How are you paying for college?
The college acceptance letters are out, students have switched their tassels to the opposite side of their mortar boards and the race is on to find dorm room necessities.
But the toughest challenge might still be unresolved: How are you paying for college?
Whether you’re a student paying your own way or an involved parent who’s bridging the gap for your kid, putting the pieces of financial aid and personal income together for an undergraduate education can be taxing.
According to an article from Kiplinger, the average debt at graduation is $24,000 — enough to permanently screw up your credit score if you don’t have a plan to pay it off. Fortunately there’s more than one way to find the money you need. Here are just a few options:
- Get a job: Working while in college (or even during the summers) can make a huge dent in that bill.
- Get a university job: A teaching assistant position in your field of study can reinforce your foundation as well as extra cash to pay down that debt. Residence hall positions often comp your housing fees.
- Get a scholarship: Some scholarships are only awarded to upperclassmen, so don’t give up on merit-based financial aid after your freshman year. Check your school’s scholarship page to find out what you need to do to apply.
- Negotiate a different payment plan: There are multiple ways to pay off federal loans.
Has your family been creative about paying for college? Are you drawing from multiple sources to pay for school?
– By Lauren Davidson, Atlanta Bargain Hunter
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3 comments Add your comment
Duh
May 25th, 2011
8:21 am
If you are going to college you should be smart enough to know about the options you have listed (get a job or scholarship). How about some new options that maybe people haven’t thought of.
Lauren Davidson
May 25th, 2011
8:53 am
@duh: Sometimes people forget about upperclassmen scholarships. It’s nice to have a reminder. But I’m mostly interested to hear from people who have their own creative solutions.
Carrie55
May 25th, 2011
4:00 pm
Lauren.. you alre sooo right about the upperclassman scholarships.. we had 4 go through college.. 3 in at once for a period and had to get very resourceful in the hunt for funds.. here are some of the ideas our family used : http://www.celebrationideasonline.com/paying-for-college.html All of ours found great scholarships from within their major during their junior and senior years.. so kudos to you for reminding everyone! Seems like many feel after that freshman surge, they don’t even know where to look beyond what financial aid gives them.