Play Dough
How to Pay for School
November 05, 1997

College is expensive. But it's worth it. Let's face it, though, what most high school seniors are thinking about is which school has the best frats and which state has the lowest drinking age. It's good to talk to your kids about what a college degree will do for them, especially if they're going to have to go into debt to get a higher education.

The average household income of a couple who both have college degrees is almost $80,000. A similar couple's salary with high school diplomas but no degree is $41,000. And the average for a family where both spouses work but neither finished high school is only $25,000 annually.

While Junior is applying to schools, together take a realistic look at which schools will give you the most bang for your buck.

As a professional student for a good part of my life, I have a definite opinion about where my money was best spent. I have two bachelor degrees and one master's. I have attended one private party school, one state university, and two private world-class universities. While the London School of Economics degree (that's "LSE" to us cool people) may have opened a door or two, the fact remains that I was exposed to more people, had access to more services, and got more personalized attention at the public state university than I did at any of the three private schools I attended.

Guess which one cost less?

While everyone will have a different experience, my point is that you shouldn't just assume that the expensive, exclusive school will give you the most for your money. Encourage your budding scholar to think of paying for college just like any other investment. What are the risks and what are the rewards? And what exactly are you paying for?

If Junior wants to get a degree in Russian, he could go to the well-respected Middlebury College (the pre-eminent foreign language school in the country) and spend close to $20K per year. He could also go to the University of Maryland and spend about $8,000 and then go to a special summer program at Middlebury for another $2,000. He would then have spent $10,000, gotten the Middlebury name on his resume, had the cool Middlebury experience, finished school earlier because of his summer studies, and saved enough for a new Kia.

Which sounds like the better way to spend $20K? Even if you'd rather not have the Kia, you have to admit this strategy is worth considering.

Also, as most adults know, your college's name may help you get your first job, but it is merely a footnote after that. It is more frequently a topic of conversation at the Final Four office pool than it is when it comes to discussing anything really having to do with work. Have your munchkin interview five adults who actually do what they want to do. Ask them where they went to school and if they think it had an effect on getting their job. Junior will probably be surprised at the answers.

Help your kid be a Foolish consumer in choosing a college. Make sure what he's paying for is going to be worth it when he's 30.

--Trudy Hoyden (TMF Hoyden)

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