How to Save on College Expenses

If you are in college, or about to take that big step, then you know it often involves BIG expenses! There seems to be an endless of expenses...books, room & board, and tuition itself! This article will give you some ideas on how to save on some of those common college costs.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. BOOKS.
   Generally speaking, your school bookstore does not have the best prices on your textbooks. In some cases, there are books you can only find at the school bookstore or must buy from your bookstore due to financial aid paying for it. But for the most part, shopping online for books is your best bet.
   There are many sites. Buy, or rent. Use a site such as Dealoz (link below) to compare some of these popular sites and save A LOT on books.

2. BOOKS. Buy your books in good/great/new condition, maintain them, and sell them online, at a bookstore, or to a friend for a fraction of the price. You saved, and will get money back to help someone else save!

3. SCHOLARSHIPS. Apply to whatever however you can. You may not get big scholarship amounts that cover everything, but little ones add up and help a lot, when you consider the costs w/o that extra money!
   A very popular site: Fastweb.com. Register for free and find scholarships.

4. STATE SCHOOLS. Private schools cost a whole lot more than public schools ($20k compared to $3k), also known as state colleges and universities. Enrolling in a state school is definitely a big college expense saver.
   If you can compromise, start at a 2yr state college, and transfer. Or simply find a 4yr college or university that offers the degree program you are interested in.

5. TESTS. If you are still in high school, be sure to enroll in AP classes and do well on the tests - this will usually give you college credits and exempt you from certain classes, therefore cutting back on college expenses.

Tips & Warnings

• Ahead of time is the key. You can get more and prepare better if you do not procrastinate and work to have everything done.

Resources

• DealOz - Compare Textbooks Prices
• FastWeb - Scholarships Galore!

[eddihow]

on 8/24/2009 Nice Article. I'm going to link it as a resource in my article "How to Find a College or University".

[jcrush]

on 8/17/2009 right on time for us! my daughter starts college this fall./*****