Maximize credit hours each semester
One of the best and easiest ways to save money when it comes to getting a college education is to max out your credit hours each semester. Now, this is not always possible because the work load can be overwhelming, but if you can plan well, and make it possible, you will be able to graduate faster, and thus spend less on tuition over the course of getting your education.
Let's look at some examples of how this helps you save, as well as some tips for making it work:
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Most colleges have a set amount for tuition for a "full time" student. Full time is generally defined as someone taking at least 12 credit hours, however, for that same cost of tuition, you can typically take up to 18 credit hours, and in some cases they will make exceptions and let you take up to 20 a semester.
If you need 96 credit hours to graduate, or in other words, four years of schooling where you are going full time, this means you will be paying for 8 semesters of school before you graduate, if you go the minimum, or take classes not part of your graduation plan.
If you are paying $2000 a semester for tuition (it is often much more, this is just an example), that means school will cost you $16,000 in tuition, plus housing etc.
If you were to max out your credits and take 16-18 credits a semester, instead of 12, it would take you 6 semesters, rather than 8 to graduate, saving you $4000, and allowing you to take a few extra classes that interest you, or allow you to change your mind on what you want to major in, and not have to extend your schooling too much to do so.
One of the reasons it costs people so much to go to school is that often they finish their general education classes, and start on a major path, only to change their mind on what they want to do, and thus those credit hours they paid for are not going to help them to graduate with the degree they want.
So, if you want to save money on school, make a plan that allows you to maximize the number of credit hours you take, and still makes your load not too difficult. For example, if you are an English major you would not want to have 5 English classes the same semester as that would be an awful lot of reading and writing, and you may find yourself getting burned out. However, 2 English classes, 1 science, 1 history, 1 art/physical fitness class can help you get some generals done as well as your major, and make your load a little lighter, as well as diversified. Thus, you save money, get done with school quickly, and still enjoy the experience, and have the ability to change your mind on your field of study without adding several years to the time it takes you to graduate.
