Thursday, May 2, 2013

Finding resources for the university degree

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By Gina Smith


Parents and their children ponder the same question throughout most of the world: what to do after high school graduation. Is it best to look for a job or to secure a higher education? To lead a life of quality and comfort having a college education degree is pretty essential.

Unlike previous decades, more than half of recent graduates in the United States engage in some type of schooling after high school. Consequently even the jobs, which had been getting filled up by those who have completed only high school education, are now asking for college graduation.

The difference in the earnings between a college educated person and a high school education is about 70% more. Those qualified with two year diplomas even get much more than high school qualifiers. Considering the difference in the earning potential the time spend for college studies is a small investment.

The point here is whether you have the financial capacity to afford the expensive college education for your ward. Nevertheless, you can also not risk to deprive them of it. Ideally, an education fund should be started before your children are even born. Let us now see how much money would we require for this.

It's cheaper to go to a college or university in the state where you live. Non residents are required to pay higher tuition amounts than state residents, if they attend a public school. Most private universities charge the same for both in state and out of state students.

The estimated cost for each year of college is based on tuition, room and board, books, supplies and living expenses. This usually would cross about twenty thousand dollars for most universities. Anyone wishing to estimate the costs for out of state students would need to add about three to five thousand more dollars to the total bill, and students wishing to go to a private school would need to double the amount. You may get some relief with scholarships, but that would be only a fraction of the bill.

A large portion of that amount is for room and board. Staying at your own home and doing higher studies would save you a good amount. Next comes the money required for tuition and other fees, which is continuously increasing over the years. The remaining amount includes the money spent on transportation, books and other items. You will have to find ways to reduce this by using public transport, taking advantage of discounts and sales and using second-hand books.

These costs are different depending on where you live and what type of lifestyle the student makes his own. You will have to add the transportation expenditure to the budget if the child has to travel far to the school. With the price of gas continuing to increase, this expense could be astronomical. You may also have to cater for a computer, depending on the course, along with other expenses for food, entertainment and clothing.

Most of these costs are examples of attending a four-year university but there are also community colleges and technical schools which are usually cheaper. Some students may even find them more appealing.

It is not easy to calculate the money needed for college expenditure far in the future, but the key to this is to add an increase of 10% per year. Do your research. If you find that setting up a fund for future education of your child is not possible, then opt for a savings account. Better yet, check out the local 529 plan in your state which can also save you money on taxes. You can count on a good return on your college investment.




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