Tuition Hacks

[PT Hopeful2]

Looking for any advice to reduce the price of tuition. How many programs offer reduced tuition if I were to, say, become a graduate teaching assistant for an undergraduate anatomy and physiology course, or become a resident assistant in the dorm rooms? Which programs are known to offer opportunities such as these?

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[jadedphysiotherapist]

You can't hack tuition. You pay for all of it. Teaching positions are given at some places but it's just pocket money for some meals during the week. It can even interfere with your studies. We had classmates work at the apartment complexes they lived at or bartended but that was to offset living cost. It's also hard to tell if you'll be able to integrate information fast enough to actually be able to work or if you have to study much harder than classmates though so it isn't recommended

 

[truthseeker]

some will technically reduce tuition if you are a gross anatomy TA but it is at probably $10/hour. i.e. it is just a job. Its not like research graduate students getting free tuition in Chemistry for example.

 

[pegasuscvc]

There's no way to "reduce tuition" per-se, but these may help you:

1. Try to get a graduate assistantship. Mine required me to work 10 hours a week for the department but gave me $2,000 a semester in the form of a $500 pay check every month.
2. Look up "oddball" scholarships. Sometimes your university's department will have a list of them. These are from private organizations, so you have to fill out apps for them outside of the FAFSA. I got one that was $500 a semester.
3. Look and see if your state offers any grants or anything. Since FAFSA is federal, it doesn't include these state-specific grants. Some schools will consider you for these automatically if you fill out the FAFSA. Some will not. I got one that was $300 per semester.
4. My school had "tuition wavers." As the name implies, the student's tuition was waived. They had out-of-state tuition waivers, which meant out-of-state students could pay in-state tuition instead, and then they had in-state tuition waivers, which meant the recipient paid nothing. Not all universities do this. If they do, the waiver is only good for one year or even one semester. If they do have them, you have to apply for them outside of the FAFSA. These are also often based on financial need. To give you an idea, my class of 32 people had 3 out-of-state waivers and then I think only 1 in-state waiver. The in-state waiver went to a guy who was married with 4 kids. I got an out-of-state one for only one semester, but it makes a difference!
5. This is a true reduction of "Tuition and Fees" but not tuition specifically. Most universities require that you have health insurance and automatically enroll you in their own university plan. Very often, you can get that waived by buying your own cheaper health plan, staying on your parents' plan if you're under 26, or even enrolling in Medicaid if you're eligible. For instance, my alma mater's fee for coverage is now $1,111 per semester for health insurance. I don't remember exactly, but I found a private plan that worked out to $480 a semester instead, saving me $630 a semester.

Total

$10,000 total for 5 semesters graduate assistantship (3 semesters I didn't have it)
$4,000 total private scholarship (8 semesters x $500)
$2,400 total state grant (8 semesters x $300)
$5,000 out-of-state tuition waver
$5,040 from getting cheaper insurance (8 semesters x $630)

$26,440 total savings. For working ten hours a week, filling out some forms, and writing a couple of essays, it was worth it.