50-plus vetted resources and tips for college students
Posted
Aug 07 2008, 09:17 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Chances are Mom and Dad don't have what it takes to spring for the entire cost of your college education. That doesn't necessarily mean you'll finish school with a mountain of debt.
Plenty of information can be found online about limiting your spending and your debt while pursuing a higher education. Luckily, "Broke Grad Student" volunteered to be a human filter and come up with the good stuff.
Broke Grad Student's post covers the gamut -- from arranging financing before you start school to limiting expenses once you get there. (Somehow, we find it funny that Lazy Man is represented here with "Save money by making your own beer.")
Posts from college students and recent grads are a part of this mix, and some of them are very personal. "Krystalatwork" shares her story about paying off more than $20,000 in student loan and credit card debt in a year. Her measures, including selling her car, were extreme but effective. She took a lot of heat from her friends, "but the way I saw it was: I got myself into debt, so I didn't deserve the niceties I was so used to ... until I got myself out of debt."
"Paidtwice" graduated in 1996 and is still paying off her student loans. Her advice at I've Paid For This Twice Already is to use student loan money only for tuition. "Imagine if I had taken out more loans so I could have more pizza," she said. (She also got a credit card but didn't use it.)
As to scholarship money, apparently there's plenty to be had, but you have to make an effort to get it. Ramit Sethi makes that point in a post at I Will Teach You To Be Rich. He set up a $1,000 scholarship at his old high school and asked applicants to write some essays. "Do you know how many people applied?" he asked. "Zero. This is all too common at philanthropic organizations."
