First step: know what you want to do after.

Then you’re able to take some time to reach out to recruiters and employers to see what they look for in the degree.

Do they prefer private/elite schools or is public or community college ok? You can save a lot of money by doing your basics in community college and transferring to a state school, for example. Back up their answers with what employee’s resumes at the time of their entry looked like on linkedin.

Once that is determined, strategize how to minimize your debt:

Aggressively look for scholarships and grants, doesn’t matter how small, money is money and many applications take 20 minutes to do. Plan to work at least part time during school— and make sure they can accommodate your schedule. On campus is a lot better even if it pays less because you don’t spend time driving from school to work and back or spend money on gas. Usually you can find something that lets you partially study during the time. Figure out housing, live off campus if possible (dorms are usually way overpriced) with responsible or rich roommates so that if issues come up it doesn’t wipe your bank account out. Seriously, choose good roommates, $800 fees for party puke stains on the carpet are stupid.

It’s also very important to think about skills employers want beyond the degree and think about how you can demonstrate that you captured that outside of class during your time in school. Eg if networking is important, try starting a class at your school (or something unofficial like a podcast) where you invite current industry professionals to give panels or talks.

Finally, try to finish in 4 years or less (not hard if you take a few classes every summer). I’ve seen a lot of people try to juggle life and other jobs by taking a semester off here and a year off there, who end up taking 6 or 7 years to finish. That’s 2-3 years they missed out on having a higher salary to pay off their debt, and 2-3 years they accumulated more debt (not to mention school gets more expensive every year). Be laser focused on knocking it out as quickly as possible!