Find a way to pay for my bachelors

After pushing back another year I have finally made it to my four-year university. Luckily, thanks to scholarships and grants, the loans I had to take out are rather small. That said, my goal has been to graduate without any educational debt. But I think over the course of the next two years I can find $10,000… don’t you?

I finished my FAFSA, and I have an EFC of 0. That’s a start.

I have yet to fill out my FAFSA, but I know it won’t cover the entire cost, even with in-state tuition.

http://studentaid.unc.edu/studentaid/cost/ssa_ug_general.html

That’s just under 10k per semester.

This is what I am facing, provided I stay under the “general education” umbrella and don’t apply to any specialty schools within undergrad(such as nursing, clinical trials, business, etc).

If I apply and am accepted into a professional school, my tuition raises to just under 15k per semester.

Alongside tuition, fees, and room and board, I’m wondering how I am going to keep my car. At present my UTA weekends cover my car payment, but they don’t cover the insurance.

My friend has thought of collecting and turning in massive amounts of cans(good for the environment, AND for us, if we return them in the hundreds of thousands) and has also introduced me to SmartyPig. The latter is an online bank specifically for saving for goals, and you can invite family and friends to donate to specific goals. I think I might try setting this up at a later date.

Anyone else have ideas? Other students I have asked have recommended against a part time job while studying full time. Beyond that, my 43T peers, let me know what you think! :)