Pay for college when you’re older. That’s what everyone tells you.
When it comes to college loans, most people believe that the ship has sailed before the journey even begins. College loans have been a phenomenon since the 70s, and we have all seen our elders struggle with paying them off while still having a future.
Here we have aimed to break the cycle with these simple ideas so that you can attempt not to be bogged down by this terrible burden.
Pay For College With These 30 Methods
1. Apply For Scholarships
There are a lot of good scholarships offered by universities across the US. Our advice is if you have to choose between a full scholarship in a decent school and no scholarship in a high school, select the first option.
2. Search For Grants
If you were not eligible for a scholarship, then maybe you are eligible for a grant in your school or local community. Forget the pressure and competition and simply work to get your hands on a good grant. Pure relief from college tuition will go a long way to ease your life.
3. Start A Part-Time Job
You can get a side job in the major you are taking at college. Real-life experience of working in an office will help you land a good job after graduation, and the side job will help pay your college fee.
4. Join An Affiliate Program
Affiliate programs are a great way to make extra money, especially if you have a good social media account. You can develop content that will get you serious commission that you can put aside to pay down your debt. Choosing My EasyFi’s affiliate program is a great place to begin.
5. Live Off-Campus
Sharing an apartment in the city is much cheaper than a campus dorm room. It also makes it easier for you to get a night job and socialize outside of your campus. That will lead to more contacts and will open doors of opportunities to pay for college for you.
6. Open A Savings Account
A bank account means that if you have leftover money, then it is not just sitting in your hand, waiting to be spent. You will automatically save the money that you are earning and can pay back your loans more efficiently.
7. Consider Employer Reimbursement Plans
Broad allowances suck, and they are never enough to pay for the expenses assigned. Always try and negotiate employer reimbursement plans for transport, rent, and other amenities that your employers are providing. You will get lesser pay but you will not believe how much money you will save when the company pays all your bills.
8. Look Out For Education Sponsors
Education sponsorship is a broad term that describes companies, institutions, and countries that pay the local talent to get higher education. The person pays back their benefactor by working in their company for a specific time. It’s a golden deal; you will get an excellent education for free and will also have a sure job once you graduate.
9. Seek Federal Loan Options
Federal loans are developed to help the local population. They are harder to get, but there is no interest and the government regularly forgives these loans. The result is that federal loans are the best bet if you want the most accessible loan to pay back. Again they are harder to get but worth the effort.
10. Volunteer For Clinical Studies
Clinical studies include simple psychological experiments and can also be sophisticated pills that are being tested. You should always consult your physician before signing up for a drug trial and pay for college.
11. Rent Out Your Belongings
From your apartment to your TV set, you can rent out things that you own to get extra bucks. List all the things that you own but are no longer using and put them up online for rent. Lawnmowers and vacuum cleaners when you are living in an apartment with no carpet is the prime example of the concept in action.
12. Start Freelancing
Freelancing is the most common thing these days, with so many online jobs available. It will be discouraging in the beginning because you will not be able to find a job that is worth much money. But as you will establish yourself in the market, you will grow stronger and charge more money.
13. Become A Virtual Assistant
Virtual assistance is a great way to pay for college without student loans and help with the field of your interest. The money is good enough, like five hundred dollars a month and you get extreme exposure in the inner workings of your company.
14. Sell Your Skills
If you are good at any subject, then you can give home tuitions or online tuitions, the point is that we all have marketable skills that we do not know how to utilize. Once you learn the trick, you will grow in your profession and will be able to pay for college without student loans.
15. Take Summer And Winter Courses
These will allow you hands-on experience in your field that will all but guarantee your job once you graduate. They will also allow you to earn serious money in full-time jobs that you can use to pay for college without student loans while you are still studying.
16. Take Advantage Of Social Media
Social media is a great way to get paid jobs online and earn regular money to pay for college without student loans. Not just freelance but there are endless full-time jobs available online that you can take on as well.
17. Offer House-Sitting
House sitting is also one of the unique ways to pay for college to save the rent if you can find families that are gone for long periods. If a family is traveling abroad for the summer, then you can keep house rent and utility bills for months at an end.
18. Mow Lawns Or Paint The Fences
There are many odd jobs to run around a neighborhood. Mowing lawns and painting fences are the conventional ones, but you can run a grocery delivery service for your apartment building.
There are many other unique ways to pay for college like modern-day odd jobs of fixing a computer or helping senior citizens with modern technology. You can be paid a reasonable amount that will pay for small things and will also allow you to get to do your civic duty.
19. Buy And Sell Second-Hand Stuff
You can buy their second-hand products from them at reasonable prices and then actively promote the products. You will be able to make a substantial profit if you follow this pattern and will start earning good money as a trusted seller in the long run.
20. See If You Qualify For Medical-Based Financial Aid
If you have a life-long, chronic illness, then you are eligible for financial assistance so you should look into the situation. Always provide your complete medical history in college applications so that they can assist you in any financial aid options available to you.
21. Start A Web-Hosting Service
Web hosting services are a great way to earn money. If you have the right apparatus and you are good with computers, then you can get a lot of money by merely buying and managing domains for people who want to start their websites.
22. Drive Uber Or Lyft
If you own a car, then you are not using it to its full potential if it’s just sitting around. Get yourself an Uber or Lyft enrollment as it is pretty basic and easy to get. You will drive around the city and earn money regularly for simple tasks.
23. Open A 529 Account
If you are opening an account as a parent or in high school, then you should invest in a 529 account. A 529 account is also known as the “qualified tuition plans,” will allow you to have a saving account that will be tax-free, and when you take out money for education expense, the funds will be tax-exempt.
24. Fill Out The Free Application For Federal Student Aid
Federal student aid is a tough get, but maybe you will be eligible. The application process is free and they focus less on academic excellence and more on the circumstances of the students.
So perhaps your circumstances and your grades will come together and make you the lucky recipient of financial aid. That will be a great way to avoid college tuition loans altogether and have a robust system of financial stability.
25. Participate In Cooperative Education
Research focused programs are a common type of cooperative education and another common type are fellowships. The students teach the junior classes while they study the master’s program for free or with little due payments.
The programs are highly lucrative, and they allow the student to become a strong candidate for future success. Unluckily, they are commonly offered in Masters’ programs because undergraduate students do not have much academic excellence for fellowship or research.
26. Check Out Zero-Interest Loans
If you can get an interest free loan, then you should certainly look into it as unique ways to pay for college by yourself. It will ensure that even if you are paying your college loan back after twenty to thirty years, it is still the amount that you initially borrowed.
27. Think Of Geo Arbitrage
An excellent way of saying that you should consider moving into cheaper accommodations. But that is not always a bad life sentence; you can find roommates for your lovely little apartment on the upper east side as well.
28. Write A Formal Appeal Letter To The College
If you want your fees to be reduced but have no good options, then you should try writing an appeal letter to college that states your financial concerns. Colleges get many of these letters every year and are a bit immune to the student’s pleas.
But the right solution to that problem is to get a professor to vouch for your potential as a student and have perfect grades. Colleges are inclined to provide relief for students who excel academically.
29. Claim Tax Credit – If You Have Any
Remain up-to-date on the tax credit that you are due as unique ways to pay for college by yourself. Students are provided a long-range of tax credits so maybe your tuition fee can be salvaged.
30. Participate In An Essay Contest
It may surprise you, but all the colleges and universities in the US grant full scholarships to students who win the essay contests the universities conduct every year. It is a good idea for potential writers to try their luck in the essay contests.
All in all, college debt is a serious issue, but it also has some right solutions. The more you learn about your options, the easier it will be for you to get a relief that will save you in the long run.
