Tuition prices are sky rocketing.
Add the cost of room and board if your child chooses to leave for college.
Books aren’t cheap either.
My oldest daughter is a Senior in High School & my youngest is a Freshman.
You can imagine that were talking a lot about college these days.
My girls are asking questions like, “Should we even go to college? If so, where should we go? And, if we go, what should we major in?”
If they end up choosing to go to college, it raises the question, is it hackable?
Turns out, it is.
I’ll share some of the hacks we’ve discovered & then I welcome you to email me any additional hacks you’ve used. I’d love to do more emails on this subject because it’s such a big financial commitment for families. Especially if you’re trying to keep your children far from student loans, which I certainly am.
Ok, let’s begin.
- Dual Credit Classes - my oldest daughter is taking as many of these as she can. Me and my wife did the same when we were in high school. The rate you pay for the classes, usually sponsored by a nearby community college, is far less expensive than what you’ll pay for the classes once your child is in college. By the end of this year, my senior will have accumulated around 30 credit hours that can be transferred to the college she chooses. She’ll basically start out as a sophomore in this case, saving thousands of dollars in the process.
- AP Exams - when I was in high school, I took the AP Calculus exam and made a score that allowed me to get credit for Calculus 1 & 2 at the college level without having to take either class in college. I started my engineering degree with Calculus 3 in the first semester, saving me from having to pay for two classes. There are a variety of AP exams that will allow you to test out of college classes, saving a lot of money in the process.
- CLEP Exams - similar to AP exams, CLEP exams also allow you to test out of various college classes and can save the money you would’ve otherwise spent on those classes.
- Community College Classes - some students, rather than going immediately to a 4-year university, will pay a lot less in tuition by taking the basics at a community college & then transferring into the bigger 4-year school. This is a great way to hack your first year or two of college & save money in the process.
- Taking ACE classes online through a service like Sophia Learning or Study.com - there are many classes you can take online that some colleges will accept as transfer credit. Some serious “college hackers” will take 75% of their coursework before ever applying to the school, transfer it all in, and then just finish the remaining 25% at the school.
- Attending an Online College - there are full college degrees that can be completed online & often the price can be cheaper than attending a brick & mortar school. Especially if you transfer credits from places like I mentioned in #5 above.
What’s great is that many of these “hacks” can be stacked to greatly reduce the cost of a college education.
For more more of a deep dive on “hacking” college, check out:
- Episode 238 of the Choose FI Podcast - “Half Price College with the Millionaire Educator”
Learning to “hack” college can save you some serious money if your kids decide college is the next step the Lord has for them.
