Tips to Avoid Student Loans

[moyosore01]

The first and probably best attack against school loans is to study hard for the SAT and get outstanding scores with which one can get a full ride scholarship. Often times when one gets a scholarship of this sort, there is usually a GPA requirement to be maintained. This will mean that time that would have been otherwise channeled to some other extra-curricular activities will now be focused on studying and career advancing activities. However in reality many will see this as a feat to be accomplished, so here are a few steps that will be taken in order to keep a tight limit on student loans.

1. Have a plan
Understanding that a college education is a means to an end is a very valuable mindset to embrace. Proverbs 29:18 reveals that without a vision, people are unrestrained. A plan for your college life, courses, finances, social life etc is very important, and will keep you in check against distractions.

Time is money, and this could be no truer here. Every additional semester spent in college above the prescribed time for the coursework will cost extra money. However with a plan, forces you to walk a straight path. You are able to ask yourself most times if your actions are contributing the success of your plan. Through a personal plan, one can eliminate or severely reduce these additional costs.

2. Live a frugal life
“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing…” Philippians 4:11,12, NLT.

To be frugal doesn’t mean to be stingy, meaning to be slack in giving, however it means being able to live an inexpensive life. While I’m advocate of prosperity, recognizing that your college education is a means to an end will require you to live a financially disciplined life. I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, then you probably need the knowledge on avoiding student loans. Not everything you see is worthy of you spending your dollar on.

You will have to learn to say “No” to some things. When making a decision, you have to make a decision to strategically plan your shopping during seasonal sales at departmental stores, orcooking at home versus eating out.

3. Apply for grants and scholarships
Grants are different from scholarships and financial aid in that they are free gift money given on a need basis, rather than merit based like scholarships. Most financial aid offices have some allocation for grants. So what do you do? Make an appointment with your college advisor or go to your financial aid office and show determination and desire to complete your college education. In essence show that you need the money, and make a case for why the money given to you won’t be a waste. Don’t be discouraged if you’re turned down the first couple of times. I have a friend who persistently asked, and he received grant money of about $20,000 over a period of two years from his school’s financial aid office.

Also don’t stop applying for scholarships! A simple search on google with the search string “college scholarships” will bring up a bunch of different options, and this is what you spend most of your free time doing. Some are given based on you GPA and community service work, some are given based on how convincing you are in an essay; Whichever the case, keep applying, get as much free money as you can.
In line with this, build good relationships with your professors and advisors. Their favorable recommendations will be of great value when applying for scholarships.

“Choose a good reputation over great riches; being held in high esteem is better than silver or gold” Proverbs 22:1, NLT

4. Go to a community/2yr college for pre-requisite
For every degree program, there are a series of general education courses that need to be taken before courses that focus on your major. But why pay so much for the same set of courses that can be taken at a 2yr college and transferred to your university of choice? The tuition at community/2yr colleges are significantly lower than tuition at universities, and most times the credit for gen-ed courses are transferable. Do proper research here to ensure the outcome is positive for you . This will probably be the initial best use of money that may have been saved up for college.

5. Get a job, or work study
Certainly this was going to come in, get a job! Whatever free time you have can be used to earn some income. If possible get a job that will allow you some free time on the job to look over class work. Most on campus jobs are pretty lenient with this because they understand that you need the income while you go to school. My recommendation will be to work about 20hrs a week, at least this will give you enough to cover some of your basic expenses.

The best jobs are academic work study jobs. These are part-time jobs that are given based on need to those who meet certain requirements. At a minimum, you can expect to earn the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. But beyond this, you will get a portion of your tuition paid, and this can be as much as 50% off your tuition in some cases.

6. Be diligent in your studies
Need I say this? As intuitive as this may sound, many people think it’s enough to just make it through college, but really that is not good enough. You are supposed to excel above all, be the best where you are. Being diligent will give you an edge over everyone else, your academic excellence puts you in a better position to get scholarships, and with better grades you are in a better position to get a good paying job quickly. This verse of scripture puts the point in its simplest form: “All hard work brings a profit…” Proverbs 14:23, NIV

7. Be a giver
You may think: “but we’re talking about saving money here…” That’s true, however spiritual laws supersede natural wisdom, and one of the spiritual laws that exist as it relates to our finances is the law of seed time and harvest. God promises a blessing in return as we sow a seed of goodwill into the life of another (Luke 6:38). Having a giving attitude psychologically breaks the tendency to become self absorbed financially.

Another thing to realize when it comes to giving is that not all that you receive has to be financial. However there are benefits that are received that are intangible. Pay attention to these and if you would like, try and quantify them in cash, and you’ll resolve for yourself that being a giver pays!

“Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.” Proverbs 11:24, NLT

If you must take loans, make sure every dollar goes towards the tuition
The point of this article is to keep student loans at $0, realizing that all the above are suggestions that have been proven; however the choice to follow them is left to you. If you have done all these and you still have to take a loan, please ensure that every dollar is spent wisely; towards your college education. Always remember you’re on a journey, and every decision counts towards the fulfillment of the vision.

Be blessed and live debt free!

See 10 Tips to Avoid Student Loans


Bio: Moyo Mamora has a personal goal to empower people at all cost to live a victorious life of the Word and the Spirit! His message also includes strong teachings on eternal life, the blessing, healing, dominion and insights into the Kingdom of God. He is the Chief Editor of the Eden Life Magazine, an online Christian magazine with articles on Faith, Relationships, Finances, and Opinions. The site also features daily devotionals for victorious daily living. Visit at http://www.edenicglory.net
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Follow Moyo Mamora on twitter @MoyoMamora

[moyosore01]

My second post on this forum. Hope it blesses you and I will like your honest feedback, thank you all

[Jonathan K]

The first and probably best attack against school loans is to study hard for the SAT and get outstanding scores with which one can get a full ride scholarship. Often times when one gets a scholarship of this sort, there is usually a GPA requirement to be maintained. This will mean that time that would have been otherwise channeled to some other extra-curricular activities will now be focused on studying and career advancing activities. However in reality many will see this as a feat to be accomplished, so here are a few steps that will be taken in order to keep a tight limit on student loans. - Moyosore01

Good points. Another great way to help with school expenses is to get an athletic scholarship. Also, grants for minorities and/or special financial circumstances might be available as mentioned in point 3.

1. Have a plan
Understanding that a college education is a means to an end is a very valuable mindset to embrace. Proverbs 29:18 reveals that without a vision, people are unrestrained. A plan for your college life, courses, finances, social life etc is very important, and will keep you in check against distractions.

Time is money, and this could be no truer here. Every additional semester spent in college above the prescribed time for the coursework will cost extra money. However with a plan, forces you to walk a straight path. You are able to ask yourself most times if your actions are contributing the success of your plan. Through a personal plan, one can eliminate or severely reduce these additional costs. - Moyosore01

Part of having a plan is budgeting. See the next comment below. Also, allow your “advisor” to advise you only on what courses to take. In both undergrad and graduate degrees I always had a plan before going to see my advisor. In many cases Advisors really have no clue as to how to plan a student’s four (yes 4 years not 4.5 or 5) year college undergrad degree. Get a second or third opinion. Talk to upper classmen who have been there and done that. Print a list of all your courses you need to graduate and assign them to semesters. Summer courses or Clep tests might help to insure a more timely plan to graduate. I took 6 hours during a short May term two years and was still able to work in the summers. Also, took a test to Clep out of 12 hours of Spanish.

2. Live a frugal life
“…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing…” Philippians 4:11,12, NLT.

To be frugal doesn’t mean to be stingy, meaning to be slack in giving, however it means being able to live an inexpensive life. While I’m advocate of prosperity, recognizing that your college education is a means to an end will require you to live a financially disciplined life. I’m assuming that if you’re reading this, then you probably need the knowledge on avoiding student loans. Not everything you see is worthy of you spending your dollar on.

You will have to learn to say “No” to some things. When making a decision, you have to make a decision to strategically plan your shopping during seasonal sales at departmental stores, or cooking at home versus eating out. - Moyosore01

Great points! Another great way to say “No” to things is to plan a budget and use the envelope system. In budgeting you allocate all your income to categories. The envelope system (list expenses such as tithe, savings, eating out, entertainment, gas, insurance, groceries, etc.) allows you to only spend what you have. Once the money runs out in the envelope you must wait till the next month.

There are also great ways to have fun without spending money. Get rides from friends. Give up or don’t buy a car for college (saves money on gas, insurance, & maintenance). Eat at the school cafeterias. Find activities in your city that are free or don’t cost much (Botanical Guardens, church events that even provide food, intramural sports, local parks, etc.)

4. Go to a community/2yr college for pre-requisite
For every degree program, there are a series of general education courses that need to be taken before courses that focus on your major. But why pay so much for the same set of courses that can be taken at a 2yr college and transferred to your university of choice? The tuition at community/2yr colleges are significantly lower than tuition at universities, and most times the credit for gen-ed courses are transferable. Do proper research here to ensure the outcome is positive for you . This will probably be the initial best use of money that may have been saved up for college. - Moyosore01

This is a great suggestion especially in this economy. I would have saved a ton doing this my first couple of years. Why go to a private school (from a cost perspective) such as UF, Georgetown, Notre Dame, A&M, Texas, or TCU for the first couple of years when you can go to local community colleges at a fraction of the price?

5. Get a job, or work study
Certainly this was going to come in, get a job! Whatever free time you have can be used to earn some income. If possible get a job that will allow you some free time on the job to look over class work. Most on campus jobs are pretty lenient with this because they understand that you need the income while you go to school. My recommendation will be to work about 20hrs a week, at least this will give you enough to cover some of your basic expenses.

The best jobs are academic work study jobs. These are part-time jobs that are given based on need to those who meet certain requirements. At a minimum, you can expect to earn the federal minimum wage, which is $7.25 an hour. But beyond this, you will get a portion of your tuition paid, and this can be as much as 50% off your tuition in some cases. - Moyosore01

I worked at a computer lab 3-4 hours at night and basically was paid to study. This was of course my last couple of years. I was able to get a sibling in this position before leaving. The only thing I had to do was answer questions regarding Microsoft Office, etc. and insure that everyone was out by the time the guard came to lock the doors. If you have to study anyway might as well have someone pay you to do it.

6. Be diligent in your studies
Need I say this? As intuitive as this may sound, many people think it’s enough to just make it through college, but really that is not good enough. You are supposed to excel above all, be the best where you are. Being diligent will give you an edge over everyone else, your academic excellence puts you in a better position to get scholarships, and with better grades you are in a better position to get a good paying job quickly. This verse of scripture puts the point in its simplest form: “All hard work brings a profit…” Proverbs 14:23, NIV - Moyosore01

This is so true. After the first couple semesters of college I realized getting to be by 11 pm or midnight made my life a lot easier. My roommate would often stay up to 3 or 4 am then get up for 8am classes (sometimes he wouldn’t get up) and be exhausted all day. Also, getting school work done first then doing other things made a lot of sense. Study breaks for socializing, Bible studies, and exercise are also be beneficial.

7. Be a giver
You may think: “but we’re talking about saving money here…” That’s true, however spiritual laws supersede natural wisdom, and one of the spiritual laws that exist as it relates to our finances is the law of seed time and harvest. God promises a blessing in return as we sow a seed of goodwill into the life of another (Luke 6:38). Having a giving attitude psychologically breaks the tendency to become self absorbed financially.

Another thing to realize when it comes to giving is that not all that you receive has to be financial. However there are benefits that are received that are intangible. Pay attention to these and if you would like, try and quantify them in cash, and you’ll resolve for yourself that being a giver pays! - Moyosore01

This is very true. God loves a cheerful giver!

If you must take loans, make sure every dollar goes towards the tuition - Moyosore01

So many of my fellow classmates would take out loans and pay for other things. This is not right first of all and second it caused problems in the long run. Several had to drop out and work off debts in the middle of their degrees because of it. Others never did go back to school after debt became too much to bear. The result was debt with no degree. This was a huge mistake that has taken them years to pay off and caused serious problems. This debt can also be a hindrance to getting a better paying job.

Overall this article was good filled with good observations. Thank you for sharing!

[moyosore01]

I'm glad to know that there is at least one witness to the things in here...thank you all!

[SloanWiley]

I'm here too! This is a great post. Thanks for writing it!