3 Radical Ways To Pay For College
When a student is in her/his Junior year in High School, a major focus is on colleges. And how to pay for tuition and living expenses, if not living at home.
The usual approach to cover the shortfall is from parents contribution. Or the student doing part-time work, like in a fast food place, or serving tables at a restaurant.
I want to consider three radical ways to pay for college that will not include the above traditional approach. It is to create an online business, preferably Affiliate Marketing.
This approach is through a collaboration between parents and the student. The goal is to apply for as many scholarships possible. It is the rare student who receives enough to finance their whole college education. Then create an online generated income to provide for the shortfall. The objective is to have all the funds available before the student enters college so that there will be no financial issues.
The money should be deposited in a bank account designated for college expenses. And the withdrawal should be controlled by the parents.
The 3 Options - A Matter of Timing
I want to explore three radical options the parents and their child should consider as follows:
- Start before the child enters High School - Collaborative effort
- Start when the child is a Junior. The child makes most of the effort.
- Start after graduation. The child works full time online from home and delays college until funds are accumulated. This is a better option than working at a job. It may delay the college entrance for a couple of years, but will be well worth it.
Parents are very busy people. Especially if both have careers. A single parent even more so. The first approach is for the parents to start their own Affiliate Marketing business before their child even starts High School.
They should tell their child about their plan to build an online business, the sole purpose being to earn money specifically to pay for their college education. The parents must get their child involved in the setting up of their Affiliate Marketing business, as they will be working this business either with their parents in options 1 and 2, or on their own in option 3.
This could be an amazing collaborative effort that shares the responsibilities. Kids these days are adept at everything online. So working on a website can be really exciting. Planning the project and setting key elements to a schedule would be critical to ensure it stayed on track.
Business Planning Activities
The following outline is a suggestion of activities required that are applicable to all three options.
- Brainstorm niche. It should be something at least the parents are passionate about, that would also provide solutions to potential customers.
- List out the products and/or services that are related to their niche.
- Document what companies have affiliate marketing programs for those item.
- Sketch out the nature of at least 50 Blogs they will need for their website. These will cover standard Affiliate Marketing categories like, reviews, comparisons, applications, etc.
- Sign Affiliate Agreements with affiliate companies that carry the products
- Create titles for each of these Blogs that meet the keyword requirements for SEO
- Research how these titles play on the Google Search Engine, and tweak.
- Plan on one Blog per week. Over four years that will result in 200 Blogs minimum.
- Create a picture library using non copyrighted material to illustrate the Blogs.
- Find a website hosting service to use for your website.
- Decide what website software you want to use. I recommend WordPress.
- Select a Theme for the website
- Based on the niche, create a website domain name. Have a few handy just in case.
- Create the website foundation and menu structure.
- Start writing the Blogs.
- Learn all about Google Search Console and Google Analytics and how to use them
- Learn all about Search Engine Optimization and how to create the Blogs for traffic
- Learn how to get the website and Blogs indexed and ranked on the search engines.
- Track results.
- Repeat activities 14 to 18
- Refine
Once these activities are performed successfully, traffic will build in time to start attracting paying customers and thereby create a regular stream of income.
Want to Speed Up The Above Process?
The heavy lifting has already been done for you parents and students. Two visionaries called Kyle and Carson have spent over 10 years perfecting an online business building machine called Wealthy Affiliate. They are headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. Let me tell you a little about what they offer:
- Free Starter Online Course
- Beginners training course - 10 lessons, includes videos and exercises
- Affiliate Bootcamp training - 1 Phase of 10 lessons, includes videos and exercises
- 2 websites and hosting
- Website backup
- Personal affiliate blog
- Video walk throughs
- 30 free keyword searches
- 2 training classrooms
- Affiliate Program
- Earn while you learn (pays half of Premium on affiliate program)
- Live help - free for 1st 7 days
- 1 on 1 coaching free for 1st 7 days
- Premium ($49 a month)
- Beginners training course - 50 lessons, includes videos and exercises
- Affiliate Bootcamp training - 7 Phases for a total of 70 lessons
- 50 websites and hosting
- Website backup
- Personal Affiliate blog
- Video walk throughs
- Unlimited Keyword searches
- 12 training classrooms
- Affiliate Program
- Earn while you learn (pays double on affiliate program)
- Live help - unlimited
- 1 on 1 coaching, unlimited
- Website security package
- Private access to owners Kyle and Carson
- 24/7/365 website support
- Website feedback platform
- Website comment platform
- Website analysis
Options to Pay Less Than $49 a Month
As the bold script shows, Premium has significantly more benefits compared to free membership. And that is to be expected. What you get for the monthly subscription, far exceeds anything offered by other online training platforms. I know, I tried.
The best way to proceed is to join for free first. Kick the tires so to speak. Check out all the features and benefits and decide if this is really for you. You can stay a free member for as long as you wish.
An offer will be presented to you when you join for free. If you upgrade within your first week the fee for the following month is only $19. That is a huge discount. Then is it $49 a month.
Another offer you will get is to transfer to annual billing. The annual fee is $359 that works out to $29 a month! That is a steal my friend! And you can go annual at any time.
How about I throw open the curtains for you to see how Wealthy Affiliate shines! And if you want to sign up for free, all you will need is a valid Email address.
I have a question. Would you prefer your child to get a student loan that will saddle them with debt after they graduate? Or you as parents end up paying a hefty part of the bill?
The answer I hope is heck NO!
I think the alternative I propose is definitely the more sensible way to go. It does require a bit of sweat equity. Spending $1 a day for the training and tools is a bargain. Unlike other places there is no additional charges.
Additional Benefits
Wealthy Affiliate sells private domains for as little as $13.99 for a year. And your Premium membership includes the hosting. This is another amazing deal. If you don't want to pay this, you can keep the free SIteRubix domains. You get 25 of those free. You can still use your own domain name but SIteRubix will be used as the sub-domain.
There is a huge community of members in this group. 1.5 Million and growing. Most are willing to help others with their problems if they can. One of the great benefits is when stuck, you can always ask for help.
And if you want to have more in-depth training, there is a Friday evening webinar every week. These are recorded. So if you can't make it, you can always access the recording. There are advantages to attending live as you can ask questions. And Jay, Wealthy Affiliate's chief education officer will most likely answer you.
But you control what times during the day you make that effort.
Please let me know what you think :)
Happy Exploring!
Recent Comments
22
Edward, excellent information. Your writing is very specific, well written giving parents the rule of thumb ahead of time.
Peace💗
Edwin, I loved this article. It has given me some ideas. I published a Review on my site Sunday about college seniors and college graduates not being able to find jobs, in their chosen profession and otherwise.
Yesterday morning I sat down and started coming up with ideas of how to expand what the Review was about into a new article, to introduce students to WA before they ever reach that point.
You have given me some different ideas to consider. Thank you
Sonny
Glad that this was helpful to you. I found it amazing that you were thinking along the same lines. It validates my thinking too!
All the best.
Edwin
Hello Edwin
I have a daughter. She will be G-10 in the upcoming school year. How to pay for her collage expenses is just a question now. But, surely a life and death after the end of G-12. So far I am thinking about Collage 529 Plan. Now, I am start thinking the above options. Thank you for sharing the three radical ways.
Damo
Damo,
You do need to think about the NEW ASSETS' generation.
The so called regular or mainstream means are but chains to student loans which will then entail having to be part of a corporate culture and workforce which virtually saps both life and independence from all who are part of it. Just so that she can pay the student loans. Sounds like an obvious vicious cycle doesn't it?
What I would suggest, IMHO is to make it into a cause.
Reach out to and form parent groups concerned about the same issue. Talk to them using Edwin's out of the box strategy and all WA has to offer. For less than a cup of coffee a day.
You may wind up being able to help other parents who are still suffering from "limiting beliefs" syndrome, aka normal society standards, all the while you can get new referrals who will trust you.
In the end, that story cna have 2 endings:
1. the parents reject you and carry on the "cradle to grave" legacy
or
2. you educate, help out and liberate them, your daughter and yourself , almost all at the same time.
Just my humble opinion.
Blessings!
Glad this was helpful. You are in a strong position because you can start the process well before the funds are needed. And that was one of my points.
All the best to you.
Cheers.
Edwin
Thanks for your comment. I shall be using this as a basis for a blog on my website.
Cheers.
Edwin
Edwin,
Great post, it goes hand in hand with what I have been saying whereas there is a huge disconnect between old/current assets or potential credit/loans on the one hand, and creating new assets via online or affiliate marketing on the other.
I have covered this very subject on my own WA promoting website, yet sadly most people are still stuck and mired in the concept according to which if they do not have old/current assets or potential credit/loans they are doomed, will have no money forever, will be running out of money in retirement because of fixed income, etc.
One other aspect you could have also mentioned is that, if they decided to go the affiliate marketing route, even after entering college, that college student may also be spared from wearing a hairnet and flipping burgers (no offense there towards those that have to do so and work hard) but rather stay on campus or in the dorm and work on generating passive income by networking in person or over the internet with millions others of like age group who would likely be more inclined to trust a peer and not an older person.
So that is not an insignificant added bonus to what you have already so well detailed above.
In some cases, if that affiliate marketing efforts will be successful and situation would be warranting it, that college student could even drop out of college and pursue it full time.
The old/current assets vs. new assets saga will continue to unfold until people start to wake up to the reality of it.
We can only pray they they all do so very soon.
Blessings!
Thanks for your insights. In fact, why go to college at all ha! I have noticed a few members here who have gone that route, like Jerry Huang.
When I write an extension of this Blog for my website I shall take what you said and use it there.
All the best.
Edwin
Edwin,
Thanks for the kind comments. it is NOT my wisdom, I merely state the obvious.
I do agree with the Jerry Huang system of college dropout, however, in your post the assumption was one of cooperation between parents and future college student. In that scenario, unless the parents are wide awake to the amazing world of online marketing, and would not insist sending their kids to college, that student may have to start college, at least until all agree that being enslaved to student loans and subsequently to a corporate master is not the path to financial independence.
What remains truly PAINFUL is that most of humanity doesn't see nor understand the old/current assets, credit/loans quagmire they have been sold as their "limiting beliefs" deathknell.
Pardon my French, but millions will go to their grave sad, poor and heartbroken because they are 100% enslaved by those "limiting beliefs" of a past era. Much can be attributed to brainwashing in schools, society at large and even home environments.
The "cradle to grave" path is mapped out for them and handed out to them. Stigma and "limiting beliefs" will keep them in line with the script.
WE as the "knowledge industry" disciples can and should be the ones awakening the shackled millions to the reality and possibility of NEW ASSETS and even NEW RENEWABLE ASSETS [in the case of recurring passive income].
Very true. Your points are well taken regarding the parents and the old school of thinking.
In schools failure is frowned upon. Students learn more from failure than from success. Same in corporations.
Those who think differently, succeed differently too.
Cheers.
Edwin
Love the 3 ways you gave.....wish i knew about online business before going to college...it would have save me from student loan debt.
Thank God i know now, and can help others!
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Some fresh thinking here!