9 hours ago
Just completed my last class and will graduate May 10th, Summa Cum Laude. Like any good education addict, I immediately started looking in the graduate forum and encountered a useful post on graduate tuition discounts. That inspired me to share my thoughts on undergrad education and collegiate discounts as a way to give back to the community that has given me so much. I wish I had known this information before starting my collegiate journey. Hopefully, this will assist aspiring students.
You first need to determine whether a college degree will help you reach your goals. Leverage the nontraditional college braintrust within this forum to find the best path to the educational credentials you desire.
From a purely financial perspective, most people would be better served pursuing vocational education. Compare the salary of your intended profession against the average salary for an electrician, plumber, pipefitter, boilermaker, machinist, CDL driver, dental hygienist, radiology tech, physical therapy assistant etc. They often receive considerable pay while completing their apprenticeship. Many esteemed scholars with doctorates earn less and are saddled with student loans and years of little to no earnings chasing their academic goals.
The only undergraduate academic disciplines that consistently pay well are engineering, nursing and IT. Of course, money isn't everything.
It is very easy to waste considerable time and money accumulating college credits / degrees that aren't useful in the job market. Research, plan, research, plan and then plan some more before pulling the trigger on your academic journey. For example, will a degree from a private college help you more than your in-state public university? Do you need a RA degree or will a degree from a credible NA school serve you just as well?
Low tuition often beats discounts because it is guaranteed.
Institutional scholarships are just discounts clothed in an academic trapping for legitimacy.
For most students, conserving time is more important than minimizing educational expenses. Correctly accepting your transfer credit can make a huge difference in the time and cost of attendance. It has a far greater impact than tuition for many transfer students.
High tuition accompanied by institutional scholarships allows a school to maintain the illusion of being more valuable and prestigious while offering a lower price to cost-sensitive students.
Tuition can frequently be negotiated at private universities if you speak with a decision maker. This is especially true if the college recognizes that you have one or more skills likely to bring them honor, now or in the future. A common example is athletic prowess.
At a nonselective private college, 'No' is rarely absolute from a financial aid perspective. Generally, it means that the person you are speaking with is unaware of tuition discounting or they don't have an incentive to speak with their superiors to get it approved. Speak with a decision maker.
The incremental cost to add an additional student for a college is low. This is especially true of online students. Colleges have every incentive to maximize attendance, first to students willing to pay full price and then to students willing to pay something above their cost for you to attend. Colleges with selective admissions are an exception.; although they may lower their standards slightly for a student able to pay full tuition IF they are unable to fill all their openings.
At small schools, without selective admissions or a large endowment, your attendance can make a fiscal difference to their bottom line. Small private colleges have been facing declining enrollment for years. Many have closed in the last five years. They NEED you. This affords you leverage to negotiate.
If price matters, let decision makers know that your attendance is predicated on a sizable discount.
Independent scholarship opportunities that are promoted / marketed are often scams. Many legitimate scholarship websites contain links to some less than wonderful scholarship programs. A common ploy is for data seller to collect tons of personal data from a huge number of scholarship applicants and award just one or a few small scholarships.
A scholarship that involves a fee is more akin to a lottery ticket with similar odds.
It is often difficult to reach someone at a university with detailed information about discounts. It is very common to receive bad information even when speaking directly with financial aid. For example, Liberty and UIU both allow some, but not all, discounts to stack. Good luck finding someone who knows which ones stack or even all the discounts they offer.
The USA is the most expensive and least expensive country to pursue higher education. The USA has the highest average tuition but also countless ways to reduce the price as low as zero or even get paid to attend ( fellowships, assistantships etc.)
Generally, student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy so lenders have no motivation to negotiate. DO NOT ACCEPT STUDENT LOANS, unless you have a particular career path that will repay them for you ( military, teacher, medical career etc.) If you must borrow, contact credit unions and explore their options. Easy student loans have allowed colleges to raise the cost of attendance far faster than inflation for forty years.
There are posts on this forum about English language degree programs at excellent European universities that are nearly free to foreigners (you).
A cheap degree from a diploma mill could cost you far more than you realize.
Generally, one RA degree is as good as another. There are a very small number of elite schools who are able to propel their graduates to loftier heights than graduates of average schools. Why pay extra for an expensive degree if it doesn't provide greater utility than a less expensive degree?
Community Colleges are a great, inexpensive place for most people to start. Look for articulation agreements between the state university where you want to graduate and in-state community colleges. In some states, community college is free.
There is no such thing as free education. Someone always pays. It might be taxpayers, a wealthy philanthropist or an organization.
One thing that is inescapable, is the opportunity cost to pursue a degree rather than earn an income. You could be working instead of studying, or working two jobs instead of working while attending school.
If your education is not helping you reach your goals, you might want to reevaluate the path you are on.
For those that don't know, public universities are generally less expensive because taxpayers pay a large portion of the cost to operate the institution. This is the reason public universities normally discount their tuition for in state students.
If someone is paying for your education, honor their sacrifice by studying diligently.
The IRS allows employers to contribute up to $5250.00 to an employee's education tax-free. Employers can contribute more but it is taxable.
I have found schools with large marketing budgets to offer discounts so frequently that the purported discount is the real price most students are paying.
It is possible to obtain a good outcome from a for-profit school but they have a low graduation rate for a reason. The price of tuition at a for-profit might be competitive but they almost always represent poor value for your time and money.
That's all I have time for at the moment. If there is enough interest, I could post a Part ll.
You first need to determine whether a college degree will help you reach your goals. Leverage the nontraditional college braintrust within this forum to find the best path to the educational credentials you desire.
From a purely financial perspective, most people would be better served pursuing vocational education. Compare the salary of your intended profession against the average salary for an electrician, plumber, pipefitter, boilermaker, machinist, CDL driver, dental hygienist, radiology tech, physical therapy assistant etc. They often receive considerable pay while completing their apprenticeship. Many esteemed scholars with doctorates earn less and are saddled with student loans and years of little to no earnings chasing their academic goals.
The only undergraduate academic disciplines that consistently pay well are engineering, nursing and IT. Of course, money isn't everything.
It is very easy to waste considerable time and money accumulating college credits / degrees that aren't useful in the job market. Research, plan, research, plan and then plan some more before pulling the trigger on your academic journey. For example, will a degree from a private college help you more than your in-state public university? Do you need a RA degree or will a degree from a credible NA school serve you just as well?
Low tuition often beats discounts because it is guaranteed.
Institutional scholarships are just discounts clothed in an academic trapping for legitimacy.
For most students, conserving time is more important than minimizing educational expenses. Correctly accepting your transfer credit can make a huge difference in the time and cost of attendance. It has a far greater impact than tuition for many transfer students.
High tuition accompanied by institutional scholarships allows a school to maintain the illusion of being more valuable and prestigious while offering a lower price to cost-sensitive students.
Tuition can frequently be negotiated at private universities if you speak with a decision maker. This is especially true if the college recognizes that you have one or more skills likely to bring them honor, now or in the future. A common example is athletic prowess.
At a nonselective private college, 'No' is rarely absolute from a financial aid perspective. Generally, it means that the person you are speaking with is unaware of tuition discounting or they don't have an incentive to speak with their superiors to get it approved. Speak with a decision maker.
The incremental cost to add an additional student for a college is low. This is especially true of online students. Colleges have every incentive to maximize attendance, first to students willing to pay full price and then to students willing to pay something above their cost for you to attend. Colleges with selective admissions are an exception.; although they may lower their standards slightly for a student able to pay full tuition IF they are unable to fill all their openings.
At small schools, without selective admissions or a large endowment, your attendance can make a fiscal difference to their bottom line. Small private colleges have been facing declining enrollment for years. Many have closed in the last five years. They NEED you. This affords you leverage to negotiate.
If price matters, let decision makers know that your attendance is predicated on a sizable discount.
Independent scholarship opportunities that are promoted / marketed are often scams. Many legitimate scholarship websites contain links to some less than wonderful scholarship programs. A common ploy is for data seller to collect tons of personal data from a huge number of scholarship applicants and award just one or a few small scholarships.
A scholarship that involves a fee is more akin to a lottery ticket with similar odds.
It is often difficult to reach someone at a university with detailed information about discounts. It is very common to receive bad information even when speaking directly with financial aid. For example, Liberty and UIU both allow some, but not all, discounts to stack. Good luck finding someone who knows which ones stack or even all the discounts they offer.
The USA is the most expensive and least expensive country to pursue higher education. The USA has the highest average tuition but also countless ways to reduce the price as low as zero or even get paid to attend ( fellowships, assistantships etc.)
Generally, student loans can't be discharged in bankruptcy so lenders have no motivation to negotiate. DO NOT ACCEPT STUDENT LOANS, unless you have a particular career path that will repay them for you ( military, teacher, medical career etc.) If you must borrow, contact credit unions and explore their options. Easy student loans have allowed colleges to raise the cost of attendance far faster than inflation for forty years.
There are posts on this forum about English language degree programs at excellent European universities that are nearly free to foreigners (you).
A cheap degree from a diploma mill could cost you far more than you realize.
Generally, one RA degree is as good as another. There are a very small number of elite schools who are able to propel their graduates to loftier heights than graduates of average schools. Why pay extra for an expensive degree if it doesn't provide greater utility than a less expensive degree?
Community Colleges are a great, inexpensive place for most people to start. Look for articulation agreements between the state university where you want to graduate and in-state community colleges. In some states, community college is free.
There is no such thing as free education. Someone always pays. It might be taxpayers, a wealthy philanthropist or an organization.
One thing that is inescapable, is the opportunity cost to pursue a degree rather than earn an income. You could be working instead of studying, or working two jobs instead of working while attending school.
If your education is not helping you reach your goals, you might want to reevaluate the path you are on.
For those that don't know, public universities are generally less expensive because taxpayers pay a large portion of the cost to operate the institution. This is the reason public universities normally discount their tuition for in state students.
If someone is paying for your education, honor their sacrifice by studying diligently.
The IRS allows employers to contribute up to $5250.00 to an employee's education tax-free. Employers can contribute more but it is taxable.
I have found schools with large marketing budgets to offer discounts so frequently that the purported discount is the real price most students are paying.
It is possible to obtain a good outcome from a for-profit school but they have a low graduation rate for a reason. The price of tuition at a for-profit might be competitive but they almost always represent poor value for your time and money.
That's all I have time for at the moment. If there is enough interest, I could post a Part ll.
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