College Planning
1.
If you are a high school senior,
apply to multiple schools so that you have several financial aid offers to
compare.
2.
Take a look at colleges that are
close to your home, or close to a relative you can stay with. If you can
commute to school, you won’t have to pay for room and board.
3.
Carefully plan your school
application and college
testing expenses – they can add up!
4.
If able, take Advanced Placement
tests while in high school to obtain college credit. Any credits you receive
could enable you to graduate early, which would save you money in tuition!
5.
Your high school may have a program
with a local community college that will allow you to take “dual credit”
classes.
6.
See if your school has a tuition
payment plan available.
7.
Consider attending a community
college while you decide on your college major and save money to
attend a 4-year school.
8.
If you are planning to attend a
public school, consider attending one in the state you live in, to take
advantage of lower tuition charges available to in-state students.
9.
Select your college dorm
carefully. Some dorms may cost more because they are newer, or have additional
facility/recreation fees attached.
10.
Select your campus meal plan carefully.
If you use up your meal credits early, you will have to purchase additional
credits. Most plans do not let you roll over unused credits to the next school
year.
11.
Select your college major
carefully. You’ll want to research future career options and salary
expectations to make sure you will be able to afford to repay your student loan
debt.
12.
If you are interested in joining the
ROTC or the military, you may be able to have all or part of your college
education paid for.
Apply for Financial Aid
13.
Fill out the FAFSA
(Federal Application for Federal Student Aid) every year at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/
to qualify for financial aid.
14.
Once you fill out the FAFSA, your
school will send you an award letter with your financial aid package.
15.
If your family’s financial situation
changes after you’ve already submitted your FAFSA information (i.e. job loss,
medical emergency) work with your school’s financial aid office to see if you
can obtain increased financial aid.
Get Free College Grants
16.
College
grants are free – you don’t have to pay them back! Once you fill out
the FAFSA, you are automatically in the running for federal and most state
grants based on the financial information that you entered.
17.
If you are a graduate student, ask
your financial aid office if there are non-need based grants available for your
field of study (sometimes called fellowships).
Apply for College Scholarships
18.
If you are lucky, your school may
award you with an athletic or academic scholarship. These types of scholarships
often cover all 4 years!
19.
Ask your financial aid office if
there are college
scholarships available for your field of study, heritage, community,
or hobbies.
20.
Ask your department (i.e. English,
Science, Business) if there are scholarships available for your major. Your
dean or professor may know about these scholarships, too.
21.
Look for college scholarships from
your workplace, church, community, and organizations that you are involved
with.
22.
Start a college scholarship search
on the web with sites like Fastweb.
Your personal profile that you set up will help you find scholarships that
match your profile.
Borrow Student Loans
23.
The Federal
Stafford Loan is a low-cost student loan, backed by the federal
government. Your award letter will show how much you are eligible to borrow
every year, or you can do additional research here.
24.
Graduate students can use the Federal Grad
PLUS Loan , to supplement Stafford Loan funds.
25.
If you have maximized free money and
federal loan options, consider using a private
student loan to pay for college.
Save Money on College Textbooks
26.
Purchase used college
textbooks at the college bookstore. Just make sure you get in line
early – used textbooks get sold quickly.
27.
Look for new or used college
textbooks online on sites like Ebay
or Amazon. If you are able to
find the majority of your textbooks with one vendor, you might qualify for free
shipping or a volume discount.
28.
You can download certain popular
textbooks for free from websites like Freeload Press.
29.
If you’re strapped for cash, ask
your professor if you can use a previous edition of the textbook (older
editions are usually less expensive).
30.
If you don’t need your textbooks
once you’re done with them, sell them back to the bookstore or on sites like
Amazon or Ebay.
Make Extra Money
31.
If you were awarded federal
work-study on your award letter, you can earn extra money by working
at your school or in your local community.
32.
If you were not awarded federal
work-study money, ask your financial aid office if you can get on a waiting
list in case there is an opening.
33.
Get a paid college
internship. Many degree programs now require an internship to
fulfill graduation requirements, but you’ll probably have to work harder to
find one that pays.
34.
Ask your favorite professor if
he/she needs an assistant.
35.
Look for part-time student jobs
in your campus newspaper, on campus bulletin boards or in your college’s
student activity office.
36.
Apply for part-time work at local
businesses or restaurants.
37.
Ask friends and family if you can
intern at their workplace.
38.
Start up a baby-sitting, pet-sitting
or house-sitting business that you can run in your spare time.
39.
Find a summer job at a camp or local
business .
40.
Sign up with your school or a local
company to become a tutor. You may be able to make even more money by starting
your own tutoring business.
41.
Creating websites is a lucrative
part-time job for many students.
42.
Start your own business in your
local community or online (just think Michael Dell).
43.
If you are majoring in photography,
consider working as a wedding or portrait photographer in your free time. Your
school may also hire student photographers to work at athletic games and school
functions.
44.
Your school may hire students to
work during athletic events.
45.
If you have school spirit, get hired
by your school to give tours or allow a prospective high school student to live
with you for the weekend.
Reduce your College Expenses
46.
Work with a college advisor to make
sure that you are taking the appropriate classes to fulfill your major and
graduation requirements on time.
47.
Look for student travel deals on
sites like StudentUniverse
or STA Travel.
48.
Use student flight deals offered by
airlines, like AirTran.
49.
If you will be flying extensively,
sign up for a frequent flier program to earn free flights.
50.
Purchase your computer, software and
accessories through a student
discount program from Dell, Apple, HP or Microsoft.
51.
Use free campus transportation
whenever possible.
52.
Split your campus parking pass with
a friend, and share the cost. If you don’t want to buy a parking pass, consider
parking off-campus.
53.
Walk, bike or skate to school.
54.
Carpool to school or work with a
friend or roommate.
Manage Your Living Expenses
55.
Rent or dorm fees are generally the
second highest education expense, after tuition. Shop around to find college apartment
move-in specials for college students.
56.
Find roommates to split your living
expenses.
57.
Consider doing without, or reducing,
monthly expenses like cable, telephone and entertainment expenses.
58.
Buy used furniture on Craigslist or through
campus newspaper ads.
59.
Purchase student discount cards, or
look for student
discounts at local restaurants and businesses.
60.
Reduce food
expenses by cooking more at home, instead of eating out.
61.
You may be able to get free room and
board by signing up to be a dorm monitor or resident assistant.
62.
Some college apartment complexes
provide free or discounted rent for students who refer other tenants to the
building.
63.
Join your family’s cell phone plan
(it’s usually cheaper than getting your own). Check your account frequently
online or on your phone to make sure you don’t go over your allotted minutes or
text messages.
64.
Use free websites like Facebook or Flickr to communicate with
friends and family, and share pictures for free.
65.
Communicate using inexpensive or
free internet calling services, like Skype. You can also talk for free on some instant messengers,
like MSN,
if both parties use headsets or microphones.
66.
Start using coupons at the grocery
store, local restaurants or department stores.
67.
Bring your own snacks to class, so
you won’t be tempted to buy anything from the vending machine or cafeteria.
68.
Some campuses have free Wi-Fi. Check
to see if it’s in a convenient location to avoid paying for internet.
69.
Look for free events happening on
campus, like movie screenings, rather than going to the movie theater.
70.
Never turn down free food around
campus (club meetings, events, etc).
71.
Ask about free student checking and
savings account at local banks.
Debt Management
72.
Use cash or student loans to
purchase textbooks, food and other college expenses instead of a credit card.
73.
If you need a credit card, make sure
you get one with no annual fee and a low interest rate.
74.
Save money in interest by paying
more than the minimum on your credit card.
75.
Save big money by paying the
interest on your unsubsidized student loans every month while you are in
school, if you are able.
Gift Ideas
76.
Send your family and friends your
high school graduation invitations, along with a letter explaining your college
intentions. They may just send you contributions to your college fund.
77.
Ask family and friends to contribute
to your 529 College
Savings Plan or another type of college saving account in lieu of
birthday or holiday gifts.
78.
Ask family and friends to donate
furniture for your apartment or dorm room.
79.
Ask a relative to give you a loan,
that you will pay back with interest. Make sure you draw up the appropriate
paperwork to protect both parties.
80.
If your relatives are about to get a
new computer, ask if they will give you their old one!
Parents
81.
Pay for all or part of college
expenses with your personal cash or savings.
82.
Create a 529 College
Savings Plan for your child’s education.
83.
Some states will allow you to lock
in today’s tuition prices through a 529 Pre-paid
Tuition Plan.
84.
Help your student find and apply for
college scholarships.
85.
Ask your employer if they offer
scholarships for employees’ children.
86.
Take out a Federal PLUS
Loan in your name to help pay for your child’s education.
87.
Help your child obtain a private
student loan by co-signing.
88.
If you have a lot of unnecessary
items around the house, consider holding a garage sale or selling items on Ebay and using the funds
for your child’s education fund. Also, many household items can be donated to
charity, which would save you money on taxes that you can then use to help pay
for your child’s education.
89.
Help your student create a budget
and stick to it.
90.
Many parents have to reduce their
monthly expenses while their child is in college, in order to have enough left
over to pay their child’s food and living expenses while he/she is in college.
91.
Purchase airfare for your child to
come home well in advance to save money in travel costs.
92.
Mail your student care packages with
food and study supplies to help reduce spending needs. Weigh the cost of
mailing a grocery gift card rather than mailing food items; it’s probably much
cheaper to send a gift card than a heavy package.
93.
If your student needs a credit card,
consider adding him/her to one of your accounts. Chances are your card’s
interest rates are better than what he/she could qualify for, and you can keep
an eye on college spending.
94.
If you are paying for college
expenses, make sure you look into all of the tax deductions available to you.
After College
95.
Sign up for the Peace Corps,
Americorps, or similar volunteer organization after college. In exchange for
your service, you may receive money towards your student loan debt.
96.
If you work in a public service job
for 10 years while making payments on your student loans, the government will
forgive the rest of your student loan debt. To receive this benefit, your loans
must be consolidated into a Direct Loan held by the Department of Education
while you make payments, so consider consolidating
as soon as you leave school and your grace period expires.
97.
Consider working for an employer in
the private field that offers student loan payoff as an employee benefit.
98.
See if your occupation has jobs that
qualify you for loan forgiveness in exchange for a certain number of years in
public service (Ex. teacher, physician, nurse, lawyer).
99.
Live at home after college. You can
use the money you save in rent and expenses can help pay off your student
loans.
100.
Paying more than the minimum on your
student loans will reduce the amount you will pay in interest, and pay the
loans off faster.
101.
Use your student loan interest as a tax deduction every year, if you qualify.
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