Affording College

There's no doubt that a college degree has a big pay off. According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, people with a bachelor's degree earn over an average of 62% more than those with only a high school diploma. Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. (or higher) is more than $1,000,000. In short, whatever sacrifices you make for a college education pay off in the long term.

So what does it cost? Tuition and fees for private colleges can easily be $30,000 or more. However, many schools are more affordable than you might think. For example, did you know that about 60 % of students attending four-year schools pay less than $6,000 for tuition and fees?

Saving for college - starting early if possible - is perhaps the single best way to afford a higher education. In addition, grants, scholarships and financial go a long ways to help reduce the burden. In all cases, it pays to learn about your options. Below are several resources that can help:

Local Resources:

• Cleveland Saves
• WECO Fund, Inc.
• For a call-in program on 90.3 WCPN about Saving for College with additional resource links, click here

Local Bank Websites:

• Charter One Bank: Starting College
• Dollar Bank: How to Find Financial Aid for College
• First Merit Bank: Education Lending Center
• First Third Bank: Planning for an Education
• Huntington Bank: College Planning
• Key Bank: Education
• National City Bank: Student Loans

State and National Resources:

• Ohio Tuition Trust Authority
• 360 Degrees of Financial Literacy: Saving for College
• Tips and Hints to Save for College
• For information on the impact of college savings programs on your taxes, go to www.irs.gov/publications and scroll down to publication 970, Tax Benefits for Education

Support for MoneyWatch is made possible by Charter One Foundation. Research assistance for MoneyWatch is from Cleveland State University Nance College of Business Administration