Many parents have only one strategy for lowering college costs. Send the kid to the local state university.
But is your local state university actually your bargain option — considering all the factors involved?
The hidden costs of state university nobody talks about
At many state universities, it can take even the most diligent students six years to earn a four-year bachelor’s degree.
Why? Because classes are full, so students struggle to get into the classes they need to graduate.
A state university education can be like buying a plane ticket, walking down to the gate, and then not being allowed to board — over and over and over again — because the plane is overbooked and every seat is taken.
Two extra years in state university can end up costing your kid a staggering amount.
Read the article I wrote here on how two extra years in college can end up costing students $300,000 in extra tuition payments, lost full-time income, and stunted retirement savings. Plus, of course, a huge number of students get discouraged before the six years are up, and drop out — leaving college with a boatload of student loan debt and no college degree.
Yikes.
*Note that “co-op college programs” have five-year graduation rates for a very good reason. Students graduate from co-op programs in five years with a four-year degree and 2.5 years of work experience right in their chosen career fields. Co-op college programs are fantastic bargain options. You can learn more about co-op college programs on pages 161–165 of the book I wrote.
So which universities tend to be better bargain options?
Besides the co-op college programs mentioned above, you and your child might consider private colleges and universities that look only at the FAFSA financial aid form.
Why? Because colleges that look only at the FAFSA ask fewer invasive questions about your family finances before deciding whether to award your kid free money for college.
The sticker price may look higher at first, sure, but these private schools may give your kid loads more free money to help pay college costs — even if you think you’re too rich to qualify for it.
Starting the college experience off in a 2-year community college (even though it may be funded by your state) is also a fantastic bargain option.
Honors programs at state universities can be excellent—and they may not be as hard to get into as you think! The special benefits provided by honors programs can make it much easier for students to graduate in four years. (For example—at many universities, honors program students register first—making it much easier for these students to get into the classes they need to graduate.) Ask a state university admissions office what you would need to do to get into an honors program there.
You might want to steer clear of Ivy League and other top-ranked universities for reasons I’ve written about here and here, but essentially, if a college or university is not on this CSS/Profile financial aid form list and is not a “for-profit” college, it may be an especially good bargain bet.
To sidestep “for-profit” schools, watch for colleges clearly labeled “PRIVATE FOR–PROFIT” when you search at collegedata.com.
Low rates of “First-Year Students Returning” is a big worry. Here’s help.
If you see low rates of “First-Year Students Returning” when you’ve searched for a certain university on collegedata.com and you’re looking at that university’s “Students” tab—that is worrisome.
You’ll enhance the possibility that your kid will have high rates of freshman satisfaction by having him or her do in-person college visits before applying.
Get specific instruction on what to do and what to ask on college visits in the helpful free article I provide here. (Asking powerful questions on a college visit can result in students getting far more free money merit aid to help pay for college.)
If you’ve got a copy of my book LAUNCH, chapter 15 explains exactly how to choose the college you’d most like your son or daughter to visit first, when to do college visits, what to do and what to ask on each college visit, and how to keep track of the information you gather on college visits so you can use it to weigh college costs later.
I’m Jeannie Burlowski, the author of this book:
It’s a reference book, so nobody reads the whole thing cover to cover. Pick out what you need to read in it using the fast-paced, 10-minute video instructions here.
You can see hundreds of reviews of this book on Amazon by going to:
You can see why financial advising professionals love LAUNCH, here.
You can see the top 9 questions parents are asking me about LAUNCH, here.
Read just one chapter of LAUNCH every 1–3 months while your child’s in middle school and high school, and you’ll know every viable strategy for debt-free college at exactly the right time to implement it.
And if your child’s already well past middle school? That’s OK; you can run to catch up. But the process of getting your kids through college debt-free goes more smoothly the earlier you start it—especially if you’re not planning to save up any money to pay for college.
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Who is Jeannie Burlowski?
Jeannie is a full-time academic strategist, podcast host, and sought-after speaker for students ages 12–26, their parents, and the professionals who serve them. Her writing, speaking, and podcasting help parents set their kids up to graduate college debt-free, ready to jump directly into careers they excel at and love. Her work has been featured in publications such as The Huffington Post, USA Today, Parents Magazine, and US News and World Report, and on CBS News.
Jeannie also helps students apply to law, medical, business, and grad school at her website GetIntoMedSchool.com.
This article was updated on April 4th, 2024. No part of this article was written using AI.