That just BLOWS my mind. I graduate next May with a degree in Finance. And TOTAL i'm going to spend about $13,000 CASH money, no loans, for my degree at my State University. Mr. Keith could have done the same thing at Iowa State University. And he could have had a job with an Engineering degree instead of making $10/hour, hell I was making $10/hour as a clerk straight out of high school.
If you are going to go to college, just like any other investment, you wanna pay as less as you can for it.
Wow $10 an hour, I was making $20 an hour after tips when I was 16 valet parking.
I went the state school route for about a year and a half at cal poly, ended up $13,000 in debt from cost of living expenses. I got out of there because I decided it just wasn't worth it anymore. What really set me over the edge and pissed me off was interest rates were down at all time lows, but I was locked in by the US Government on all my loans at over 6.8% APR! I consider myself getting out pretty lucky, with that amount of debt and the governments covering the interest until I get out. I was talking to a friend who began paying his back and he has around the same amount. He said he's paying $300 per month. I couldn't imagine having $50,000 in Debt, its absolutely nuts!
I did end up deciding this past fall that I needed a college degree in order to accomplish my dreams. I went on and off at the community college for the previous 2 years, trying to figure out what to do. In Novemeber I found out about Western Governors University or WGU.edu. It's a non-profit 100% self paced fully accredited university, which lets me accelerate through my degree and catch up on my missed time. They keep cost low because they don't develop any of there own curriculum, they do not have set class hours, they do not have required homework assignments, all there books are online e-books included in the price of tuition, and they provide multiple learning resources for each course. All they require is that you pass 12 units every 6 months. On top of all those benefits, they are Regionally Accredited by the same institution that accredits University of Washington, Gonzaga, and all other Brick and Mortar Institutions in the pacific Northwest. That means the degree is recognized the same as any other state school, or private school degree. Because you actually need to pass tests there is no skating through just doing homework and showing up to class. Can you believe at community college most classes awarded 10%-20% just for participating. I took one class where participation was the single most important factor in my grade. It's the same as every kid gets a little league trophy, except no its every student gets a pass.
This has been my most productive six months of college in the 4 years since I graduated high school. I've finished passed 57 units in the past 6 months and I have 2 more to finish before the end of the month. Best part out of pocket I'm paid $12,000 dollars, talk about value, it comes out to about $20 per unit although that price will double next term, cause I'll only have 27 to complete for my degree. If your out there and concerned about your debt, but don't know what to do, I strongly suggest checking out WGU. Its everything I always believed college could be. Oh yea, I thought about applying to grad school. $38,000 for a one year masters of accountancy at UC Davis. I'll pass WGU has masters programs if you really want it, and its the same price $3,000 every six months. At least there are some universities providing value.