It’s no secret that post-secondary tuition is an expensive investment in your child’s future. According to Statistics Canada, Canadian students paid an average of $6,580 in tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 school year, and the most recent data, also from Statistics Canada, shows that the average graduate from a Canadian undergraduate program leaves school with $28,000 in student debt. Despite this, paying for college or university doesn’t have to break the bank or put you or your child deep into debt.
If you have a student in college or university or have one heading there soon, these tips can help take the sting out of paying for schooling:
Choose a school that’s close to home
Tuition and books are not the only costly expenses you’ll need to worry about when sending your student off to college or university. Living expenses, including housing and transportation, also add up. According to the 2019-2020 University of Manitoba rate table, the starting cost for an on-campus residence bed is over $3,800 for a school year, and that doesn’t include things like meal plans, residence program fees or insurance. Depending on the residence and type of room you prefer, the residence cost can rise to over $8,200 for the school year. One way to cut down on these expenses is for your child to attend a school that allows him or her to live at home while going to school. Living at home will allow you to save the considerable costs listed above, as well as others such as meal costs and costs to travel home during holiday breaks.
Of course, depending on where you live and what your child wants to study, living at home may not be possible. There are many communities in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario where it isn’t possible to commute to a college or university. Others may be within commuting distance of a college, but not a university. If this is the case for you, you may wish to consider enrolling in a university transfer program at your local college. Many colleges offer a program that allows you to complete courses at your local college that can then be applied towards a university degree. For example, if you are interested in a four-year university undergraduate degree, it may be possible for you to attend two years at your local college, and then transfer these credits against the requirements of the university program, reducing the number of years that you would have to spend away at university.
Of course, with the rise of online distance education, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, it may be possible to live at home but enroll in a program at a college or university that is physically located far from home. Check with the college or university program that you are interested in to see if this is an option for you.
Explore alternative school schedules
Working while attending school is difficult on a traditional school schedule that offers classes during the day. Many colleges and universities offer programs and class schedules that help accommodate students who need to work during the day. Night classes and online programs allow you to work to pay for school and living expenses while still working towards a degree. Of course, these financial savings would have to be balanced against the downsides of such an arrangement, including having less time for studying and the risk of burnout from having weeks full of both school and work.
Apply for scholarships
Scholarships aren’t just for people with straight A’s or talent in sports. There are hundreds of scholarships available that will help cover portions of tuition with various requirements. These requirements can be things such as financial need, a desire to study a certain subject, and/or a family member who works at a certain employer or within a certain union. You can register with a free scholarship search program that allows you to search by major, school, and dollar amount. If your student is still in high school, you can also meet with a guidance counselor who will help you find available scholarships and apply for them.
If your child is already in college or university, they should check with faculty members and advisors to see what type of scholarships they offer to current students. Financial aid offices can also provide you with information about available scholarships.
Look for internships
Internships and apprenticeships are excellent ways to earn college or university credit and can help pay for school at the same time. Many programs also offer paid internships.
There are a number of services that can help you find paying internships that also offer credit. The Public Service Commission’s Post-secondary Co-op and Internship program, for example, helps students find internships within the public service arena.
Internships can also help you to build a relationship with an employer and may lead to that employer offering you a job position once you complete your studies. Even if that particular employer is not hiring at the time that you graduate, you will have earned valuable on-the-job experience that will improve your employment prospects elsewhere.
Paying for college or university without taking out loans is possible with a little planning. If you have tips for covering the cost of school and expenses without going into debt, share them!
Daniel Maksymchak, LIT
