Daniel
College Tuition?
I was concerned on how people views on going to a 4 year institution have been and was asking of some feedback on whether it is worth going to or not if financial issues could be a problem. I will be completing my associates in community college next year and have not decided whether I want to go or not. any help?
#moneyissues
3 answers
MICHAEL OFFUTT
MICHAEL’s Answer
By now you've likely made your decision; but to others with the same question . . .
There are at least a couple factors that you might want to consider:
1. When jobs are scarce and applicants are many, employers may require a bachelor's degree as a way of reducing the number of resumes from 2000 to 200. This may seem unfair to someone who has an associate's degree, but substantial practical experience. But, it is reality.
2. You may choose to get an associate's degree, then start working. There are many jobs which don't require all the theoretical education that you get with a bachelor's degree. After you have been working for a few years, your work history will be more important than your education (but don't forget about #1 above). As long as the job market favors employees (many jobs, but few applicants), going to work after getting a 2-year degree can be a good way to avoid student loan debt. You are wise to characterize debt as "deadly;" it can quickly become a terrible burden.
3. Some jobs will require a bachelor's (or master's, or higher) degree. If you want to get a professional engineer's license, you will need a BS degree (and some work experience).
4. There are many sources of grants and scholarships. They are often awarded early in the year (e.g., February, before the school year starts). The boards of these foundations sometimes meet only once a year, so you have to know when the applications are due, and be proactive. There are a huge number of foundations and organizations that award grants -- some only to specific groups of people. Searching for and applying for grants should be viewed as a major undertaking, like searching for a job. Ideally, you would start research and preparation while you are in the middle of your high school years. If you are very well prepared, you could end up with multiple offers for full scholarships.
5. When you apply for financial aid, your parents' income matters. Whether your parents will contribute or not is kind of immaterial, because the presumption is that they will make a contribution. This can be difficult if you are paying on your own.
6. Other things I learned when my kids were considering getting student loans: A government-guaranteed student loan cannot be discharged -- not by bankruptcy, and not even by death. If a parent co-signs a government guaranteed student loan, they will be required to repay it, even if the student dies. This may have changed recently; I read some discussion about changing these rules, but I'm not aware that it has been changed yet.
7. You can see that a big part of the decision has to do with money. If you have the means, you might consider getting an education abroad. Some European countries will provide tuition-free education, even to foreigners.
Good luck
Mike
Olena Lytvynenko
Olena’s Answer
To add to Mike's answer, there are many creative ways to cover the cost of college tuition.
If you'd like to pursue a Bachelor's degree, see if you can transfer the credits you already have to a four-year school. Once you graduate, your Bachelor's degree will be no different than the degree of your fellow graduating classmates. On paper, it would look like you attended that school for the full four years...the only difference is that you'd save yourself a ton of money! :-)
Also, apply for FAFSA (financial aid) and all the scholarships and grants available to you. If the particular school you'd like to attend doesn't happen to offer too many scholarships, there are tons of organizations that give out scholarships and grants and you can easily find them online! Of course, some scholarships are needs-based but there are PLENTY of others that are based on things like merit, community involvement, major, location, race, religion, interests, participation in the military, having been affected by a natural disaster and many more!
Here are some resources to help you in your search:
https://yescollege.com/post/scholarship-databases
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/scholarship-search
https://www.scholarships.com/
https://www.fastweb.com/
Good luck!
Michael Engel
Michael’s Answer
Hi Daniel,
The answer to your question will require some research. There are a few things you'll need to consider before deciding on that last two years of school after your associate's degree: How much is tuition? What type of salary can you realistically expect to earn after you finish? How much debt will you have to take on? How long will that take you to pay off? How much can you expect your salary to grow throughout your career?
Here is an article I found on Noodle.com. https://www.noodle.com/articles/is-a-4-year-degree-worth-it
Talk with your current school's counselor, take tours of the schools you might be interested in, try to find alumni of that school to get a better picture of what it's like trying to find a job after school is over.
Good luck!
-Mike