college expence

[maat55]

I haven't checked the requirements but in OKlahoma, in state tuition is free. Thanks to a lot of poor people playing the lottery.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

Both my comments, intended to be humorous, went over about like a lead balloon. I do notice that I failed to use a smilie on that last comment, or to follow it with JK. If you feel bad that your humor seems to have been misunderstood, sorry. I was only joining in on the teasing and did not know that you had decided to set humor aside for the rest of the thread.

[bankaround]

What does the 7000 include in expenses? Is that how much you pay just for tuition or does the number include rent, books and other living expenses?

I know for a UC school here in California, it used to cost you about 3000-4000 a quarter a few years ago if memory serves me right. That's just for the cost of attending school, not counting living expenses.

[Seeker]

The costs of higher education have risen dramatically and will probably continue to do so as the US government pulls back funding. When I was going to a State college and taking Chemistry, I remember my professor griping about the cost of paper towels (the school was not providing) and we were asked to bring a small towel for ourselves to use; same in Photography and all the classes I took that were active (ie required labs).

When I graduated from a Community College & transferred to a State University (6 years of college due to the last three years doing a 16-unit load and working some 20 hours per week -- and also due to the fact that I took some clases I did not need because of my varied interests), I paid less than $10k for the total six years. But I did not live on campus, I was a resident of that state, and this was almost 20 years ago.

The MAJOR portion of going to college is the "living on campus"; it is usually more cost effective to live with other students in a shared apartment or house near the college. This goes for state residents as well as non-residents.

The poster from Canada has a very good opportunity for education. As a US homeowner, we pay taxes for public education that are a very minuscule fraction of what is spent. By the time anyone gets to college, most of the costs are borne by the students who go to the colleges in this country. And yes, this is why so many young people today, start off their careers in debt.

The following article is over 1 year old and shows a 95% increase over the last decade of college costs.

College prices keep*rising for 2006-07 school year - Oct. 24, 2006

With room and board, four-year public colleges average $12,796 for in-state residents.

If students could find a way to not use dorms, and live off campus, they'd save a lot of $'s over the course of their college education.

[Well Spent]

Yes, that's the going rate for Massachusetts, where I live.

[Coleroo]

that sounds about right to me, and I'm in South Carolina. Many kids can get much of that paid with student grants and scholarships though. If you're low income even more will get paid.

Private schools are WAY higher....one all girl's college near me costs over $20k WITHOUT room and board.