These days, college students have more to worry about than what classes to take next semester. Rising tuition expenses, mountains of debt, and the not-so-sunny outlook on the employment prospects of many popular career choices have increased the importance for both parents and future college students to examine their choices more thoroughly than ever before. Before mailing in the applications, use the available data wisely: research which majors have the most potential, and, more importantly, study each school’s return on investment—which is what, ultimately, you’ll earn back from your degree.

1. College Can Be Expensive.
How Do You Pick
the Right One?
Going to college is a costly endeavor—and that cost is increasing every year.
The typical cost of a college education including tuition, fees,
and room & board for the 2013-14 school year was…

2. Public four-year in state: $18,391
up 3.2% from the prior year 1
Public four-year out-of-state: $31,701
up 3.2%
Private nonprofit: $40,917
up 3.7%
Over the five years from the 2008-09 academic year to the 2013-14 year,
the average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges increased
27% beyond the rate of inflation.
College tuition has tripled between 1973 and 2013.
1 The College Board, Annual Survey of Colleges.
http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing/figures-tables/average-published-undergraduate-charges-sector-2013-14

3. ? ? ?
With that cost in mind, making the
decision of which school to attend
becomes that much more difficult.

4. Fortunately, there are plenty of resources to use
when making the selection, including the
U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard
and Payscale’s College ROI Report, among others.

5. 1. What are you interested in?
Figure out what you’d like to study and narrow
down your options based on schools that offer
that type of degree and program.

6. New, specialized majors have opened
up more options for students. PayScale’s
“Majors That Pay You Back”
list shows the top 10 majors by salary potential, al-lowing
students to better understand the cost of the
school vs. the earning potential for the given major.

7. + +
Combine that with data about job satisfaction,
meaningfulness and overall happiness and you
can choose a career that best fits you.

8. 31%
In fact:
of 2012 college graduates said that,
in hindsight, they would have pursued a
different major if they had known the salary
information of the field beforehand.
2
2 Accounting Principals Workonomix Survey Series: Post-Graduation Debt & Spending.
http://www.accountingprincipals.com/Documents/downloads/api-workonomix-survey-post-graduation-2012.pdf

9. 2. Do you need
financial aid?
Figuring out how to finance a college
education is something many
students must face.

10. Understanding your potential
return on investment
after factoring in your choice of major
and likely financial aid can save a few
headaches down the road.

11. 35% of 2012 college graduates said that they would have
actively pursued more financial aid opportunities
had they known what they know now.
3
3 Accounting Principals Workonomix Survey Series: Post-Graduation Debt & Spending.
http://www.accountingprincipals.com/Documents/downloads/api-workonomix-survey-post-graduation-2012.pdf

12. So take their advice—
register with FAFSA.
Most schools have resources that help
students find scholarships and provide
other cost-saving tricks.

13. 3. Where do you want
to go to school?

14. In your home state? All the way across the country?
This decision can mean a much higher cost if the
institution is hundreds of miles away. In-state
tuition is often lower than out-of-state.

15. 4. Do you want to go to a
large school or a small school?

16. Large schools offer the quintessential university
experience, but for students who need more
one-on-one time, it can be easy to get “lost.”

17. Large schools offer a
wide variety of majors and
courses, housing options,
student activities, and
top-of-the-line facilities.

18. BUT You probably won’t
get to have an individual,
heated debate in those
large lecture halls. Teaching
assistants are often leading
classes, not the famous
faculty for which the
schools are known.

19. Small schools boast small
class sizes, allowing for
interaction among the
students and teachers.
Advisers often meet with
students individually and
get to know them on a
more personal level.

20. BUT Sometimes small
colleges don’t have the
resources large schools
have and their research
facilities may not be as
advanced. Athletics,
while offered, are often
less competitive than
at larger schools.

21. Even just these questions open up hundreds
of possibilities within the thousands—
yes, thousands—of four-year public and
private institutions in the country.

22. But when whittling down your list, know that
the sticker price of a school doesn’t reflect
the actual net price, which is what it will
cost you to attend that school.

23. A Net Price Calculator can help you figure
out what the price will be, using FAFSA
details to narrow it down…

24. …but it’s not just about how much you’re paying
for school. It is how much return you’ll get on
your tuition investment after you graduate.

25. A study conducted last year of 750
college graduates reported an average of
$35,200 of college-related debt.

26. For some college graduates,
paying that debt off is almost a life sentence.
42% lower than expected starting salaries
Especially considering that almost half of all 2012
graduates (42%) said their starting salaries were
lower than they expected.
4 By choosing the right
college, however, you will know what to expect.
4 Accounting Principals Workonomix Survey Series: Post-Graduation Debt & Spending.
http://www.accountingprincipals.com/Documents/downloads/api-workonomix-survey-post-graduation-2012.pdf

27. Payscale’s College ROI Report shows how
schools rank in terms of return on investment by
school type, location, major and more.

28. This means you’ll see how well graduates typically
do in the workforce—which is a big part of the
reason students attend college in the first place!
Half of the students in The Princeton Review’s
College Hopes and Worries survey said that a
better job and higher income was the biggest
benefit of going to college!

29. ? ? ?
For example:
A student from Texas wants to receive a degree in
engineering in his home state.
Which school offers the highest ROI?

30. According to PayScale’s
College ROI Report,
that would be University
of Texas - Austin,
whose graduates
receive a $172,700 20-
year net ROI.

31. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

32. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

33. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

34. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

35. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

36. Each school listed on the
report also has data on:
Typical starting salary after graduation
Average SAT/ACT scores
Most popular degrees
Median salaries by job
Most popular employers
Gender distribution

37. Armed with this information, students
can easily scratch off colleges on their
short list that don’t make the ROI cut.

38. These days, it’s not enough to guarantee
just a degree on graduation day;
a student must be assured that his or her diploma
is worth more than the paper it’s printed on.