Five Ways to Get Into College Without Paying A Dime

Do you have a kid going to college? Are you a student saddled with the rising costs of higher education? Believe it or not, there are ways to get your education and not have to pay for it! The best thing is, you can do this without just crashing somebody’s class till they put a restraining order on you. Here are five ways to get a free education right here in the United States:

Get to Work. Like anything else, even the free stuff requires you to do something. One way to get to go to school is become part of the staff at the university or college. I don’t mean that you have to be a professor, but many of these halls of higher education need security workers, administrative assistants, accountants, and other jobs you might not associate with a school. Once you are working full time, many colleges allow you and your immediate family to attend classes for free. You will have to check out the specifics, but this is an excellent opportunity to make some money and get a quality education.

Be all that you can be. If you don’t have someone paying for your bill, you can always ask the government. If you enlist in the armed forces and join the ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps). By doing this, you are going to have to go through basic training, wear a uniform on campus, and then spend time in the military when you are done, but a college education will be given to you for free and you’ll be an officer when it is all said and done. As a warning: Don’t think that officers are exempt from dangerous wartime activities. Many officers are on the front lines with enlisted men and they are usually the people leading the charge.

If you want to go to college, learn how to research. College is all about hitting the books, so start early and figure out a way to go for free! There are thousands of scholarships and grants available if you look online. Some of these, like the PEL Grant are based on your financial needs. Others are based upon your ethnic background or minority status. If you are good at something, like sports or chess, or taking tests (i.e. getting good grades in high school), you will find that there is money available to you. You don’t even have to have a talent. There is a scholarship for left handed people to get an education. Millions of dollars go unclaimed each year, so this is way for you to collect on some funds no one else was smart enough to get.

Start Saving Early. Waitaminute!?! I thought this was how to get into college for free! Well, it is. You can go to a place called UPromise.com and sign up for a free account. Then, when you shop for stuff you are normally going to buy, they will put part of the money towards your college education. The items you buy are places you’d go to anyway: The grocery store, McDonalds, the gas station, and the book store (at least we hope you are reading). The site even gives away $10,000 scholarships to random participants, so it is a great way to pay your college tuition bill.

Go to a school where they don’t expect you to pay. Well, that sounds easy, doesn’t it? But colleges are out there to make money! Not so fast. There are plenty of schools in the United States that don’t want your money, they want your brains. However, to get into these schools, you need to do a few things first. You have to have really – and I mean REALLY high ACT and SAT scores. You should be able to show some strength in a niche activity – like a sport, club, or student leadership. And it would help if someone with some pull would write you a recommendation. It is a long shot, but hey, look at the reward. You can find a list of tuition-free universities online if you Google “Tuition-free schools”.

Well, there you have it. Why pay for college if you can go for free? You’ll have to work hard, but look at the extra money you’ll have for enjoying life while all of your friends are still paying off their student loans ten years after the fact. These are some real ideas of getting you into college. Watch for scams on the internet. There are plenty of them out there. If you have any more tips to help families get their kids a quality education, please feel free to share them here.