<prompt> Human: So Ive just graduated high school and I was really excited for college. Ive been waiting for a looong time. However, Ive only recently realized how much itll cost me to go to the one I want to - 125k. I filed for FAFSA and the school will get back to me about any grants or aid they can give me. But Im very naive and I just really dont quite know what Im getting into. From what I understand, my parents would only pay for my personal needs. And my counselor told me that FAFSA is based on how much my parents make and such, so the problem is, my dad makes a pretty good amount but he basically has no money because of bad financial habits, while my mother makes a decent amount and slightly struggles with paying for majority of the bills. Because of this I fear FAFSA may be of little help. Another thing is that I am American albeit not a resident anywhere. Other options I have are the regular - taking a year to solely work and living with my brother, or going to community college. Everyone has been suggesting community college but Ive always wanted to go to a four year college. Perhaps some other things to note are that I plan to study ASL in this college, then plan on getting a masters dependent on the path I want to take, mostly leaning towards counselingspeech pathology. Thank you.  <response>: 125k for four years? For a degree in... what?Some degrees are going to reward that kind of investment with increased earning potential on the other side, and some arent. Please share your thinking on the value of a four-year college, and your proposed course of study, versus something cheaper more accessible. It drives me crazy that people will study a 75 sweater online forever, shopping for 10 discounts and looking for coupon codes, but drop 125,000 on an undergraduate degree without doing a jot of cost-benefit analysis. If people shopped for higher ed with the scrutiny they bring to sweaters, or tires, or plane tickets, a lot of colleges would be in enormous trouble. 