Stop Dismissing Higher Education! It's Well Worth It

I've recently read a lot articles and blog posts relating to higher education. Everything seems to come back to the point of whether it's worth it to go to college or not. Many argue that due to the Great Recession and skyrocketing cost of higher education, a lot of college graduates are stuck with loads and loads of student loans while they can't find or hold down a good job.

It's true that employment opportunities are currently not what they use to be, but that's no reason to dismiss going to college altogether. Instead, it provides a chance for us to rethink what a college education means. On an individual basis, a careful cost/benefit analysis needs to be done when choosing a school. Nationally, though, we should bring attention to studies and debates to find ways to keep costs down.

Besides, why are we talking about less education when the rest of the world is becoming increasingly more educated? In a lot of countries, a bachelor’s degree is no longer enough. People are getting masters and Ph.Ds. in order to get jobs. On top of that, globalization means that we won't only be competing for jobs here in the U.S., we'll have to compete with those people with graduate degrees from other countries in the future (it's already happening now), whether we like it or not.

Credit Score Calculation

These past few years, due to the financial crisis caused by subprime loans, mortgage lenders have tightened  their standards. Now it is hard to find someone who will loan you money for a house if your FICO credit score is below 620. Even if you do find a lender, your interest rate will be significantly higher than someone with an excellent score of 760. For a 30 year mortgage you may be paying tens or hundreds of thousands more in interest.

This means it's time to pay attention to your credit score!

I remember going to the bank with my mother right before I headed off to college to apply for a credit card. She told me it was time for me to build a credit history. I happily obliged. When I received my card in the mail, she reminded me time and time again that I must use it responsibly. Building a credit history is important, but you don't want to build a bad history. Mistakes can stay with you for 7 years!

FICO Score
The FICO score was developed by the Fair Isaac Corporation in the 1980s. Not only is it the original credit score, most companies still base their evaluation of creditworthiness on it.