As a software developer, my income has quadrupled since graduating with $25k in student loans from a state college. It was totally worth it for me.

However, everyone should do the research to understand their career outlook before going to college. If a profession had low wages, low growth, and/or low demand, I’d be very wary of taking out any student loans to qualify.

People should also research what type of college they will need to graduate from in order to achieve their most likely career outcomes. Paying significantly more for private or out-of-state tuition probably won’t be worth it, unless you know for a fact that it will be.

Finally, prospective students should critically evaluate their own ability to achieve the grades necessary to graduate. My own degree required nothing more than a C average, which I knew I could achieve.