Ways to finance undergrad? besides finaid

[Bhavesh]

Holding scholarships through local communities and your parent's employer aside...

Is it possible to have someone else (certain employers, tuition assistance programs, companies looking for students) pay for your undergrad and possibly graduate/professional schooling years?

My uncle tells my sister and I, that his company pays for students to pursue a masters degree.

Another friend tells me that through her dance school, half of her undergraduate tuition is paid.

It was my understanding that, pretty much the only way to get a free, or partially paid ride, is if your family has a low income (lots of need-based aid), or if you are so smart, the school pays you to go there (scholarship).

But apparently there are other ways. Do any of you know of them?

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[gaf]

Holding scholarships through local communities and your parent's employer aside...

Is it possible to have someone else (certain employers, tuition assistance programs, companies looking for students) pay for your undergrad and possibly graduate/professional schooling years?

My uncle tells my sister and I, that his company pays for students to pursue a masters degree.

Another friend tells me that through her dance school, half of her undergraduate tuition is paid.

It was my understanding that, pretty much the only way to get a free, or partially paid ride, is if your family has a low income (lots of need-based aid), or if you are so smart, the school pays you to go there (scholarship).

But apparently there are other ways. Do any of you know of them?

ROTC scholarships will cover your undergrad tuition and some fees. They're not need-based and they don't require you to work full time in school (as many employers' tuition reimbursement programs do).

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

Check out the military reserves program. $7000/yr towards your education, and you only work one weekend a month and two additional weeks a year, plus boot camp and job training.
But then you get sent to Iraq to get shot at by angry Arabs who want you and your country to burn in hell...
Ok, maybe just give the finaid officer a blowjob.

 

[Dr.LeoSpaceman]

Haha. Yeah, I think in the mid to late 90s a lot of people thought it was a great idea to join the reserves in order to finance their education/earn extra cash because of the small time commitment. But at that time, we weren't embroiled in a war on terror. And now everyone that joined for that reason regrets it I think. Now, I would treat the ROTC and Reserves as an almost sure bet you will get called up somewhere. So not a good option unless you are ready to go get shot at.

Also, many undergrad universities (especially private) don't give out merit scholarships. They are more worried about filling 100% of the financial need. You can look for outside companies that have scholarships, but many are based on financial need. There are very few really big scholarship opportunities, and the competition is fierce.

As for grad school, many companies will pay to have employees go get something like an MBA, but you then have to sign a contract that you will work for them for X years. And for something like a PhD program, many are effectively free. The work you do in the lab and, if you have to, the TA work you do subsidizes your education. They won't give you much for living expenses, but you can always take ou a small loan.

 

[lorelei]

If you do a co-op/paid internship with a company during your college years, a fair number of companies provide tuition assistance for the remainder of your studies, provided you come back to work for them. It's usually along the lines of a few thousand, not full tuition, but it's a pretty nice perk. Several of my engineering friends and I were lucky enough to get it.

 

[gaf]

Haha. Yeah, I think in the mid to late 90s a lot of people thought it was a great idea to join the reserves in order to finance their education/earn extra cash because of the small time commitment. But at that time, we weren't embroiled in a war on terror. And now everyone that joined for that reason regrets it I think. Now, I would treat the ROTC and Reserves as an almost sure bet you will get called up somewhere. So not a good option unless you are ready to go get shot at.....

Absolutely. That's why we have a military and that's what you join.

No experience with the reserve component, but ROTC students don't get pulled out of school to suddenly go on active duty -- they're not trained to do much besides march. When ROTC students graduate they go on active duty or into a reserve unit.

 

[TTSD]

You could sleep with fat chicks for a $1000, or REALLY fat chicks for $10,000.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Put 10 grand in ISRG.

 

[fun8stuff]

Holding scholarships through local communities and your parent's employer aside...

Is it possible to have someone else (certain employers, tuition assistance programs, companies looking for students) pay for your undergrad and possibly graduate/professional schooling years?

My uncle tells my sister and I, that his company pays for students to pursue a masters degree.

Another friend tells me that through her dance school, half of her undergraduate tuition is paid.

It was my understanding that, pretty much the only way to get a free, or partially paid ride, is if your family has a low income (lots of need-based aid), or if you are so smart, the school pays you to go there (scholarship).

But apparently there are other ways. Do any of you know of them?

male gigalo

 

[lorelei]

Absolutely. That's why we have a military and that's what you join.

No experience with the reserve component, but ROTC students don't get pulled out of school to suddenly go on active duty -- they're not trained to do much besides march. When ROTC students graduate they go on active duty or into a reserve unit.

With the reserves, not only will you get called up, you will get called up during school. My cousin joined the reserves (not ROTC) to finance undergrad and it wasn't the best idea. He got called up to active duty during the middle of a semester at least twice. Thankfully, he hasn't had to go into combat, but it's been six years since he started undergrad and he's still at least a year away from a degree.

 

[Bhavesh]

You could sleep with fat chicks for a $1000, or REALLY fat chicks for $10,000.

What? Fat chicks need love too; but they gotta pay.


But yes, I'm holding the reserves and ROTC aside.


Anybody else?

 

[ken37]

Sell drugs?

 

[Emeri Onwunwa]

Sell organs and/or body parts you haven't grown too attached to. Remember to keep them on ice.