Ways To Pay For College On Your Own

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If you thought this was going to be a post about how to get student loans, it’s not. This article is going to focus on how you can pay for college and graduate DEBT FREE!

My bachelor’s degree from an in-state school cost me about $15K (tuition cost only), which was about 2/3 of what it would have cost normally. I managed to get a Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees without any student loan debt, and I want you to know that yes, it is possible to pay for college on your own!

Besides saving from an early age, I would say that I honestly didn’t start figuring out paying for college until I was a senior in high school. My point is that it’s not too late to start! While it is easier and less of a burden if one plans ahead (I’ll talk about that), it’s never too late to start finding other ways to pay for college other than taking out student loans. I’m going to list the ways you can (and I did) pay for college, and other ways I wish I would’ve or could’ve done it. 

School Choice

I’m sure you’ve heard it from others also, but there is no denying that where you choose to go to school is the biggest factor in being able to pay for it. There are so many choices: in state vs. out of state, private vs. public, etc.

If you can get an economics degree at a state school instead of a private school, why not save yourself the tens of thousands of dollars? It’s still a degree in economics.

And no, the school you went to does not guarantee you a high paying job when you get out. Maybe if you went into politics or wanted a high profile legal career? I don’t know. All I know is that I don’t know any managers that would hire someone based on the fact that they went to Pepperdine instead of UCLA, so don’t let anyone sell you on the idea that you have to go to an expensive school in order to get a high paying job.

One last note on school choice: the public vs. private university. You do get a good education at private schools, usually, but I’m a firm believer that you get out what you put in, no matter what school you go to. I know a private school (now bankrupt and closed) that had a 97% graduating rate and a good reputation. However, they were known to really, really hold people’s hands through the schooling process because they wanted that high graduation rate. The graduates that I personally knew did not advance further in their careers because of that school, and I’ve seen very little evidence that employers care that you went to a private school, let alone which one. I could be wrong, but I’ve yet to hear someone ask where someone’s degree came from. Maybe it’s a Pacific Northwest thing, I don’t know. We only care about what college football team you’re rooting for!

If you decided to go to a public university, your next choice is in state or out of state. I know going to a school in California probably sounds cooler than staying in state in Tennessee or something, but paying the out of state tuition rate is so much higher! You may as well go to a private school if you want to pay those prices. And the requirements to become in state basically missing out on a year of college to be considered a resident of the state where you want to attend college. Long story short: go to an in state school.

Take Advantage Of Community Colleges

Even better than your other school choices, choose a community college for the first couple of years and then transfer to a state school. If you go to an in state school, going to community college first will save even more! Going to a community college to get the first two years of pre-requisite classes means you’re not setting yourself up for quite as big of a financial hurdle from the beginning. It’s all about choices.

From personal experience, the argument I usually hear against community college is “Well, what about the college experience? I want my kids to have that college experience.” If you want your kid to have the experience of paying three times as much for the same classes as community college so they can live in a dorm and learn how to play beer pong and you pay for it… Well, if you, the parent, are willing to pay for that for them, that is your CHOICE.

Personally, I went to a community college to take the prerequisite courses- math, writing, science, etc. Most state schools and other universities have agreements with local community colleges for these courses as a direct transfer of credits when the student decides to go to finish their bachelor’s degree. The only difference: cost. It is so worth it.

Working While In School To Pay For College

Don’t underestimate how much you can actually pay for in cash, especially if you’re following tip #1. Just because a lot of people don’t pay cash for college does not mean that you can’t.

I know, I know… you just can’t have the “college experience” if you have a job while in college. But, trust me, you can do it, and it’s such a super obvious way of paying that college bill.

I worked at a place that was open seven days a week so I could get as many hours as possible while going to classes. I stacked my classes so they were back-to-back, usually in the mornings, so I was free to go to my job in the afternoons. This meant that sometimes I never had a real day off during the week because I was either at school or at work. You have to remind yourself that it’s just for a short time and the pay off (not having debt) in the end is huge!

Take Summer Classes

One of the ways I was able to finish my four-year degree in three was in part because I did take classes for two summers.

Did you know that you have to pay to just be enrolled in the university, regardless of how many classes you’re taking? You could be taking one class or no classes and there will still be flat fees to pay. By shortening the amount of time I was at the university, I was able to save in fees.

Did you know that summer classes tend be cheaper and shorter than the rest of the year? It’s another way to reduce your cost per credit.

If you’re on a quarter system, you get about a four-week break between summer and fall term, too, so it’s not like you won’t have a summer break at all if you take summer classes. I only took about two classes so it wasn’t as heavy of a load, and gave me plenty of time to work through the summer.

Take More Classes, If Possible

One of the main ways I kept my tuition so low was I considerably lowered my cost per credit. When you take more classes than is “full time”, the costs per credit start to decrease. Taking extra classes is difficult to do when you’re working full time, but it is achievable. I did it, and I lived to tell about it!

AP Classes

Okay, here’s the parts that involve planning ahead. Starting in high school, getting those good grades and getting involved in those AP classes are literally worth money.

AP classes (“advance placement” classes, they may go by different names in different schools) are offered at most high schools. While I was able to shave off some terms from my school time, I absolutely regret not taking more of these classes.

This is how they work: you take the class, and at the end, apply and pay for college credit (I believe equivalent to three classes). Or, take the AP test and get awarded college credit based on your score.

When I took them, the scores were a 1-5 scale (they may have changed since 2002). If you got a 4 or 5, you would be awarded a certain number of credits. I took my chances and took the test.

I paid $90 for the test, got a score of 4, and was awarded the equivalent of four classes. That meant that was four classes of pre-requisites that I wasn’t going to have to take or pay for. That’s an entire term from just one AP class! Depending on which school you choose, that’s the equivalent to $3,600-$10,000! It’s so worth it.

See this article for options to earn college credits during high school that may be available.

Grants

Grants can be extremely hard to get. However, if you’re eligible for them, take it!

I didn’t have the advantage of being able to use grants, but I would have used them if I could! Fill out the financial aid application to see if you qualify for any. Ignore the part where they offer you student loans. 🙂

Scholarships

Good grades, being involved in extracurricular activities, and volunteering are all well-known ways to get scholarships.

I applied for hundreds when I was a senior and only got a few. That was disappointing after all that work, but I was still grateful for any money.

I was, however, able to get more valuable scholarships when I was attending the community college. Back to my note above about choosing community college first, I find it’s easier to get scholarships there. I believe it’s because there are fewer students at the community college and, therefore, fewer scholarship applicants and scholarship recipients.

I received scholarships based on my grades, and paid for whole terms of college by working hard to get the highest grades I could.

Saving To Pay For College

Another piece that involves planning ahead is saving for the expense of college.

My mother, in her divine wisdom, started savings accounts for us when we were babies. When we’d get money as gifts for birthdays and Christmas, my mom would put them in our savings accounts.

When I started working as a teenager, that’s where my money went. I had around $10,000 saved up by the time I went off to college.

When I was younger, there were education savings accounts known as Coverdell IRA’s that allowed you invest money and then use for education expenses. They are similar to an IRA and can still be a good way to save for college.

More currently, there 529 accounts. These accounts allow you to invest money with the intention of using stock market gains to help increase that account and be used for educational expenses later. These accounts can be transferred to other family members, even. These are options worth exploring if you’re starting years in advance of your kid potentially going to college, and you should speak with a licensed financial services representative to see if these would be good options for you. You might possibly also speak with an accountant to explore the tax benefits of these kinds of accounts.

See my post about jump starting your savings.

Employers Can Help Pay For College, Too

Man, if this was more common back when I started college, I would’ve been taking full advantage of this!

There are actually some employers out there that are willing to contribute or even pay for your education. How cool is that!

I heard of this after I got my Bachelor’s and interested in pursuing my Master’s. I waited a few years to find an employer that would help pay for that. Eventually, when I did begin my Master’s, I had an employer that agreed to pay for half , and I paid cash for the rest, so I still did not have any debt!

I think this practice is more prevalent now than when I was first going to college so there’s more options of places that provide this. I’ve heard of places like McDonald’s (see here) and Starbucks (see here) offering forms of tuition assistance to its employees, and I’m sure there are other places that provide these benefits.

If you’re a high schooler or have a high school-aged kid, I’d be looking for a job with places that do offer those kind of benefits. Bonus: if you work at a place like that with lots of other locations, you might be able to get a job at another location in your new college town!

Closing Thoughts

I got my degrees with no debt by applying some of these tips, and I know you can too! If you need to plan ahead, do it now! If you’re getting ready to go to school and haven’t saved up yet, don’t be discouraged. Try using some of these tools that can be done now so you won’t feel like you need student loans to get through school.

Do you have any unconventional ways that you paid for school?

RELATED

See this post if you plan to invest money to help pay for college the future

See this post about budgeting so you can start setting aside money for future college expenses

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