How To Afford College
- August 11, 2008
- 5,690 Views
Writer
William_Kim
Music
Edison Music Corp
Voice Over Artist
Betsy Winchester
You can come up with college tuition — even a six-figure one. It just takes a little digging.
You Will Need
- Research skills
- Scholarships and grants to apply for
- A college savings fund
- A financial planner
- A college loan
- A campus job
- A full or part-time job
- An ROTC membership
Step 1: Start saving now
Begin saving for college as soon as possible. Assuming an 8% yearly return on your savings, socking away $100 a month for 18 years would leave you with $48,000 — more than double what you put in!
Consult a financial planner—or even just a friend who’s recently paid for college—about ways to maximize your college savings fund.
Step 2: Get student aid
Submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. Download it at www.fafsa.ed.gov.
Step 3: Find plenty of scholarships
Apply for scholarships and grants. In addition to rewards for academic and athletic achievement, plus funds set up for minorities, there are all kinds of weird-but-true scholarships, like one for left-handed people and another awarded to the couple who creates the best prom outfit out of duct tape. Search online for “unusual scholarships.”
Step 4: Apply for school-specific scholarships
Apply for scholarships and grants offered by the college you will be attending. For example, David Letterman established a telecommunications scholarship at his alma mater, Indiana’s Ball State University. Contact your institution’s financial aid office to find out what’s available.
Apply early! You don’t want to miss any entry deadlines if a project or essay is involved.
Step 5: Consider a loan
Consider taking out a loan. The federal government offers both subsidized and unsubsidized loans. The former are a better deal, but both are better than loans from private lenders.
Step 6: Look for work-study opportunities
Ask about work-study opportunities at your school. These are part-time campus jobs reserved for students.
You will likely pay less in taxes for a work-study position than you would for a normal job.
Step 7: Start with community college
If you can’t afford a four-year school, consider attending a community college for two years and then transferring to the university of your choice.
Step 8: Get a job
Work full or part time while you attend school part time. It will take you longer to get your degree, but you will have less debt.
Some jobs will pay part of your tuition.
Step 9: Join the Army reserve
Consider joining the ROTC — the Army’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. Army ROTC is the single largest source of scholarship money in the United States.
Graduates of two-year colleges make an average of $400,000 more over their lifetime than those who graduate only from high school.
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Comments (5)
this is a really helpful video. great job!
over 3 years ago by allisoninwonderland
Or you can join job corps! IT";S FREEE!
over 3 years ago by Sweetapple32
DONT SUPPORT THE MILITARY BY JOINING THE ARMY
over 3 years ago by NiNo_305
Wish I'd known all this when I went to college.....
over 3 years ago by BCipolla
Maybe someday people will realize that all the fear mongering regarding the military is just that. Someone has to defend the country and it sure isn't Nino_305. I would choose to hang with a member of the armed forces over some pontificating college professor any day of the week. They do the heavy lifting while the rest of us sit in our pajamas and watch Desperate Housewives...Not that there's anything wrong with that.
over 3 years ago by Ken_Steiger
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