To attend or not? That is the question
Aaron Woell
Issue date: 9/15/08 Section: Money/Health
This is not a normal column.
I won't give you dry advice and tell you to invest in municipal bonds, or point out that you should have started saving for retirement while you were still wearing diapers. I won't even dumb it down and tell you how to save money as a student. Everyone already knows how to save money: shop at Aldi and take the free Leinie's tour as many times as possible before they kick you out.
Those things are small peanuts. Instead, I'm going to go to the million-dollar question: Should you even be in college?
It's a simple question and I'm sure you have an answer. You're probably thinking to yourself "Of course I should be in college! Books need to be read, the janitor in Phillips needs somebody to clean up after, and Dr. Selin needs human sacrifices."
While I'm not entirely sure about the last one, I am reasonably certain the first two arguments aren't true. Books don't have
feelings.
Maybe.
The sad, dreary, depressing fact is that the cost of tuition and fees for the current academic year at the UW - Eau Claire amounts to $6,202. Minnesota residents pay a bit more, but their tuition is subsidized so we have Vikings fans to pick on. Factor in food and housing and one year of education rises to $10,922.
While you could save yourself some money by living in a van down by the river. I don't recommend it unless you already have a van, and then only if it has orange shag carpeting. The disco ball is optional.
The price tag for a four-year education, even at a value-leader like Eau Claire, is $43,688, give or take. That figure may or may not include beer. You should probably add a few thousand just to be safe.
Anyways, the cost of a college education isn't cheap. You could buy a new Corvette for the same amount of money, or even an eBay potato chip that looks like Abraham Lincoln. That begs the question of what you're getting for your money. With the Corvette you get leather seats. With college, you get …well, that depends.
I won't give you dry advice and tell you to invest in municipal bonds, or point out that you should have started saving for retirement while you were still wearing diapers. I won't even dumb it down and tell you how to save money as a student. Everyone already knows how to save money: shop at Aldi and take the free Leinie's tour as many times as possible before they kick you out.
Those things are small peanuts. Instead, I'm going to go to the million-dollar question: Should you even be in college?
It's a simple question and I'm sure you have an answer. You're probably thinking to yourself "Of course I should be in college! Books need to be read, the janitor in Phillips needs somebody to clean up after, and Dr. Selin needs human sacrifices."
While I'm not entirely sure about the last one, I am reasonably certain the first two arguments aren't true. Books don't have
feelings.
Maybe.
The sad, dreary, depressing fact is that the cost of tuition and fees for the current academic year at the UW - Eau Claire amounts to $6,202. Minnesota residents pay a bit more, but their tuition is subsidized so we have Vikings fans to pick on. Factor in food and housing and one year of education rises to $10,922.
While you could save yourself some money by living in a van down by the river. I don't recommend it unless you already have a van, and then only if it has orange shag carpeting. The disco ball is optional.
The price tag for a four-year education, even at a value-leader like Eau Claire, is $43,688, give or take. That figure may or may not include beer. You should probably add a few thousand just to be safe.
Anyways, the cost of a college education isn't cheap. You could buy a new Corvette for the same amount of money, or even an eBay potato chip that looks like Abraham Lincoln. That begs the question of what you're getting for your money. With the Corvette you get leather seats. With college, you get …well, that depends.
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