month (I know several friends that gets a grand or two every other month!!!) but I AM NOT ONE OF THEM!!!!
I chose to keep my loans to a minimum. I was offered Stafford Loans every semester but rarely did I accept them. Or like many of my moronic acquaintances did: accept Stafford Loans and then get a "refund" check every semester which was spent on clothing and alcohol and other moronic irresponsible purchases.
I graduated owing less than $2000 to the government thankyouverymuch! I was an Honors student in both the school program and the business program.
You should really watch your words before attacking someone else especially when you know nothing of their situation. You just come across as another moron, judging from your words.
the ones that ask your parents to pay or say to ask other people for money, that's kinda dumb because usually if you're worried about paying for school that's because you are doing it yourself- not your parents. I've held 2-4 part time jobs while going to school full time as well as overloading to graduate a semester early and save tuition and I should be able to graduate debt free. I also work 2 jobs during the summer, usually 60 hours a week. I also get scholarships from my university. if you really want to go to school then i think you can make it happen, i did!
@tigerdauphin@xanga - I totally agree with you about this list. You can't ask your parents/relatives for money if they don't have it!!! While my parents DID pay for my first year of college (actually, really only the first SEMESTER), this is primarily the reason I'm sitting at home writing this instead of in a college dorm or some place on campus, because I depended on THEM to pay, instead of me at least trying to help. After I pay off what I owe, I'm heading straight over to a community college (which I will be paying for, I know). I am now aware that I will be paying for the rest of my college unless I get scholarships or something like that.
p.s.- I know you probably don't need me to tell you this, but you're obviously doing SOMETHING right if you only owe less than $2000 to the gov't. The person that was attacking you doesn't know what they're talking about. "Doing something wrong?"----I DON'T think so!!! You're doing everything right! People don't understand how expensive college is until they have to pay for it themselves!
@FIFA_World_Cup_2010@xanga - hahaha it is a slap in the face isn't it when you find out exactly how much college cost? It sure was to me!
I even had the exact same argument with one of my law professors when he talked about his family paying for him all the way through to law school and that he was shocked when some kids nowadays are paying for themselves. I argued that how can a law professor and lawyer think that parents are legally responsible for their kids' college tuitions and that he was an idiot for believing that. Needless to say... I didn't get an A in that class.
But sometimes... it astounds me how stupid some educated people can be!
And thank you, btw. She really hit a nerve with that phrase "did something wrong" because I am DAMN PROUD of how hard I work to put myself through college and then someone else who agrees the idea of asking others to pay for their college tuition is telling me I must have done something wrong.
@B1ANCACACA@xanga - I definitely understand that all parents want to help out with paying for their kids' education, but realistically, not many can afford it. Most just take out loans anyway. The silver lining is that people like us, having to pay for ourselves, will learn great money managing skills for later in life. And also - we just appreciate every dollar more!
Good luck girl! Keep going and don't get discouraged.
@tigerdauphin@xanga - I'm sure my parents would help if they could. and you're totally right about the money managing skills. Good luck to you too!
@tigerdauphin@xanga - hey, i was really kind of surprised that you think that it's better to start with a community college first. can you please elaborate? because my local community colleges are pretty crappy, and i've never even thought about going to one, except as a really bad joke.. D:
so yes, more info would be appreciated pl0x!
@tigerdauphin@xanga - Yeah, I thought this article was a little far-fetched, but it seems like at least one item on the list will work for everyone. I mean, like the relatives one, the article mentioned one kid whose uncle just offered to give him like $10,000. He wasn't expecting it, but it happened.
Money from Relatives: only if your relatives give money
Tax Breaks: That should cover books.
Scholarships: You only get these if you're really poor or an athlete.
Affordable Schools: This one is actually good advice. Knock out the core curriculum where it doesn't cost five digits a year to attend.
Limiting Spending: Also good. Sometimes you have to cut down to no new clothes, enough gas to make it to the job and back, and not eating, but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Student Jobs: Work-study can get money, but working elsewhere, that increases your income which reduces your "financial need," putting you into a nasty loop until you work full time and end up dropping out, not that I'm bitter or anything.
Federal Student Loans: These actually give you money...that you have to pay back.
Federal Parent Loans (sort of): If your parents will take them
Parent Savings: Funny thing about this, this counts against you when it comes to qualifying for financial aid.
Corporate Savings: Wha?
I got Pell Grant, but my stepdad helped to the point of filing up for bankruptcy. And there you have it... a Diatery Aid!
@cornyonacob@xanga - This is subjective!
Every community college is different. There are two right in my area that I can pretty much qualify for. I was just like you: thought it was a joke.
I went straight to uni, partly b/c I thought community college is a joke, and also b/c I looked into transferring and for the major I picked at the time, it wouldn't transfer. But then I ended up changing my major anyway, and I met many in the program for my original major that came from community college so basically I was lied to.
But of the two in my area, I came to find that one is a great school and their courses are very tough, maybe even tougher than the ones at uni. What I did was talked to my professors at my uni about courses in community college and the major consensus was that if the course transfers equivalently then the community courses are much better.
They told me that not only are the students from CC up to date but they had better work ethics. And yes, this was all CCs not just the one I was inquiring about. You see, in their opinion, CCs know that the schools their students want to transfer to varied across the map so they want to make sure that no matter what school, the credit will transfer. If it doesn't, they will lose out on a large market of potential students.
And also, by "transfers equivalently" I mean: make sure a Biology course that's focused on something specific (so therefore much harder) will transfer as a higher level Bio course at uni too. If it will only transfer as a first level Bio, then don't bother wasting your time, take it at uni.
Most of the professors, and myself (as I thought about transferring school), recommend to take most of your lower level courses at CCs then take the higher and more specific courses at uni.
The CC that I wanted to go to cost, in my freshman year, a fifth (1/5 or 20%!!!!!!!!) of what I was paying at uni.
Look into the basic courses of your major, and also the basic courses of your University in general as they can vary, and pick out the common ones. Then get a course discription sheet for each class and take that to your CC. Find courses that are similar and get their course discription.
Take that straight to your Uni and ask "If I take these CC's a, b, and c courses, will they transfer as these Uni'sA, B, and C courses?" If yes, GET IT WRITING then take them at your local CC.
Some school can be anal about this and won't even give you any guarantee (in writing) and insist that they have special courses that are not allowed to be taken anywhere else (mine did) but lo and behold I meet transferred students that were waived these courses b/c something from CC was almost the same.
Worse comes to worst, go to Uni, but take CC courses over the summer. Squeeze in as many as you can to save money!
Good luck!
p.s. Most of the courses in the first 2 years are general, so most transfers I met all did 2 years at CCs, but some did only 1 year and 1 summer, "just in case" the Uni decided to not allow some courses to transfer. So each school and its requirement is different so hopefully you can find a happy medium for you.
@tigerdauphin@xanga - oooh thanks so much for your help! :] i like the idea of taking cc courses over the summer and such. i think my ap classes will also help to reduce the # of classes i have to take in uni.
again, thanks!
I have federal loans, grants, and scholarships...plus prepaid tuition plan..but I still have a shitton of loans.
the only ones that would work for me is working a gillion jobs, a CHEAP college, and working hard. My parents dont have a pot to piss in, and i would NEVER ask my family to help me out, they've done FAR too much for me and my brother as it iss. fuck $$$
Military for me.