October 17, 2010
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College…Debt free
I have some friends going to college soon…and they have asked me how I managed to go for so many years for free…actually, less than free. Here is my story. (WARNING…this is a long post filled with numbers. not lite fare.)
My experience was that I had no clue what I wanted to do. I knew it probably had something to do with kids. Maybe Inner city. That was about it. My parents said they would pay for a year long, half an associates degree program called Equip, so I went. They said that after that, I was on my own for college.
Best decision ever. I learned SO much from having to pay my own way. I took responsibility for my education. After Equip, I paid for the second part of the program, and got my associates degree. I worked while going to school, taking less than 15 credits (mostly), and working over 30 hours. I tried to stay one semester ahead of bills: work fall to pay for spring, work spring to pay for fall (Summer was either off or went to special projects like Brazil). I paid about $2500 for that program (less than $100 a credit).
Then I started to go to Crossroads Bible college, which was about the same amount (they then raised the price quite a bit, which is why I didn’t end up finishing). I paid around $2500 for the classes I took there (22 credits). I discovered this thing called CLEP where you take a test (about an hour and a half) of mostly multiple choice questions (Math might not be, and one English had an essay) and can get 3-6 credits for it. These tests are $75 each. I tried to take one a month for awhile, getting all my basic classes out of the way. Then I just kept going, taking whatever I thought I could pass. I studied minimally (You can buy a study guide online for like $10), and passed all but one. All my English, History, Literature, Science, Biology, and Sociology classes (27 credits) were taken care of for $700.
After this I started taking classes at Ivy Tech (less than $90 a credit). I took a couple semesters before I figured out how to do FASFA, paying about $1,500. I am not sure if I wasn’t doing it right, or if they thought I was making too much money, but as soon as I was 23, I didn’t have to file any of my parent’s information, and they decided I should receive government assistance. After this, I have received money going to college. 2005 I received a $1000 refund. I stood there at the window, shocked, asking the lady if I had to spend it on “college” things. She said she used her refund to get a car. oh. 2006 I received $2000 a semester, making $4000, which paid for my six months in Brazil…government funded missionary.
2007 I received a total of $2000 for two semesters, because I realized I was killing myself when I took so many credits, while trying to juggle Brazil (working about 50 hours a week). 2008 I only took classes for the spring semester: $1000. In the fall I went to college in Brazil, which cost me about $80 a month. 2009: same routine. By this time, I have invested:
$2500 associates degree
$2500 Crossroads Bible college
$1500 Ivy Tech
$700 CLEP tests
$1000 College in Brazil
$2000 book costs (since I buy used and online as much as possible, it averages to about $200 a semester)
total: $10,200
I have received:
$9000
I was a little scared about IUPUI this year, since credits are about $300 each. After the grants came through (from filling out FASFA), I had enough to buy books and came out dead even. This fall semester, I received two scholarships, resulting in $1000 refund. So…nine years of attending five college in two continents, resulting in two associates degrees and a bachelors…I paid about $200.
Nice.
