Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

A college education is an investment that pays off. According to The college Board’s annual report, Trends in College Pricing, the median annual income for bachelor’s degree recipients is 80 percent higher than the median income for those with only a high school diploma. over a lifetime that difference exceeds $1,000,000.

Unfortunately, investing in a college education is seldom inexpensive. college planning has become increasingly important over the last decade, as college costs have skyrocketed at over twice the inflation rate.

College tuition and fees in the United States experienced an average annual inflation rate of 8.7 percent over the past 20 years, according to Department of labor statistics. That’s 3.8 percent more than the average annual inflation rate of 4.9 percent during that same period.

The college Board’s annual report, Trends in Student Aid, indicates that almost $134 billion in total aid from federal, state, and institutional sources was available to help students to assist with tuition, fees, and other expenses of attending college— an increase of 3.7% over the previous year, after adjusting for inflation. Most of this increase, however, was in the form of loans rather than grants, and most of the increased borrowing was unsubsidized.

The US Department of education estimates that slightly more than one-quarter of fulltime undergraduate students live on campus. According to The college Board, in 2007-2008 the average in-state tuition costs were $6,185 and $23,712 per year for four-year public and private universities, respectively. Room and board charges charges averaged $7,404 for public and $8,595 for private universities. These are real costs that should be looked at carefully when preparing to set aside funds for college.

Oftentimes, because it seems far off in the future, little thought is given as to how to save and plan financially for a college education. However, it is much easier to save while the child is growing up and pay for college from our savings than to attempt to pay for college as the expenses are incurred, out of income.

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Evangeline can be reached at her marketing location at the Ground Floor of Eagle Rock Plaza (in front of Jollibee), 2700 Colorado Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90041 or at her business address at 655 N. Central Ave., 17th Flr., Glendale, CA 91203, phone number (323) 356-3803 or (323) 254-6787.

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The purpose of this article is to provide information of general interest to our clients and prospective clients. The information provided is general in nature and should not be considered complete information on any product or concept described.

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( Published on February 14, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. C5 )