Key Strategies:
- Minimize costs: Consider local community colleges for two years, state public universities, or anything that allows you to live at home or with family for a little while longer. If you are living on your own and you feel like you've had enough ramen noodles, consider some potato or rice ;) Its kind of different
- Apply for Scholarships, Grants, and Fellowships: Search for other sources of tuition money like private organizations, charities, and government assistance. Use multiple free sources of funding information and apply for several programs that most closely match your personal eligibility information. The odds aren't good if you just apply once to the first scholarship you find. Focus on programs and awards with very specific requirements that match you personally. Then apply to as many of these as you can possibly identify.
- Find a Part-time job or start a small business: You may have marketable skills that you take for granted, like the ability to fix general computer problems, or plug in a communications network. Maybe you know a little more technical information too and you could start up your own website or find a good job that pays a decent wage. If you're particularly good at a certain class, consider offering private tutoring services for your fellow students - or try to take on a position with the school's academic assistance departments.
- Participate in College Discussion Online: Find online communities of students dealing with the financial aid process. I'd recommend Scholarship Forums or College Confidential, but there are literally hundreds if not thousands of sites like these where you can talk about money, admissions, applications, anything to do with college life and success
- Keep up on Education News: New online technology like 2.0 bookmarking and social bookmarking services make it easier than ever to stay up to date on the news and developments of the education world. Here is a Web 2.0 application for education links and bookmarks. Check out the latest news here or sign up to submit your own education resources for other students and academic professionals.
- Save Money with Regular Purchases: Upromise makes it easy for students and families to save money for college with everyday purchases on things like groceries. Registration for this service is completely free, and it can help you turn unavoidable expenses into a little bit of help paying for school.
