When most people think of college, they think of going to a campus for 4+ years and spending a fortune. The price of higher education is truly outrageous. In the United States the average cost for a 4 year education is $33,720. At the high-end prestigious universities the price can sometimes get as high as $200,000. With the price soo high the benefits should be amazing right?
Sadly, this is not the case. In the past, when someone got a college degree they almost always left with a higher paying job than their decree-less peers. But as time goes on this gap keeps getting smaller and smaller. Today this gap is very small. Many college students today leave with either a minimum wage job or no job! I personally know a handful of people in that situation. On top of this 40% of college students either drop-out or flunk-out. With these risks is spending all that money on going to a college worth it?
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that a college degree is worthless. I still think there are benefits to getting a college degree. It is just not worth it to go to a college campus for 4 years and spend a fortune.
How to Get a College Degree Cheap
The way to get a college degree cheap is to use a mixture of CLEP exams and online college classes. Using CLEP exams anyone can test out of particular college courses if you can pass the exam. Online college classes are way cheaper than going to a college campus. There is no room and board and tuition can be cheaper (depending on the college).
The method I am using and that I recommend is to take enough CLEP exams to enter college as a junior. Then finish the degree up with online courses. To enter college as a junior someone must get 60 credit-hours and take the CLEP exams that are prerequisites for their major. This requires them to pass 16-20 CLEP exams. It is difficult to do, but it only costs roughly $2,000 with the cost of the exams and study materials. This saves them tens of thousands of dollars by not having to pay for the first two years of college.
Then finish the degree using online classes. As I have already mentioned, online classes are cheaper. A few smart colleges offer comprehensive online degree programs for many different topics (mainly the humanities). There are also the added benefits of staying home. No room and board expense. Also there is no worry about trying to find a job in a busy college town. Now their are some reasons not to use this strategy. If you want to go of to college to party and socialize, then I don’t recommend this strategy. Also this probably won’t work for engineering and science majors. Luckily, those degrees are in high demand so it might be worth the cost. In the end, I highly recommend that everyone consider if going to a college campus is really worth it. There are many ways to lower the cost of college I recommend using some.
Very interesting. Glad you are learning all this before it was too late.