How to Make Money as a College Student

1.Getting Paid to Learn

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   Apply for new scholarships and grants. A lot of students think that they are only eligible for funding when they initially apply for admission. This is a mistake! There are often new scholarship opportunities for upperclassmen, though they aren't always widely advertised. You may also be able to apply for external scholarships or grants, which are offered from groups outside of your school.

   • Begin by scoping out bulletin boards on campus and paying careful attention to email announcements.
   • You can also search online for new funding opportunities, and there are apps that you can download for free (or for very little, such as the app Scholly, available for just $.99) that can help you tailor your search.^[1]
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   Offer your services as a tutor. One of the best ways to learn a subject is to teach it. By becoming a tutor, you can hone your own knowledge of your field of study, perform a valuable service to others, and earn some needed cash—it's a win-win scenario for everyone involved!

   • You can often get paid through your school to tutor other students in classes you have completed and done well in, or you can advertise your own services to your fellow classmates.
   • To find tutoring opportunities, meet with your advisor or your professors, or go to the campus tutoring center.
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   Get paid to take notes. You are hopefully already taking careful, thorough notes in your classes for your own benefit. Why not make your efforts pay out double?

   • It's fairly common for students who need special arrangements because of learning disabilities to be assigned a (usually anonymous) note-taker for their classes.
   • These positions are usually compensated—you can often make up to $10 an hour for every hour of class.You'll take careful notes, type them up, and email or drop them off at disability services, where they will be passed on to the students who need them.
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   Watch for emails asking for note-takers. Once a fellow students' needs are documented, disability services will contact the professors and ask for volunteers in the class to take notes, and your professor will in turn email the class.

   • Respond quickly before your fellow cash-strapped students snag the job away from you!
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   Advertise your services yourself. You can also contact disability services directly to see if they have a need for note-takers in the courses you are taking, or you can advertise your services yourself to your fellow classmates.

   • If you advertise yourself, make sure that you aren't violating class or university policy.
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   Proofread your classmates' essays. If you excel at writing and editing, you can hone your skills and get paid for it at the same time by offering to proofread your classmates' papers for a reasonable fee.

   • Spread the word among your friends and roommates, and consider posting fliers which advertise your services.
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   Study the honor code carefully. If you do get work proofreading, be careful about how you offer feedback and make suggestions for revision. You should be very familiar with your school's honor code and rules regarding plagiarism.

   • Double-check the particular professor's policy about sharing written work with others, too. Some professors assign take-home essays that are more like exams, and they forbid students from talking to one another during the writing process.
   • If you rewrite, instead of proofread, someone else's paper, you both could be brought up on academic fraud charges, and you could face serious consequences, to include being expelled.
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   Take advantage of your strong typing and computer skills. If you are a fast and accurate typist, if you are great at creating interesting presentations with sophisticated graphics, or if you excel at creating tables and graphs to represent data, you may be able to get paid to teach and help other students with their assignments and hone your own skills at the same time.
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   Visit Career Services. Most campuses have a Career Services office which counsels students on job market possibilities, and which helps prepare them for applying and interviewing as they near graduation. Don't think, however, that you should only use this resource as a senior.

   • You can often find advertisements for paid internships and part-time work in your field of study at the Career Services office.
   • Finding these opportunities early in your studies will not only help you excel in your field and build up your resume, but can add some much needed cash to your wallet while you learn.
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    Enter academic competitions. You can pretty regularly find advertisements for essay contests and scholarly competitions (such as science or engineering competitions) which offer cash prizes for the top performers.

    • Be on the lookout for these opportunities by regularly checking the bulletin boards around campus (begin by looking in academic departments and the library), going through your email carefully, and by going directly to your advisor and/or professors to see if they know of any such competitions for which you may be a good fit.
    • Even if you don't win, you'll get experience in your field, make connections, and build up your portfolio or work.

Method2

Finding Other Ways to Make Money on Campus

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   Apply for work study. Even if you weren't awarded work study when you first applied to your school, you may be able to apply now. Make an appointment at the financial aid office to see if you can still apply (or reapply, if your financial situation has recently changed).

   • There are all sorts of jobs available on campus, from working in the dining halls, to performing administrative work in academic departments, and even working at campus theaters, where you'll have access to free performances or movies!
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   See if your college participates in the Federal Work Study Program. This program provides part-time work opportunities for students with financial aid, and guarantees that you'll be paid at least the federal minimum wage.^[2]

   • Whenever possible, the positions available are relevant to your area of study and are civic-minded, aimed to serve the public interest.^[3]
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   Become an RA. If you live in the dorms, are an active participant in dorm and campus activities, have a good grade point average, and enjoy working with and counseling others, then becoming an RA (resident assistant) could be a great opportunity for you.

   • While you may not bring home an additional pay-check for being an RA, you'll usually get either free or greatly reduced room and board, which will then free up money for your other expenses. At some schools, though, you may receive a stipend as an RA.^[4]
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   Become a guinea pig. Scope out bulletin boards on campus for advertisements looking for volunteers for psychology studies or medical experiments.^[5]

   • These usually pay a flat rate, though at some schools, you could make up to $20 an hour doing something as simple (and possibly as interesting!) as filling out questionnaires.^[6]
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   Verify that the experiment is safe. Before you agree to participate, make sure that the experiment was approved by an Institutional Review Board or a Human Subjects Participant Program. This will help ensure that your rights and physical and mental well-being are protected.^[7]
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   Look for off-campus research trials. If you can't find opportunities to participate in research on campus, go to the US Government's official clinical trial website to find legit trials in your area. You can also visit the webpages of local hospitals to see if they are looking for participants.^[8]
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   Sell your textbooks at the end of the term. One of your biggest expenses may be the cash you have to set aside for textbooks. You can usually get a good chunk of your money back at the end of the term by selling back your books.

   • Campus bookstores will sometimes buy back books, but many campuses also allow independent companies to set up shop at the end of the term. You can also scope out used bookstores in the area to see if they buy used books.
   • To improve your odds of being able to sell a book (or fetch a good price for it), take care of your books throughout the semester, and avoid marking up the pages with notes and highlighters.
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   Become an organizational guru. It's hard to succeed in school (or at at any job!) if your work materials are a messy nightmare. Spend some time developing your organizational skills, and then advertise your services to your fellow classmates, and possibly even your professors.

   • Offer to help your clients go through their files (either paper or electronic), and help them come up with a method for sorting and arranging their work that they can manage on their own.
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   Offer your cleaning and laundering services. College student usually aren't known for keeping spotless rooms or staying on top of their laundry. If you don't mind doing either of these tasks, and if you can stand the mess and stink, consider getting paid to clean dorm rooms or do laundry for your lazier classmates.
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    Open a salon in your dorm room (or make house calls). If you are talented at doing nails, hair, or make-up, consider advertising your services to your classmates, especially before big events like sorority formals or Valentine's Day.

    • Research what local salons charge for services, and then undercut their prices to the point where you'll still be making a profit, but will be an affordable option for your fellow classmates.
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    Open a snack-shop. It's not a secret that college students get the munchies! If you're good at baking (or even just scoping out good deals on prepackaged snack items), take advantage of your classmates' perpetual hunger.

    • Post fliers with tantalizing pictures of your baked goods, or visit the library and other hot study spots at key points in the term, such as midterm and finals week.
    • If you're a night owl, then you're sure to find students on the prowl for a good snack in the wee hours of Friday and Saturday (or even Thursday, at some party schools!). If you decide to sell to the night crowd, though, it's a smart, safe move to work with a partner.
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    Set up a recycling center on your dorm room floor. If you live in a state which accepts bottle redemptions, you can make easy money by collecting and returning soda cans.^[9]

    • Consider making a small investment in a large plastic garbage bin, line it with a sturdy plastic bag, and decorate it with signs: “Place your used soda cans here!”. Place the bin outside your dorm, and then all you'll have to do is sort through it before bringing it to the redemption center.
    • Make sure that you aren't violating dorm policy by doing this. So long as it's allowed, you may also be able to go through any other recycling bins that are set up on campus.

Method3

Finding Jobs Off-Campus

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   Seek out tip jobs. As a college student, having access to quick cash is extremely helpful. Look for part-time job opportunities that will allow you to walk away with cash in hand at the end of your shift.

   • Serving or tending bar in restaurants, working as a hotel or restaurant valet, delivering food (which usually requires you to have your own car and insurance), or doing street performance are good options.^[10]
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   Get a part-time job at a local shop. Hit the pavement and check out the local businesses around your area. You may be able to find part-time work that fits around your school schedule.

   • While you should check the classifieds regularly for posted job ads, understand that not all businesses use these, and you may have better luck if you inquire in person about possible job openings.
   • Be prepared with a copy of your resume and look presentable when you first go to the shop. Don't pop in on your way home from the gym! That won't leave a good impression!
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   Visit a temp agency. The process of finding an available job can be simplified by enlisting the help of a temp agency. They can sort through all the ads for you, and already have established relationships with local businesses.^[11]

   • While the agency will take a portion of your wages, temp jobs tend to pay fairly well, and you can be clear about what your availability is around your class schedule.
   • Another advantage of working through an agency is that you can turn down work if you are having a particularly busy week or month at school.
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   Baby-sit or nanny for local families. If you are responsible and good with children, you can often find steady work as a baby-sitter or nanny.

   • Research the going rates in your area; as a college student, you may be able to demand a higher rate, particularly if you are an education major (or psychology, pre-med or nursing student, have certification in CPR and/or first-aid, etc.). In some cities, you may be able to make up to $15 an hour.^[12]
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   Consider signing up with professional baby-sitting services. These businesses screen and run back-ground checks on their sitters. Many parents are more comfortable placing their children in the care of sitters who have been vetted through this process.
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   Advertise your baby-sitting business on campus. You may also consider offering your services to your professors. If you are their current student, they may not feel comfortable (or be allowed to) hire you, but they may be able to recommend you to other of their friends and colleagues.
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   Negotiate additional tasks for extra pay. If you are already spending time in a home taking care of children, you may be able to make some extra cash by going above and beyond.

   • For example, you can offer to do laundry and wash dishes for an extra fee (perhaps $10 more) on top of your regular baby-sitting rate.^[13]
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   Work with children in other ways. If baby-sitting isn't your thing, you may find fulfilling and lucrative work by tutoring or coaching elementary or high school students.

   • Contact the local schools to see if they have children who might benefit from your services or to see if they have part-time coaching positions available.
   • You may also be able to find these sorts of jobs by going to local organizations like the YMCA or YWCA.
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   Work with animals. If you connect better with animals than people, then you may be able to find work that puts you in contact with our non-human friends, which will be good for both your mental and your financial health.

   • Advertise your services as a dog walker or pet sitter. You can place fliers (dog-parks and local veterinarians are great places to start) or advertise on-line, but don't overlook