Paying For College Without Student Loans
Ways of Paying for College That Can Reduce or Eliminate Student Loans
There are various ways of paying for college, instead of relying on student loans. Granted, there are some degree fields where the tuition alone is out of sight, and our strategies might not apply. However, for the others, these strategies will show you ways of paying for college so that you aren’t one of the average graduates with $33,000.00 to $35,000.00 in student loan debt. Current statistics reveal that just under 70% of college graduates carry high student loan debt.
A popular website with students, Edvisors.com, tries to help students with different ways of paying for college. They suggest working part time, as well, in order that the student can reduce student loans. Even with rising tuition rates, it is still possible today to graduate from college without student loans. The following are some suggestions that will show you other ways to pay for college.
- Find a job while attending college – It’s possible that it may take a little longer to graduate, but it could end up for the better. There are some students who attend college part time while they work full time and some attend college full time while they work part time. If you are working, try to apply all of your net earnings to the tuition bill.so that you can avoid student loans or at least keep them to a minimum.
- Check out work study programs & sign up for one – Under this type of arrangement, students are placed in jobs off campus and also on campus. Any of the students who qualify for financial aid usually qualify for a work study program.
[bctt tweet=”One of the primary benefits of work study as one of the ways to pay for college, is that your job is related to your degree field” username=”HBSMoneyTips”] and it can help you to network with individuals in your career field before you graduate. You can learn more about work study programs, and to see if you qualify by visiting the federal government’s student aid website.
- Look into and apply for scholarships – There is a lot of money awarded each year for college scholarships. The Department of Education awards in excess of $46 billion in scholarships while approximately $35 million is awarded by foundations and other private companies. If you can qualify for any of these, you’ll find one of the ways of paying for college that will reduce or even eliminate the need for student loans.
Many of these scholarships are based on merit and not need. Each year, students have hundreds of thousands of various scholarships available to them. Students need to take the time to research these scholarships that are available and apply, The Federal Student Aid website will provide a valuable source for students and parents to locate various scholarships as well as what to look out for to avoid any scholarship scams.
- Research and apply for grants – Another good source of free money are grants that are awarded to college students who meet certain requirements. These are very helpful as one of the ways to pay for college. Grants are available from a variety of sources such as federal, state, and local governments. They also come from colleges, and nonprofit organizations.
Usually, grants are awarded based on need while scholarships are awarded based on merit. The needs can be financial or even some other life based criteria. There is one significant characteristic about grants, and that is sometimes they will have to be repaid if the student withdraws from school early and doesn’t graduate.
- Create a crowdfunding website – This is one of the new and creative ways that some students are using as ways to pay for college. The ones that come to mind are GoFundMe, Indiegogo, ZeroBound, DreamFund, and YouCaring. The basic idea here is to explain to potential donors why it would be important for them to make a contribution to help fund your education. You would also share your personal story to give them a feeling as to whom they are dealing with. If you feel that you have an inspiring or a compelling story to share, give this venue a try.
- Employer reimbursement programs can help – There are quite a few employers who will reimburse employees for some part, or even all of their college tuition when the courses tie in to their work. There are limits imposed by the IRS as to how much an employer can contribute for college reimbursement that is deducted as an expense. Currently, the limit is $5,250.00 per employee per year. This is one of the great ways to pay for college.
Those of you who may work part time should check with your employer to see if they reimburse for education. Some may if you’re a good employee and will be working there full time when you graduate.
Take advantage of these valuable sources of funds that are ways of paying for college that can reduce or eliminate student loans for college.
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Gust Lenglet – Platinum Author
