University Life: Is It Possible to Graduate Debt-Free?

One thing I noticed after looking through the topics on Seedly is that there are a lot of students, whether it is students about to enter University or are currently in university. Either way, we all know that University school fees can be pretty hefty, and often hear about people racking up huge student loans and worry about paying them off when they start working. It can be a huge burden and set you back financially (especially with that 4.75% interest), which is why I’m writing this piece to explain some possible ways that you can graduate with limited or even no student debt at all! Currently, I’m in Singapore Management University (SMU), and the University fees in 4 years is approximately $45,800.

#1: Make use of any Financial Assistance schemes your university may have.

For Singaporeans, you are in luck! If your GHI is less than $4,000 OR PCI is less than $1,000, you are eligible to apply for the Higher Education Community Bursary, which provides for a $5,000 to $6,200 cash allowance per year. If you’re prudent enough not to use the money, you could store it in a high interest savings account, and use the amount to pay for your tuition fees after you graduate.

This is also the last chance for you to clear up your PSEA (Do you remember what it is?) account. Chances are you’d have some money in the account, especially NSMen (you guys do get PSEA top-ups, go and check your accounts). Make use of it to help alleviate some of the heavy school fees.

#2: Study hard. Like I mean, really hard.

At this point in time, I’d be lying if I said that grades aren’t important. Yes, grades are still important, considering we live in an Asian society. Most universities have scholarship awards that they give to students who perform well academically, as well as hold various leadership positions or have good portfolios.

For example, in SMU, there are some scholarships which offset all 4 years of school fees & even give you a yearly allowance of about $5,000. Of course, these scholarships are limited to the top scorers, so you’d definitely need to fight for it. However, there are different tiers of scholarships too, of varying amounts and eligibility criteria. If you fit the criteria, there’s no harm trying, because after all, what’s the worst that can possibly happen, right?

#3: Working Part-Time

Yes…the standard can’t-go-wrong answer. However, at university level, I’d urge you to consider 2 routes when it comes to working part-time. Route #1: You could get a normal $8-9/hr part-time job at your local café, bubble tea shop, etc. Considering you work on both weekends; you’d get a good $800-$1,000 a month.

Alternatively, you could go down a more well-thought out route #2: Whereby you apply for remote internships (Something related to your major) during your semester or during your break. Yes, in the short run, the pay wouldn’t be as good. You’d probably be earning around $500 ish a month, but think of the long-run game, whereby you’d have more experience and can possibly command a higher pay after you graduate and step into the workforce.

My own route in planning to graduate debt-free.

Some background story first…Didn’t really do too well in Poly, thus didn’t manage to get a scholarship entering university. Currently waiting for my y1 grades to be released and plan for a scholarship from there. Thus, this scenario will be based off having no scholarship, and mostly relying on #1 & #3. Came from a not-so well-to-do family, thus managed to secure the highest level of financial aid for bursary.

I personally used Excel to keep track of my finances, and I recommend you do the same too (just to stay organized and know what you’re doing). I utilised the study loan to take up a loan of 90% of school fees, thus only having to pay 10% as cash up-front. For the bursary that I’m currently receiving, I put it into BlockFi, which currently yields me a 10% yield per year. (Note: BlockFi is NOT regulated by any sort of governing authority, thus it can be a HUGE risk, and it’s up to you to make your own discretion. I personally am able to do so, as even in the worst-case scenario, I have a safety net that I can fall back on). I also made use of my PSEA account to offset the school fees, thus in total, I’d only have to pay $4,365 out of my own pocket.

In terms of living expenses, currently working a part-time job that pays pretty well & sort of running my own small business, but that's a story for another day.

And there you have it. This scenario could play out for many cases, even if you do not qualify for scholarships/ bursary. Do let me know in the comments if you’d like me to do a scenario where a student does not have any grants but plans to work part-time to clear off university loans. I’ve personally calculated it before, and it is very possible, but of course you’d need to be prudent and have discipline 😊