After graduating high school in the U.S., it has become the norm to attend a 4-year college and earn a bachelor’s degree. The sad truth is college is extremely expensive and many grads are finding themselves in huge amounts of student loan debt with a low paying entry-level job (or no job at all). This unfortunate reality does not have to be your reality. The cost of education is a known problem and people have begun creating more and more alternative options for higher education.
The normal highschool to college path is starting be challenged. People are fed up with the cost of college and beginning to look elsewhere.
College Abroad
Did you know, “The US has the highest average tuition fees for both public and private institutions at the bachelor level” (Insider.com). Per Insider.com, the average tuition cost for public and private schools in the US is $8,202.
If this doesn’t seem like a lot then let’s compare the cost in other countries. Spain for example has an average tuition cost of $1,830. Canada costs $4,939 for average tuition and Denmark, Finland, Norway, Germany, Slovenia, and Turkey all have an average tuition cost of $0.00.
Yup, you read that right! College in those country is completely free. In some of these countries the cost of tuition will vary for foreign students, so be sure to do your due diligence.
Let’s do some quick math, if you went to college in the U.S. for a 4 – year degree you would pay $32,808 total. Now if you decided to get that same degree in Canada you’d pay on average $19,756, and if you went to spain you’d pay $7,320. You would save on average $13,052 if you went to college in Canada and $25,488 if you went to college in Spain compared to the U.S.
Honestly, when I was graduating from high school I didn’t even know that going to college in another country was even an option, let alone a cheaper one. If I had it would of been a no brainer. I love to travel and love saving money, not to mention what better way to experience a foreign culture. If you are trying to figure out what colleges to apply to then I highly recommend looking abroad.
Outsourced Apprenticeships
One gripe that many business owners are having is that the college grads that they are hiring are not possessing the level of subject knowledge that they should have with their degree. Business owners, such as Heather Terenzio founder of Techtonic, recognized the problem of expensive college education and lack of subject expertise. With that they have created a higher education alternative called outsourced apprenticeship.
An apprentice at Technonic will receive first hand experience in software programing and development. After an apprentice has logged 1,000 hours of work then they can start getting hired for entry level programmer jobs.
Instead of spending your time and money on a college you could find an apprenticeship that will teach you the same knowledge in a fraction of the time and be able to compete for the same job. Outsourced Apprenticeships may be the future of higher education.
Community Colleges
Another great higher education alternative is community college. Community college offers the opportunity to offset the cost of a 4-year public/private college.
The average cost of community college in the U.S. is $3,347, per affordablecollege.com. If you recall the average cost of a 4-year college is $8,202, so just two years at one of these colleges would cost you $16,404 while community college for two years would only cost you $6,694. That’s a whopping $9,710 less than a 4-year college.
If you want to offset the cost of a 4-year degree then simply go to a community college for the first 2 years, then transfer into a 4-year college and complete the last two years of the degree. Or even complete extra classes in the summertime at a community college so you can graduate earlier and pay less towards the higher price tag school.
This is a great alternative that will save you a lot of money. Being able to graduate college with the least amount of debt possible will allow you to jump start your career and financial future.
Free Online Education
The internet is constantly growing and with the growth more and more information can be found online. Yes this is great for asking google a question, but there is literally free college level classes online for free. That means you can become “college educated” without buying the degree
Did you know that Harvard University has an online database of free college level courses that anyone can take? You can check it out here.
The downside with this is that you don’t receive the physical college degree, which most employers take as the validity of your education. Without a physical diploma they may not want to hire you. However, when you take the Harvard courses online you can pay for a certificate of completion and you could show that to a potential employer.
BONUS: If you are still set on attending a 4-year college but want to minimize the price tag a bit, try to complete as many Advanced Placement (AP) classes as possible while in high school. If you pass the final exams then this counts towards college credit.
Closing Thoughts
College in the U.S. is extremely unaffordable and is putting a lot of the youth in difficult financial predicaments. However, furthering your education is very important for personal growth and should always be practiced throughout your life. It’s important to let people know that there are much cheaper higher education alternatives out there. If you agree with me then please share this đŸ™‚
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