We all know that choosing a college is one of the biggest investments your family will ever make, but it doesn't have to be the most stressful. Each and every episode, we pull up a virtual chair to cut through the jargon and tackle the real-world questions about admissions and finances and even the financial health and viability of colleges.
Most expensive college mistake parents can make on The Kitchen Table College Chat
In this episode of Kitchen Table College Chat, Gary Stocker and Marc DeBoer tackle what they describe as the most expensive college mistake parents can make: falling in love with a college before doing their homework.
They discuss how beautiful campuses, impressive facilities, emotional campus visits, prestigious names, and large scholarship offers can influence families before they have examined the underlying numbers. Stocker argues that families should investigate first and fall in love later, while DeBoer provides the counterpoint that campus environment, safety, networking, and the overall student experience have legitimate value. Together, they challenge families to distinguish between simply asking, “Can we afford this college?” and the much more important question, “Is this college worth what we are going to pay?” Pasted text Pasted text.
The conversation also examines several costly mistakes that can follow from an emotional college decision, including treating tuition discounts as special scholarships, focusing more on getting admitted than graduating in four years, and overlooking a college’s financial health.
Stocker and DeBoer encourage families to strip away the college names and objectively compare their finalists using net price, four-year graduation and retention rates, projected student debt, career outcomes, strength of the intended major, and institutional financial health. Their central message is simple: families should ask the difficult questions before enrollment rather than spending four years and tens of thousands of dollars discovering the questions they should have asked in the first place.
13 Sept 2026
Private College Counselor and School Match 4U founder Mark Stucker joins us for Kitchen Table College Chats
In this episode of Kitchen Table College Chat, special guest Mark Stucker, founder of School Match 4 U, joins Marc and me for a wide-ranging conversation about how families can make better-informed college decisions.
We discuss whether the admissions process is actually identifying students who will succeed or simply encouraging families to build increasingly polished applications. Mark explains the value of holistic admissions while acknowledging that competitive admissions can become “gamified,” particularly for well-resourced families.
We also examine the demographic and financial pressures facing colleges, including declining numbers of traditional-age students, institutions admitting students partly to meet revenue needs, confusion surrounding sticker price versus actual net price, and the growing importance of considering a college’s financial health as part of the selection process. Mark strongly agrees that financial viability should now be part of the due diligence performed by families and college counselors.
We also explore what happens after a student enrolls, including the transition from admissions to student support, retention and graduation rates, and the importance of understanding the students a college serves before judging its outcomes.
Our conversation turns to new approaches to college pricing that give families greater certainty about what they will actually pay, as well as how artificial intelligence is changing applications, college research and questions about future careers.
While no one can confidently predict which occupations AI will disrupt, Mark emphasizes the enduring importance of communication, critical thinking, reasoning and collaboration.
The biggest takeaway from the conversation is that families should not make the college decision based simply on prestige, selectivity, marketing or a familiar name. They should investigate financial stability, affordability, academic and career fit, graduation prospects and long-term value—and use all the independent information available to make the most informed decision possible.
7 Sept 2026
Your child isn't just buying a 4-year degree . . . on Kitchen Table College Chats
The Kitchen Table College Chat episode explores the idea that families are not simply buying a college degree—they are investing four critical years of a young person’s life.
Gary Stocker and Marc DeBoer discuss how the value of college extends beyond academics to include personal growth, relationships, networking, leadership opportunities, and career preparation. But they argue that families need to determine whether those experiences justify the price and potential debt. Graduation rates are especially important because taking five or six years to earn a degree adds tuition costs while delaying entry into the workforce.
Gary emphasizes that a college’s financial health also matters because financially stronger institutions are generally better positioned to maintain programs, services, faculty, and the experiences students expect throughout their enrollment.
The conversation also challenges families to look beyond superficial campus-tour questions and investigate whether a college can actually deliver what it promises. Students should examine four-year graduation rates, the number of students completing their intended major, the likelihood that the program will remain available, career outcomes, and the institution’s overall financial stability.
A low-completion major can be particularly risky at a time when financially pressured colleges are eliminating programs. Ultimately, Gary argues that the most valuable resource a family puts into college isn't simply money—it is time.
Students only get one opportunity to be 18, 19, 20, and 21 years old, so the college decision should focus on whether the institution can make those four years academically, professionally, financially, and personally worthwhile. As he puts it, families can borrow money for college, but they “can’t borrow another four years” of their child’s life.
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