A good buy doesn't always end up on your receipt at the register. Sometimes it winds up on your résumé.

According to the College Board, the average college tuition in the United States is $26,273, up more than 4% from last year. But not all universities cost that much, and not all cheap colleges give you junk degrees. Sprinkled across America you'll find some discount degrees that are actually worth just as much as the highest-priced ones.

Tuition at all of these colleges can be had for under $5,000 a year -- and a few are completely free. If your kid's in high school, now is the time to start thinking about how to afford their next big step. Start planning your applications now, because the competition is tight:

Over at Washington Monthly, Stephen Burd takes an extended look at one of the biggest -- and least reported on -- financial crises facing young people: unethical for-profit college foisting massive debt loads on their students. These debt loads often carry exorbitant interest rates and lack any consumer protections whatsoever.

The stories Burd tells are egregious: Slick, misleading advertising luring prospective suckers students into meetings with admissions officers -- glorified salespeople straight out of Glengarry Glen Ross. The admissions people then lie to students about the benefits of the program, and sign them up for high-interest student loans without explaining the terms.

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!"

The credit card bill that President Obama signed earlier this year will result in sweeping changes in the way that college students interact with credit card companies. Among these changes:

• Starting in 2010, the companies will be barred from offering free Frisbees, pizza etc. to college students in exchange for filling out applications -- but only when the offer is made on or near a college campus or at a college event.
• Anyone under the age of 21 will need either proof of income or a parent or guardian to co-sign

What do teens know about money? It's green, they never have enough of it and for some it seems to magically appear from the bank of Mom and Dad. Perhaps a better question is what don't teens know about money, or for that matter finances in general?

Thanks to the fact that most teens rely on their uninformed peers to answer their pressing financial questions, there is plenty of misinformation passed around which makes it even harder for teens to get the straight facts about money and other personal finance topics like credit scores and banking.

To address this problem the Consumer Federation of America and FoolProofMe.com have gathered the Top 10 money myths held by teens.



Top 10 Money Myths Held by Teens:

1. I don't have to worry about credit at my age.
2. Bad credit can't keep me from getting a job.
3. All loan companies have the same rates.
4. All credit cards are alike.
5. The job of financial advertising is to tell the truth.
6. It's OK to bounce a few checks.
7. It's OK to make minimum payments on a credit card.
8. Paying late occasionally can't hurt my credit.
9. Fine print isn't important.
10. Young people don't have credit scores.

Boston University is excited to finally be able to house all of its undergraduate students on campus, thanks to the completion of Student Village II, a spanking new dormitory building. The new dorm doesn't just meet the needs of students: For a select few, the top floor adds amenities that make a stay at the Hilton seem lacking. All for only $13,000 a year.

The luxury suites, situated on the 25th floor, include stunning views of Boston, furnished common areas, private baths, soundproof piano rooms, a 24-hour reading room with "plush adjustable furniture befitting a first-class airport lounge" and a plasma TV-equipped media lounge. These extras are only available to 14 students and cost close $13,000 a year, $5,000 more than a standard dorm!

According to Boston University president Robert Brown, the school is just giving students what they want in an attempt to keep upperclassmen from living off campus. It's assumed that by housing more students on campus the University will relieve some tension between students and city residents.

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.

The city council of Albany, N.Y., recently passed a resolution that "urges the federal government to consider forgiving student loans as part of a stimulus package for young people and to move forward on reforming the student loan process."

Does the unanimously passed resolution change anything? No. Does Albany have the authority to forgive student loan debt? No. Is there anything even remotely newsworthy about this? Not especially. It's a nice gesture, but that's about it.

And yet for some reason, it's getting significant press. The New York Times wrote about it on its blog, and numerous other media outlets have picked up the story. It's a nice PR move for Albany and gets the issue of student loan debt some much needed attention -- but that's about it.

One of the resolution's suggestions is that the United States government should forgive student loan debt as part of a stimulus package. Doesn't that seem incredibly unfair to the students who worked their way through college and bypassed expensive private options in favor of community colleges and public universities because they were determined to graduate debt free?

I -- and most other people -- support the idea of providing relief to graduates who are really struggling with their loans, but debt forgiveness isn't the way to go about it, any more than using taxpayer money to completely pay off people's mortgages is the way to rescue us from the housing bust.

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.

In a piece in The New York Times, Ron Lieber writes about SafeStart, a new program for student debtors that I recently discussed here. The way the SafeStart program works is this: A student (or more likely his parents) pay a fee of $40 to $70 for every $1,000 borrowed through the federal Stafford loan program. Then if the student runs into problems paying off the loan and can provide proof of hardship, SafeStart will make the payments on the loans for 36 months. The offer only applies for the first 5-years of post-graduation life and borrowers only have 36 60 months to pay back the interest-free loan made by SafeStart.

A chance at a 60-month interest free loan at any point during the first five years of graduation sounds like a very, very low return for an origination fee of 4% to 7%. And what if you can't pay the loan back within 60 months?

But the real reason that SafeStart is such a horrible idea is that Income Based Repayment already allows students with little or no income to make little or no federal student loan payments -- without a 4% to 7% origination fee or a requirement that they pay the money back within 36 months.

If SafeStart applied to private student loans, it might in fact be a very valuable service -- although the default rate on private loans would likely make it unprofitable. But in its current form, it's very expensive and provides something less valuable than what is already available for free.

It's just another example of services offered parents and students who haven't done their homework.

The combination of soaring student debt loads and a tough job market has a lot of companies and colleges looking to help students who are struggling financially.

BridgeSpan Financial introduced a cynical new product called SafeStart this week and let me tell you: It is horrible.

Here's how it works. Pay $40 to $60 for every $1,000 in federal student loan debt you're accruing and then, after you graduate and can't make your payments, they'll make them for you. Then you have five years to pay them back, interest-free.

The problem is that the program must, on average, be a complete ripoff. In order for the business to work, the company has to take in more than it pays out -- by enough to cover its financing costs, marketing budget, administrative expenses, and earn a profit and pay taxes.

So if you our your student feels tempted to use SafeStart, here's a tip: Borrow less money and attend a less expensive college.

The other thing that's so bad about SafeStart is that it would really only be useful for private loans because the new Income Based Repayment system allows federal loan payments to be capped as a percentage of income -- and low-income or unemployed students will not have to make any payments at all. But SafeStart can't be used for private loans!

In other news, the USA Today reports that "Bellevue University, a private university in Nebraska that primarily enrolls adult students, says students who are laid off can have tuition, fees and loan obligations deferred for up to six months."

That's great except what happens in six months when you still can't afford the tuition and fee obligations?

Before kissing your college student goodbye, you need have a serious talk about money, budgets and credit cards.

Neale S. Godfrey, founder of the Children's Financial Network and the New York Times #1 best-selling author of "Money Doesn't Grow on Trees," gives WalletPop's Lan Nguyen tips on what to do and what not to do freshman year.

Newfoundland and Labrador have cut the interest rate on provincial student loans to zero to help graduates get out of debt and build wealth faster.

And here's the best part: The elimination of interest is automatic -- no stupid forms to fill out -- and doesn't change the monthly payments.

How does it work? Students just keep sending in their payments, but now 100% goes toward amortizing the loan, allowing them to get out of debt faster.

That saves on administrative costs and ensures that students devote their earnings to getting out of debt -- instead of lowering their monthly payments and buying cars and mixed drinks at trendy bars. On the other hand, the elimination of interest won't provide immediate help to graduates who are struggling with cash flow because the monthly payments won't change.

The Canadian Press reports that students can save up to $1,800 over the life of their loans because of this new program. The savings would be much larger in the United States because student debt loads are so much more significant.

Along with having difficulty refinancing a mortgage because banks are tightening their lending practices, add another victim to the housing crisis -- student loans.

College students who don't have a loan co-signer or good credit are having a difficult time getting loans, and students who attend trade schools are having a worse time because lenders aren't comfortable with such students, said Brian Cox, chief business development officer at TuitionU.com, a Web site that helps students find and apply for loans.

Starting Wednesday, TuitionU is formally rolling out TuitionFlex payment program, which lets schools create tuition payment plans for students that want to pay annual tuition in 12 equal monthly installments, or take up to 10 years to pay back.

The loans are meant to be used by students who have already tried to get traditional loans on campus, or have failed to get a loan from the federal government to finance their college education, Cox said in a telephone interview. All other avenues, including scholarships, should be explored first, he said.

"We want to be the gap, the end of the road for when they still owe money," he said.

For example, a $10,000 loan through TuitionFlex at the typical 5% fixed interest rate would cost the student $108 per year. An $8 monthly administrative fee is billed to the school. Students must pay the $300 application fee.

By comparison, graduate Stafford loans, which are typical government student loans, have a fixed rate of 6.8%. Federal PLUS loans have a fixed interest rate of 8.5%.

While TuitionFlex is available Wednesday for all schools using TuitionU, the new program was started two months ago at about a dozen schools.

Beyond tuition, loans can be for any expenses on campus, such as books, room and board.

"Anything that the school charges you, you can include," Cox said.

Trade schools and community colleges are being pushed aside by big lenders that are becoming more conservative in who they lend to, he said.

That hurts students, but also the colleges they could go to, Cox said.

"Schools will not do well if the financial folks don't help these students find financial aid," he said.

Aaron Crowe is a freelance journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. Reach him at www.AaronCrowe.net