A college education is one of the biggest investments you could ever make. College costs money, and it’s not often as cheap as you think it could be. The good news is that it doesn’t have to cost you everything you have, and you do not need to live on ramen the entire time you’re studying. 

Your education is important, and you have to look at it as the investment that it is. If you’re planning on studying a useful degree, then you’re going to know that whatever you put into it now is going to pay you back later.

Low interest student loans are out there for those who want to use them, but you must also consider other ways to contribute toward affording college. You get to crunch the numbers now and plan for your future to make it as bright as possible. 

1. Ask your family for help. It’s likely that your parents have something of a college fund for you ready for you to go, but if not, or you are a mature student going back to school to be able to gain a few more credits, then ask family for help. If you don’t want to add to your student loan and your parents ask you what you want for Christmas this year, ask them to pay towards your student debt. Could they contribute to you on a monthly basis or buy groceries for you so that you can use grocery money to pay student finance? Either way, ask for help and if you get told no, at least you’ve tried.
2. Talk to your college about financial aid. Some colleges have financial aid nights where you can find out all of your options for financial aid or even scholarships. We’ll come on to scholarships later, but financial aid can help you if you are low income. Most of the financial aid options out there are means tested, but find out what you could be getting and it can make a big difference to the debt you end up with.
3. Scholarship search. You should take an inventory of your strengths and talents and find out whether or not there are scholarship opportunities at the local colleges of your choice. Some colleges will have more stringent criteria than others. Still, some open colleges offer scholarships to everybody, regardless of their income level or study type.
4. Think about learning how to budget. While you may be thinking about paying for your tuition fees, you also have to consider how you plan to survive and support yourself whilst you are studying. Keeping track of your expenses is important and the best way to do that is to create a budget that makes sense. Having a tangible spending plan can show you where you might be spending a little too much money or not enough.

College doesn’t have to be a pipe dream: not if you put your mind to it.