Free Colleges | brokeGIRLrich
In the personal finance realm, we harp a lot on not going into debt, but some events, like college, make it seem inevitable. While studying hard, being a sports superstar or a musical prodigy are solid approaches to finding scholarships, an often overlooked opportunity is to just go to college for free.
That’s right. Completely for free. That doesn’t mean you might not have to work while on campus or move to some crazy area, but it can be done. You may also have to make post-graduation commitments (like military academies) or put up with a lot of religious classes, but if you’re committed to getting that piece of paper for free, here are a few institutions to check out:
Webb Institute – if you’re certain about what you want to study or don’t care at all and will study anything for free, this single degree institution, a dual bachelor’s degree in naval architecture and marine engineering, could be for you.
Keep in mind that while tuition is free, the school does not accept any AP courses and if you try to transfer in, it does not accept any credit from other schools, so you become a freshman again. That being said, you won’t pay a penny for tuition.
College of the Ozarks – this is a great choice for anyone who grew up in the Ozarks and doesn’t mind a religiously bent education. The school is fully accredited with a wide variety of majors (even theater).
The school has a work program that all students are required to participate in, doing anything from janitorial work to farming, and they do earn a small stipend, below minimum wage, for this work, this stipend is applied directly to cover their tuition by the college.
Students still have to cover cost of living and are required to apply for the FAFSA – additional funds they receive from this are applied to their college tuition.
It is also worth noting that the school does occasionally accept applicants from outside the Ozarks region and gives children of alumni preference as long as they apply before February 15th.
Berea College – this is another choice for those who don’t mind a religious college. Additionally, it doesn’t have any sort of location requirements, applicants can be from anywhere in the world and the school is accredited.
Located in Kentucky, they have a pretty good selection of basic degrees to select from and similar to College of the Ozarks, Berea College has a labor program that students are expected to participate in.
Military Academies – if you’re willing to serve your country for a few years after graduation and are a stellar student, preferably with an ROTC background, you could apply to one of the national military academies like the Citadel, the Air Force Academy, the Naval Academy, West Point, the Coast Guard Academy or the Merchant Marine Academy.
These free educations come at the requirement of several years enlistment in the respective branches of military.
German Universities – if you’re willing to travel, several countries have programs in English where you can earn your degree for free, keep in mind though that while tuition is free, room and board often is not. Germany is leading the charge though with an extensive list of universities that offer their programs in English as well as being one of the few places where graduate degrees are also available.
How far would you go to have been able to graduate college debt free?
Please note the corrections from the original article in purple and thanks to Mark, a College of the Ozarks alumni, for pointing them out.
I have heard about the free colleges in other Countries before. I wonder if you leave the U.S, to go to Germany to take advantage of the free degree, are you more likely to stay there after graduating.
Brian @ Debt Discipline recently posted…What Would You Sayâ¦
I’m not sure. I went to England for my graduate degree and we had one other out of country student. She stayed. I left. I wonder if that’s kind of average.
I definitely wouldn’t do military school, but I wonder if I would do the religion thing (even though you know I’m vehemently against it). Even with healthcare I’ve been wondering about the ministries- it seems so unfair that it’s something only available to religious sects.
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I wonder if healthcare ministries are only available to religious sects or if a secular version of it just hasn’t been created yet? Arguable atheism and agnosticism are religions as well – they should be able to create their own healthcare “ministry.”
I knew quite a few people who were not religious when I went to a strict Baptist college who chose to attend because there were lots of scholarships and tuition was considerably lower. They were mostly easy going people who had a “whatever” attitude towards the religious stuff they had to attend and sort of just looked at it as an extra class is a subject they were indifferent to.
I graduated from College of the Ozarks and wanted to correct a few things.
There is no stipend for student’s 15 weekly hours of campus work (plus a 40 hour week of work per semester). The “pay” for work hours is applied directly to the cost of education, but there is no money exchanged.
Applying for a Pell Grant via the FAFSA is also required and any money received goes to the College.
There are some hoops to jump through to be admitted and not get kicked out, but the value is definitely there.
Hi Mark!
Thanks, I must’ve misread the website – or it wasn’t very clear on where that “pay” was going. I’ll update it now.
My dad went to school for free, the Air Force Academy, and he tried to get all 4 of his kids to go to a military school, but it just wasn’t something any of us saw in our future.
Shannon @ Financially Blonde recently posted…My Top Ten Foolish Money Choices
That’s understandable – of all of them, the military academies are definitely the biggest life altering commitment to make.
After scholarships and grants, I got to go to college for free. Though, if I had done it all over, I certainly would consider going abroad!
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My husband and I often talk about moving to Germany for graduate school. We’re adventurous and why not! We’re definitely keeping that option in our back pockets.
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That’s awesome. I didn’t even know about their programs until I read this and now I’ve got the idea of applying there to doctoral programs floating in the back of my mind.
This is an awesome post! Pinning! Also, Stanford is now free except for room and board as long as family income is under $125k. A lot of ivy league schools are essentially free if you have a low income, but this one’s a record setter. For those other ivy league institutions, even if you have a middle class income your tuition ends up being cheaper than other private universities after the aid from endowments etc. The only catch is you’ve got to make the cut. :p
femmefrugality recently posted…The One-Page Financial Plan
I just read that article about Stanford too. Definitely a step in the right direction!
For sure! Quite honestly the concept isn’t new to ivy league schools with lots of money, but the income limits for Stanford being raised is what made the news.
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