Paying for college is no easy task. There are a lot of things on top of tuition and housing a student has to pay for. If you sit down and add up all the costs of going to school, it may seem impossible. I am happy to tell you that it is not impossible. For most degrees, it is even possible to pay for all 4 years of college without going into debt. I know this because both my wife and I have done it. We both have 4 year college degrees that are completely paid for. How did we do this? I will tell you.
1. Go to a college you can afford.
Ivy league and private schools are great, but a degree from a community college or state university carries the same weight in the real world at a much lower cost.
2. Start saving up money long before high school graduation.
There are plenty of opportunities for even underage kids to earn money. My wife and I both raised 4-H animals to sell at the county fair when we were growing up. I know of people who earned money for college by babysitting, baking bread and selling it to neighbors, making crafts to sell on the internet, and doing odd jobs. No matter where you live, there is something you can do to earn money for your future.
3. Apply for scholarships.
There are so many organizations that offer scholarships. They can be found in nearly every community across the country. The problem a lot of organizations have is getting the word out to potential applicants. If you know where to look and how to find them, you may be one of only a few people who apply for those scholarships. My wife was once awarded a $3,000 scholarship from a club that only relatives of club members could apply for (her grandparents were members). There were 3 people that applied for it.
4. Apply for financial aid.
Fill out a FAFSA form even if you don't think you will qualify for anything.
5. Choose an attainable and realistic major.
There is a well known saying that goes like this: 'If you want to be happy in life, take something you like to do and find a way to make money doing it.' That is true, but it does not mean you should choose your hobby for a major in college.
I once heard a student say "I know there aren't a lot of jobs available for my major, but I just know that if I have faith, after I graduate God will bless me with a job". I sincerely hope it worked out for that student. I am not an expert on religion, but I do know a few things about God. One thing I know is that God blesses everyone with some level of intelligence, and he expects us to use it. If my purpose in going to college is to get a degree that can get me a job, why would I choose to get a degree for which there are no jobs available, and then expect a miracle immediately after graduation? God blesses us when we have faith and act on it, not when we mock His intelligence by acting both foolish and selfish, then expecting Him to bail us out.
By the time a person graduates high school, they have a pretty good idea of what they are good at and what they are capable of in academia. I would have loved to become a doctor or lawyer, but for me that was not a reasonable goal. So I chose something I knew I could get a degree in. It was a degree in a field that I also knew there were a lot of jobs available.
There will always be jobs for people with degrees in areas such as: nursing, business, accounting, IT, engineering, etc. Even if you aren't sure what you want to major in, choose something you think you might be interested in and go after it. If you find something that interests you more later on you can change your major. Do NOT choose a major in General Studies, or something equally generic. Employers want to hire people that can be decisive and have some knowledge in a specific field of study. They do not want people that took the safe route and rode the fence through college because they couldn't decide on a major.
6. Shop around for textbooks.
The bookstore is not the only place to get textbooks. Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist are places you can get great bargains on books. Sometimes professors allow students to use a previous edition of the textbook for class. The textbook for a psychology 201 class I had to take was more than $200 for a used copy at the bookstore. I was able to get the previous edition of the book on Ebay for about $15.
Occasionally, you can beat the system and actually make money on your textbooks. That does not happen very often, but it is possible. My wife once bought one of her books online for $8. Since it was the current edition of the book, at the end of the semester the bookstore bought it back and paid her $30 for it.
7. Don't be afraid to have fun.
College is a great experience. It is okay to have fun. There are sporting events to go to, clubs to join, friends to make, and good times to be had both on and off campus. At the end of my freshman year, the clogging/folk dancing team I was a part of got to join up with the school's ballroom and contemporary dance teams and go on a month long tour across the U.S. We did shows in Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Washington D.C., New York, New Jersey, and everywhere in between. We performed 24 shows in 28 days, and never in the same place twice. That was one of the most fun and memorable experiences of my life. Whatever your interests are, find a group that shares those interests and have fun!
Everyone's circumstances are different, and for some people college would not be an option if student loans weren't available. But most people today seem to think that the only way anyone can get through school is to go deeply into debt. That is simply not true. College can be affordable for those who are willing to work for it. The satisfaction of walking across the stage at graduation knowing you made it without going into debt is surpassed only by the joy of taking your first paycheck home from your new job, knowing that none of it has to go towards paying off student loans.
