How to Save Money on Books

Today’s guest post was contributed by Jillianne Hamilton from myusearchblog.com/

..Do you hear that? That’s the sound of pennies being pinched all over America.

But while many are pinching pennies, others are getting ready to make one of the biggest investments of their lives: A College Education.

Thousands of high school seniors are graduating this month and many adults are choosing to go back to school during these tough economic times to upgrade their skills and try to wait out the recession. Almost all of these to-be college students are finding that the cost of college tuition and room and board are going up while the recession is driving their bank accounts down. This can make getting a college education and choosing the right college a little tricky.

But before you give up on college because of the cost, there are a few often-overlooked options you should consider:

1)       Broaden Your College Choices: There are more than 4000 colleges in the US, most of which you’ve probably never heard of. Do some research online or consult a college counselor to broaden your list of affordable colleges [Insert list of affordable colleges.

2)       Apply to More Colleges: Applying to more colleges may be a good idea too. If you get accepted to several schools, you can compare their financial offers before making your final decision. Remember, you should never compare schools based on their sticker price. Wait until you have all of the financial facts before you eliminate some of your choices.

3)       Community College: For a couple of years, community colleges have had higher enrollment rates than ever before. Community college tuition is often much less than the price of most universities and can be a great option for working adults that need to improve their skills or students that need to get some basic classes out of the way.

4)       International Colleges: If you’re looking to get a quality education without the price tag of an American college or university, colleges outside of the US may be an alternative. Besides saving a couple bucks, it can also let you enjoy other cultures and meet new people. Just north of the border, Canadian universities offer programs of the same quality as most American universities. Dalhousie (http://www.dal.ca) in Halifax, Nova Scotia is one of the top universities in the country. The University of Prince Edward Island (http://www.upei.ca) attracts students from all over for its vet program. Big city folk might want to check out the University of Toronto (http://utoronto.ca) which is regularly ranked as one of the world’s best universities and one of the top medical schools in North America.

5)       American Universities Outside the US: There are also several US-based colleges that teach full English curriculums in locations outside of the US. Ave Maria University (http://www.avemaria.edu.ni) has a campus in Nicaragua and there’s also the American University of Paris (http://www.aup.fr) and the American University of Rome (http://www.aur.edu). These programs are often far less expensive than their counterparts on American soil.

6)       Financial Aid: Many students think they won’t qualify for financial aid, but often times they are dead wrong. Check out these financial aid tools (http://www.finaid.org) to help you figure out whether you would qualify and how much your Expected Family Contribution would be.

7)       Apply for Scholarships!: Apply to as many scholarships as you can- even ones that you doubt you’ll get. Winning scholarships [insert: winning scholarships is a numbers game — you just never know. But be honest in any essays you have to write for them. Some small private schools are willing to offer more financial aid than some larger institutions, so that’s worth looking into as well.

For more info on college hunting during the economic crisis, visit this article at the myUsearch blog: Should the Economy Affect Your College Search? [Insert: Should the Economy Affect Your College Search?,

And, of course, myUsearch is a great way to compare colleges [Insert compare colleges. I hope this helps and please don’t get discouraged. Your future depends on it!

Author Jillianne Hamilton is a student at Holland College (http://www.hollandc.pe.ca/), the founder of The Blog of Jillianne Hamilton (http://jilliannehamilton.wordpress.com/) and student blogger for myUsearch.com