Cheap College Degrees

What if you make too much money?

Humbly, I would like to admit something. My wife and I made a chunk more money in 2008 than we did in 2007. Normally, this should be a good thing. Here's my problem/concern: I have a child in 11th grade and child in 10th grade (and also one in 6th grade, but less of a concern right now). Both of them have some sense that they would like to go to college. Making more money, even for me, often means qualifying for less sorts of need-based financial aid.

David Rosen and Caryn Mladen, authors of Free $ for College for Dummies, offer some great advice for folks who make over $100,000 a year and still would like some help. Here are some of the factors that could work in your favor:

• You have other children in college. Yes, this makes a difference. The more children that you have in college, the more FAFSA and the federal government takes that into consideration. Yes, you should have decided fifteen years ago to space your children closer together.

• You are supporting other people (such as your parents). If you are also supporting your parents, your wife's parents, or children from a previous marriage, this all factors in. This support, of course, must be verifiable in some way. Saying that it is all cash support would be a bad bet.

• You have substantial debt. The government, truthfully, is less interested in how much money you made last year and is much more interested in your net worth. If you have significant debt, this should work in your favor. Of course, if you have significant debt, you should be concerned with the current economy.

• Your child is not a dependent. If your child is truly independent, then your income should not be factored in at all. Some ways for them to be considered independent include having been in the military, getting married, having a child, or a significant time living out of your house. How does this affect you? If they are independent, you can likely still give them cash gifts to help with college. However, I strongly encourage you not to try to scam the system. If you are found out, bad things can and will happen. Easiest way to be found out? Cash gift equals cost of tuition. Also and importantly, there are other IRS rules about cash gifts. Consult with your tax preparer.
  

Minority scholarships may be for you

100 Free Minority Scholarship Gateway List provides a list of many sites that showcase college scholarships available to minority students (and to others). While not for everyone, this is a valuable resource for some. Five on the list are:

1. Ron Brown Scholar Program

2. The Hispanic College Fund

3. United Negro College Fund

4. Academy for Educational Development Fellowships

5. FastWeb Scholarship Search

Stay tuned as I eventually flesh out each of these sites with a post of their own.

Reader Submission: MyBookBuyer.com

Reader Kelsey Elliot has suggested the site MyBookBuyer.com. She says:

For years I've been using a service called MyBookBuyer.com. It's a place were you can sell all of your old books online, and they pay for the shipping. Convenient right? It has been a great way for me to get some extra money at the end of the semester, and I don't have to deal with long buyback lines.

Hit up the Feds!

You know me. I'm that cheap guy who would rather someone else pay for the schooling. I mentioned downstream that I am working on a second master's degree and my goal is to pay for as little of it as possible. My problem is that the way that I am taking it - one class at a time - make that difficult. But...so far, so good.

As for you, where should you go to find money. My advice is to go where the big money is located. Please don't tell me you are wasting valuable time writing large applications for $200 scholarships.* The first place you should always start is the federal government.

One site that I like for federal government grant money is FedMoney.org. No, this is absolutely not about how much money K-Fed is getting from Brittney (but thanks for asking!). This is about all of the many ways that the federal government offers money for college complete with a reasonably good search engine. Some of these I have not even heard of (which is a very good thing).

See: Federal Government Money for College

CollegeDegrees.com offers amazing resource

It is relatively easy to find good resources for how to earn a college degree as cheaply as is possible. This site is one of those.

Then occasionally there is a site that pulls it all together and creates an amazing, a truly amazing resource.

This would be one of those.

CollegeDegrees.com has created a list of the top 100 resources for going to college as cheaply as possible. As it happens, it mentions this blog.* I encourage you to go over there and take a look. Well worth the time and effort!

*For which I am quite grateful!

But what about the textbooks?

Okay. You have done your due diligence and you have found the cheapest tuition (or you have found a way to avoid tuition altogether!). You are feeling good about yourself and you decide you should go ahead and purchase your textbooks.

Oh my gosh!!!

Suddenly, you discover that the textbooks are going to cost you more than the actual classes. Hard to believe? Given that the cheapest textbooks seem to be about $75, it's not all that hard to believe.

How do you get past this mess? To start with, never buy your textbooks from the school if you can at all avoid it. Any bookstore with a building is going to have books that cost more. Staffs need to be larger. Lights need to be kept on.

No, I say no. Instead, you have several options:

1. If you want new books, go to Amazon.co.uk and see if they have the book available. These books, called gray market books, are often significantly cheaper even if you have to pay for shipping to the U.S. Guess what? These books often start out in the U.S., are shipped to the United Kingdom, and then come back here when you buy them. Why are they cheaper? British students will not pay the equivalent of $100 for a book. There are just too many cheaper options for them.
2. Try one of the online stores like eCampus.com. Yes, that is their search box off to the right and, yes, I make a tiny bit if you buy from them. So buy elsewhere or try them. Either is fine with me. The important thing to realize is that there are online bookstores besides Amazon. However, I can tell you that eCampus is a good service and I have used them in the past (and will use them again, I am sure).
3. Buy from Amazon.com, but buy used. Often the books have been hardly touched.
4. Try the price comparison websites like AddAll.com, BooksPrice.com, and BookFinder.com. Be careful to cost compare. Sometimes the prices found are actually more than if you just picked it up from Amazon.

While these are starting points, you would do well not to do what is easiest. You have been so smart in deciding to spend less on college. Don't blow those savings on books!

That other site

There is a website out there that has a similar name to this one. On it they sell "less than wonderful" degrees accredited by organizations where the accreditation is meaningless.

I hesitate to mention this website because there are, indeed, stupid people out there in the world. No, not you, but that person standing next to you just might be.

However, I have now had yet another person emailing me to ask if I know about it. Yes, I do. The Internet being what it is, there isn't much I can do about it and I have the better domain name anyways (i.e. the one with no hyphen).

That being said, I cannot ignore it either. So here it is.

If you lack the intelligence necessary not to purchase one of their fake degrees, then I suppose you deserve to lose your job when your employer finds out about it.

My only advice: Think carefully. The job you save may be your own.

Need to get that high school diploma?

For a limited time, I am selling copies of my book, Complete Guide to Online High Schools: Distance learning options for teens & adults, direct from myself. If you look off to the right, you can see it is still available from Amazon, but you can now also purchase it, cheaper, right here. Click on the Buy Direct From Me below or use the one off to the right. They both take you to Paypal.

From me: $9.95 + shipping

I do have very limited stock on hand. The book has sold well and should go into a second edition in 2009.

Yale expands financial aid

Yes, but it will be interesting to see if the follow-through happens. Listen to prices they cite.

Guest Column: Robert Proctor on Financial Aid

One of the many myths we hear is that parents believe their income is too high. Granted, a high level of income will not help you qualify for a large sum of free financial aid, but you need to understand that income is only part of the equation. The overall formula used by the Department of Education is complex and confusing. Do not let a high level of income deter you from attempting to qualify.

Another often heard excuse is "my student's grades are too low". Unless your child is failing, aid has nothing to do with grades. The intricate government formula simply does not include grades. If your child is failing, would college be a wise pursuit anyway?

Sixty-five percent of American families own their own home. One of the myths is that this eliminates families from aid consideration. Again, this is baloney. On the federal aid form (FAFSA) you will not find a space to insert information about your home.

"Aid is only for special groups" is another popular argument. Again, the formula for qualifying does not ask about where you are in relation to society - the criteria are strictly based on certain financial numbers the Department of Education requires.

Probably the biggest misconception we hear is that guidance counselors and financial aid officers (or your accountant) can do all of this for you because it is an easy process. First of all, it is not an easy process. Secondly, if you think doing your taxes every year is complex and time consuming let me introduce you to another phase of government you will love to hate. The colleges pray that you will go through this entire process unarmed and will take advantage of your ignorance. Going to them for help is analogous to going to the IRS to complete your taxes. Yes, they will do them - but in whose interest are they working?

Those who know and understand the process win the financial aid game. To master this game you'll have to maneuver the complex formulas, rules, and regulations the Department of Education has devised. This information is not readily accessible and provides no guidance as to the best way to ultimately pay for what is referred to as the "expected family contribution".

Professional college planners offer parents the opportunity to tap into their expertise at a nominal cost. You'll benefit by sending your student to college for a reasonable amount of money while fully complying with all forms and procedures. And, you can accomplish this without going broke. By employing professionals, you'll achieve peace of mind knowing that everything that could possibly be done for your child is covered.

Robert D. Proctor, CFP, CLU, ChFC Premier College Funding Solutions www.mypcfs.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bob_Proctor