Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Good Value Colleges
Today's tough economic times make college decisions even more difficult. If it wasn't tough enough deciding between in-state or out-of-state schools, public or private, big or small, liberal arts or not, now your (or your parent's) pocket book will play a big role in where you decide to continue your education. The University of California schools have raised tuition 10% this year; even our beloved community colleges have increased their sticker price. The Ivies have been - and always will be - outrageously expensive. (The average hot liberal arts college costs $39,000/year, and four years at Harvard will set you back over $200,000!)
So where can you find the best bang for your buck? Or, in today's ed-speak, the best learning for your lifestyle? Check out these 10 interesting, quirky, yet very cost-effective colleges that Mother Jones Magazine put out this month. Here's a few highlights:
Berea College (Kentucky)
Tuition: Free!
All 1,549 students get free tuition for four years. Some live in the Ecovillage, environmentally friendly housing that features a "permaculture food forest" and a contraption that makes sewage so clean you can swim in it.
New College of Florida (Sarasota)
Tuition: $26,300/$4,700 in state
The Sarah Lawrence of the South favors tutorials and evaluations over giant lectures and letter grades. In the past 14 years, it's cranked out more Fulbright Scholars per student than Harvard, Stanford, or Yale.
California State University - Monterey Bay (Seaside)
Tuition: $3,845 + $339 per unit
The nearby Monterey Bay serves as the classroom for the school's popular Environmental Science, Technology & Policy major.
The University of Minnesota-Morris
Tuition: $8,830
This public liberal arts college has academic chops and green-energy cred: By 2010, it expects to go carbon neutral with help from an on-site wind turbine, which already produces 60 percent of the power on campus.
The College of New Jersey (Ewing)
Tuition: $16,825/$8,718 in state
Students at this small public college can make a four-year commitment to participate in service projects in return for a scholarship that covers up to full tuition. And they swear that the annual LollaNoBooza bash isn't totally lame.
So as you can see, lots of good colleges, lots of good cost. Harvard will give away $150 million this year in scholarships, but the University of Kansas, which has a fraction of the endowment that Harvard has, hands out $25 million every year. Point being, don't let this financial mess get in the way of finding the right college for your specific needs, interests, and budget. It might take some more research, some more patience, and some more time, but in the end, the next four years are well worth it.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
1 comment:
First and foremost, I have to give an additional plug for Mother Jones Magazine. It is a pretty cool publication.
In chosing a college, or a major, or even a career for that matter, what you get out of it is a lot less about what it is specifically than what you put into it. More and more society tells young people that life is all about getting into the best possible (highest rated) college in order to get the best (highest paid) career possible. Even if you think life is all about money, those might not be your best options.
I don't particularly like going into personal experiences in these blog posts but I feel compelled here because I know some people and have seen some things that blow these conventions clean out of the water.
I had a great college experience at UC Berkeley and wouldn't trade it for any other, but I will admit that many of my professor were aloof and out of touch with the student body. Many of my friends that attended "less prestegious" schools got to know their professors, made great connections, and were in full time jobs in their prefered fields far more quickly than I was.
To highlight another example a good friend's father attended a college that is such a "no-name" that I can't even remember its name as a music and film double major. He recently sold a tech company that he had founded with college connections made based on a shared love of music. His share of the sale? A whopping $60 million.
For some people, paying the extra money to go to a big name school is the right decision for them, especially if they have already developed a passion for a particular field and the school they are attending is renowned in it. For many others the smaller name schools are a much better choice and the potential benefits can go well beyond not having to make $500 a month student loan payments for the next 20 or so years.
My two cents on the whole topic, go to a bargain school with a sports program that you can get behind (there is nothing quite like getting to be a student-fan) and save the big bucks for grad school.
Post a Comment