But I was horrified at the time to see my freshman year roommates – who wanted to become elementary education teachers spend $30K per year on their education! It just didn’t seem wise, when a close family memberwent to a state school with a very prestigous education department and probably spent less than $30K for her Bachelors, Masters and upper advanced degrees. She is now in a position where her successful career is flourishing(finalist for State Teacher of the Year award) and has not hampered her personal family life with truckloads of debt that couldn’t be paid off before she was ready to retire. Some positions, like teaching, have a cap on income potential, and once you reach it, what do you plan to do?

So pick the school for the specific department, and the quality of the alumni network. Then look at your assumed projected earnings, and ask yourself if that $35K per year tuition bill is worth it.

If I could do it over, i would have gone to a community college for my first year, and then a cheaper college for the remaining three years. I received an excellent education, though it WAS not cost efficient, I could have gotten comparable elsewhere…

1. A bachelors degree is kind of a necessity these days. It is getting increasingly important to attain a masters degree if you want to set yourself apart from your peers. You want to get the first degree as cheaply as possible so that you can still pay for a masters degree.

2. I am not so sure “that college is likely the most fun time in one’s life” as you say. As far as I am concerned, college is about getting an education. You are paying good money for it. You may as well get what you are paying for: en education. In turn this education will allow you to get a job that is fun, interesting, and challenging. At least this is how it worked out for me. I do not regret sacrificing some fun during my college years.

-Worked at least 40 hours every summer, and at least 25 during the school year. In high school/beginning of college, I worked at a store in the mall. Now, I work in an office as a bookkeeper. My major is accounting, so it really ties in.

-Saved as much money as possible. I don’t go out as often as my friends, but I get to enjoy my savings while they do not.

-Keep my GPA at around 3.6-3.8, which allows me to get scholarships (note: the scholarships I’ve gotten were relatively small, but any amount helps!). If you work hard, it pays off. If you slack off, it shows.

-Chose to attend the local state university, where tuition is only around $9,000 per year. As a result of my constant working and saving, I’ve been able to pay for each semester in cash, with no loans.

-Four years ago I purchased an old used car for $1,500 cash. It runs fine, and I don’t have to worry about car payments.

-Charge less than 30% of my credit limit, and pay it off in full each month. I don’t want to graduate with credit card debt either.

The main points are… Work, save money, keep your credit card debt to a minimum, and try to pay as much for school NOW as you possibly can. It’s easy to say, “Oh I’ll pay for it after I graduate,” but when that time comes, paying your debt won’t be any more fun. Also, a few of my friends chose not to work during the semester, and it’s really doing them no good. While they say they want the extra time to study, they just end up wasting time.

Wow, I totally just wrote a novel as my comment. Sorry!

Of course, me being the cocky 17-year-old kid I am decided that I was too good for community college. That led me to a private college; as well as about $45,000 in student loans.

The only good thing about the college I went to was the accelerated program, which allowed me to graduate with my bachelor’s in 2 years. It was also beneficial because I was able to land a pretty good paying job for my field, for graduates in my field.

I think weighing the opportunity costs of going to community college versus a 4-year university is well worth the time, especially if there are incentives to make your college education much more beneficial without the penalties of taking out massive loans. I just hope that parents can really drill into their childrens’ heads that they need to think things through before making a final decision about where to attend college.