College Tuition Rising

[Maryjane]

Any advice?

Go to community college for your 101's.

[Muckraker]

Quote by: Dr.Vendetta Ok, I have another question about trying to save money for college. Right now, I am taking as many college level classes as I can because they are free when I take them at the high school. Now, should I take these classes again in college, or are the classes I am taking now sufficient? I really want to try to save as much money as possible, but at the same time, I don't want to go to college not knowing all that I should. Any advice?

If you are taking "Advanced Placement" classes then make sure you take the AP tests at the end of them and do as well as possible. I took AP Calc and AP Biology my senior year of high school and I effectively tested out of a few thousand dollars worth of college classes.

Also I agree with the other poster. Go to a community college that recognizes your AP credits, get an Associates degree (2 year degree) from them and then transfer to a university that recognizes your community college associates degree as meeting all of their general education requirements. That means you save tons of money and you get to take all the fun classes of your major area of interest for your Junior and Senior year at the university. Also, as I said before, if you do well at community college you will probably also be able to get a community college transfer scholarship from the university.

Of course, if you did really well in high school and some school wants to pay your way then forget all that, except for the AP classes, and jump on it. AP classes, though, are money in the bank. Make good use of them.

[Chaossaber314]

Quote by: Dr.Vendetta Ok, I have another question about trying to save money for college. Right now, I am taking as many college level classes as I can because they are free when I take them at the high school. Now, should I take these classes again in college, or are the classes I am taking now sufficient? I really want to try to save as much money as possible, but at the same time, I don't want to go to college not knowing all that I should. Any advice?

For the most part, the AP courses help you get needless credits out of the way right off the bat. The worst case scenario is that the curriculum is too far removed from the college you're transferring to, and they only count as elective credit and not necessarily for something specific like a general ed English requirement or the like. However, you still get credit for your AP work as long as you took the AP tests.

Frankly, I didn't get along with my high school so I said to hell with AP courses, went to college, took 18 hours my first semester, and got a 4.0. I didn't want my high-school to taint my college GPA.

I have to disagree with the other posters about community college however. If you really aren't ready emotionally and maturity wise, yes, community college is a decent start... and it does save you a little bit of money. However, in a lot of cases it's not as easy as simply saving all of your major credits for junior and senior year. Most degrees have prerequisite courses preventing you from simply taking everything at once. So you're not doing yourself any favors if you get to college and are only able to take 9 hours... not enough to be considered a full-time student and lose medical insurance under your family's carrier.

On the other hand, If you balance everything out so that you take some general ed and some major / minor course a semester, you have a whole lot more balanced schedule which is significantly less stressful allowing you the time to work and make money to make up the difference lost when you decided to go 4 year rather than starting off at a community college. The other thing is that while major courses are more fun than the other useless junk they force you to take, overloading yourself with upper-tier major courses, as fun and interesting as they may be, typically removes a significant portion of that fun factor.

It's a double edged sword financially and otherwise. Both options have their pluses and negatives.

[Dr.Vendetta]

Ok, let me try to clarify my situation here. I do take AP classes, but my school doesn't offer many of those. The majority of the classes I take are called dual-enrollment courses. In these classes, I stay at my high school with teachers who are certified, and I am instructed on a college level. And when I pass the course, I get college credits from a local community college. Now, are these classes good enough so I wont have to take them again in college, or should I take them again in college just to be sure?

And can anyone tell me if it is really worth going to an Ivy-league university?

[Muckraker]

Quote by: Dr.Vendetta Ok, let me try to clarify my situation here. I do take AP classes, but my school doesn't offer many of those. The majority of the classes I take are called dual-enrollment courses. In these classes, I stay at my high school with teachers who are certified, and I am instructed on a college level. And when I pass the course, I get college credits from a local community college. Now, are these classes good enough so I wont have to take them again in college, or should I take them again in college just to be sure? And can anyone tell me if it is really worth going to an Ivy-league university?

As long as the college you go to recognizes the credits then don't take the classes again as you will just be wasting money. Also, as long as you go to a university that acknowledges your community college associates degree as meeting their general education requirements you should not have to take any general education classes at the university either. Most local colleges have a reciprocal agreement with high schools and most in-state universities have a reciprocal agreement with local colleges. It's when you start going out of state or to private schools that things get messy with your existing college credit.

Regarding the Ivy League schools - it depends on what career you want.

[Dr.Vendetta]

Well, I am mainly thinking of a career in Computer Science or Computer Engineering. I thought about applying to MIT or Columbia, but If I get in, and I decide to go to one of these, I want to make sure that It will be worth me being in debt for the rest of my life.

[Muckraker]

Quote by: Dr.Vendetta Well, I am mainly thinking of a career in Computer Science or Computer Engineering. I thought about applying to MIT or Columbia, but If I get in, and I decide to go to one of these, I want to make sure that It will be worth me being in debt for the rest of my life.

What sort of positions would you be applying for if you acquired your desired degree from MIT or Columbia?

As long as you weigh the risk/reward then it could definitely be lucrative and, just like a doctor or lawyer, there would probably be a point where your debt would be wiped by your large salary and you are free riding from there.

If the end result is managing the IT infrastructure of a non-IT company, though, you don't necessarily need to have a well known school on your resume. In that scenario you are better off with a lot of higher end manufacturer certifications and real world experience. The world of managing IT is pretty brutal. I should know since I was just recently working for an IT and telephony consulting company that went under after being around for just two years.

Also, you want to make sure to keep yourself open and stay on the cutting edge of what is going on. My dad was an engineer who worked on troubleshooting and design for a particular model of Lucent switch for 20 years. They shuffled things up and eventually he got cut along with most of the rest of the Lucent work force and he found that since his work experience was so specialized it was not of any value anywhere else.

Keep yourself lean and mean - always on the cutting edge. And don't tie yourself too much to one company because they may cut you just as soon as look at you.

And yes, the reason I post more now is because I am officially a "stay at home dad" since I lost my job. :)

[Sarah22]

The university I attend has had the tuition rise about 65% since 2001, which is absolutely absurd. Also, our state funding is at the lowest it has ever been, so we are getting very little support in that aspect. The state looks at how many alumni contribute and allocate funds based on that number- the more alumni the better :)

[kingmea]

if you want to look at the big picture, its because the US has squandered our money on the war in iraq rather than education. Theres also the inflation to take into account, i guess.

In california its because so many of our residents are in jail due to the 3 strikes law. more money going to building prisons than going to build universities. other states have adopted similar "tough on crime" laws, but i don't know too much about thier situation.

[grandpa]

Quote by: kingmea if you want to look at the big picture, its because the US has squandered our money on the war in iraq rather than education. Theres also the inflation to take into account, i guess.

Also, don't forget about the opportunistic universities themselves, often run by those who can't see very far beyond making profits. Ah, the status quo.

Grandpa h.

[phoenix_fire]

Hillary's supposed to make it easier to pay off student loans. And increase grants. And get rid of FAFSA. At least, that's what Chelsea said.