A co-worker loaned me her book, “The New College Reality” by Bonnie Kerrigan Snyder.  Although I have seven years before my older daughter goes to college, the book looked intriguing.  There has been lots of press in the media lately about the true value and benefit of a college education.  I do believe in college.  I think the college experience is valuable for any young adult since they will be faced with lots of “grown up” situations such as learning to live on a budget, managing their time and being strategic about what classes to take.  I worked all through undergrad and managed to finish school without any debt. If you have watched the nightly news, you will see many stories of students saddled with thousands of dollars of debt, with no meaningful job in sight to pay that debt down.

So, yes, I have seven years until the college drama happens, but according to Snyder, this is the best time to start thinking about college and how you will pay for it.  Snyder offers many intriguing ideas and examples.  This really is a great book to help you distinguish the dream of college versus the reality–especially if you need to figure out how to pay for it.  She starts off with ways to minimize your time in college by taking AP courses, CLEP credits and dual enrollment options.  These three things can reduce your time in college which obviously reduces your tuition bill.

The second insightful thing the book focuses on is to think about the career first, college second.  She gives the example of how kids visit the career center right before they are about to graduate (me included).  But, instead, the career center should be your first stop when visiting a college campus  or when your college life begins.  In other words, know where you want to end up and plan accordingly.  Kids need job skills that are in demand…save the art class for an extracurricular activity.

The third idea that I gravitated towards was how financial aid works.  Wow, what an eye-opener!  Parents that are thrifty and conscious of saving and spending really get dinged with the way the financial aid process works–especially if you are middle class.  Snyder suggests some proactive, legal measures to look better on paper.  Having a college degree is no longer enough and thinking you can wait until the last-minute to figure out financial aid is going to leave you with our pants down and a very disappointed child, too.  Buy this book!  I read it in two hours!