Save $90K in High School for College

Michael Bervell, 18, now a freshman at Harvard University majoring in neurology and computer science , raised more than $90,000 during high school to pay for college.

His first work experience came in 10th grade, working minimum wage at a HIV/AIDS nonprofit that was organized through Teens in Public Service, a Seattle-based organization that connects high school teens to paid summer internships. Bervell earned nearly $10 an hour for 25 hours a week that summer.

"I ended up applying for scholarships and got about $75,000," says Bervell, who received multiple scholarships. "And my second method was from always working in the summer."

Many students, like Bervell, say paying for college is part of their responsibility and start saving in high school.

A 2015 College Savings Foundation report, which surveyed 500 high school students, found that 81 percent think paying for some part of college is their responsibility. The same report found that around 51 percent of high school students are saving for college. Of those saving, 83 percent socked away at least $1,000 and 33 percent accumulated more than $5,000.

"There's a greater awareness today with students than there was 10 or 15 years ago," says Rick Polimeni, vice chair of the foundation and director of educational savings at Merrill Lynch." They're taking it more seriously, have jobs and are putting money away."

Most high school students are working hourly, part-time jobs at restaurants or fast food places such as McDonald's, Polimeni says.

[Explore all the U.S. News Best High Schools.]

Working a paid internship during the summer is one way high school students earn money for college, experts say.

Seventeen-year-old Yao Yao Gao, a senior at John Bowne High School in Queens, New York, saved $3,000 last summer interning at accounting firm KPMG in midtown Manhattan where she made around $11 an hour.

"I spent $500 already on college expenses, application fees, SATs and coursework," says Gao, who hopes to attend New York University this fall. "I saved $2,500 for future use, so I can use that for textbooks and housing."

Some U.S. cities have public or private programs that support teen employment during the summer, such as New York City's Summer Youth Employment Program. The program is one of the oldest in the country -- it dates back to the 1960s -- and employs more than 54,000 youths between the ages of 14 and 24 during the summer months. Youths in the program make at least minimum wage, now $9 an hour in the state.

[Take these five steps to find an internship during high school.]

Ashley Moguel, 19, participated in the organization's Ladders for Leaders program last year, working at the city chief medical examiner's office. Moguel, who graduated from Forest Hills High School and was homeless at the time, accumulated $1,250 through the program.

"The program really helped me out and it's the reason why I'm in school," says Moguel, who is studying for her nursing degree at LaGuardia Community College. She plans to transfer to Hunter College to earn her bachelor's and is also taking EMT courses at night.

Moguel spent $500 she earned through the program to pay for transcript requests, application fees and her anatomy and physiology textbook.

"Financial aid covered the rest," Moguel says.

For students not in New York City, there are other paid summer internship programs, such as the Bank of America Corp.'s Student Leaders program. The program connects 200 high school juniors and seniors annually with paid hourly work at community organizations across 25 states as well as the District of Columbia.

[Learn how to land a summer internship as a high school student.]

Bervell was a Bank of America student leader and interned at nonprofit Housing Hope, a Seattle-based organization that provides housing support to low-income families, for $11 an hour -- the minimum wage in Seattle in 2014. He banked $4,000 that summer and deposited his earnings into a 529 college savings plan.

The Harvard freshman, who now has an internship at Twitter, stashed some of his money from summer internships into his 529 plan and another portion into his parent's bank account for safekeeping.

Bervell needed his 529 account when he won the Build-a-Bear Workshop Huggable Hero scholarship -- the award required him to have one to receive the $7,500 scholarship.

It's not just a 529 account that helps savvy high school students save for college. Opening a bank account helps teens put money away, experts say.

Research shows it's important for teens to set up a bank account to establish healthy financial habits, says Julia Breitman, senior director of youth employment at the NYC Department of Community Development.

"When young people are banking, they do tend to save more," Breitman says.

The 2015 CSF report found 40 percent of high school students are willing to forgo material things to save for college -- a 12 percent increase from the previous year.

"Always save. You'll regret spending that $30 on a new pair of jeans because you're going to need it later on," Moguel says, on self-funding a college education.

Bervell recommends students save for college in multiple ways, from scholarships and summer jobs to starting your own company.

"Don't be afraid to take initiative and be out of your comfort zone because I got my first job when I was a sophomore in high school," Bervell says. "There's never a point when it's too early to start, but there is a point when it's too late to start."

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

Farran Powell is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at fpowell@usnews.com.