How to Graduate from College Debt-Free: Tips and Tricks to Follow
Your girl graduated from college debt-free! Yep, you read that right. Now you may be asking yourself, “How did she do this?” I’ll be honest and say it wasn’t easy. I put a lot of pressure and stress on myself for the past few years, but it was totally worth it! Today I’ll be giving you guys a bit of insight on my experience in college, the struggles I had to go through, and how I ultimately managed to graduate from college debt-free.
A Little bit of Background Story:
I remember my senior year of high school, being absolutely anxious when it came time to apply to college. Honestly, I didn’t know what I was doing or getting myself into. I didn’t even know what I wanted to study. I applied to a handful of colleges and universities in the state of Connecticut, knowing I wanted to stay local. I stayed away from private universities because I’ll be honest, they’re pretty expensive.
After graduating from high school, I decided to take some time off to figure out what I was going to study and where. I decided early on that I wasn’t going to take on any student loans, therefore I’d have to physically pay for my tuition out of pocket. During this time off, I worked full time and picked up extra hours to save up as much money as possible.
Essentially, I decided I was going to start at a community college and then transfer to a university to finish my degree.
Community College Actually Isn’t That Bad
There’s an underlying stigma with community colleges. Many believe that you don’t recieve the same education or experience. There’s also a stigma that community college is for people who cannot afford to seek higher education. I beg to differ, community college is actually the smartest route to go, and for many reasons.
I went to Tunxis Community College and spent a little under two years taking the same general education courses I would’ve received at any other university (but I paid less than half the price). When you attend a community college, you’re instantly saving thousands of dollars. You’re also giving yourself the opportunity to have a more intimate college experience with smaller class sizes and professors who actually care and pay attention to their students.
I was fortunate enough to receive scholarships and grants for my time at Tunixs. Almost every semester, I received a refund check from the school, often times ranging from a few hundred dollars to a thousand dollars or more.
Why did I receive refunds all the time? There were a few factors:
Working hard- maintaining good grades meant more opportunities for grants and scholarships
Being a minority- many scholarships are created with the sole purpose of helping Latin American and Hispanics pursuing higher education
Shopping smarter- Every semester I purchased or rented books that were dirt cheap. Often times, I was able to sell them back to school for the same price or sometimes more
With every refund check I received, I instantly saved it. I’ve always taken my education pretty seriously, especially when paying for it out of pocket. I literally could not afford to fail.
My last year at Tunxis I was inducted into the Kappa Beta Delta Honor Society, which made me realize at the time that my efforts were actually paying off.
Attending Universities and State Colleges
Now depending on the university or college that you choose to go to, whether it be in-state or out of state, private or public, all tuition is going to differ. After Tunxis, I transferred to Central Connecticut State University, another local institution closer to home.
Being that this university was no more than 15 minutes from home, there was no need for me to stay on campus and pay for room and board. The average yearly cost for room and board for 4-year insitutions for the year of 2019-2020 was $11,510. I completely understand the whole idea behind living on campus to get “the whole college experience” but honestly, that’s never been on my radar. I decided to stay home and live with my parents until I graduated for the simple fact that I wasn’t paying rent and was saving thousands of dollars not living on campus.
To my readers who are attending college soon: do your research. Make a list of the pros and cons of your top school and really think about what you’re getting yourself into. Do you want to bury yourself in $100,000+ of student loan debt? Don’t be afraid to take a leap year or semester off before jumping into things. The work and experience you gain before starting college sets you up for success in the future.
How I Graduated College Debt-Free
I essentially graduated college debt-free by not taking out any loans, by living at home, and by working as much as possible. I maximized my financial aid by applying to the FAFSA each year. Many believe they won’t receive anything from the FAFSA but you’d be surprised. Any amount of financial aid is better than no aid, remember that. I made an effort to apply to as many scholarship programs, especially those geared towards minority women in business.
I cut unnecessary spending and focused my efforts on saving as much money as I could to pay for school. My tuition varied every semester depending on the amount of aid I was receiving and the number of classes I was taking. To make my life easier, I set up payment plans each semester. There were times where I was paying $1,200+ a month just for my tuition alone. Working in the restaurant industry has helped me tremendously in this process. Bartending has given me the freedom and flexibility to choose my schedule while maximizing the amount of money I could make.
There’s Beauty in the Struggle
Throughout my experience at CCSU, I struggled a lot. I struggled to find the balance between working enough hours to pay for my bills/tuition and getting the good grades that would benefit me in the future. I had times where I would rush from class to work, hoping that it would be busy enough at the bar so I could make money, but also slow enough for me to do my homework. If you’ve ever worked in the restaurant industry, you know that’s nearly impossible. There were multiple occasions where I would work a double shift and force myself to do homework in between shfits or after.
I knew that in order for me to pay for school out of pocket I’d have to put in the work and make sacrifices. Weekends were rarely a thing for me, as I was stuck behind the bar and working 10+ hours a day. Looking back, it was never easy but totally worth it in the end.
Over the course of the last five years, I’ve accomplished so much. I’ve graduated with my Associates in Business Administration and Bachelors in Marketing. I’ve been working with a marketing agency in Connecticut for the last year and am really looking forward to learning more about the industry. At the age of 24, I graduated from college debt-free and couldn’t be happier!
The Next Step
It’s hard to say what’s next for me with the current COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of 2020 my plan was to travel after graduating, but obviously that’s changed. I do hope to continue my travels next year or when the timing is right. In the meantime, I’ll be working on the blog and taking time for myself, something I haven’t been able to do for a long time.
If you have any questions in terms of my college journey, please don’t hesistate to leave a comment below!