As if college itself wasn’t stressful enough,
nothing can weigh on the mind like crushing loan debt. Having a job to
alleviate some of that financial pressure would be nice, but when you’re an architecture
student studying 30 hours a day, where will you find the time for a regular
job?
Luckily, there are plenty of ways for you to
earn some supplemental income while you’re contributing the majority of your
time to your studies.
Selling
Unused Clothes
This plan sounds quite tedious, and it can be
if not executed properly. Sorting through your clothes is exceedingly mundane,
even when it’s just to put them away during the laundry process.
And remember, you have to make time to study,
so you can’t waste any of it separating old clothes from the rest. You need an
efficient way to market the clothes you know you can get rid of, and that
people would want to buy.
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| Image by Nikolay Frolochkin |
Utilizing social media is an effective way to
market your clothing, as well as set up and close sales. All it takes is a
little legwork. Take a picture or two of the article of clothing and post that
picture to a group in Facebook, direct message it to people you think would be
interested in it, or post it on Instagram using the #ShopMyCloset hashtag.
And if you don’t have the time to sit down one
afternoon and sort through all of your clothes, kill two birds with one stone. When
you’re doing your laundry (your clothes have to be cleaned eventually), pay
attention to what clothes are left sitting dormant in your closet and drawers.
More often than not, these are clothes that
don’t fit you anymore, or that you’ve simply forgotten about. No matter the
reason, they would be much more useful in the hands (or on the body) of a
person who would actually wear them.
Volunteering
for Scientific Studies
This is the method that is most likely to net
you the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time. Research
institutions all over the country are constantly looking for test subjects to take
part in experiments for new drugs, studying diseases and even sleep studies.
For as much as thousands of dollars at a time,
you could offer your body and
health in a variety of ways, such as battling the flu, lying down in bed or donating
bodily fluids.
You can participate in experiments that allow
doctors and medical students to understand how our bodies fight diseases, and
others that allow them to observe sleep patterns. No matter the experiment,
most researchers are more than willing to fork out some extra cash to keep them
from having to become the experiment subject.
If you don’t really mind being a lab rat, go
ahead and take the money!
Selling
Your Car
Before you say it, no, this isn’t a suggestion
that you sell whatever car you have right now. Obviously, if you need a car in
order to function, you should have a car.
But you don’t have to have a nice car. An easy
way to raise money that could be dedicated to paying for school is to sell a
classic or vintage automobile.
There are many models made before 1971 that
have market values in
excess of $19,700 today. The 1967 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am in particular would
rake in an incredible $136,000 in 2016.
Sure, you look pretty sweet cruising around
town in a classic ride. But you know what’s even sweeter? Relief from $100,000
in student loan debt.
Tutoring
You’re already studying anyway, so you might
as well teach other people how
to become better students, especially if their particular struggle is in a class
you passed with ease.
College students will be very willing to pay
you to help them pass a test, write a long essay or even improve their overall
grade in a crucial class.
Your hours can be whatever you want them to
be, and there are no contracts or limitations to how much your workload can be
from month to month. If you know everything about the SAT, ACT, and subject tests, then you can help future college students as well!
The best part is that the better you are at
tutoring, the more referrals you’ll get, thus increasing your earning
potential. You’re basically getting paid to study, and help others get better
at studying. You never know, you might even help your own grades at the same
time!
