Paying for College...Crud I Have No Money

College: told to be the best years in one's life. However at the moment it isn't for me. I am struggling to find a legit grant or way to pay for all my expenses. Now the normal answer would be: "Why doesn't this guy just get a job? Lazy son of a *****" Well I just handed in a few applications, but after doing the math I am still short of where I want to be. I've already cut back from going on any road trips or dining out. I even put less money in the dryer by hanging up my clothes sometimes. I am not complaining, I just need a hand up from anyone who has knowledge in this. I don't have the time to look up everything but I will put in the minutes to fill out the forms.

Any other ways to make a few dollars that any one knows of?

Ways to save?

Thanks.

Tags: college, grants, money, work

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Comment by Randy Jenkins on January 18, 2009 at 11:31am: Student loans are probably the easiest way to get going. I would try all avenues and don't limit yourself to one source of funds - taking the widest approach seems to work the best. From your comments I gather that you are putting in applications for employment - you may want to do a little research on companies that offer tuition reimbursement. My current salary excludes me from qualifying for most grants etc, and I've used a combination of loans and tuition reimbursement...

Perseverance is the answer bottom line - if you are serious about attending college let NOTHING stand in your way. Best wishes --

Comment by CaySedai on January 18, 2009 at 7:38am: One semester I was only taking 1 or 2 classes - it was a few years ago. One of my classmates was deaf, and had two interpreters come to class with her, but she had to watch them all the time and couldn't take notes. So they asked if anyone would mind taking notes for her. I was paid for the time I was in class, plus the time it took me to transcribe the notes. I put them on my website or emailed them to her. (Her only complaint was that I took too many notes.) At the time, the pay rate was about $6/hr (in the days of $5.15 minimum wage), but I think it's around $9/hr now. So that class was good for about 2 hours per day that we met.

You could probably tutor at your school. At my college, there is something called Student Success Center. That's where people go for tutoring. You can work around your class schedule. Also, if you are in the second year of your program you might be able to be an instructor's assistant.

One way to save a lot of money is to cook from scratch. Yeah, ramen is cheap and you can jazz it up with frozen vegetables or meat (I like to use meat from when we have a roast). But if you like frozen pizza or TV dinners and so on, you can save money by cooking from scratch. There are tons of websites on frugal cooking. (In fact, I'm going to be working on a website on frugality soon.)

I second the vote for looking for scholarships. Have you signed up at Fastweb.com? They have lots of categories. You fill in your background and interests (were you ever in scouting? Is/was one of your parents in the military? Member of a specific church?) and they give you a list of scholarships you may qualify for. Then it's up to you to apply. My school requires that I tell them if I get any scholarships.

Activites at school may earn you scholarships, as well. At my school, if I joined the Student Senate, I would get a $300 scholarship per semester. It meets in the middle of my classes, though, so that won't work for me. And, your department may have a scholarship that you could get. Just keep talking to the financial aid people and see what advice they have.

Comment by Cananito on January 18, 2009 at 1:57am: you could also try looking for scholarships ;), you just need to go ask for help everywhere, you'll get it

Comment by Ory D. Medina on January 18, 2009 at 1:10am: or you can try what im doing to pay for my college, sell your knowledge, give some classes in anything you know well, help other people with their homeworks, or in desperate cases (like me right now) do somebody elses homework for a price, that's what i do, and it goes well, always look for the not so bright rich people, with some practice you'll find them easilly.

Good Luck
The 77

Comment by Ory D. Medina on January 18, 2009 at 1:03am: Klein is right dude, loans are a good option

Comment by Klein on January 18, 2009 at 12:41am: If your in college like me, i'm sure that you can get student loans while your in college. The good part about the student loans is that you dont have to pay them back until you graduate. You would have to talk to the financial aid department at your school, at least thats what I did. I am majoring in Technology Education, and since their is a shortage of people getting this degree in Missouri, my loan company is going to pay back my loans after I graduate. I dont know what field your going into but you might want to look into it.

Comment by Persian Paladin on January 17, 2009 at 7:19pm: Get your relatives to loan you the money, and pay them back gradually after college when u have time for a proper job.