Quote from TraderZones:
state schools with good CompSci/Engineering programs like Penn State, U of Ill (Urbana-Champaign), Rutgers and others are less than 11K a year and are top schools. And to out of state students for perhaps 20K or less, if you happen to be unlucky in the state you reside. You don't need a top 5 school, just top 30-40. One only has to get some of the college guides at Amazon.com, and look
Penn State is around 16k/yr, 7-8k per semester taking 12-15 credits. That is without anything, no housing, food, anything like that. I graduated 2007, if you want to put yourself into debt for the next decade have a go at it. I wanted to drop out after 1 year and start trading, stuck it out and got my degree, don't regret it at all. At 24, living with your parents and no bills, I'd say give trading a go and forget school. It took 1 year full time to become profitable. I work nights to keep my account growing and look at my trading now as my retirement fund pretty much Once my account reaches a certain level, I will "retire" and manage my portfolio. My advice would be to go Prop and learn from a very experienced trader. Be willing to pay a little for a good education, either way the market will charge you it's own tuition. Don't be a cowboy, trade small, put in your time at your screen 7 hours a day during market hours and 4 or 5 outside and on weekends. Treat trading as you would a top notch education. Do homework, keep a journal, learn from your mistakes, read as much as you can, and start from the bottom. Learn market mechanics, what makes markets move, how are they interrelated, how do exchanges work, what do fair value, tick, premium, $VIX, TRIN, TNX, just to name a few have to do with anything? Judging by your posts OP you have a long road ahead of you... an education doesn't have to be from an institution of higher learning to be valuable... good luck.