Americans are spending less and saving more this year. The savings rate got up to a 14-year high of 5.7 percent of our disposable income in April or this year. This is the sharpest increase in saving since the numbers started being tracked in the early 1950s. It’s also the first year since WWII that Americans spent less than they did the year before. One big expense that’s getting dropped? Dream schools.

The Associated Press reported this about a recent survey:

71 percent of high schools reported that more of their students are forgoing their “dream schools” this year than in previous years. And there is little doubt money is a big reason. “With the exception of one or two students, it was THE determining factor in their decision,” one high school official wrote. Said another: “Parents were willing to pay for prestige in the past. This year they wanted prestigious schools IF the financial aid packages would work for them.”

Often, the trouble with dream schools is that the student applying is attempting to be upwardly mobile. This means that he or she might–just barely–make the cut for admission. Students who barely make the cut rarely find that they’re being offered much financial incentive from their dream schools.

I remember applying for college in a three-tier system: dream schools, schools I’d probably get into, and safety schools. The financial aid I was offered can be broken down respectively as: student loans, a fair amount, and a full ride. This is pretty typical, and in this economic climate, people (parents and students alike) want more debt like they want a hole in the head.

How Much Is That Fancy Alma Mater Worth?
Friends of mine with prestigious names attached to their bachelor’s degrees have one thing in common: they all went back to school for graduate degrees. Sure, their dream-school degrees helped them get into the various graduate programs, but once you get a higher-level degree (i.e., higher level than your previous degree) the focus shifts to your most recent alma mater.

I’ve heard it said more than a few times that it doesn’t matter where you get your bachelor’s degree–as long as you go to a good graduate school. Of course, you’ve got to do well in your bachelor’s program for this to be true.

Dollar–and Penny–Wise
Getting your degree from an online university could be just the option for students and parents looking pinch pennies for a while. Not only is it easier to work full-time (easier, not necessarily easy) while attending an online degree program, it’s often cheaper across the board. There’s no commute, no additional room and board, no parking fee, and no strict attendance policy keeping you from holding a job. If you’re looking to pinch pennies, online degree programs are the way to go.

With more and more people taking advantage of online programs, the general public’s acceptance of these degrees has grown significantly. This means that not only potential employers, but also that dream school you put off, will respect your degree when you hand over that CV.

Don’t give up on your dreams just because money’s a little tight lately. Just put them on hold until you’re in a better place to take full advantage of having that prestigious name next to your degree. It’ll look better beside a graduate degree anyway.