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Is it better to go to a in-state college or an out-of-state college?

I'm wondering if it would be better to stay closer to home or to take a risk and go out of state?
#instate #college #outofstate #college-advice #student #college-bound

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Subject: Career question for you

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Gregory’s Answer

For college, the question of in-state or out-of-state usually revolves around cost. Students looking at in-state are usually looking at public universities and comparing that cost to an out of state school. A better way to look at it is cost vs. return. How much will it cost to go to each school on your list vs. what is the expected return on college education.

Here is an article to help you think differently about your search: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/graduates-of-these-u-s-colleges-earn-the-most/

Some general comments:
It doesn’t make sense to spend $60K/year for education if you have a career field where the starting pay is going to be $30K/year.
Fulfilling basic requirements at a community college first and then transferring to a 4 year college has several advantages. First it keeps costs down. Second and just as important, during the first two years as you start to take classes you may find that your interests are actually in a career path different than you initially thought. This may change your selection for a four year school leading you to pick one that provides better education for you (new) selected career path.

Don’t ignore private colleges because of their sticker price. Most will offer an aid package of some type that may bring the price down close to the price of a public university. If the college has better success rates in placing graduates in high paying jobs because of their connections, then a slightly higher education cost might be worth it. You can make your final selection after you see if you are accepted and what aid package they offer you.
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Richard’s Answer

That depends on your financial situation. In-state colleges typically charge far less to students who already live in that state. In-state colleges are a great way to reduce the financial burden on you and your family and eliminate debt. They also makes travel to and from your home much easier for holidays, summer, or anything. However, out of state colleges can offer a broader perspective to your life and give you many new experiences.

Whether you go to and in-state or out-of-state college won't usually affect your career path, so don't worry about that if it's your main concern. You should do what gives you the best chance at learning, succeeding, and being happy.
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Ken’s Answer

The objective of any business decision, such as attaining an education, should be to seek out the least possible investment which would bring the highest return on your money. Here are some tips on reducing the cost of an education, as too many people spent way too much on an education and end up with debt that is too high.


Two tips that many people have found to be helpful are

  • start at you local community college, as the classes are smaller, the tuition is more reasonable, they have opportunities for intern and coop programs for career exposure, and the professors are generally professionally involved in the subjects that they are teaching
  • transfer to a local 4 year school if, and, only if, you need to get additional education to follow your career

Here are two sites that will help:


 It really does not matter what school you attend, as the most important factors are how well you do with the school work, which is an indication to an employer about what kind of employee you will be, and the effort that you put forth in your networking to set up networking connections that will help you throughout your education/career journey. Here is an important video for you to watch: ## http://www.ted.com/talks/julie_lythcott_haims_how_to_raise_successful_kids_without_over_parenting?utm_campaign=social&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_content=talk&utm_term=education ##


Reduce Costs:  http://www.educationplanner.org/students/paying-for-school/ways-to-pay/reduce-college-costs.shtml

Ken recommends the following next steps:

Getting to know yourself and how your personality traits relate to people involved in various career opportunities is very important in your decision making process. During my many years in Human Resources and College Recruiting, I ran across too many students who had skipped this very important step and ended up in a job situation which for which they were not well suited. Selecting a career area is like buying a pair of shoes. First you have to be properly fitted for the correct size, and then you need to try on and walk in the various shoe options to determine which is fits the best and is most comfortable for you to wear. Following are some important steps which I developed during my career which have been helpful to many .
The first step is to take an interest and aptitude test and have it interpreted by your school counselor to see if you share the personality traits necessary to enter the field. You might want to do this again upon entry into college, as the interpretation might differ slightly due to the course offering of the school. However, do not wait until entering college, as the information from the test will help to determine the courses that you take in high school. Too many students, due to poor planning, end up paying for courses in college which they could have taken for free in high school.
Next, when you have the results of the testing, talk to the person at your high school and college who tracks and works with graduates to arrange to talk to, visit, and possibly shadow people doing what you think that you might want to do, so that you can get know what they are doing and how they got there. Here are some tips: ## http://www.wikihow.com/Network ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/nonawkward-ways-to-start-and-end-networking-conversations ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/4-questions-to-ask-your-network-besides-can-you-get-me-a-job?ref=carousel-slide-1 ##
Locate and attend meetings of professional associations to which people who are doing what you think that you want to do belong, so that you can get their advice. These associations may offer or know of intern, coop, shadowing, and scholarship opportunities. These associations are the means whereby the professionals keep abreast of their career area following college and advance in their career. You can locate them by asking your school academic advisor, favorite teachers, and the reference librarian at your local library. Here are some tips: ## https://www.careeronestop.org/BusinessCenter/Toolkit/find-professional-associations.aspx?&frd=true ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/9-tips-for-navigating-your-first-networking-event ##
It is very important to express your appreciation to those who help you along the way to be able to continue to receive helpful information and to create important networking contacts along the way. Here are some good tips: ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-informational-interview-thank-you-note-smart-people-know-to-send?ref=recently-published-2 ## ## https://www.themuse.com/advice/3-tips-for-writing-a-thank-you-note-thatll-make-you-look-like-the-best-candidate-alive?bsft_eid=7e230cba-a92f-4ec7-8ca3-2f50c8fc9c3c&bsft_pid=d08b95c2-bc8f-4eae-8618-d0826841a284&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily_20171020&utm_source=blueshift&utm_content=daily_20171020&bsft_clkid=edfe52ae-9e40-4d90-8e6a-e0bb76116570&bsft_uid=54658fa1-0090-41fd-b88c-20a86c513a6c&bsft_mid=214115cb-cca2-4aec-aa86-92a31d371185&bsft_pp=2 ##
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