Pssst! Wanna Know A Secret–You Might Be Able to Afford a Private College

Private schools have a secret. Although their yearly tuition fees may seem well out of reach for many students, private colleges usually have healthy endowments that enable them to give more generous financial aid packages than their public college counterparts. When I attended Gonzaga, I received a 40% reduction in my tuition expenses because I was enrolled in a program specifically geared for adult students (alas, they have now discontinued this program.) Even though a college may advertise stiff tuition fees of $25,000 yearly and up, few students actually end up paying this much. So if there's a program at a private school you really want to attend, go ahead and apply. You might be surprised how much financial aid will be available to you.