One Caveman’s Financial Journey

Photo credit: Srevatsan

Grants

If you come from a low-income family, are a minority, are a woman, are a non-traditional student (outside of the 18-24 age range), or have some other distinct quality, you may qualify for a grant to pay for your education. Grants come in many forms, each with their own requirements and rules. Some require you to maintain a specific course load, some require a minimum GPA, and some are simply free-and-clear money for you to use for school. Regardless of your family’s income, your age, your gender, your skin color, etc., you should investigate if you qualify for a grant. Unlike loans and scholarships, grants are “free money” for school and normally don’t have to be paid back.

Scholarships

Before you even enter high school, you should be applying for as many scholarships as you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s a $100 scholarship or $100,000, your odds are infinitely (well, not quite) better than winning the lottery even for the most exclusive of scholarships. Most full scholarships are academically-based, but there is still a lot of money up for grabs if you’re not a straight-A student.

Believe it or not, but competition for the smaller scholarships is limited, if not non-existent. According to MSN Money, small and local organizations offer scholarships for which few apply.

A few simple Google searches can find thousand of scholarship opportunities for you; but be careful who you share you information with. There are a lot of scammers out there and you should never give your information to anyone you don’t trust and never pay for consideration for a scholarship. I remember using a service called FastWeb (which is still around) and got great results. I can’t vouch for their work today, but 8-10 years ago, they were great.

Student Loans

Once you’ve filed your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form, you have access to federal student loans, including the Stafford Loans, Perkins Loans, PLUS Loans, and many other forms of financial aid. Loans are a perfectly acceptable way to pay for school, but the goal is to minimize the amount of money you must borrow. By getting all the grants and scholarships you can before taking loans, you will save yourself a great deal of money later.

Student loans afford you many financial opportunities that other types of debt do not. As long as you are in school, your debt is deferred so you don’t have to worry about paying until around 6 months after graduation - normally plenty of time to find a stable job. Once the debt starts coming due, you can also investigate consolidating your loans so you only have to worry about one payment, one interest rate (which can be lower than the original loan’s), and more time in which to repay. And when it comes time to do your own taxes post-graduation, the interest you pay on your qualified student loan is tax-deductible.

Summer Jobs and Paid Internships

No, a summer job won’t cover you for the rest of the year, but it will give you a nice cash infusion to at least help feed you through the school year. Most schools have a job placement program that works directly with regional and national employers to help students find summer jobs that pay well and help you use what you’re learning in school.

Some schools also offer placement into paid summer internships or longer-term co-ops that also give you course credit. My university required engineering students to seek out a semester + summer co-op in their discipline, so I used the opportunity to work with a software company (pre-dot-com bust). I got paid an equivalent of $35,000 a year, plus a housing stipend that more than covered my rent, and I also earned four non-graded credit hours. If you’re a junior in need of a break from school and some extra money, check if your school has a similar program.

ROTC and Military Service

While some might find this suggestion unpalatable, it is a great way to pay for school and a great way to serve your country and it can open up otherwise-unreachable job opportunities for you. By accepting a short-term obligation to the military, they will help or completely pay for your schooling through a variety of scholarships and grants. You can choose to enlist and fulfill your commitment before going to school, sign up for ROTC while in college, or receive payment for your schooling and then serve as an officer upon graduation. Remembering back to my friends who were in the Air Force ROTC, I definitely would have considered signing up if I didn’t already have a scholarship.

Once your obligations are met, you can either choose to continue serving or leave the military for civilian work. I know from friends through church and work that the benefits, training, and respect for veterans opens up a whole new class of employment opportunities to those who have served - ones well in excess of $100,000/year.

Part-Time Schooling and Tuition Reimbursement

When you’re going to school full-time, studying is your job. You’re paying for the best education you can afford and if you’re “wasting” your time earning a relatively small amount of money when you could otherwise be investing your time in your studies, you’re only robbing your future. But on the flip side, there’s nothing wrong with going to school part-time and working at the same time. By taking a shorter schedule, you can devote less time to your studies and that will give you the opportunity to pay for you education as you go. Not only that, your employer may offer a benefit of tuition reimbursement if the degree you’re seeking will help you in your job.

Of course, by taking only a few courses each semester you will stretch out your education and it will take you longer to graduate, but if you want the education and there’s no other way to pay for it, it’s a perfectly reasonable alternative.

Don’t Worry About the Money

Don’t worry about how to pay for college - there’s always a way. Instead, focus your energy on your studies so you get the most out of your time and your money while you’re at school. It’s important to have fun in college, but it’s much more important that you get the best education you can afford; the money will come later in the form of better job opportunities and higher and faster raises.

What About You?

Did I miss anything here? Can you think of other ways to pay for college? Think I’m wrong and parents should pay for the education? Share your opinion in the comments!

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