Earning a college degree is a huge investment in time and money. In fact, the average student attending a private college paid over $33,000 in tuition alone during the 2016-2017, along with almost $12,000 in room and board fees.
If you are like many students, you may have had to take out loans to help fund your college education. However, if you have yet to graduate, have reached the federal loan limits, and have bad credit that led to you being denied for private loans, then you may be wondering how you can fund your last year of college or graduate school.
Read on to learn two ways you can still gain some extra money to pay for schooling.
1. Launch a Crowdfunding Campaign
You may have run across crowdfunding campaigns on the social media websites you visit and saw crowdfunding platforms being used to raise money for medical expenses and business start-up costs. However, you may not realize that it is not uncommon for students to use crowdfunding websites to raise money for the cost of their college educations.
In fact, many crowdfunding websites encourage students to use their services to help fund their educations and have even written handy guides to help students gain campaign exposure.
According to crowdfunding professionals, campaigns started to fund college educations are more successful when they include videos, appeal to the current working professionals in the industry the college student is majoring in, and offer small rewards. While you may not feel like you have anything to give away as a reward today, think of one that you can offer once you have graduated and are on your path to success in your industry.
2. Pawn Valuables You Don't Need During the School Year
While you may not feel comfortable selling your valuable items to pay for your last year of college, especially sentimental ones, you can use them to fund your education without selling them entirely if you trade them in to a pawnshop for a loan.
Think of all objects around your home that have value that you won't need during the school year, and you may realize that you have a lot of items that you can "do without" until you finish your education and are employed. Unlike other lenders, pawnshops do not perform credit checks when they issue loans, so your bad credit won't affect your ability to obtain one.
If you have any expensive jewelry, then realize that, depending on its value, you may be able fund your schooling with the money you obtain for pawning a diamond ring.
Factors that the pawn shop owner or staff member will take into consideration when deciding how much money you can borrow when you temporarily trade in a diamond ring include:
- The metal the ring band is made of and its purity. High-karat gold and platinum bands are worth more than bands made of silver.
- The size and quality of the diamond your ring features. Pawn shops loan more cash to borrowers with rings that feature diamonds that are larger and have greater clarity.
- The cut and color of your diamond. If the cut or color of your diamond makes it especially valuable, then the pawn shop will be sure to take that into consideration when determining the size of your pawnshop loan.
Before you take your diamond ring to the pawn shop, be sure to clean it if you haven't lately. When your ring is clean, the pawn shop staff will be able to determine the clarity of your diamond more quickly and accurately, which will help you walk away with that loan you need faster.
You will likely have to pay the interest on your pawn shop loan on a regular basis after you obtain your loan, although the payments will likely be small; be sure to ask how much you will have to pay the pawn shop in interest fees while you are continuing your education and ensure you can make those payments when they are due to make sure your loan does not default.
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