Choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life. College has a huge impact on you financially, emotionally, socially and academically–and can have a large effect on your future job prospects and earnings.
But no college is right for everyone, and everyone has different ideas about what makes a college best for them.
To make it easier for African-Americans to find colleges that fit their needs and preferences, MONEY collaborated with Essence magazine to analyze more than 1,500 four-year colleges to determine which ones offer the best value for African-American students.
When choosing a college, it’s important to be aware of graduate outcomes from that college and how much you can expect to make once you leave school.
While we wouldn’t recommend choosing a college based on average graduate salaries alone, expected salary is definitely a factor to consider when determining how to pay for college and whether you’ll be able to afford your student loan payments once you graduate.
For students considering college in Upstate New York or our hometown of Western New York, Buffalo Business First put together a list of average graduate salaries from 43 local colleges.
With the cost of college topping $60,000 at some schools, it may seem impossible for regular families to afford higher education.
But there are still plenty of quality colleges for half the cost. Kiplinger recently released a list of the best value colleges that still cost under $30,000 per year, all of which provide a great bang for your tuition buck.
With some private college prices topping $60,000 per year, it’s no wonder that more students are considering lower-cost public colleges as an alternative.
According to US News & World Report, the average cost of attending an in-state public school is $8,500 per year, compared to the average annual private school cost of $30,500 — a difference of $22,000 a year.
But choosing a public college doesn’t have to mean sacrificing quality. Many public colleges are just as competitive as private colleges–at a significantly lower price point.