As a former recruiter who ran internship and entry-level hiring for a Fortune 500 company, I've seen the value of a brand-name college degree. Some of my hiring groups strongly focused on overall pedigree (e.g. Ivy League) or strength of a program (e.g. this school is known for journalism or that for accounting).
As a parent of one kid currently in college and one high schooler soon to join her, I definitely want to give my kids the strongest foundation possible. I myself went to a private college and would not have been able to enter my first career (strategy consulting) without it. My husband went to a considerably less expensive state university and still landed in his target industry (technology). When my oldest daughter was selecting her college, she considered private, state and city schools. The differences are significant.
• My private college costs $63,000+ per year, or $252,000+ for the degree.
• My husband’s state alma mater costs $23,000+ per year, or $92,000+ for the degree. Not cheap, but already a savings of $160,000.
• The city college my daughter selected cost less than $7,000 a year. (This is tuition only while the figures above include room and board. At a city college, she could live at home.) The lower tuition and room and board savings mean a city college degree costs $28,000, saving $224,000 over private college.
There are many career-enhancing investments you can make with $224,000. Here are three:
Travel
My daughter loves to travel, so each summer she’s opted to study or work abroad – China, Spain, India....Continue reading at my Forbes Leadership Column:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/carolinecenizalevine/2017/02/25/three-career-investments-i-made-with-the-200000-saved-on-private-college-tuition/#e64765141017
