How To Pay For College
HOLLY FIRFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ski season is here.</s>GABE SAGLIE, TRAVELZOO: All right, if you're looking to get a bargain on that ski vacation, really look at very early in the season or toward the tail end of ski season. The more expensive months will definitely be sort of mid-December into late-February, very early March.</s>FIRFER: When choosing a place to stay, it's all about the location.</s>SAGLIE: If you travel early enough in the season, you can even stay at the more high end four or five star hotels right at the base of the mountain. After that, if you travel during peak travel seasons, the further you stay from the base of the mountain, the less expensive your hotel stay will be.</s>FIRFER: And skip the rental car.</s>SAGLIE: If you're really there just to enjoy the ski conditions, can you actually take advantage of free shuttle service that gets you to the slope and back.</s>FIRFER: Also consider leaving your ski equipment at home.</s>SAGLIE: Because of the potential having to pay more on the check baggage fees, it is worth considering renting the equipment on the other side of your trip.</s>TUCHMAN: It's time to hit the slopes. College degree is essential in today's competitive job market. We all know the high cost of that education can affect a student's and family's finances for decades. But there are ways of shrinking the college costs. Christine Romans explain in this week's "Smart Is The New Rich."</s>CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At this college fair, high school junior Veronica Woodley is exploring her options.</s>VERONICA WOODLEY, HIGH SCHOOL JUNIOR: Finding schools that had premed and I major in biology to become a dermatologist. It is also a minor in Spanish.</s>ROMANS: Picking the right college is a high stakes decision with a high price tag. Average tuition per year at a public college is more than $22,000 for in-state students, a private college more than $43,000. Community colleges cost $15,000 a year. Not all kids borrow for college. But those who do graduate with $27,000 in debt on average with a price tag like that, college choice is a careful investment, but depends on a student's talents and finances. (on camera): Most important, you have to graduate from school in four years. No more five years and you have to pick the right school. If you haven't saved any money, you can't pick the super expensive school and graduate five years later. And you say there is a certain rule of thumb for paying for school.</s>CARMEN WONG ULRICH, PRESIDENT, ALTA WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Here's the thing. If you're a parent saving, I don't know how and why you think you have to pay for the whole thing. Don't try to save the full price tag. You can basically try to save a third and then go for scholarships and grants for the other third. And borrow a third. It's much more manageable and can you do it.</s>ROMANS: That means part of the burden is on the kid. Part of the burden is on the parents. Carmen, a lot of people aren't saving.</s>ULRICH: Exactly. Now, listen, if you can't save, if things are too tight to save, I say take care of yourself first. Your child has a lot more time to pay off loans than you do. And stick with federal. More flexibility when it comes to repayment. If they can't pay, they have ways to go ahead and defer it, income based repayment. So look at those loans first.</s>ROMANS (voice-over): For students like Veronica and her mom, Kathy, it's an exciting time and a lesson in high finance. They're crunching the numbers and considering all the options.</s>WOODLEY: I mean I'm scholarships financial aid and then I work. But my mom -- I feel like my mom will do most of the paying. But, I mean, I will help her out, of course.</s>ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.