Sunday, 28 April 2013

The money needed for a college education

By Jess Mors


Parents and their children ponder the same question throughout most of the world: what to do after high school graduation. The choice is now between finding a job or getting more qualified through college. If one is planning to have a decent and comfortable life, higher education is pretty much a requirement.

Unlike previous decades, more than half of recent graduates in the United States engage in some type of schooling after high school. So jobs that use to only a high school education previously now are asking for an associate degree.

The difference in the earnings between a college educated person and a high school education is about 70% more. Those qualified with two year diplomas even get much more than high school qualifiers. Considering the difference in the earning potential the time spend for college studies is a small investment.

The point here is whether you have the financial capacity to afford the expensive college education for your ward. Neverthless, you can also not risk to deprive them of it. Ideally, an education fund should be started before your children are even born. Lets take a look at how much money we're talking about.

You would be spending less if you send your child to a college in your own state. Non residents are required to pay higher tuition amounts than state residents, if they attend a public school. However, private universities mostly have the same fee structure for both residents and non residents

The amount required for college education would include cost on educational fees, living expenses including lodging, and other expenses. This usually would cross about twenty thousand dollars for most universities. However you will have to shell out at least five thousand dollars more for sending your child to other states and double of that to the private schools. Scholarships will help with some, but not all of that bill.

The expenses on stay and food consumes a large portion of this amount. Staying at your own home and doing higher studies would save you a good amount. The next largest expense is for fees and tuition, something that is rising as fast as medical costs. The remaining amount includes the money spent on transportation, books and other items. There are ways to save on those with sales, used books and public transportation.

These costs are different depending on where you live and what type of lifestyle the student makes his own. You will have to add the transportation expenditure to the budget if the child has to travel far to the school. With increasing gas prices, this expenditure can also become huge. Clothing, food and entertainment expenses must be kept into account, along with, depending on the school, a computer.

These are the usual anticipated expenses for completing a four-year degree course, but you can find technical schools and community colleges where expenses are lesser. Some students may even find them more appealing.

It is not easy to calculate the money needed for college expenditure far in the future, but the key to this is to add an increase of 10% per year. Do your research. If you find that setting up a fund for future education of your child is not possible, then opt for a savings account. Better yet, check out the local 529 plan in your state which can also save you money on taxes. You can count on a good return on your college investment.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment