Crunching numbers countless nights, my mind racing about what was to come. Many teenagers go through this. Once hitting senior year, the reality of financial aid set in. As for most families in Pewaukee, the support colleges give to students for demonstrated need is minimal...at best. To those who realize they will end up with a bill of $80,000 a year, I am here to tell you some steps you can take to become financially responsible for your future. It may seem as if you have no actions you can take now, but I can assure you there is much to do.
First and foremost is deciding whether you want to attend a four year university. Quite possibly a technical college or trade school might work better, instead of a four year university. On average, an elevator mechanic walks out of trade school with a starting salary of $41,323 dollars, making their way up to $116,150 with about five years of experience and further training (payscale.com). Comparatively, a salesperson, one of the most common jobs for a college graduate (CNBC), makes a total beginning salary of $31,100. It is also about the job you plan on going into. As learned in personal finance, about 27% of people go into a field they received their degree in (insighthighered.com). If you are not dead set on one career path it might be wise to go to WCTC or UW Waukesha for the first year. Then, transfer once you have a better idea.
If you are like me and have decided to go to a four year university, your next integral step is FAFSA(Free Application for Federal Student Aid). When you are applying for a school, the application almost one-hundred percent of the time gives you the option of sending in financial aid information. This section is where you select YES and they will ask you to submit your FAFSA, along with other information depending on what school you are applying to. Although you might not get any money outright from FAFSA or the school, it still does allow you to apply for an up to $5,500 student loan from the government. Now you might be thinking, why would I want to borrow money? Aren’t I still going to be in debt? The answer is quite frankly, yes. However, by borrowing from the government in lieu of a private agency or bank, the interest on the loan will be significantly less. A private loan is anywhere from 4.75% to 15.14% often with no grace period (period where there is no interest). Whereas, a student loan from FAFSA has a maximum of 7% with most being offered at around 4.45%, complete with a four year grace period (debt.org). Another important factor to note is how much money you will actually need. Never take more out for a loan than you need. You make think you need it but make sure you create a budget. Doing this will ensure your debt will be paid off faster. Taking this step will at least guarantee money you can borrow in your future.
Now, no one wants loans. So, here are some steps I took before and after applying for FAFSA that helped me. My junior year was when I began my scholarship search. Scholarships, although unlikely to win one, is an important factor in going to college. If you search hard enough there will be a scholarship where you fit the exact mold a scholarship committee is looking for. For a comprehensive list of all of the scholarships I have found, sorted by interest and type, you can go here (in the process of being built, but has lots of opportunities now!).
For other tips and tricks you can go here, because it is a culmination of many actions that makes college affordable. A lot of times we can get scared because everyone around us is yelling different problems. But with hard work and dedication, you can do it.
Works Cited
Federal Student Aid, studentaid.gov/h/apply-for-aid/fafsa.“Alternative Ways to Pay for College (And How to Make It Cheaper).” SimpleTuition, www.simpletuition.com/managing-finances/alternative-ways-to-pay-for-college/.
“Average Elevator Mechanic Hourly Pay.” PayScale, www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Elevator_Mechanic/Hourly_Rate.
Classically Court. “The Most Popular Job among Recent College Grads Pays $83,000 per Year-Here Are the Other 9.” CNBC, CNBC, 9 May 2019, www.cnbc.com/2019/05/08/linkedin-the-10-most-popular-jobs-among-recent-college-graduates.html.
Hamm, Trent. “Why You Should Consider Trade School Instead of College.” The Simple Dollar, 24 Jan. 2019, www.thesimpledollar.com/investing/college/why-you-should-consider-trade-school-instead-of-college/.
“New Data Track Graduates of Six Popular Majors through Their First Three Jobs.” New Data Track Graduates of Six Popular Majors through Their First Three Jobs, www.insidehighered.com/news/2019/08/02/new-data-track-graduates-six-popular-majors-through-their-first-three-jobs?utm_source=Inside+Higher+Ed&utm_campaign=9e78e93db6-DNU_2019_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1fcbc04421-9e78e93db6-199671765&mc_cid=9e78e93db6&mc_eid=eef5f6254c.
Max FayStaff. “Federal & Private Interest Rates on Student Loans.” Debt.org, www.debt.org/students/financial-aid-process/interest-rates/.
I knew that the interest rate on student loans were high, but not this high! So interesting.
ReplyDeleteI like how you included the spreadsheet of scholarships. This would be helpful for upperclassmen that are struggling to find scholarships. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned that an elevator mechanic has a starting salary of over $41,000, which is greater than or equal to many starting salaries for graduates with a Bachelor's degree. Many high schoolers feel that their only choice is a four-year college, but this post shows that there are different options and ways to pay for college. Some of these trade school or technical school options will even yield higher salaries (in a few years) than four-year degrees.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic to write about as not only college, but the struggle to pay for it, is on the minds of a lot of Junior and Senior students at the moment. I like the alternative of a four-year college that you gave, a two-year or technical one. You didn't just say it's another option, but gave examples of well-paying jobs that can come from degrees from two-year or technical colleges which is very beneficial. Lastly, the way you added some of your own personal experience about applying to scholarships was a nice touch to make you more reliable. Over all, great article!
ReplyDeleteI think this would really help seniors with the whole process,Had really good information and I also liked the examples and options you gave throughout the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteThis article was very interesting because it is one of the most relevant topics during the time of high school and it is also a decision that everyone has to make at some point. When looking at colleges and universities, you have to pay attention a lot to opportunity cost and marginal benefits for where you want to go. You mention the two jobs and the different starting salaries between the two after two different types of colleges. That is what it means to look at marginal benefit and how you should determine colleges. Obviously, not everyone is going to look at every possible marginal benefit and most people won’t because of the society we live in but for some people where money isn’t loathsome, thinking like this might be the best way to maximize the money you make in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis was very helpful for me. While I am not a senior, this is something that is very important for me to start considering now. I also really like the mentioning of how some people might be better getting an associates degree. This was something I've been strongly considering and I can tell that for some students there's a stigma about the idea of doing at least four years of school. I really like how you emphasized that money is a big problem for many and many don't was loans because of interest, but I also like that you outlined ways to get around that problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree that paying for college is one of the most difficult tasks in a young adults life and if you don't think it through and choose the best options that you can you will be in debt over your head by the time you graduate. I do believe that if you apply for a student loan it could help you in the long run as you won't have to pay as much interest. I think that picking the best way to pay for college is harder than applying and getting accepted, so I think that you should take all the time that you have to choose the best course of action for you.
ReplyDeleteI think your point of having to figure out if you even want to attend a four year college is great advice because nowadays, everyone has a degree since college has become a norm for us. For some jobs, getting a two year degree and then getting more work experience may be more beneficial to you based on which field you are going into and which job you are going to have. All of the statistics you chose helped show us your points and were relevant. Overall good topic to write about and you had so many good points.
ReplyDeleteI like how you added where you got your information and it's true many people are in debt because they have to get loans to pay for college fortunately I saved money for my college tuition and I'm applying for a scholarship but many people don't try to thinking they will have enough money to save but they don't
ReplyDeleteMany of us know about our next steps after high school, however, many of us are not sure what path to take. I found your article very reassuring. Ironically reassuring in terms of how other people are a bit confused or conflicted on what the next steps are. I think you did a very good job on explaining and giving clearer options in your article. Such as the job growth opportunities trade jobs could provide, something I think is over looked, while it is in high demand. -Han
ReplyDeleteI like how you talked about different college options like technical schools, and different ways to save money like FAFSA and scholarships. This is helpful in making sure that we are conscious of our money and what we can do to make college less expensive, especially if going to a 4 year university. I also thought it was interesting that some two year degrees could make more money in the future than 4 year degrees which could be a great option for some looking for less expensive options.
ReplyDeleteAs much as my parents pushed me to save a lot of money, and though I have some in savings, this step-by-step guide will help a lot. It's helpful especially that you provided different links to resources for applying juniors/seniors as well. I've only begun to look into different colleges, but this gets me going.
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ReplyDeleteThis was a very informative piece that everyone can learn from. I liked how you explained what FAFSA is and what it does, considering having this financial aid is something that everyone going into college should be aware of. I also liked how you used real-world examples of the mechanic and had different college options. I wish you could’ve maybe had more on the opportunity costs and marginal benefits of picking one type of college over the other. Maybe even have some statistics about how much debt a person with FAFSA has compared to a person without FAFSA. I think by having more information on these two would make your argument even stronger. Not only that I think it would help the reader even more.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is very relevant as well as interesting. I never knew that private loans had such high interest rates! It's like they're trying to suck the lifeblood out of you. I understand why student debt is a thing but it's very unfortunate that it has to be such a problem for many people. I also didn't know that the majority of people don't even go into a career related to their degree. Hopefully students in future econ classes will attain helpful knowledge in forging their future from reading your well written article!
ReplyDeleteThere is a good point in here that a person should decide what they want to major in, or have an idea of what they want before going into college when considering the money aspect. This is important because, as said, so many people could be wasting away money on something that will not sustain their future or learn they don't want a career in. Additionally, it is important to take into consideration scholarships because these could help the financial support a lot.
ReplyDeleteReading this blog made me very interested on Paying for college and yes do apply for Financial Aid or if your like me and have parents that have been saving since my birth then you don't need to apply for student loans or Financial Aid. In this blog, it also mentioned that you can start at WCTC or UW-Waukesha that is what i'm doing starting at UW-Waukesha and then transferring to Minnesota to be a funeral director and get my bachelors degree there. Overall, this blog post made me very interesting and planning on how to pay for college.
ReplyDeleteThis topic is very prominent at all times during the year, especially since there is always a time when there is a new incoming class waiting to be admitted to a college. These are stressful times, and can often make me people sick trying to figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. i really like have you gave ideas to help people who may be stressing about making this decision: The thought of going to a technical college and then applying for a major university may not always come to mind. These are ideas some of us may need to take into consideration if we aren't sure what we're doing or where we want to be in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very important topic for us right now. Since I'm going to college next year I'm still worried about what my financial situation will be within the next few years. I've also looked into scholarships, but found it hard to find one that fits my major, so thank you for including a scholarship source. It is sad that we have to worry about so much college debt, and so much debt could also turn people away from enrolling in college.
ReplyDeleteThe topic you chose to write about is indeed something extremely relevant to seniors in high school. I believe this information could be used effectively to help more of the students here better understand what they will go through in terms of finance with college. It's important that students are able to make good financial decisions so that they don't cause issues down the line.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, technical college has developed a slightly bad stigma around it, but this should not be the case at all! Like you said, it can actually end up giving a higher salary than jobs from 4-year colleges, and attending for only two years would be more cost effective. Additionally, your list of scholarships was a really good source, and along with your other tips and tricks I will definitely be utilizing these as I continue to search myself.
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