The cost of education in today’s world is a very real challenge for many students (and their families) who desire that next step toward higher education.  Research conducted on the cost of the average bachelor’s degree in the United States shows a staggering number of $127,000 resulting in nearly 70 percent of students having to take out a school loan to make this dream a reality.  Also, according to this research, over 20 percent of students with loans owe more than $50,000, and roughly 5.6 percent owe more than $100,000 at the end of the four-year period. Add accruing interest to the overall expense of receiving a higher education, and the whole journey becomes significantly higher for the average student. The figures don’t even include the expenses that come with the college lifestyle: room, board, food, books, social adventures (can’t forget spring break trips!) and the always growing pile of laundry that can’t be ignored.

While the cost of a four-year college or university is steadily rising on an annual basis, the average trade school degree costs $33,000, which, compared to a $127,000 bachelor’s degree, means an instant savings of $94,000.  Furthermore, if you assume that a student is paying an additional 4% in interest over a re-payment of 10 years (or more), the bachelor’s degree would then cost a grand total of around $154,000 (or more).  Add that same interest amount to the trade school degree period, and you are looking at about $40,000 in total cost. That’s a savings of $114,000 on just the degree.

Again, not all students will fully finance their education.  They may choose to work off some of their debt along the way, or perhaps they are lucky enough to have family support or other alternate means of income to help with the cost. Recent research shows the average student debt load as being close to $29,000 which jumps to roughly $36,000 if you factor in interest.  Conversely, the average debt load for students graduating from a two-year technical school is $10,000, roughly $70,000 less than the four-year graduate degree. These figures give students something to think about along with future goals including where they want to be in life and how long they want to take to get there.

Join us again in July for the third and final part of this series where we will consider how economic conditions can impact the recent college graduate and the job security that is present in the trade/vocational sector.