How to Overcome Student Debt

Currently, most students completing their education are graduating from university with crippling student debt. This can be a really big setback for young people starting their career as most struggle for a long time to pay off their debt. This is why it is very important for you to know how to overcome student debt.

How to Overcome Student Debt

One of the main things that students of today don’t realize is that student loans are not the only form of financial aid available to you. There are other (and much, much better) financial aid options available. These other options are scholarships, grants, and bursaries that will provide you with financial help without the worry of paying them back later on. The answer to how to overcome student debt is finding ways to get free money, which will help you finance your expenses.

Lots of students are too optimistic when it comes to the impact student loans have after you graduate. One of the things that students fail to realize is that student loans need to be paid back with interest. While it may seem like free money for the years you are studying, starting from the time you graduate, you will see that student loans are halting the progression of your financial life.

There are many cases where student loans could affect major life decisions such as getting a car, buying a house or having children. By overcoming student debt, you can set up your financial life to be ready for the next big step in your personal life.

Student debt is a major problem in today’s society and students need to learn ways that it can be effectively managed. Here you’ll learn about ways that are effective to help overcome student loans and some of them can even help you avoid student loans altogether.

Apply for Scholarships, Bursaries and Grants

Applying for scholarships, bursaries and grants to fund your education is honestly the best way to go about it. Education can be so expensive that it can seriously deter your future. Therefore, these forms of financial aid can be an opportunity unlike any other. We recommend every student consider applying for one of these funding options. To get into more details about the perfect option for you, check out our articles on scholarships or have a look at our scholarship programs.

Students may think that scholarships are for students who have really good academic results and that is partially true, but there are also options such as bursaries that are provided based on the financial need of the student, not grades.

In addition to scholarships, you can start saving before starting college or university. When you are in high school you are most likely living with your parents so you can benefit by not having to worry about paying for your basic needs like living expenses, food and travelling. Since you do not need to pay for these expenses you can try finding a part-time job and start saving. You can even save from your monthly allowance, if you are privileged to get one. Just think about it like this; every penny you save today is a penny less than you will need to borrow in the future.

Finding Less Expensive Colleges

Another effective tactic to overcome student debt is by applying to a college or university that has less expensive tuition. You may think the quality of education at less expensive colleges or universities is lower but that is not true. Most public colleges offer excellent quality education at a much cheaper price.

You should try applying to public colleges or universities that are in your province because they will be significantly cheaper than private ones. Students who graduate from in-province public colleges have a significantly lower amount of student loans than those who graduate from private universities.

There are also colleges that have no loans as a financial policy. Try applying to one of these colleges because they offer very good scholarship programs. This really helps reduce the burden of student loans coming out of your own pocket. Students who study at one of these colleges graduate with significantly less student debt than students who don’t.

Budget as a Student

One of the most important components of how to overcome student debt is budgeting as a student. If you are able to budget as a student effectively, you will graduate with significantly fewer student loans. There are two important factors that you need to consider when budgeting as a student: the total income that you have and the total expense you will incur. Your total expense will mainly consist of your tuition fees, rent, cost of food and travelling expenses.

Before you apply for a student loan you need to carefully budget your income and expenses. You should apply for only the amount that your income is not covering. If you do not calculate the difference between your income and expense before applying for a student loan, you could end up taking on more student loans than you actually need. This contributes to an increase in the student debt you’ll have to pay off later. Students who budget effectively graduate with a lower amount of student loans than students who do not budget carefully.

Reduce your Living Costs

Reducing your living costs can be one of the best strategies for how to overcome student debt. A major part of student loans is caused because of high living expenses. There are a lot of ways that you can reduce costs starting from selling your textbooks. You can also buy older textbooks or try renting books for the semester. This will cut down on your school expenses and keep your budget in check.

Another thing you can do is split your room with another person or if you are studying in the same city as your parents, you can live with them. Both of these options will save a significant amount of money which can be used to pay off your tuition fees.

You’ll also need to consider how much money you spend on entertainment. Students definitely deserve to have fun on the weekend but try to be a little bit more careful about spending money on things you don’t need.

To pay off your tuition fees and increase your sources of income, you can find a part-time job. If you’re up for it, you can even work full time in the summer, which allows you to save up even more and pay for you expenses on your own.

How to Find and Apply for a Scholarship

One of the best answers for how to overcome student debt is by getting a scholarship. Finding and applying for scholarships can be very easy if you know the right steps. There are more than 10 million dollars in scholarships that go unclaimed each year. To help you get the perfect scholarship, apply for one of our programs at GrantMe.    

GrantMe has thousands of scholarships, bursaries and grant information in our database. All you need to do is go to our website and request a scholarship assessment. We will ask you some simple questions and find you scholarships based on your unique profile. We match you with scholarships that you have the best chance of winning. GrantMe even helps with the application process for scholarships so there’s no reason not to apply for as many as you can! To start finding a life-changing scholarship, check out GrantMe’s programs today.

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