School Archives - Making Sense Of Cents

I Thought I Was Too Good For Community College

April 16, 2018 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 57 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

4 reasons you should go to community college first Whether you are about to head to college (no matter what your age may be), if you have a child who is about to attend college, or if you know someone who is about to experience this, then this article is for you.

When I was around 17, I applied to several different colleges, but one mistake I made was that I didn't even give community college a thought.

Unfortunately, there is a stigma attached to going to community college, like thinking it is for those that can’t get into a “regular” college, for those that don’t have enough money, or for those that have no other options. When, in fact, these are all far from the truth.

And, sadly, I bought into these myths and thought I was too good for community college.

The stigma about going to community college is absolutely ridiculous. [Read more…]

How To Determine What College To Apply To

October 18, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Making Sense of Cents and College Ave Student Loans have partnered on a series of blog posts on what to expect when it comes to planning for college…especially when it comes to time to pay. Through the series, we hope families gain a little more insight on how to tackle the next four or more years ahead with a stronger financial footing. All opinions are 100% my own. To learn more, please visit: https://www.collegeavestudentloans.com.

There are over 1,000 colleges in the United States alone.

The list of college majors is long as well.

When deciding what college to apply to, it can be a tough decision.

You shouldn't just choose whatever college your friend applies to, or the college that the majority of your school is going to.

All colleges are different, and all people are different too. People may be on different career paths, they may have different needs for a college, and so on.

This can make choosing what college to apply and attend a difficult one. [Read more…]

Get A College Degree In 12 Months And For Under $10,000

October 4, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The following content is sponsored by Capella University. All opinions are 100% my own.

As most of you know, I have three college degrees – two undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Management, as well as my Finance MBA.

One thing I pride myself on is that I was able to graduate early, but I did still accrue a decent amount of debt.

Most colleges don't make it easy to graduate early or to create a good schedule. I had to work hard towards that and I don't know of many other people who have been able to do the same.

Recently, I heard about FlexPath from Capella University, which can greatly help a person achieve a faster graduation time.

If you are looking for a college degree, but think that you can't fit it into your schedule or in the price point that you are wanting, then FlexPath is definitely something that you may want to look further into. [Read more…]

Ways To Save Money On College Costs

August 10, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

College costs are one of the largest “purchases” a person will ever make. The other big purchase would most likely be a house that a person buys. However, sometimes a house may cost LESS than a college degree!

The cost of college can vary significantly, as you can see. Tuition for an in-state public college averages around $28,000 and a more expensive private college tuition is double that amount at an average of $59,000. For a four year elite university, the cost jumps to $68,000. Lastly, if your child (or you) is enrolled in higher education for something like medicine or law, college costs may reach hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. [Read more…]

Should you get an MBA if you want to start your own business?

July 24, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 34 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

The path to owning my own business started around 10 years ago. I graduated from high school and went on to college for business. I graduated, got a job as a financial analyst, and then around five years ago, completed my MBA with an emphasis in Finance.

Should you get an MBA if you want to start your own business? Is it a need? Or, can a person start a business without a college degree? It seemed like a logical path – graduate from high school, go to college, get a job in that field, and then get my MBA to further my career opportunities.

It was the path I fell into, and I never really gave it a second thought. For my MBA, I figured I needed it in order to be successful in the corporate finance world.

However, I'm now a full-time blogger.

One of the questions I'm often asked is if I regret going to school for so many college degrees (3). After all, it took a lot of time and led to a significant amount of debt.

I definitely did not learn a thing about blogging back in college, and an MBA isn’t 100% focused on the topic of starting your own specific business, especially a niche one. Plus, I did not get my MBA thinking that I would be starting my own business. I went for it to better my career opportunities. [Read more…]

Cutting College Costs: Understanding The Cost And Value Of Your Degree

March 27, 2017 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 49 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

There's a myth that expensive colleges are always better than the cheaper ones. As if higher college costs means that you'll automatically get a great job, you'll have an extremely high salary, and more.

Are colleges with higher college costs always better? Here are some other things you'll want to think about when paying for college and college tuition. Well, that's not always true.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal:

From the academics [who have studied whether students from elite institutions outperform their peers or not] we know that in terms of future earnings, 1) your choice of field matters more than your choice of college, 2) after controlling for ability, the earnings differences of graduates from elite and non-elite institutions are small at best, and 3) any earnings advantage that may emerge over the long run is difficult to concretely tie back to the effects of one’s college choice.

According to Forbes, tuition for an in-state public college averages around $28,000. Private college tuition was double that amount at an average of $59,000.

For a four year elite university, the cost jumps to $68,000. [Read more…]

Consolidating And Refinancing Student Loans – What You Should Know

December 18, 2015 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 30 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Are you looking to start refinancing student loans? The average 2015 college graduate has slightly over $35,000 in student loan debt.

And, if you have a law or medical degree, you may find yourself with an average of around $150,000 or $200,000 in student loan debt, respectively.

That’s a lot of money!

One thing I haven’t talked about much here on Making Sense of Cents is that there are many options for paying off your debt, such as by consolidating or refinancing your student loans.

Many don’t realize that they may be able to refinance or consolidate their student loans. I personally know this because I never once thought about either back when I had student loan debt.

Before you make the leap of consolidating or refinancing student loans, though, there are many things to think about. Continue reading below to determine if either consolidating or refinancing student loans is the right decision for you.

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