Showing posts with label paying for college without going broke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label paying for college without going broke. Show all posts

02 November 2013

4 Financial Sources You Can Tap for a College Education


Ah, a college degree. The ticket to a better and more comfortable life. The answer to your parents’ prayers. The ultimate achievement of a lifetime.

Getting a college degree insures anybody to live a better life that is full of opportunities. However, no matter how nice and fulfilling it is to get a college degree, the skyrocketing costs of such an education somehow hinders many people to get it. If your parents can afford to send you to college, then lucky you! However, the same cannot be said for everybody.

Even so, there are a lot of ways to send yourself to college, they may not be really the best choices out there but they can really help you get a degree. Some of those financial sources you can tap are:


1.     Scholarships.

If you belong to the top ten of the class, you can find a lot of organizations that are willing to fund your college education. So if you are part of the cream of the crop, don’t waste that gift! Use that to get a college scholarship.

If you are not academically inclined, but you are into arts like dancing, singing or acting, you can still find a scholarship to apply for in college. There are companies who are widely known for supporting talented individuals.


If you are the athletic type, then you might get a scholarship by being part of a school’s varsity team. However, being a varsity player does not excuse you to maintain high grades. So still, more pressure on you!

Nevertheless, if you are not part of the cream of the crop, an artist or a player, you can still try to find organizations or politicians that can offer you some financial assistance for your college education. Just be ready to impress and do well with your grades!
Photo: Stockvault

2.     Government Loans.

The government offers individuals who want to pursue college with student loans. The only problem with this option is the interest that you will be paying even after you graduate. There is a lot of pressure if you choose this option because you need to push yourself to land a well paying job after graduation just to pay off your debt. But if you are willing to sacrifice, you can go with it.




3.     Be a Working Student.

It’s not easy to work and study at the same time, but if we gotta go for our dreams and reach the stars, then we really need to work our butts off. A lot of successful people were also working students before- working menial jobs such as waiting tables, dishwashing, manning cashiers and the like, but they later rose to managerial positions and better working environments after college. So if they made it, there’s no reason that you can’t.

4.) Ask Help from a Relative

If you have an aunt, uncle or any close relative who is willing to finance your college education, then good for you! Grab that opportunity immediately.

5.) Find Cheaper Alternatives

There are colleges that do not really cost that much. Community colleges for one are more affordable compared to bigger universities. But if your dream is to really get in a very prestigious one, you might have to wait a bit longer to make that dream come true. You can go on a small, community college first and after getting your degree, get a nice job and enter your dream school later on. By that time, you may have the financial resources to afford it.


Financial woes are not just the kind of problem you will encounter in getting a college degree, sleepless nights and brain racking exams await you during your years of study. Well, we are not discouraging you, we’re just telling the truth!

Nevertheless, nothing can stop anyone if he/she really wants to get that degree. As the saying goes, “if there’s a will, there’s a way”. Indeed, a lot of ways can be found if you are really adamant in pursuing.

Never say that financial challenges are a hindrance to your success, money and funds can be gotten anywhere, but an education cannot be picked out from anywhere. More so, such intelligence and skill is priceless- it may take some money to acquire it formally, but the end is a most valuable thing.

If you are lucky and determined enough to push through a degree, then there’s no telling about how high you can go with such success in hand. But remember that the real challenge does not end after you graduate, it goes on out onto the real world.



About the Author:

Gracezyl Blanco is a content writer and quality specialist at Gradshop- a leading manufacturer of Academic Regalia. As a working student, she also had her fair share of ups and downs. Now that she is a full time employee, she continues to give support to struggling students by giving tips and advices.

16 July 2013

Being a Green College Student

The idea is everywhere. Being “green” is as important as ever and everyone wants to do things to be less wasteful and help the environment. However, what if you are on a college student budget and can’t afford that new top of the line hybrid vehicle? Here are something you can do to be a “green” college student AND save yourself some money in the process.

eTextbook


Make the switch! Traditional textbooks are not only heavy and a pain to try and lug around, but they are expensive and will put a huge strain on your pocketbook. Transitioning from traditional textbooks to online textbooks and course materials will not only lighten your load, but they will save you a significant amount of money. Renting etextbooks compared to buying its traditional hard cover or paperback counterpart will in most cases reduce your textbook costs by half. 

The environment also benefits from etextbooks. A common occurrence with textbooks is that a new edition will be released and often times the new edition will contain only grammatical or spelling corrections and not actually any new material or information. This is a huge waste of paper and trees, especially when there are five or even nine editions of a particular text. An etextbook on the other hand doesn’t require any additional paper or printing to release its newest edition. It is just digitally updated instantly. 
Recycle: Stockvault

The 3 R’s and Paper


Unfortunately there’s not much you can do to get around using paper. You are a student after all, and some teachers will require you to do assignments on paper or do an essay that requires you to print it out and hand it in. However, you can reduce the amount you use. For instance, even if your professor wants a printed copy of your assignment, don’t write out your first, second, and third drafts. Do all your drafting, editing, and revising on a computer or laptop and only print out the final draft, the one you will end up turning in.

You don’t just want to use less paper though. Reuse old paper. Before you through the paper in the recycle bin make sure both sides have been used up. If one side is blank, you can use it as scratch paper for figuring out math problems for example. Post-It’s cost money. Instead take that piece of
paper that has once side blank and cut it in half twice. Do that with several sheets and staple them together. Now you have a scratch pad for jotting down quick memos, and it didn’t cost anything to make it!

Of course, once a piece of paper has been used completely make sure it goes in that blue recycle bin instead of the trash can. Once it’s full just take it down to your local recycling center.

Transportation


So you already know you can’t go splurge on a brand new hybrid vehicle, but there are other ways to go green while saving money instead of spending it. If you live close enough to campus walk or ride a bicycle to class. You won’t be contributing to pollution, you will be saving money on gas, and you will be improving your health with exercise. 

If you live farther away however, you might need alternative transportation. Instead of driving your own car, you can ride the bus. Again you will be cutting back the amount of automobile pollution and saving money. Many places offer student discounts for monthly bus passes. Pay a onetime fee at the beginning of the month and have unlimited access to bus rides. 

Another option you have is getting to know others on campus with similar schedules and setting up a carpool. If you were able to get enough people to join in, you could end up driving only once or twice a week.