A recent Gallup survey found that confidence in America’s colleges and universities has plummeted in the past decade, with only 36 percent of today’s adults expressing “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in our higher-education system—down from 57 percent in 2015. Respondents offered several reasons for their low opinions, including the cost of obtaining a degree, the difficulty in finding a high-paying job even with a degree, and the perception of college campuses as indoctrination centers.
How can young people complete college without racking up so much debt that it will cripple them financially?I’d like to focus, in this essay, on the first of those reasons. The others are important, too, and may well provide fodder for future articles. Indeed, I addressed the third one here a few years ago. But I know many families with children in college or soon to be in college, and one of their chief concerns is how they’re going to pay for it. My audience for this particular piece is primarily high-school students who will be headed “off to college” in the next year or two, along with their parents, teachers, school counselors, and others who might influence them. In particular, I’m targeting kids whose families aren’t in a position to help them very much, if at all, with their college expenses—which, given the current state of the economy, is probably a lot of kids.
The trend these days, especially among conservatives, is to tell young people they don’t need to go to college to be successful. For some, that might very well be true. Plenty of relatively high-paying jobs—in the construction, maintenance, tech, and automotive industries, for example—don’t require a college degree. But for many young people, college is, for better or worse, indispensable. Drawbacks aside, if you want to become a doctor, lawyer, accountant, scientist, or engineer (to name just a few such professions), you need a degree, and maybe more than one.
Thus the question becomes, for these young people and their families: How can they complete four or more years of college without racking up so much debt that it will cripple them financially for the rest of their lives? That’s the challenge I wish to address here.
It is possible, I believe, to earn a bachelor’s degree without taking on an inordinate amount of debt—perhaps none at all. Doing so will require a great deal of work—above and beyond schoolwork—along with considerable personal sacrifice and significant help from family. But it all may seem worth it when, a few years down the road, you’re buying your first home while watching your debt-saddled friends struggle to afford rent.
So without further ado, here’s how to get a bachelor’s degree, more or less debt-free:
Early college. The first thing you can do to dramatically cut college costs is to earn as many credits as you can while still in high school. This is known as “early college,” and it generally takes two forms: dual enrollment and Advanced Placement.
To dramatically cut college costs, earn as many credits as you can while still in high school.Dual enrollment refers to actual college courses offered by a local two- or four-year institution in which qualified high-school students are enrolled. These classes might be taught at the high school, or students might have to go to the college campus. Some students take just a course or two, while others register for a full load. The classes not only count for college credit but also fulfill high-school graduation requirements. In this way, it’s not unusual for dually enrolled students to get an entire year of college under their belt—more, in some cases—before they even graduate from high school. And, in many states, they don’t have to pay tuition, although they may have to pay fees and buy their own books.
Advanced Placement courses are high-school courses taught by high-school faculty. To earn college credit, students must pass an end-of-course test, which typically has a fee attached, although some school systems cover the fee. Not all colleges accept AP credit, just as they don’t all accept dual-enrollment credit, so it pays to check with the college you plan on attending. But most institutions accept both, and students can often combine AP credits with DE credits to earn, once again, a year or more of essentially free college.
Grants and scholarships. During your senior year of high school, be sure to apply for a federal Pell Grant—and reapply each year thereafter. The amount you receive will depend on your family’s financial situation and the cost of tuition at your chosen institution, but you could potentially qualify for enough to cover all or most of your tuition, fees, and books for the entire four years—and maybe even some living expenses. (Note that Pell Grants are awarded on a semester-by-semester basis.)
You should also research other scholarships you might be eligible for, based on academics, talents, interests, community service, etc. Note that many schools give full or partial scholarships to top students, competitive athletes, and gifted musicians, for instance. Civic clubs and other community organizations often offer scholarships, too.
Part-time (and full-time) work. Some say the days are long past when you could “work your way through college” by holding down a part-time job. That may be true, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a job. Any money you earn and put toward educational expenses will lessen your student-debt burden once you graduate.
Any money you earn and put toward educational expenses will lessen your student-debt burden once you graduate.Typically, students taking a full courseload should spend about 40 hours per week doing schoolwork. That means they could easily work another 20 hours while still maintaining some semblance of a personal life. It isn’t that this won’t require a fair amount of personal sacrifice. I worked all through college, and there were many evenings when my buddies were going out, and I had to go to work. But the payoff came when I graduated with almost no debt.
You should also consider working full-time in the summer and during other long breaks (like over the Christmas holidays). Again, any money you can save up to put toward your education is money you don’t have to borrow.
Going local. Another way you can save money—maybe a lot of money—is by attending college close to home. That might mean starting at a local community college, something many students and their families balk at. I believe that is misguided. Community-college tuition is typically about half of what even the cheapest four-year colleges charge—which, over two years, represents a significant savings. (And remember, you might be able to get at least one of those years essentially free by taking dual-enrollment courses in high school.) Once you transfer to a four-year school, assuming you do well there, no one will care that you started at a community college.
You can continue to save money after those first two years by finishing your degree at a regional university within driving distance. If that means you don’t get to go to your “dream school,” ask yourself: Are the football weekends, the frat parties, and the logo on your diploma worth going deeply into debt for? If so, feel free to ignore my advice. Go ahead and borrow $100,000 or more to attend your dream school. Just don’t complain afterwards about having to pay back your student loans. That’s a choice you made.
Understand, too, that if your career goal requires additional education beyond the bachelor’s degree, where you go to graduate or professional school will matter much more in the long run than where you did your undergraduate work. If you do well enough as an undergrad, you should be able to get into a “top” graduate program and might even be able to have your degree entirely or partly paid for through fellowships or assistantships. And if you have to borrow money for grad school—well, at least you’re not just adding to your already growing bill.
Far too many students borrow far too much money to fund a lifestyle, not to obtain a degree.Note that “going local” also implies living at home, rent-free or close to it, instead of paying for a dormitory room or apartment—which is one of the main ways this strategy saves money. Of course, that means your family, too, must be committed to helping you get through college cheaply. But for those families that can’t afford to pay for college outright, this is something substantial they can do to help.
One more thing on this topic: You might be able to save additional money by taking some of your college courses online. Online classes are sometimes cheaper than the in-person version and, if nothing else, may cut down on the number of days you have to commute. You can’t get any more “local” than sitting in your own room. I don’t recommend taking all your courses online, because I don’t believe fully online degrees, fairly or unfairly, command the same respect as traditional degrees. But taking a few online classes here or there, as a way of reducing driving expenses or freeing up time for work, shouldn’t hurt your job prospects.
Four years means four years. Finally, one of the best things you can do to reduce the cost of a four-year degree is to actually finish in four years—fewer, if possible (and with DE and AP credits, it might well be). To put it another way, one of the main things that drives up the cost of college is students’ constantly changing majors, having to retake courses, taking courses they don’t need, and then sticking around on campus an extra semester or two (or four).
You should also seriously consider enrolling in summer classes to get ahead, perhaps cutting four years down to three or three-and-a-half. Yes, you have to pay for those classes, but doing so will greatly reduce your living expenses over the time you’re in college (you have to pay to live in the summer, anyway) and hasten the day when (with any luck) you become gainfully employed.
The truth is, far too many students borrow far too much money to fund a lifestyle, not to obtain a degree. They want to “go off” to a “big-name” school, live away from their parents, have their own apartment, stay out late and party, etc. That’s fine if you can afford it without going deeply into debt. But there’s a good chance you’ll be paying for your fun for the rest of your life. Few young people these days seem to understand the concept of delayed gratification, but it undergirds the advice I’m giving here: Work hard and sacrifice today so that your life is better tomorrow.
Rob Jenkins is an associate professor of English at Georgia State University-Perimeter College. The views expressed here are his own.