How To Pay For College Without Student Loans or Debt

debt free studentIt may seem daunting to be able to pay for school without getting a student loan or going into debt, but it is possible.  In fact, many people are able to do it.  You just have to be smart about it – which is going to be a great skill beyond just the college years!


Save Money

This may seem trite, but it is true – you can save money to be able to pay for school.  You can save money from gifts from friends and family (such as graduation gifts, birthday gifts, and more).  You can save money from working a summer job or another job while you were in high school.  Whatever you choose, there are a lot of ways to save.

If you haven’t saved enough to start, maybe you consider going to a junior college for your undergraduate studies.  This can result in substantial savings, and allow you to save up even more since you can work as well.


Look For Free Money

If you need a little something extra to cover the difference between your savings and the cost of tuition, you could look for free money through grants and scholarships.  There are millions of different grants and scholarships available, you just need to search.

Just about every school or university has a list of available programs, and even the government puts a list of grants available on

Also, just about every charitable organization and service group offer some type of scholarship.  While you may not be eligible for all of them, there are so many that you can usually find something to fit your needs and criteria.

Furthermore, groups of individuals just get together to help with the cost of school.  For example, the Yakezie Network has a writing contest which helps a young student with the cost of education.

If you just look around, you can find free money!


Check With Your Employer

Finally, if you are working and considering going back to school – whether for your first college degree or graduate school, many employers are willing to help out, if not cover the full cost.

You should check with your HR Department and see if tuition reimbursement is offered, or any other type of education assistance programs.  Some employers will even send their employees to get their full MBA at no cost to the employee.


No matter what you are looking to do, there are options to afford school without going into debt.  You just need to look around and put some effort in.  Every bit of effort you put to staying debt free in school with pay huge dividends after graduation!


Readers, what are your thoughts on getting through school debt free?  Is it doable?

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  1. Sean H says

    A lot of college students need to read this!!! This might be kind of weird but when I was in college there was a couple health studies that I was involved in. Once every couple months, pee in a cup, and answer some questions and I got a 100 bucks each time. Like I said, kind of weird but easy to do

  2. says

    A guy I know started to work right after high school and didn’t start to study until after 2 years when he had saved enough money to manage doing his BSc without taking any debt. Then he started to work again and his employer financed his MSc! So he did it all debt free!!

  3. says

    A teenager or young college student should try running a small business, like a landscaping company. That will pay better than flipping burgers for minimum wage. I know someone who paid his entire college tuition by running a summer landscaping company.

  4. says

    I recently graduate from a four year university without debt and I am currently attending graduate school with no loans. I qualified for some financial aid and paid the rest in full amount. I took advantage of work study during my first year, but after that I started to work part time. I learned to save money money and I created an emergency fund for graduate school.


  5. says

    I have a couple of people working for me applying for grad school. Ironically, they are spending so much time trying to fulfill requirements, gain work experience, and apply to multiple schools that they do not have the time to search for scholarships.

  6. EconomicallyHumble says

    every sunday morning I would wake up and either search for or complete a scholarship application. It took effort but paid off.

  7. says

    I got a few small scholarships for school but I still graduated with debt. I didn’t work during high school but I did take on part time work during college which helped. It’s crazy how expensive most schools are these days but there are lots of scholarships out there. It just takes discipline and being proactive to give yourself the best shot at getting financial help. -Sydney

  8. says

    These are great tips. I’m working with grants and scholarships to try to get mine done debt free. My field won’t be paying enough for it to be worth it to me to come out with loans. So far…so god.

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