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58 8. If you ever find your college work falling below par because of work commitments, cut back on your hours or quit your job altogether. Every credit you take represents an investment of approximately $200 in tuition, fees, books, and living expenses. Dropping a 3 credit course is like throwing away more than $600 dollars. 9. If you plan on transferring to another school, apply to at least four different colleges (public and private) and compare the bottom line (what you actually halve to pay after all grants and scholarships are figures in) before making your choice of school. Getting an attractive financial aid package is partly a matter of luck, and you can improve your odds of getting an affordable education by applying to several different schools. 10. And speaking of transferring—don’t. General education classes at Northern are good as any (any better than some), and most of Northern’s programs are as good as you’re likely to find—particularly in history and English. It’s generally a financial mistake to change schools. If you want a change of scenery, the best bet is to take advantage of one of the student exchange programs. You can spend a semester or a year in another country or at colleges anywhere in this country while paying South Dakota rates for tuition: generally, an enormous bargain. 11. Take advantage of your high school preparation in order to earn “cheap” credits. In any subject you know particularly well, you can demonstrate your proficiency in a subject by taking either an AP exam or a CLEP exam. Note that CLEP exam is just as useful as an AP exam and has some advantages. It’s relatively inexpensive, can be scheduled at a student’s convenience (just call NSU’s student services center), and you get your results almost immediately. Students can earn up to year of college credit on the exams—and save a year’s worth of expenses. 12. Another way to get cheap credits involves foreign language study. If you took two years of a high school foreign language, for instance, you are often proficient enough to skip a college’s introductory language courses and move right to the intermediate level. The advantage here is that we will give your credit for the courses skipped. If you pass German 201, for instance, you’ll get credit also for German 101 and 102. Getting those eight credit hours on your transcript puts you half-a-semester closer to your degree and saves you hundreds of dollars in tuition and other expenses. 13. If you’re really struggling financially, consider working full time and going to school part-time. Many businesses offer tuition assistance/reimbursement to their employees. A student who can’t otherwise afford college can always work part-time toward a degree–and there’s nothing like real-world employment to make you value and get the most out of a college education. 14. Another good way to stay afloat financially is to combine your education with service to your country. The G.I. Bill was the Federal government’s first and most justified attempt to make possible a college education to those who could not otherwise afford