How To Pay For College Without Financial Aid

Since higher education has become costlier nowadays, most of the students depend on the financial aid or scholarship given by the universities and colleges. All the students who apply to a particular college don’t receive scholarships or financial aid, since it's only given to a few by viewing their past academic records, financial conditions and other achievements. But even without financial aid there are various other ways through which you can manage to study in a good university or college.

Here are the few ways that one can explore financial aid

Community College

You must be wondering about what advantage you will get if it’s a community college. Well, there are a lot of advantages attached to it. Instead of completing a four years graduation program in a private school or in a private college, you can go for a two years associate’s degree program in a community college and then join a four years degree program. Credit hours of an associate’s degree program can be transferred to the Bachelor's degree program in most cases. Students can thus complete their bachelor’s program in less number of years. This in turn can reduce the financial burden. Community  colleges are basically non profit making institutes primarily funded and regulated by the government. So, you can check out for community colleges in your place and the kind of programs they offer. 

Claim A $2,500 Tax Credit

A student may ask their parents to pay for their tuition fees. According to U.S. tax policy if you are paying your child’s education fee then you can claim a tax relaxation upto $2,500. Parents can claim the tax credit if their modified adjusted gross income is no more than $90,000, or $180,000 if filing jointly.

Look For A Job While Studying

This is the best option for a student. There are several organizations who will love to hire you if you are actually willing to work sincerely. If you go for a part time job you will be able to manage to pay at least your own expenses and some of your tuition fees. This is another way of earning while studying. 

There are organisations who are ready to finance the entire college fees of their employees. If you are such a valuable asset to your company then your company will love to send you for a full time academic course, where you don’t have to pay your fees instead your company will pay for you on the condition that you won’t leave your job after completion of the course.

Tuition Payment Plans

If you have a part time or full-time job, another thing to look into is employer tuition fee assistance. Some companies partner with schools to help their employees earn degrees there, while others will reimburse you for tuition and other costs if you’re studying something related to your job. Ask your boss or check with human resources to see if this is something that’s offered at your company.

Get A Loan

Given a choice, nobody will wish to get into any kind of debt. But in the above circumstances, when you don’t have any other choice getting a loan is not a bad    idea. There are federal loans as well as private loans. 

You'll want to borrow money from the federal government before turning to a private lender because federal loans offer lower interest rates and more borrower protections. First-year undergrads can borrow up to $5,500. Some students who demonstrate more financial need will be allowed to borrow subsidized loans, which won't accrue interest until after they graduate.

Another type of federal student loan, called a PLUS loan, allows parents to borrow to help their child pay for college. PLUS loans require a credit check and come with a higher interest rate. The school will determine how much a parent can borrow, but the amount is supposed to cover the cost of attendance minus any other financial aid you get.Once again, the financial aid award letter from the school should tell you  how much you're allowed to borrow each year from the government.

 So, overall to sum it up, yes, we do have a lot of options even if you are not receiving any scholarship or financial aid from your college. Hence, don’t panic, stay relaxed and make a wise decision for yourself.

 Hope this article will help you in making the right choice!