College Budget Ideas

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Sometimes there is so little money left over after all of the costs of college that students give up the idea of budgeting entirely. However, planning for future costs is always possible, and most colleges have representatives who can help you to do just that. You should be able to find a helpful source within student affairs at your institution who can assist you with a wide range of issues, including finance and housing. Take advantage of the experience and recommendations of others.

Comparison Shop

When deciding among potential colleges and how best to manage college costs, schools can provide you with sample annual budgets for the school year. Such budgets typically include items for living expenses that may or may not pertain to you, but nonetheless they can be a valuable tool to help you compare schools.

In addition, examine these budgets for potential ways to save money. Many schools include unnecessary costs under names like maintenance, technology, insurance, or miscellaneous.

Other tips:

• Develop a 12-month budget, and include plans for part-time or summer employment therein.

• One of the most consistent money concerns for students is food. With busy schedules, it is easy to spend two to three times what is necessary in food costs, so stick to a meal plan.
  

• Ask potential colleges about any special fees or charges. Some courses, such as science courses, may have expensive textbooks or lab fees that you should take into consideration.
  

• Many students now take five years to complete their degrees, so confirm with your college exactly how long you can expect your course of study to take. Also, schedule as early as possible. It can be a terrible shock to find out that the one class you need to graduate is offered only every two years. Selecting a major early may be a great financial decision; if your major becomes too costly, you will have time to switch.
  

Tuition at two-year colleges generally costs almost 40% less than at four-year schools. If enrollment at a community college also allows you the ability to live at home, then this option makes a lot of financial sense. If you opt for a two-year school with plans to transfer, make sure that the individual courses you choose also will transfer as you hope, because schools increasingly are discriminating against classes from other schools.

Additionally, there tends to be more grade inflation at community colleges than traditional universities. Be very clear, realistic, and as sure as you can be about your potential plans.

Internet Learning

Almost all large colleges or universities now offer online classes. Before enrolling in such a course, find our how it will be recorded on your transcript. Many recruiters have a lower regard from online degrees than traditional degrees, but this is changing as recruiters also increasingly are educated online!

Most schools with worthwhile online programs treat on-campus and online classes the same. Tuition probably will be the same rate, reflecting the institution’s equality in expectations. However, extra fees collected for on-campus courses are irrelevant, so your online class might be more affordable after all. Online classes are a great way for the cash-strapped to begin a college career.

Even if you have less than stellar grades, there still may be scholarships available to you. There are many diverse scholarships for every class, calling, and condition. Scholarship lists are available from most colleges free of charge, so avoid using fee-based scholarship searches. There are over a billion dollars in unused scholarships every year, just because people do not pursue them!

Work-Study

While work-study jobs tend to be low-paying, they also are well-known for accommodating students and the need for flexible schedules. Jobs often can be found within students’ areas of career interest and usually are on campus, so transportation should not be a problem. If you are interested in work-study, specify your field of interest on your financial aid form, and pursue jobs as early as possible. Good positions fill up quickly!

Conclusions

College students find out very fast how quickly budgets can change. Consider tweaking your budget specifically to each school term, but remember also to plan ahead for the summer. Do not miss the early filing deadline for renewing your financial aid application for the next year; this is the best possible period of time to make up the difference between “fun” and “funds”.