With the average tuition cost for American university students reaching tens of thousands of dollars a year, it comes as no surprise that many people now feel like it’s impossible to pay for college out of pocket.
However, is this truly the case? Those interested in potentially pursuing a college degree and paying for it out of pocket can benefit from an exploration of this subject.
Here’s an assessment of whether it’s still feasible for students to pay for college out of pocket.
Defining “Paying Out of Pocket”
While paying out of pocket can sometimes mean with no outside help, in this scenario, we’ll explore paying for college without taking out loans. This means that hypothetical students could receive scholarships and grants to help them lower their cost of tuition.
The Current Student Landscape
There are a wide variety of factors contributing to it becoming less feasible for college students to pay for their college out of pocket. For starters, colleges have drastically increased in price — even when one adjusts for inflation.
To make the soaring prices of a college education worse, minimum wage jobs rarely provide individuals with liveable wages in the modern world. In the past, this was far from the case, and working a full-time minimum wage job could allow someone to comfortably support themselves.
This being the case, it’s clear that a significant amount of students can no longer feasibly pay for their college education completely out of pocket. However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Specifically, when it comes to individuals with professional job roles going to college.
Professionals Attending College
As has been noted, most students attending college — who have often only recently graduated college — will only be qualified to work low-paying jobs. As a result, they have a negligible chance of being able to earn the requisite funds to pay for their education.
Where things become a little more feasible for students being able to pay for their college tuition out of pocket are those who are also working professional roles. The paradox here is that the vast majority of students who are able to pay for college out of pocket will already have a college degree that has qualified them for a professional role with a decent wage.
This means that professionals interested in going back to school, such as nurses pursuing post-master’s certificate programs or business employees pursuing an online mba, may be able to support themselves through college and have enough to pay for tuition.
Sadly, however, even many full-time professionals in the modern age would struggle to pay university tuition costs even if they stayed employed while completing their educational program. Fortunately, exploring various options for financial aid could help make it more feasible for these individuals to pursue a degree without going into debt.
The Role of Financial Aid in Making a College Education More Affordable and Accessible
Though the current state of university tuition costs in America is nothing short of disheartening, there are ways to make the process of obtaining a degree more affordable. Specifically, by taking advantage of various forms of financial aid.
The two main forms of financial aid that students can take advantage of without going into debt are scholarships and grants. While these two forms of financial aid are similar, there are some key distinguishing factors that make them distinct forms of financial aid.
Scholarships are monetary awards based on factors such as academic merit and athletic ability. Typically, these financial awards come with no strings attached and don’t need to be repaid even if a student fails to complete their educational program.
Conversely, grants are typically awarded to students based on financial need but sometimes can be awarded to students based on other factors such as heritage and physical ability. Unlike scholarships, grants usually come with requirements, such as maintaining a certain GPA, in order for students not to have to repay them.
When it comes to finding scholarships and grants, government websites are an amazing resource to explore. In fact, the majority of grants in the United States are awarded by governmental organizations.
Sadly, grants and scholarships are typically far more common for undergraduates than they are for graduate students. This highlights another paradox for college students paying for their tuition out of pocket. Namely, that the students who are most likely to be able to pay for their own college have less financial aid available to them to help them do so.
Despite this, there are some grants and scholarships available to grad students, so pursuing these avenues can lower the cost of obtaining a college degree.
Beyond these types of financial aid, a form of educational funding called fellowships can also be a great resource for grad students. Though the term fellowship can mean a variety of things, its most common meaning is funding for grad students to put toward academic pursuits.
While this can be a great option, fellowships are typically highly competitive and merit-based, meaning that only a small percentage of students receive them every year. Even so, it is a great option for grad students looking to pay for college to explore.
Exploring Affordable Programs
While the majority of college level programs are exorbitantly priced, there are some programs that are more reasonably priced. Taking advantage of these programs can make it more feasible for students to pay for their tuition out of pocket.
This can include taking classes at community colleges and transferring credits to four-year universities and simply taking advantage of cheaply priced programs. Ultimately, by working a full-time professional job, taking advantage of financial aid resources, and exploring affordable programs, some students may be able to pay for college out of pocket.
Sadly, the vast majority of American college students won’t be able to pay for their college out of pocket and will likely have to incur debt in exchange for a college degree. As time goes on and this problem worsens, many hope that significant changes will be made to the nation’s higher education system and college level degrees will become more accessible for all students.
Most Students Can’t Afford College Tuition
Though it’s disappointing to assess the current costs associated with American university programs, the country may finally be reaching a tipping point that sparks impactful change. For most college students today, the idea of paying for college out of pocket simply isn’t anywhere near the realm of possibility. Hopefully, action will soon be taken and future students may have the ability to receive a college-level education without incurring tens of thousands of dollars of debt.
