DEGREE OF INVESTMENT

"There are ways to invest in myself and my future. Is a degree one of those ways?"

No doubt the price tag on higher education just keeps getting higher these days.  Over the past decade, many public universities have seen less and less monetary support by their states (Texas included).  This places a greater burden on the students and/or their parents to finance it. Some ask, "Is college still worth pursuing? Does a higher education lead to higher earnings?" Many think college is a great investment in one's future. It is a major decision and should not be made lightly, and it doesn't come without some risks.

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College is a major life decision.

Every investment has a level of risk - including college. Two of the
greatest risks associated with getting a degree are

   1) not graduating due to personal and financial reasons and
   2) graduating with a boatload of student loan debt.

You must be smart about your decision to go to college.

Ask yourself: Is getting a college degree for me?; where should I go?; how much will it cost? How will I pay for it? How fast can I finish?

Use the resources here and found on Rowdy Cents pages Walk and Climb to help you answer these questions. Always strive to be an informed decision-maker and that takes gathering as much information about the subject as possible. Start with the resources in this chart.

(Links denoted with * are offsite.)

Life Goals	Costs	Affordability
*Careers to choose from and explore for college degrees	*Plan for college; it's an important investment in yourself! A college money plan while you are in college	*Financial Aid (FAFSA) can be grants, scholarships, loans, or work study and all four. *Student Loans or work - what's the best plan? Student Jobs UTSA - a help toward college expenses and gaining work experience..
*Majors in college to choose from and explore for careers	*College for All Texans - how and where and when	UTSA Financial Aid Office
*Colleges - how to choose where to go	*Community college - to go or not to go first	*EFC - Expected Family Contribution in the Financial Aid process -calculate how much
Career Center - to find a job at UTSA	2011- 2012 UTSA tuition, fees, college life expenses Plan with Student Expense Estimator	UTSA scholarships and grants *Scholarships and grants - search via web Enter a *drawing for a $500 Scholarship

FAFSA Hooray - Charta Squad is back with a new number one hit single! Learn all about FAFSA in this groundbreaking new video on YouTube.

 

Other resources to help you make a good college decision:

UTSA bluebook helps the public easily find integrated information about UTSA courses and faculty, as well as cost of attendance and work study positions.

Money-Wise Cool in College has pointers for having your moneyready to attend UTSA.

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I heard that about 70% of American adults do not earn a college degree. That's not a statistic for me! I'm a UTSA Roadrunner; I will graduate!