|
University of Nebraska-Lincoln students may not be able to avoid paying rising tuition and fees.
But they are certainly looking for ways to save money on the other big costs of college: books, room and board.
Although she is from Lincoln, senior Kassandra Braaten has chosen to live on campus because she believes it saves her money.
"I don't have a car, so if I lived at home I'd need a car and a parking pass and all of that stuff," she said. "It's just easier and cheaper for me to live on campus."
She has also become competitive in her approach to cutting her college costs. For the past two years Braaten has tried to win free tuition in the Tuition Mission, a contest in which a selected group of UNL students live on a bus and compete against each other in games and challenges to win free tuition for a year.
"Last year I was in the Top 10," she said. "This year I finished fifth. It's tough to vote people off because a lot of kids are doing it because they really need it."
Other students are trying to make a difference by cutting back on what they pay for books. First-year student Emily Shaw saved money by returning books she had bought. "I heard there was competition going between the two book stores," she said. "So I returned my books and went to the other store. I saved like $10 or $12."
Shaw also saves money, she said, by not eating in restaurants and by asking herself two questions: Do I need it, and is it worth it?
For the first time Shaw now has a debit card and a credit card. With the cards came a discussion with her parents on financial responsibility.
Kendra Morgan, another first-year student, got the same talk from her parents. "They just told me the general stuff," she said. "Basically, don't waste money."
Morgan didn't buy furniture or a television for her dormitory room. Coordinating with her roommate before moving in helped both of them save money, she said.
Cousins Will Larson, a sophomore, and Max Rodenburg, a freshman, have noticed more sharing of textbooks on campus.
"Textbooks are expensive," Rodenburg said. "I actually brought my calculus book from high school because it's the same one we're using in my class here. The book I had to buy for my accounting class was $225, so book-sharing can make a difference."
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed
