Hey guys I just wanted to share with you all a few tips and tricks that I have found that has gotten me through college. If there are lots of you out there(which I am sure that there are) please comment on my website voiceyourweb,com or here for me to add anything else you can think of with getting through college. 

I am almost out of college and seemingly I then need to find a job. Yet the question that keeps coming up, is what are you going to do after college? I know that I have a decent amount of debt(not a significant amount thankfully) yet I still have to pay it off someday right? The problem is though that there will be thousands and thousands of people graduating this upcoming May that will all want the exact same position that I am applying for. Currently in the city that I live in there are not a huge amount of business opportunities with regards to jobs.

So what are some of the things that I have done through college that has helped me pay for it all?

1. My parents and Grandma gave me a portion of money(not a huge amount). They said that I can do with it what I want. When I looked at tuition rates I would have only been able to pay one semesters worth at University of Northern Colorado and would have to still pull out loans to pay for living expenses. I was truly appalled at the expense of college and what it will truly take to just pay for college. The heck with the rest of the homework that I would have to do for the next four years.

2. WORK!- The amount of people that I have seen who do not work at all whatever school they are at is unbelievable to me. Yet there are many people that I know whose parents are paying for there college(and then they usually pull out another mortgage or file for bankruptcy) and they still want there child to get the best education possible. At least if you work you are certainly more marketable to the workforce and you have one leg up from all the rest of the college students who had parents pay for college.

3. Go to a community college. Now this might hurt your ego, a community college in my experience was my best choice ever. I had the most fun at the community college and also got the best education. I was so incredibly pleased with it that by the time I got to the university I was disappointed with the lack of attention to the students and the need to just move us through the class like cows before we get chopped under the loan axe.

4. Make money any way possible. I know I said work, but don’t settle for a minimum wage job if you can. There are multiple different opportunities out there if you just watch for them. Have you figured out what you want to major in? Have you figured out what career field you want to be in? If so then why not ask your parents or friends if they have anyone  in that field that they might know of. If all else fails you are at least getting significant amounts of experience that will yet again make you more marketable to the rest of the world.

5. Watch what loans you are pulling out(or your parents are pulling out).The reason why I say this is because you can then figure out how much money you will actually be paying for college if you are still paying it off in thirty years. There will be some people paying it off for the rest of there lives, yet they got a great education and are very proud of this. I learned all kinds of things about subsidized and unsubsidized loans that I never would have found out before had I not gone to school. I learned about Pell Grants and how to receive them. I also learned about interest and that I certainly wanted loans that DID NOT accrue interest. These are just some of the things I learned while I payed myself through college. I am very grateful that I did learn all of this.

I understand that getting a great education is very important. Yet I believe at times one’s ego might get in the way as to what truly should be going on. We as humans have a tendency to want to look the best, act the best and be the best. Yet in reality I find that to not be a lot of fun. What I find to be the most fun is when I enjoy it. I enjoyed the community college so much because it helped me grow into the person I am today. I had some very inspirational teachers that had the passion to teach. I also had the understanding to learn about my finances so that I could figure out how many loans I really would have to pull out. I would not redo the past 3 and a half years because I have learned so much about me and how the systems around me work.

Deciding what school to go to is never an easy decision. But finding what is best for you(your inner voice will usually tell you) is what I find gives me the most gifts and enjoyment.