The following is a guest post by Dona Collins. The opinions expressed are wholly her own and do not necessarily represent those of Michael Kwan or Beyond the Rhetoric.
An old saying goes like this: “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.” What follows is the corollary to that supposition.
The cost of advanced education continues to rise making the achievement of a degree or furthering your education next to impossible for some. Not necessarily so! Beyond the normal grants and scholarships that we are all familiar with are a number of opportunities waiting to be mined. Opportunities when used in combination could save you 50% – 80% of the cost of your education.
If “scientia potentia est” (knowledge is power), then you are well on your way to a wholesale degree at a fraction of the regular price. Read on and save!
Night School
Sure we have all heard of this option but seriously how many of you have delved into night school as an inexpensive way to get a degree? It is estimated that about 15 million students yearly ignore this option and spend a disproportionate amount to achieve basically the same results. Community Colleges offer in class courses once a week for about three hours. Those three hours usually add up to 3 semester credits because you attended class. Students can continue to work full time with no breaks and can complete their first 2 years of college in just 15 months. Staying in the job market and going to school at the same time reduces the cost of education because you have a continual income that allows you to pay expenses. Debt load for education is therefore minimal if at all.
Two for the Price of One
High School juniors can enroll in Community College and work on credits to complete their High School requirements at the same time. In so doing, students graduate from High School at 17 or 18 and enter College as a junior. This approach allows students to graduate with a degree about 2 years sooner than normal. It is estimated that the 2 years employment after graduation is somewhere in the neighborhood of around $70,000 of income. Instead of paying for those 2 years, you earn for 2 years. Education costs decrease accordingly.
Running Start is a program in the State of Washington that allows high school juniors and seniors to attend a community college full time and graduate with an AA degree with no tuition fees charged. The savings run in the tens of thousands of dollars. You need a B average or better and clearance from your High School counselor to qualify.
Quiz Out
College bound students know all about SAT’s and the advantage of high scores. Also CLEP or AP exams can reduce your tuition fees to just a few dollars per semester credit. The CLEP study manual and textbook can be purchased at most College bookstores and for less than a $100 fee, you can take the three-part exam. A score of 500 or more allows you to apply for college credit and possibly quiz out of two years of college. The savings are substantial.
Lesser-known Dantes for military personnel and DSST (Dantes Subject Standarization Tests) for civilians are two other ways to quiz out. Although not widely publicized both are accepted by most college and university schools.
Estimates suggest that savings of up to 40% can be had using these exams to quiz out.
Community College
Universities typically conduct classes for freshmen and sophomores in auditoriums that hold from 300 to 1,000 students. These mega classes are usually taught by low-level faculty using a lecture format. After the lecture, you are supposed to attend a discussion group taught by a graduate student who has little or no teaching experience.
Contrast that approach with the same activity at a Community College and here is what you will find. Small classes are conducted by full time professional teachers. The benefit to you is two fold. First you get a more intimate teaching/learning experience and second you save money by attending a local school. You can live at home, tuition fees are generally less, and if you have one, you can continue to work at a part time job.
Distance Learning
Of the several thousand accredited collages and universities in the U.S.A., more than a thousand offer Distance Learning courses. By using the Internet or the postal service you can study from home. That in itself saves money. However in many instances, the cost of taking these courses is the same as if you were on campus. Some institutes of higher learning offer low cost courses in line with distance learning but rarely publish this fact. They want you to pay retail not wholesale.
A typical example of the difference in price for earning your degree either on campus or with distance learning works out like this. A certain State University charges almost $70,000 for an on campus degree. Through distance learning, the same State University offers the same program for $12,000. This of course is not mentioned on their website. You have to do a lot of digging to find out.
A good place to start mining for a Distance Learning site is Excelsior College. They are an accredited State University and an all Distance Learning facility. There are others from which to choose. Do your homework.
Life Experience Courses
Life is a good teacher. As a matter of fact, most of what we learn is experienced outside of the classroom. You can convert this knowledge and information into college credits at many universities saving both time and money.
In State Residency
Without a doubt, this requirement costs out of State scholars a lot of money.
As a matter of fact, there is a State that by law demands a tuition fee 4 times the amount charged a local resident. To avoid these excessive fees you need to move to the State six months to a year before applying to attend college depending upon State law. Check this out! A half dozen States allow illegal aliens to enroll in State tuition at resident rates. By Federal law, once you move to one of these Sates, you become eligible as if you were an illegal alien. Of course the universities don’t mention this and it is necessary to apply via a form letter to get the reduced price. But it is well worth the time and energy to source these schools and complete the form as it can save thousands of dollars and in some cases years of your time to obtain your degree.
If anything, this document is designed to get you thinking of ways to reduce the cost of a higher education. Why buy retail when with a bit of work you can get your degree at wholesale prices and usually in less time. Think of this process as an introduction to becoming an entrepreneur. Along with your degree, it will stand you in good stead over time.
Dona Collins is a part-time blogger and a part-time teacher. She loves to create educational infographics and you can find more about her on Real Online Degrees blog.
I’ve done most of these and I found that Testing Out is a breeze when they let you do it, although you still have to pay for the course to get the grade and points.
The Distance Learning (Online Course) is interesting, but I found that they use canned quizzes and tests. You have to really check them because I have many errors in the tests that gave me wrong answers and lower scores. I had to email the teacher, point out the errors in the test and my answer that was correct to get my score changed. Shouldn’t have to do that but it may be better now. Also, if you are not strong on deadlines and are a great procrastinator you will find that you need to cram 3 weeks of work into 2 days to meet the deadline.
Nice post.