How To Finish College With Little To No Debt In Half The Time (Complete Guide)
Higher education can be a continuation and or stop along the way to the road of success. College is a big decision regardless of where a person is in their life. There are always questions of what major to choose, location, school ranking, affordability, time and practicality. Usually, affordability and time force the other aforementioned questions into a backseat. Debt is one of the most disheartening facts of the typical college graduate. Who wants to finish school with hopes of landing the perfect job and they can repay their student loans in just a few years? Unfortunately for some, it doesn’t work out like that as they didn’t land the dream job they wanted or life simply happened.
Even though there has been a good deal of reform in many areas of civilization education can most certainly be excluded from that list. The struggle is real, and I’ve put together a comprehensive list to help you focus on the end game. There are a lot of programs out there, but I'm going to keep a focal point on those about the undergraduate.
1. Time and Money Savers
CLEP (College Level Examination Program) and DSST (DANTES Subject Standardized Test Program)
Taking a CLEP or DSST exam is the equivalence of taking a college course. These exams are less than one-third the tuition rate in comparison with the average community college. The time to complete an exam is just a few hours instead of a few months. Just as with any test you need to be prepared to pass as study material can be had for a lot less than the cost of schoolbooks. Another great appeal is that you don’t have to wait until you’ve finished high school to take these courses.
It sounds too good to be true, but it is. This information isn’t advertised as much as it should be because universities and colleges will lose money.
For persons in the military, these exams are free.
A good number of universities and colleges accept these exams for credit, but you should do your due diligence.
Life Experience
For an individual that is skilled and has those skills documented, they can argue the case that they have knowledge of the subject and should be given credits as such for the course in question. Many schools say they are military and or life experience friendly but once you’ve enrolled fighting to qualify that experience can be something else altogether. Unless you can get something in writing, they may not take any of your military credits or life experience skills into account. There are some schools, which take this into consideration and do a masterful job in the process. One of the schools is Eastern Illinois University of Charleston, Illinois. Their General Studies Degree Program has been known to accept all military credits toward a four-year degree.
2. Saving Money
Work-study programs can be an option but many schools have had funding cuts, and the work is only part-time.
Federal and State Grant Funding
If you qualify for financial aid, it is possible to cover some if not all of the first two years of schooling. To play this one to the best of your ability go to a local school as to avoid incurring out of state fees. As for the other two years at university typically grants will only cover a portion and you need to cover the rest on your own.
Scholarships and Grants Outside of the Federal and Local Government
There are scholarships and grants for some of the oddest things you can imagine from being left handed to having a particular surname. When conducting research for scholarships you want to apply exercise caution as a legitimate source will never ask for money, and they will have a degree of credibility. If it seems sketchy, there are plenty of others out there for the taking. Try not to wait until you need the scholarships or grant to apply for them.
If you don't know how to apply for scholarships the Internet is one big community don’t forget that. You can find people that have won several scholarships and possess backgrounds similar to yourself and just ask for help.
Low-Cost Higher Education
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as entirely free schooling, but some schools are pretty close to it. One of the schools is University of the People, which is backed by some of the most powerful businesses and persons in the world as well as accredited. College of the Ozarks in Missouri believes that people should graduate debt free and you work for the difference in cost of education. The global approach (education outside the United States) If you have a sense of adventure, funds saved and a way to support yourself you can get a first-rate education for a fraction of what you’d pay in the U.S.
I'm not going to list every possibility here because that could take forever. If you’d like to add to the discussion, please feel free to let us know what you think.
The only other means of having debt wiped or an opportunity at having your higher education paid for is from military service of federal employment.
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