<p>In these tough economic times, how does one best minimize college costs? My COA, thanks to scholarships, is low relative to many people's (~$8,000/year, less scholarships and plus Greek dues), but I'd still like to reduce college costs as much as possible. Here's some ideas I've had:</p>
<p>1) Stop going out to eat! Okay, this one may be a pain because the food here isn't always the most high quality/nutritious, but I will save a lot if I can cut back and be creative.</p>
<p>2) Get a job. In addition to my other job, I also started a small (~5 hr/week) job working in a research lab on campus. It's not much, but that's still money I didn't have before!</p>
<p>3) Put any monetary Christmas gifts toward college/future grad. school expenses!</p>
<p>These are the one's I'm a bit (or a lot!) more heisitant about (advice, please?):</p>
<p>4) Take another course in the Spring semester instead of over intersession. Intersession courses count toward our Spring credit tuition flat spot but not taking this class would save me the costs of board and food over the intersession (~$400). Cons of this would include: the course is required to graduate so luck would have to be with me in terms of making it fit into my schedule next (senior!) year, many of my friends are coming up for intersession, and I could continue to be involved in reasearch (paid and unpaid) over intersession. Will have to think carefully about this.</p>
<p>5) Drop my sorority. This is something I would do ONLY if the other options were a) take out substantial loans or b) drop out of school! I LOVE my sorority--it has introduced me to amazing people and given me tons of opprotunitues (including helping me win a scholarship last year, which covered more than half of the ~$850-$900 yearly dues. I am VERY commited to my sorority, so dropping would be an <em>incredibly</em> difficult thing to do and a really last-ditch option!</p>
<p>Parents/students--anything you are doing to help reduce the costs of college?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Don't ever carry your credit card or much money with you when you go "shopping" with friends. It will help you spend less on things you probably don't need anyway.</p></li>
<li><p>Agreed...going out to eat should me minimum.</p></li>
<li><p>Look for free or very inexpensive activities offered on campus by your college.</p></li>
<li><p>Don't drink alcoholic beverages...they cost more than water with lemon.</p></li>
<li><p>No spring break trips.</p></li>
<li><p>Buy any textbooks you can online...used.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I would say..take the course during the intersession. $400 is much less expensive than an extra semester...if that course isn't offered again or you can't get into it because it conflicts with other courses. Talk to your advisor before you make this decision.</p>
<p>If it is possible to take the course at another time, get a JOB during that intersession.</p>
<p>Getting a job during Intersession at home may be difficult because it's usually after Christmas, which is not a good time for temporary work.</p>
<p>You might want to see whether there is a part-time job on campus that you could take during Intersession to defray some of the costs. Because not everyone participates in Intersession, there may be jobs available that are usually held by other students.</p>
<p>How important is the $400 to you? Where on the 0-10 continuum between "Absolutely essential to continue college" (=10) and "Doesn't make any difference at all" (=0)?</p>
<p>Assuming that the $400 is not at, say, 9 or 10 on the scale, I'd generally favor investing further in your education by attending intersession. You can accomplish a lot at an intersession.</p>
<p>Consider driving home rather than flying. 4 to a car with the 3 passangers splitting the gas can keep the fuel cost down to under $50 total each for 800 miles each way trip. If a stop over is necessary, 4 to a cheap motel room adds about $30 each ($15 per direction).</p>
<p>
[quote]
Consider driving home rather than flying. 4 to a car with the 3 passangers splitting the gas can keep the fuel cost down to under $50 total each for 800 miles each way trip. If a stop over is necessary, 4 to a cheap motel room adds about $30 each ($15 per direction).
[/quote]
</p>
<p>What a great idea! (Extra bonus = cheap gas!) As I sit here scrambling to find a flight home for my son.. after he goes to his girlfriend's house for a few days. Already told my wife, "he should just take the bus".. and she replied, "Oh no! That would take too long."</p>
<p>poor baby.... let's see what I can find < two weeks out... grrrrrrr!</p>
<p>
[quote]
If it is possible to take the course at another time, get a JOB during that intersession.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I can't really get "normal" college student jobs due to physical issues (can't carry stuff, etc.), though I think I could continue some paid work here at school.</p>
<p>There is a wide range of "jobs" students do to earn money--webmastering, website design, tutoring, research, and other things that should be possible, even with hysical limitations. Sounds like you have some great options and suggestions. You should be able to have minimal debt due to all of your planning and efforts.</p>
<p>Be sure and check with your sorority's headquarters to see if they have grants/financial aid/scholorships before you drop out. Never hurts to ask.</p>
<p>You might also be able to get a "job" at your sorority to help reduce/defray costs and/or earn some money. Ask & see what can be done--I'm sure they really like you since they helped you get your scholarship & have introduced you to so many folks, etc.</p>
<p>I'm going to buck the trend a little and suggest that maybe it's not in your best interest to cut costs too far. I'm coming at it from the perspective of one who went through college years ago on a shoestring. I qualified for no financial aid (other than loans) but got no support from my parents. My first year I lived at home and worked full time; after that I went away to school and didn't work during the school year (didn't qualify for work-study and no other jobs available/accessible without a car), but I worked 80 hours a week at 2-3 jobs at home in the summertime. I rarely went out to anything that cost money; I never bought clothes; I didn't join academic honor societies or clubs/organizations that had any dues, etc. I DID take courses during intersession and graduated early, saving more money. In retrospect, this was not the best approach. Once I finished my education I made a LOT more money than I did with my minimum wage jobs in high school/college. Paying off my student loans was not a big deal. With 20/20 hindsight, I really wish I had taken out a few thousand dollars more in loans in order to have some money to enjoy the experience more. It's an experience you get once in a lifetime and I think I missed a lot by scrimping and saving every step of the way.</p>
<p>Consider becoming a tutor to high school students during intersession. Going rate for a math tutor around here is $40 an hour - and good ones are hard to find. To be effective, plan on spending 2 hours prep before each tutoring session. With finals in late January in our school district, lots of kids are looking for a tutor right after Christmas - and you should be able to synchronize schedules pretty easily - simply look for morning classes for your intersession class.</p>
<p>1) I've gone out to eat maybe eight times in the past two years. I'm no sociological expert, but I think that's well below average. ^_^</p>
<p>2) Admittedly, no job. Mainly because I have no car. Though, I probably can't get a car until I get a job...</p>
<p>3) Haven't gotten any substantial Christmas gifts in the past two to six years, let alone monetary ones...</p>
<p>4) Well, I already max out my course load every spring semester AND intercession, so I can't really adjust that. :<</p>
<p>5) Can't drop it because I'm not a part of any. :)</p>
<p>thumper1</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don't even have a credit card. o.O</p></li>
<li><p>Yep, haven't eaten out in literally months...</p></li>
<li><p>All the free activities I'm interested in are available online. >_<</p></li>
<li><p>Never drunk any alcohol.</p></li>
<li><p>Haven't taken a spring break trip since elementary school. :<</p></li>
<li><p>I buy used textbooks from my college's bookstore. They're still overpriced as hell, though.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>...meh, despite all my efforts, I still don't have enough money for college. I'm contemplating taking a year off just to work full-time at a bunch of minimum wage jobs in order to get some financial grounding. >_<</p>