Harness Money

College can be a really valuable experience. But it can also be a really troubling experience if you do not know what you are doing.

I have 2 undergraduate college degrees. My first degree I received, but did poorly. I went back to school and received my second college degree and did amazing. What changed was that I had a completely different approach to my plan and execution.

1. Take a break if you need to between high school and college. Get a regular job or go traveling. Or pursue a dream. Something other than school of a short time.

2. Take community college courses. In High School and during the summer. These credits usually transfer over to the major Universities and are much more affordable than Public and Private colleges.

3. Take summer courses. Rather than try to cram everything into one semester, spread it out and focus more one singular classes.

3.  Try to figure out your major before you go to college and do not switch.

4. Listen to your internal monologue about what you want to do rather than your parents or advisers. They are not going to be in the trenches doing the work for you.

5. Do not take out more student loans than you will make in the first year of your job. If I am being honest try to avoid student loans all together.

6. Get some type of campus or small job you can do to make extra money.

7. Focus on the education. College has become so unaffordable, many student cannot afford to waste their time and money on things that will not provide a long term monetary reward.

You may not need college. There are many high-paying jobs that do not require a college degree. Read my articles in the Earning Money section. Do not go to college because you are pressured. Go because you have a passion to do a certain job and college is one of the avenues to get there.

College will always be there, ready to take your money. I went to during a time when the United States was in a financial crisis and there were many older students going back to school to get better degrees.