Even though North Dakota's prone to disastrous floods and blizzards and maybe not even a real state, and even though a college degree is possibly worthless in today's jobless job market, lots of Ameri-teens are going to college in North Dakota anyhow. It's so cheap!

So many out-of-state kids are taking advantage of North Dakota universities' bargain prices—about $17,000 a year, fees and complimentary patio grill included—that they outnumber the kids from North Dakota attending those schools:

Out-of-state students account for about 55% of the 14,500 enrolled at North Dakota State University, as well as at similarly sized University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Nonresident students at North Dakota's 11 public colleges constitute a higher ratio than in almost every other state.

At $17,000, the average North Dakota college tuition is "half" what nonresident students pay at schools in other states, says the WSJ. Minnesota kids get the best deal of all, thanks to a reciprocity agreement that enables them to attend North Dakota schools for about $7,200—even less than what state Minnesota schools charge.

Some of the many benefits of a North Dakota university education:

  • Low cost!
  • Manageable class sizes!
  • For-real professors, instead of grad students!
  • Getting to live in a state that's "a place on the rise"!
  • It's probably peaceful!

And if the kids stick around North Dakota for a while, they might even find jobs there—even lawyer jobs—due to the chronic labor shortages, caused by everyone leaving all the time to become fancy New York writers. [WSJ, Image via AP]