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I can make
a good living without a college education. |
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There is no doubt that some people have
done well without a college degree. However, a
college graduate will earn on average about a million
dollars more than a high school graduate in his/her
lifetime.
For most people, college pays. |
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I don’t
have the money and can’t afford to take out loans
to pay for college, even if I wanted to go. |
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Almost all students today can get low-rate
education loans to help them pay for college, and education
loans typically don’t have to be paid back until
a student is out of school. The
average loan debt of undergraduate students today is roughly
$20,000 – that’s less than the cost of most
new cars! A car lasts a few years. A college
education lasts a lifetime. |
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Anyone can
get into a public university, but it’s hard to get
into a private college. |
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Some public universities are among the
most competitive to get into, while other public universities
are required to take nearly all applicants. It’s
true that some private colleges are very selective,
but others take students who wouldn’t even be
admitted to a home state public university. Check
with the colleges you are considering to learn more
about the average academic credentials of its students
and its admission policies. |
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Courses
and grades in the spring of senior year aren’t important
because students already have been accepted by a college
by the time those courses are done. |
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Not true.
Most colleges make statements in their admissions materials
that they will look at a senior’s spring grades.
If the student’s academic performance has dropped
off substantially, colleges have been known to cancel
an offer of admission. |
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To make it
in today’s world you need a four-year college degree. |
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Someone
with a four-year degree may have more career options,
but there are many satisfying and good-paying jobs
that are possible with certain technical or two-year
degrees. Start with the fields that are
of interest to you and learn what kind of education is
required and what the job opportunities are in those areas.
Then get the degree you need for the type of career you
want. |
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The college
with the lowest price will be the most affordable. |
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Not necessarily!
Some of the colleges with a high “sticker price”
have raised significant amounts of money for scholarships
from their graduates and friends. As a result, they
have more money to give to students in the form of scholarships,
which reduces the “sticker price.” After
taking financial aid into consideration, a seemingly
more expensive college may be more affordable than
a college with a lower list price. Tip:
Find out what kinds of scholarship options are available
at the colleges you are considering. |
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It really
doesn’t matter if I wait a year or two to go to
college. |
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Many students who don’t go to
college right after high school never get around to
it. Others bring great experience to the college when
they enroll because of what they did with the time
off from school.
It is wise for a student to apply to colleges of
interest during senior year just like any other
student. S/he can, then ask a college to defer enrollment
for a year or two, if the student needs the time away.
Most colleges will hold the offer of admission, especially
if the student has plans that will ultimately make
the student even more interesting or valuable as a
member of the campus community.
Caution: If the student works during
this time away, the income of the student (if substantial)
my hinder her/his need-based
financial aid eligibility when s/he
goes back to school. Because the student will in many
cases still qualify as a dependent student, only a small
amount of income will be protected under the federal
formula. Amounts beyond that can
hurt financial aid eligibility. |
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You need
to start planning for college during your junior
year of high school. |
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No! While
some students may wait this late to do certain things
like visiting potential colleges or taking
the SAT’s, there are
other things that should never wait this long. For
example, high school course selections and grades
represent the single most important consideration
in most colleges’ admissions
decisions. High school course decisions are made sometimes
as early as the middle school years. Financial planning,
saving for college, and finding out which colleges
will be affordable also should be done well before
the junior year. |
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Students
today have so much loan debt that it doesn't make
sense to pay a lot to go
to college. |
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Most students who have huge loan debt usually
have either done a poor job of finding a college where
their family’s financial aid works well, or they
made a conscious decision to take on that kind of loan
debt so they can attend a particular college. (Remember,
the average loan debt of undergraduate students today
is roughly $20,000 – that’s less than the
cost of most new cars!) The goal for most families is
to find in advance schools that will be financially reasonable
for them, usually by using a published financial aid estimator
to understand where they stand under the federal
formula for financial aid. |
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There isn’t
a lot of financial aid available, and what is available
only goes to a few of the very best students. |
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Not true!
During the 2002-03 academic year, over $105 billion dollars
in financial aid was awarded. The vast
majority of this money was doled out by the federal government
through grant, loan and work-study programs, while colleges’
own grants and scholarships accounted for almost 20% of
all financial aid. States helped too by contributing over
$5.5 billion to the pot. That’s a lot of money for
a lot of students. In fact, over 70% of students nationally
receive some kind of financial aid. |
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No one in
my family has gone to college – why should I be
the first? |
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After high school, you may have 40
or 50 years of employment ahead. Many changes will
occur in the job market during this time. A college
education will certainly give you more options for
the long term. Many of today’s jobs which require
only a high school diploma may no longer exist a few
years from now. Your education should prepare you
for the job market of the future, not the present.
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