I want to go to college but I don’t have a lot of money available to me to go to school and live. What can I do?
It’s great that you want to go to college, and the good news is that there are many ways to help you get through financially. There are really two aspects of paying for college…paying for school expenses and paying for living expenses while you’re in school. There are many different alternatives available to get your college education, so you should have no lack of options to choose from to fit into your exact situation. Here are some ways you go to college on a tight budget:
- Go to a school close to home
- Start off in community college
- Look for need based financial aid
- Consider student loans
- Use your employer’s tuition reimbursement program
- Start as a part time student
Go to a school close to home
One way to save a lot of money is to go to college while still living at home. Without having to pay much (if anything) in rent and/or living expenses, it means that more of your money can be focused on paying for school. Plus, going to school in your home town might mean that you have better opportunities for part-time jobs with the existing relationships you have made over the years.
Start off in community college
Community college is a great way to start college on a budget. Tuition is much cheaper at community colleges, and it could allow you to get a good head start on your degree without putting much of a dent in your pocket. Most of the first two years of college is for general classes anyway, and those are perfect to take at a community college. If you want to transfer to a more expensive university later, you always can. Just make sure the classes you are taking in community college will transfer at your future university of choice.
Look for need based financial aid
A lot of scholarships, grants, and loans are need-based. If you are in a rough financial situation you are more likely to get consideration for financial aid that you wouldn’t have to pay back. Make sure you look for scholarship information at your local university’s financial aid office, and fill out a FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and find out what aid is available to you. Make sure you do it as close to January 1st as you possibly can, as a lot of grants are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Consider student loans
If you are not able to get grants or scholarships, you can consider using normal student loans to pay for tuition and/or living expenses. If you have a solid plan for what you want to study and feel confident it will do you well financially in the future, then student loans aren’t a bad option. If you are paying both tuition and living expenses with loans though, it really starts to add up fast. It’s usually best to try to just pay for your tuition with loans, and either live at home or work enough to pay your living expenses while you go to school.
Use your employer’s tuition reimbursement program
If you are already working and your employer has a tuition reimbursement program, you are extremely lucky. Make sure you make the most of whatever they offer you, as that’s just free money towards your education. Most of those programs have length of service requirements as well as performance requirements (making good grades mandatory), but it is all to your benefit.
Start as a part time student
If you just don’t have any feasible options to pay for going to college full-time, then maybe starting part-time is a decent alternative. Tuition would be much lower and you could get your feet wet with college at a slower pace as you work to save your money.
All in all, there’s no right or wrong way to go to college. The most important aspect is just doing what works for you for the benefit of your future. Whether it’s full-time or part-time, university or community college, the real measure of success is the quality of work you put into it.
