Many Nebraska families are making the difficult decision on selecting the right college or university for their children.
There is also concern of the increasing national student debt. Education expert Dr. Laurie Joyner is president of Xavier University in Chicago and says the total price tag can result in sticker shock but don’t be too alarmed.
Dr. Joyner says, “A lot of families and students get really intimidated by the advertised price. It is really important to recognize that rarely do families pay that price so it is important to focus on the net cost of tuition.
Dr. Joyner says as colleges interview students, they are also interviewing the institution. She says ask some important questions like what are one or two year retention rate. If it is low you may want to find out why. Also look at their four-year graduation rate. If it is taking more than four years to graduate than that education is costing more than budgeted.
Dr. Joyner says a recent study was conducted by the Council of Independent Colleges and they found that 30% of undergraduates leave college with no debt at all. An additional 10% have $10,000 or less and 52% leave college with less than $20,000 in debt.
Dr. Joyner says there are benefits to a four year degree including college graduates earn $1 million more than high school graduates without a degree over their lifetime.