I always hear about people's debt from student loan. I've been going to college since Fall 2001, and working on my B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Accountancy. So far, I have no student loan, and I will not have any.

I earned my A.A. degree from community college. Tuition was so cheap, especially when I went back to school in 2001, one unit was only $8. So, I paid $24 for my history class LOL My textbooks were so much more expensive.

I paid my own money for first two years or so. It wasn't a big deal at all. I was taking two classes per semester, so the cost was less than $500 per semester. Since I was in my 30's and always worked full-time, I had enough saving to cover the cost.

Then, I applied for tuition reimbursement program at work, and it was approved. My employer pays up to two subjects per semester, for tuition and books.

I don't know how much my out of pocket expense was for my community college days, but it was really cheap because my employer paid most of it.

Then, I went on to the State University where tuition is much more expensive. It came really handy to be in the tuition reimbursement program. I didn't pay a dime for my first semester because I only took two subjects to see if I can handle both work and school. Since I was doing ok, I took more classes and paid my own money which was about $500 per semester for tuition.

Now, I'm at a point I can take only two subjects per semester and will graduate in a reasonable time frame. I know I will have to take three classes in Fall 2008 or Spring 2009, but that will be the only semester I need to pay my own money. The rest is covered by my employer.

All and all, I think I will spend about $3000 (or less) of my own money to get my upper division done.

So, if someone is working full-time, and thinking about going back to school, I recommend to look for a company with tuition reimbursement program. It's also tax free money for an employee.

Actually, this is one of main reasons I am staying with current employer LOL