Save 50% on Education Expenses

Here's part three of our coverage of Smart Money's piece on how to save 50% on everything. Today, they give ideas on how to save 50% on education expenses. Their ideas that I like:

• Colleges are quietly offering tuition discounts of 50% or more — in the form of merit grants — to the most desirable students, regardless of income. In fact, total merit awards have increased fivefold since the mid-'90s, to more than $7 billion. "They take the money from those who are willing to pay and give it to those who won't or can't," says Kal Chany, author of Paying for College Without Going Broke.

• The biggest discounts are reserved for students whose grades and test scores rank them among the top 20% of the school's applicant pool.

• Maximize your need-based aid by shrinking your reported financial assets and income. Pay your debts, prepay your mortgage, max out your retirement contributions, and accelerate any major purchases.

Yes, getting scholarships is a great way to help fund college costs, but they certainly aren't the only ones (nor are they within your control). Here are some college money saving tips I've written about that I like just as much (if not better):

• More Great College Savings Tips -- Save up to 50% Off College Costs

• Save Big on College: College for Half-Price

• Money Saving Tip: Save on College Courses

• Money Saving Tip: Save on College by Studying Abroad

• 4 Ways to Save Big on College Costs

• A Great College Money Saving Tip

Click here to read part 4 of this series.

Click here to read part 1 of this series.

Comments

[annab]

With the merit aid -- be careful that the college is still affordable without this aid. A high school senior may well be in the top of his class when he graduates HS, but may not be in the upper tier after a semseter or two of college. The merit based aid may require a certain high GPA per semester or the money is lost, which can price out a student even if the overall GPA is still respectable.

[DC]

personal story: I went to a local private 4 yr college on a full scholarship. I had great grades in HS, really good scores on my SAT's I could have gotten into schools with much better reputations, but I went to my little local school and paid for nothing. a full tuition scholarship and other scholarships that ended up covering most of my fees. 4 years later, the same small school helped me get an internship (by way of an alumnus) and that led to a full time job in the IT dept. now i am one of the few recent graduates with ZERO debt and a better paying job than most of my classmates. Now I'm looking into graduate school, which the tuition reimbursment from my employer will help pay for.

I agree that it's definitely worth looking into those smaller schools who are trying to attract those "higher quality" applicants.