Terri Ramsey Beavers The cost of a college education these days is extremely high, with many students going into extreme debt just to pay their tuition and purchase all their books and supplies. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Sure, you can’t change a school’s tuition and fees, but there are a few clever strategies that you can follow to reduce your costs as much as possible and save as much money as possible on your college degree. Check out the tips below to get started.
Go Online
You might find that going to school online is a more affordable, as well as much more flexible, option than heading to a classroom. First off, you won’t have to worry about the cost of commuting to and from school every day. Secondly, you won’t have to worry about the cost of dorms at a faraway school. Instead, you could gain access to a school on the other side of the country that has a program that you want to complete at a price that you could afford. For example, if you want to become a teacher, you could find many online master’s in education degree programs.  If you want to become an entrepreneur, you can learn about Straighterline’s business courses and how you can get college credit. Complete all of your studies from home and then, before you know it, you will have your master’s in education and be ready for the workforce.
Apply for Grants
In addition to student loans that you have to pay back, you could also access other forms of financial aid, such as grants, that you don’t have to pay back. How great is that? Grants, scholarships, and other awards could be based upon your grades, your performance in high school, or even something like an essay that is entered into a contest. Taking the time to research these options is definitely worthwhile, as you may be surprised by how much money is out there for the taking when you simply look for it.
Purchase Used Books, and Then Sell Them
College textbooks can be really expensive, and you might be surprised by the hundreds of dollars that you have to spend just to get the books that you need for a single semester of classes. So rather than purchasing your books brand new, purchase them used from your school’s bookstore or from sellers online on sites like Amazon. Then, when you are done with your classes, you could even sell those textbooks back to your school’s bookstore, or you could instead create an online seller account of your own to sell your books on Amazon and make some—or perhaps all—of your money back. Nice!
Finish Sooner
Another way to save money when going to college is by focusing on getting done sooner. After all, every year, the fees of attending a school could go up, so the longer that you’re there, the more you’ll pay over time. You might also find that taking 18 credits per semester is the same as what you’d pay for taking 15 credits, so taking that extra class could help you save money and graduate sooner. Check out JC Tuition in your area, Smile Tutor can help.
Use these tips to save some cash when going to school. Once you graduate and start earning, you’ll be able to pay yourself back.
Sharing this with my daughter, she needs to save all she can!!
Nice Tips. I think rather than purchasing old books it is also better to take them from library, prepare notes or copy them and submit the book on time. This can also be a option to save money
Yes, we are 4 years out from college and I need all the tips I can get. Yes to Grants, used book and selling books once done.
I never knew this during my time yet when I was still studying. I wish to have known this earlier. I guess I will just share it to my younger cousins.
I have 2 kids in college and one joining the bunch in the fall. Scholarships, scholarships, scholarships and taking some of their courses in high school. It’s so important to save money and earn your degree rather than go to college and come out with nothing more than debt, which unfortunately is a reality for so many. Great tips!
Getting a college degree can be very expensive but with the right tips, it’s totally possible to save money along the way. These are great ways to save some money on tuition.
These are really great tips! Especially with how high the cost of college is! I sold my textbooks back most of the time or sold them to other students!
I wish this was around when I was in school Still great tips as I think one of the biggest wastes is buying new books. Sometimes you spend so much on a book only to find out that you hardly been open it in class. It is always better to go second hand just in case.
My husband has been doing online classes ever since he retired from the service. He is now almost done with his master’s degree. I highly recommend taking online classes as well.
College education is so expensive, all suggestions to optimize costs are welcome. These are some good suggestions to save money. Purchasing old books is a practical and sensible suggestion.
Great tips! I know how much my parents sacrificed to send me through college and I did my best to live frugal on campus. My eldest child is very wise with money and rents textbooks, or buys second hand ones from friends or upper class-men.
College is very expensive. I found that the least expensive and most affordable way to dal with textbooks was to rent most of them online, only buying what I really wanted or needed to keep.
We have been purchasing used books for my son’s college classes. I wa surprised by how much money it saved us.
Things have changed so much since I went to college. I wish I knew about blogging back then and all the different resources available to teach me how to save money.
You can never save enough money with going to college. This is an amazing article.
This is so important to keep in mind. I hope my kids are able to get grants because there’s no way we could afford to pay full price! I always bought used books in college.
No joke college is expensive! My daughter just finished her first semester as a freshman, and is looking into joining the military to help pay for college.
I think doing it online is all kinds of awesome. You can pay less AND not have to go out to the campus – score!
Hope the people heading to college read all your tips. My kids put themselves through college and didn’t owe a thing when they finished. All have masters.
I saved money by doing my Gen ED at a community college. When I go back I will end up doing online too.
Great tips and also after college with student loans to pay off. I need to remind one of my kiddos to sell her textbooks that are just collecting dust!