Funding a college degree is getting harder and harder as the price continues to rise. But if you want to pursue a career that requires a degree, you need to find some way around it. Coming out of college with a lot of debt puts you in a difficult situation so even though you will most likely have to take out some loans, you need to reduce that as much as possible. These are some of the best ways that you can make college cheaper.
Look For Scholarships
If you can find a scholarship to cover the cost of college, that makes things so much easier for you. Finding a scholarship is difficult and if your grades are not amazing, you may struggle. However, there are some great charities out there that offer scholarships to people from difficult financial backgrounds, so it’s worth looking into. Becca's Closet, for example, started out as a prom dresses donation charity but they have since expanded and now offer scholarships. There are a lot of charities out there that are trying to help people that normally wouldn’t be able to afford to go to college, so you should explore your options.
Pick A Cheaper College
Sometimes, you may need to make sacrifices if you are struggling to fund your college degree, and that means picking a cheaper college. If you go somewhere close to home, you will benefit from residency and that could save you up to $9000 a year. Alternatively, you could move to the state where you want to go to college and live there for a year before starting. That is usually enough time to establish residency and get a discount. You should also look into your options for community college, publicly funded state colleges, or even online courses because that will be a lot cheaper than a traditional college.
Earn College Credit In High School
If you are still in high school, you will have the opportunity to earn college credit while you are there. Most importantly, you won’t be paying for it, so you should take advantage of that opportunity while you still can. Depending on where you are, the offerings may be a little limited but it still gives you a headstart. Some schools will even give you the option of completing your associates by the time you graduate, which will save you a lot of money in tuition.
Pay Monthly Tuition
This won’t exactly save you money, but it will make the cost a lot more manageable. If you pay all of your tuition for the year in one lump sum, you will need to come up with a few thousand dollars. Most people don’t have that, and they end up borrowing on high-interest credit cards to make it up. But if you pay in monthly installments, you won’t be charged any extra and the cost will be a lot easier to manage without building up a lot of high-interest debt.
College is always going to be expensive but if you follow these simple tips, you can make it more affordable.
