Seems like every other tweet or article I find these days is about student loan debt. It’s definitely becoming a big concern these days as the average is around $27,000, according to Chuck Bentley from Crown. While this is a growing problem for society and many kids are moving back home after college because of debt, there is hopefor youngsters out there.
Chuck Bentley recently provided some tips for kids to avoid school debt. As a parent, I definitely want to do my part to help my kids avoid debt and get a great start to their adult lives, focusing on saving versus becoming slave to the lender. Chuck reminded us that his kids attended school debt free.
Here’s how you can do it:
Choose the right field of study – This is a good tip because I think a lot of kids waste time and money in school jumping around to different majors. To avoid doing so, I think we have to start talking about fields of study when kids are in high school. Have them visit with a school counselor to learn more about options for their interests.
Treat high school as a job for college – I know most kids aren’t thinking too far into the future but high school provides a great opportunity to work and save money and get good grades for scholarship opportunities.
Attend community college the first two years – A lot of kids live from home and attend community college their first few years. This is a great plan to save money, take some basic courses and really consider the field of study. Doing so may also provide opportunities for the child to work and earn more money.
Choose an affordable institution – I think this one must be hard for a lot of parents and kids. I know I had interests in attending big out of state schools to play soccer but it just didn’t work out that way. Obviously, out of state tuition, without scholarships is going to cost more so mom and dad have to be careful in helping their child choose wisely.
In summary, there are a ton of scholarship opportunities available to students, but kids with the help of parents have to be willing to do some research and take the time to apply, even if some don’t provide a lot of money. However, even small scholarships add up and can save big bucks towards education.
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