Just graduated high school? Here are essential money tips you need for college
This paid piece is sponsored by The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.
This piece is part of a three-part series on money tips for graduates. Stay tuned for money tips for high school graduates entering the workforce and money tips for college graduates.
Hey Class of 2022, congratulations on your graduations! Not to sound weird or anything, but weâre so proud of everything youâve accomplished, and we canât wait to see what you do next Ââ especially when it comes to your money.
You see, now that youâve walked across that high school stage and are gearing up to attend college, you have a lot of money considerations to think about. But just like when deciding what to bring to your new dorm room, weâre going to focus on the essentials:
College supply list
Letâs start small, and work our way up. The least daunting money essential you should be thinking about is getting all the items on your school supply list.
Chances are youâre going to need a laptop. But you donât need the biggest, newest or best laptop right now â you just need something reliable that will last for a few years.
Ask your soon-to-be professors and instructors what laptop they recommend. Theyâll be able to give you the best guidance on if you need the latest MacBook or if something like a Chromebook or HP will do just fine.
For those of you planning to live in the dorms or your own apartment, youâll probably need to furnish your new temporary home. Make sure to create a budget, starting with the absolute necessities and working your way down to the âwantsâ so that you donât overspend.
One of the need-to-haves for your supply list? A student checking account so that, in case you forget to bring an essential to college with you, you can make a withdrawal at the nearest ATM or possibly have mom and dad transfer money to your account to help you out.
Also, keep in mind that itâs better to buy less before you move; then, when youâre in your new dorm room and decide that you just have to have that fuzzy body pillow or gaming chair, you can always buy one later.
Lastly, remember that you will have to buy books for your classes, and they will be expensive. Always, always do comparison shopping when it comes to textbooks. You probably wonât pick most of them up ever again after you finish school, so rent as many books as you can or find a cheaper online version.
College scholarships
Earning a scholarship â no matter how big or small Ââ is like earning a golden ticket to Willy Wonkaâs chocolate factory. And earning multiple scholarships, well, thatâs like earning multiple golden tickets!
Because the thing about scholarships is that theyâre free money. Donât tell us that you donât like free stuff.
Branch manager Kyle Aspaas at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls knows a thing or two about scholarships; after all, his youngest child is a 2022 high school graduate.
âThink about it this way,â he said. âIf you take a $500 scholarship and put three hours into the application and an hour or two into writing an essay, youâve got five hours into a $500 scholarship. Thatâs $100 an hour.â
When it comes to finding scholarships to apply for, Aspaas recommends the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundationâs scholarship resource. His other suggestions include seeing if any activities or organizations youâre involved in offer scholarships, talking to your future advisor, checking out the âCounselorsâ section on your high schoolâs website and even just taking time to Google âscholarships.â
However you choose to look for them, donât stop until youâre done with college because you can keep earning free money throughout your school years.
College tuition (duh)
Obviously, weâre going to mention tuition here; we were just saving it for last so we didnât scare you away.
And yes, thinking about paying tens of thousands of dollars in tuition can be scary, but there are ways to make it less so.
First, some schools are just more expensive than others — and some are way, way more expensive. Before you get your heart set on a school, make sure you can afford it. Sometimes, the value of going to an in-state school is worth it if it has a good program for your intended field of study.
âWhen determining the value of a school, think about how much it matters where you go versus what you learn when youâre there,â Aspaas said. âSome other things that add value include the student-teacher ratio of a school, the proximity of a school to your home and the atmosphere of the town or city itself.â
Once you decide on a school â whether itâs your dream school or not â you need to determine how to best pay for your tuition. If you can work while youâre in school, consider doing that. And in some cases, it might be a good idea to take a year off and save up some money first.
âThere are a lot of things people can do with a gap year, including bank a lot of money,â said best-selling author Bobbi Rebell on our podcast, “Common Cents on the Prairie.”âąÂ âItâs easier to have the money in advance and never have the loan than to be paying back the loan while you’re living life as an independent adult.â
Backup plan
You may think that you have the next two to four years of your life planned out — or maybe you have nothing planned out, which is A-OK — but nothing about your future is guaranteed. Thatâs why Aspaas suggests having a backup plan, whether thatâs a financial one or otherwise.
âYou always need options,â he said. âYou might get to school and realize itâs not the right fit or that youâre not quite ready. Maybe youâll go to school farther away from home, and it wonât be quite what youâre expecting. You have to have the flexibility to make changes.â
If you do decide that college isnât right for you and to enter the workforce instead, stay tuned for part two of this three-part series on money tips for graduates, or reach out to Kyle Aspaas for more essential tips!
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