Alternative ways to pay for school

By Nkongho Beteck on October 19, 2012

Pawn shops, sperm donations and sugar daddies- these are all becoming new ways students are able to pay for school. With college cost and interest loans increasing, some students seek extreme, or what some might even consider desperate measures to fund their education.

Car renting

Aubrey Harding of Portland Ore., rented out her car through the car-sharing network Getaround.com, for $7 per hour, $35 per day and $175 a week to pay for school supplies.

Medical Studies

To pay GRE fees, John McKinley-Campbell began participating in medical studies. He received $3,000 to stay at a pharmaceutical company for 14 days where he took arthritis pills and gave urine and blood samples to researchers.

Selling jewlery

Jenni Blaise payed some of her loan payments through selling jewelry she never wore. She sold earrings and pendants, garnering hundreds of dollars. “The first $800 I got paid off my student loans for three months, so it’s definitely helped a lot,” she said.

Just asking

One student launched twohundredthou.com, a blog where she wrote about her struggles with debt and asked for donations. She managed to raise $10,000 from generous strangers.

Sugar babies

Many websites such as http://sugardaddie.com/ offer searches for “sugar daddies’” who offer funds in exchange for companionship.

Donate

Sperm donors often earn anywhere from $1,300 to $5,500 for their services, depending on how often and for how long they participate. Healthy women in their 20′s can earn around $5,000-$10,000 for each egg they donate.