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Looking for ways to save big on college? Us too. The cost of higher education in the US has gotten OOC! It now averages $20,090 per year for tuition + room and board at a state university if you’re paying in-state prices, $35,370 for a state university if you’re paying out-of-state prices, and $45,370 again that’s per year for private universities (source).
Want to hear something even crazier? Only about 19% of full-time students complete their bachelor’s degree in four years (source)! 19%!!!
It actually ends up taking 5.1 years on average! Unless you’re a woman over twenty when you start; they average 8.8 calendar years to complete a four-year degree (additional sources). I started to argue with the data, “that can’t possibly be right!” But then I remembered I started college in 2002 and didn’t actually get my Bachelor’s until 2015 🙁
How are we doing this to ourselves when the annual cost is already so high?!
Well, we change majors for one thing. Most people are legally children when they decide on their major. We mature and get some experience and think better of our choices. Which is great, except that you now need a bunch more classes. My brother’s change in majors added 1.5 years to his schooling.
Or life just gets in the way. We moved around a lot for my husband’s job in the early 2000’s before online universities were really legit, so I ended up attending four different colleges! Or maybe you take time off to get married or have a baby. Both perfectly good reasons to interrupt your formal education. So of course we’re not getting four-year degrees in four years!
Ok, so that’s the bad news. Now let’s see if we can knock a few $K’s off our college bill, shall we?
If you’re already done with school, you could still save thousands on your student loans by refinancing.
Don’t yet have your degree? Well then, here are our top 7 ways to save big on college.
1. Don’t go.
What?! Can you do that?! People seriously forget that not going to college can be a legit option. But it’s true, there are some entrepreneurs and skilled tradeswomen laughing their way to the bank at all of us paying for degrees we won’t use (guilty – of paying for a degree I won’t use, not of laughing at people!).
Serious question: why are you willing to pay so much for a degree? If it’s because you know you belong in a certain field that requires a degree, then yeah, get your degree. Mine was a matter of pride. I now have a Master’s I may never use.
Back in the day, so few people had Bachelor’s Degrees that the degree itself, in any major, was enough to get you a job. You could have an Art History Degree and get a job in HR because you had a degree. Now that nearly everyone has a degree, your degree must be specialized for future employers. So if you plan to get an HR job, better specialize in it! And if you have an Art History Degree, you can teach Art History or curate a museum. Those are your only options to use your degree.
If you go to college, you might be getting yourself in a crap ton of student loan debt, only to find that your degree doesn’t land you a job. Or not one that pays enough to pay back your loans anyway.
So skip it! Go through a trade program to be an electrician, a welder, or an HVAC repair chick. Get straight into the workforce in one of these trades and make bank! Or venture out on your own as an entrepreneur.
By not going to college, you’re saving a ton of money and years of your life. And you get to rebel against the system that screwed a generation.
But consider the downside. Bachelor’s Degrees are now required for menial jobs. Example: I had three years’ experience as a property manager, but was unqualified for a property management position at one company, simply because the position needlessly required a Bachelor’s.
Another potential downside: you miss out on the college experience. That may or may not be important to you, but it’s something to consider.
PS: We should probably clarify that we totally believe in Education. But Education comes in many forms that don’t include lecture halls. And, sorry to say, a lot of the education taught in universities is useless. Sorry again, we hate saying that, but it’s true.
So Who Should Consider Skipping College?
Entrepreneurs, rebels, skilled tradeswomen
Amount saved:
Up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
2. Apply for Scholarships
Scholarships are out there for the taking! And you don’t have to be a star athlete or genius to get them. There are scholarships for everyone:
Are you not a tall, potato-studying, duck-calling parapsychologist? No worries. Google your unique interests and skills and see what’s available for you.
You could also check with companies you’d like to eventually work for to see if any of them offer scholarships for students in your chosen field or industry.
You could save thousands on school for just writing an essay or wearing a Duck Brand Duct Tape dress to prom. And you still get the college experience if that’s important to you!
Just know going in that it can be time-consuming to research all the available scholarship options. Plus, you still have to actually apply, which usually means essay-writing. Silver-lining: all that essay writing is excellent college prep!
So Who Should Consider Scholarships?
Everyone looking to make college more affordable. No matter who you are or what you’re into, there are scholarships available for you, Snowflake.
Amount saved:
Anywhere between $1,000 (for being tall) and $297,712 (for a full ride to Harvey Mudd College).
3. Take Advantage of Community College
If I had a nickel for every person who told me they wished they went to a community college instead of straight to a four-year university, I’d have like $50. Which is a lot of nickels!
Here’s why we love community colleges:
- They’re a good transition between high school and university
- They offer two years to try different courses of study before committing to a major
- You still get two out of the four years of college experience
- You’ll get a couple more years with some of your high school friends
- You can save even more by living with mom and dad (if they’ll let you)
The only downside really is you have to wait two years to move out on your own and you miss two years of the college experience. Honestly, unless you were a total butt-head to your parents, they’d probably love to have just two more years with you 🙂
Who Should Consider Community College?
People who aren’t super sure what they want for their future career, people who aren’t sure if college is the right fit for them, people who don’t mind their parents (and their parents don’t mind them!), people who like-ish their hometown
Amount saved:
Depends on your community college tuition and the tuition of your chosen university. Community college tuition averages $4,915/year for in-state students and $8,659/year for out-of-state students (source). So using the average in-state university cost of $20,090, an average in-stater could save $30,350 ($15,175/year for two years).
4. Choose a Local University and Live at Home
Maybe you need the four-year degree and your parents live close enough to a university campus that you can live at home and commute. That’s awesome! Especially if you’re going the community college route first. In fact, why would you not go to community college first in this case? You’re not getting a full college experience while living with mom and dad anyway, so don’t spend all four years paying the higher tuition price.
So yeah, you would totally miss out on the traditional college experience living with mom and dad. But this could be a good option if you plan to stay in or around your hometown because it lets you continue to build a professional network for future business while still in college. You can’t really do that if you go away to college. I guess what we’re saying here is try to go to school where you might eventually want to settle so you can start building those professional connections in college.
Who Should Consider Living at Home?
People who really like where they’re from, especially people who want to keep roots in or near their hometown, people who don’t mind their parents (and their parents don’t mind them!), people who are ok missing the college experience
Amount saved:
Of course it depends on the school, but room and board alone at in-state public colleges averages $10,440/year, so you could save $41,760. Minus a few hundred for your commute to school. We’re guessing mom and dad have your grocery costs covered while you’re living at home, so that’s a non-issue.
5. Be of Service to Your Country
We’re not just talking military here. Although, that can be a truly great option for some women! We don’t have personal experience with it, but we know people who have made solid careers and a good living on their Air Force technical training. And the government will foot some, if not all, of your college expenses if you decide to go to school after your service. Not saying it’s for everyone, but at least consider whether or not it’s right for you.
If it’s not right for you, there are national volunteer organizations that will pay you a small living allowance while you volunteer. So like, paid volunteer work?! Yep! And they will offer credits toward your future tuition or even pay off some of your federal student loan debt!
So you get some wonderful experiences, new friends and professional contacts, volunteer work added to your resume and online profiles, a little cash in your pocket, AND you save some money on school. If you have the time to invest, it’s a great deal!
How much time do you need? Well, it depends on the program. The best place to start is with AmeriCorps. AmeriCorps programs are all over the US, offering part-time and full-time positions, so you have options to volunteer anywhere from 8 to 40 hours/week.
According to Lisa Peck, Director of ABC Americorps in the Sauk Valley (and my mom!), your living allowance can be as much as $6,100 per term (up to four terms), depending on your position and hours. PLUS, you can earn an education award of $1,100-$5,500 per term (up to four terms and again depending on your position and hours invested) to help pay for college or pay off some federal student loans.
And because you’re working with your local program, you can really help your local community and build a great professional and social network.
Interested? Apply quickly, before the Trump Administration slashes funding!
Who Should Consider Service to Save on School?
People with some time to invest each week, people interested in helping their communities, people who want to add some volunteer experience to their resumes
Amount saved:
Up to $22,000 (four terms’ worth of $5,500 education awards). PLUS you can earn up to $24,400 in living allowance.
6. Choose a Less Expensive Online Program
There are legit, accredited online universities now offering degrees at a fraction of the traditional university cost. Online schools don’t have the same insane overhead expenses of traditional universities (like building and land operations and maintenance), so they can pass the savings on to the students.
OnlineU.org offers a list of online programs that cost less than $8,000/year! The schools listed are mostly online programs for state schools. So the curriculum and course structure are traditional despite being online. Like, you’ll still have weekly graded assignments, and you’ll have to work at the pace of the class (no running through the material to finish faster).
Then there are some more innovative online universities that don’t follow the traditional structure. I got my M.B.A. from Western Governor’s University for under $7,000 total! WGU is completely self-paced, so you can run through the course work as fast as you want instead of waiting for the class. And there are no required chapter tests or homework! You simply have to prove through a big paper or project that you know the entire subject cold, then you can immediately move on to the next class. Why should you have to sit through material you already know from your previous studies and work experience?
It was a perfect fit for me. I had so much real-world business experience by the time I started, I was able to prove competency really quickly and knock out two years’ worth of courses in under a year while working full-time. Of course this system won’t work for everyone. You have to be entirely self-driven to make this work. Think it might be for you? You can mention my name if you apply to WGU to get your application fee waived 🙂
But beware when choosing any online program! You need to watch out for “degree factories”, online universities that charge a fortune (some even more than traditional schools!), don’t check to make sure you’re understanding the concepts, then give you your degree once you’ve served your time. You basically buy a degree and may or may not actually learn anything.
And again, online programs are not for everyone. You need to be able to light your own fire since you won’t have teachers breathing down your neck in person. And you miss out on the college experience.
And another potential downside: Old-school employers and hiring managers may not recognize the legitimacy of online universities. I had a job interview last year where my potential employer asked me why I didn’t go to “a real school”. 😐
Who Should Consider Online Programs?
People who are self-starters and self-disciplined, people who need the flexibility of working from home at weird hours, people who are ok missing the college experience
Amount saved:
Compared to the average in-state cost of $20,090/year, you could save $48,360 over four years by going with one of the $8,000/year programs listed at OnlineU.org. If you’re crazy motivated to finish fast and have some real-world experience in your field of study, it’s possible to save up to $68,360 and finish in about half the time by going with WGU.
7. Think Way Outside the Box: MissionU
MissionU is our most progressive option to save big on college. This is a whole new take on higher education, just launched in 2017. Let me try to explain it.
MissionU is basically a one-year, career-prep college experience. The entire program is focused on getting you a good, well-paying job upon graduation. They teach you what you need to learn to kill it in the corporate world! You learn soft skills for the first four months, like initiative, negotiation, and public speaking. Then you deep-dive on your concentration subject, like data analytics, for the next four months. Then you intern remotely with one of their partner companies, like Spotify, Birchbox, or Uber for the last four months.
But here’s where it gets crazy. You don’t pay them a cent until you get a job paying over $50,000/year. At that point, you pay MissionU 15% of your income for three full years. That’s it. That’s your cost. You will not be taking 30 years to pay off any student loans. And 15% is perfectly doable. MissionU is so confident you’ll be able to get a well-paying job after finishing their program that they will completely release graduates from paying anything back if the graduate doesn’t get a job paying over $50,000 within seven years.
Sound too good to be true? There are some catches:
- This program is just now launching, so the first groups are going to be in the San Francisco area only. You have to live within 50 miles of SF while working through the program.
- Because they’re so brand new, they have very limited concentration subjects available. In fact, this first year, they are only offering data analytics.
- They’re highly selective about applicants, and the application process is rigorous.
- You miss out on the traditional college experience.
- Old-school employers might not appreciate this kind of innovation, so it might not do a whole lot for your resume.
Who Should Consider MissionU:
Right now, only people living near San Francisco, interested in data analytics should seriously consider MissionU. But we should all have this on our watch-list. Who knows, 20 years from now, when MissionU has reinvented career-based education, you might have a college freshman looking for options.
Amount saved:
If you make the minimum $50K/year, you’ll end up paying a total of $22,500 for your degree ($7,500 times three years). That saves you up to $57,860, compared to the average four-year university.
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What do you think of our list? Do you have another way to save big on college?
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