How To Make Money In College Without Leaving Your Dorm Room

2 years ago

College can be expensive, meaning you need some ways to make some money while you’re going to school- or even get paid to go to school.

I mean, unless you’re really eager to build up some high student loan debt (unlikely).

As of the class of 2015, it was estimated that the graduates would have over $35,000 in student loan debts!

If that’s not a reason to start offsetting the costs of college on your very first day as a freshman, then nothing will convince you.

Yes, you guessed it – we’re talking about one of our favorite things: starting a side hustle!

With your schedule set and dorm room decorated, it is time to start using your dorm room as a moneymaker instead of a money waster.

All you need to make money from your dorm room is your time and a computer, which you have already!

Quick Picks

Here’s a short list of our top money-makers, the best side hustles you can start today as a student:

Best Passive Income – Blogging
Most Fun Job – Dog Walking
Best-Paying Side Hustle – Facebook Ads
Fastest Money-Maker – Online Surveys

How to Make Money in College

This is a list of our favorite quick and easy ideas to make money, that literally anyone could manage to make work for them.

While some of them require a little more time investment before you see significant returns, the best part is that you could even do a mix of all of them if you’re serious about finding out how to make extra money fast.

You could even make your college schedule fit around your side hustles if that works out best for you — switch to mainly afternoon and evening classes if possible and boom, work on your side hustle in the morning.

The flexibility of these 10 money-making sites makes them perfect for a college student!

1. Start A Shopify Store

Do your dorm mates think you come up with the funniest sayings? Have you ever thought about putting them on a shirt and making money?

Shopify is perfect for setting up your very own e-commerce store. Shopify is definitely a brand that you can trust.

They have amazing customer service and they have been the leader in e-commerce platforms for years.

You could even collaborate with your dorm mates and start a business, like Mark Zuckerberg did in college.

Start your very own Shopify Store today!

2. Start A Money-Making Blog

Starting a blog in college is perfect!

You already have a huge advantage on the market because you read blogs every day. You can easily write content about your life and ways to make college easier.

All you need to start a blog is a passion; everyone has one of those!

Find your niche and market your content to a certain group of people. How can you solve their problem? Earn money through affiliate marketing, ads, and sponsored posts.

Follow this step-by-step tutorial on how to start a money-making blog today!

3. Take Online Surveys

Swagbucks

We love using Swagbucks to make money because they have multiple opportunities to earn cash. One way to earn cash is through surveys.

Each survey takes about 20 minutes, and they try to match the survey to your interests, so you are not wasting your time.

The second opportunity to earn is by having the Swagbucks Google extension installed. Earn Swagbucks by watching movies and shopping through Amazon. Isn’t that what every college student already does? Get paid to do it!

Swagbucks will pay you in gift cards like Amazon, Target, Walmart, and even PayPal. For about every 100 Swagbucks, it is equivalent to $1.00.

You can sign-up here and earn a $10 bonus using our exclusive link.

Survey Junkie

InboxDollars

With over $50 million dollars paid out to consumers, you will not want to miss out on this great survey company!

Get paid for “stuff” you’re already doing; playing games, watching videos, shopping, and giving your opinion through surveys.

You can get updates to your email when offers are available for you so you do not miss out on any opportunities to make money. If you like to play games online, this might be the best site for you!

4. 5. Monitor Facebook Ads

6. Start A YouTube Channel

7. Get Cash Back On Receipts

Do you do the grocery shopping for your suitemates? No? Well, you are going to start after you sign-up for Ibotta!

Ibotta is a cash back app that will pay you for not only your in-store purchases but also your online shopping.

When you get back from the store, you take a picture of your receipt after checking off what you bought and Ibotta gives you cash back.

The best thing about Ibotta is you want to get other people to sign up and join your team. Tell other college students about Ibotta and by them joining your team, you all have the potential to earn more cash back.

If you want, you can sign-up and receive a $10 cash back bonus.

8. Product Testing

With Pinecone Research, you can evaluate products before they hit the shelf! Test out and give your opinions on products and earn points.

After you have acquired enough points, you can redeem them for prizes or cash (Paypal or check).

The first 300 points you earn will automatically be redeemed as a check and sent to your home address.

Maybe let your parents know it is on the way, so they do not trash it as junk before you get back home on the next break.

9. Online Tutor

Calling all graduate students! Did you go to school for education? English?

Doesn’t matter! All you need is a Bachelor’s degree and experience working with children to earn money as a BookNook tutor.

Over at BookNook, you can teach children ages 18 months to 12 years old in reading and math. You’ll have all the curriculum provided and small groups to engage with.

Being a teacher, I know how hard it can be to find a job that fits your schedule. Working part-time as a BookNook tutor, you can continue to grow your teaching experience and make money at the same time.

At $15 -$22 per hour, you can set up a “virtual classroom” just about anywhere. The more experience you have with children, the higher pay.

10. Freelancing

In general, the best way to make money is to monetize your skills.

And I’m sure as a student you have many high-paying skills!

You can become a freelance graphic designer, illustrator, writer, data entry worker, and so much more.

You can become a freelancer at any point, and offer as many services as you want. You’ll have freedom to pick projects you like and still have time for classes and homework.

Sign up with sites like FlexJobs to look for freelancing jobs and apply, plus you can create a professional profile where you can promote your services for thousands of clients.

11. Do Micro-Tasks On Amazon

Have you heard of micro tasks before?

Freelancing comes in many forms, but doing small odd jobs has taken on a new face!

Amazon Mechanical Turk is the biggest example- they are a marketplace for people to do jobs like answer calls, type data, and more.

Businesses post jobs (similar to Fiverr or FlexJobs) and people submit themselves for it. These jobs take less time, so a few odd jobs in an hour can be a few bucks in your wallet.

The jobs can be from a variety of tasks (all micro of course!) and can sometimes take just a few minutes

12. Online Chat Jobs

With a solid internet connection and speedy typing, you can work as a chat agent to make money online and make money quickly from home.

Online chat jobs are usually customer service positions, where you answer questions for customers or check information on their account.

Chat jobs versus phone jobs mean that you don’t have to be on the phone all day- and if you equate customer service with being yelled at, don’t worry about it with these jobs!

You may still deal with a tough client or a problem that stumps you, but most chats are simple and to the point, so we recommend giving this a shot to make money online.

13. Get An Internship

Now some colleges already require this, but if not, you should consider finding an internship or co-op.

A co-op is a great job because you 1) get paid and 2) get work experience that’s relative to your degree.

It’s work you can put on your resume that’s specific to your career goals!

Or, like some of my friends, you get a great and well-paid internship and make it a test run to see if you actually like it enough to make a career out of it.

14. Sell Old Textbooks

There are easy picks of side hustles and online jobs for college students to pick from, including getting rid of stuff you don’t need anymore.

No doubt you have plenty of old textbooks laying around- and they could be wasted money chilling!

Sell your textbooks for extra money- my college had a buying group specifically for students to sell stuff on campus, so see if you do too!

If not, you can sell your textbooks online with sellbackyourBook.com, which gives your an instant quote and ships your books for free.

15. Dog Walking & Pet Sitting

Working from home is great, but I know we all need a chance to get out of the house- even for just a walk!

Why not take a break from your classes and school work by hanging out with some furry friends?

You can walk dogs or pet sit for $20 an hour, and Rover is the best way to connect with pet owners and find paying gigs quickly.

16. Babysitting

I know this one may seem weird for a college student, but babysitting is a classic job that pays well.

I started babysitting in middle school, and it was such an easy got-to job to get extra money.

You can start with people you know, posting on social media about babysitting for friends or even connecting with other students- some of them are parents, after all!

You can also join Care.com to connect with parents looking for a sitter,

17. Get An On-Campus Job

Now that we’ve talked about a ton of jobs you can start on your own, find online, etc., we also want to remind you that your campus has jobs too!

You can ask your advisor for where to look, but I can guarantee that there will be jobs posted throughout the year. Some college jobs are repeats too, where you have a job every semester.

You an become an RA, and get free room and board, or you can look for food service or janitorial jobs that pay well.

If you want some other options, our college had jobs posted for notetakers, office workers/secretaries, delivery walkers, and more.

Final Thoughts

So if you aren’t yet, get going!

Your parents will get off your back because you will be able to show you are making money! Plus this work experience will be perfect to add to a resume and stay comfy in your dorm room.

Just think of how impressive it would look if you could tell a future employer that you started your own business in college!

And if you do well enough with that business, you might not even need to look for a job but instead could be working for yourself from home!