I've been saying what this article is saying for years! I have 3 adult chrildren, the youngest graduated college 2 years ago,and all are gainfully employed doing well for themselves. They all attended University of Michigan and community college.And no I am not made of money either I am a recently retired skilled tradesman from General Motors.

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As a current college student at a private university, thank you for telling me my decision was a stupid one. Yet I'm graduating in four years when my friends at public institutions will need another year of schooling. The fact that more college students are graduating in 5 years instead of 4 isn't even factored into your article. Unless you know the financial aid package and benefits of every private college you shouldn't be discouraging people from attending. Not everyone will do well at a school with 10,000 to 50,000 people... college is not simply an economic decision.

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Another brilliant (and cost-effective) way to minimize college expenses is to go with a realistic career goal and know the college major that will prepare you best for that career. How do you find that out? Participate in a comprehensive career assessment - interests, values, personality and most important, objectively measured APTITUDES (your innate talents) - have the results interpreted by a credentialed consultant who can create a list of careers and college majors that are a best fit for you. This is basic Career Literacy and was not available when today's parents were 18! You go to college with a sense of direction, and are motivated and confident. Changing majors costs time and money, two things most families don't have in abundant supply.

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Too many of my child's friends attended public or less academically rigorous colleges and have still not graduated after 4 years. They have either left to attend other schools or are struggling to complete their degrees. My child selected a private well- established Jesuit university that holds a high rate of retention and graduation within 4 years. It was where she truly wanted to go. Although she received large scholarships to other colleges, this was the best "fit" for her and she will now be able to graduate one semester earlier- saving us approximately $20,000. I don't believe that a public university would have been able to offer her the same education with the high standards and rigorous core curriculum that is so well known of the Jesuits.

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I agree with the article. I have a couple of friends who went and graduated from private and public institutions and they are making almost the same as me. One girl who I will not mention her name, constantly bickers about how much money her parents put her through USC and now she is making low salary at her current job. Another girl is taking jobs that pay low but she got financial aid from UCLA. However when financial aid is not enough she also had to take out student loans. I agree with one commentator about financial aid but what if your parents make too much money? My parents have paid all my college tutition for the past years. 4 years were at community college and the other 2 were at Cal State. I just barley qualified for Financial Aid because I am 24. This is sad but you have to be oober smart sometimes to be granted financial aid or a grant. Fortunately for me I have already been acccepted to positions that I never knew I was going to recieve and I did not even come from an Ivy League School. My parents feel proud of me and they do not feel retrained from financial expenses.

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Graduating in 4 years isn't about the school, it's about the student. If a student changes majors, doesn't coordinate with counselors for course planning or slacks off....a 4 year degree may not happen.
Don't think for a moment that it's about "where you go to college"...it's "what you do with it"!

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the major problem with this article is everything is based on out of college. people need to exercise patience and planning once they get degrees. no one should accept the reality that you are GRANTED a great job once you complete college. i hear panic on the money. regardless to what college you go to, have pride in your decision and believe that you are special enough to become one of the greatest alum the school has ever taught! even if you struggle and don't realize that until you are 31. pay the bills the best way you can and fight for your greatness and not have it handed to you JUST because you went to a certain college with a certain cost. college is a beautiful experience to be remembered and you take that experience to build what they told you you COULD build.

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I often can't sleep because of the school loan debt my children are takng on, the numbers looking forward are scary. This past semester my daughter was in agony about looking for a cheaper in-state public school vs the private out-of-state one she has been going to, just for the sake of saving money, it was a commendable decision, but then she realized just how much this school has done for her overall growth and development, as I have, and decided to stay. It truly is the best, if not easiest choice. Every student will blossom in their own way, own time, but the 'fit' of the school, public/private/small/large etc...makes a tremendous difference in that happening. Debt sucks, period. But sometimes you have to take a chance on what feels right, for many reasons and not only the money, and work reasonably with the loan company afterwards to get that paid off, keeping an open mind about the job you choose, perhaps it will be a stepping stone, but it doesn't have to be viewed as a limitation.

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Around 1979 Obama started college at Occidental in California. He is very open about his two years at Occidental, he tried all kinds of drugs and was wasting his time but, even though he had a brilliant mind, did not apply himself to his studies. 'Barry' (that was the name he used all his life) during this time had two roommates, Muhammad Hasan Chandoo and Wahid Hamid, both from Pakistan. During the summer of 1981, after his second year in college, he made a 'round the world' trip. Stopping to see his mother in Indonesia, next Hyderabad in India, three weeks in Karachi, Pakistan where he stayed with his roommate's family, then off to Africa to visit his father's family. My question - Where did he get the money for this tr ip? Nether I, nor any one of my children would have had money for a trip like this when they where in college. When he came back he started school at Columbia University in New York. It is at this time he wants everyone to call him Barack - not Barry. Do you know what the tuition is at Columbia? It's not cheap! to say the least. Where did he get money for tuition? Student Loans? Maybe. After Columbia, he went to Chicago to work as a Community Organizer for $12,000. a year. Why Chicago? Why not New York? He was already living in New York.




By 'chance' he met Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, born in Aleppo Syria, and a real estate developer in Chicago. Rezko has been convicted of fraud and bribery this year. Rezko, was named 'Entrepreneur of the Decade' by the Arab-American Business and Professional Association'. About two years later, Obama entered Harvard Law School. Do you have any idea what tuition is for Harvard Law School? Where did he get the money for Law School? More student loans? After Law school, he went back to Chicago. Rezko offered him a job, which he turned down. But, he did take a job with Davis, Miner, Barnhill & Galland. Guess what? They represented 'Rezar' which Rezko's firm. Rezko was one of Obama's first major financial contributors when he ran for office in Chicago. In 2003, Rezko threw an early fundraiser for Obama which Chicago Tribune reporter David Mendelland claims was instrumental in providing Obama with 'seed money' for his U.S. Senate race. In 2005, Obama purchased a new home in Kenwoood District of Chicago for $1.65 million (less than asking price). With ALL those Student Loans - Where did he get the money for the property? On the same day Rezko's wife, Rita, purchased the adjoining empty lot for full price. The London Times reported that Nadhmi Auchi, an Iraqi-born Billionaire loaned Rezko $3.5 million three weeks before Obama's new home was purchased. Obama met Nadhmi Auchi many times with Rezko.




Now, we have Obama running for President. Valerie Jarrett, was Michele Obama's boss. She is now Obama's chief advisor and he does not make any major decisions without talking to her first. Where was Jarrett born? Ready for this? Shiraz, Iran! Do we see a pattern here? Or am I going crazy?




On May 10, 2008 The Times reported, Robert Malley advisor to Obama was 'sacked' after the press found out he was having regular contacts with 'Hamas', which controls Gaza and is connected with Iran. This past week, buried in the back part of the papers, Iraqi newspapers reported that during Obama's visit to Iraq, he asked their leaders to do nothing about the war until after he is elected, and he will 'Take care of things'.




Oh, and by the way, remember the college roommates that where born in Pakistan? They are in charge of all those 'small' Internet campaign contribution for Obama. Where is that money coming from? The poor and middle class in this country? Or could it be from the Middle East?




And the final bit of news. On September 7, 2008, The Washington Times posted a verbal slip that was made on 'This Week' with George Stephanapoulos. Obama on talking about his religion said, 'My Muslim faith'. When questioned, 'he make a mistake'. Some mistake!




All of the above information I got on line. If you would like to check it - Wikipedia, encyclopedia, Barack Obama; Tony Rezko; Valerie Jarrett: Daily Times - Obama visited Pakistan in 1981; The Washington Times - September 7, 2008; The Times May 10, 2008.




Now the BIG question - If I found out all this information on my own, Why haven't all of our 'intelligent' members of the press been reporting this?

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Points are being missed here bigtime! By attending the higher tier colleges the potential for gaining employment and/or grad school acceptance is higher. Businesses and grad schools look at the more prestigious schools in a much more favorable light. Why? because it is harder to get in and therefore the better students typically attend these schools so the college in a sense pre-screens the person. Also one major reason that better colleges have a higher graduation rate in 4 years is that better students attend these schools and therefore are much more likely to graduate on time than a weaker student who was not admitted and therefore attends a lower tier college which in turn often have lower 4 year graduation rates. So going to better college will in fact often pay dividends especially in the near term. Not to sound snobby it is just a fact of life ..the brightest kids attend the better colleges and those in the know are well aware of this and select those people . Not always fair but life is not always fair.

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College has become such a joke. You are better off getting your degree on-line than wasting 50K at a country club. The only difference between a tier 1 school and a state university is that the students drink Grey Goose vodka instead of Seagrams

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College or a trade school should be available to all which in the USA it is not. Costs are ridiculous now and the professors are mostly out of touch with the real world. Computer based education is one way to spread education around cheaply and I say stick Harvard online, let everyone attend the snot-nosed place and have David Rockefeller fund the whole thing! JP Morgan Chase should pay back or this country is doomed. Then let's have free healthcare(single payer), decent housing for all, no more homeless people!!!! End wars for JP Morgan and EXXON, and let's take care of each other having fun instead! Seize JP Morgan's stolen assets, Nationalize EXXON, Chevron, Shell, deport the Rockefellers, shut down the CIA(they created it from the OSS which operated right out of their building in NYC), end the FED, vote all the existing politicians out, bring the troops home, stop insane military spending, build solar panels, wind turbines, cool electric cars, compressed air engines, medical devices, toys, fun things, and get everyone involved cleaning up cities, rebuilding housing, painting nice pictures, and making the great country it should be. No more robber barrons, no more bail outs of the criminals and liars, no more gangsters and frauds, and no more electoral college, and let's have real elections with anyone able to debate and run-ANYONE! Or, continue downwards sinking under a mountain of debt, corrutption, lies, and stupidity.

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