13 Innovative Approaches to Afford College Expenses

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College is expensive — even with grants, students often end up borrowing and owing a lot of money. According to The College Board, the average tuition and fees for full-time undergraduate students in 2022-23 at a public out-of-state college were $28,240. The report also shared that in 2021-22, undergraduate students received an average of $10,590 in grants, meaning that even with some assistance, college expenses can be daunting.

Although students can opt for traditional methods to make up the difference, one way to take care of college expenses is to think outside of the box and avoid being saddled with student loan payments.

How to Afford College

College is an important investment for the future, but no one wants to be stuck paying loans if they can fund their education upfront.

Check out these nine creative ways to handle your college debt as you go.

Egg Donation

When college grants aren’t enough, ladies should consider egg donation. Not only can you help a couple fulfill their dreams of starting a family, but you’ll also be well compensated.

Growing Generations pays its egg donors $10,000 for their first donation and $12,000 for all subsequent donations. They also cover medical costs and any travel-related expenses, including airfare, food and lodging.

Crowdfunding

Crowdfunding can be a quick and easy way to earn the money you need if your parents don’t have a college savings plan in place. Through an online fundraising campaign, numerous contributors can make monetary donations toward a student’s college tuition, books and living expenses.

GoFundMe is a popular crowdfunding website that’s easy to use and designed to connect with social media. Within seconds, all of your friends and family members will be able to see your campaign and donate money toward your college savings.

Innovative Scholarships

Although popular college scholarships are given out for sports and academic achievements, there are also a handful of lesser-known free scholarships you can apply for. One example would be Duck Tape’s Stuck at Prom Scholarship Contest, which awards a couple with the best Duck Tape-inspired prom outfits with $15,000 each, while runners-up receive $1,000 each.

Additionally, the Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship gives one award of $10,000 and four awards of $5,000 to three students who have promoted vegetarianism within their schools and communities.

Cooperative Education

Cooperative education is an excellent option for students to eliminate college debt because it combines the education you receive inside a classroom with work experience. The Georgia Center for Career Discovery Tech and Development offers a five-year co-op program that alternates semesters of on-campus study with semesters of full-time employment.

The amount you can earn from these programs will depend on your field of study. For example, the average co-op salary reported by the University of Minnesota in 2023 was $25/hour.

Clinical Studies

Clinical research studies can help students pay college debt in exchange for their time. Check out ClinicalTrials.gov, a U.S. National Library of Medicine resource, to search for a trial by condition, location or age.

Covance also offers paid medical studies for most people — healthy and not. Visit its site online to find out about current studies and compensation. In addition, colleges in your area might offer paid studies.

Armed Forces’ Military Tuition Assistance Program

Consider joining the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marines, National Guard, Navy or the Reserve to take advantage of the Armed Forces’ Military Tuition Assistance Program, covering up to 100 percent of student tuition. The Armed Forces member can proudly serve their country while obtaining a debt-free degree.

Canvassing

Political organizations pay college students to walk door-to-door, hand out pamphlets and ask for support for a specific political candidate. For students who enjoy exercising and meeting new people, it’s the perfect opportunity to earn some college money.

ZipRecruiter lists the national average wage for canvassing at $22 per hour. A major advantage of canvassing is that the hours are typically flexible so you can work around your class schedule.

Raffles

In July 2015, Theodore Marquis helped his friend raffle off a used truck to the tune of $30,000. The money was given to his granddaughter to pay for college. Although you might not have a vehicle for your raffle, you can contact managers of local businesses and ask them if they have anything they’d like to contribute.

Once you have a selection of donated items, sell raffle tickets to community members for those items. You can create raffle tickets if you have a decent printer, or use a website like RaffleTicket.com. Consider holding the raffle yearly until you graduate or have enough money to fund your entire education.

Competitive Eating

Competitive eating is another unique method of saving for college. In July 2017, Joey Chestnut and Miki Sudo each won $10,000 after competing in Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest.

Check out the latest contests on the Major League Eating website if you can eat your way to a hefty reward. You’ll find eating events based on foods like shrimp cocktails, bacon and Buffalo wings.

Social Media Influencing

If you want to create content or share more about your life with others, you can try to become a social media influencer by choosing a platform to grow on. You’ll want to find the right platform for your skillset, but you can create an income source. If you enjoy videos, you can get on YouTube or if you’re more visual, you can use Instagram.

Even a nano influencer (someone with less than 5,000 followers) can earn up to $2,000 per Instagram post. This innovative approach to making money could lead to you earning a living wage by creating your job.

Brand Ambassador

If you enjoy creating content and sharing ideas, you can become a brand ambassador or get into social media management for a local business. According to ZipRecruiter, you could earn around $20 per hour as a brand ambassador. What makes this side hustle unique is you could also get other perks like free food or discounted offers to help you save money.

Graphic Designer

If you have any graphic design skills or feel proficient in Canva, you can find work designing shirts, logos, and banners as a side gig. Per Upwork, you can make anywhere from $15 to $35 per hour for graphic design work. Your earned amount depends on your specialty, so you could maximize your earnings by working with local businesses.

Pet Sitting/Dog Walking

If you enjoy being around dogs or walking to get more exercise, you can try out a platform like Rover. The average pay for dog walking is $18.74, but you can make more money if you house-sit. As a college student, you can accept house-sitting gigs where you essentially get paid to study.  

Martin Dasko contributed to the reporting for this article.

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