While we’ve touted community colleges and public colleges as a way to make college more affordable, private colleges definitely have their benefits–especially those with large endowments, which tend to be most generous with financial aid.
College Factual recently released their list of the top 10 best private colleges in the U.S., based on factors including student body caliber, educational resources, level of degree completion, and post-graduate earnings.
When giving advice to students and families about choosing a college and determining how to pay for it, we tell them to look at the return on investment (ROI) of the degree.
The College Considerator is a new tool makes that even easier, by measuring the value of the student’s potential degree. This can help families and students figure out whether it’s worth paying for the college of their choice.
Applying to and getting into college puts enormous pressure on students and families. Many students believe they need to get into the “best” (highest-ranked) college possible in order to have a chance at getting a good job after college.
Particularly among the wealthy, there’s often competition between parents as their children apply to the same prestigious colleges, Robert Reich writes in a recent piece for Slate.
For-profit colleges have faced bad press over the last few years–and deservedly so.
They’ve been accused of predatory lending, and graduates report poor outcomes, high student debt, and difficulty finding jobs.
In spite of this, and the fact that they’re more expensive on average than both public two- and four-year colleges, they’re increasing in popularity, particularly among younger students, according to The Hechinger Report.
There’s been another win for the affordable State University of New York (SUNY) system.
A recent study by The Business Journals analyzed the quality of 484 public colleges in America, and several SUNY colleges ranked among the best.
With some private college prices topping $60,000 per year, it’s no wonder that more students are considering lower-cost public colleges as an alternative.
According to US News & World Report, the average cost of attending an in-state public school is $8,500 per year, compared to the average annual private school cost of $30,500 — a difference of $22,000 a year.
But choosing a public college doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. Many public colleges are just as competitive as private colleges–at a significantly lower price point.
While colleges have raised their costs rapidly over the past two decades, only around 20% to 40% of funding for public and private schools comes from tuition and fees, according to Open Source radio.
Colleges also receive money from states, government grants and contracts, research, hospital revenue, and other sources. And colleges with big sports programs can bring in millions of dollars each year form these programs.
But all of this pales in comparison to money raised from college endowments, according to Personal Finance CheatSheet.
Preparing for college means buckling down and studying for those dreaded standardized tests. But should you take the SAT or ACT?
Some students are better suited for the SAT because it focuses on critical reasoning, while other students benefit from the ACT’s science section.
The best thing you can do is to take both and see where your score falls–you never know which one is better for you until you take the test. Check out this infographic from Bench Prep to figure out which test is best for you.
When it comes to choosing a college major, we’re advocates for doing what you love and picking the area in which you’re most interested.
If you’re passionate about what you’re studying, you’re more likely to succeed both during and after college.
That being said, particularly with the rising cost of college and increasing student debt, we believe that students need to be realistic about their future prospects when making the choice to attend a college and, perhaps, go into debt to earn a Bachelor’s degree.
How should you choose a college?
Do colleges follow prospective students on social media?
How does social media affect college admissions?
In the podcast below, productivity expert Erik Fisher speaks with Higher Scores Test Prep and answers these questions and more.