"Show me the money. Where can I find it?"
Does this pop in your head constantly as you start a new year? You don't want to be broke during college and stay broke once you're out trying to pay off loans, right?
The average student now graduates with three and a half times more debt than ten years ago. Avoid the college debt trap. Here are a few places you can you begin your search to help "pay" your way.
Brilliance not necessary. Apply for scholarships.
There is such a thing as FREE money.
Paying for beer or paying the rent.
The Lowdown on...
- What's the average debt for a college graduate?
Student loan debt is 85 percent higher among recent college graduates who took on debt while attending public four-year colleges than among graduates from a decade ago. Recent graduates owed an average of $15,100 in 1999/2000, up from $8,200 in 1989/1990. Student loan debt increased by 55 percent among recent graduates of private four-year colleges with student loan debt. These graduates owed an average of $16,500 in 1999/2000, compared to $10,600 in 1989/1990 (all figures in 2002 dollars). (Center for Economic and Policy Research)
- Look who's in debt?
Mike Tyson went bankrupt after earning over 300 million dollars! Burt Reynolds, Kim Basinger, Gary Coleman, Debbie Reynolds all filed bankruptcy after being multi-millionaires. And of course, M.C. Hammer, the famed rapper's forty-member entourage had their hands on all of his money and eventually outspent his $33 million income on lavish day-to-day living. Can't touch this.
