The costs of college are on the rise – increasing at a rate faster than inflation. Yet education is still very important, especially in this day and age – seems that everyone is preaching the worth of college and how it can affect your future.  But the rising cost of  college tuition can make it harder for some people to afford the education they’re looking for.Not all colleges cost the same but some state-sponsored schools have tuition rates that are close to $18,000 a year. With 4 years at that state school, students can see their tuition bills reach over $80,000.The New York Times  has a handy-dandy tuition calculator and I have crunched the numbers for tuition costs at university in my home state and career college. Here are my findings:

•    Cost of earning your Bachelor’s degree as a full-time, in-state student at a state public university with housing fees for 4 years with a 4% tuition increase each year totals over $56,000.
•    Cost of earning your Associate degree as a full-time, in-state student at career college for 2 years without housing fees totals a little over $13,000.Those values will differ depending on where you’re from and type of college you want to attend.

But, one has to think that in this economy, you want to get the most for your dollar. And in some cases, that career colleges can offer you a degree for less money and similar outcomes.  So when choosing where to go to school, why not look at a career college in your area?  You might be surprised!