Don’t Let Money Stop You From Pursuing Your Dreams

We’ve all heard the saying “college isn’t for everyone.” While that’s true, many people choose not to go to college simply because they can’t afford to. During the first half of high school, I never considered how I would pay for college. I thought that college couldn’t be THAT expensive if so many people have college degrees. 

I was wrong. 

During my junior year of high school, I did a little research and discovered that my dream school cost over $20,000 per year! There was no way I was going to be able to afford that with my after-school job at the local Sonic Drive-In. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the average cost of attending college is over $24,000 per year, so no matter what school I went to, I would have to come up with a lot of money.

I had to come up with a plan and fast. 

Four years and a college degree later, I’m debt-free and sharing that plan with you.

1. Take Concurrent Credit

Did you know you can earn college credit for the same classes you take in high school? This is called concurrent credit or dual enrollment. Many public schools in the United States partner with local colleges and universities to offer college classes to high school students. 

Here’s how it works.

Instead of signing up for a traditional math class, you can ask your school counselor to place you in an online college algebra class through a partner college or university. Once you complete the course, you receive both high school and college credit at the same time. These classes are either offered at a reduced rate ($50/hr compared to $300/hr) or completely free like at my high school. Take a look at the chart below to see how much money you can save with concurrent credit. You could save over $900 per class!

Credit Hours	Full Price	Reduced Rate	Free
1	$300	$50	$0
2	$600	$100	$0
3	$900	$150	$0

2. Apply for College Scholarships

Applying for scholarships is a great way to avoid debt and student loans. A scholarship is an amount of money awarded to students who are pursuing higher education. In other words, someone pays for your college for you. The best thing about scholarships is that you don’t have to pay the money back once it’s been awarded. That’s why I recommend applying for as many scholarships as possible before taking out student loans. Many people don’t know this, but you can apply for scholarships every year of college. I received a $2,000 scholarship my senior year!

Each scholarship comes with different requirements, so make sure you read the eligibility requirements. You can view the eligibility requirements for the Melissia Vincent Scholarship awarded by our foundation on our site. 

Applying for scholarships can be intimidating, but it’s important to do it. You can make more money faster through scholarships than by working. I received over $53,000 for college just by applying to scholarships! It would’ve taken years to accumulate that much money working a minimum wage job. 

3. Become a Resident Assistant

Becoming a resident assistant is a great way to graduate college debt-free. A resident assistant works for campus housing to make sure everything is functioning in the dorms. You’ll plan events for students, make bulletin boards, and monitor the halls. As compensation, you get free housing and a free meal plan. My university even gave us a $70 monthly stipend. By becoming a resident assistant, you can easily save over $10,000 per year. 

4. Use Rate My Professors

Rate My Professors is a platform that allows students to rate their college professors from 1 to 5 with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best. Once you enroll in classes and get your schedule, you can look up your professors and see how other students at your school have rated them. You may find that your professor is fun and has a relatively easy class. However, you could discover that a professor’s class is difficult and has a high failure rate.

In the second case, you may want to see if you can switch to a different professor with higher ratings. Don’t let a bad teacher be the reason you fail a class. If you fail, you won’t get your tuition back, meaning you’ll lose hundreds of dollars. Plus, if you have to retake the class, you’ll have to pay again.  Don’t take that risk. Use Rate My Professors instead to save time and money.

5. Rent, Don’t Buy Your College Textbooks

If your college professor requires a textbook, make sure you rent it rather than buy it. By renting, you can save anywhere between a few bucks to hundreds of dollars per semester. You can rent textbooks from your local bookstore, Chegg, and Amazon. My favorite of these is Amazon. You just type in your book’s title, click rent, and Amazon sends your textbook through the mail. You’ll also receive everything you need to mail your textbook back at the end of the semester. I’ve also found Amazon to be the cheapest option, saving me hundreds of dollars throughout my years at college. 

Ready to start your journey to become debt-free? Apply to the Melissia Vincent Scholarship for a chance to receive a $500 award for your higher education.