3 Great Ways To Cut Down the Cost of College

No matter how much planning you do, it’s the sort of question that can keep you up nights: How can we afford college?

It’s not just the ever-rising tuition costs, either… there’s also all the attached spending. And if you have two or more children in school at the same time, the costs of going to top schools can really appear prohibitive.

Today let’s take a look at three of the best ways to shave costs off your college bill – and make even the best schools more affordable.

– Scott

3 Great Ways To Reduce College Costs

1. Go “Where You’re Wanted”

Here at College Made Simple, we have a saying:

Everyone’s a star somewhere.

I don’t just mean coveted athletes here. Simply put, many students have a skill, interest, or background that’s attractive to some schools.

It might be that your child is involved in an extracurricular activity that’s highly valued at a particular school. Other examples: Your child might be interested in an area of study that one college wants to beef up… or there may be an ethnic group that’s under-represented at a school… or, in some cases, schools could be looking to enroll students from regions where they simply don’t have enough students.

The point is, most college admissions are driven by a desire for diversity as much as by quality screening.

And if you spend the time to identify what your star qualities are, and where they’ll be most appreciated, you’ll find that colleges are willing to pay top dollar for their preferred balance.

That means bigger financial aid rewards for you – and a stronger bargaining position, if it comes to that. Which brings us to the second point…

Will You Get a “Fair” Financial Aid Award?

Well, the truth is — Most families never find out! They’ll simply take what’s offered. And many will pay more for college than they need to… sometimes up to tens of thousands of dollars more.

That’s one of the reasons we developed our Free College Funding Analysis.

One phone call with one of our education consultants can quickly identify a family’s college funding situation… and identify any number of ways that can help them.

Click here to learn about our Free College Funding Analysis.

2. Before You Blindly Take that First Offer…

Many families don’t realize that financial aid offers often aren’t the end of the discussion.

They can simply be the starting point of a negotiation.

Now, to be clear, this isn’t always the case. Sometimes a school has a set formula, and won’t stray from it. Sometimes the school will have a plethora of applicants with your star qualities, and thus won’t extend themselves to keep you.

At times, though, a simple letter explaining why you think you deserve greater help can result in a better offer.

You’ll need to do your homework. Research what your school’s average financial aid package is, and see how yours stacks up.

If yours is smaller than average, you’ve got a great bargaining chip.

Likewise, if another school has made a stronger offer, you can use that as leverage. In this instance, a safety school offering a full scholarship isn’t as effective as a school of similar rank offering a better package.

And, while it doesn’t need to be mentioned in any letter challenging your financial aid package, it will always help if you know you’ve got the star qualities the school seeks. (By the way, as a client of College Planning Network we would address this negotiating process in an appeal to the school.)

3. Cut Down On Your Years

The best way to cut down on college expenses is to cut down on the time you spend in college.

How can you do that? Most schools accept AP credits in lieu of college courses. That means, if you take the AP test and school above a 3 or 4 (out of 5), you’ll get credited as if you’d taken the relevant course at the college. This can reduce the number of classes you need to graduate – thus reducing the amount of time you need to spend in college.

Each school treats AP credits slightly differently, so make sure you know how your preferred university rewards AP credits.

Don’t want to graduate early – prefer to have the full college experience? AP credits can still come in handy – you might be able to attend your senior year part-time, for instance, and save nearly as much.

The important thing to remember is this: most colleges charge by the course credit. The more credits you have in the bank heading in, the more you can save.

Follow these three steps, and you may be able to save thousands on the total cost of college.

To Your Family’s Successful College Search,

Scott Weingold
Co-founder, College Planning Network, LLC

College Made Simple – The Free Educational Resource of College Planning Network, LLC