Paying for college

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Most people believe in order to attend college you must take out a student loan. Fortunately that is not true, and actually it is one of the worst things you can do for your college bound student. Either they are going to be saddled with debt as soon as they graduate, or you will be taking on the extra debt and they will have had little to no investment into what could be their greatest wealth building opportunity.

Attending a public state school will in most cases get you a very good education and will cost roughly one-third of the cost of private or out of state schools. Money Made Simple at Dolans.com, lists 6 ways to help you cover college expenses without incurring additional debt. Here is the list:

Start Early
Get a Scholarship
Save BIG on college textbooks
Get paid while you study
Apply for a grant
Start at a community college

Even if you haven’t already started saving for college, don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you have to take out a student loan. Find ways to save for college that don’t involve you or your child paying back debt year after year. Of all of the ideas mentioned, I like the one that involves your child getting a job and working. That is what I did, and it didn’t impact my grades. It did help me appreciate the degree that I earned, and it helped prepare me for the next step after college, which was getting a job.