Top college choices: 3 tips on love, money, and marriage

 Getty [Bill and Hillary met while students at Yale]

The "best college" rankings for 2011 by  US News and World Report are out and this is a quick reminder  — the choices you make today might reflect your lifetime future. 

Three tips

1. Be clear on why it is you are going to college. Is it for love and friendship, money and a job, or marriage? Sometimes you can have it all:Hillary Clinton, Honorary Degree at Yale, and her Campus Love
2. Make certain you find a school you can afford: FORBES /best-buys-colleges-opinions-value.html
3. If you become homesick, stick it out. Homesickness isn't really about 'home' - CNN.com

For love, money, and friendship: College students who want to be rich with lifelong friends need to invest time and seek out opportunities to develop their interests now, says a Purdue University communication expert.  Study shows what makes college buddies lifelong friends

Affordable schools vs young attorneys in debt

Last year I wrote about two young attorneys who met and married and have become “victims of an unfolding education hoax on the middle class that’s just as insidious, and nearly as sweeping, as the housing debacle.” Forbes.com/forbes/(The Great College Hoax)

Keep in mind that oftentimes what you do with a degree is more important than where you attended school. (Yes, Ivy League may open doors, but if you can’t perform, you’re out the door, particularly in this overcrowded world of the overly-educated without jobs.)

Will you marry for love or money?

If you do meet and marry at college, set some goals for yourself. And if you are paying for your own college tuition, as is the case with many young people today, pay off as much of the loan as possible before falling into debt. Money issues are one of the biggest deal breakers in marriage. .Should you marry for money?

With more women entering college these days, the competition is tough -- not just for jobs but for men as well.Leaving Men Behind: Women Go to College in Ever-Greater Numbers

While women may choose to marry someone making less money, there are pitfalls:

• Husbands of high-earning women face gender identity crisis
• Low-earner 'Jesse James cheating' hurts breadwinning women

A word to the wise – find a college that meets your needs, pay off your debts, and take the notion of personal growth seriously.  U.S. News & World Report's Best Colleges 2011 (PHOTOS)

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SUBSCRIBE to read Relationship Tips (Watch for these, I am going from A - Z)

• Relationship Tip A: take a minute to choose assurance over anxiety
• Relationship Tip B: choose 'Being loving' instead of Belittling
• Relationship Tip C: choose to Cherish instead of Criticize
• Relationship Tip: Dare to delight instead of deride

Copyright 2009 Rita Watson/ All Rights Reserved