Recently MSNBC ran an article on Princton Review’s 12 tips for paying for college in these tough times. It’s good advice for all college students on sharenotes.com. I’m not going to reprint the all the tips, but I do strongly recommend you have a look at them. You can see the entire article by clicking here. Instead I thought I’d just cover what I thought where the top four tips that I’ve found useful in my experiences.
1. Apply strategically: Princeton Review says that if you apply to schools which you are over qualified for, you will be far more likely to a great aid package vs if you barely qualify. I have had friends who have scraped by getting into schools by the skin of their teeth and the aid packages offered really reflect that point. It’s almost as if the school is grudgingly allowing you in, but not really interested in encouraging you to go there. If you can afford it great, but they aren’t out to do you any favors.
2. Don’t pay tuition with credit…ever! This is one of those common sense things that you know better, but in a scrape, it’s awfully temping. We’ve done some pieces here on sharenotes.com about the pitfalls of credit cards and college students in the past, which is why I point this one out. College loans can be expensive enough, especially if you have to go private, but nothing racks up like credit debt. The interest rates are usually extreme especially for college students. We all know how much our tuition can be you don’t want to be paying interest on that money forever. It can literally follow you for the rest of your life. Don’t do it.
3. Get your aid early. This is probably the easiest one to follow but so many people allow others to get the aid they might have otherwise received. Federal Aid is limited and given out not only by merit by also in a first come basis. Get in early and get your money. The second half of this is to apply accurately, because your applications can get kicked back to you and your place in line lost. Do it early and do it right and maximize your returns.
4. Be realistic about your degree. This one is probably my favorite because I recently had a family member illustrate this rule all too well. Basically you have to be honest with yourself about what you are going to be making vs what your school costs to complete. There are plenty of equations you can run that will tell you how much you should be able to afford but also a little common sense goes a long way. The family member in question decided to go to a private school to the tune of about 30K per semester. Her desired profession would not even start at that much per year. So after a intervention with a calculator she changed schools after a semester. Do the math upfront so you don’t end up in a deep hole.
those four were probably my favorites but I do suggest that you have a look at the entire article because I think it’s really valuable information for college students. Times are tough and everyone is looking for ways to help pay that sizable college bill. If any of you sharenotes.com users have any other advice that wasn’t covered on the Princeton Review list please feel free to share in the comments section below.
