Over the past few years, we have seen the price of college tuition continue to rise and the unemployment rate of recent graduates reach new highs. With college students and their parents paying more money for college to earn a potentially useless piece of paper, it’s hard not to ask — is a college degree still worth it?

Those who argue that a college degree isn’t worth it usually mention a few names of college dropouts who became billionaires, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. However, these cases are outliers if you compare them to average college dropouts.

In my personal experience, paying for a college degree was worth it because it helped me land my dream job. Going to college helped me learn the skills and make the connections that gave me the opportunity to apply for my dream job, but that alone wasn’t enough. I wanted to work at arguably the top company in my field. Needless to say, thousands of other people did too. And so I was rejected the first time…and the second time…and the third time. That’s right — I applied four times (and spent a couple of extra years in grad school) before I finally got the job.

On the other hand, one of my coworkers told me the story of how he made it to the same place as me without going to college at all. In high school he was failing his classes, and his teachers told him he wouldn’t succeed. Tired of the negativity, he decided to drop out of school, but instead of giving up, he decided to prove his teachers wrong. He discovered something that he loved to do and learned how to do it on his own. He got good enough to get a job at a smaller company and gradually worked his way up to bigger companies until he finally made it to his dream job.

As you can see, there are many ways to achieve your goals whether or not you go to college. In the end I think the true worth of a college degree is what you make of it. For some people, college will help you figure out what you want to do and how to get there, but for other people, college will leave you just as confused as you were at the start (with a lot more debt).

Now it’s your turn to share. Do you think a college degree is worth the money?

The following article is a guest post from Laura of Green Panda Treehouse. It’s also the first article in the College Money Network’s “Back To School Shuffle” series, where we will be sharing articles on a variety of back to school topics and giving away an iPod Shuffle and other prizes.

After graduating college, many people plan on starting work in a career they love, handle their finance responsibly, and build a fulfilling life. I want to show you how you can get your finances together with transportation. I’d like for you to be a college graduate without a car payment tied around your neck.

Lower Transportation Costs Now as a College Student

First off, do not spend a lot of money if you’re buying car in college. I recommend getting a car that can get you to class, work, and home. If that car is $1,000 or less, than go for it. I had a reliable car that was $500 and lasted 3 1/2 years. You can get a nicer car later, but you’re a college student and your income will be be lower than normal. Once your income increases after graduation when you are working full time, you can slowly increase your spending.

If you live in a city with decent public transportation, take advantage of it. It’s a great chance to free up some cash for later and you’ll be helping the environment.

Build an Automated System

Open a savings account specifically for purchasing a car. I use ING Direct for my savings and one advantage is you can open a sub-savings account very easily.

Every paycheck you receive, automate at least 5-10% of it to go towards your car fund. Have it deducted from your checking account into your savings account. You should be getting some income while in college because you want to build your resume up with practical work experience. Find an FDIC bank or CUNA credit union that offers high interest rates for savings and watch it grow faster.

I worked as a beer-tender occasionally to earn some cash and tips. I helped out during concert seasons, so I was usually out of school for most of the nights and it put some money into my pocket.

Use your tuition refund. Some savvy college students will be getting some money in the form of tuition refund. This is a great chance for you to sock away money. After setting aside money for your emergency fund, put 20-30% of your refund into your car fund account. As long as you don’t have any credit card debt, have fun with the rest of the money.

What kind of financial aid is available?

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• State Grants

Fill out your FAFSA early. Besides getting qualified for federal grants, filing easrly can also open up oppurunties to get state grants. You’ll cut down on having to rely on student loans.

Hunt for more scholarships. FastWeb is a popular site that searches applicable scholarships for you.

By taking advantage of automatic transfers, you can painlessly build a car fund that you can use after your graduation instead of getting a car loan and being in debt.

Your Take
How have you saved money for your goals?

This is a guest post by Joshua Heckathorn, who runs Creditnet.com and holds an MBA and B.S. in Finance. Creditnet is a free resource for anyone who wants to learn more about credit and compare hundreds of credit cards online. When Josh isn’t glued to the screen of his Mac, you’re bound to find him at the nearest rock-climbing wall or sushi joint around Seattle.

The new rules of credit have once again ignited controversy around when one is considered a legal adult in the United States. Is it 18 or 21? We just can’t seem to make up our mind.

Yes, you can buy cigarettes and even choose to defend your country at age 18, but according to the new rules, you’re not mature enough to decide whether you can handle the responsibilities of credit. Does that seem fair? Perhaps not, but supporters of the legislation argue that young adults, whether they like it or not, need greater protection to help them avoid falling into massive amounts of debt prior to graduation.

According to SallieMae, the average college senior with at least one credit card graduated with $4,138 in credit card debt in 2008. That’s more than a 40% increase since their previous study was completed in 2004, and 2009 will likely be worse as tuition expenses soar and other lending sources remain in a deep freeze.

The rise in student credit card debt is clearly a problem, but many people aren’t convinced the new rules of credit will actually solve the underlying issue – a lack of financial education among young adults. That’s a tough issue to solve, and in my opinion it must first be tackled by those responsible for raising our nation’s youth – parents and legal guardians. But that’s an entirely different article. For the time being, we’ll just have to make due with what our elected officials have given us.

So, let’s quickly review what you need to know about this new law. Signed on May 22nd, the Credit Card Act of 2009 essentially bans credit cards for people under 21 unless they have adult cosigners or can prove they have sufficient income to support the level of credit given. No one really knows what “sufficient” income means yet, but you can expect to hear more details on this before the law takes full effect in February 2010. The bottom line is if you don’t have a credit card by next February, you’ll have to either beg for mom or dad’s signature or prove you have a job that provides enough income to support a revolving credit line.

In addition, you won’t have to sift through dozens of prescreened credit card offers in your mailbox anymore. Credit issuers are banned from sending them to anyone under 21. And there’s no need to worry about getting an unexpected credit card in the mail after signing up for a free pizza during student orientation. Giving away any type of “freebie” for credit card applications at a college-sponsored event is also banned.

While the Credit Card Act has certainly brought about some much needed changes to protect young consumers from predatory-lending practices, it’s difficult to comprehend how restricting credit for those under 21 will address the underlying issue of financial education. Parents who already foot students’ tuition and credit card bills will likely just cosign for new credit cards and continue paying the bills. Will any of these students learn more about how to manage credit wisely? Very few.

On the other hand, responsible students who are working hard to put themselves through school without parental support might discover they have no access to credit when they need it most. Of course, no credit means no credit score, which will make their lives even more difficult as they enter the real world and need to rely on their credit score to finance a car, home, or even a graduate education.

What do you think of the Credit Card Act? Do you believe the age restriction on credit will have positive long-term effects?

There aren’t very many areas of life where you get rewarded for being bad. In fact, most of us learn at a very young age that bad behavior has its consequences — getting a spanking, having to sit inside during recess, getting after-school detention. As we get older, we realize that things really don’t change that much. Bad behavior still has its consequences although the stakes do get a little higher (e.g. ending up in jail).

However, another thing we learn as we grow up is that everything depends on your perspective. What one person sees as bad may be considered good by somebody else. Let’s take credit cards for example. From my point of view, I’m a great credit card user. Thanks to the credit card companies, I get cash back and rewards for money that I was going to spend anyway.

Credit card companies see things differently though. In fact, the credit card industry even has a name for people like me — deadbeats. That’s right. I’m a credit card deadbeat and proud of it. Guess what? You can be a deadbeat too.

Use your credit card like it’s cash. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that if you use your credit card like it’s cash, then you’ll never end up in debt. Why? Because if you treat credit cards like cash, then you’ll never spend more than you actually have. Easier said than done, I know, but nobody said being a deadbeat was easy.

Pay off your full balance each month. Once you start treating your credit card like it’s cash, you’re well on your way to becoming a successful deadbeat. The next step is simple. Since you’re already spending within your means, you should be able to easily pay off your credit card balance in full every month. Credit card companies hate that.

Cash in on the rewards. So now that you’re spending only what you can afford and paying off the full balance each month there’s only one thing left to do — milk the credit card companies for the rewards. Get yourself some cash back, gift cards, plane tickets, or whatever else you can find, and then enjoy! You are now the ultimate credit card deadbeat. Being bad has never felt so good.

Summer is here. It’s not quite as exciting when you’re not in college anymore. Unless you become a teacher or professor, you can say goodbye to three month summer vacations after you graduate. Once you get into the real world, summer just means the sun is still out when you leave work, and you can wear shorts if your workplace is casual.

There is one thing that doesn’t change after college though. In fact, no matter what stage of life you’re in, the sun seems to put everyone in a better mood.

The sunny weather finally got to me last week. I bought a grill and threw a barbecue over the weekend. The sun must have gotten to my friends too, because a bunch of them showed up. We enjoyed lots of food, music, drinks, and fun.

We were having so much fun that a couple of our neighbors came over to see what was going on. They’re both college students and just moved into one of the units in our complex. Talking to them about their summer jobs and internships made me feel like a young lad again and, of course, reminded me of what it was like when summer still meant vacation.

Because this first barbecue turned out to be such a success, a few of my friends mentioned making it a weekly event. The crazy thing is that it sounded like a good idea to me, and it still does now. I think my new goal for this summer is to throw as many barbecues as possible.

What are you doing this summer?