Post-Secondary Education

My two main pieces of advice for anyone pursuing job training or higher education:

• You must continue to learn and study after high school.
• You should avoid private, for-profit schools.

What's wrong with private, for-profit schools?

1. They are expensive. You have to take out big loans to afford them. You may be paying off these debts for the rest of your life.
2. They are not as good as public schools or private non-profit schools, in terms of quality of education and job placement.
3. They will lie to you. Recruiters are paid to get you to sign up, and they will do or say anything to hook you.
4. Which schools are private, for-profit? Here's an incomplete list.

Public schools in Colorado are a great choice, whether you want trade school, job training, a 2-year degree, or a traditional 4-year degree.

• State schools are more affordable than ANY private school.
• State schools have flexible learning options, including night classes and online classes.
• You do NOT need to go to a private for-profit school for job training!
• UC Boulder and Colorado School of Mines are world-class universities at an affordable price.

Colorado Public Institutions by Category

• Colorado public technical schools
• Colorado public 2-year schools and community colleges
• Colorado public 4-year colleges/universities
• Searchable database of Colorado schools
• Complete list of Colorado public institutions of higher education

List of Private For-Profit "Schools" (I strongly advise you to AVOID these places!)

• Private for-profit "schools"

Useful Information on Student Debt and Costs of Higher Education

• Student loan repayment calculators
• Cost of public vs. private schools: NY Times motion chart
• How schools lie about job placement rates
• For-profit schools have twice the student loan default rate of public nonprofit schools
• How schools deceive students about debt
• Consequences of defaulting on student loan debt