Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose an additional $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago.
Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high. Throw in room and board, and the average list price for a state school now runs more than $17,000 a year, according to the twin annual reports on college costs and student aid published Wednesday by the College Board.
add another year since most people take 5 to graduate. 85k is considered a reasonable price for a degree at a state school these days.
I went to U of Illinois, one of the better public schools in the country.
Currently, the estimated cost for all expenses and tuition is about 25k a year at U of Il where when I went 20+ years ago it was more like 10k a year so that is an annualize inflationary increase of 4.7% give or take.
Consider options like ROTC, junior college for 2 years (one that has a linked transfer program to a 4yr school) and working a job. (GI bill too and joining the Navy, Airforce, Coast Guard etc. is an option as Afghanistan is landlocked )
One thing to consider in the 25k number is that you are most certainly going to incur a chunk of those expenses (room and board etc.) no matter what you do.
If you can make 10-15k a year working during school and especially the summer then that is going to take a big bite out of costs too. Look for jobs that let you study while you sit there mostly doing nothing like working a library desk etc.
Under that scenario you graduate with less than 60k in student loan debt. Other options as mentioned can save you a lot more.
I agree.... not just in the Southeast... but all over. Certainly not all crappy. But they're not great.
I went to a cheap podunk state college in a rural part of Colorado. It's probably not a fantastic school, but it's ok. It's a small school, ~7000 students. Tuition is around $5000/yr full time (not incl housing). I went after every grant and scholarship I could find. I got enough free money to pay all of my tuition and some of my living expenses every year. No loans. I stayed 6 years! Took a minor and as many electives in my major that I could. I graduated in 2009.
I did get a lot of field experience in my major, geology. There is plenty of original research projects right at the doorstep of the college. I worked p/t as a paid research or teaching assistant. I even got a geology map published while I was a student. It was easy to be a big fish in my program.
I got a job from my minor. GIS. It's a job skill. It's not a super high paying job, <$30k/yr, but all the money I earn is mine.
Average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose an additional $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago.
Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high. Throw in room and board, and the average list price for a state school now runs more than $17,000 a year, according to the twin annual reports on college costs and student aid published Wednesday by the College Board.
add another year since most people take 5 to graduate. 85k is considered a reasonable price for a degree at a state school these days.
Apparently, the "powers-that-be" within the University of California saw fit to give raises to some of its top administrators and attorneys. These folks are already making more than $150K per year, so an additional 6.4% to 23% pay increase for them borders on the obscene in the face of budget cuts and student fee and tuition increases.
Here's an idea...fire some of those administrators making over $150K per year and replace them with two or three folks that just received graduate degrees from their institutions. Start the fresh graduates off with a salary of no more than $60K per year and give them an annual 2% "cost-of-living" increase (depending upon their performance). If the education they are giving their students is of any value, the university can save quite a bit of money over the long run as well as provide jobs for its alumni.
There are many fine "state" universities. California has many. Texas has UT and A&M, both fine large schools.
It costs between $25K-$28K in Texas to attend these schools. It isn't cheap, but compared to a $55K private, it is a much easier decision as a parent who can't get need based financial aid.
There are many fine "state" universities. California has many. Texas has UT and A&M, both fine large schools.
It costs between $25K-$28K in Texas to attend these schools. It isn't cheap, but compared to a $55K private, it is a much easier decision as a parent who can't get need based financial aid.
If you're high-income enough to not get any need-based financial aid at a private school, it generally means that you can afford it.
The problem with public schools is that much of their tuition ends up turning into debt.
Whereas with private school, most of the tuition is paid by grants.
If you're high-income enough to not get any need-based financial aid at a private school, it generally means that you can afford it.
The problem with public schools is that much of their tuition ends up turning into debt.
Whereas with private school, most of the tuition is paid by grants.
I have to disagree with that statement. Our family is not rich by any means and we did not qualify for financial aid when my kids were applying for colleges. Thank goodness there are plenty of good colleges that give merit aid. My older two kids were able to attend private colleges for just about the cost of our in-state flagship college. I learned several years ago not to discount private colleges because of the sticker price! Just because a school lists it's costs as $50,000 a year does not mean that that's what all students pay.
I have to disagree with that statement. Our family is not rich by any means and we did not qualify for financial aid when my kids were applying for colleges. Thank goodness there are plenty of good colleges that give merit aid. My older two kids were able to attend private colleges for just about the cost of our in-state flagship college. I learned several years ago not to discount private colleges because of the sticker price! Just because a school lists it's costs as $50,000 a year does not mean that that's what all students pay.
I use numbers above the median household income, but not numbers that consider one rich. For this estimate, I used an income of 80,000 w/ a home valued at 250,000. The school was JHU.
Estimated Cost of Attendance: $56000
Minus your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC): $24200
Need: $31800
Estimated Aid Grant Award: $25800
Loan Award: $3500
Work Award: $2500
Total Award: $31800
I chose this school randomly. I feel this is a fair amount of financial aid based on an income of $80,000. I don't know what your income is, but it must be quite a bit higher than $80k. Which, puts your way above the median household income.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
)
