How to Make Money In College Without Dropping Classes
How to make money in college can be a challenge but is almost a necessity nowadays with how expensive things have become. Unless you don’t mind coming out of college with $50,000 or more in student loan debt, you need to find ways to make money in college.
Trust me, you want to try to keep those student loans down as much as possible. Your future self will thank you greatly. I have seen friends come out with $60,000 plus in student loan debt who are still repaying those loans after almost ten years. It is pretty crazy!
To help you minimize your student loan debt we are going to show some awesome and flexible ways to make money in college.
1. Donate Plasma
This was my go-to on how to make money in College. Sadly, I tended to use this money for beer rather than responsibility but it could be a good way for someone to make $300 or more a month.
If you are not scared of needles, this is the way to make money in college for you. When you arrive you need to go through a brief check-up for your temperature and answer some questions. Once in the back, you get to lay on a comfy bed for the next 60-90 minutes. During this time you can read, watch a movie, work on school work, or even earn more money another way.
There are many plasma donation companies around the country. I donated through Biolife Plasma during my time in college.
2. Drive with Uber or Lyft
If you are able to bring a car with you to campus then you should check out driving for Uber or Lyft. These companies let you drive whenever you need to so this is a super flexible option for you.
How much do these drivers make? Well, that depends on your location and the time you are able to drive. In general, it is said that most earn anywhere from $10 to $30 an hour.
3. Get Rewarded for Your Good Grades
Some students are so busy they have zero time to earn cash outside of studying.
If this is you, do not be afraid to reach out to your dean to see if your school offers any rewards for good grades. Some universities will actually give students cash bonuses for maintaining good grades.
This also can be an opportunity to improve your scholarships for the upcoming terms. Do not be afraid to look for new scholarship opportunities as your progress through your academic career.
4. Research Studies
A lot of major universities will have a psychology department or some might even have a medical school. This might be an opportunity to be a guinea pig for a student that the psych graduate students are performing for their thesis or maybe for a medical research study.
I was able to participate in a psychology study during my time at Iowa State University. I earned $20 for 60-minutes worth of time. That is not a bad return!
5. Buy and Resell Textbooks
I did not resell textbooks to earn some income but at the end of the term, I would sell my used up books to recover some costs. Other people are a lot smarter than I am. Some students will find cheap textbooks on eBay then turn around and sell them for a profit on websites like BookScouter or Amazon.
Do some research with your University’s bookstore to see which books are required by classes most. Then go hunting for that book at a lower cost.
6. Tutor
Many universities offer tutoring services. If you are good at helping others and there is a subject you are good at, this might be your way on how to make money In college. Since you are working for the university they will work with your academic schedule.
In today’s world, there are some online tutoring options too, such as Wyzant. This is great if you are looking for more flexibility or your university has no openings.
7. Become a Virtual Employee
Virtual employment is something that has blown up in the last several years. This can be a great flexible opportunity for students to earn cash from their own dorm room. There are many virtual jobs you can try out.
- Virtual Assistant: Being a virtual assistant you work with someone else such as a blogger to help them complete tasks and stay organized.
- Transcriber: If you are quick on the keyboard this might be how you make money in college. Many firms in the medical or legal fields need transcribers to help with translating their notes. My sister did this for a doctor and she made a good amount of money.
- Recruiter: A lot of job recruiting can be done virtually now. Here you will help connect with potential candidates, post jobs, screen resumes, and other preliminary tasks.
8. Amazon Flex
Speaking of virtual jobs, Amazon offers a couple of online opportunities as well.
Amazon Flex is Amazon’s package delivery service. Driver’s can earn a pretty good amount of money while delivering packages for Amazon Flex. Their website claims that most drivers earn $18-$25 an hour. That is much better than what we read about with Uber and Lyft.
9. Mechanical Turk
This is a new one to me but sounds like an awesome opportunity. “Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) is a crowdsourcing marketplace that makes it easier for individuals and businesses to outsource their processes and jobs to a distributed workforce who can perform these tasks virtually.” (Amazon MTurk).
Some tasks include simple data validation and research, survey participation, content moderation, and more.
To be honest, this might be one I try out for myself.
10. Sell a Skillset
Are you good with computers? Are you crafty? Handy?
If so, you can sell your skill set. You can charge to fix computers (BTW, this is how Dell Computers got started). Or you can help a dormmate decorate their dorm room. Maybe a neighbor down the street needs some handiwork done. All of these items bring the opportunity to earn some money while in college.
You can also start selling skillsets on Upwork, Fiverr, or any other freelance website.
11. Help in the Local Community
There are always people that need help in the community that your university is a part of. Some tasks include help with moving, lawn care, painting, walking their dog, and so on. The list could go on and on.
Check out Craig’s List, TaskRabbit, or even Rover to find how you can make money in college while helping in the local community.
11. Foap
Foap is another one that is new to me. Like MTurk, I will also probably check this one out.
As a former professional photographer, I am very impressed by the quality of photographs phones take nowadays. With Foap, you can now sell those awesome photos you are taking on your cell phone.
Simply put, this is stock photography for mobile photography. Once you upload a high-quality photo for Foap, someone can buy a license for that photo for $10. Foap gets $5 and you take home $5. If your photo is downloaded 20 times, you just made $100.
Here are some stock photography tips for you.
12. Work in the Retail or Food Industry
I worked at JCPenny during my last couple of years of college. Working for a retail store or restaurant in a college town is pretty flexible. They know how to schedule for students and actually tend to overhire to account for students’ schedules.
I worked in the shoe department so I got paid hourly plus commission. Some weekends I would earn $200-$300 just off of that commission.
I will admit, working in retail or in the food industry is not that fun but they will probably earn you a consistent paycheck.
Conclusion
Well, that is it. Those are the only ways to make money in college!
Just kidding! Do none of these ways on how to make money in college sound good to you? Do not worry! Andrew and I have you covered. Over the years we have put together one of the largest lists on the internet with ideas on how to make money. I highly recommend you check it out!
Wallet Squirrel is a personal finance blog by best friends Andrew & Adam on how money works, building side-hustles, and the benefits of cleverly investing the profits. Featured on MSN Money, AOL Finance, and more!
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