8 Ways to Make College Cheaper

August 6, 2010 by thinkhappy

8 Ways to Make College Cheaper, by Hollis Colquhoun

It's about time for school to start again and because of the horrible job market, many young adults who couldn’t get jobs are going back to college with fewer financial resources. Tuitions for public and private schools currently range from $15,000 to $50,000+ per year. If your child is going to college soon or thinking about college next year, here are a eight ways to cut costs.

1. Complete the Federal Application for Student Aid. All colleges and universities use this to determine grant and need-based aid eligibility. The FAFSA is also necessary if you are applying for federal student loans. Even if you have decent household income, fill out the FAFSA to get an Expected Family Contribution (what you should be able to afford) which may indicate your student would be eligible for some college assistance. Go to FAFSA.ed.gov to fill out the application. To get an estimated EFC before the official results come back go to FinAid.org.

2. Do your homework. There are college search sites where a student can plug in various school characteristics, academic requirements, sports, student body size, location and narrow down the field. There is a huge variety of colleges across the country with wide variations including tuition. If possible you and your child should pay a visit to colleges that are relatively close by, just to get a feel for what your student likes and doesn't like. Some of the best college search sites are: College Navigator, College Board College Search, and Princeton Review.

3. Compare Costs and Financial Aid Packages. On a college's website there is a Financial Aid page that shows the amount of financial aid given per student per year and outlines the types of grants, scholarships, work-study and financial assistance programs that are available. You can also go to the federal College Navigator site to compare college financial aid statistics. A good resource for finding out what merit-based grants and scholarships colleges offer is MeritAid.com.

4.Understand Graduation Requirements and Graduation Rates. Depending on the student's capabilities, and if he/she will be working while attending school, evaluate the curriculum requirements and try to determine if it's realistic for the student to graduate in 4 years. Check out the college's graduation rate as an indicator of how many years it might take. Many students are taking 5 to 6 years to graduate, which will certainly affect the total tuition outlay. To get a broad evaluation of graduation rates go to College Results Online.

5. Check Out Community Colleges. Many community colleges offer good two-year programs and have an affiliation with a four-year college or university. If the student successfully completes the Associates program, he or she has automatic acceptance into the partner college. Semester tuition at community colleges are generally significantly cheaper than at 4-year schools.

6. Research Local Scholarships. Many community organizations and local foundations have scholarships that are awarded based on academic merit, community service or a particular field of interest. As early as possible, check with your high school guidance department for a complete listing of all available state and local community organization and private foundation grants and scholarships. That way if the student must do volunteer work or take a specific course in a particular area to qualify he or she will have enough time to complete the requirement.

7. Rent your textbooks. Textbooks can cost $1000 or more per semester if you buy them. You can rent books and save quite a bit. Just do some comparison shopping and watch out for fees and shipping costs. Some good sites are Chegg.com, CampusBookRental.com and Bookrenter.com. if you do want to buy your own books go to Amazon.com and Half.com for used book offerings.

8. Compare living costs. According to CampusGrotto.com the average cost of room and board for 2008-9 was approximately $7700 at public colleges and $9000 at private schools. If there are living options at the college, do research and comparison shop to make the best rooming choice . There are schools that require a freshman to live in a dorm on campus but many larger universities have approved housing for freshmen that is off campus in a apartment or house, which may be cheaper than a dorm room. For students who are upperclassmen moving into apartments or houses, discuss setting up a food budget and how they can cut meal costs by creating a weekly dinner plan, grocery shopping once per week and making big batches of pasta, stew or roasts that can be used for leftovers or lunches, (just like you do at home).

College is a huge expense, but if you tackle it just like you would buying a new house or car, there are definitely ways to save money. Research, plan and comparison shop, and do it with your student. Not only will you and your child be more in sync with his or her academic choices and college expectations, your child will be more financially aware and understand what a college education really costs.

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