Tuition and fees at Notre Dame for the 2022-2023 academic year are over $60,000. Room and board, dining, and basic essentials probably raise the cost to somewhere around $80,000 per year. Is an undergraduate degree worth over $300,00? The tuition could be far more expensive over the course of several years if it’s borrowed. You may be thinking “my kid isn’t going to a private school” or my personal favorite, “it’s an investment that will pay off down the road.” Being in debt for an overvalued degree is not a great way to kick off adulthood. Let me offer a few suggestions on how to curb this dilemma.
Don’t go to “college”
College seems to be an expectation in today’s society. An individual is somehow labeled as dumb for not attending college. Students are funneled into college without having a clue in what they want to do for the next forty years of life. Maybe more commonly, a teenager might feel like they’re “missing out on the college experience.” Some teenagers believe they’ll miss their chance to indulge themselves in the non-stop party experience. Both of these ideas could not be further from the truth. If the interest is there, I would push an individual to learn a trade or start a business. These alternatives are almost always cheaper and in many ways more rewarding. Anecdotal evidence, but the friends I have from high school that chose this route are generally happier and more financially successful than the sea of college grads I know. Further, there is nothing essential that a teenager is missing out on in college. Highschool students (myself included) have used college as an outlet to continue acting like a child with a little bit of extra freedom. If a teenager can have the foresight to understand this, they will be better for it down the road.
Go to community college
In Ohio, average tuition for an in-state community college is less than $5,000 per year. Obviously, you don’t have the same class options and degree programs as a four-year university; however, many of the classes overlap. Generally, community college tends to be a little bit easier on the class requirements and grading. Depending on a student’s work ethic, this can be a good thing or a bad thing. I have seen that professors at community colleges typically have a long experience in the field they are teaching, as opposed to professional teachers found in university academia. Theoretically, this can mean that community college professors are not as good at teaching. Practically, I’ve found that these instructors are the most passionate and willing to help students. If attending college is the choice, I strongly recommend starting at a community college.
Get a scholarship
There are endless scholarship options out there. Academic, athletic, military, STEM, and need-based are a few scholarships, just to name a few. Consider these scholarships years in advance. Should you save more money for tuition, or should you pay a tutor tell help your child study for the ACT? Obviously, there are more reasons to hire a tutor for your child’s education than simply dollars and cents, but money is still important. Finally, I would expand the horizon on schools to attend. Different schools will offer different scholarships and sometimes the offers are extremely lop-sided. I applied to several law schools, all of them being similar admission statistics. Some law schools offered minimal scholarships, some nothing, and a few schools offered almost full rides. Apply to several places, disregard application fees, and keep an open mind.
MoneyManeuvering 