When people speak
of luxury items, they usually refer to jewelry, clothes,
or a BMW. But the truth is that nothing is as luxuriously
expensive as an education from a prestigious college.
Some of us are lucky enough to have parents who can afford
to pay our whole way. Others receive scholarships for
athletic or academic achievement. But a whole lot of us
will find ourselves getting that acceptance letter in
the mail (if we're lucky!) and then trying to figure out
a way to pay for the privilege of higher education.
If you're like most high school students, you better
start seriously thinking about how much money you'll
really need for college, where the money is coming from,
and what you are going to do about it starting today.
You need to develop a plan and take action right now.
Don't wait "a little longer." You may receive that coveted
admissions letter to Harvard - and not even be able
to pay the deposit.
Here a few steps you can take right now:
1) Realistically assess the price of college
College is ridiculously expensive, just like the rest
of life. The real cost of college goes beyond the cost
of tuition. It includes room and board, books, computers,
lab fees, microwave popcorn and a slew of unknowns.
In fact, room and board costs are probably the next
most expensive item in your college budget, after tuition.
Although everyone prefers to live alone in terrific
townhouse right off campus, not everyone can afford
it. Compare the costs of dorms, off-campus housing,
and apartment sharing. Don't forget the cost of utilities
and food. You can get rent averages, information on
standard utilities costs, etc. on the Internet. If it's
geographically possible, living at home is almost always
the least expensive choice (though not necessarily the
most fun!).
Add the cost of textbooks, gas and car maintenance,
car insurance payments, the telephone bill (which will
most likely be high your first year away from home),
and include your expected "entertainment" costs. You
can get a good average on this by writing out your current
budget and modifying it to include the items that your
parents are paying for now. You'll probably be surprised
how expensive (and non-essential) things like cable
TV, junk food and new CDs really are once you start
adding them all together.
2) Determine your other sources of funding.
Financial aid is always a tricky situation and the options
can seem overwhelming. Ask your potential college about
financial aid; ask your high school guidance counselor
about applying for grants, loans and scholarships; and,
once again, spend some time on the Internet looking
for some of your more obscure options to rounding up
extra cash.
Another option is part-time work, both now and once
you are enrolled in your college courses. If you have
a job now, there are ways to squeeze savings out of
that tiny-looking paycheck. If you are waiting until
you enroll to accept employment, plan your workload
and class schedule accordingly. Take classes only on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, or all week through but
only in the morning. Don't forget to add at least 10
hours a week for homework and additional time for classes
with labs.
3) Make a plan
Here's an example:
Let's say you take home $100 a week at a part time
job and you're currently a high school freshman. If
you've followed my advice and have been diligent about
including every cost - books, room, meals, etc. - into
your expenses, you'll find that the real cost of college
is probably about $3,000 more than your tuition bill.
At $100 a week, you earn about $5,200 a year after
taxes. But then you have to subtract the money you are
spending now on "essentials" such as clothes, movie
tickets, prom, senior pictures, etc. We'll say you end
up saving $2,000 a year from your paycheck. That means
by the time you graduate, you'll have $8,000 in the
bank! Which can prove mighty handy in case you don't
have time to work and study.
Of course, if you're a sophomore, junior, or senior
you'll save less. But you can still start saving now
in order to avoid dire poverty later.
Article
provided by iHigh.com
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