Inside: With the ever-increasing costs of tuition, finding ways to reduce college costs is no longer “nice” but necessary. Here you will find 10 Tips You Need To Reduce College Costs.
In reviewing the statistics on the cost of college, I am stunned at just how crazy expensive college has become. In fact, even if we only consider the cost of tuition alone, the cost of college has increased 3.5% per year beyond inflation in just the past 5 years. This, while our annual income has only risen by 4% over the past two decades. See Trends in Higher Education.
These statistics show that college costs have increased by more than two and a half times the inflation rate.
At the same time attending college is no longer becoming an option if you hope to land a job that pays well enough to provide for your basic needs. More and more businesses are requesting some type of college degree.
Looking at these stats, it’s clear, finding ways to reduce college costs is no longer “nice” but necessary.
Having a college kid of my own, I’ve put together 10 tips that have helped us not just reduce that tuition bill, but also save hundreds on those must have living expenses. I’m sure they will help you too!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission if you purchase something mentioned in this post. See more details here.
1. Textbooks
Textbooks are as insanely expensive as tuition when you purchase them from the student store. They can literally add a couple thousand dollars to your college costs.
Thankfully you have other options.
My number one recommendation to reduce college costs is to avoid buying books altogether and rent your textbooks instead.
I’m not kidding, we literally saved over $1,400 on our tuition bill by renting textbooks.
Don’t let anybody tell you otherwise, you absolutely DO NOT need to buy those insanely overpriced textbooks. You can read all the details on the three resources we used here.
2. Health Insurance
Virtually every University requires full-time students to have health insurance. For this reason, your tuition bill will automatically contain a charge for student health insurance and it’s not exactly cheap.
However, if you have private insurance, which will generally be significantly cheaper than what the university will charge, you can apply for an obtain a waiver of this cost. With a simple waiver application, we cut off hundreds of dollars per semester from our tuition bill.
3. Housing
There are many options for student housing. To reduce college costs it’s important to do your research wh.en it comes to housing options.
Some things to consider: Will you live on campus in a traditional dorm room? How will that compare to the housing cost for a university-owned apartment? Both of these options usually include utilities.
Generally, there is also a wide range of private apartments near campus. Private apartments often have a lower monthly rate and allow you to pick your roommates. However, you’ll have to add in the cost for utilities and determine if you’ll need to pay over the summer or find a sublet for the summer months. You may also have to purchase extra furnishings.
Apartment living, versus a dorm room, may also allow you to save on your food budget. Apartments come will full kitchens which enable you to cook many of your own meals.
Another option to consider is renting a furnished room in a private home.
Of course, if you live close enough, the cheapest alternative is to live at home.
As you can see there are many options for housing. With a little bit of research and effort, you could knock down a nice portion of your housing costs.
4. Meal Plans
4. Meal PlansMeal plans are another area where you have lots of options and price points. The cost and plans available do vary wildly by school. So make sure to do some research here as well.
But first, let’s look at some of the most popular plans.
There is the unlimited plan which allows unlimited swipes at the campus dining hall. If you’ve got a big eater or are concerned about the ability to budget and watch your swipes this may be the perfect plan. One drawback is that this plan does not include non-University run restaurants on campus (think Panda Express, Chipotle, and Starbucks).
This was actually our best option freshman year as it was included in the price of tuition.
However, for my daughter’s sophomore year, she lived in a University-owned apartment with a full kitchen. As she was no longer a freshman, the unlimited meal plan was insanely expensive at over $3,000 for the year.
There was no possible way she would even come close to eating the amount of food that would justify a $3,000 budget. Therefore, we looked into the other options which included a meal plan that allowed two swipes a day at the dining halls. There was also a plan which had a specific dollar amount attached to it and included the restaurant options on campus.
Ultimately for us, the unquestionable biggest savings was to forgo the meal plan altogether in light of the fact she was living in an apartment with a full kitchen.
Boom, $3000.00 instantly knocked off the bill.
5. Scholarships and Grants
Scholarships and grants are a fantastic way to reduce and cut down on the cost of college. This is money just given to you that never has to be paid back.
But it is not entirely free money you actually do have to work for it.
Here is what I mean, there is an estimated 2.9 billion in free scholarship dollars that go unclaimed every year. This money goes unclaimed because students are not making enough of an effort to find scholarship opportunities.
There are a ton of resources out there that list available scholarships. I have listed many opportunities here and of course, any internet search will bring up numerous opportunities.
If you set aside a certain amount of time each week, even one hour, to focus on finding and applying for scholarships you could potentially reduce your cost of college to zero. I would say that is time well spent!
6. Student Discounts
My number one all-time favorite student discount that has saved us a ton of money comes from Amazon.
I’ve already shared with you the tremendous savings you can get on textbooks through Amazon’s rental program. But our greatest savings have come from Amazon Prime.
Amazon gives all students a free six-month trial. You are crazy if you don’t sign up for this. Once your 6 months are up you can cancel, which I don’t recommend, or sign up for a reduced special student rate, which I highly recommend.
You’ll get free two-day shipping and in many cases, it will come the same or next day. These days, numerous colleges have an Amazon pickup and drop-off locations right on campus.
In addition to the many normal deals, Amazon is able to offer, with Amazon Prime you get free access to video, music, photo storage, early access to special Prime deals and special pricing on Amazon music and Kindle unlimited. Here’s one of the best parts; the whole family can use it! Get your free student prime account here.
In addition to Amazon Prime, many businesses understand the high cost of paying for college and generously offer specific discounts for college students.
These discounts range from food to movie tickets to clothing and shipping costs. Insider put together an extensive list of discounts you can take advantage of to help reduce everyday expenses while at College. Be sure to check it out here.
These little discounts can really add up take advantage of them!
7. Work Study
7. Work StudyApplying for work-study is an excellent way to make paying for college a reality.
Essentially work-study provides part-time jobs allowing you to earn money to help pay for your expenses. In addition, it also provides up to a $2,500 credit on your tuition bill.
8. AP Courses
If you’re still in high school consider taking an advanced placement (AP) courses. AP courses allow you to earn college credits while in high school.
Most universities offer students at least 3 semester credit hours for those who scored three four or five points on the exam. Even if you only take one course you can save upwards of around $1,000 to $2000 depending on which school you choose to attend. Talk about a great way to reduce college cost!
The more AP courses you can take, the more credit you’ll receive. Many students are able to receive sophomore status their freshman year just because of the AP courses they took in high school.
Plus, for every AP class that you receive credit for, that’s one less class you have to pay for. Any high school guidance counselor can give you the details you need, so make sure to take them!
9. Upromise
Upromise is a website that allows you and your family to reduce college cost by offering money to you through purchases. Family members and students can shop online through the site to receive money from the site.
Upromise offers anywhere between 1 to 25% back on purchases so the money can add up quickly.
Anything you can do to reduce college costs is worth exploring. You can sign up for Upromise here.
10. University Grants and Financial Aid
I’m always surprised at how few people know that you can negotiate your financial aid package to obtain more money.
You don’t have to accept the first financial aid award you receive. Universities do negotiate, do not be afraid to ask.
While the competition is stiff to get into a top university, remember the competition among Universities to attract quality students is also stiff. Universities are willing to reconsider their aid awards. Sometimes all it takes little more than asking.
You can read about the six steps we used to negotiate a better financial aid package here. This was the number one way we were able to reduce college costs as we obtained a significant increase in our financial aid package through negotiation.
These are just a few of the numerous ways you can reduce college costs. If you are staring at your financial aid offer and wondering how you’re going to cover the rest of your education don’t. Try some of these methods to reduce college costs and do your research. I’m confident that you will find you can afford to further your education without breaking the bank.
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