The idea behind listing 50-50 colleges is that they offer most high school students a reasonable chance of admissions with an equally reasonable chance of graduation. As I’ve mentioned before, the most expensive college is the one you don’t graduate from. And while depressing, a 50% graduation rate is actually a fairly high standard. Out of 1,586 colleges, only 458 have a 50% or better graduation rate. Even so, you have to wonder, how high of a graduation rate is possible while still admitting at least 50% of students?
50-50 Highlights: Colleges with Highest Graduation Rates by State
Anyone who has been paying attention to college costs and financial aid has probably heard that there really isn’t one set sticker price for college. It’s a lot like airline tickets. People sitting next to each other on a flight probably paid very different amounts for their tickets depending on when they bought them. Like airline tickets, very few families actually pay the sticker price for college.
Everyone knows that the college has become expensive but just applying to them can set you back a nice chunk of change as well. Application fees are hitting $100 for some institutions. Think about the next time you hear about some student applying to 20 schools.
When looking for a college, it’s a good idea to keep geography in mind. Apparently most families do but not in ways that will improve financial aid or enhance the student’s college education. According to 
