Discounts on the down-low

Have your boss foot the bill
Why pony up for school when your employer can do it for you? One of the easiest ways for students over 25 to score free college cash, tuition-reimbursement programs let needy students skip the hassle of filing for federal financial aid, with a few strings attached. The vast majority of companies that offer tuition-reimbursement will only pay for courses directly related to your current profession and may require workers to agree to stick with the company for a certain number of years after attaining their new degree. Talk to HR to see if you can score some help from your employer.

Show your ID
If you qualify for senior-citizen discounts at the movies, you might in the classroom, as well. Though frequently unadvertised, many institutions—community, technical and junior colleges in particular—offer discounts of up to 60 percent for senior citizens as well as military vets. If the school won’t lower tuition rates up front, it may knock down the price by offering college credit for previous work, educational or life experiences. The school’s financial-aid department will be able to give you the skinny on what’s available.

Save lives to save moolah
Still smarting from the student loans you racked up when you were in school? The easiest way to pay them back is to forget about them entirely. Students planning to enter public service fields such as health care, education and social work may be eligible to have their student loans dropped entirely. Several government organizations such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as nonprofits like Equal Justice Works help good-hearted students by paying off their loans. Go to finaid.org/loans/forgiveness.phtml for a list of both federal and nonprofit forgiveness programs.

Stick it back to the Man
Folks who do wind up paying for courses can take heart in the fact that they’ll get part of that money back at the end of the year. For grad students and those taking “professional development” courses at an accredited school, the Lifetime Learning Credit allows starving students to write up to $2,000 (20 percent of the first $10,000 spent on educational expenses) off their taxes. Thanks, Uncle Sam.