Crowdfunding: A new answer to college costs

Getting an education is a must, but paying tuition is impossible, for many students in the Garden State. That’s why a good amount have turned to the strategy of crowdfunding in order to pay for the costs of college.

A quick online search finds hundreds of Jersey-based campaigns, featuring students or wannabe students who know they or their family won’t be able to afford the steep price tag of higher education.

Through sites like GoFundMe, users can tell their story and ask for donations from friends, family and complete strangers.

Courtney Kehr of Egg Harbor Township is one of those users. The film major managed to get a loan for her first year at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, which started Aug. 31, but she has no idea how that loan will be repaid.

“I’m enjoying myself a lot, but there’s that pressure of the bills,” the 18-year-old said. “I’m looking for people to donate like five bucks or just whatever they can; it all adds up.”

Kehr is still very far away from her goal of raising $10,000 through the online campaign.

Her mother, Maria, was actually the one who created the page. In the campaign’s description, she mentioned that her family is living paycheck to paycheck.

“We just want to be able to send our daughter to her dream school to achieve her goals,” the page reads.

Tens of thousands of education-related GoFundMe accounts have reportedly been created so far this year, raising more than $20 million.

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