What to Do if You Can't Afford College (Even With Financial Aid)

Key takeaways

To pay for college, students may consider borrowing money for tuition or working while earning their degree. Explore key facts:

• Public, in-state schools typically cost $11,610 a year, compared to private institutions, which cost $43,350 annually [1].

• Common ways to pay for college include taking out loans, earning scholarships, or through income and savings from students and their parents.

• You can explore alternatives to traditional college, such as earning an associate degree, enrolling in trade school, or directly entering the workforce.

Explore some common ways to fund a college education, as well as ways you can approach your next steps if you can’t afford college.

How to pay for college

People commonly draw from several financial resources in order to pay for college. According to research from Sallie Mae, the typical family pays for college through the following funding sources [2]:

• Income and savings (48 percent of total funding)

• Scholarships and grants (27 percent)

• Borrowing (23 percent)

• Family and friends (2 percent)

According to this data, financial aid, including scholarships, grants, and loans, accounts for only 50 percent of tuition, leaving students with an immediate cost of half of the tuition, or about $15,418.50 per year [3].

These numbers are based on averages across all types of colleges, but there are some lower-cost college options as well. Public, in-state schools tend to cost less than private schools, with an average sticker price of $11,610 annually compared to $43,350, according to the College Board [1]. Some community colleges also offer bachelor’s degrees. Although this is a rare offering, it can be a more affordable option. Additionally, online colleges tend to cost less than in-person institutions due to lower overhead expenses.

Learn more about the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and key application deadlines.

How to make money in college: Working while attending college

Many students work while attending college. Flexible education options, such as evening classes, attending school part-time, or taking online courses, enable students to balance their jobs with school.

In the US, full-time workers with a high school diploma earn a median wage of $930 per week [4]. Not accounting for taxes or any living expenses, it would take about 12 weeks of full-time work on this salary to earn the $11,610 [1] that people typically pay for one year of college. You may also be able to earn money through passive income streams or side hustles.

Working full-time while pursuing your degree may not be the easiest or most practical path, particularly if you are looking to have a more traditional social experience when you attend college. In this case, it may be worth pursuing an alternative, lower-cost credential before you pursue your degree.

What happens if you can’t afford college tuition?

If the cost of college becomes a barrier to your enrollment, you may consider other options to help fund your schooling, such as applying for scholarships, choosing a budget that fits your financial status, and researching schools that have more affordable options than others. Oftentimes, housing can add to the cost of tuition, so choosing to commute or working for room and board may help reduce your overall costs.

Alternatives to college

Earning your bachelor’s degree isn’t the only way to continue learning after earning your high school diploma. Depending on your career goals, you may be able to qualify for entry-level positions by pursuing the following alternatives to college:

• Certificate programs are a series of courses designed to build and enhance job-specific skills. They tend to cost significantly less than a degree and take less time. Professional Certificates on Coursera take about six months to complete, with 10 hours of study per week.

• Boot camps are intensive and focus on specific job skills, often related to technical or coding careers. They often require a few months of full-time study.

• Apprenticeships are paid, hands-on job-training programs that last between one and three years. They’re typically offered in industries including construction, cybersecurity, energy, health care, hospitality, and transportation.

• Trade school programs require one or two years of study in preparation for a specific career path, such as plumbing, carpentry, cosmetology, and dental hygiene. These programs will typically prepare students to sit for licensing exams in their desired field.

• Associate degrees are not really an alternative to college, but they are shorter programs than a bachelor’s degree, usually taking about two years to complete, and at a lower cost. With these programs, you can expect to take some general education courses and some major courses.

In addition to qualifying for an entry-level position, if you pursue any of the above options, you may be able to earn college credit toward your bachelor’s degree, which can reduce the overall time and money you spend on your degree when you are ready to continue your education. This is often referred to as stacking credentials.

Stacking credentials is becoming increasingly popular among undergraduate students. According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, students with stacked credentials are driving undergraduate degree growth. The number of first-time graduates grew by .5 percent between 2023 and 2024, and the number of graduates with prior credentials also grew by .9 percent [5].

When you are ready to pursue your bachelor’s degree, look for transfer-friendly programs, like Georgetown’s Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies or the University of North Texas’s Bachelor of Applied Arts and Sciences, to maximize the number of previously earned credits that count toward your degree.

Entering the workforce

You don’t have to pursue any education in order to start your career. You can use the skills you’ve developed so far to enter the workforce through internships, entry-level jobs, or by starting your own business.

Many people opt for this route. In fact, the number of nontraditional students earning a degree for the first time is growing at a faster rate than that of traditional students. Following the 2023 to 2024 school year, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center saw a rise in certificate completion for students aged 18 to 20 or 18 and younger [5]. 

How many people can’t afford college even with financial aid?

College affordability is a widespread concern across the United States. A survey from New America found that 84 percent of all adults reported the cost of college as the biggest barrier keeping low-income families from enrolling, and 87 percent of all adults said they weren’t going to college because they can’t afford it [6].

What’s more, 57 percent of unenrolled adult students have expressed interest in returning to college, but remain delayed due to factors such as cost and poor mental health [7].

With the worsening student debt crisis—a collective $1.6 trillion owed by 43 million US borrowers, as of September 2023 [8]—it makes sense to consider your financial health alongside your education goals. When you do, you may find that pursuing the traditional college path may not be the best path for you.

Read more: How Much Does College Cost?

Discovering your next steps 

Subscribe to our Career Chat newsletter on LinkedIn for professional tips and trends as you explore which continuous learning opportunities best suit your needs. Then explore free digital resources:

• Watch on YouTube: Do College Credits Expire? Understanding the Lifespan of Your Academic Credits

• Take a quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

• Gain insights: How to Fit Learning into Your Life: 3 Tips from an Online Learner

Interested in online learning? Complete your bachelor’s degree or pursue your master’s degree with flexible programs from esteemed university partners on Coursera.