It’s a fact that students who graduate with mountains of college debt tend to put off some of life’s most important rights of passage. Things like buying a new car, getting married, buying a house, and having children often take a back seat to repaying student loans.
There’s a saying that goes, “Live like a student while in college to avoid living like one after you graduate.” Every penny you avoid spending while in school is a penny you won’t have to repay when you’re done. Here are six tips to minimize debt while studying:
1. Get a Loan
College is expensive no matter how you cut it. It’s very likely you’ll need to get a loan to help pay for things like tuition, books, housing, etc. Try to find low-interest loans for low to middle income earners to make it easy to repay when the time comes. It pays to shop around for a lender who’s on your side.
2. Apply for Any and All Scholarships and Grants You Can
While time-consuming, looking for and applying to any and all scholarships and grants you qualify for can really cut down on your overall cost of going to college. The internet is full of opportunities like this – many of which you probably have never heard of. Don’t waste time trying to figure out how you’re going to pay for it all until you’ve exhausted every source of free money available to you.
3. Consider a Less Expensive College
It’s nice to say you graduated from a well-known prestigious college, but there’s a lot to be said for having less student loan debt after graduation because you went to a cheaper school instead.
Attending an in-state public college offers a high-quality education at a bargain price. In fact, you could accrue about 20 percent less debt on a bachelor’s degree by going this route.
Alternatively, you can choose a school that has a “no loans financial aid policy.” Schools who participate in this program replace loans with grants, meaning you come out with far less debt than if you’d gone to other schools.
4. Reduce Living Expenses
Much of the cost of going to college is comprised of living expenses: textbooks, housing, transportation, etc. This gives you multiple avenues for saving money.
- You can buy used textbooks instead of buying new ones.
- You can live at home instead of on campus, or you can get a roommate to help with room and board.
- If your home is far away from campus, you can reduce your trips home to just once or twice a year, and lastly
- You can budget your eating out and entertainment spending.
5. Get a Job
Even if you receive need-based financial aid, you can still work part-time during the school year and full-time during the summer months to help pay for college. You can earn about $6,000 before it affects your eligibility, which is a substantial chunk toward paying your college expenses.
6. Graduate on Time
Every additional term you remain in school is another term you have to pay for. Try not to transfer schools or change your major halfway through as this can add extra required credits to your college career.
College is expensive, but there are ways to make it less so. From acquiring low-interest loans to making sure you graduate on time, the list outlined above will help you minimize your college debt while studying.
