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Kitty, Mr. Berko presents a valid choice. A community college provides the same courses required and offered by a four year college. It is by far the best, most economical way to go school for at least the first two years. (It sometimes takes 2 years for some kids to buckle down and really work). Wouldn't you rather have them partying on your dollar and just barely getting passing grades at a community college as opposed to a high dollar university? The most important criteria you check is that all the credits from the community college are transferrable to the college of your choice if and when your child chooses to transfer. To use your own arguement against you, the highly educated "foreigners" did not attend prestigious universities and their countries usually pay for higher education and/or provide financial assistance to the student in exchange for an agreement to stay in the country and work. I have a number of educated "foreigner" friends, their education was mostly government subsidized, with some stipulations, such as working some years in their own country (at a lower pay rate than they would receive in the same job in the states). They get a great education which the government pays for, they work a few years at home, then, if they choose, they go abroad where they can earn more money and enjoy the rewards. It is sad that in this great country, higher education is not free to those who want it. In this day and age, community college does not carry the same stigma it must have carried back in your day. Unless you're talking Ivy League, well, that's another subject. Peace.

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These are all good suggestions, except for the vital "Take your kid out of college and put him in community college." What The....? College is the single most important tool for success in America. We need to be driven to learn and work hard and succeed in life. College is not only where you define your character, but where you learn the skills and tools to get a good, well-paying job. A community college does not offer that level of success. It is a shame that Berko would suggest that parents take away the opportunity for success from their children. I realize that it takes a loan to go to college, but that loan is paid off in small increments over many years. If there is one debt that is OK to have, it's college loans. You will make far more money in the long run, even with loan payments considered, than with not attending a 4-year college at all. A 4-year degree (bachelor's) and an internship is required for many good jobs. THey don't consider someone who can't commit to 4 years of hard work. A 4-year degree is required to attend graduate school (Masters) for even better-paying jobs that demand even more respect as well. I have one myself. Many of my friends are doctors. THey have over $100,000 in loans. However, they stand to make much more than that PER YEAR. You don't become a doctor, or any other successful careerperson with a 2-year degree. Community college is for those who tried a 4-year college and didn't cut it, or are happier with lower-paying jobs that require less brain power. I'm not saying 4-year college is for everyone - it's not. But to tell parents to prevent their children from becoming successful adults with enough cash to support their families, and send their own kids to college, is a disgrace. America has too many people who don't take the effort to go to college, then whine that others are taking their jobs. Foreigners get the good jobs because they are extremely highly educated. They qualify for the jobs that we Americans do not. Americans need to encourage our teens to go to college and become the smarted people they can be, to compete for the best jobs out there. We need to be proud of going to college, and it should be encouraged. Parents should in fact, insist that their kids go to college. I never considered anything else. That is why I went. If I had the option of going to community college, I'd be weaving baskets in the podunk town I came from. Instead, I live in New York, was able to buy an apt, and save for my future and retirement. All because I went to college. No one, NO ONE should leave 4-year college for community college. It is the single worst mistake anyone can make. Berko should be fired for encouraging our young people to lower their standards, and thereby producing more low-income people. I thought his article was about saving money and making more. Instead, he encourages moves that lead to less income, and saving less.