Paying For College For Dummies

Chapter 14

Ten Tips for Getting Your College Degree Quicker

IN THIS CHAPTER

Making sure to keep discussions open with your teen

Knowing what schools have to offer

At the traditional length of four years, completing a four-year college education is both time consuming and costly. And as I discuss in Chapter 1, too many students don’t complete their college degrees or take a longer time to do so. Private nonprofit colleges have an overall six-year graduation rate of just 66 percent; public colleges graduate about 59 percent, and for-profit colleges graduate only 21 percent of their first-time, full-time students within six years.

So, if some or all of your kids are going to go for a four-year college degree, it’s imperative that you and they have a clear and well-thought-out plan for getting the job done efficiently and cost effectively. This chapter highlights ten tips for doing just that.

Communicating Is Key

These are big decisions. College is tremendously expensive and takes a good deal of time. And, it’s hard to really know what you’re getting until the student is there and well into the experience.

Of course, you should expect that parents and aspiring college students aren’t going to think the same thoughts or have the same concerns and priorities when it comes to selecting ...