How The Heck do I fund college, with no aid?

[bjcheung77]

Just to let you know, it really depends on how effective/efficient you are with the effort/energy, time management, etc, you place into your classes, in addition to the previous knowledge. For costs alone, it would be something like this... WGU 1 term/6 months will cost $3955, UMPI/TAMUC 2 sessions would be $3K, if you need an extra third session, it'll be $4.5K... Many people finish faster than the requirement of the third session, so you can expect $3K if you max the transfers.

[nykorn]

I updated the Wiki with a section on funding: https://degreeforum.miraheze.org/wiki/We...or_Courses

Here is how I afforded my first term. I didn't qualify for any scholarships anywhere as I'm a Master's student with average grades, they seem to give out all the scholarships to Bachelor and Associate's students (I did apply for the Rural Living, New Years, etc ones, and didn't get anything at all). No way was I going to take out another student loan - I'm still paying back my loans from my useless Bachelor's.

1) Sell everything you can, cancel any subscriptions (Netflix etc), do any odd jobs, even borrow money from friends if you need to, just to scrape together the money needed for that FIRST semester, to pay in advance (so you don't incur the $50 fee for using an installment plan, nor the 3% fee for using a credit/debit card). I spend $0 a month on food - I completely live off the $250 or so I get from food stamps + stuff from the food bank.

2) Credit card signup bonus of $200 if you spend $500 within the first 3 months. Spend that $500 on paying your tuition. Pay the rest with your bank account so you don't incur the nearly 3% transaction fee on the rest of the sum. I did this, got $205 in cashback + sign-on bonus, which negated the $15 WGU card usage fee I incurred.

3) Cashback debit card signup. You'll get 1% cashback on stuff like rent which you can't otherwise use your credit card or get credit card cashback on.

4) Find as many gig jobs as possible. Can be delivery driving, petsitting, AI training, online English teaching, etc. Figure out how much more you need to earn per day to afford the next month's tuition. Basically I realized I only actually have to earn an extra $22 per day to afford the next term by the time it comes up. So, obviously, try to earn at least 1.5x the minimum amount per day in case something happens.

5) If you can find any way to qualify for the WGU 5% off tuition, do that. You may need to pay $100 to join some union or pay $20 to send an old transcript, but it will be saving you almost $200 per term.

6) Find all the WGU courses in your degree, download people's Quizlet decks to Anki or any other material you can find, and pre-study all the material before you start the term. This will make acceleration much more feasible.

7) There are some 100% passive money making opportunities including high yield interest accounts, CDs, and even apps like Current (play music to get points which are eventually redeemed for PayPal credit - put your phone in another room so you don't have to listen to it), or HoneyGain (get points for sharing your internet connection). If you have some free time, write a picture book and sell it online on sites like Smashwords, Amazon KPD and Lulu, it will get you a little money. $4,000 is not that much when stretched out over earning it across 6 months, so even the little stuff adds up.

8) Check any little thing you are spending money on to see if you can get it cheaper. Haircuts? Do it yourself - you just saved $30. Coffee stands? Buy coffee syrup and instant coffee instead. Gas? Try a bike or electric bike for nearby activities. Heating? Buy two $30 electric blankets instead of heating the whole house, one is the "under you" type and one is the "over you" type. Cooking? Use a mini oven (like the Instant Vortex) or even a solar hybrid oven (SunFocus). Buy in bulk and mix tastier items with small amounts of tasteless cheap items (such as mixing sweet corn with field corn). Milk? Get a goat, get it directly from a farm, suffer with powdered milk... Never buy any snacks or candy and don't pay for liquid drinks (such as soda or coffee stand coffee) - they are a huge waste of money for the amount of food you get. If you have your own place, you can create a partition (even something as simple as a sheet or curtains) to give yourself a room, and use what was your bedroom as an Airbnb or room rental. Live near a forest? Send your kids out to forage - cat tails, dandelions, all kinds of stuff is edible or regrowable from stubs (such as green onions, garlic, etc) and is what our grandparents were eating during WWII. Obviously, with you having kids, the Airbnb idea and some others are not feasible.

9) Any time you buy something online, use the computer not your smartphone, and enable a ton of cashback browser addons and coupon services like RetailMeNot, Honey, Rakuten Points, etc. You may get 1.5% cashback with those addons + the 1.5% cashback from your credit card.

10) If you have unlimited phone data, or a high data limit, you don't need to pay for a home internet connection. Just create a wifi hotspot via your phone's mobile data. Use browser addons to block all images, background data and loading videos unless you explicitly click on them, so they don't suck up data.

11) If your degree has an internship (such as the teaching degrees), get everything needed to qualify for the internship (background checks, state exams, etc) done as far in advance as possible so there is no time wasted in waiting for that to get done before they can find you an internship place. You should also contact places directly, asking them for an internship and then if anyone agrees, get them to contact WGU. It may take up to 3 months for WGU to find you an internship, and then your internship will be at least 2 months, that is almost a full term right there for the internship process alone.

12) I graduated from a state community college with an Associate's back in 2010, so even though I am getting my Master's now WGU still gave me the community college graduate 5% tuition discount. They had actually tried to tell me to not bother waiting for my Associate's transcripts as "the credits wouldn't transfer anyways and you don't need it since you have a Bachelor's", but the enrollment officer was unaware of the 5% discount. That discount is $198.75 off tuition each term at current tuition prices.

[jsh1138]

The real suggestion is to either work your way through or get a loan

I have done it both ways and both ways are possible.

[natshar]

5) If you can find any way to qualify for the WGU 5% off tuition, do that. You may need to pay $100 to join some union or pay $20 to send an old transcript, but it will be saving you almost $200 per term.

12) I graduated from a state community college with an Associate's back in 2010, so even though I am getting my Master's now WGU still gave me the community college graduate 5% tuition discount. They had actually tried to tell me to not bother waiting for my Associate's transcripts as "the credits wouldn't transfer anyways and you don't need it since you have a Bachelor's", but the enrollment officer was unaware of the 5% discount. That discount is $198.75 off tuition each term at current tuition prices.

First I just want to say for everyone else, that WGU does offer payment plans. It does cost $50 to set up one up. HOWEVEVER, that is far cheaper than the cost of student loans with interest. I believe it splits into three (or maybe four idk) payments and spaces them out. Could be a good option for some people who don't have the money know but are motivated to not take out loans.

Anyways, can you elaborate on this 5% discount. Is there a list of participating partners somewhere. Or a link about it. I've never heard of it.