Quote:
Originally Posted by Erki  How high are tuition fees in the US? In Estonia I think they are normally around $2,500/year or so. If the exam results are good enough then we don't have to pay anything, luckily my exams went well enough and I got a free place, don't know for how long though...  |
That's an excellent question. I had to Google it! For a 4-year public university, I think the average is around $4,500 year. Cassie links to this great
USATODAY article on what sort of debt American 20-somethings are facing thanks to college. We're told to go into debt for our degrees, with the idea that we'll get great paying jobs and pay it all back after we graduate. But average tuition costs have doubled in the past four years, and the starting salaries for college grads are dropping, if you compare them against inflation.
Personally, I was stupid with college finances. I applied for scholarships and financial aid and received enough to completely pay for tuition and have about $2,000 left over each semester for books, fees, living expenses, etc. For personal reasons, I decided to switch schools, and lost all but two scholarships. Then I hated that school and moved right back to my original school after one semester -- but I couldn't regain my scholarships... I may always kick myself for being that much of an... eggplant!
However, I also graduated in three years because I got dual high school and college credit in my last two years of high school (this isn't a very common program in the US, from what I can tell). So I feel really lucky, financially, compared to all the other people I graduated with who are probably wallowing in debt right now.