Unnecessary Educational Expenses and How to Reduce Them

Unnecessary Educational Expenses and How to Reduce Them

by Ann Harrison

Many students spend more on personal expenses while in college, but there are also unnecessary expenses that colleges place on the students. Here are a few unnecessary expenses, and guidelines on how they can be reduced.

First of all, let’s talk about the high cost of text books. They are expensive, costing $60 or more, and some courses require several textbooks. There are several ways that students and schools can save money. First of all, you as a student can either visit a used bookstore, or find out if your school allows you to rent books, or ask for electronic formats. In my own experience, I was able to get electronic copies of my college textbooks; however, the print version was included as part of the expensive tuition. If colleges would allow all students the option of downloading electronic textbooks, instead of limiting this format to students with disabilities, the school could cut expenses significantly.

When it comes to choosing schools, students can cut costs by attending a two-year college, if they plan to only earn their associates degrees versus a four-year college. In many cases two-year colleges are less expensive than a four-year school. On the other hand, if colleges would allow students to transfer their previous college credits from one school to another, students would save money, because they can skip their core classes, to the actual course of study. This would also make transferring from a two-year to a four-year college easier and stress-free.

Many students like to print out their academic papers that they have done extensive research on. However, the cost of a printer, cartridges, and paper is unnecessary when you are in college. To save money, either take your laptop to the computer lab and print your documents there, or if you don’t want to lug your computer everywhere, you can purchase a flash drive for about $10 and put your documents on it, then go to the computer lab and print away.

Yet another money-saving option for students is submitting assignments online, either via email or through a drop box type setup on the school’s website.

Paying for meals in the college cafeteria can be a large expense, which can be reduced by adding a minimum amount of meals to your daily allowance at first. The reason I suggest this is that it gives you a chance to decide whether or not you like the college food, or if you’d rather purchase simple meals that can be heated in your dorm (if you live on campus), or make your own meals ( if living at home).

There is one more thing that could cut the high cost of college tuition for students and schools alike. High school students, and people planning to attend college later in life, if universities and colleges would allow in-coming students to take college courses either while in high school, or as a prerequisite to attending college. This will also help future students decide in what course of study they would like to earn their degrees, before enrolling at their college of choice.

There are many more beneficial actions that a school can take to cut tuition costs, than I can list in this blog post. If you’d like to find what you can do to cut the cost of attending for either yourself or your child, feel free to visit the following websites:

www.tesh.com/articles/five-unnecessary-college-expenses/ &

www.usnews.com/education/blogs/the-college…/25-ways-for-colleges-to-cut-costs.

About the Author

Ann Harrison is a totally blind author, who grew up in the small town of Rochelle, Georgia, and has moved back to her family home after living in North Georgia for several years. Ann has written many articles of general interest for a number of clients since June of 2010, including the Cordele Dispatch. She has also published a short story entitled “The Big Climb” in Awethology Light. Ann also published a story entitled “The Woods” in December Awethology Light Volume by The #Awethors. She is currently working on several novels, and a self-help book. To read more of Ms. Harrison’s inspirational writings, visit her blog at www.wwannwrites.wordpress.com.

 

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