Photo: UCLA students (L-R) Frances Clark, 20, a history major, and Amanda Bahamonde, 20, a biology student, protest student fee hikes today at UCLA. Credit: Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times.

 
My brother is currently a freshman at UC Irvine, a state school he chose for its relative affordability and academic excellence. But as the UC Regents recommends a 32 percent student fee increase at UC schools, he and his classmates are likely no longer going to get the promised bang for their buck.  If passed by the full board, education costs at UC schools will go up by more than $2,500 by fall 2010, according to the LA Times. At this rate it would cost him the same to attend as an out-of-state student at neighboring state universities.

Students are up in arms over this, expectedly. Protests at UC schools broke out on news of the recommendation. But what if you can’t fight the system? What if come Thursday the vote makes this official? You’re going to let the UC Regents prevent you from getting an affordable education? There’s even talk of some students dropping out over this. Well I for one, will not let them discourage you from completing your college degree. There are factors that are still within your control when it comes to affording college.  

Here are my cost-savings tips:

1. Shore Up $2,500. Broken down the fee hike will cost some students up to an extra $2500 by the end of next year. How can you shore up $2500 between now and then to keep head above water? A part-time job (think about sittering and tutoring at sittercity.com and care.com) or selling on the internet (think etsy.com for crafts, chegg.com for books, gazelle.com for gadgets). Additionally you can apply for small peer-to-peer loans at prosper.com and lendingclub.com. Fixed-rate loans on those sites are currently between 7 and 8%.

2. Commute from Home. You can cut the cost of college up to 30% by living at home. Picking schools within a close radius to mom and dad can be a great way to save. It may cramp your style, but it’s the norm these days.

3. Apply for Free Money. Scholarships and grants are out there…millions of them. Fastweb.com and Scholarships.com are two great web sites. Emily Hilleren, director of content at scholarships.com says the site provides fere access to more than 2.7 million scholarships and grants worth over $19 billion.

4. Revisit Your Financial Aid Package. If you have less money coming in than a year ago, or even six months ago, you should call the school’s financial aid office and ask for what’s called a “professional judgement review” where the school reassesses your need for financial aid factoring in your new circumstances. They’ll want documents, a copy of your layoff notice, a list of circumstances that have changed.  College aid experts at finaid.org says that if your earnings have dropped by, say $10,000, and you have one child in college, you can potentially get an additional $2000 to $5000 in financial aid. And by the way UC students whose families earn less than $70,000 can have their tuition waived.   

5. Shop Around for a New School.  Transferring to a more affordable school – like a community college or a state school – may not be the easiest solution, but in the long run it may save you thousands of dollars (this, coming from a Penn State grad). Starting out at a state school or community college for a year or two and then transferring to your preferred college or university can be a huge savings, too. Tuition and fees average $2400 this year at community colleges. Meantime it costs $25,000 for private school and $6500 for a public school (and closer to $10,ooo if the fee hike gets approved at UC schools). And as college fees go up and entrance becomes more competitive, more talented students are going to alternative institutions, namely state and community colleges.  Bellevue Community College, for example, in Washington, has seen applications rise 7% this year and almost 20%  within professional/technical (job skills) programs. Tuition costs about $1,200 per quarter for state students and about $3,000 per quarter for out-of-state students.

6. Consider attending school part-time and working part-time.  Work and pay-as-you-go. It may take an extra year or two to complete your studies this way but it’s one solution for many students who don’t receive enough financial aid to go to school full-time.

7. Enroll Online.  It’s a sure-fire way to save on housing and commuting costs. This year Nova Southeastern University, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was ranked No. 1 in OEDB’s 2009 Online College Rankings. In second place went to Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va., followed by Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., in third. At Nova Southeastern tuition and fees total $20,350 per year and 96% of students receive financial aid.