$250,000 is about the total cost of attendance at private colleges by my TWO kids combined – near the end of the previous century. We were fortunate to have saved a majority of that over the years, then drew on current income + help from my parents that covered about 25% of the total COA. A small NMS award ($800 per year!) helped in one case. We paid the price for our kids rejecting major awards from state universities, because we felt that the colleges they did attend would do more for their intellectual development and their careers. In retrospect, I’m not sure that was an accurate assumption. Careers depend on so much more than the undergraduate diploma or credential.