Creative Funding

Creative funding helps keep college costs low and helps prevent students from having to borrow student loans. If you need to borrow loans to get through college, it is ok. That is what the money is there for-to pay your tuition. Don't be afraid to borrow because the end result will be a college degree and you will have more career opportunities with a college degree than with a high school diploma. However, work hard to keep the loans at a minimum. Here are some strategies on how to make that happen:

First, consider attending a community college prior to attending a four year college or university. You can complete your first two years of your education at a community college where the tuition is significantly cheaper. If the community college is regionally accredited and the four year college/university is regionally accredited, then your credits will transfer with you to the new college/university.

Second, get a job. Many college students don't work while in school and this is why they end up borrowing so much money in student loans. They use the loans to pay for everything, including living expenses. If you have a job, you can reduce the amount of money you need to borrow because you will have a paycheck to cover your living expenses, and possibly enough to pay for books, school supplies, and technology supplies, such as a computer.

Third, ask for gift cards for gift giving occasions. Gift cards can help you cut down on your out of pocket expenses. Ask for gift cards to grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, office supply stores, restaurants, retail stores, or anyplace where you frequently shop, eat, or patron. Also, find out who owns and operates your campus bookstore. A lot of college bookstores are operated by Barnes and Noble and if the bookstore on your college campus is a Barnes and Noble, then you can ask for one of these gift cards and it can be used to help purchase your required books for your classes. Some bookstores are run by the college and they, too, will offer gift certificates.

Fourth, check into tuition reimbursement programs through your employer or your parent's employer, if you are a dependent. Many employers will help cover the cost of tuition.

Fifth, live at home instead of a dorm. Dorms are incredibly expensive. The minimum amount students can expect to spend on a dorm is about $12,000 to $15,000 per year; by the end of a four year education, this equals between $48,000 to $60,000. That is a lot of money to spend. If you are going to spend that much money, you would be better off saving it and using it towards a master's degree and/or a doctorate. A master's degree or a doctorate degree will be a MUCH better return on investment. You will open more career doors and make way more money. Truly...skip the dorm. You can still have a great student experience without the dorm.

Did you know that if you are actively serving in the military or are a veteran, you may be eligible for education benefits? If you are actively serving in any branch-army, navy, air force, marines, or coast guard, check with your education counselor for more information. Veterans may be eligible for education funding, too. Go to the Veteran's Administration (VA) for more information. Veteran's---you may be eligible for other services, too. If there is something you need, be sure to ask while you are at the VA, to see if they can help. It may be for housing, healthcare, or any kind of assistance you need.

Whatever your status, be sure to check and see if you are eligible for any kind of education benefits. Whatever the amount-take it. Every little bit helps.

A topic worth discussing in the creative funding area is cutting expenses. Generally, creative funding means finding alternative, non-traditional ways to pay for an item. But, cost reduction is a creative solution to the tuition and college expense subject. If you can find a way to avoid some costs, it means you don't have to find a way to pay for the costs. Where do you begin with cutting costs? A good place to start is with the biggest expenses first because that is where you will make the biggest impact.

First, start with finding ways to cut tuition. This is an area where you can make a dramatic difference. Most public schools charge less tuition to students who are residents of that state than they do to students who are residents of another state. And, private college tuition is even more expensive than that. Students looking for savings on tuition should check into public, in-state schools as part of their college search. As a result, students can save thousands of dollars by attending one of those schools. Depending on where the student was planning to attend, they can save as much as $50,000 or so per year just by reconsidering their college choice.

Second, instead of living on the college campus plan to live at home and commute to college. The average public college charges $12,000 to $15,000 per year for a dorm. Cut this expense entirely and remain at home for a little while longer.

Third, attend a community college for two years prior to attending a four year institution. Community college tuition is significantly cheap and the classes taken at a regionally accredited community college will transfer to a four year institution.

Fourth, if you are a commuter college student, consider buying a monthly bus pass and riding the bus back and forth to college. Buying a monthly bus pass will be much cheaper than car expenses which includes a car payment, gas, maintenance, insurance, and a college parking pass. You may be able to save a few hundred dollars per month; this can quickly add up to several thousand dollars each year.

Creative funding means finding ways of being able to pay for college besides using financial aid or scholarships. It can also mean finding ways to cut costs to make college more affordable. Books are a huge cost at college. On average, students can expect to pay about $125 per class for books. Now, this does not mean every class is going to cost $125 for books--this is just an estimated average price. Some classes may have a book cost that is significantly less than $125. Other classes may have a book cost that is significantly higher than $125. The average cost of the classes combined may work out to be #125. So, for instance, one class may have a book cost that equals $100 and another class may have a book cost that equals $150. The average cost will equal out to be #125 (here is how: $150 + $100 = $259; and, $250/2=$125; there is your average cost).

When buying your books, you can always seek out alternative book sellers to see if you can find the books cheaper, and sometimes you can find them cheaper. This is a gamble, though. You have to be absolutely sure the book you are purchasing is the book that will be used in the class. In the past, I have known students who have gotten the book, only to discover at the last minute that it is the wrong edition. Does this matter? It can. The books will overall contain much of the same information, but there will be changes. If you have assigned reading you need to do in the book, you may end up reading the wrong information. If you have homework assignments you need to complete from the book, then pages and problems won't match up, or you may be submitting a wrong homework assignment and end up getting a failing grade because you just submitted the wrong answers. Don't count on having your instructor be compassionate and work with you through this for the entire class. They will tell you to get the right book. This can cause a lot of problems, especially if you don't discover you have the wrong book until the last minute or until the class has already begun. It may take you a few weeks to get the right book and by then, you're REALLY behind. Plus, you may be stuck with a book you can't return or get a full refund on. And, you will still have to pay to get the right book. You won't have saved any money at this point; you'll have wasted money, actually. And, in some instances, instructors will change the book at the last minute. If you bought the old book for the class, you run into all the same issues as buying the wrong edition.

Because of situations like these, I don't really recommend buying the books outside of the campus bookstore. These situations happen more often than you can believe. If you go to your campus bookstore and buy the book they say is assigned and then there are edition changes or book changes, then the bookstore will work with you. If the new book is more expensive than the book you already purchased, then you may owe a small amount to cover the difference, but you won't be paying full price for two books. And, if the book switch happens after the beginning of class, then the instructors are generally flexible with students completing their reading assignments and doing homework.

Basically, in these instances, I recommend purchasing books through the student bookstore, just to prevent any issues and surprises. It will make your problem solving easier. On a side note, when purchasing books for your classes, purchase the required ones and hold off on purchasing any optional books until you have spoken to your instructor to see if those books will be required. Some classes will list optional books that can add up to hundreds of dollars and the instructor never once refers to those books. The book sits on a student desk and never once has its spine cracked. If it is a book you won't use, don't buy it. Always speak with the instructor first before purchasing the optional books.

Attending a community college is actually one creative way to combat college expenses. Community colleges are significantly cheaper than four year institutions. Significantly cheaper. Did I mention significant?

Where I live in Ohio, we have a local community college, a major four year public university, and several private colleges. They are all on semesters. The cost of tuition at the community college is $135 per credit hour, the cost of tuition at the major four year university is $409 per credit hour; the cost of tuition at the cheapest private college is $494 per credit hour. After two years, the total tuition at the community college will equal about $8,640; the total tuition at the public university is $26,240; and, the total tuition at the private university is $31,616. As you can see, the cost savings is significant. You can save at least anywhere from $17,600 to $22,976 for that two year period. That is a HUGE savings.

**Special note: Make sure both the community college and four year college are regionally accredited before doing any of this, so that the classes completed at the community college will transfer to the four year university with you. Also, when you decide what four year college you want to attend, talk to one of their academic advisors about how credits will transfer, as classes transfer differently to every college.

You can complete two years at a community college, get an associate's degree, get a job someplace with tuition reimbursement benefits, and then use those benefits to help pay for your bachelor's degree. And, if you can pay for the community college out of pocket, and then get to an employer with tuition benefits, it is possible you can get through college loan-free. You may opt to use any federal and state grants you are eligible for, opt to apply as many scholarships as you can until you win a few, and pay cash for some parts of college, all in order to relieve the financial pressure of college, but it can be done.