Tips for Reducing College Costs
Plan for college and pay less.
Want to pay less for college? Start planning while you're still in high school. Below are some things you can do now to reduce the cost of a college education.
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Take the Recommended High School Program to prepare you for college. If you are not academically prepared prior to enrollment, you will have to take and pay for developmental education courses before you can start your college level courses. Developmental courses are additional classes designed to make sure that you have the reading, writing, and math skills you need to succeed in college.
How does good academic preparation save you money? Let's assume you don't have the math, reading, and writing skills you really need when you start college. If this is the case, you may have to take 1 to 3 additional courses in each subject area to obtain college level skills - that's 3 to 9 additional classes - 9 to 27 semester credit hours - a whole year of study! And YOU have to pay for it.
If you do need developmental course-work at a 4-year public university, the cost to you would be about $15,640 for a year of study.
Tuition and Fees $4,857 Books and Supplies $930 Room, Board, and Other Expenses $9,854 TOTAL $15,640 *Costs are based on average charges for this type of institution for Fall 2005, as reported by the institutions.
If you do this course-work at a community college, the cost to you would be about $11,000 for a year of study.
Tuition and Fees $1,490 Books and Supplies $1,029 Room, Board, and Other Expenses $8,033 TOTAL $10,552 *Costs are based on average charges for this type of institution for Fall 2005, as reported by the institutions.
Should you find yourself in the situation of needing developmental courses, you can reduce your costs by almost $1,500 by taking these courses at a community college close to your home.
Take college courses while you're still in high school. Many school districts have special agreements with community colleges that allow high school students to take college-level courses without paying for tuition and/or fees. And, because you're still at home, you save on room and board and related expenses. Talk to your counselor about this cost-saving opportunity.
Take advanced placement (AP) classes and exams or place out of college hours by taking a CLEP exam. This way you'll get college credit without having to pay the tuition, fee charges, and living costs. It saves you time too - you could reduce the number of hours you have to take by a semester or more! For more information on advanced placement, visit the College Board's AP site. For information on the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP), visit the College Board's CLEP site. Your high school counselor will also have information on these programs.
Plan, plan, plan for your college experience. Explore your career options thoroughly and early! Many students bounce from one major to another - this can increase the amount of time you spend in college by anywhere from one to four semesters, depending on the courses you take. If you explore your interests, skills, and abilities early, then you can avoid this bouncing.
Begin your studies at a public community or technical college. You can complete your first two years of study and then transfer on to a four-year college or university for your junior and senior years. Almost everyone in the state is within a 30-minute drive of a two-year community college. If you choose to begin at a community or technical college and then transfer to a university, you need to pay particular attention to which courses will be accepted at the university. For more information on transferring credits from a two-year community college, visit the Transfer Guide.
Also, students who obtain an associate's degree from a community college after May 2001 and then transfer to a Texas public university within one year, may be eligible for the TEXAS Grant.
Note: Students currently attending community colleges who are not eligible for the TEXAS Grant program, may be eligible for the new Texas Educational Opportunity Grant program. Visit the Texas Educational Opportunity Grant page for more information or talk to your college or university financial aid office.
