KHEAA - Planning and Preparing for College

The Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA) has information on financial aid and nearly every other aspect of attending college after high school.  Here's one article from their website:

Tassel: Worth the hassle?

Education past high school can be as much or as little as you want! Trade school, two-year and four-year degrees are all options past high school.

Going to school after graduation may be the last thing you want to hear about. But graduating from college increases your job opportunities, your earning power and your ability to enjoy a better life.

Get a bachelor's degree, and you can make nearly $16,000 a year more than your friends with just a high school diploma. Do the math: $15,637 times a 40-year career equals more than half a million dollars ($625,480 to be exact). Even if you don't like math, you have to love that!

If you drop out, your friends who earn bachelor's degrees will earn over $950,000 more than you over a 40-year career — that's like hitting the lottery.

Information from the U.S. Census Bureau shows median earnings increase with higher education:

     •An associate's degree can mean 19 percent more income than just a high school diploma.
     •A bachelor's degree can mean 62 percent more income than just a high school diploma.
     •A master's degree can mean 92 percent more income than just a high school diploma.

Median Kentucky earnings by educational level for workers 25 or older employed full time; unemployment for workers 25 or older.

Source: 2007 American Community Survey, U.S. Census Bureau