It seems like it is getting harder and harder to buy something that does not cost a lot with the economy of today. Prices are increasing everywhere from at the gas pump to the clothing stores. So if you are someone that has been thinking about attending college, or is already attending college and are afraid that your class bill will keep increasing, you are probably right.
College tuition tends to be a fairly expensive thing. This can scare some people away from continuing their education because they are afraid that they will not have enough money to cover the bill. If you are hoping that college tuition prices will go down, you will probably be waiting a long time, because it is standard for the tuition to rise at least by a small percentage each year, no matter what the state of the economy is.
However, even though the cost of college tuition may be increasing more and more each year, you should not let this deter you from continuing your education. Earning your college degree is one of the best choices that you can make to improve your financial condition. With the struggling economy, you will likely need a college degree in order to find a good paying job, or even find any type of job because companies seem to be tightening their wallets more with each passing week.
If you are worried about coming up with the money to pay for your college tuition, you should look into the resources that are available to help you keep down the costs of the bill. If it is graduate school that you are planning on attending, you can look into the option of graduate assistantships, because you will usually be given a reduced tuition price if you are awarded an assistantship.
If you are thinking about attend undergraduate school, you can look into the option of working a work study position. Although you probably will not be awarded a lower college tuition price, you will still be earning a paycheck to help with the class bill while you are in college.
You can also apply for scholarships to help with the tuition bill. Scholarships are a great resource available to students because if you are awarded one or more, that is money that will help pay your class bill that you will not have to pay back. You may even be able to cover almost or your entire bill depending on how many scholarships you are awarded.
You can also look into the option of grants. Depending on your situation, you may qualify to apply for grants to help pay for your college bill. There are many types of grants available, so there may be more than one that you qualify for.
College internship opportunities are also available for you if you are a student. There are many college internship opportunities that pay well, so you will be able to save up money quickly to pay for college. In addition, a college internship will give you the experience needed to land a good paying job.
No matter what your financial situation is, if you are thinking about going to college but are afraid that you can not afford the price, look into your options before dismissing the idea. Although the price of college tuition may be increasing each year, there are options available to help with the price.
Grants For College Tuition
An article in the Washington Post quotes a GW student already $60,000 in debt: "I think people are going to come regardless of how much it costs," and apparently the president of the GW Student Association thinks that “tuition is not a big issue at GWU, in part because parents often pay for it and in part because students think they're getting a great education” (as paraphrased by the Washington Post).
Is a GW education really so magical that it merits the highest price tag in the country? Either (1) GW is full of people so well off financially that price really is no object (although the über-rich are some of the most cost-conscious people I know), (2) it's full of people who aren't so good at math, or (3) GW's financial aid is so generous as to render the ticket price completely fictional (unlikely, given the size of its endowment -- it doesn't enjoy the financial aid luxuries of, say, Princeton).
Published tuition costs are of course really just list or sticker prices, like the ones car dealerships use. A lot of people don't actually pay list price. Either they negotiate the price down (if they can play peer schools against each other), their low income qualifies them for need-based aid, or they can dangle some carrot the school wants, whether that's geographic origin, race, grades and test scores, or a particular extracurricular talent.
Schools discount tuition all the time so that they can engineer the kind of incoming class profile they want. Still, baselines matter. A high list price means a high negotiating baseline for you and a high discounting baseline for them.
Which brings me to the term “discount.” I remember attending a conference for admissions officers and hearing people use that lingo -- the speakers referred to financial aid as “tuition discounting." That's all financial aid is when you boil it down, so don't get too wrapped up in the sticker price on the window if you have something you know a school wants.
That's the strategy I generally advise for college selection: go to the place where you're a big catch for the admissions office and save your money.
I'll close with an important caveat: I'm a firm believer in the maxim that it's the terminal degree that counts. That means that you should go all-out to attend a prestigious graduate school, assuming you've already done the analysis to figure out that the particular graduate degree you're interested in is a worthwhile financial investment to begin with. If you're going to spend big bucks on a degree, don't spend it on your first one.
Go to the college that represents the best value proposition, knock people's socks off, and then invest in a fancy-pants, big-ticket, big-name graduate school.
Both Beth Ibarra & Anna Ivey are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.