Think your kid's college bill is pricey? Think again. For the second year in a row, Sarah Lawrence College has the dubious distinction of being the nation's most expensive place to attend college -- a whopping $54,410 for the current 2009-10 school year, including tuition, plus room and board, according to data compiled by CampusGrotto.com.

Of course, for that price, students get the distinction of attending one of the finest colleges in the country. Most of the colleges in the 100 most expensive colleges ranking are private liberal-arts universities in the Northeast.

CampusGrotto notes that while the current school year saw one of the smallest increases in costs in decades, expenses still rose 4.3%. By contrast, the annual rate of inflation in the United States fell 1.3% in September. Many of the colleges on the list now cost around $50,000 a year to attend.

I do some tutoring in Spanish and essay writing for high school and community college students, and my heart goes out to them for what they're facing right now -- constant tuition hikes, a scramble to get the student loans and classes they need, and the fear of graduating with a load of debt and no job prospects whatsoever.

So when I came across this Washington Monthly article on a company that only charges $99 a month for online courses in entry-level subjects, I sent it to a few students to get their take. Here were a few of their comments:

"Sounds like this could save me and my mom a lot of money."

"If this article is right, I'll learn more this way than by sitting in a hall with hundreds of other students."

"Are these really accredited courses? Hell, with the help my school is giving me with getting into required courses, I'll try anything!"

Meghann Reed recently returned to the workforce as an event consultant after a stint as a stay-at-home mom. Although she'd planned to continue caring for her two daughters full-time, family finances pushed her back to work. Like many women, the Corning, N.Y., woman is conflicted about being a working mom and sometimes feels guilty or angry about the thought of leaving her children, Mykaela and Savannah.

"In a perfect world I would be a stay-at-home mom until both of my girls were in school. In fact, I would love to have a third, but have that on the back burner for now because I would want to stay home for the first year and at the moment it wouldn't be possible," Reed says. "My 2-year-old still cries every day when I leave and my 3-year old has become very clingy. It isn't easy."

Community colleges may hold the promise for a brighter future, according to President Obama, but officials in St. Louis, Mo., likely wish the dimwit who left a coffeemaker running overnight causing $200,000 in damage at a campus there would have thought twice before calling it an evening.

Insurance is expected to cover about half of the damage caused at St. Louis Community College by the waterlogged coffee maker, which reportedly leaked an estimated 10,000 gallons of water onto four flours of the college's Forest Park facility, destroying 115 computers and damaging furnishings.

Soaring unemployment has plenty of people wondering how to improve their odds in today's ultra-competitive job market -- and do something constructive with all of their extra free time.

Laid-off workers who think that taking the latest computer training course or getting a fancy new certification in marketing will help win over prospective employers are in for a surprise, however. While such courses can indeed prove valuable, the truth is employers would much rather hire someone who excels at reading, writing and speaking effectively.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers' Job Outlook 2009 report found that among the traits that employers want the most in a job candidate, communication skills top the list (other prized attributes include a strong work ethic, ability to work in a team, and initiative).

Evidently, however, such skills are hard to come by. The U.S. Department of Education's 2003 Assessment of Adult Literacy (the most recent study to be conducted) found that less than one-third of college graduates are "proficient" in the three measures of literacy.

As autumn nears, it's time for college students to think of preparing for exams, coeds, long walks through campus and identity theft.

In an age of Facebook, Twitter and other ways to share everything in their lives online with the world, college students and young adults are more likely to be targeted by identity thieves than any other age group, according to a study by Identity Theft 911, a Web site that helps prevent fraud.

College students are more vulnerable, and with the average college senior graduating with $4,100 in credit card debt and $24,651 in student loan debt, they have a lot to lose in terms of their financial futures.

Eating out for lunch instead of brown-bagging it can cost three times as much, so eating out for 50 work weeks a year can add up fast. If you don't believe it, add it up with a lunch cost calculator.

But leaving your lunch in a refrigerator at work can sometimes lead to thievery, leaving you without a lunch and $5 or more to go buy something.

To combat sandwich thieves, designer Sherwood Forlee has come up with the Anti-Theft Lunch Bag. The clear sandwich bags have green splotches printed on both sides, simulating mold and making your fresh lunch look spoiled.

While sticky-fingered co-workers, roommates or bullies who take your kid's lunch will think twice before stealing the moldy looking sandwich, there's also the chance that they or someone else will throw the messy looking sandwich in the garbage. I guess that's the chance you take to prevent crime.

The faux-moldy bags sell for $10 for 25 bags, and they're reusable. If you don't reuse them, it equates to 40 cents a bag to keep your lunch safe -- not a bad price to keep a hungry thief away from your sandwich. With some non-toxic paint or food dye you should be able to make your own bags.

Now if Forlee could come up with a way to get people to remove their really rotten lunches from the office refrigerator and the moldy mess they create.

Have you taken someone else's food from the office refrigerator?

When an electronic gadget such as a digital camera cellphone suddenly dies, it's usually a no-brainer on whether to get it repaired -- don't bother. In this disposable world, repairs can cost almost as much as buying a new gadget, if not more, so recycling it and buying a new one makes sense.

But with laptop computers, a repair can make sense, and small upgrades can extend the life of laptops.

Gazelle.com, a Web site familiar to WalletPop readers, buys used computers, cameras and other gadgets for 10% to 30% of their original value even after a few years of use.

The dorm rooms have been cleaned and a steady buzz of techno is drifting from the corner suite which can mean only that school is back in session. Getting back in the swing of things can be a challenge but here are 10 applications for your Android phone to make the school year easier and, best off all, most of them are free.

For easy access to any of these applications, simply click on the name and you'll be taken to a description page that includes ratings and a QR code that you can scan with your phone's camera for a quick download.

Right about now there are a lot of college freshmen either starting classes or packing up the car with Mom and Dad to head off for school. And while it probably isn't the first thing on anyone's minds, eventually the question may arise: Where am I going to do my banking?

It's a question that probably comes about less these days because there are more national banks. Not to sound like I belong in an old folks home -- I'm pushing 40 -- but back in my day, I had a bank account at my parents' bank in our hometown, and it was a small, independent bank in Middletown, Ohio. There was no branch in Bloomington, Ind., so I wound up banking with the university's credit union.

We've already covered that the Back to School season is one of the best times to buy a laptop, but now thanks to HP and Bing the deals are even better.

Bing Cashback, formerly known as Live Cashback, is offering 25% back on all HP purchases which originate from the Bing.com search engine. And, students and teachers can save even more by buying through the HP Academic Purchase Program. - Update: Cashback is no longer eligible for educational discount purchases.

On top of the Bing Cashback and APP savings, shoppers are eligible for any non-coupon specials including discounts on netbooks, laptops, desktops and accessories.

Walletpop told you last year about Kmart reintroducing America to the concept of layaway purchasing, where you pay for an item in a series of installments before you actually take possession of it.

Before banks started handing out credit cards to anyone with a Social Security number and a pulse, layaway was the go-to method for acquiring something priced beyond your means. You didn't get the instant gratification of a credit card, but you also didn't rack up any interest or finance charges.

In the teeth of a gale-force recession, America has once again embraced layaway, with the back-to-school shopping season in its final weeks.

Stop, children, what's that sound? Whole bunch of new iPods 'bout to touch down.

Despite the excellent selection of iPod apps that make back to school easier, now's not the time to buy a new iPod.

According to the Mac Buyer's Guide at Mac Rumors the iPod Touch, iPod Nano and iPod Classic are between 90 and 160 days overdue for an upgrade and the site recommends that you, "Don't Buy -- Updates soon."

Mac Rumors doesn't just analyze days since last upgrade to figure this out. It has a helping of iPod news every morning with their coffee to stay on top of what's coming up.

As someone who hires models at an art school in Philadelphia, Jen Hagen has no problem finding young, thin, white women who will model nude.

But finding anyone who is older, heavier, ethnic, or who doesn't have the typical look of a model is almost impossible, she says.

Even in a recession, when 9.4% of the country is unemployed and looking for work, and in Pennsylvania where 8.3% of the population is out of work, Hagen is looking to hire models.

"I need more of a diversity of people," said Hagen, model coordinator at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia.

Posing nude without job benefits in front of strangers may not sound like the perfect job for someone looking for full-time work, but it can help pay the bills. And at least it isn't a boring desk job.

The pay is $15 an hour, or more than double the federal minimum wage, the hours are flexible, and for someone looking to work 12 hours or so a week, it can be a steady part-time income, Hagen said.

While more unemployed people are coming to her for modeling jobs, they see it as an interim job and quit as soon as they find full-time work, she said. She's unsure why the school can't attract more minority models.

"I definitely need all varieties of models," she told me in a telephone interview. "You just can't paint one type of person forever. If you do, it gets boring."

Do you picture yourself in the future standing in front of about 20 little faces, filling their minds with the information that will make them successful in their lives? If so, teaching may be for you.

There will always be teaching jobs, and according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for educators will grow an estimated 12% through 2016. This need is fueled by the large number of teachers expected to retire in the next seven years, with the highest demand for elementary education, math, science, reading, special education and foreign languages.

It may even be possible to get funding to help you achieve your goal. The federal government has created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) grant program offering undergraduate and graduate students up to $4,000 per year for tuition. Students who receive the TEACH grants sign an agreement to serve as a full-time teacher for four years at a low-income school in a high-need field once they're finished with school.

The only downside? It is really a hard job. I know, my husband has been teaching in Milwaukee Public Schools for the last 15 years. The turnover rate is very high, with almost half of new teachers leaving within five years with their passion for teaching extinguished.