It is no secret that the cost of college is expensive. Given the economy in the past 4 years, a brighter light now shines on the cost and value of the degree received from school. It seems down unfair at best and diabolical at worst to expect a 17 or 18 year-old to make such a significant financial decision that affects them the rest of their life. Adding to the confusion is the seeming lack of real statistics to help base the decision. How is the school determining job placement rates, average starting salaries and keeping up with overall trends in the workplace? This data is only as good as the number of graduates that report it.
I took a look at the Princeton Review’s Best Value Colleges for 2013. To my surprise, nearly all the Ivy League schools are represented as well as many other academic heavy hitters that you would assume come with a heavy price tag. What you will notice on the chart, however, is that they also add in the amount of financial help the average student gets and what the average student debt is at the time of graduation. Further elaborating on this point is an article detailing why students should not be initially deterred by the high yearly tuition of certain colleges because of the help. I must point out that at the end of this article; it acknowledges that schools have provided inaccurate data in the past about their academic statistics, thus leaving the prospective students with doubt even in the Princeton Review rankings.
I think that this conversation needs taken a step further. It focuses on the average debt and performance of the school, but what about a breakdown of what high school scores and achievements earn what type of scholarships. For example, if I can get into Harvard, could I go to slightly less selective school on a full academic scholarship? Take a look at College Confidential’s college search program. Specifically, it has an option to select a filter in the Scores section where you can specifically look for colleges that you will likely receive more scholarship money based on academic merit. The College Board website has something similar, but does not have this specific filter option. Granted, you are still at the mercy of the accuracy of the school’s reported data and the way the websites sort the data, but it is a start.
This leads to the true question of the value of the school. If you go to the school that awards you more scholarship money, will you have the same earning potential as the graduates from the more selective school that offered you less? If you go to the more selective school, will your earning potential erase the debt you incurred by going there or will it end up simply being the price you paid to say you graduated from there?
These questions can be boiled down to whether you believe it is the drive of the person in their college career or exclusive content from school to school that predicts success. More simply put, is a school more prestigious because a greater percentage of their students work harder with essentially the same data as other schools or is there some other method or material the school possesses that makes the students more equipped? If you believe that it is the first, then it makes complete sense to go to the school that offers more financial help because the difference in your success is you, the student. If you believe the second is true, then you’ll likely want to do everything in your power to get into the best school possible.
My wife and I (who did not know each other in college) both opted for the first theory and limited our amount of undergraduate debt. In our careers, we are peers with folks from Ivy League schools, private schools, public schools, and everything in between. In addition, we know former classmates who are doing very well and others not as much.
It is also my experience that once you are in the work world, the degree may get you in the door, but from there, it is up to you and the skills that you bring to the table that determines your success. It is so important, now more than ever, to really ask about the value of all things that you consider putting your money into. Really look at your goals and desired outcomes when it comes to the college search and selection. It is a monumental task for a 17 or 18 year-old to take on, but, as we have seen in recent years it will affect the rest of your future and you want to get started on the right track.
How about you? Did you go to the best school (based on selectivity) you could get into or did financial help sway your decision? How did it pan out? Would you do it differently if you could?