I have talked about some of these before, but I wanted to put all the best ways to save money on college into a single post. As a result, if you’ve been around awhile, you may already know most of these.
But, hopefully, the newcomers can learn something!
Although I don’t talk about myself often on the blog, my student debt was one of my main inspirations for starting a personal finance blog. After all, I had almost 100,000 in student loans, and I would like to help people keep their college costs under control.
The Rapidly Increasing Cost of College
Yes, college is getting more and more expensive. That’s why saving money on college is one of my best money-saving tips. Your parents might say college “used to be so cheap,” but it’s getting more expensive.
And increasingly rapidly. But, again, we can’t just say, “Well, college used to be $250 a credit hour,” or whatever. These comments ignore inflation, so it helps to understand the true increase in cost while taking inflation into account.
So, let’s consider the cost of attending Harvard decades ago compared to today. In 1970, it was $4,070; in 2024, it’s $54,269 – more than an eleven-fold increase.
That’s a lot, obviously, but that is also a 50-year difference. How much have wages changed in that period?
As that Harvard Crimson article mentions, the median household income in 1970 was $9,870. In 2022, it was $74,580. I’m not great at math, but I can already see this isn’t great.
Indeed, the cost to attend Harvard is 13.3 times more than in 1970, while the median household income only increased 7.6 times more over the same period.
Put another way, the cost of Harvard tuition has increased nearly twice as fast as median household income.
As you can see, keeping college costs low is more important than ever. Will the college tuition bubble ever burst? It’s hard to say.
Either way, reducing our financial burden now is important. But how do we do that? Let’s look at some of the best ways to save money on college.
1. Attend Community College
You have probably heard this suggested before, but that’s because it remains a great way to save money on college. While the cost of these colleges can vary quite a bit, they are almost always a fraction of the cost of four-year universities.
For example, in-state tuition at one of the community colleges in my area is under $3,000 per year. If I had a do-over on college, I would definitely do this instead of some of the other suggestions on this list.
Admittedly, the biggest downside would be that I wouldn’t have been able to form the type of friendships I did while attending a four-year university with the same people, but I still think a community college would have been a good choice.
2. Apply for a Work-Study Job
Technically, work-study is more of an indirect way of reducing the cost of college since you have to work while studying at school (hence the name). Then, that money goes toward reducing the cost of your education.
One of the main requirements for being eligible for a federal work-study job is having a financial need. This helps ensure that work-study jobs go to those who need them the most.
Work-study jobs vary widely from one college to another; students apply through the college for these positions.
Arguably, it would be better to get the fast-rising cost of college under control first. Still, work-study is a good option for those who need additional help.
3. Get a Part-Time Job
If you aren’t eligible for work-study but still want to work a part-time job to help reduce the financial burden of college, then a part-time job is possible.
I worked at the university library while I was in college. Various jobs are always around campus, such as cafeterias and other places. They don’t always require work-study programs (my job wasn’t part of one).
And, of course, if your school happens to be in a major city, you could always apply for a part-time job off-campus as well.
Apply for Scholarships
Next in line in terms of strategies that everyone should consider are scholarships. Again, what is available to each student will vary based on various factors.
However, many scholarships are tied to a specific program, meaning students must decide to pursue them before even applying for college. In this section, we will cover various types of scholarships and how much of the costs they can potentially cover.
4. Academics Scholarships
One of the most common types of scholarships is the academic scholarship. This is because it doesn’t require students to pursue a particular program or activity.
Good grades and test scores are the only requirements to be eligible. These scholarships are only awarded to a small percentage of students and sometimes only cover a few thousand dollars worth of tuition.
In some cases, they might even cover full tuition and room and board.
The other caveat to these scholarships is that they usually require students to maintain a minimum GPA to continue receiving scholarship money. Nevertheless, any student who does well in school should consider academic scholarships.
5. Athletics Scholarships
Athletics scholarships are another very common path for those looking to reduce the cost of college. If you are able to secure an athletics scholarship, you can reduce (or eliminate) the cost of college, all while attending a four-year university.
6. Military Scholarships
There are plenty of comprehensive lists of military scholarships online. That said, you need to know that there is a wide range of these scholarships, including the ROTC program.
This program will, in some cases, provide all-expenses-paid scholarships for college. Of course, such generous scholarships are hard to come by and are only awarded to applicants with exceptionally high merit.
While not everyone will be eligible, this scholarship could also be a great experience for the right applicant. I say that because the military is not for the faint of heart.
7. Evans Scholarship
The Chick Evans Scholarship is one I would have considered while I was in high school—if I had known about it! I honestly never heard a thing about it until I was in school, but it is an excellent deal.
This scholarship is only available at select universities (see the link above).
That said, the scholarship provides full tuition and is awarded to golf caddies. Sure, there are some requirements: you have at least two years of caddying service before applying and maintaining excellent academics in high school.
You also need other things, like letters of recommendation, and you must have a significant financial need.
Still, it is certainly worth investigating, as this is a very generous scholarship that deserves a closer look.
Best Ways to Save Money on College: Conclusion
Saving money on college is very important because our finances early in life can set us on the right path – or the wrong one. This can affect how much we are able to save, invest, our credit scores, and more.
Some of the key ways to save money on college include attending community college, part-time jobs, and scholarships.
Do you have a great way to save money on college? If so, let us know in the comments.
