Four Keys to Making the Most of College

I have been reading the best book I've ever read on preparing financially for college. The book is Debt-Free U: How I Paid for an Outstanding College Education Without Loans, Scholarships, or Mooching off My Parents and I'll be sharing a bit of it over the next several days. We'll start with what the author lists (at the end of the book) as four things he wants to convince us all of (which I view as four keys to making the most of college.) They are:

• You shouldn't sacrifice your own financial security to help your child pay for college.
• Your child should take out absolutely no student loans if possible and if he does take out loans, it should be done as a last resort in the last year or two of his education -- and only after all cost-cutting measures have been explored.
• Attending college is far, far more important than attending a certain college. Students who attend a less expensive college will not be at a disadvantage.
• The effort that a student puts into her educational experience is far more important than where she goes to school. A student who's willing to work hard and work smart can do well at any school.

A few thoughts from me:

• We'll be covering many of the issues talked about above more in depth over the next several days. So if something doesn't make sense at this point, it may once I get a chance to really dig into it for you.
• The first point is one we've covered before -- retirement savings (for you) goes before college savings (for your kids.) Reasons: financial institutions don't give loans for retirement, so if you miss the boat here, you have very few options to make up for lost time/money. Also, kids can borrow for college if need be and pay it back over a working lifetime.
• I'll be sharing how the author suggests paying for college without loans. But for now, let's say he's very, very, very much against taking out any sort of loans to fund a college education.
• What he's saying in point #3 is basically: 1) Any college degree is better than no college degree and 2) There's very little difference (in ultimate work/career results) between attending one college and another (hence you don't need to work to get into the "best" school possible -- look more for a decent school that's affordable.)
• Two points are covered in #4 as well: 1) The key in whether or not a student is "successful" at college is most dependent on the student, not the college. A go-getter will be successful (on average) graduating from almost any school while a slacker (or someone without the intelligence and/or will to do well) will not be successful even if he attends the "best" of schools. 2) There are steps students can take (like getting into honors courses, developing independent study classes with a professor, etc.) that can help a student get a "better" education from any school.

I put so many words above in quotes because much of this is very subjective. Just FYI in case you were wondering.

As I said, I'll be covering more of this book so you'll be able to see if it's for you or not. But my opinion is that if you have a student (or are one) from 8th grade through college, you MUST get this book -- it will save you a boatload of money. Buy a copy, borrow a copy, or check one out from the library. But get a copy of it and read it. You'll be glad you did.

Comments

[Money Reasons]

My kids are to young (10 and 6), but it never hurts to read the book just to see what the author has to say :)

I look forward to your review!

[Mark]

For discussion:
1. If parents have enough money to pay for college AND properly fund their own retirements, should they pay for college?
2. What college cost should these parents consider reasonable? (State at $10K per year?, Private at $50K per year?)

[Greg McFarlane]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how do you not mention the one most important indicator of whether a college education is worth it or not: what you major in.

If your kid gets into any "respectable" college and majors in philosophy or women's studies, is that going to help her at all economically? Far better to take out loans to become a civil engineer than to pay out-of-pocket for a useless degree.

[Aloysa]

I wish I would have not taken out student loans. But I did not have a choice. The loans help me to get where I am right now, eventhough I am still trying to pay them off.

[FMF]

Greg --

There's much, much more on this book to come -- including the selection of a major. Stay tuned...

[MBTN]

One thing which I say time and again to people is that the tuition quoted in the brochure is the _full sticker price_. Don't be dissuaded from applying to a school because it seems expensive. Many of the top flight private schools have huge endowments so most of the students get some sort of financial aid. With the so-called "cheaper" public schools cutting back due to state fiscal woes, many are actually raising tuition and cutting back on scholarships. What that means is that it might be cheaper going to a private college.