Alternative and Innovative Ways to Pay for College
Tired of trying to write essay upon essay for scholarships and grants? Maybe applying for student loans turns your stomach? Or do your parents tell you “get a job” when you ask them how to pay for college? If this sounds like you, don’t worry. Today there are many alternative ways to pay for college apart from loans, scholarships and finding a job. Here are a few ideas that can get you started on the path to funding your college education.
Start your own blog or website. Blogging is not only for housewifes and techies. This blog actually came from the idea of starting a website to help me pay my loans. Start writing about your experiences. Ask businesses if they would like to sponsor your website. Luke Livingston had this idea too. His site, SponsorMyLoans.com every month features a sponsor’s ad, which in turn pays his student loan payment for the month.
Another site, Milliondollarhomepage.com, was started by Alex Tew. The idea:
to try and make $1 million by selling 1,000,000 pixels for $1 each. Hence, “The Million Dollar Homepage.” The main motivation for doing this is to pay for my degree studies, because I don’t like the idea of graduating with a huge student debt.
The best thing to do here is to have a really good idea. If you have an idea, try it. A cheap and easy way to start your own blog without spending a lot of time with the setup is Wordpress.
Charity for Debt can help you pay pay for college. Most college students these days can’t help but have a student loan in some shape or form. If you are one of the 20 million students who do, then you might look at a brand new nonprofit that aims to decrease student loan debt through a unique paid charity volunteer model. Charity for Debt takes money from individual and business donors and then sponsors students or recent grads to work at a local charity at $20 per hour, which is paid directly to the student loan company. So, you can feel great about helping a local needy charity and pay off those stressful student loans you have! Check it out at charityfordebt.org and you can add your name to the pool of volunteers for donors to pick from.
Dual enrollment is when a student is enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. Sometimes students attending high school are also enrolled in community college or a university, taking classes at both. These students may earn credit toward their high school diploma as well as college credit. More of a way to avoid paying for college, dual enrollment is paid for by the high school district. It’s also advantageous to students because it allows them to get a head start on their college careers. If you’re driven enough you may even be able to earn your Associate of Arts or equivalent before your high school graduation. To learn more about your options on dual enrollment, talk to your school’s counselor.
Loyalty programs are an easy way to earn and save extra money for college. Here’s the basic idea: you, your parents or anyone else for that matter joins the program. Then when they shop at certain retailers with their program issued credit card, a percentage of each purchase is put aside into an account and when you get to college you can withdraw that money and use it for your college expenses.
These programs will earn you the most money if used over a long period of time. Even if you are out of college, these programs are still beneficial. Upromise is maybe the best among these:
From dining to travel to even buying a house—things you already do can earn you rewards. Join Upromise for free, and you can earn rewards for eligible purchases on groceries, gasoline, online shopping and more at over 40,000 participating retail stores and services.
Another good loyalty program is BabyMint. With the BabyMint college savings credit card you can earn a 1% rebate on every purchase you make – no matter where you shop, what you buy or how much you spend.
Work for your school. I know this one sounds like common sense, but a lot of students don’t realize that most colleges and universities have special programs to reduce the cost of tuition or even give free tuition to paid staff. There are many part time and full time options at most schools including the IT department which you can usually find a job at if you have some useful computer skills. The connections you will make working for your school usually bring several perks like better parking, first pick at athletic tickets and extra sympathy from professors. This is a great way to go to school free or reduce the financial burden. It also can really set you apart on your resume from other graduates.
Try these strategies at your own risk. Donate blood, a lot of blood, and don’t forget medical experiments at the school medical research lab! Host a poker tourney for your neighborhood or for several fraternities. This is probably illegal, but if you keep it under the radar, you could make some cash. You could put on a concert or comedy event if you can find the right talent. There are always fun (albeit risky) ways to find money if you keep an open mind!
If you have other ideas, write them in the comments!
Co-written by Jonathon Lunardi.
This blog supports
i have http://www.chooseandwatch.com/ and it makes me about $60k a year - enough to pay $40k / year college and still have some fun