Can't Afford College?

Is it your dream to get a degree, but don’t want to put yourself into piles of crippling debt? If you can’t afford college, you do have options. Luckily, most students will get some sort of financial assistance that will help cut the costs, but you’ll still need to find ways to tackle the remainder of the fees.

Top Ways to Pay for an Education if You Can’t Afford College

Let’s explore the top ways you can pay for higher education if you can’t afford college:

Grants to Help Pay for College

The federal government, states, and colleges give out a certain number of grants which you don’t have to worry about paying back.

Usually, they determine who is lucky enough to get a grant based on their financial need. You’ll need to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) which will determine your income. If you are approved and receive a grant, then a financial aid award letter is sent out by the school that usually arrives with your acceptance letter. However, in some situations, it can arrive later.

Undergrads at public colleges usually receive around $5,000 in grant aid and if you are in a private college then you can expect about $16,700 in grant money. Once a college knows how much grant money you are eligible to receive then they will typically help you figure out how to pay for the remainder. With a Federal Pell Grant, the cap is $5,920 per year if a family makes under $30,000 per year.

Appeal for More Money

You can appeal for more financial aid by submitting a formal appeal letter and making follow-up phone calls. If this is your choice, then remember that you are marketing yourself. You’ll want to be prepared to explain to the school why you are a good fit and make a case for why you need to receive more aid.

Try to explain your financial situation. In many cases, a family has expenses like medical bills that were not taken into consideration during the application process. Also, your family’s financial situation might have changed in the last year, so you’ll want to outline that when making an appeal.

Take a Work/Study Job

Usually, you’ll find part-time jobs either on or near the college campus that are designed for eligible students. To qualify for employment, you’ll have needed to submit the FAFSA. With a work/study job, you receive the payment at least once per month. Undergrads are eligible to earn an hourly wage, but you cannot earn more than your yearly work/study award. You’ll see the amount listed on your financial aid award letter.

If you do not qualify for any form of a work/study job, then you’ll need to explore another part-time job. Certain websites like WayUp and QuadJobs advertise college student positions online such as tutoring, dog walking, or babysitting. Sometimes the jobs listed are also related to your area of study.

Enroll in a Tuition-Free College

Apply to a tuition-free online college to see if you qualify. This is definitely the best option for anyone that wants to graduate with a useful degree completely debt-free.

University of the People is the first accredited online tuition-free university in America. You can study from anywhere in the world, at your own pace, from the comfort of your home. Their degree programs are high quality and taught by some of the world’s leading professors. UoPeople partners with top universities worldwide, like NYU and the University of California - Berkeley, to provide useful tuition-free degrees.

The most useful degrees include business administration, computer science, education, and health science.

Apply for a Private Scholarship

You might be surprised to learn that there are thousands of private scholarships available that are provided by community groups, companies, and nonprofits. Usually, your high school guidance counselor will be familiar with the available private scholarships. You can also research online services that are designed to make suggestions about possible scholarships that you could be eligible for.

Use a Tax Credit

With the American Opportunity Tax Credit, you can lower your taxes after paying for your tuition and other expenses like books, room/board, and fees. Usually, you could receive up to $2,500 per year if your parent’s adjusted gross income is not more than $90,000 for one parent or $180,000 if both parents are filing jointly.

Live Off-Campus

Living at home while you go to school will save a great deal of money. The cost of room and board at both public colleges and private institutions is often as much as tuition.

Try a Community College

A community college can help you stay living at home, so you’ll save money on room and board, plus their cost of tuition is considerably less. You’ll find both two-year and four-year community colleges.

Take Out Loans

This is often the last resort for many, but they are an option and a way to cover some of the cost of tuition. In fact, loans are becoming quite common with as many as 20 percent of families taking out loans to cover the cost of college.

Ideally, when borrowing money to pay for college, you’ll want to take the loan from the federal government instead of a private lender. Usually, the federal loans have affordable low-interest rates and feature borrower protections. You’ll encounter a higher interest rate with a private lender.

When you fill out your FAFSA, you’ll be able to apply for a federal loan. Please remember that if you did not fill out the FAFSA, then you won’t be able to apply for a federal student loan. No matter what your family’s income, you should be eligible to borrow money. Usually, a first-year undergraduate can borrow up to $5,500. If a student demonstrates that they need even more financial aid than the amount provided, then they can typically borrow subsidized loans that will not have any accrued interest until after graduation.

Another federal student loan option is referred to as the PLUS loan which lets a parent borrow money for their child’s college education. The PLUS loan does require a credit check and they do have higher interest rates. Usually, the school determines how much a parent can borrow. However, the cost of the loan is designed to cover the price of attendance and is minus any financial aid that the student is receiving. You can determine the amount of money you can borrow every year from the government by looking at the student’s financial aid award letter.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, if you can’t afford college then you still have plenty of options to pay for an education. You can explore more than one choice to try to cover all your college expenses.

The most financially smart option we recommend is to go for a tuition-free university degree — but if you have your heart set on a certain college with an expensive price tag, then going for grants, scholarships, and getting a work/study job can be a huge help in lowering your expenses.