<p>As much as I love the idea of bs, i think you must be crazy to take out a loan for it. You must remember that as giddy as the kids are now, bs is not right for many. Unfortunately, you don't find out until you are in it. Many kids don't make it. How would feel about paying off a loan for years after your kid had a miserable experience at bs or ended up back at his old public school?</p>
<p>I would imagine diversity created from FA also increases noblesse oblige from the alums.
The poor unfortunate middle class, stuck in the middle! I would not mortgage the house either! But I would eat a lot of pasta, and drive a ten year old car! </p>
<p>What catg says is important. Some kids do not make it! I would not be going through this process if I didn't have a pretty darn good idea that my kid can handle it. BS can be lonely, confining, and stressful.</p>
<p>ctag: I don't know if you were referring to me but I'm not considering about taking out a loan- it's a payment plan that only charges a $40 fee to spread the year of BS payments out over 11 months instead of 2 lump sums. There's no interest charged.</p>
<p>PA-C,no not at all.
my comment was only general in nature. It is so easy to get excited about bs and overlook the possible problems. I also feel it is crazy for families to take out loans to go to private colleges if there is a public option available. I have heard too many horror stories of people still paying back loans 10 years later. just my 2 cents.
I read a great ben stein article many years ago i will never forget. he discussed how the masses had the ivy league all wrong. people wanted to go to the ivy league because they saw so many rich graduates of harvard and yale. he merely pointed out that those people were rich when they in, not because they went there.</p>
<p>I think Mr. Stein is not too far off the mark. Not so long ago, going to an Ivy League school meant you were already among the rich/elite/upper crust. Harvard didn't have any sort of office to help grads find jobs because that was what your dad and his buddies did for you.</p>
<p>BoardingDad...I didn't mean to take the offensive. I was just noting that no matter what your financial situation (unless you are wealthy), it is probably going to cause financial pain to send a child to bs. It is how the numbers seem to work out; it is expected to be a major sacrifice, I guess. I know if we earned more (which we are trying to do), we would be sending more of it to the bs. Which is quite difficult, because how do you save??? We also have three children...one just graduated from college (with bs and college loans), one in a state university, and youngest in bs. We will be paying loans off until retirement and it looks like we will always live an extremely modest lifestyle. I would do it again (including the loans, catg) as the bs experience was and is incredible for my children. People take huge loans for material items, why not take a chance on your child?</p>
<p>well said, keylime. i am so happy it has worked out for you and your family.</p>
<p>Second catg. There is a reason these schools were the preserve of the truly rich for so long--they would cripple most families financially. It seems to me that many people get into the concept and when aid doesn't come through decide to break the bank to make this happen for their child.</p>
<p>While I totally understand the emotion and desire, it just doesn't work. I've seen too many families get real after the child is enrolled and pull them out after a year. This happens a lot at the college level, too.</p>
<p>Like with colleges, the expected sacrifices are huge.</p>
<p>I am in several honor societies and I have contacted them to discuss if they could help me out. Mu Alpha Theta will put $2,000 towards any school that offers strong math classes. My History, Science and English honor societies have agreed to discuss an amount. They said that anywhere from $500 to $2,000 would be discussable.($2,000 is the summer aid grand amount for all 4). </p>
<p>Mu Alpha Theta Link:
Summer</a> Grants</p>
<p>My employer said that she could call the office and explain why I am such a great candidate/employee. </p>
<p>My uncle agreed to pay for some of Andover, but I got a scholarship at Kent. He gladly agreed to take me in during breaks and pay for a computer/books($4,000). I'm not saying mooch from the family... But he has younger kids and the fact that he has 10 year to save up for college and we have two makes a difference...</p>
<p>I live in Memphis and FedEx was started in Memphis. I talked with their office and they agreed to talk with me about a possible deal if I will agree to an internship in the strategy department. Instead of pay it will be a "tax deductible" donation.</p>
<p>Congratulations, Italian. You should be proud of yourself; not only for getting in, but also for getting in with such generous help. </p>
<p>Good job.</p>
<p>I agree with hmom5, the costs of attending these schools are staggering, especially when the family will face at least another four years of college expenses. Add in any siblings, and it's prohibitive.</p>
<p>Families do at times "find" money from relatives. One reason for this is the tax treatment for tuition. If grandma or a rich uncle pays tuition directly to the school, that payment is exempt from gift tax.</p>
<p>I expect the current financial chaos will make day schools even more attractive to parents who do not qualify for financial aid, but are stretching to afford tuition. Even if they think their children should board, the difference in costs adds up over four years.</p>
<p>differences in cost of day and boarding are approximately $3,000 - 5,000. Not that much when you account that day schools arent as generous with FA, the extra sat, etc prep, and athletics that occur in day schools, and arent covered as much as they are in BS, in my opinion</p>
<p>the difference between my son's two options- one day and one boarding (Exeter)-
is huge: 24,000 for day and 39,000 for boarding. That is "sticker price" as we did not receive aid. </p>
<p>Problem is the day school is not a good "fit" for son since it specializes in arts/theater and son is into math/science/computers.</p>
<p>mhmm, could this be related to geography? I'm in Massachusetts, and the difference here between day and boarding runs from 15,000 to ~8,000. The greatest difference in tuition may be between Roxbury Latin (around $17,000) and some boarding schools, now around $44,000.</p>
<p>Roxbury Latin has a large endowment, and holds tuition down on purpose. I could cite some day schools which have tuition around $24,000 or so, though.</p>
<p>Many day schools in my area, NYC, are every bit as generous with aid as the boarding schools. I do think it's about geography. In many areas of the Country, most day schools have modest endowments. And in reality, the average day school tuition in the US is under $15K.</p>
<p>roxbury latin tuition is $19500 for 09-10, which is amzing. Most of the great day schools I know are $25,000-30000.</p>
<p>There is a difference between tuition at a day school and day student tuition AT A BOARDING SCHOOL. Day students at boarding schools are allowed to eat 3 meals a day in the dining hall, participate in all evening and weekend events, etc.; all these things add up and don't necessarily take place at traditional "day schools."</p>
<p>The ( all ) Day schools where we live are $24,000 - $30,000</p>
<p>To me, day school is not a cost effective solution, but they can be just as generous in awarding FA. There's much more hidden cost with day schools. However in terms of absolute dolloar amount, if no FA awarded, day schools are still cheaper than boarding schools. Then again, it is a different deal - different experience with day and boarding schools, and very different level/ways of parent involvement (or work). Hope I am making some sense.</p>
<p>The reason I believe day schools are not cost effective schools are as such:
[ul]
[<em>]Most good day schools are situated in areas where the local public (and thus free) schools are extremely academically competent and competitive...
[</em>]Boarding school saves many residential costs, day school is a pure addition to salary
[list]
[<em>]I do agree that boarding school has an additional cost, but it is not as much extra as day school is...
[</em>]FA is a lot more generous for boarding students
[/ul]
[li]For many of these schools boarding is part of the culture.[/li][/list]</p>
<p>These are just my opinions... Take it as you will... :)</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>