Consider Your Alternatives

DEBT.

We'll be swimming in it long after we graduate.
Like it's not bad enough that most of us will still be looking for jobs long after we've graduated with our Bachelor's, but we've got a storm cloud of debt following us until we grow old.

However, there are ways to cut back on debt. Chances are, most people are attending college because it'll increase their likelihood of getting a job. What people often don't consider is their alternatives.

Sometimes I wonder what my other friends are doing attending NYU, or any other private university for that matter, paying 50k/year tuition. I understand that many of the fields that they have considered working in require the connections that a prestigious school like NYU, located in the heart of NYC, can offer them. However, is it always worth it? In the end, it's really what you do during your years in college that determine your percentage of success in the real world.

A degree from a top-rate public university can be just as good on your resume if you can really showcase that you've been an active part of the campus community and working towards your goals of doing what you want to do. Not only that, but attending a public university is considerably cheaper in comparison and can help cut your debt costs in half.

The starting salary for your first job out of college will be considerably low; not only will you need to meet the basic necessities such as feed, clothe, and shelter yourself, you'll also have to pay the bills and slowly make your minimum payments back to the bank for student loans.

Additionally, college just isn't for everyone. I don't mean this negatively in any way. We need people to be plumbers, technicians, or electricians (not disparaging those working trade skill jobs). These are jobs that don't require a four-year degree; yet there are people still attending college majoring in some (sorry, for lack of a better term) bullshit major, and graduating with nowhere to go but working a job at Wal-Mart (biggest employer in our country by the way).

Please, please, please consider your alternatives.