Saving Money on Education

When the economy takes a downturn, many go back to school and enter graduate programs.  Graduate programs and trade schools is a large investment and many know the financial rewards they bring, but many are unaware of the methods in how to lower the cost of such.  Business school is about 20k a year, law school and med school about 30k a year, the cost can easily surpass the average home loan debt.

1. Ace the entrance exam - By investing time and money in getting a high score on the MCAT, LSAT, GRE, and etc, it will allow you have a greater freedom in your selection. Graduate programs are discriminatory to their own in state students by providing lower tuitions. This is one of the rare instances where the courts have allowed this, so take advantage of the lower fees by applying to Public State universities.
2. Lower Tier School - When investing over 6 figures on a school, plan your career accordingly. If the position you are aiming for does not require the prestige of a top notch school, go to a lower tier school and save yourself the 30% on tuition. To ensure a level playing ground when you do apply, pad your resume with other internships and jobs that have transferable skills that directly relate. If you followed tip #1 and aced the exam, lower tier schools are more likely to entice you with a scholarship and listen to your demands. As always do your due diligence in ensuring the school has the proper certifications and reputation in the community.
3. Loans and Payments– Max out on Subsidized student loans. Subsidized loans are loans that are sponsored by the federal government and do not accrue interest while you are still attending school part time. Student loans also have tax interest write offs and are very easy to apply for. Review the requirement for non subsidized loans and review the T-bill rate which is the rate that many student loan interest rates are based off. Always do a projection on how much your monthly payment will be after factoring in interest. Many law and medical students are in shock 6 months after they graduate when they see their initial statement REQUIRING monthly payments of $1,200 on a 120k loan. So before entering school, think about that $1,200 monthly bill and you should ask yourself, will your income be high enough to still sustain your life style after making that monthly payment. On a side note, educational loans are non-dischargeable debt, meaning that even if you file bankruptcy, the school loan will never disappear from your name.
4. Save on Books – Books are usually the highest cost factor after tuition. To save money on books look up the ISBN numbers and utilize websites such as www.half.com that sell used books. Another tip is to purchase the book off a website like Amazon that has a 30 day return policy and copy of the chapters that are in the syllabus, rarely will a professor cover an entire book. If you need the book immediately pool up your resources with a group of students. Have each student copy a book, then all the books will be resold and losses will be shared, this method will save at least 80% off books. Professors also rarely change their lesson plans and by buying an earlier edition is a huge cost saver and if you ever called upon in class you can always use the excuse “I have the wrong edition”.
5. Sell your essays and notes on the Net – All that work you produce in class has a value and people on the net who did not study or procrastinated on their paper are willing to pay a premium for them.
6. Education Reimbursement – Take a job that is willing to pay for your tuition. Many companies are willing to reimburse up to 8k.