Parents can help teens fund their degree by Homeschooling for College Credit, but the teens can start working part-time at McDonald’s for a paycheck *plus* some great tuition assistance benefits.
McDonald’s Tuition Assistance
You are eligible for $2,500 in Tuition Assistance each year if:
- You are employed by McDonald’s for at least 90 cumulative days.
- You work an average of 15 hours per week or more.
- You have a performance rating of “significant performance” or better, maintained throughout the course/program.
- You must stay employed to receive the benefit.
Great jobs for teens at McDonald’s include crew members and crew trainers. Crew members work as entry-level employees in the restaurant by cooking, serving customers, cleaning, and working as cashiers. Crew trainers have an opportunity to develop leadership and management skills – both very valuable for their future careers and college applications.
Students working 15 hours per week, earning the reported average McDonald’s hourly wage ($13.50) pay can expect to earn about $5,000 each year in addition to the $2,500 tuition assistance per year.
HS4CC Strategies
How to Make the Most of $2,500
- Do not use the funds to pay for college credit you could easily test out of using CLEP. Since CLEP credits can be accumulated at any age and for $0 with your Modern States voucher, save your assistance for more valuable courses.
- Most colleges and universities accept CLEP in some amount- find out how many and max out the accepted CLEP credit!
- Apply for a Pell Grant when you fill out the FAFSA (12th grade and beyond). You can use these funds with Tuition Assistance. Pell Grants are financial need-based awards you do not have to pay back, are renewable for every year that you don’t have a degree, and are as high as $7,395 per academic year.
- McDonald’s will pay your tuition BEFORE the course starts. Wages you earn as an employee that semester can be used to cover other school expenses, living expenses, books, or saved to put towards next semester.
- If you have already paid for your semester when you become eligible for tuition assistance, McDonald’s will allow you to request reimbursement.
- Study hard! If you fail your course(s) that McDonald’s is paying for, you will be removed from the program. (You do not have to repay your award.)
- Tuition Assistance can be used at any “approved school” such as a two or four-year public or private college or university; business, technical, or vocational school; graduate or post-graduate school that is accredited by the Department of Education. (Regionally or Nationally accredited)
- The assistance will not cover full time college (30 credits) but if you choose an affordable college you can get very close to that and fund the rest using Pell Grant, scholarships, and your McDonald’s wages.
- Community college tuition will be the lowest cost option.
- If you want or need a 4-year degree, attend a cheaper 2-year college first. Make sure it has a transfer agreement in place to guarantee the transferability of credits.
- Don’t leave money on the table, it does not carry over! If your tuition covered by McDonald’s only pays for 12.5 credits, be sure to take 13 credits, not 12. Dropping that last 0.5 award means giving up that funding. Instead, take 13 credits and pay cash for the outstanding 0.5 credit.
Tuition Assistance Cost Planner
| If your college’s tuition per credit is: | McDonald’s Assistance will cover: |
|---|---|
| $100 | 25 credits/about 8-9 classes |
| $150 | 16 credits/about 5-6 classes |
| $200 | 12.5 credits/about 4-5 classes |
| $300 | 8.3 credits/about 2-3 classes |
| $400 | 6.25 credits/about 2-3 classes |
| $500 | 5 credits/about 1-2 classes |
| $700 | 3.5 credits / about 1-2 classes |
| $850 | 2.9 credits / about 1 class |
| $1,250 | 2 credits / less than 1 class |
2024-2025 Average community college tuition for in-state students is $133 per credit.
2024-2025 Average public university tuition for in-state students is $360 per credit.
2024-2025 Average private university tuition for in or out-of-state is $1,450 per credit.
Learn more about McDonald’s Tuition Assistance
*Bonus*
McDonald’s offers many scholarships that do not require you to be an employee. Learn more: HERE
- The Hispanic American Commitment to Education Resources (HACER®) National Scholarship Program has awarded over $35 million in scholarship funds to more than 17,000 students.
- Asian Pacific American (APA Next) has been supporting students to pursue their educational ambitions for more than 15 years.
- Black & Positively Golden: For more than two decades, McDonald’s has been committed to empowering HBCU students by providing millions in scholarships.
Creative College Funding by Jennifer Cook-DeRosa
Available Now!
