Consider These College Options to Cut Costs

Brandon Hong had to figure out how to finance his education. Interested in a military career, the San Jose, Calif., native applied for a Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship from the federal government. Not only did he receive it, but the college he chose to attend—Boston University—gave him additional aid, covering virtually all of his costs. Hong majored in aerospace engineering and graduated this past May. He has been commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.

"ROTC is kind of like a full-time job on top of classes," Hong says. "But you learn how to manage your time." And it definitely helped that BU is "really, really supportive of the program," he adds. Hong considered other colleges with ROTC programs—including the University of California—San Diego and George Washington University in Washington, D.C.—but their financial aid packages weren't as generous. Attending the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., was another option Hong weighed, but the application process seemed burdensome, and he wanted a more typical college experience.

[Learn how colleges determine financial aid packages.]

Now in pilot training, Hong could spend a decade or more fulfilling his commitment to the Air Force, but he is quick to see the upsides. He avoided taking out any loans at a time when the average student with loans graduates $27,000 in debt, and he avoided job-hunting in a sluggish economy.

For most students, going to college remains an expensive proposition. The College Board reports that in 2010-11, after adjusting for inflation, tuition and fees at public four-year universities were 3.59 times what they were in 1980-81, while at private four-year colleges the figure was 2.86. Though financial aid can dramatically reduce the debt load, students who make smart decisions when choosing a school can reduce their costs—and not just by enrolling in ROTC.

Some other ideas:

Go to community college, then transfer: One alternative for high school grads is to attend a local community college—where tuition is relatively cheap—for a year or two before transferring to a four-year institution. In California, it costs about $864 a year for full-time tuition at a community college versus about $12,150 within the University of California system; students can also save on room and board by living at home.

Starting out at a community college offers other advantages when the time comes to apply to a four-year school. For instance, roughly two thirds of transfer students accepted by Amherst College in Massachusetts come from community colleges. At the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, the figure is more than 30 percent.

Earlier this year, the University of Massachusetts—Lowell said it would help transfer students finish their bachelor's degrees by providing up to four semesters of free tuition for those who earn associate degrees (with at least a 3.0 GPA) at one of the state's 15 community colleges. Other state university systems across the country are offering similar opportunities.

Go to an in-state school: Historically, a student who chose to go to a public university in another state has had to pay considerably higher tuition than in-staters. At the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, for instance, in-state tuition and fees for full-time freshmen are currently $12,634, compared to $37,782 for out-of-state students. At the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, the difference in tuition and fees is similarly large: $7,008 for residents versus $26,834 for nonresidents.