Savings Race: Surviving college from start to finish

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Michael Carter may not know every one of the 24,000 Sinclair students, but it sure seems like it. As Sinclair's Superintendent of Community Relations, it's his job to help high school students plan for college.

Carter says many students find it cheaper to take their first two years of general education classes at Sinclair, then finish their collegiate career at a four year institution.

"We had 5,000 students transfer to a four year college last year, " he said.

According to the University of Dayton's Beverly Jenkins, many of them wind-up in her office.

"Here at Student Success, our office is sort of the initial place where both students and parents can reach out to us as they make their transition as they begin their journey here at the University of Dayton," she explained.

Jenkins said a lot of students coming to UD overwhelmed because there are so many opportunities. She said the average college student changes their major five times during their college career. To survive, she suggests students set a goal to know where their passion lies by the second semester of that second year, and find a balance between academics and social life by looking into clubs and organizations. Then, near the end of your college career, you should be networking with alumni while connecting with career services.

"In spite of what nay-sayers have said, a college education provides you opportunities, that without skills or education, you wouldn't typically have," said Carter.