Happy Friday: Advice for College Students
Sent from reader, John:
I have been working at a college for almost 12 years and I thought I would share some tips to save money for parents and/or students who will be freshmen in August!
1. Admissions Scholarships – call the schools that you have been accepted to and see if you can negotiate your scholarship. You can talk about what other schools have offered or what you still need help covering. ***Please note – While many schools can negotiate, not all schools have the budget to do so. Please be very nice if your school can’t negotiate. ***
2. Choose your room wisely – while every student dreams of a single room, they are the most expensive! Choosing a triple or quad can save you thousands of dollars and you can make new friends. Also, staying in an older building vs. the new “fancy” dorms can affect the price. Call your housing office to see if there is a difference in price for different rooms and buildings.
3. Meal Plans – Freshmen are usually given the highest most expensive meal plan. If you don’t plan on eating as much on campus, ask your college if you can change to a cheaper meal plan.
4. Books – Everyone has heard that you can buy books cheaper online, but you can buy them even cheaper directly from students! Email your professors for a book list and ask them if it is the same book from last semester. You can visit student clubs webpages or Facebook pages and make a post asking if you can buy their old textbooks. Also, many student clubs have book exchanges – don’t be afraid to ask current students!
5. Campus Jobs – Consider working at an on campus job. Offices around campus hire student assistants and if there isn’t much work to be done, we allow our students to study in their scheduled times. You can get paid to study! Also, being an Resident Assistant (RA) can often cover your Room and Board cost, at some schools, completely!
Hope this helps! Good Luck on the new school year!
HAPPY FRIDAY! 😀
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I teach at the college level and I always recommend to my students to actually RENT their textbooks, especially if it’s a Gen Ed course…it usually saves a lot of money (depending on the text of course). Also, Ebooks (if available) are usually cheaper to buy than actual hardcover books. 😉
If you are using an online program, like mymathlab, the textbook is usually included in the software, so check first before you buy a hard copy. Also, many school libraries keep a copy of the textbooks on reserve, so you can go to the library, check them out, and use them, as long as you stay in the library to study.
And here’s a hint too, many professors will write “required” on the textbook, but they will never use it! Don’t buy the book until you go to a few classes and see if they reference it. Also, if you are at a 4-year and live in a dorm, share books!
My son found digital copies of most of his books for free. Saved a ton of money!
YES! And many colleges are looking to go TEXTBOOK FREE….I am on a committee that is exploring that option….I may be textbook free by the spring semester. Which is great because textbooks are just so bloated in price.
Plus, their backpacks are much lighter.
Hahaha yes…very true! 😀
Laura, where does one go to find digital copies of textbooks for free?
Great advice…thanks for the tips!
Consider applying to Canadian Universities! They have excellent education at way lower tuition fees than here. I have a cousin who goes to Queens University and another who goes to Dalhousie.
I was able to save a bunch of money by avoiding the food court on campus and using my meal plan. You are already paying $10+ per meal on average in a meal plan, so choosing to then pay for “the good” food at the food court instead of the regular 2-week cycle adds up throughout the semester.
Additionally, if you go to an expensive or private university, you may find taking a few courses over summer at the local university may be cheaper. Just check in advance that the credits will transfer- there is usually a form to formalize it in advance.
Plus, unless the parents have DEEP pockets, there’s no need to stay on campus if you can commute. Saves money on meal plans and room and board.
So many colleges in our area are changing their policies on commuting. One is starting to mandate all students must live on campus. They used to allow locals and Juniors/Seniors to live off campus.
The experience of living on campus is worth every penny.
Not for every student. My daughter would commit self harm if she was forced to live in dorms/on campus
Instead of renting or buying textbooks, see if your library connects to college libraries. Meaning you can borrow from your library system, they source the book, you pickup and return at your library.
They may charge a little higher late fee (still nominal compared to purchasing new and used!), if they have this program. Also the borrow period could be different than a regular book.
If you do have this option, before the borrow period is up, request another same book, so you’ll never be without one.
For those with documented learning differences and blindness, some schools provide access to Learning Ally (formally RFB&D) and special equipment – in short they provide audio books including textbooks. Or schools have mini-grants that can be used to pay for such services.
Exactly what I was gonna say! I worked at a library n took classes. Got my 2 books from the library through other colleges. Free! Just renew on time and don’t mess them up since replacement cost was &150 each. Money only not just bring in a new book ( which you can do if it’s just a plain old library book or DVD or cd. Usually cheaper to replace than pay the library price)
As a librarian, I would like to warn all the hip2savers that that may not work for replacement – bringing a new copy in – ask first. The book still has to be processed (stamped, barcoded, cataloged that it is the new acquisition) as it is physically a different book. Libraries order their books from Baker & Taylor directly which is about 40% off the list price. Most libraries will charge you the exact replacement fee and then whatever they have figured out it’d cost a staff member to process it. That’s about 10-15 minutes, figure the librarian makes $25+/hr and a clerk less.
Some libraries have a policy that books can only come from one vendor in order to curb fraud. I was thinking “whaaa??” when I first heard it, but then I read ALA (american library assoc)’s book on possible sources of fraud and how to stop them in libraries.
So just ask before you shell out the $150 🙂
Kate. I agree to ask but my library doesn’t charge additional processing fees tho I have seen some libraries like $15 dollars! And yes it has to have the same isbn and brand new. However the DVDs at my library are usually $30 and most brand new DVDs in shrink wrap can be replaced for much less. I helped a customer replace a cd and it costs her 2 cent plus a couple bucks in shipping. A lot cheaper. I was merely pointing out that some libraries allow you to replace the item instead of just paying the fee. Also the $150 was because it was thru the library loan program thru academic libraries.
I agree with most of these things, but please don’t call the college asking for information on the pricing of dorm rooms. Most of this information can easily, easily be found on the college website. Furthermore, if you’re a college junior or senior (or if the college allows it), look for off campus housing. My undergrad college had one of the cheapest housing markets in the state, so while my (single) dorm room cost $1550 a month, a one bedroom in the area cost between $350-500 a month. When I finally got an off campus apartment, it was in walking distance, and was actually closer to the building that housed most of my classes. Also take into account that many schools charge for parking. My first college charged $250 PER SEMESTER for resident parking. Needless to say, I got a bike.
Even better, if you can get AP credit in high school, go for it. It’s about $90 to take the exam, and you can get three credits per exam (if you pass). You don’t have to take an AP class to take the test, and that can really help knock out gen eds. You can also take CLEP tests, which are very similar, but for current college students. In addition, I highly advise everyone to start their college career at a community college. Obviously, it’s cheaper and most courses will transfer (but be sure to consult with your CC adviser as well as prospective colleges to make sure that this is the case). In addition, if you’re unsure of what major you want to enroll in, you can take a variety of electives for a MUCH cheaper price than in a four-year university.
Many high schools will pay for your AP exam, assuming you took the coordinating AP class. I know that every high school in my area does this.
None of the high schools in my area pays for AP classes, nor dual credit. I needed to pay for those myself.
Well the college my son is going to encourages students and parents to call about anything at anytime. That’s the way it should be.
I didn’t even need to take the AP exam at my college. If you take a course such as Calc II and pass, you get credit for Calc I. (no grade for it, but you get the credits) Same for other I and II classes. I could have taken Calc III and gotten credit for I and II, but I was not that advanced 🙂
My two college kids use http://www.chegg.com for their books. It saves them a ton of money.
I also recommend apply for ALL scholarships! I even won the kohls cares scholarship this year and that was unexpected with so many people who enter.
Congrats!
And that’s excellent advice about applying for ALL the scholarships you can. I have heard, and found it to be true for my daughter, that there are more scholarships available to upperclassmen through the college/university. Be sure to check them out!
I applied for the university’s “endowed” scholarships (most places have them, may be called foundation scholarships, etc.) and I was able to get over $30,000 for my four years. Pretty excited! 🙂
Off topic, but I have a $10 off an online order to VS that ends tonight if someone would like to trade for anything email me at ashwoods2406@yahoo.com
Speaking as a college student that has been using Hip2Save since I was in high school, there are many tricks to be learned for college. I work full time as well as go to school full time. Couponing saves me tons on my groceries. My university has most of there textbooks available to check out in the library, so I never buy my books. I have shared living with two other people and it has helped keep my living cost way down. between school and work I rarely see them anyway. Applying for financial aid as early as possible each school year helps too. I applied a month earlier this year and got $2600 more than I got the year before. Because of my saving and work I have a 2013 car paid for and no debt when I graduate in 2016 with my Masters in Business. Thanks Colin for all that you do!!!!
Well done! When I see students bemoaning loan debt while buying $150 face cream, I lose sympathy. Very admirable job and good luck with school.
Thanks for the reminder Ashley! Here’s a VS $10/10! Comment when used
Code 10JULY
Certificate number 538773102
will be using! thank u!!
Awesome 🙂 glad It didn’t go to waste
Not sure if anyone shops at ShopeYourWay.com and/or at Sears, but I have several coupon codes for $10 off a $20 purchase (online only) for ShopYourWay rewards members. They offer free ship-to-store so you can save on shipping costs also. Coupon codes:
9812168516545658
9812191249367648
9812168513681762
Please comment below if you used the codes. Thanks!
Someone was quick to the draw on these! I put it in my cart (I had curtains in there that I can’t afford to buy just yet) and it worked and by the time I went upstairs to get my debit card, it said invalid!
Thank you for sharing them, though. That was very kind of you 🙂
The big problem with buying textbooks from other places as opposed to the college bookstore is because there are different versions of a book. Online might have edition 9 for dirt cheap but the professor wants edition 10 which is sold at the bookstore for a ton of money.
I disagree about the room. Putting 3 or more people in the same room gives you no privacy and any sort of quietness. I prefer the single which is a few hundred dollars more but, I made that up many, many years ago when I was in college by allowing my room to be a tour room. When they had the open houses or campus visits, they showed off my room. Gave me $100 a semester for it.
You can avoid confusion over textbooks by having the ISBN numbers.
The one case of confusion I’ve experienced is that “international” textbooks are WAY less expensive, but I haven’t been able to ascertain if they really are comparable.
I’ve bought a few different international editions for textbooks, and they are the same word for word. I’m not sure if the same is true for math/chemistry books however.
Totally off topic, if there is anyone who has a Domino’s gift card and will not be using it, I would love to have it. Please email me at jessicahribal@hotmail.com
I would really appreciate it.
Thank you.
I work at a fortune 10 company and the other day my colleagues and I had a discussion about this very topic. All of us agreed that we spent a significant amount of time in the library and studying, which ultimately lead to great grades and a great company to work for, but we all regretted spending so much time studying if we could do it over again we would spend more time skipping classes and having fun.
Love this thank you!
Towards the end of the semester, typically the last week, outside of a college bookstore there are many students who are willing to do textbook trades. Its a free trade plus no need to pay anything if the price value is the same. Sometimes students will offer to buy your book for cash instead.
Also many housing areas near the university offer really cheap rent with 2-3 roommates. I have a friend who only pays $440/mo. And provides free shuttle transportation to and from campus. The best part is u only get charged for YOUR SHARE of utilities. So if someone uses way more power then u then u Dont have to worry about paying for ur roommates usage.
I used to post on building bulletin boards my name, ph# and book info along with class and professor I took so upcoming class of students knew that if they were taking English 101 with Ms. Jones, my book worked for them. I got cash usually by the 3rd day of posting and I would do this each semester 2 weeks prior to classes beginning when students had their schedules done. Never “paid” for books, had my actual book to read, and recycled. Win-win. Also, only met in food court during day for safety reasons, so quite safe. Usually student union grants permission for posting that info and i would post in the building for the class with the book.
Wish any of these applied to me but I’m super excited ten years 4 kids later I am headed back to college this month! Super excited yet nervous!!
Don’t be nervous! Older learners usually do much better than the younger ones. They are usually much better at managing their time, and they have solid goals. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. As a professor, it’s the people who I see in my office hours, the ones who never skip class, who show up early and stay late, who get the extra nudge in their grade, if needed at the end of the semester (Older students rarely need the nedge, they are usually solid “A” students). I tell my students this the first day, but it doesn’t always sink in.
As for saving money, avoid loans like the plague!!! Colleges are more than willing to give you extra money for “living expenses”, “books”, etc… way more than what you really need, and too many students take that money out, thinking they can just pay it back later. If you must, take out the bare minimum, then work super hard to pay it back as you go. Get a part time job and start making loan payments, or save that money for the next semester’s tuition so you can avoid loans. They say loans have low interest rates, but they charge a VERY hefty fee to get them, and that all gets rolled into the loan.
I teach at a community college and I see way too many students come in to sign up for classes and the “counselors” tell them to sign up for 18 credits, quit their job, take out loans and go to school full time. The majority of these students 1. are not prepared to study for 18 credit hours, 2. have families and can’t take 18 credit hours and raise a family at the same time, 3. would spend far less money if they just kept working and took 1-2 classes per semester, while paying for school out of pocket. Yes, it may take them longer to finish, but so will failing 18 credit hours. Plus, it’s very costly to fail and have to retake classes. And, your GPA suffers too…
I’m glad I read your post. Well said! I am a mother of 3 starting grad school. I unfortunately need to take out loans 🙁 One other note, on my tuition bill was mandatory health insurance of 1900 per semester. I called the school and was able to apply for a waiver. I just wonder if people are not paying attention to their bill and just paying it even though they may already have health insurance. Glad to see my bill drop by 1900!
Congratulations!!!
Want to do the same – any tips?
I did the same thing!!! I just graduated in December and I’m so happy I went back, I only have three kiddos though. I think it was also really good for my kids to see me sticking through it even when it was hard (4.0 in bio-chem hard!!). Good luck 🙂
You are never too old to learn. My mother and I graduated from college together…I was very proud to sit next to her at graduation day.
Not all high schools pay for your ap exam. In maryland we not only pay for the exams- the school system puts an up charge on the exam and uses the money for other stuff. Can not begin to express how much I resented that!
My daughter will be a freshman in college this fall. Due to her celiac disease she was not able to live in the dorms. She needs a completely gluten free kitchen to cook in. We rented her her very own apartment. The cost for the 12 month lease was cheaper than room and board on campus by 1000’s of dollars. She will even have her own washer/dryer. She will miss out on the dorm experience which is sad but it is essential for her health. She plans on getting involved in various clubs to meet people and make friends. In terms of books, I plan on buying used and selling immediately on Amazon after the term ends. This worked out well for me with my other daughter who just graduated from college.
get the textbook via inter-library loan as soon as you can get your hands on a syllabus (try to get it before the semester starts). Some colleges will not have the textbook in their library, so you have to get it from a library in their borrowing consortium or inter-library loan. Then you have it for a month or so and you can see if they’re actually going to use it, or you could see how far you want to extend the “fair use” clause of copyright law. My grad school said that you couldn’t get textbooks on loan, but apparently no one checked with my major because I did it for every semester. 😉
Thank you so much! I will be a college freshman this August and this is so helpful! Hip2Save has helped me throughout high school and will continue to do so.. A special thanks to Collin and her gang!
Good luck! It’s pleasing to see such you people take an interest in their finances *so much younger than I did*.
$10 code to VS expires tonight comment if used thanks!
Code:10JULY cert #: 657894771
Thank you Collin for this post! Appreciate the information 🙂
Awesome post!!!
The comment about summer courses was right on. I’m a librarian at a community college that has course transfer agreements with all the 4 year universities in the area. Your basics like history, English, etc., are all guaranteed to transfer. The community college charges $31 per credit hour, the 4 years range from about $50 to over $200 per credit hour. My library typically won’t borrow textbooks through interlibrary loan, but we do have reserve copies of a great many of the books. We also check out laptops, have desktops available, check out calculators and you get $30 in printing each semester, included in your fees.
I know one of the universities in the area has a Facebook page dedicated to all the free food that is offered by departments and clubs. Apparently you never had to buy lunch!
Community colleges rock! I took many classes there and transfered it back to my University. It save me tons of money. There may be some school who offers independence classes via continuing studies in the Uni. Usually this costs slightly less as well.
As for housing, seme colleges mandated freshmen to live on campus. Being a Resident Assitant saves tons of money and students build a great resume out of that experience. Was an RA and worked later as their supervisor once I graduated. Best ecperience!
These are all great tips. I am a graduate student and I definitely agree with buying books online. Amazon is really easy to sell your books back to also, and they usually give more $ than the bookstore. As an undergrad I would rent books, but as a grad student I end up wanting to keep a lot of my books. I have been following Hip2save for many years now; I love it! It’s always exciting when Collin posts a good deal for a product I’ve been waiting to purchase!! Thanks for all that you do!! Finally, I have found Ibotta and Checkout51 to be useful and addicting apps to save a little extra $ on groceries, etc. Ibotta also offers rebates for stores like Kohl’s, J.C. Penney, Forever21, Sephora and Express, which would be great for back to school shopping. If you still need to sign up for Ibotta, try using my link: https://ibotta.com/r/tkvwa Good luck with the upcoming school year!
I highly recommend BigWords.com. You can buy, sell, or rent. They are a used book search engine so they search all the new and used books to tell you where they are the cheapest and even factor in promo codes. I always saved at least 60% off new campus bookstore prices. And Remember – the earlier you purchase, the better the bargain. Books go up significantly in the last few weeks before school starts as demand goes up.
Renting is a great option because they send you the box to return it so you don’t have to hassle with finding a buyer.
Also international copies (used in other countries but printed in English) are super cheap. They are printed on a cheaper paper and have a soft cover, but for general courses, who cares.
I’m fresh out of law school and in order to save money, I bought my textbooks on amazon and then when I sold them on amazon I advertised that I rec’d an A or whatever in the class and took beneficial notes in the margins and answers in the question areas. I was able to charge a premium when I re-sold them and they went quick! In addition, there are all sorts of companies that set up tables on campus throughout the year and pay outgoing students to manage them and their very flexible with hours. I would work those between classes. An hour or two a day at $10/hour would play for meals and give me some bar money. 🙂 Surely, when you go for orientation and such, those tables will be out, ask about them.
I saw the earlier post about applying for as many scholarships as you can. Does anyone have a valid website to use or are they local scholarships in your area you’re talking about?
Mine were all local, except for kohls cares. I’m in Mississippi and went to riseupms.com and also collegeboard.com has a few of the random ones. Most were small ones offered by the school no one knew about but you have to keep digging until you find them because they are there! 🙂
All of these tips are so great! Does anyone know if high school jrs. can apply for scholarships now? Where would one start?
Thank you Colin for this blog