Best Ways to Save Money on Your Child’s College Education


Our oldest son is in 8th grade and it is hard to believe that he will be attending college soon. Or, he wants to go into the military and then to college but we'll see what actually happens. Either way, we will be encouraging him to pursue an advanced degree or becoming an entrepreneur for his career path.

As we have looked at the cost of college, it's quite alarming. Selfishly, I want him to go to a public university. I mean, tuition and books can seriously cost an arm, a leg, and sometimes even a second mortgage with a public school. Looking back, I'm so thankful I had a scholarship and took advantage of my company's tuition reimbursement program!

So, what happens when your child selects a school that is quite expensive and something that you haven't prepared to pay for? This post isn't geared towards the discussion of who is paying for school (your child or you, as a parent). This post is truly meant to focus on how you can save money on your child's college education regardless of who is writing the check.

How Much to Save for College

It's important to adjust your child's expectations of their college experience. They will need to focus on maintaining their grades while keeping a part time job and learning how to manage their money efficiently.

I want my child to learn how to manage his money and adjust to reality. Having some sort of job and managing his finances is an important life skill I hope he will learn before going to college since he will be on his own when he gets there.

Part of this lesson is taking a big picture look at the expenses required for a college education. They also need to know exactly how much is needed to get the education at the college of their choosing.

Best Colleges for the Money

Help your kids understand the benefits to attending a community college the first few years of school. The expenses are substantially less and they can even stay at home for those few years.

I don't want to take away from the whole college experience, but getting your teen to see the big picture after college is important to impress this point. It may take a mature child to realize the true benefit of this one.

This is a point that many teens do not grasp. I've found that our kids don't really have a concept of debt since it's not something we have had. We talk about it in that they don't want to pay for something unless they have the money. However, not having seen a struggle of paying for debt is truly foreign to them. Taking time to list out the prices of a community college versus a traditional on-campus experience is a smart lesson so they understand the financial implications.

Raise Money for College Tuition

Try these money saving strategies that will help raise money for your child's tuition without giving a dime to lenders:

How to Save Money in College

Encourage your child to get a job. I held a job during all of my college career. Actually, I worked as an intern while finishing my Associate's degree and then the company hired me full time. By that time, I was ready to complete my Bachelor's degree and was able to take advantage of the company's tuition reimbursement program.

If working during school isn't a feasible option, many college students have a summer and winter break that allows them to get a job. If your child works full time for two months of their summer, they can add an extra $2,880 to their yearly earnings. This amounts to a total of $7,740 per year that can be applied toward their college expenses. And they even score a full month of vacation time!

Grants for College

If your child is eligible for grants, you are super lucky. For many, this isn't an option even if you are truly living paycheck to paycheck. One of the biggest asks of family and friends for birthdays through the years is cash for a college savings account.

Through the years, our oldest son acquired enough savings bonds and graduation gift money to pay for half of his outgoing expenses his first year of school (that his scholarship didn't cover). This was a huge blessing for him (and us) since it meant less student loan debt.

We also have a Upromise credit card which allows us to receive a credit with every purchase that goes to a 529 plan. Your family members can also get a Upromise credit card and apply the rewards to a designated 529 plan (hopefully your child's :).

College Scholarships

Have your child apply for scholarships, grants, work-study programs, and other financial aid. I would suggest they start to find scholarships their Junior year of high school.

A quick note, if they aren't satisfied with their SAT/ACT score, take a prep test course! This can pay in massive dividends if it means that they are eligible for other scholarships with a higher score. It can truly mean the difference of thousands of dollars in free money!!

Have your child take the summer of their rising Senior year to write essays that will be required so they are done by the time they are eligible to apply for that specific scholarship. Many times the scholarship essays can be reused or repurposed so this time in the summer will be well spent!

I have an entire strategy for college scholarship efficiency for keeping organized and getting email confirmations. If this is something you would be interested in learning, leave a comment and I'll write a post or do a video just on this!

Visiting the college's financial aid office can result in a treasure trove of financial aid for your student! Many high school guidance office will have this information too. Unfortunately, ours did not provide much assistance (in fact I told them about the scholarship I'm about to mention). Seek out every option available.

Since my father was a 100% disabled veteran, there were scholarships available just for me. It was sort of like the GI bill but for family members of disabled veterans (they had to be 100% disabled). This wasn't something my family knew about until we talked to the guidance counselor (thankfully my high school guidance counselor knew about it way back then!!).

Editor's note: we have now been through this process since the time this was originally published. Some of my favorite resources for finding legitimate college scholarships are:

Just a quick note, I didn't pay for any programs to guide us through this process. Some of these sites offer paid programs, and it may be beneficial to you to pay for this information so it's all at your fingertips. There is a TON of value of having things in one spot since this process is overwhelming!

How to Save Money for College in High School

See if your child can start taking college classes while they are still in high school. In Ohio, these are called CCP (college credit plus) classes. Many states offer this and it's a great way to get pre-requisite classes out of the way so they can focus on the classes for their major when they officially start college.

I knew of people who was graduating high school and college with an Associate's degree. That is a huge chunk of savings so definitely explore it! These courses also pay for the student's books and even supplies, so it's definitely worth looking into!

In hindsight, I would have advised our oldest son to take more CCP or Advanced Prep (college-credit eligible) courses instead of advanced general ed high school courses. If those advanced courses were not directly related to advancing their knowledge for a subject they would need for test prep or their potential college major, there didn't seem to be a need from my viewpoint. I realize not everyone will agree with this line of thinking. However, my thought is that their time would be better spent taking courses in high school that would help give them college credit.

Our son only started these types of courses his Junior year of high school. When he graduated he had 12 college credits, having met the requirements for college English so he didn't have to mess with that his freshman year. Since we ended up paying a small amount of his college freshman year, his credits from high school actually helped save us money. It's worth it!

When combining these frugal tips you can save thousands of dollars on your child's college education. You both win – your child gets to go to college and learn some responsibility and you don't need to worry about paying for it all!

This post was originally published when our oldest son was in 8th grade (as noted above). He is now a college sophomore with scholarships that pay for his entire tuition (one is an athletic scholarship) as well as an apartment off campus. It can be done!

MORE Back to College Savings Tips HERE

Back to College

Amazon Prime for College Students

Paying for college on your own can be a daunting process but it doesn't have to be! Check out this list of mistakes, misconceptions and misunderstandings as you consider ways to pay for college.

How Much to Save for College

Disclosure: This post contains a link to an affiliate and support this site. See my Disclaimer Policy for additional information.

One Comment

  1. peterpan92 says:

    It wouldn’t hurt to let your son check out private schools as well. They have a lot of scholarships and grants available from alumni donors. I went to a private university that cost 4x what my sister’s state college cost but ended up graduating with a lot less debt because I got a lot more scholarships…..we were both honor role students but I was at a much smaller school with more available money.

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