Get the most out of your education
As colleges around the nation are quickly adjusting to be compliant with regulations against the spread of COVID-19, what’s not budging is college tuition. You may have doubts on whether you can afford to continue your plans to attend college, but there are many silver linings. Here are some strategic tips that will help you pursue your higher education, make the most out of your college experience, and perhaps save on your tuition.
1) Get Your Prerequisites Done at a Community College
Opting to attend school in your home state will lift some of the financial burden off of your shoulders. A step further in cost efficiency would be to attend your local community college. According to College Board, the average yearly tuition for an in-district student attending a public two-year college is $3,440 compared to a whopping $9,410 for an in-state student attending a public four-year college. University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s undergraduate resident tuition for the academic 2020-2021 school year is $5,652 for a full-time student (at least 12 credits) for one semester, and $11,304 for the entire school year. Compared to Honolulu Community College’s $1,572 ($131 per credit) tuition for a full-time resident student (at least 12 credits) for one semester and $3,144 for the full year, attending a community college is definitely the top winner in cost efficiency for your prerequisite college education. University of Hawai‘i has also implemented the Hawai‘i Promise Program, which provides free in-state tuition for qualified University of Hawai‘i community college students with financial needs. Always check to be sure credits will transfer for your program of study. If it will be a smooth transition, the only difference may be the price tag.
2) Take Advantage of Your College’s Resources
Perks to attending college come in many forms. You have access to so many amenities and services that you can start using as soon as you’re enrolled. Part of your tuition fees pays for the very usage of services such as access to one-on-one tutoring, academic counseling, financial aid advisement, library database access, and the crisis center for dealing with emergencies. Although social distance guidelines have minimized the amount of social gatherings such as networking mixers and sports games, colleges are always inviting guest speakers, lecturers and entertainers to speak or perform solely for the student body. Whether you’re watching virtually or in person, it’s a treat that’s exclusive to the college’s students.
3) College Student = V.I.P.
Once you see the nearly endless amounts of discounts and freebies that you can get as a student, you may consider staying in college forever. Discounts include a special rate for your car insurance or some colleges pay completely for your public transportation. What also may be included in your tuition fees is access to your college’s student health centers where you can possibly get free flu shots. Most colleges also provide psychiatry, sports medicine, and women’s health services. Great deals also extend to college students when shopping online. Amazon offers a free trial for students to experience a Prime membership, which includes free delivery, exclusive discounts on books, technology gadgets, access to movies and TV shows, and millions of ad-free songs. At the start of every school year, technology icons Apple and Microsoft usually offer student discounts. These new and improved expenditures can also be managed with the help from a variety of banks that have created a niche specifically for student bank accounts. Opening your bank account as such will help with perks such as ATM fee waivers, overdraft forgiveness or alerts, free checks, cash bonuses, or an account without a minimum balance requirement.
Overall, remember part of the college experience is having fun. Despite social distance rules, there are still many opportunities to use this new title of “college student” as an advantage and not a financial burden. College is what you make of it and with the amount of student-specific discounts and opportunities, the sky’s the limit to what you will learn and experience.