Saving money for college is a must with today's college prices. The goal is to stay out of debt while attending school. Here are 8 Ways To Save Money For College that will help you and your student prepare for the upcoming costs of universities.
I don't know how it was in your home, but we weren't able to put money aside for our children's education while they were young. I was a stay at home mom so we were living on one income. However, our oldest wanted to be a Meteorologist since the time he was five. That required a degree from the University of Somewhere. Which of course, means very high dollar. We searched high and low on how to save money for college. Doing these 8 Ways To Save Money For College helped him stay debt free through school.
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Start Young
Don’t start saving for college when your child is 16. Saving for college takes years. In fact, regardless if you are the one saving the money or your child is saving the money for college, the more time you have, the better. If you are financially able to start a 529 college savings plan for your child when they are young, then I strongly encourage it. If you aren't, don't worry. We didn't either! Keep reading!
Use child tax credit money
When you file your taxes, if eligible, every year taxpayers can get a child tax credit. Right now, it is $2000 for each eligible child. Save your college bound student's tax credit money in a CD at your local bank or in a savings account. If your child is young enough, look into a 529 plan and make yearly contributions from the child tax credit.
Encourage your child to work
Children can start earning money when they are young. It helps them to learn responsibility, budgeting and it give children a sense of accomplishment when they see their goals being realized. It is a skill they will need in life, so let's teach them young!
It can be as simple as mowing a lawn for a neighbor at the age of 13 or picking up sticks at the age of 10. It may be a small amount here and there but as the saying goes "Drops in a bucket makes a bucket overflow". Have your child put some of their money in their savings account for college.
Scholarships
Look for scholarships online. Look and look some more. When you get tired of looking, start applying. When you get tired of applying, keep applying! You never know what $500 scholarship you can get or what $20,000 scholarship your child can get. Here are some great scholarship sites your student can use to find the scholarships that fit them best. A lot of scholarships can use a universal application to make the process easier.
Look for scholarships locally. What scholarships does your student’s school offer? If you are unsure, ask your guidance counselor at the high school your child attends. They know all the local scholarships and can help point you in the right direction. Sometimes only a handful of students apply and can boost your child’s chances.
Be involved
This one is so very, very important. Back in the day, grades were the only thing colleges really looked at. In today's college and scholarship application process, there are certain merit scholarships that are strictly for grades. However, more often than not, they are looking for the whole of the student.
- What activities is the student involved in? Has the student done a variety of activities or have they stayed with only a couple activities?
- Leadership skills is another one. Being president of the class, captain of the cross country team, lead of the trumpet section, etc.
- Community service is important! not only is it important to learn the role community service should have in our lives, it looks really good on scholarship applications. It really does.
Get good grades
This probably goes without saying, but good grades are so important when wanting scholarships. A better grade gets you in the door and a great grade pushing the door wide open. If you can combine that with the involved mentioned above, you have a great chance to have your scholarship application to be read.
Certain scholarships are merit based, meaning grades only will matter. However, there are countless others that are based on the winning combination of merit and activities.
Go to a community college first
I'm sure this has been on your radar. A community college can save you thousands upon thousands of dollars as opposed going to a four year university all four years. The classes are the basic classes such as literature, English and art appreciation which can be taken for a lower cost at a community college.
Take dual credit classes
If your high school offers dual credit classes, I strongly recommend your child take them. Dual credit classes are a classes taught by master level teachers that count towards your child's high school requirements and college requirements. They come at a fraction of the cost of regular college classes. Our school has a deal with our local community college and each class is only $50 each. Yes, $50 each. We save hundreds of dollars to allow our children to participate in this program. Students can graduate with several credit hours to their name. Our oldest was able to take only 12 hours per semester because of his dual credit hours and our daughter is going to be able to graduate in three years because of hers. It is a great deal!
Saving money for college can be overwhelming, however with careful planning and determination, it is possible. Doing out of the box thinking and a lot of research, the sky is the limit on the amount of money that can be earned to go towards your degree.
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