<p>We basically have the same rule as Citimom, and also tell our children that if they choose a school that costs substantially less than the maximun, we will give them half the difference.</p>
<p>We do not pay full freight for D, but we cannot afford to do so. As it is, we pay more than we can afford (not uncommon!). If we could pay more, we would do so. We do expect D to take out some unsubsidized Stafford loans (we are paying interest during school), as others do ... we think it's important she is invested in her schooling. If you can do it, and if you want to do it, I say go for it.</p>
<p>It's only for four years, and four years goes by very quickly. We have good financial aid at a private U for both kids, but our EFC is still substantial- basically all my takehome pay. It's only for 4 years (well, 7 years for them both....) :)</p>
<p>I definately remind S that he is on the 4 year plan. Anything beyond that will have to up for discussion.</p>
<p>You are glad to be in a position to have money to pay for full tuition this year. I think the subprime mess is creating a credit problem for many students to borrow, particularly this year(at least from what I read in WSJ). Even some colleges are paring down merit aid. Take for example UCI, last year Regents scholarship pays full tuition for merit aid. This year, UCI only awards 1/4 of last year amount, so some students can't even count on that for a free ride at a state school.</p>
<p>We are putting all the pros and cons on the table for our smart D to noodle over. Full-ride merit means we can help with grad school and first home. Ivy means we will cover it but can't help with stuff later on. She is a strategist and thinking hard on the question. I think when you have kids who are smart and disciplined enough to get themselves scholarships AND selective school acceptances, you can be honest with them and let them make the call.</p>
<p>Keep in mind that some companies will pay for your grad school later on.</p>
<p>My sentiments are exactly as Bugmom stated. It is terribly difficult to give up the merit money or prepaid tuition in-state VA schools, but S1 is taking full advantage of everything his ivy has to offer and doing very well. S2 is similar in academic drive and we will pay full freight for him tooat a top school, if necessary. As long as they maintain a good GPA, we will borrow against our sweat, I mean home, equity. And I say this after he received a likely letter from UVa today, so it's a very easy time to question our sanity.</p>
<p>However, they know that this means that they are on their own after four years, be it masters, law, PhD, whatever. OTOH, our girls are not as bright as their brothers, nor do they have the same quest for knowledge. I can't see paying full freight for them when our state schools would be challenging enough. So we would be willing to kick in some grad school money, car payments, or house down payment to try to even it out between kids. I don't know how else to be fair among our four kids and for us that't the toughest part of our whole college financial plan.</p>
<p>"Someone started a thread asking how much everyone here is paying, and a surprising number said they were paying 100%."</p>
<p>Can anybody post a link to that one?</p>
<p>tennismom02,</p>
<p>Thanks for starting this thread. I have been second-guessing myself in the last few months (seems to be a college app-related hobby lately). I also had the sense that the majority do not pay 100%. We will be for our son, and we are quite comfortable with that decision. Like most parents paying full freight, a lot of sacrifices will go into play, but we are willing to do whatever it takes.</p>
<p>We were all set to pay the 100% at a top school for our oldest (currently a sophomore) for the first couple of years until our 2nd and 3rd went to college this fall and oldest would get some financial aid. However, oldest decided to do ROTC on his own initiative after turning down West Point, so he now has a 4 year scholarship which covers his tuition which is 36,200 for 2008-9. We are paying his room and board (10K) and since he is doing ROTC, us paying his room and board includes paying his unsubsidized Stafford for him. We also pay for his car (all but gas). He is a real saver and is building up his ING account with the spending money ROTC gives him and his summer jobs.</p>
<p>To ward off all the "but don't you worry about him after college" questions: Yes I do worry, but this was his choice and he knows what he's gotten himself into. The majority of his ROTC instructors have seen action in Iraq or Afghanistan.</p>
<p>Thanks op for the thread,</p>
<p>Like you we had the plan to save up as early as my kid was born. But when time come, join this board, looks like many dose not pay 100%. ... I've had a 2nd thought moment, but not my other half. .... Fortunately we only have one, so we can poure all resource for this one. From very young age, we made clear to the kid we will pay whatever the college cost he chose, he must do his best to make to the best college he could. .... Had we have another kid, I think we might have to do it differently.</p>
<p>Can't believe the expanse of college increase so much during the years. Still remember over 15 years ago (when we made combined income $45k) my boss, who has a son attend to college at time, said to me "these days a family with $100k income has difficult to pay kid' college". I had hard time to believe then. ... Now I understand what he was saying, without the years and years saving, even with double of that income, you find it is difficult to make the ends meet if you pay full freight for a private institution for your kid. Just think about $50k COA equivalant to at least $75k of your income (before tax).</p>
<p>Shrinkrap,</p>
<p>Here is the other thread you asked about:</p>
<p>We will be paying full tuition for D at Stanford, although she had the option of scholarships at other schools. She has worked so hard for so long to achieve her dream, and we feel fortunate to have the resources to help her realize that dream. However, both H and I were dependent upon scholarships for our own educations.</p>
<p>Bay! I knew someone would come through! Thanks! Yesterday I asked how long it would take me to set from point A to Point B on Berkeley's campus. Within minutes I had my answer; Crisis averted. CC is the bomb!</p>
<p>Again, thanks to all of you who have replied to my post. It's reassuring to hear from so many great parents who are doing the best they can to help their children get the best education possible. I started this thread thinking we were just about the only family not benefitting from tuition discounts, grants and scholarships... I can see now that we are not alone. I also better understand that even families who are receiving aid are still sacrificing to pay whatever portion of their child's tuition that they can.</p>
<p>We are also planning on paying full tuition to a top private LAC for our daughter; although, she has applied for a few scholarships which would basically help her with books/ computer/etc. expenses. We started saving years ago and I am glad that we are able to give her the opportunity to go to her 1st choice school.</p>
<p>Interesting thread. We feel much the same way. Our kids work their tails off, and in our opinion, deserve to be rewarded with the appropriate options for college. </p>
<p>However, D2 has defined "reward" and "deserve" predominantly in monetary terms, and has taken the position that acceptances without accompanying financial incentives are disappointing. I have expressed our willingness to support her wherever she wants to attend, but she is almost exclusively focused on scholarships. </p>
<p>I think what tips the scale is that D1 got a full ride to a top school. Now D2 has similar expectations to the point of not considering schools that do not offer merit awards. Thus, Ivies were out from the start, and I'm afraid she will arbitrarily pass on other excellent schools that may ultimately not offer her merit aid. </p>
<p>We've talked it out extensively, and apparently, I'm more concerned about it than she is. In her mind, as long as the institution has appropriate resources, learning opportunities, and a culture she can enjoy, the "feeling" of going on scholarship outweighs just being accepted, even if it means attending a less selective school. So, in our case, it's not so much about our willingness to pay, but rather, the importance she has placed on the idea of us not having to pay. </p>
<p>It seems silly to complain about a kid who is so pragmatic, but like most here, I want my D to have the best. However, she keeps reminding me that she's not doing it this way as a "sacrifice" for us, but because she made it a personal goal a long time ago, and it's how she is choosing to measure the reward for her efforts.</p>
<p>The full pay option is fine if it is affordable: to me this means $200,000 in the bank in a safe CD. If you are just banking on future income you had better be well off in both your retirement funds (checked them lately?) and rainy day money to weather the financial storm that is occuring and any unseen loss of job/ medical problem. If you are planning on borrowing better check into your options before you make the decision as money from banks is harder to come by.</p>
<p>Neither H nor I's parents were able to pay for us to go to school but H was 1st gen. few in my extended family went, and having someone pay would have been unheard of. I was "encouraged" to take an ROTC scholarship, worked a few jobs, but never thought of it as a struggle, especially compared to my peers both in school and at the various places I worked. H took out loans which he is still paying, at least 20+ years later, but we do okay (both MD's). He assumed we'd pay for D's college, I did not. A generous uncle with no kids helped me out at crucial times in college, and left a significant "nest egg" for my kids college. It's enough for a public, and thinks to CC "we" have some merit aid at a good enough school, but much to our surprise, D was accepted at a top 10 in, with no aid. I never thought I'd consider it, but now we are considering paying full tuitiin. We would not have to borrow, at least if the market doesn't get much worse. A final twist is we ore willing to pay for a "Top ten"; but would pick a top 50 with merit over a top 30. I know there was a thread "justifying "this. Any body have a link? It would be a little different if D could make a compelling case for "#30", but in truth, I believe it's a favorite because they sought her out early and had her there for a diversity weekend.</p>