Studying for free might sound an unlikely prospect. These days, university and college life is expensive, and three or four years of education can leave you with huge debts. However, there is more than one way to get an education, providing you want to learn for the love of learning, and don´t need a certificate at the end of it. So here are some brilliant ways to get a free education …
Whether you live in a small town or a major city, public lectures are a great way to learn more about all kinds of topics from art to history. They are often free or inexpensive, and given by experts in the field. Keep an eye out for what´s on offer at your local university, art gallery or museum.
A fabulous way of studying for free is to visit your local library. They often have study materials and reference books on all kinds of subjects. You can also take advantage of language courses for self-study. Libraries also often do talks on a wide variety of topics, so ask what they have on offer.
The Email College has a wide variety of short courses on topics varying from business to writing. Whether you´re interested in learning about movies or running your own business, you´re sure to find something that takes your fancy. There are no tutors or qualifications, you simply receive a new section of the course every 1-2 days, and read through it at your own pace, working through any tasks.
How about this for one of the most amazing ways to get a free education? The prestigious Massachussetts Institute of Technology has made many of its courses available for free on the internet. They´re exactly the same courses that the students enrolled there study, so even though you don´t get the tutors or accreditation, you can still access some very high quality course materials.
Even in these tough times, when cities and councils are cutting funding, there are still free courses available. They might be mini taster courses for longer versions, or full courses, so look around and see what´s on offer. For example, where I live the city offers free courses in the local language.
As well as the sites I´ve mentioned, there are lots of free online courses like Living Life To The Full, which is about overcoming anxiety and stress. Even if you don´t need to follow the course yourself, you can learn quite a lot from studying the contents. If you´re interested in psychology, it could be very valuable to follow the course.
Finally, studying for free can be achieved if you´re a little bit sneaky and have a university nearby. Dress like a student and stroll into lectures; people won´t think it strange if they don´t know you, as students from other disciplines often attend lectures not directly related to their course. Just act as if you´ve every right to be there!
Studying for free is perfectly possible, providing you don´t want to achieve a qualification (that´s something that shouldn´t be done cut-price!). If you just have a love of learning, there are so many ways to get a free education, and you can learn a great deal through these methods. Have you found any other brilliant routes to free study?
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