My College Costs As A GenXer

One of the most daunting things about living in the United States is the insane cost of college. It was absolutely out of control when I was going to school; and today it is way worse. I feel like by the time my children go to school, it will cost half a million dollars to get a graduate degree. But I digress!

Quite a few years back, I wrote a blog post on how much college costs have increased over time. That blog is deleted (I still have the archive saved locally though); but I figured instead of showing statistics and charts, I would just keep it short and simple this time. You’ll get the gist of it all the same!

So let’s look at the cost of the schools I’ve attended (what I paid vs. what they cost now).

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

I attended Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University from Fall of 1997 until Fall of 1998. And then I realized that I was paying a lot of money to just spin my wheels and change my major every semester. I dropped out, not because of academics, but because of costs. I can only imagine how pricey things are today, almost 30 years later (oh, I’m looking up these current prices on the fly by the way):

And that is just tuition! Whew. Oh and I also lived in their dorms. You had to because they had just built the new Student Village complex and that needed to be paid for. So I think my total bill was over $15K. Whatever it was, I couldn’t afford it!

Community College of Allegheny County

In the Spring of 1999 I started taking classes at my local community college. And yes, it does look like something out of Soviet Russia! But I can’t complain because I took quite a few courses here at a much cheaper rate than what any nearby 4-year school offered. But Pennsylvania has this weird system with their community colleges where you need to be a county resident to get the cheapest rate; then you pay an in-state rate; and then there is the out-of-state rate. And there are 67 counties in PA but only 13 community college systems. So something’s not adding up!

West Virginia University

I remember when I applied to West Virginia University in 1999 as an out-of-state student, the tuition was just a little bit more than what I would have paid as an in-state student at the University of Pittsburgh. But the living expenses were way less (my rent for a 1-bedroom apartment with no roommates was only $275/month — and it was a very nice apartment!). Even so, those tuition bills hit hard. I knew of all the organizations that gave out free food at their events, because I counted on that! So let’s see what I was paying back then…

Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics

I do my best to be transparent and honest. I mentioned before that I dropped out of ERAU because of finances. Well I dropped out of WVU because of finances and academics! Unfortunately when I was at WVU the first time, I was a full-time student, I had a work-study job, and I also worked part-time off campus. So I had very little free time for studying. And my grades reflected that. I was demoralized and felt like a complete and utter failure. I had been in college at this point for more than 3 years and I was no closer to earning a degree than I was in 1997. So I was beyond frustrated and I wanted something, anything to show for all the time and money that I put in. So when I spoke to the admissions staff at Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics and they said, ‘In 18 months, you’ll have an associates degree.’ Bam! That’s all I needed. Some light at the end of the tunnel!

Unfortunately I was in the completely wrong tunnel. PIA was not a good experience for me. The 8:30 to 3:30, M-F schedule felt like high school all over again. And the student body was overwhelmingly male and misogynist. But hey, let’s get back to the topic at hand. Costs! So here we go:

* - the program had 6 quarters, but each one had a different cost; so I am giving the full program total price

Broward College

When I enrolled at Broward Community College in Florida (they changed their name because they now offer 4-year degrees), it was never for the intention of getting a degree. I was working in the real estate industry and had found a position working in their accounting department. So I just wanted to take some courses to help me in my work. But let me tell you, I was blown away at how affordable college tuition was in Florida compared to Pennsylvania. Like completely mind blowing. That and as long as you are a FL resident, then you pay the same low tuition — doesn’t matter what county you reside in. Oh, and transferring from a community college to a state university or even to another community college is as seamless as can be. All the courses are standardized and have the same course titles and core requirements! But anyway….the costs!

(This is actually a bit surprising because I felt that CCAC was a lot more expensive than BCC. Maybe it just didn’t seem as bad because by this time I was making more money?!)

Florida Gulf Coast University

Ok finally, we’ve reached the finish line here….yey! (You thought it would never end, right?) So I enrolled in the MBA program at Florida Gulf Coast University in 2009. Unlike many other people who go for MBA’s I was really taking the coursework as a means to expand my knowledge. I didn’t care about name recognition. I also didn’t care (but should have) about networking opportunities. I was also zoned in on my big heap of student loan debt and I didn’t want to dump more on to it just to go to graduate school. So when I realized that I could earn an MBA at FGCU for less than the price of a Honda Accord, I was sold!

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So yeah, it’s been a heck of a journey! Oh how I wish I could somehow send a message backwards through time to the 20 year-old me who was so incredibly stressed and worried about the cost of college. Not that it wasn’t warranted. Just that things do get better and when you really want to achieve something, then you will find a way!

Much appreciation to Wayback Machine, that allowed me to look up the old tuition rates for all the schools that I did not have a catalog for!