Selecting a College

First it sounds like you did an amazing job raising your child. I too have a soon to be college bound child. If my son was in this same situation I would strongly encourage him to take the full ride. At least for the first two years. So many of the classes are required classes outside of their major field. I transfered after the first two years of my college years into the college I graduated from and I am glad I did. What I thought was going to be my major ending up changing too. The cost of college and text books is so high that having this gift of a full ride is one to not be looked upon lightly. It doesn't hurt to try the college with the scholarship and transfer out after the basic classes are covered. Good luck with your decision!

An out of state college can became very expensive, $20,000+ a year. This would result in HUGH loans to pay off. This is a hard way to start your life. I would check to see what the "job placement" success is for the in-state college. Definitely visit the colleges and talk to students.

First of all, let me say congratulations, you have raised a wonderful daughter with your drive it seems. I have two thoughts. One, if she is planning on grad school and can deal with the in-state school, go there. That way she will only have debt for grad school and it will be the school that has the most impact on her future employment. Two, it sounds like your daughter is so driven and responsible, that I would have no worries about her being able to handle the loans. Most adults have student loans these days, at reasonable rates, and they are considered a "good debt." So then she should go where her heart tells her. I hope that she has visited all the schools, that makes a big difference. I wouldn't recommend going sight unseen. A very tough call, but she should make the ultimate decision and you are very wise to let her. I went to in-state schools and haven't really found that it made a difference in getting a job. But the Ivy League schools sure do give people a leg up and more contacts. Well, good luck, and what a wonderful problem to have! My biggest recommendation is to visit the schools and choose soon, since I am sure that there is a desperate teen out there on the waiting lists of the six schools that your daughter isn't going to attend.

I graduated from high school 15 years ago and college over 10 years ago, so I don't know how much my advice will help, but debt is debt AND companies will hire you based on your degree and how you do in your interview, not necessarily where your degree is from (well, as long as it is from an accreditted school). I only took out one loan during my 4 years of school, but it took me a long time to pay that back. When you're starting out fresh from school, there are a lot of things that you have to pay for that you don't think about as a young 18 year old going to school... A lot goes into your first home besides utilites... towels, sheets, cleaning supplies. That's on top of the biggies like furniture and a dependable vehicle. My youngest brother is a senior in college this year and he is in state but thought about going out of state... We buried 2 grandmothers in the last 3 months and he was very happy that he only had to make a 3 hour drive rather than a plane trip... something also to think about. Hope this helps give her a little advice.