Alternative Ways to Pay for College
College is expensive, a hard to swallow fact for many families. While financial aid, scholarships and grants, federal loans and private loans are all ways to help fund the rising cost of education, we’ve listed the below alternatives to help stretch your dollars.
Did you take Advanced Placements (AP) classes in high school? Most colleges reward students who took higher level classes in high school. Check with your admissions department about the requirements to gain college credits from your AP classes, which will depend heavily on your AP Test score. Remember that every college class that you don’t have to take will save you money.
Consider taking a couple courses at the community college during summers. Community colleges charge much less for courses and by taking some of the dry, but necessary core classes at a local college you can not only save a few dollars but also take advantage of more interesting courses during the full semester. Just be sure to check with your college to make sure courses taken at the community college are 100% transferable – you don’t want to have to pay for the course twice!
Apply for scholarships within your major at your university. Many departments have scholarships totally separate from general admissions scholarships. There will be a smaller pool of applicants and you may actually enjoy completing the requirements for entry.
Constantly check back with your high school guidance office for scholarship information. Even if you are a few years out of high school, it’s still worth checking back to see if any new scholarships are on file. If you’ve done any sort of volunteer work or community service since graduation be sure to mention it! Check within your local community as well – if you’re an active member there may be local scholarships to help you out as well.
Look into a co-op program. Co-Ops are generally longer-term paid internships. Most employers do require a six month commitment. A popular schedule is to take classes for a full semester and for part of the summer and then commit to a 6 month internship to earn extra income. The cash you earn can be used for books, paying down your student loans, and making your college experience fun!
Kimberly Koerber
1 year ago
Hello! I wanted to get more education a long time ago. In Ohio, where I graduated from The Ohio State University, they set up a complicated escheat plan that involves many people. The thing is that this also affects getting more education. There was a lot done to stop Federal Hubs from developing. This educational part was there also. I graduated with a Social Work degree and was licensed in Ohio for 20 years. Crooks followed me to Louisville, Kentucky, after I was robbed in Wooster, Ohio and took my luggage out of storage and my Social Work License to use to commit crimes – aka “Sex with Slaves”
for instance, because I was divorced and this was the thing to do. Then, my FAFSA was goon blocked at 315 E. Long Street, Columbus, Ohio, also known as “Faith Mission” where crooks were interactive in the prostitution/drug cartel. Then, some kind of federal loan, which I never received, showed up as a reason to block me there. In addition to this, I was not able to get any kind of job for fourteen years. Whoever is on the FAFSA site online, with written or typed ‘help’ is not very helpful. This may have to do with USA crooks or with Somalia crooks at these Federal posts or with the BP/Clark Oil issues, or a combination of the above. Now, I am here in La Crosse, Wisconsin with an expired Ohio driver’s license. I tired to go to people who would normally be assistive in getting me money to get the license renewed so that I could get a temporary or fulltime job here, and they refused to be assistive. Also, The 60 grace period to get this Driver’s license renewed is tomorrow. After I got my undergraduate degree, I wanted to go to law school. Crooks and these federal shutdowns stopped this also, in addition to any education beyond getting CEU’s to maintain my Social Work Licensure, which expired in July of 2010, also. No matter what I have done, I am sorely blocked by crooks.
I was born in Pittsburgh Pa, in 1958, but moved to Ohio in the eighth grade, where I lived most of my life until recently. There is a large crime cartel there also which seems to attack and block certain people, but not others. I need help.
Kimberly Koerber
223 N. 8th Street
The Salvation Army
La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601
(608) 782-6126
online casino
6 months ago
Thanks for publishing this.