As we await college FA notices, our family is realizing that even with spread sheets, EFC’s run and merit our cost could be in the neighborhood of 50,000 a year for 2. I am wondering if any parents can give input on ways you have found to save dollars years 2,3,4.
My son chose to attend the least expensive college, which is also quite good, on his list, University of Minnesota, Morris. Also, having been a poor college student, I know just how little one needs to survive. He can work and even more during the summer.
My story is an old one. We had kids in college for 7 years running as undergrads…and son’s grad. We were a two parent working household. My ENTIRE salary…every penny (except I was able to continue to contribute to my retirement accounts) went to pay the college bills…every penny. Our other expenses were paid for with DH’s earnings.
We made sure we had decent cars before college began. We didn’t take any expensive vacations, or do any household remodeling. No new appliances…none of that discretionary spending.
We had those big $50,000 a year plus bills for three years. No need based aid. Schools did not meet full need. Both kids had merit awards…one a bit larger than the other.
We made the choice to follow the money, over prestige and in some cases even fit. Our EFC fluctuated quite a bit (it’s 10K a year more now than it was when the oldest a freshman), so we gave each kid a number we could contribute every year, and we did keep in mind that there would be a year of overlap (not saying that year was easy). Both kids made (what I think anyway) the smart choice and picked the school that left them well within the boundaries I set, and meant that they did not pick the highest ranking school on the list.
We also did a lot of advanced planning as we knew there would be overlap years. Still, I don’t think there’s any way to make it easy.
This is how it worked out for us.
D1 would not have been eligible for big merit aid as an incoming freshman, and it worked out best for her to go to community college first. She worked, and paid for most of it herself. She took advantage of opportunities while there, then transferred to our state flagship where we are full pay. She is taking care of R&B and we are taking care of tuition & fees.
Still, we had to borrow due to lack of cash flow in order to swing it. We are paying it down fairly quickly. If this were not possible, she would have had to pick a less expensive option or take a gap year after CC.
D2 has the stats to get big merit aid, so we will be following the money and she’ll go straight to a four year. D2 might be disappointed she is not getting the same amount of parental contribution, but we are doing our best to make sure each kid gets an UG degree without sinking the whole damn ship.
I don’t think there is any magic bullet to decrease college expenses for years 2-4, short of changing jobs to a low-paying one.
To spend $200,000 for college, advanced planning is required… as in starting a 529 when your kiddos are toddlers and saving diligently… unless your current income supports the college expense.
Loans, I suppose, are another option.
A third option is going to a less-expensive college and/or living at home.
Lots of money as a Resident Assistant. Free room and board at many schools:)
I have 7 years of college, THREE kids.
Next year I have three in at once…fortunately only one year of that.
Choose carefully and consider everything. Tuition, Transportation, meals, extra curricular activities such as club sports. I think costs can go down a lot in later years, especially for r&b anD because the student figures a few thin oUT abut books and necessities vs. desires. One daughter’s r&b went down about $1000 because she lives in a sorority house and not in the dorm. The second D could go down several thousand by living off campus. Of course tuition goes up, but we look at every penny we can save. A friend’s daughter was an RA one year, and the next got free rent by managing/marketing a student apartment building
Mine both continue to apply for scholaships and one will hopefully get more in her athletic scholaship next year. Summer jobs may pay more as they can start to do internships in their fields.
It is a group effort.
We started saving when each kid was born but it was still a lot of money going out the door. We did what many parents do – cut down on the extras – no new cars, no big vacations, no updates to house unless something was literally falling down or apart etc., careful with other spending etc. Merit aid helped but we even with our savings, we still had to tighten our belts. No regrets even though I’ll be driving my old car around for at least a few more years. Thankfully both kids had/are having great college experiences and are on their way to a solid career.
We were a bit like thumper1 - one entire salary went toward college costs. (It helped in that we didn’t, and don’t, have credit card debt; both cars were paid off, and they weren’t expensive to begin with.) We had a home equity line of credit In the event of a layoff or something equally financially catastrophic.
@happy1 You were lucky. I’m not done with kids in college yet (although I’m back down to 1), and one year, someone hit my car, which was legally parked and unoccupied, and totaled it. It was paid off, but even at max blue book, not replaceable for what it was worth, especially as an immediate need. And then one summer the fridge just up and stopped working–needed to replace the appliance AND all the food in fridge/freezer. If we’d been in a “we can do it but barely” situation with college costs, we’d have been sunk.
Couple of suggestions which may work for you.
Take some college classes at your local community college now, you may be able to shave a semester off the 4 years by taking extra classes during the school year, break and with internship credits.
Kids should start working and saving now. Babysit. Sign up with Kaplan or other test prep organization to tutor.
Move off campus to cut spending on meal plan and maybe dorm room sophomore year.
Once you decide on the school, get to know the financial aid office well. There may be money for students who do well after the first semester or two.
Talk to guidance counselor (you) about scholarships offered through the high school. They may be the ones that determine who gets them and they may know other local scholarships. Check with your church, company, credit union and any other organizations you are affiliated with to see if scholarships are available.
Fill out FAFSA early/now and have someone go over it to insure that you get all available funds- check work study option.
We moved to a smaller house when our kids went to college which really put a chunk in to savings and cut costs.
Also ended up selling a lot of stuff in the downsizing.
If your kid gets an RA job…great…but don’t count on that happening…highly competitive!
D worked as an RA during sophomore year, which provided free room and small stipend.
Both kids got additional merit scholarships in later years from university (ranging from $500 to $5000)
Both kids moved off campus in junior year which saved about $3000 each from room and board costs
Both kids worked summers. S is a musician and actor and picks up gigs occasionally during the school year.
Even if your child stays in campus housing, getting off the meal plan can save $$. One of my kids wanted to get off the meal plan as soon as the school allowed. It saves us between $2-3,000 per year. Some colleges will have food coop setups students can be a part of that reduce food cost/prep time.
Sometimes off campus part-time jobs can pay better than on campus jobs. One child gets $15 per hour babysitting near campus.
@ordinarylives Not done yet…D hasn’t graduated yet and then has 2 years of grad school left which we will help with. Sorry about your extra costs – we’ve been luck so far (knock wood).
@thumper1 Did your kids apply? Do you have any experience with RA’s?
Sure do have experience.
I was an RA back in the Stone Age. Even then, it was a hard position to get. Dozens of applicants for each position. And btw…it’s not a cakewalk of a job.
DD applied at her school. She was an EMT, and had extensive first aid training because of that…plus she was a lifeguard. She was active in her dorm. She was a student ambassador for her school. She advanced to the final interviews but did not get a RA job.
It was fine…she worked in under grad admissions…and got paid a lot per hour.
Getting an RA job should NOT be something a student counts on for paying the bills. If it happens…great…but there is no guarantee that it will.
We currently have 3 in college. We haven’t found any great ways to save money. We did save a ton before they got to college. Off campus housing is cheaper in some places, and some school meal plans are ridiculously expensive. Going to fewer meals, and doing some cooking in the room could help. Good luck. We are looking forward to next year, when we only have one, in-state tUition to pay.
Probably too late for OP, but with AP courses, dual enrollment, summer and online comm. College classes, most people in most majors should be able to graduate in 3 years, not 4.
Here’s a basic college education with room and board …with Pell grants, work-study, IRS form 8863, R.A. position, for 3 years, quite affordable for a lot people:
www.wsc.edu/tuition