5 Tips To Pay For Your Upcoming College Costs

If you’re reading this, then you’re either on your way to college or considering college. If it’s the former, then you will learn many saving strategies here. If it’s the latter, then you should know that college is usually worth it. According to the Economic Policy Institute, college graduates earn an average of 50% more than high school graduates.

As we all know, college is expensive. Nobody wants to go to college to get a degree for a career but have to pay off student debts for decades. Most people will tell you it’s worth it. They are wrong. Living with debt for 1-2 decades of your life isn’t going to be an enjoyable experience. If happiness is your goal in life, then you should avoid this route at all costs.

Below are 5 Tips To Pay For Your Upcoming College Costs.

Apply for Scholarships

Scholarships can help you pay for tuition, housing, books, and more. Most to-be college students don’t bother checking if they qualify for a scholarship. If a trusted person came up to you and said, “I might be able to give you thousands of dollars if you search information on a website and submit an application that will take you a few hours at most,” would you do it?

The only reason you don’t view it that way is because it’s not money being handed to you to spend at your leisure, but it’s really the same thing. If thousands of dollars are being used to pay for your school, it would mean that money wasn’t being drained from your net worth. This, in turn, would mean you had that money to spend at your leisure. This doesn’t mean you should spend money at your leisure. That’s a bad idea. You want to save more than you spend, but that’s a topic for another article. In the meantime, below are some websites where you can see if you qualify for a scholarship…

Scholarships.com – $19 billion in paid scholarships.

Fastweb.com – $3.4 billion in paid scholarships.

Myscholly.com – Millions in paid scholarships but costs $7.99 per month.

Chegg.com – No essay required.

Apply For State Grants

It’s important to understand the difference between a scholarship and a grant. With a scholarship, you’re receiving financial help based on a skill. With a grant, you’re receiving financial help based solely on financial need.

A grant is a much better option than a student loan because it doesn’t need to be repaid. To see if you qualify for a grant, check the Department of Education and search by state.

Choose A More Affordable School

This is logical and effective. Contrary to popular belief, most employers don’t look for big-name schools. They look at what skills you have and how you can help them. Therefore, it would be wise to consider a four-year state school.

Go To A Trade School

On that same note, if you go to a trade school, you will be on your way to mastering a skill. If you do well, this is going to make you very valuable in the job marketplace. Some of the highest paying jobs that you can land after trade school include Air Traffic Controller ($124,540), Dental Hygienist ($74,820), Web Developer ($69,430), Power Utility Tech ($68,710), and Diagnostic Medical Sonographer ($67,080). Those are the median salaries for 2018. Slightly dated but not by much.

Treat It Like A Business

The key to any business is the bottom line, not the top line. The bottom line refers to profit (opposed to just revenue). A savvy business owner will grow while also cutting costs so they can improve their bottom line. The same applies to you with college.

In order to cut costs, you can share an apartment with friends off-campus, live with your parents if within close proximity, and/or get a job. If you want a flexible job, look at Uber, Lyft, Amazon Flex, and/or Dolly. If you go with Dolly, you will be helping people move, but you can earn up to $30 per hour.

There is another option. Though difficult, if you can land a paid internship, that’s the ideal option because it gives you a foot in the door for after graduation.

If you want to succeed, here’s a good motto to live by: Work Hard, Save Hard, Live A Little.