5 Creative Ways to Save Money on Your College Tuition

If you're currently in college or in the application process, you've probably realized by now that college is a serious financial investment. Many students depend on scholarships, grants and financial aid as ways to pay for college.

However, scholarships often aren't enough to cover the high costs students are faced with. Many students take matters into their own hands and come up with clever ways to save money on their own. The following are 5 creative college funding solutions to help students think about how to pay for college.

1. Scholarships

Of course, we couldn’t talk about saving money for college without the mention of scholarships. College scholarships are the best source of college funding and the best way to accrue money to pay for your tuition, supplies and housing.

While most scholarships for college students require you to write an essay as part of your application, there are tons of unique college scholarships out there that allow you to express yourself in ways that are anything but typical. Take the Create-A-Greeting-Card Scholarship Contest, which invites students to submit an original photo, artwork or computer graphic to be used for the front of a greeting card.

There are also many college scholarships which award students based on criteria other than academic or sports achievement. For example, the Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship gives one award of $10,000 and two awards of $5,000 to three students who have promoted vegetarianism within their schools and communities.

We know what you’re thinking: "This takes way too much time!” “How to easily find scholarships for college that I am qualified for?". There are plenty of search engines for scholarships, such as FastWeb and ScholarshipOwl, which match you to hundreds of college scholarships to apply for with just one application.

2. Start a Business

Nowadays, it seems like everyone has a startup. Do you have a new business idea? A business you run on your own is another creative college funding idea to earn money and pay for college. Well, you don’t need to wait to have an entrepreneurship degree to transform your thoughts into action. Many super successful startups (cough cough, Facebook) were founded by college students. College is a great time to start your own business. Maybe your business won’t bring you a billion dollars, but it can give you some extra college funding.

A lot of students make enough money to pay for their tuition and other expenses by starting a food delivery service, a cleaning service or car rental business. So, put your thinking cap on and get to work. Starting a business in school can help you make money as a student and is one of the ways how to pay for college.

3. Crowdfunding

Have no fear if your parents missed out on the college savings concept, because crowdfunding is here! Crowdfunding is one of the most popular college fundraising ideas. It is a quick and easy method for you to raise money for college. The only thing you need to do is set up an account, write your personal story and wait for people to contribute money to your fund.

There are a ton of different crowdfunding websites you can use to raise money for college, including GoFundMe. Making an account is free of charge, however, the site charges a transaction fee between five and ten percent. The site is linked with your social media, so all of your friends and family will be able to see the campaign right away and start contributing. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see thousands of dollars coming in. Time and patience are essential when it comes to college funding. Remember, every little bit helps!

4. Cooperative Education

Cooperative education, also known as co-op or co-ops, is another creative way of paying for college that helps you get college funding while in school. Co-ops are like apprenticeships and can take several forms. One of the most common is combining a program or major with real-life work experience. In general, as career preparation programs, college co-ops allow students to get hands-on experience and try out a real career while in school. Students can get a college degree, gain experience, land a great job after college and can even make money while doing it all. Co-op combines education with work experience.

If you decide to follow this track, you will work while you are still in school, at a job that will relate to your major or career goals. Many students who are involved with co-ops during college can earn up to $40,000, which allows them to pay for college.

5. Armed Forces’ Military Tuition Assistance Program

Some of you might also be interested in finding out how to get college funding completely covered. Joining the AirForce, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, National Guard, Navy or Reserve is a great way to get free education. Through the Armed Forces’ Military Tuition Assistance Program, students can get up to 100% of their college tuition covered. Serve the country without drowning in debt? Sounds like a good way of getting college funding!

About the author

This article was contributed by Kenny Sandorffy, the CMO of ScholarshipOwl. ScholarshipOwl simplifies the process of searching and applying for scholarships by matching students with scholarship opportunities that suit their personality, grades, lifestyle, and more.