Creative Ways to Pay for School

Rachel Hanson, Contributing Writer

Updated: 12/1/2008

Many Americans are feeling the pinch now more than ever. Paying for a college education has always been a significant financial endeavor; but as all kinds of financial stresses weigh on Americans, the idea of paying for a college education has become a more worrisome matter. Parents of graduating seniors are wondering how they will ever help their children through college at a time when they are struggling financially themselves. American teenagers are also more strapped for cash than previous generations as the job market becomes tighter and more adults take on jobs that were typically dominated by the teen market.

Amid all of these financial worries, there are still creative ways to pay one’s way through college. Scholarships, loans and tuition reimbursement are probably the routes that many students have been advised to take by their guidance counselors and admissions officers; however, there are ways beyond these two traditional routes to fund a college education, even in times of severe economic hardship.

Combining Work and School

There are several options that combine work and school in a less traditional way than the typical college student’s part-time job. Living on campus and driving off campus to work 20 hours a week for minimum wage produces enough spending money for the week, but it barely makes a dent in the overall cost of attending a university. If you take a close look at a college tuition bill for a semester, you’ll notice that at your average, in-state, public university, course tuition is about the same price as the room and board charges.

What this breaks down to is often in the range of $7,000-$11,000 dollars per academic year in room and board fees. Many students are shocked upon realizing that about 50% of their yearly cost of going to college goes to paying for a room that is too small and too hot and food that is too fatty and too cold. That’s a lot of money to pay for a service most students find dreadfully below their standards. A few options to combat this high cost are to become an RA (Resident Assistant) or to find some other job where ‘living in’ is part of the job description and paying rent is not expected.

RA’s typically receive free room and board at their university and little to no spending money. At first glance, this might seem less desirable than a part-time job off-campus; however the cost savings is extremely high. Again, it cuts your tuition bill about in half.

Other ways to have ‘live-in’ privileges and eliminate this costly portion of each semester’s bill is to work as a nanny, an elderly companion, do homesitting or petsitting or work part-time at a resort where employees live and eat for free. Each of these options provides a clear advantage in terms of the yearly tuition bill for college; some, but not all, of these options also require part-time work for which there is additional compensation. If you are lucky enough to snag one of these, you’ve got the best of both worlds: $100 spending money each week, plus the elimination of the room and board charge.

Online Options

Another way to significantly reduce the cost of attending university for four years is to find a high-quality, accredited, online degree program and complete the degree while living at home. While this may initially be less attractive to many teens, online degree programs are changing the face of higher education. When so many high-quality programs and professors can be brought in via the internet, why leave home to study, especially in light of the considerable expenses living at school entails?

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