Is a college education priceless?  Colleges definitely seem to think so.  With skyrocketing tuition costs, it seems they are willing to test the limits American families are willing to pay.

According to the 2002 National Student Loan Survey, about half of student loan borrowers regret taking out their loans and believe that their education was not worth the amount of student loan debt they built up.

If I had to look back on my college years, I don’t know if I could put an exact price tag on the overall experience.  But, luckily, I don’t have to — they did it for me. At a whopping 40K a year, it was worth 160K.  And each class that I attended (let’s break it down for fun, okay?) cost approximately two hundred dollars.  Was it worth it?

My scenario is frightfully normal.  I had scholarships, worked two jobs all four years, was a Resident Assistant, and had extensive help from my parents, who put off their retirement to help contribute.  And yet I still graduated with a mountain of debt.  Is it necessary that a “quality” education cripple the finances of a family and determine the next fifteen years (or more) of debt payments for the graduate?

Marc Sheer confronts these questions in his new book, No Sucker Left Behind.  It is an informative, confrontational book that breaks down the current tuition frenzy, explaining exactly where all of that money goes and why the current college tuition structure is hurting students, families, and taxpayers.  And the book is jam-packed with infuriating information.

Did you know that 23 of the top colleges in the country meet every year to restrict the amount of financial aid students can receive? These “price-fixing” meetings were declared illegal, because the meetings allowed colleges to get extra money from students by unfairly reducing competition among schools. The colleges appealed this legal decision, unwilling to acknowledge that their actions were harmful for students, even though the schools admitted that they used the meetings to avoid accepting low-income students.

Also, it turns out that colleges often base their “tuition-assistance package” off of the student’s enthusiasm for the school by tracking a students interest in attending.

They keep track of whether the students have visited the schools, contacted the college with letters, and they even pull information from the College Board.

That’s right, if you listed “Wash U” as your most preferred college when you took the ACT or the SAT,  then Wash U might offer you less aid; betting off your enthusiasm that you’ll be willing to buck the extra cost.

If I had known this, I definitely would not have listed NYU as one of my top three choices when taking those exams.  Who knew that my interest might lead to less financial help?  Not me.

The timing for this book couldn’t be any better; families are looking to reign in their household spending while at the same attempting to give their children the best opportunities.  The one thing we don’t want to cut back on is spending on our kids’ education.  But what if the extreme payments and mountains of debt really aren’t worth the cost?

No Sucker might get you angry, some of it will be enlightening, but most importantly the book contains information that can help young people and their families make more informed decisions about a life-changing event.

More and more students are applying for great value schools, and, according to Sheer, they might not only give students the best bang for their buck but also actually give them a better education.

You can pick up a copy of No Sucker Left Behind on Amazon, and follow Marc Sheer on his blog.