If you’ve read my blog post on how to get more college financial aid and are looking for more ideas on how to reduce the cost of college, check out these strategies for your kid:

1. Join the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), which offers a scholarship program that covers either tuition, fees and books, or room and board. To qualify for the scholarship, high school applicants and students already enrolled in college have to commit to the U.S. military for at least eight years after graduation.
2. Attend one of these 17 tuition-free schools. Some of them require on-campus work or service after graduation. While they don’t charge tuition, many still charge for room and board, along with other fees.
3. Attend a community college for two years then transfer to a four-year college. These 35 states currently offer tuition-free associate degrees. A student could get their associate degree tuition-free from a community college, then only pay for the last two years of their degree at a four-year college.
4. Take advanced placement (AP) courses and exams while still in high school to earn college credits. At schools that accept AP credits, students can often skip introductory classes and even potentially graduate early, saving time and money. Search for a college’s AP policy on the College Board website.
5. Sign up for a regional tuition exchange program, which allows students to attend a public university in another nearby state while paying tuition at a reduced rate. Almost all states belong to one of these programs: the Western Undergraduate Exchange, the Midwest Student Exchange Program, the New England Regional Student Program, and the South’s Academic Common Market. Check out the list of regional tuition exchange programs to see which one would apply to your kid and what the tuition discounts would be.

To learn more about college financial aid, read my previous blog posts:

• What Widowed Parents Need to Know About College Financial Aid: The Basics
• What Widowed Parents Need to Know About College Financial Aid: The FAFSA & CSS Profile
• Ten Tips for Widowed Parents to Get More College Financial Aid

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in college financial aid and am merely passing along information based on my understanding of it.