Getting Your Kids through College in a Recession

Recession or not, education is still essential for your kids fresh out of high school. However college is very expensive and the economic recession that the United States is in makes it almost unreachable. Also consider that in a recession, there are fewer jobs and even the college graduates are competing and have no guarantees as they graduate. So as a parent you must get creative when it comes to getting your kids through college in a recession. Let’s look at a few suggestions as to how to do this:

Have your kids go to college close to home. You won’t have to pay out-of-state tuition for that faraway college. Plus, your student can still live at home if he or she wants to. One way you can encourage them to stay close to home during the recession is by having them go to a community college for the first two years. Bring to light the fact that the credits from the first two years are easily transferable to a four-year college in the same state. The tuition at a community college is usually less expensive.

Look into using CLEP programs. CLEP stands for the College-Level Examination Program. It is a way to earn college credit for non-traditional education and/or experience you have. You cannot earn a degree by CLEP but you can sometimes complete a significant portion of your first year of college–all by taking an exam priced much lower than tuition. Check with the institution you are attending and see what their policy is towards acceptance of CLEP credit.

Apply for all the grants you can. Go to the school’s financial aid office and get all the information and forms required to apply for various government and special interest grants. Make sure you get a copy of your recent tax records because in most cases you will have to show there is a financial need.

Avoid debt any way you can. One of the things you don’t want to do in a recession is accumulate more debt. You also want to discourage your student from accumulating debt through student loan programs. If you don’t have enough money for tuition in an upcoming semester, your student can always go part-time for a semester. It might mean taking a little longer to graduate but it can mean the difference between a person starting their career debt-free or deep in debt.

Have your kids get a part-time job. This can be especially helpful during a recession–especially if your kids are only going to school part-time. Just be careful that the student does not take on too much load as this can affect grades.