Living History Worldwide

A midwest college made a surprise announcement yesterday. The College of St. Mary in Omaha, Nebraska, announced that they are reducing their tuition by 30%. Encouraged by several years of growing enrollment and a strong fiscal balance, the institution decided that by announcing the tuition reduction they could follow a trend set by a few other higher education institutions.
As reported in the Omaha World-Herald, College of St. Mary representatives indicated that like some other institutions across the country they are working to combat the high sticker cost war that many private schools employ. While the tuition reduction will also translate into real savings for enrolling students, the move is also an attempt to more closely reflect the actual costs of taking classes at the campus that is known for several programs, including: masters degree in education, new occupational therapy and physician’s assistants programs, and many competitive varsity sports. Serving an enrollment that is predominantly female, the College of St. Mary is hoping that they can remain an attractive option to a wide range of potential students.
College Degrees Continue to be the Best Avenue Toward Higher Salaries and Strong Financial Futures
Whether you are pursuing a medical laboratory science masters degree, a secondary education degree, or a psychology program, the options for interested college students can seem overwhelming. And while it is apparent that getting a college degree is more and more crucial in today’s world, how to select a college remains increasingly unclear to many students and their families.
Both traditional college students who have just graduated from college and adult students who are returning to class to complete an associates or bachelors degree or pursue a masters or doctorate, should look for many of the same things when they are selecting an institution of higher learning:
Cost
With headlines that scream of the overwhelming debt that many college graduates face, it is no wonder that all future college students look at the cost of a degree at different institutions and make comparisons. While many people have long justified their reasons for taking on enormous debt to get degrees at the most prestigious institutions, a growing number of students and their families question this logic. For many, the choice of an affordable college, especially for an undergraduate degree, makes the most sense.
If you are an adult student who is looking to return to the college classroom, or start college for the first time, finding a location that offers adult scholarships can be a worthwhile filter. An adult student returning to the classroom to earn a medical laboratory science masters degree, for instance, might be far more likely to attend a program that offers an equal number of adult scholarships as they do scholarships for younger, more traditional, students.
For a fortunate few, their employers will pay for college classes for their employees. These companies decide to invest in their employees in a very tangible way. For these students, the cost of the degree becomes less of a factor.
Convenience
Let’s face it. If you are an adult with a job and a family, attending college has to focus on convenience. Where are the classes located? When are the classes offered? How quickly can you earn the credits that you need to get the degree you are pursuing? Does the institution offer online classes that allow you the convenience of working from home?
It is difficult to argue with the fact that Americans with four-year college degrees make as much as 98% more an hour on average than people without a degree. Those statistics from 2013 are far more than encouraging, they do not, however, help you get to class. The convenience of an institution’s schedule may determine if you complete that medical laboratory science masters degree or that family studies major. A medical laboratory science masters degree may earn you more money than your coworkers who only have an associates degree, but you have to find a college that is willing to work with you and your current schedule if you want to complete your goal.
If you want to be part of the 83% of all college attendees who indicate that their degree has paid off, you will first need to find an institution that is affordable and convenient.