Here’s a follow up. $150k with three going to college.
Is this simultaneously ?
Where are the other two in the journey ? How many kids will be in school at once ? All three ?
What’s the staggering of kids like ?
If the other two are in school - where ?
Given what you came here to discuss, I would once again dissuade you from digressing the conversation into one about your family’s personal finances. While well intentioned, strangers can’t possibly gain a full and adequate picture of your families situation by asking a few questions.
Only your parents know the entirety of resources, savings, investments, future needs etc. By answering a few questions you will go down a rabbit hole of only partially informed advice.
Keep the financial questions to your parents with the warning once again to make sure you run NPCs and inform and discuss with your parents the likely costs of the schools you intend on applying to before finalizing your list
On CC people will attempt to infer your families financial situation and juxtapose their own value judgment and experiences against that partially informed framework. The money side of college is personal in many ways.
Conversely, if your parents provide a specific financial cap or framework, CC is a wonderful resource to be given advice on how to operate within those limitations.
Once again good luck.
What do you mean be more specific on cost?
I can confirm that I am first gen.
My parents own convenience stores.
Thanks for confirming. That‘ll give you a boost at your reaches and at several other schools. Many also have support services for students who are the first in their family to go to college.
That can make it more complicated to get an accurate cost estimate. You may want to ask the financial aid department at your potential ED school(s) for a pre-read before committing to an ED application.
Everyone wants to make sure you end up with affordable options next March. $150K/yr is a good income, but generally speaking no family can afford to pay for three children to attend college at the same time if each school is $80K/yr. Actually, most families with three children would not be able to afford for one child to attend a college that costs $80K/yr.
Of course, situations vary from family to family. Some families might have $500K set aside to pay for education. Some families might have grandparents willing to pay the cost. Some families have assets they can sell to pay $320K ($80K/yr times 4 years) for a child to attend an expensive college.
Maybe your parents have access to funds/assets you are unaware of, and they can afford $80K/yr. Or maybe, like many parents, your parents do not understand how expensive some colleges are, and they have no way to pay $80K/yr. Or maybe your parents cannot afford the price and plan to take out loans for $300K to pay for each child’s education.
For this reason, the student should always have a frank discussion with the parents about exactly how much the parents can afford to pay. The discussion should encompass how much the parents can pay without taking out loans, and how much the parents are willing to borrow in total. Once the student (and the parents) know how much they can actually afford, then the family can make smart decisions about which colleges to apply to.
Once you have your real budget, you can go to each school’s website and run the Net Price Calculator (NPR.) You will need to know your family’s total yearly income, the value of your primary home, the value of any other properties your parents own, the value of any other assets like stocks and such, whether or not your parents own a business, and things like that. You will also enter your GPA, test scores, and stuff like that. It takes about five minutes to enter the information and run the NPC.
The calculator will estimate what that specific college will end up costing your family. To find the NPC for each college, google “college name Net Price Calculator”. For instance, when I google “Georgia Tech Net Price Calculator” I get a link to this page: Net Price Calculator | Financial Aid
Even if you parents say today they can afford any cost, you should apply to very affordable in-state universities. Unforeseen events happen all the time. My son went to high school with two kids who were targeting expensive colleges. Their parents owned a couple of restaurants and worked very hard 14-hour days to provide for the family. When the son was a senior, the father was killed. The mother could not manage the two restaurants alone and closed them both. You should always have a lower-cost option, even if you don’t plan to use it.
Good luck!
Yes I am taking virtual visual arts this upcoming year.
One will be applying for undergrad along with me. The other will be applying to med school next summer.
This implies the parents own several small businesses that are often “cash” intense and potentially have appreciated value for sale. We have no idea if there was inherited wealth, real estate holdings, passive income investments etc. It is none of our business and not what OP asked.
Once again the parents stated income to their kid (or government), might not be representative of their full financial resources. The OP should rely on their parents suggestion to “not worry about paying for it”. Their instruction hardly seems ambiguous.
With three kids college bound, one going to med school, and the owners of several businesses they seem to have their act together financially and a good understanding of what they can and can’t afford. I don’t think our role is to provoke the OP into a discussion with their parents that the parents may want to remain private.
And down the rabbit hole you go…,.
How would I do this email or call them? What exactly would I be asking?
Agree 100%. The OP doesn’t need to say anything in this forum regarding his family’s financial situation. If his parents final word on the subject is “don’t worry about cost” then he should trust that.
However, he should still apply to a lower-cost in-state option … just in case something unfortunate happens.
I calculated my UC GPA: 4.0 UW, 4.32 W, 4.29 Capped.
However, I do not know what they mean for me.
So the median cost of med school shows $255k to $337k.
Find out what your siblings will cost.
If it’s $70k a year (med) and you got into WUSTL with no aid - we don’t know this - it’s why the NPC matters - $84k for this year. Then tack on your sibling depending in where they are looking.
Let’s say they’re $80k too.
The chat with mom and dad may start with, if the three of us are in school together, that could run $250k a year or more depending on where we choose (once all three are in school at once).
Are we prepared for this, without taking on significant debt ??
You can always find less expensive and very good schools if the answer is no.
If they suggest loans, they can get but you can only get $27k and with good reason. You don’t want to graduate strangled with loans. And the government won’t allow this.
Finances are the most important thing - more than party this or that (and there’s booze and drugs likely everywhere.
It’s natural for posters to be concerned. After all it’s you who introduced the family income and 3 kids in college simultaneously.
That demands further study and immediate conversation. And in my opinion, posters are correct in steering you in this direction.
I asked my parents to talk about it but they said that they need a couple days to figure everything out so it might be a little bit before I have money stuff figured out. Until then can I keep getting some cheaper target colleges please. Thank you
Any chance you will be a national merit semi finalist based on your PSAT?
Auburn should be affordable and offers highly likely admission…would you be happy to go there? I don’t think Alabama is more of a party school than Auburn, but maybe also consider UAH.
Other schools to look at which have good CS and where you would receive good merit include U Dayton, UT Dallas, Missouri S&T, U Tulsa.
Would you be interested in smaller liberal arts colleges?
I am not a merit finalist. I think I will be getting a full ride to auburn or around 1k for tuition. The thing is (as stupid as it may seem) I have the idea of going to a prestigious school stuck in my head because I have put in so much work. I would not be happy if I had to attend auburn or a school that is not on my list.
Also is it possible to ED and EA? I am getting mixed answers online.
It’s all a question of perspective and personality: For some students, every school is a party school. And, certainly, no one would force you to party hard (or at all).