NJ Stars = Cheaper College Degree?

The NJ Stars program of community college attendance for two years then transfer, as a junior, to a state four-year college saves top students a lot of money, right? Wrong. While community college may be worthwhile for some, for top students eligible for NJ Stars, it entails three disadvantages rarely discussed: Cost, time and risk.

Academic Achievement and College Cost

Does your student's level of academic success factor into the amount of money you pay for her college education? You bet it does. If there's an "immutable law" buried in the maze of counter-intuitive and contradictory financial aid guidelines, it is this: "The better the student, the cheaper the degree."

We have visited with hundreds of parents over the last eight years and the nearly universal chorus is, "Can we afford private college?" Given that the average private college is now $44,000 and the average in-state public college is $20,000 (out-of-state publics average $37,000) the answer would seem obvious. But like many aspects of college planning, what appears to be so, isn't.