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Health & Fitness

4 Tips For Adult Students To Save Up To $10,000

By Daniel Gerger, President, Adult Education Advocates

The per credit tuition rate for college students continues to rise every year. It seems there is a new report every week about the rising cost of education. Amazingly, student loan debt has reached a national total of $1 trillion.

However, adult students have many opportunities to significantly reduce their costs.  Here are 4 tips to help the adult student save between $5,000 and $10,000 in tuition, based on the 2012 average per credit tuition of $500.  

  1. Prior Learning Portfolios.  At Adult Education Advocates, we have identified colleges and universities that both assess and allow students to receive credit for prior learning, usually in the form of a written portfolio. At many of these schools, students would need to enroll in a Prior Learning Assessment course (for the cost of regular tuition), but that course will itself usually earn students credit, and will prepare them to earn more credits from their portfolios.  Earning six to 12 credits for a portfolio could generate savings of between $1,000 and $4,500.

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  • Transfer credits. Currently there are 36 million adults between the ages of 25 and 64 who have earned some college credit but not a degree.  For anyone in this category, remember the credits you earned are probably transferable. The first thing to do is have your previous transcripts evaluated to determine how many credits could be transferred. You may want to choose the school that accepts the most transfer credits.  If one college accepts 9 credits and another takes 12, the savings would be $1,500 for the 3 extra credits.

  • Discounted tuition for adult students.  Quite a number of colleges with  robust adult programs have a discount rate for nontraditional students.   A quick look at a college in New Jersey and one in New York showed that each school discounted their tuition between 20 percent and 35 percent. At $500 per credit, this would be a savings of approximately $100 and $150 per credit.  For a student who took 24 credits in one year, the savings would be at least $2,400.  

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  • Dual-degree programs.  There are some college programs that allow adult students to take graduate level courses while still an undergraduate student.  Typically, a graduate course costs more than an undergraduate class.  If a student can earn nine graduate level credits and pay undergraduate tuition, the savings would be approximately $2,000 if the student goes on for a graduate degree.

  • Will every student save this much?  No,  some will save less and others will save more.  The point is,  it is important for adult students to find out what is available and take advantage of every opportunity to reduce the cost of tuition.

    Daniel Gerger is the President of Adult Education Advocates, an organization that helps adults make the transition back to college. Dan was the Director of the Adult programs at Manhattanville College and now lives in Maplewood, N.J., with his wife and three children.


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