Student debt is a $1.6 Trillion problem in the United States with about 70% of college students owing money by the time they graduate. How can you beat the statistics and graduate debt-free? Let’s get down to business.
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QUICK FACTS
The average student loan debt is about $37,000 per student borrower. It’s also common to see student debt climb to $100,000 or even $200,000 for some graduate degrees, especially when considering law or medical school.
Unfortunately, the delinquency rate continues to grow for student loans which is cause for concern, especially since student debt follows you for life and cannot be forgiven during bankruptcy.
If you start missing payments the interest rate also spikes, so it becomes even more unaffordable, so this is why it is so important to minimize your student loan debts or not get any at all.
START EARLY
Start preparing in high school by getting good grades or working to save up some money.
Taking college prep classes like AP can also be a great way to get college credit and boost your GPA to be more attractive to colleges and get scholarship money.
Another great option is to consider Dual Enrollment which means going to community college during high school to get your AA degree. The majority of times, these programs are free to students and can shave 2 years off your college years, which means less debt!
SCHOLARSHIPS
There are merit-based scholarships, financial aid, private scholarships, state grants, federal grants, and ROTC/military scholarships.
Make sure you consider all of these options and you apply to scholarships and grants as early as possible as many of these are first come first serve.
You can also find small private scholarships through your employer or parents’ employers as well.
SCHOOL CHOICE
Many people choose to go to a college based on more social considerations. My recommendation is to heavily consider the finances before deciding to go to a school because friends come and go, but college debt follows you forever.
Many smaller schools typically offer the same education as larger schools so be sure to look at their accreditations and weigh this into your decision.
If you still can’t afford these options, you can always go to a community college to get your degree or AA there and then transfer to another college for the last 2 years. This will cut down on costs greatly because the average tuition is much lesser than a state school.
Make sure you factor in additional costs like living expenses, meals, insurance, etc. when deciding on a school.
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
Do research to see if the colleges you’re interested in offer special programs or incentives that make the costs cheaper for certain majors or even offer accelerated programs.
See if the college you’re interested in also offers to CLEP classes so you can test out of them or even see if you can do summer classes at your local community college when back at home. This will greatly cut down on time at college and save you money!
WORK
See if you can work during college. You can find jobs online or on campus to start saving money and paying off your college expenses.
You can also work during the summers as many businesses offer summer internship programs. This will also help your form relationships for potential full time offers after you graduate.
And those are my tips to graduate college debt-free!
