Now we know that baseball is America’s pastime, but is there any other sport that is more ingrained in our culture than football? And is there anything more wholesome than parents encouraging their kids to play football in order to learn teamwork, develop their athletic prowess, and develop friendships while having a great time? That may have been true 30 years ago, but the rise of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) has given parents pause as we’re now seeing something close to 35% fewer kids playing the sport now than played 10-15 years ago. The value proposition has changed as we’ve learned what the longer-term impacts of all of those hits to the head means for athletes. Well we believe the same thing is true when it comes to higher education. Due to the higher costs of college, the massive student loan burden, and other false assumptions about going to college, we want all high school grads to think long and hard about whether college is the right choice for them. Listen as we discuss the factors to consider to maximize your ROI of attending college, some great alternatives to going straight from senior year to a university, and then some questions to ask yourself to help you decide.
Additional links:
- Compare schools – Check out the Dept of Education’s college scorecard in order to help you compare college degrees and fields of study, before you commit to taking out a buttload of debt!
- Scholarships – Getting as much of your education as possible covered by scholarships is a great way to increase the value proposition of college. Bold.org, Fastweb, and Collegeboard are just a few sites where you can begin your scholarship search.
- Here’s a helpful video walking you through what you need to do in order to fill out the FAFSA.
- Avoid debt – Here are some ways to avoid student loan debt and possibly lower the cost of college. And, also there’s a number of ways to save money while in college!
- Tuition transparency – TuitionFit.org is a great way to compare your financial aid package to that of other students.
- Skilled trades – And maybe the path to college isn’t for you- instead a high-paying blue collar career might be the best route to take and there are more options available then most might realize!
- Careers with future opportunity – according to the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- Learning for free – But if you’re less interested in the degree and more interested in learning- Peer 2 Peer University, Project Gutenberg, Google Scholar, & Alison.com are all worth looking into.
- Overview post – Is college worth it?
- Credit Card Tool – Looking for the right credit card for you? Then check out our new credit card tool that’ll help you to easily filter through all the cards based on your preferred airline, whether or not they have an annual fee, or simply by the cash back offer! Just toggle the sliders and you’ll know which card to consider.
- Newsletter – Don’t forget to sign up for the best personal finance newsletter in all the land! It’s completely free and something we create to help you along your journey to financial freedom. It drops every Tuesday morning and you can always unsubscribe if you don’t dig it!
During this episode we enjoyed a Foeder Bier by Southern Brewing! And please help us to spread the word by letting friends and family know about How to Money! Hit the share button, subscribe if you’re not already a regular listener, and give us a quick review in Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Help us to change the conversation around personal finance and get more people doing smart things with their money!
Best friends out!
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