How College Students Can Make Extra Money

If you're a young and broke college student like me, this article is for you. The bad news is that college tuition goes up every year and financial aid money can only get you so far. However, there are good news in store: you can make extra money if you're willing to look for them.

6 easy sources to boost your income when in college:

Scholarships: Though these come by less frequently when you're a college student, some good ones do exist if you take time to search around. Websites like Fastweb and Collegeboard are good, but remember to check the Financial Aid office too (in school scholarships are much less competitive than the national ones that everyone knows about. Keep an eye on the ones that have generic essays, like writing about yourself and future goals. These are the best since you can just copy, paste, and tweak your old college application essay.

Part time Jobs: Work study jobs are generally easy and stress-free (case in point: you can catch up on homework while working in a computer lab or at the library check out desk). These don't pay as much as outside jobs but they are flexible for your schedule and you don't have to worry about gas money driving to work.

Be a Guinea Pig: for Psychology studies, that is. They typically compensate you with cash and can run up to $100 dollars. Don't worry about getting needles jabbed into your brain, all studies have to be approved according to the American Psychology Association guidelines so they are very much harmless. I usually do these in my free time between classes--better that than lounging around in the dorm eating junk food right?

Use Your Talent: You'll earn money and have something substantial to put on the resume (suppose you make this a regular "side job"). In my case, I write for the campus newspaper and get around 10 bucks for each article. Several of my friends in Art Student Association usually put up art shows in which they sell their works. If you're into photography you can take stock photos and upload to sites like Big Stock Photo for money... Be creative! The possibilities are endless!

Sell Stuff: Don't burn your books at the end of the semester. SELL them! College bookstores have buy back weeks or you can sell them online. Just make sure to compare offers from multiple sources to get the best deal. Another way is selling Avon products--this works especially well when you're in a sorority.

Provide Services: Offer to do other people's laundry or go grocery shopping for them the next time you're out doing these chores for yourself (save gas!) Other type of services include proofreading term papers (proofreading only, don't write the papers for them), picking up packages from mail service, and tutoring underclassmen.

When I got to college last year, I asked around for advice of how to make money to cover my book costs. With some luck I've been doing all of these things for a whole year and got more money than just to buy books without having to have two part time jobs. Hope this works for you too!