How a 20-year-old NYU student paid his $48,000 tuition bill in a year

He found ways to earn money.

While the scholarship money helped, Hu still owed $28,780 for the year.

He started looking for work-study job opportunities available through NYU the summer before his freshman year. "It was a win-win," he says. "I'd be able to gain experience in the field, and not only help my parents by paying for tuition, but help myself in the future by not getting strapped down by student debt."

Finding an on-campus job was not as simple as he expected it to be: "I applied for three work-study jobs and got shot down by all three. That's when I decided I needed to take a different route and look outside of NYU administration."

Using the New York City-based startup WayUp, which helps place college students and recent graduates in jobs and internships, Hu started finding job opportunities with a variety of companies. His freshman year, he held four positions — including as an intern in social media and customer relations at Magisto and as a sales account manager at Fresh Prints — and worked 20 to 40 hours a week, depending on need.

His freshman-year schedule "was pretty insane," he acknowledges, but NYU's flexible class structure helped curb the insanity. "Most of my classes were rehearsals or studios, so that meant flexible hours that are concentrated on a few days, rather than having multiple classes spread out each day like in a conventional schedule." As for his grades, "I'm never truly satisfied," he says. "I think I definitely did the best of my ability considering the amount of time I devoted towards athletics, music, and work."

He pieced together different jobs to earn enough.

Between the four jobs he found through WayUp, Hu earned about $26,000 his freshman year. He earned another $6,000 with a work-study opportunity he was eventually allotted — and another $2,000 doing freelance photography. "A lot of students, small companies, hackathons, and events need photographers," Hu says. "Most of my commissioned shoots have been results of referrals by friends and followers on Instagram."

Eighty percent of that $34,000 went toward tuition ($27,200), and he earned the remaining $1,580 needed to fully pay off his tuition bill at the start of his sophomore year.

As a sophomore, he's working significantly less — 15 to 30 hours a week — but earning more. "The jobs I've been working this year have been higher-level jobs," he says. "Naturally, it pays more per hour and requires more analytical skills, rather than 'grind work.' Fewer hours, but more pay — hopefully this is a trend I can keep up."

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He planned out his days to maximize earning.

"Surprisingly I didn't have too much trouble with time management," Hu says. "Of course, in the beginning it's shell shocking — you're thrown into college, which is hard enough as is, and then you're in New York City, where there is literally no coddling at all. I took a step-by-step approach to everything. Even to this day, what I'll do at night is plan out the entire next day. I'll make sure every waking moment is assigned to doing something productive."

"Every day is so different," he says, but here's what one might look like during crew season — he's a fall-season rower and spring-season coxswain for NYU — on a day with morning class:

5 a.m. Alarm sounds.

"I'll wake up for crew practice, brush my teeth, get dressed, and sprint to the garage where the vans drive us to New Jersey for practice."

9 a.m. Heads to class.

"I'll take the world's quickest shower and run to class, struggling to eat my granola bars along the way."

11 a.m. Starts work.

"This year I'm doing a lot more remote work, but sometimes I have to be in the office, either WeWork Park South or WeWork Williamsburg."

7 p.m. Eats, studies, and relaxes.

"I go home for dinner with friends, study for two hours, and complete any assignments I can. I also take another shower."

11 p.m. Sleep.

"Regardless of how much work I have left or how many emails I have to answer, my head will hit the pillow at 11 p.m. There's very little that can get in the way of my getting the rest I need, because that's really what fuels my ability to get things done during the day."

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He lived below his means.

"My parents raised me to be very conservative with my money," Hu says. "In high school I never spent anything at all."

Despite earning nearly $34,000 as a college freshman, Hu maintained conservative spending habits. "A golden rule I always follow is, never spend more than what you have," he says.

This doesn't mean there is zero wiggle room in his budget. "I like to work towards buying at least one thing that I want to have each month," he says. "I'm only human, and there are definitely luxury items that entice me. Part of the reason I work so hard outside of school is so that I can afford things like camera gear, concert tickets, new clothes, or a gym membership. Fun things motivate me."

Some of his bigger purchases have more than paid for themselves over time, such as his expensive camera gear: "Last year, I spent around $5,000 on a camera, five lenses, and a tripod. Through paid photo gigs, portrait shoots, and event coverage, I made most of it back. Having that camera has led to many more opportunities in the workplace, such as jobs at Elementem Photography and DxO Labs — with those opportunities combined, I've at least tripled my return from my initial investment."

He followed a clear financial plan.

A $28,780 expense is an overwhelming amount for just about anyone to cover. For sophomore year, he owes even more, since he receives only the $1,000-a-year merit scholarship and $2,000 in financial aid. He'll be responsible for $45,280.

Hu tackles it by crunching the numbers and creating a clear financial plan.

"I like to break down every paycheck in percentages," he says. "For tuition, I know I have to meet a certain quota, and I'll divide it up by 12 (months) and know exactly what needs to be paid every 30 days or so. Usually that means around 80% of what I make."

Once he covers tuition, his next focus is his retirement account: "From there, I'll move either $100 or $200 towards my Roth IRA. After that I'll put $116 or so into the monthly unlimited MetroCard to get around, and ration out another $100 for the food bill. I have the cheapest meal plan so that I can still afford to have breakfast and lunch on campus but am also able to spend less by making myself dinner in my dorm. Twenty-five dollars per week on groceries is more than enough for me!"

Of equal importance to his concrete financial plan is his mindset: "Something the book 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' taught me is to never think whether or not I can afford something, but how I will afford it. It breeds creativity, determination, and a rewarding lifestyle."