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Should I Borrow Money to Finish College or Work and Stay Debt-Free?

Should I Borrow Money to Finish College or Work and Stay Debt-Free?

15 Dec 2020


Borrowing money to finish college is a bad idea, because of its severe consequences in a student’s life. Therefore, one must find alternative ways to reduce expenses or do part-time work beside studies, to stay debt-free. 

In the past century, the academic institutions (school, college, and universities) have increased their fesses so much that students and their families find it utmost challenging to pay for the college expenditure right on time. 

It’s always been challenging for students to find the perfect balance between budget and college dues to pay for the college fees, and a slight disbalance can lead them into a debt borrowing act.

 Therefore, they often start to adopt loan options for fulfilling their timely needs. This alternative of loan taking often becomes their only option left, owing to the ever-rising feeses annually.

As a result, more and more students indulge in college repayments and loan reimbursements to manage the finance linked to their post-secondary education.

However, relying on debt is not such a good choice, because ultimately the burdens fall on the students and their families have to pay back in the end.

Thus, if you are still looking into some debt program or loans for continuing college then consider the consequences of falling in debt as described below, so that you have an idea what kind of headache you might have to tackle by taking loans for college. 

We suggest a quick read to this article to be aware of loans and debts related consequences in college life and to explore some alternative ways to manage college fesses besides the various working options for financial stability in college. 

Loans Shouldn’t Be Kept as an Option!

The will to complete high school or college is a dream for every youngster and their families, however, adopting the option of loan for financing the degree often becomes a great source of financial suffering for families and students due to rising debts. 

Either way, the families often fall into the myth of “Borrow Money or Skip College” which results in further confusion and cause them to adopt loans as the only left option. Doing so could result in various adverse outcomes on the students and their parent’s lives. Some of them are outlined below:

Consequences of Taking Loans for College

  • Depending upon loans and repayment plans can entangle students and their families to remain in the same series of loan repayment for many years.
  • Taking loans from some friend or relative might put you in an embarrassing and stressful condition that could take away your confidence in other matters of life.
  • The continuous stress of the rising debts could cause some emotional consequences in terms of loneliness, excessive thinking, distress, and depression. 
  • Apart from the mental health scenarios, the rising debts and the related stress can also impact the teenagers by deteriorating their physical health.
  • Students who take loans and mostly remain immersed in some financial debts have to spend their salaries to handle the loan repayments, and this would create a burden on them rather than easing out financial independence.
  • Students may face bad consequences in the form of credit if they fail to fulfil their loan repayments according to schedule. 
  • The financial pressure of loan repayments will ultimately impact their studies and may hinder their academic performances for which the whole debt cycle started.
  • In the long run, the stifling loan repayments can impact graduates in ways such as lower homeownership, car ownership, and marriage rates.
  • This shows that short term loans keep on growing even post-college and causes negative financial impacts for a lifetime.
  • The negative credit ratings and late repayments can decrease their credit ratings and will confine their abilities for taking further loans for the future. 

Continuously relying on loans during their academic life, might develop the habits to rely on loans throughout life, rather than seeking alternative working options for becoming more independent in life.

Alternatives Ways to Avoid Debt and Work in College

If someone wants to remain debt-free and complete their studies without relying on loans or working side by side, then we have a few suggestions for you. Must keep them in mind and look for relatable opportunities in your own college life to fix the fees problem efficiently.

1. Keep Savings and Use Them for Degree

One must always have the habit to save money for useful purposes or for times of need. As a guardian, begin saving for children’s education, and as a student, saving money will take away the panic of relying on debt or working besides college.

2. Take Assistance from Aid, and Grants Program

You should always be aware of different aid programs linked to your college or hostels, which can benefit you in terms of low feeses for schools. So, explore such programs first before even taking admission to college.

3. Choose an Affordable School

Everyone wants to study in colleges with a good reputation in the community. Do not just see the glitters, rather search for the golden opportunity of learning within an affordable college. 

4. Study in Community College or Directional Schools 

If you have got opportunities for community college and directional schools, they must adopt the opportunity, because they allow you to maintain valuable college credit while continuing good degree programs. 

5. Explore Trade and Technical Schools

Similarly studying and learning in a technical school will enable your children to learn various skills like electrical work, mechanics, plumbing, and home inspections, sewing, arts, and much more, all of which will help them to earn side by side studying. 

6. Hunt for The Grants and Scholarships

Another alternative to funding college is to look for scholarships that may be provided at the college level through private and governments’ merit and need-based programs

7. Live on Or Off-Campus Base Don Financial Relaxation

Another method to control your finances without taking loans or working besides studies is to live on or off-campus by logically thinking and deciding which is more affordable in terms of study facilities, living facilities, and the emotional and psychological needs of a student. 

8. Manage Budget Efficient

Another possibility is to stay within your budget and try to save some for the long-term plans like your child’s education and career. Similarly, college students themselves can do this to ensure a debt-free college life.

Some Other Tips for Reducing Debt and Working Through College

  • Speed up your graduation course by attending more course work if not working.
  • Take summer schools to accelerate your degree course load.
  • Search out, and apply for financial assistance scholarships, grants, and aid programs.
  • Take admission near home to avoid expenses of On and Campus Living.
  • Reduce expenses, try to live as cheaply as possible, only buy what's needed.
  • Improve social connection to reach out for multiple job opportunities during the academic career.
  • Search for online freelance jobs or for night shifts to manage finances.
  • Always manage budget and try to save for future obligations
  • Find a job that pays well for fewer working hours.

Working Options for College Finance Management

Apart from debt, loans, and other aforementioned alternative measures like scholarship grants, etc., another option that sounds appropriate is to work besides college.

This might impact your studies due to the dual study, work pressure, but it will indeed shape your skills and will polish your potentials to resist the worst possible financial scenarios in life. 

Working beside college not only makes you more independent but will also increase your earning power and family supporting ability. And this will be further increase upon earning the degree. So, if you are motivated enough to work during your studies, you can consider the following working options.

 But at any point, if you feel pressured and your studies start to get affected by working then better to limit your working house and school study hours accordingly.

Some of the working options to manage college finances are as follows:

1. Plan Out a Detailed Budget

Planning the budget is the best habit to manage your finances. It enables you to think outside the box and cut back on spending by limiting fices to only important needs. Thus, saving at small levels will eventually gather for college fees assistance.

2. Get Enrolled in Work-Study Programs

Some institutes devise work-study programs like Teaching or research assistance ships, writing assistance, and other programs to help their students financially. 

3. Find Off-Campus Parttime Jobs

You can get enrolled in some part-time jobs off your campus like waiters’ job, parking lots job, or jobs as a shopkeeper or big malls to become a flexible and financially stable person throughout your life.

4. Start an Entrepreneur Business

Entrepreneurship is the best solution for youngsters to become independent during college life. You can turn any of your hobbies or skills like writing, sketching, painting, cooking, crafting, clothing design, music lessons, or others to earn money.

5. Become A Tutor

If you have good concepts and teaching skills, then become a guiding tutor and start earning by taking even 3-4 pupils who could pay you for college fees.

6. Share and Rent the Books

You can use the college library for book rent outs and can ask a friend to share books and notes with you if they are really expensive.

7. Cut Transport Costs

Try to adopt affordable commuting sources like public transports to reach colleges, rather than adopting college vans, coaches, or buses that charge monthly. This step will cut down a large sum for college fees.

8. Adopt Affordable Money Transfer Services

College students must rely on least charging money transfer services like ACE Money Transfer to send or receive money across the countries or the cities. Such small acts will ultimately help to save money for college. For more information, please consult our representatives at ACE money transfer.

Concluding Thoughts

Indulging in loans and debts during college can compromise your academic performance. The best is to rely on your limited budgets and plan out money saving strategies to avoid loans. 

You may also adopt various working opportunities besides your study schedules to become a more independent, self-relaying, and debt-free, family-supporting member.

 Whatever you choose, keep in mind that it's your academic life and successful completion of this period will help you to stabilize your whole career financially. 

We hope that this article was of great help to you, to sort out alternatives for debt in college. You can also read some other informative articles by clicking the links below.


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