When a semester of college can cost more than a parent makes in a year, it is time to look for help. And although the mountain looks immovable, we need to remember that our Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. If we know we are in His will for our future, He will provide the needed funds. With that in mind, I’d like to share 6 ways to cut that school bill down without taking out student loans. Graduate debt free!
1. Keep Your Grades Up
I earned a full paid scholarship to the local junior college simply for being in the top 10% of my graduating class. My son will transfer from his community college to university for free for carrying a 3.8 grade point average. A high school student needs to ask his guidance counselor for information regarding any opportunities that exist in his local area.
Registering with Scholarships.com is another way to discover scholarships. This service will ask a battery of questions regarding extra-curricular activities, parents’ affiliations, area of study, religion and location, and match you up with potential scholarships for which you might qualify.
In addition to grades, it is important to be active in the community, have significant adults in your life that can write references like a coach, employer, or youth pastor, and have a polished essay describing your financial need.
2. Apply for Federal Aid
Currently the Federal Pell Grant award amount is $5,550. That is more than enough for a student to pay tuition and books at a community college. To apply for the Pell Grant, visit the official website at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/ and fill out an application. You will have to have your parents’ current year’s income taxes completed first. It is awarded based on need.
If you do not qualify for a Pell Grant, the government has alternative choices like a work/study program. Even if you think you won’t qualify, fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) anyway. Other scholarship programs will want verification that you did apply for the Pell Grant and will use the information from that application.
3. Dual Enrollment/Early College
Our friends have several children that started as university sophomores right out of high school and never paid a dime for their first two years of college. The Early College program is available for high school juniors and seniors that agree to a rigorous program of study in lieu of the mainstream high school curricula. If accepted to this program, the student does not attend their regular high school but moves right into the community college of their choice—for free.
According to the Early College website, this program is available in 28 states and District of Columbia. However, many similar programs may be found by doing an Internet search for “early college + state name.”
4. College Level Examination Program
For the student proficient in any given field of study, the CLEP test may be a significant way to save some money. Accepted by over 2,900 colleges nationwide, these tests measure what a person may know in a particular area whether from high school study, life experience, or military training.
CLEP tests exist for over 30 areas of study such as history and social sciences, composition and literature, science and mathematics, business, and foreign languages. The tests contain mostly multiple choice questions, take 90 minutes to complete, and cost $77.
5. Choose an Alternative Route
Rachel Poling graduated from college at the age of 19 with no debt. According to an article on Thriving in the 21st Century, she used CLEP tests and the coaching service of CollegePlus!™ to help her design her own course of study. In the end, everything transferred to one school which granted her a degree in music.
Another option to consider is to enroll in one of the 11 colleges in the United States that offer a free education. These schools obtain their funding through various means and some require a work/study program, but you still end up with the degree.
6. Don’t Go
Everyone knows the economy has faltered in the last several years. However, few realize that college grads are some of the hardest hit. Leaving the academic setting with tens of thousands of dollars in debt, last year almost 2 million graduates could not find jobs using their newly earned degrees—or requiring any degree for that matter.
Forced to take jobs that require no skill and pay $10/hour or less, many young adults are forced to move back in with their parents just to survive. In light of this information, it makes one question whether a college degree is necessary at all. Before enrolling in a college or university ask yourself a couple questions:
- Does my chosen field of study require a degree?
- Is there a demand for employees in my field?
- Will this career pay enough upon entry to pay back any college debt within a couple years?
- Is there anything else that I would be happy doing?
Wondering how you’re going to pay for your kids’ college education? How do you save money for college? Take a look at some of these options and see what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
Graduation image from Shutterstock
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As a CollegePlus! student, I completed my bachelor’s degree, start to finish, in two years while working to pay for my education. Now, as a CollegePlus! coach, I am privileged daily to help others do the same. Thanks for including this extraordinary approach in your insightful article!
You’re welcome, Marissa. I believe this is a great alternative.
My sons became RA’s (Resident Hall Assistants) – free room and board
Great point. Thanks for sharing Harry.
wow, amazing! Never heard of college Plus! Thank God I didn’t pay a dime when I went to college (Miami-Dade College has a Bachelor’s program for teachers and Financial Aid paid it all, AND gave me over $1,000 back almost every semester
So yeah, I’m blessed, but I will definitely be looking into that program for friends that I know that are starting college or going back for their bachelor’s after getting their associates. Thanks!
It is sad to say that suggestion #6 worked quite well for us. We didn’t do it to save money, it was more out of circumstance but we are ahead of all of our friends and co-workers that did go to college. There are lots of times that we wished we did go and we haven’t ruled out post-secondary education in the future but we make the same amount of money as many of the college/ university grads that we work with and unlike them, we aren’t saddled with student loans. We also worked full-time throughout the 2-4 years that they went to school so we’re ahead that way too. I don’t necessarily advocate this as a way to save money but I have had to admit several times over the past years that we came out ahead in some ways. Perhaps we had to work a bit harder to get here- it’s hard to say. Regardless, we are saving up money for our son to go to school if he would like- if he doesn’t choose to go that’s OK too.
Also, all of my siblings (and sibling-in-laws for 6 in total) that went on to post-secondary education out of high school either didn’t finish, didn’t use their degrees or ended up going back many years later for their ‘real’ degrees in the fields they work in now. That is a lot of wasted money!! This is the main reason that I held off on post secondary education- I have no idea what I want to do with my life!! Until I figure that out, it seems that any money spent on education will be wasted.
I couldn’t agree more. I know some incredibly talented business people who have never darkened the doorway of a public high school, let alone college. If you know what you want in the information age, the world is your oyster.
Your number 6 option is becoming more and more viable. The question to ask now why should I go to college instead of start my own business or get individualized training? With so much free information out there if you know what you want to do, then there is enough podcasts, books, youtube videos to show you how.
This obviously won’t work with individualized fields like lawyer, pre-med… Please don’t get a useless degree and then be in debt for ‘the college experience”.
Excellent tips, Carol. College, when necessary, can be done creatively.
Good advice. I opted for #6 and so far I’m better off financially than most college graduates in America.
Good tips. Everyone planning to go to college should fill out the FAFSA as soon as possible. Some schools give out scholarships as applications arrive, so you want to be one of the first applications they get to have the best chance at a scholarship. Many scholarships are not advertised by the school.
Many high schools offer Advanced Placement courses, or AP classes. You take a test at the end of the class similar to the CLEP. You don’t even have to take the AP class to take the AP test in a subject if you want to study for it on your own (test prep books available at bookstores). Not every college major accepts all the AP credits toward your major, but will count them as electives in non-major requirement areas. Overall they are a good deal, in our experience.
My husband and I are expecting our 8th child and our eldest is only 12 — we’re facing a great many college expenses in a relatively short span of time.
Given that, I’m already thinking hard, praying about, and reading up on college. We both have PhDs in engineering and graduated almost debt free thanks to some family support (though not a lot), scholarships and graduate school fellowships. That made our decision to have me be a mostly stay at home mother viable. I believe as a culture we have embraced the “debt is fine for college” idea when that is NOT true. It is a crippling burden to place on a young person. Nor can we possible afford to pay for 8 children’s tuition and room and board in brick and mortar institutions. So yes, we’ll get creative, have them take CLEP’s, look for scholarships, etc. And we’re not at all determined they should even go to college. #6 is a fine option for some young people. The last thing we want is a child drifting along, spending money, without focus.
One last, non PC thing I’ll say is that I believe that young women in particular need to be cautious. I have female friends who racked up high amounts of debt and then wanted to be stay at home mothers. It is such a burden. If our girls do marry and have children and want to stay home, I want that to be an option for them.
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