5 Ways I Avoided Student Loans While Getting 3 Degrees (BS,MS, and PhD)

When it comes to paying for college, student loans are the norm. So much so that collectively, Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student loans. No, that’s not a typo! Americans really owe that much! When you hear things like that, you might immediately assume that if you want to go to college, you will also take on student loans. Well, I am here to tell you there are ways to avoid student loans which will give your finances more breathing room when you graduate. I am currently finishing up my PhD and have yet to take a student loan. In fact, I have actually made nearly $120,000 while also having my tuition paid for. How you might ask. Below I will give you five 5 ways I avoided student loans and profited from going to school.

#1: Avoid The On-Campus Housing

During recruitment and orientation, colleges try to impress incoming students with nice housing facilities. They will tell you how convenient it is to live on campus because you can get to class quickly as well as make new friends by getting roommates. What they leave out is how the housing is almost triple the cost of living off-campus. At the University of Michigan (U Mich), undergraduate housing averages roughly $13,000 for housing & meal plan. This housing is usually split between 2–5 people in different design setups. But $13,000 an academic year is roughly $1300 ( Fall & Spring) a month and you still have multiple roommates! If that same group moved off campus, it reduces housing to somewhere around $500-$600 a month! That is less than half the price but could possibly be lower depending on the number of roommates! Some might say the university also includes a meal plan but are you really eating $700 — $800 worth of food? The answer is NO.

Schools overcharge students for housing but because it all gets wrapped up into one large amount, students often miss the true cost of staying on campus. If you compare the tuition rate to the housing rate, they are usually close in cost. When you stay on campus, it is like paying tuition twice. U Mich tuition is ~$15K a year so the housing is nearly the same price. Why not save that money and pay next years tuition with it?

#2: Treat Applying For Scholarships like a Job

When it comes to scholarships, it can be time-consuming to find them and then write the required essay. This usually turns many people off from them as the task seems daunting. This is a mistake. Scholarships can be some of the easiest money and give the highest per hour pay you can make as a college student. Take for example a $3000 scholarship. Suppose it takes 10 hours to find and write the essay. That means the per hour payout is $300. Who turns down a $300/hour job that requires them to just write an essay? It is all about perspective when it comes to applying for a scholarship.

During my time as an undergraduate, I received well over $35k in scholarships and grants. I also received refund checks because my scholarships were worth more than the cost of tuition and fees. I was able to put that extra money toward living expenses as well as start an investment account to buy stocks.

#3: Never Purchase New Book From the Book Store

Colleges usually have a bookstore on campus that students can use to purchase the books they need for class. While it may be convenient, it’s costly. Instead, consider these alternatives:

• Check it out from the library. Most schools have libraries that are connected with other universities that you can borrow books from. Try emailing your professor a week early to get the syllabus and find the book you will need for class. By ordering it a week earlier, it will be there in time for class. Then when you're done at the end of the semester, simply return the book. I did this for most of my classes and it worked wonderfully. At some point, I would also order other books on finances to learn for free. Turns out libraries are still a great resource!
• Buy the book used by peers. Most people never reuse books from classes and so there are tons of them for sale on university book sale Facebook groups. I have bought books for $10 that the bookstore sold for $150 new on Facebook! Can’t find one for your school? Try starting one and telling people about it.
• Buy it used from Amazon. Amazon has tons of used books that can be purchased and sent to you. They are usually much cheaper than new copies you will find at your campus bookstore.

#4: Look for Assistantships on Campus

Ever go into offices and see students from your class working? They are probably doing an assistantship with that office. Assistantships are similar to scholarships but typically require the recipient to work part-time ( ~20/week). They often come with tuition waivers and a living stipend. Tuition waivers at big schools like Penn State can save upwards of $40,000 a year while at the same time receiving a living stipend can be a substitute for needing to find outside work.

There are different types of assistantships but the most common are Teaching Assistantships (TA), Graduate Assistantships (GA), and Research Assistantships (RA). Teaching Assistantships duties are usually to grade papers, hold office hours, and supervise lab work. Graduate Assistantships' duties vary by the office you work for but are typically administrative work. Research Assistantship duties usually consist of helping a professor with their research. Each assistantship has its pros and cons but they are an awesome way to get paid to attend school.

I currently work as a Teaching Assistant in my PhD program. One of the additional benefits to being a TA is that it builds your resume/CV and provides teaching experience at the collegiate level. This is great for putting you ahead of other candidates when it comes time to find jobs.

#5: Attend in-State Schools

Many people go out of state for college because they want to attend their dream school. While attending your dream school might be fun, it risks future financial success. Many students do not know there is often a different rate for in-state students and out-of-state students. For example, at Ohio State, the cost nearly triples from $11k to $32k. Is going to that homecoming football game as a student really worth the cost? It is debatable but I will side with NO.

The school I chose for my undergraduate was local and tuition was roughly ~5K a semester. It was not a huge school with a name anybody across the country would recognize but it still provided a quality education. Not only was tuition cheap, but it also made it easier to get refund checks since I did not have that much tuition to cover. Every semester I had well over $5k so I was able to take the excess money and invest it. Those same investments have now had a chance to compound into nice gains.

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This article is for informational purposes only. It should not be considered Financial or Legal Advice. Not all information will be accurate. Consult a financial professional before making any major financial decisions.