Step 1: Become more aware of financial aid opportunities.
The first thing you need to do is become more aware of the different opportunities that are out there for saving money on education. Most people just focus on grants, loans, Scholarship grants, and work study when it comes to college. These are definitely viable options and if you’re disciplined enough financially and know how to use a basic student loan calculator, then you can definitely make those options work. Contrary to that, did you know that there are actually a number of other ways to save money? I’ll list them in order from most available opportunity to least available opportunity. You can apply for these opportunities at any point in your college career! So start looking into them early! Here are the best ways to save money on education…
1) Federal Work Study Program –
This is a great way to earn extra cash for school while also earning some spending cash throughout the year! You can earn up to $1700 per semester through this program with only minimal work hours required (depending on what your school requires!). To learn more about this program, read my article entitled “Federal Work Study Program”. This article is essential reading if you want federal work study because it tells you exactly how much money you could make working in this program during every semester in college.
Blockchain in education – This is a relatively new thing, but I think it’s the future! Colleges and universities are beginning to use blockchain technology to create secure online environments that can be used for all sorts of purposes. One of those purposes is education. Blockchain technology will give students more secure access to their own records and allow them to take courses from anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. This would be a way for students who aren’t local or who don’t want to go back home after college can still benefit from online classes offered by their alma mater. To learn more about blockchain technology and how it could affect education, read my article entitled “Blockchain in Education”.
2) Go part time –
If you’re not going into college with any debt already, then you should seriously consider taking less than 12 hours per semester (which means you’d be going part time). If you work full time at a job while going part-time at school, then it’s possible that your net income could actually increase if your expenses decrease enough due to being able to work less hours! In fact, I took exactly this route myself. I went part time while I was working full-time. It worked out great, and I ended up graduating in 3 years instead of the usual 4. To learn more about this option, read my article entitled “Going Part Time to Save Money on Education”.
3) Take classes you’re interested in –
This is another way to reduce your college expenses because it’s much cheaper to take classes that you’re interested in than it is to take ones that you don’t care nearly as much about. If you look into specific education opportunities (such as grants or scholarships) then there are likely some academic requirements for being eligible for them. You should consider taking these requirements anyway even if they aren’t interesting just so that you’ll be able to get money back after graduation! To learn more about this option, read my article entitled “How Students Can Save Money on Education”.
4) Check into community college –
If it’s realistic based on your major and career goals, then consider attending a public community college first before transferring over to a university later. Many people find that community colleges are much cheaper than universities when all things are considered! There are also many online universities which offer programs at very low prices compared with the costs of traditional schools.
