The Value of a College Education
Sending children to college continues to be one of the most important financial goals for families in America. There are good reasons for that. Statistics show that college graduates earn nearly twice the income of high school graduates and experience greater job satisfaction, longer lives, lower divorce rates and higher levels of overall happiness.
The Reality of Paying for It
Unfortunately, college inflation that continues to rise at rates greater than general inflation and financial aid and admissions systems that intimidate and confuse have discouraged families from saving and planning for college.
This year, as they have for decades, families of high school seniors will make some very important financial decisions related to college. A small percentage of them will have thought about the tax ramifications of liquidating their college nest egg, the impact of distributions from investments on financial aid and tax credits, how the interest rates on student loans are determined, the advantages of understanding your adjusted gross income in the year before college, how a college budget relates to a family budget, need-based aid versus merit-based aid, parent debt versus student debt, private college versus public, or the true value of a college education and reality of paying for it.