<p>Did everyone get their letter today with the new 06-07 fees? $32,438 tuition,10,880 R&B= $43,438 + 238 activities fee. Thats another 2,500/yr. </p>
<p>Yale will cost less next yr--not much, but less. Who knows how much Smith will raise the fees <em>again</em> next yr.
I have to wonder how high they can raise their fees until many simply have had enough and have their children choose colleges that offer merit aid .. 30% + of the students pay full ride. It would be a shame to lose outstanding women b/c Smith has finally reached a tipping point with regard to value vs price.</p>
<p>Even very strong Smith supporters, e.g. my alumna wife and her friends, are starting wonder why, with over 1.2+ <em>billion</em> in the endowment fund, Smith feels the need to continue to raise fees above the cola index.</p>
<p>For what it's worth, Smith DOES have something called the "Prepaid Stabilization Plan" whereby one can pay for all four years of a Smith education at once and not have to pay the yearly increases in tuition. It's a bit of a gamble -- you have to count on them increasing the comprehensive fees each year to do any better than leaving the money in the bank -- but if your money-managing skills are limited and you happen to have the dough, paying off Smith in one swell foop may save you in the long run. If not, you can write it off (in your own mind anyway) as a charitable donation for a very good cause. And if you are leery about doing it for the whole four years, before you know whether your daughter will like Smith, you can also give Smith a trial run and then do the PSP for the last three years.</p>
<p>Thanks, I think I remember something about that, however; I have to consider the opportunity loss. So far, Im much further ahead of the increases (thankfully tax free minis, interest rates and the market are up) but it doesnt make it any more pleasurable with a second attending college in future years.</p>
<p>Its more the principle of the constant increases and the effect on financially borderline families that concern me. </p>
<p>But Id be lying if I said I wouldnt rather keep the $2,500 increase instead of <em>donating</em> it to Smith. :)</p>
<p>As it is , I know of families who dont qualify for aid but just cant, or wont, bring themselves to spend 44k/year. Increases can only cause more individuals to fall into that mindset.
Gawddd, who knows what the costs will be in 5 or 6 years!!</p>
<p>{{f not, you can write it off (in your own mind anyway) as a charitable donation for a very good cause.}}</p>
<p>I thought thats what all the money we have been donating to Smith for the past couple + decades was--lol</p>
<p>I guess the incredible success that Smith has been for my daughter has blinded me to the cost of it all. </p>
<p>A lot has to do with the effort she has made to get the most from her four years there -- to milk it for all it's worth -- but Smith in return has given back to her wherever she has had a desire or a need. I am very grateful. I hope the alumnae know that there really are many deeply satisfied customers at Smith despite the price.</p>
<p>Now on to child #2, who certainly won't be following his sister to Smith, but will no doubt end up somewhere just as expensive. I may be feeling a lot more grouchy about price increases when he heads off to college in another year!</p>
<p>{{guess the incredible success that Smith has been for my daughter}}
{but Smith in return has given back to her wherever she has had a desire or a need. I am very grateful.}</p>
<p>Pesto, please dont take my whining seriously. My daughters and wife learned years ago to ignore me.</p>
<p>Im not speaking to you personally b/c I wouldnt presume to know your financial situation, but contributing extra funds (tuition increases) so women who might not be fortunate enough to attend Smith without the financial assistance the college is able and willing to offer certainly alleviates the inclination to complain about having to pay a little more (well more than a little) in tuition when we have been very fortunate in life. </p>
<p>In hindsight, any ideas I had for spending the $2,500 seem selfish in the scheme of things.</p>
<p>My wife might disagree thought. I was going to take her on a romantic trip to a secluded beach. </p>
<p>I suppose I can have a load of sand spread around our pond and we can fake it.</p>
<p>Men always exaggerate the size of most objects.</p>
<p>Puddle would be more accurate.</p>
<p>{{All we have is the sand.}</p>
<p>You're on the water? I'm jealous. I miss living on the ocean. We used to live on the North Shore and the ocean in Calif--- and you know I frequented Watch Hill, Mystic, Southport/Westport regularly.</p>
<p>Well...not quite ON the water. I wish! We're about a 45 minute drive to the nearest south shore beach. I must say, however, that I would not trade the new england area for anywhere else. We just have the best of all worlds; 4 seasons, great college towns, beaches/skiing, etc.</p>
<p>I'll second BJM8's vote for New England despite the cost of living here. </p>
<p>We have managed to foot the whole bill at Smith not by dint of being rich and famous but rather by never having lost our frugal ways from the bad old days of unemployment after college in the mid-70s when the economy was in the dumps. It's sort of like people who lived through the Depression, turning off lights and rationing gas for the rest of their lives.</p>
<p>We, by the way, have neither ocean nor pond but rather a swamp out back -- great when the peepers are sounding off as they are now, not so great when the mosquitoes come back to life.</p>
<p>Peepers? Are those the nasty little frogs we also have that keep you up all night?
I try to catch the little buggers every spring as part of my frog relocation program. Off to the neaby lake they go! The Bass are happy ..</p>
<p>Kidding, I put them in the lk without fish.</p>
<p>{{not so great when the mosquitoes come back to life}}</p>
<p>Ahh, the good ol' days of DDT. Zip sceeters</p>
<p>{{but rather by never having lost our frugal ways}}</p>
<p>You may call it frugal. I would call it extremely intelligent money management. If more parents were as responsible as you and your husband, there wouldnt be the thousands of kids who cant go to colleges such as Smith b/c their parents cant (or wont) finance their education.</p>
<p>RLT: Thanks! (I guess!) I'll take "extremely intelligent" any day. Others might call us "un-American," however. (For not contributing to the ee-con-o-me.) We're also rather green: we were so happy with our 2002 Prius that we recently bought a 2006 Prius when our 1994 Ford Taurus finally started costing more to repair than it was worth to keep it around. ($3,000 off our 2006 taxes plus savings in gas plus the satisfaction of knowing we're keeping the planet healthier with minimal emissions.) How else do we save money? Let me count the ways. All four of us hate shopping. No weekly trips to the mall. No one but me drinks coffee (and I only drink it at home) -- BIG savings on the Starbucks bill. We bought a starter, postage stamp-sized ranch house back when you could still buy a house in the Boston area for five digits -- we're still living there, we paid off the mortgage a couple of years ago, and, never having up-sized, we don't have to down-size when the kids have left the nest. Our favorite recreational activities? Walking and reading. Dull? Maybe. Worried about money? Not very.</p>
<p>My husband and I were both fortunate enough to have parents who put us through school. We both seem to have inherited a sense of obligation to do the same for our kids. Hence our "frugal" ways.</p>
<p>I took a gap year between high School and College so I could help my parents to earn the money. I went as a nanny to California. This gives me the chance to not only earn money, but also work with kids(what I really love), get to know many interesting people, and live 20 minutes away from the beach:-)</p>
<p>[My husband and I were both fortunate enough to have parents who put us through school. We both seem to have inherited a sense of obligation to do the same for our kids. Hence our "frugal" ways.]</p>
<p>Way to go, Pesto!! My wife and I were lucky in the same way, and we wouldn't have it any other way than to have the opportunity to pay for our D's Smith education. Granted, neither of us went to a college the caliber of Smith; but hey, we always said if she worked hard enough to get ointo the best colleges, we would pay. Now...we have to put our money where our mouth is. OUCH!!</p>
<p>Our favorite recreational activities? Walking and reading}}</p>
<p>Reading keeps the mind healthy, walking instead of running the knees. It appears you have both ends of the bod covererd.
The middle will take care of itself.</p>
<p>{My husband and I were both fortunate enough to have parents who put us through school}
{we always said if she worked hard enough to get ointo the best colleges, we would pay.}</p>
<p>TheDad, et al, have the same attitude. I hope all your kids realize how fortunate they have you as parents. Im confident many of you arent aware how special you are.</p>
<p>I live in an area where parents vacation in Paris, drive Mercedes, but when it comes to going the extra mile for their kids and paying for a private college, all of a sudden they dont have the funds. Its so sad to talk to these kids who have to turn down Midd, Bowdoin, etc., for a state college because their parents are cheap ******. I have a friend that was forced to leave Cornell his soph. year and transfer to a state college because his father didnt believe his son was getting a better education at Cornell than he would locally. Decades later he is still bitter. His dad may have saved a few bucks but he lost a son.. Maybe Im an idiot but an EE degree from Cornell sure beats the one he received from his local U, imo. Or maybe Im just a prestige whore.</p>
<p>The way I look at it, that's what the money's for (though I don't have much of it). What other crapola should I be spending it on? I drive an 18-year-old car that runs quite fine (is even almost comfortable!), live in a flimsy 1970s house (post-avocado, post-mustard period), and get most of my clothes at Value Village - no sense in making extra work for Chinese prison slaves. We have a nice big piano, several violins, some Indian musical instruments (I play the veena), health insurance, a retirement fund that should be enough for me and my wife, and friends all over the world. I live in a beautiful part of the world (wish it were warmer). Lots of books.</p>
<p>My kids should be so lucky when they get out of school as I am while they are in! (and at least paying for some of it.)</p>
<p>The way I look at it, that's what the money's for}}</p>
<p>I had you in mind, also, when I wrote my post. Trust me, a substantial number of parents don't think like you. I know something about your area. Think of parents living in Medina or on Lake Smammamish, but their kids end up a Wazzzu (sp) over Claremont Mckenna, Bates, Whitman etc. b/c mom and dad live above their means. Or worse, wont give up the European trips, country club, dinners at the Met Grill or the two Porches and Mercedes.</p>
<p>{{I drive an 18-year-old car that runs quite fine}} </p>
<p>Soon youll be able to register your car as an antique. That will save on licensing fees. :)</p>