[parsimo2010]

Just in case people haven't heard this, here is my straightforward advice (for those in the US considering college):

1. Unless you have schools falling all over trying to recruit you, go to an in-state public university. By "trying to recruit you" I mean schools literally flying you out to visit and offering you full scholarship because you are an ungodly talent in whatever you do (sports, music, etc.). Schools mailing you letters and offering you $5k doesn't count, that can't offset the cost of private or out of state tuitions. For most middle class people, the jobs you'll be getting don't care about whether you went to UNC or VT, or K-State, or whatever- public state universities are kind of all judged the same and it's not worth the extra cost to go out of state.

  a. If you want to really get a good deal, go to a community college for a year or two and live with your parents, then transfer to the state school when you have done your core classes and are ready to focus on your major.

  b. Still apply for scholarships even if you're going to a state school with in state tuition.  Pretty much anyone can swing a few grand in grants and scholarships, and if you get a job (or are lucky enough for your parents to pitch in) you can graduate debt free. Being debt-free from a state school is far better than having $40k or more in debt from a private school with moderate name recognition.

2. Don't go to a private school unless you get a full scholarship or your parents are so rich they will foot the bill for you without taking out any loans. Most private schools aren't worth it. Probably the only private schools that are really worth it are the ones with undeniable networking opportunties- Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford. Maybe a couple others but the list is very short (and if you're thinking about where to go to college you probably weren't admitted to these).

3. Definitely don't go to a small private liberal arts college. I have good friends that teach at these kinds of schools, and while they are a nice community to work in, they are a bad deal for students. People are starting to figure this out, smaller liberal arts colleges are at higher risk of shutting down. They unite the costs of a private school with the faculty the size of a community college, with the uncertainty of not knowing if your school will be open in four years to give you a degree.

If you do #1 above you'll have done the common sense thing and you'll really appreciate it as an adult when you hear your coworkers complaining about their mountain of debt from their college that sounded cool but turned out to be kinda crappy.

[drillsteps5]

Really good advice.

In my state our state college actually has agreements with number of community colleges where they guarantee transfer once you complete pre-defined number of classes with reasonably good GPA (3.5 I believe). Saves you a TON.

I'm curious to know how to find other scholarships not necessarily advertised by the school. I read the "1000 scholarships" book or whatever it's called, their points weren't very practical, or maybe I didn't look hard enough...

100% for liberal arts colleges. I do not hate liberal arts education, but if you charge so much for education knowing there's very limited number of jobs your graduates will be fighting for, and how low their wages will be, that borders on scam.

[BrenBarn]

> I'm curious to know how to find other scholarships not necessarily advertised by the school.

One of the biggest things to keep an eye out for is scholarship opportunities from local organizations (i.e., scholarships whose eligibility is "open to all students who graduated from high school in ABC County"). The key bonus here is that the local eligibility restrictions mean you're competing with a relatively limited pool of applicants. Of course this bonus is lessened if you come from a big city, although on the flip side bigger cities are more likely to have more foundations offering such scholarships. In my experience many people tend to look for scholarships at the school they're going to, and they look at ones you can find in the "1000 scholarships" type books which tend to be large national ones, but they're not so aware of scholarships that are based on where you're coming from, not where you're going to.

These scholarships often aren't huge dollar amounts, but if you combine it with the advice about picking affordable schools, it can have a meaningful impact.

[eszed]

As a graduate from and former professor at small private liberal arts colleges, #3 is spot-on. Don't even consider it.

The rest of the advice is excellent, as well. Unless the world is very, very different ~15 years from now (and God, I hope it is), this is what I'll be telling my kid.

[BrenBarn]

Great list. There is one useful sidebar that probably isn't on the radar for most high school students but is important to remember:

* Never under any circumstances go to a for-profit college.