Paying for College Without Debt
Question: My daughter is a senior in high school and is preparing to head off to college. We have no money saved for her college expenses and feel like loans are the only option we have. What should we do?
Answer: You have more options than you realize.
1) Appy Yourself Fill out a FAFSA application – it’s the Free Application for Federal Student Aid - fafsa.ed.gov. Do this even if you don’t think you’ll qualify for any student aid. FAFSA weighs many different aspects of your finances including: your income, your child’s income, number of kids in college, and parents and students savings.
You'll need to get a PIN number so you can electronically sign your FAFSA (allow a few days for that to be processed.
You'll also need your income tax return, bank balances, investment information and your daughter's bank balances and income tax return.
Allow a couple of days (at 2 or 3 hours per day) to complete the process.
2) Scholarships Visit the Web sites of the colleges your daughter has applied to. Search the financial aid pages to find out what scholarships are offered. You’ll be amazed at the number of options. Or, talk with someone in the financial aid offices. Be prepared: These representatives usually will tell you about the loans available rather than private- and school-sponsored scholarships. You have to be determined and persistent.
FastWeb Encourage your daughter up an account at FastWeb.com. They are a great clearning house of thousands of scholarships. You fill out a profile—it's extensive—and they match you up with scholarships and contests that she might be interested in. There is no charge for their services, but they do try to sell you magazines and other college related services. Avoid the ads and get to the scholarship lists. It's a numbers game, the more applications she fills out, the better her chance to make some dough.
3) Educate Yourself Read Ben Kaplan’s books How to Go to College Almost for Free (recently revised) and The Scholarship Scouting Report. Both books will empower you/your daughter to apply for and win scholarships.
4) School Your Daughter Encourage your daughter to get her core curriculum at a community college where class sizes are smaller and the cost per credit hour is almost half that of a university.
Saddling a young student with $20,000 to $40,000 worth of debt is a disaster waiting to happen, especially if he or she is getting a degree in an occupation such as teaching where the earning potential is limited to $30,000 to $40,000 per year.
Most students don’t comprehend the long-term consequences of borrowing a large amount of money. And if this young student graduates and marries someone who has similar amounts of student loans, it’s a sure recipe for stress, financial hardship and divorce.
Help your daughter think carefully, spend wisely and count the cost. Help her get through school, maybe a little slower, but debt-free. Even if she has to work her way through college each semester, she will learn invaluable lessons about the perseverance, planning and the real cost of education. She’ll take her classes more seriously and will be more likely to truly appreciate her education.
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Comments
It can be done.
My husband and his family are living proof of this. His parents immigrated from Cuba with no money and worked their way through college with no debt. They had 13 kids and didn't pay one dime toward their education. My husband, who was a middle child, said it was pretty well-known from a young age that they would have to work hard if they wanted an education. Out of 13 kids, all but two have advanced degrees and no school debt. My husband worked his way through two degrees with no school loans, and when he finished he had $15,000 in the bank.
(My parents paid for my education... I feel like a schlump next my hubby's siblings.)
The key is, let your kids know early on what is expected of them. If they want that education badly enough, they will work for it. If you hand it to them on a silver platter, you kill their drive and passion.
You can read more about my husband's family here... it's a hoot: http://www.traveltoast.com/2011/03/21-random-facts-about-my-better-half
Debt-Free College
We had managed to save up some for each child's college, but not nearly enough. Community college gave our children an excellent start on their educations. Living at home saved over $10,000 a year in dorm fees and eating plans.They did well on their studies, got into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society, and received several offers for transfer scholarships. When they went to the four year school, they had roommates and worked. Their scholarships paid their tuition and books. We paid their rent, and their wages went to living expenses. We have two children and the youngest daughter is a senior in college. The experience that my older daughter got while working her way through led to her post-graduation job. In a tough job market, college alone is not enough. Frugal living, coupled with the willingness to work hard at both her job and her education paved the way to success for her.
We have family members that chose a different path. They have HUGE student loans, of $40,000 or more, and have not found post-college employment. That kind of debt hampers your future and should be avoided as much as possible. It is so unnecessary. College costs have been rising faster than inflation for over twenty-five years now. College is a product, like any other purchase you make. When consumers get savvy to this and start holding colleges accountable by voting with their feet, perhaps there will be some cost contols put into place.
Awesome Story!
Your story is awesome! You've given your children an incredible gift—self sufficiency! They know that with some careful planning, simple living and elbow grease, they can accomplish what many think impossible.
It will be wonderful to see where they are financially and employment wise 10 years from now. They're going to be leaders among their peers.
You should be proud of them!
Thanks
Thanks, Steve!
We are very proud of them. We need more people in the world that have learned the lessons what used to be considered common sense. :)
MusicMom