COLLEGE ADVICE FOR BUDDING SCHOLARS

Fidelity Investments asked college graduates to rank the importance of financial advice geared toward high school students hoping to attend college. Here's what the class of 2011 had to say:

Save as early as possible for college 43%

Get involved in the college finance discussion 23%

Go to the best school you can and deal with paying

after graduation 14%

Choose schools based on what you can afford, not on which is the most prominent 14%

Tuition and fees should rank as the leading factor in selecting

college 6%

When this year's graduates with debt were asked if the value of college is equal to or worth more than what they owe, two-thirds of respondents said yes, their debt was worth the degree. One in 10 said their education wasn't worth the financial burden. And one in four said they don't regret attending college but might have made a different choice if they'd thought about their debt from the get-go.