Every parent dreams of sending their children off to a 4-year university with high hopes of them creating a bright future for themselves. Possibilities of being a doctor or an archaeologist are on the horizon. Maybe even a future president!
There comes that moment however if a parent is on a budget where they realize they’ve only got 2 years left, and the panic of how they’re going to pay for their education sets in.
Fear not! There are plenty of parents out there that are in the same boat. There are many kids out there who’s parents aren’t even planning on helping them at all so consider yourself ahead of the game.
There are a variety of ways to fund your child’s education and still putting food on the table. Take a look at some of these options and stop panicking!
Line of Credit
A personal line of credit is a great way to pay for something like your child’s college. Interest rates vary and can be a great way to give you access to a large amount of money at once that you simply don’t have.
A line of credit can be paid either in minimum payments to adjust to a period when perhaps you don’t have a lot of money coming in or in large lump sums. The flexibility is really nice since we aren’t always sure what is waiting for us around the corner financially sometimes,
2 Years of Community College
Instead of sending your kiddo to a 4-year university, consider the first two years in a community college for whatever credits they can cover there first. The tuition will be a fraction of what a 4-year university will cost particularly if it’s out of state.
It also adds the luxury of being able to explore whether your child might want to change their major or not without completely breaking the bank in the meantime.
Aim For Scholarships
Excelling academically is the cheapest way to get into a good college. Scholarships can pay as much as all their tuition depending on what they are granted. If your child isn’t even close to being on the honor roll in high school so far, don’t lose hope! This is one of the benefits of choosing a community college for the first two years.
You student can use these two years to qualify for scholarships they wouldn’t otherwise have been eligible for based on their high school transcripts. Use the time during community college to really focus on academic performance in the hopes of still getting that free ride scholarship at a university!
This takes some of the added pressure off of pushing them in high school. Sometimes students simply aren’t ready to be serious about their studies until they step into the real world.
