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How College Students Can Make Money

Updated on February 9, 2014

It's not easy being a full-time student and juggling a job at the same time, but what can you do? Many students are forced to work in order to save money for food, living costs, textbooks, or even just paying for their tuition. This not only makes you more tired but also sets you back in school. All the time you spend working you could be studying, resting, or having fun. Yes, being a student is a full-time job, but another part of student life is to have fun. You only get to go through college for a few years, so cherish the time and stop stressing yourself out more by working.

The methods I describe below all involve things that either further your studying, or don't take too much of a toll on your education or health. There are also a few things mentioned towards the end that can help you make money while doing something you enjoy, like an artistic hobby or something. They key to earning money on the side of getting an education is to do it in small amounts, and do it so that it is not detrimental to your grades.

Sell Your Notes

There are a lot of things that you do as a college student that you can do to make make money without even having to work all that much. Sure, it isn't a lot of money, but anything helps when you're a student:

For each and every class you take, make thorough notes. For most classes you take, you more or less have to make some notes anyways. Even for the classes where you don't however, make them anyway. Write down what the professor is saying, and add information from the textbook and your own input. Make the notes organized; fill them with examples, and really go the extra mile and even prepare sample questions for each chapter/topic. You're going to be making copies of these notes to sell so remember neatness and organization is key. First and foremost however, these notes will help you out. All this time that you spend on your notes will never go to waste, you're going to be learning the content of your courses while doing all of this. The questions that you prepared for your topics can help you out towards the final exam.

With such organized notes, not only will you most certainly do better in your classes, but you can also make money! For me, I was never one to spend too much time making notes, but the entrepreneurial aspect of it makes it all the more worthwhile and fun. Knowing that I will be making money from my notes is definitely a morale booster. It's a bit of an investment, since your notes won't be done until the end of the semester, but really, once your done with the class you can keep selling them to more and more students every term.

Now, how do you sell your notes? Easy, advertise yourself. Most colleges have online sites or services dedicated to selling textbooks or notes and such, so post your notes there. You can also use Facebook, twitter, or other social networking sites to sell your notes. Word of mouth is another big one, many of your friends may be taking the same class in a different term, sell your notes to them, or ask them if they know anyone who is taking the class.

When selling your notes, posting about the high grade you got in the class will definitely be a seller. Always carry around a sample copy of one of your notes, you never know when someone will be interested in seeing it. Most of the time, first year students who are entering the school and are in your program will be taking all of your previous classes, so you can even sell multiple notes to the same person, and their friends can bring you further business. The notes that you make once can be re-sold multiple times. Even if you're near graduating, make notes to sell anyways it's never too late as maybe you can even continue selling them afterwards for extra cash.

I know quite a few people who have been doing this and have probably made hundreds of dollars doing it easily. I just started with it last term and only sold my notes to a few people and still made almost $50, which isn't half bad. Fall term is starting soon which is the most active term so that should be a really good time to sell my 2nd year class notes as well.

Here are a few sites that can further help you sell your school notes:


Other Methods of Making Money as a Student

If you really must work, do something on a smaller-scale. There are always campus jobs around that can get you hours as low as 10 per week which won't really stress you out and pretty much just require you to sit around and do nothing. A few of my friends worked at the front desks at the dorms and the student center and most of them just used the time to do their homework or sit on the computer and relax. Most campus jobs aren't really labor intensive so just find the right one for you; preferably something you can sit and finish other work while you're at it.

Tutoring is another option and can often make really good money for a small number of hours. If you hold tutoring sessions on campus with multiple students, you can set your own hours and do whatever works best for you. You obviously have to be quite knowledgeable and patient if you want to go about this, but it adds something good to your resume as well.

If you're really creative, you can try and find ways to earn money online as well, whether it's writing articles, making YouTube videos, answering questions on various sites. If you have hobbies such as painting or drawing, you can sell commissions as well. For the most part however, if you wish to make any real money with these, it takes a lot of time as well, but anything is worth it and it's all a long-term investment. I would suggest looking into creative money making as more of a side-project, but in about a year it can really pick up for you as well.

working

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