Flagship state university expensive for you? Calling middle class caught in middle

<p>University of Illinois per our Financial Aid Award Letter:
Tuition and Fees: 13,524 (about 3,000 extra for students in engineering and physical sciences)
Books and Supplies: 1,000
Living Expenses: 7,716
Transportation: 470
Miscellaneous Expenses: 2050</p>

<p>Total: $24, 760</p>

<p>Total aid awarded: $24,760- all loans</p>

<p>The state of Illinois is in terrible financial shape. The school ranks in the top in the country in some physical sciences, computer science, engineering, accounting. This would be a bargain rate for a two-income high earning Chicago couple (altho their housing expenses would eat it up) based on their FASFA. I can see why the state doesn't offer much financial aid if they can fill the slots with full pay students. It's just not a bargain for me!</p>

<p>I dunno, I just went along thinking state schools would be the solution for college costs and they aren't always. </p>

<p>momoffive</p>

<p>momoffive</p>

<p>There are other state schools that are less expensive, for example ISU--
Illinois residents: 2005-2006 academic year
Tuition and Fees* $7,109
Room and board (multiple occupancy, Silver meal plan) $5,762
Total tuition and fees expense $12,853</p>

<p>Books and supplies (estimated) $828
Transportation (estimated) $813
Miscellaneous** (estimated) $2,073
Average yearly budget including estimated expenses $16,567</p>

<p>true, and that school might work for ds#2 and the younger children. Like I've stated, they are smart kids, but not as driven as ds #1, nor do they have ambitious career goals yet. I wonder if ISU has the surcharge for physical science majors?</p>

<p>My oldest has career goals that would best be served by U of I since it is ranked in the top ten in the country in the major he wants. He wants to be part of the leading endge in research in his field. </p>

<p>It seems there shouldn't be such a cost difference between all the state schools. </p>

<p>momoffive</p>

<p>Wow...UIUC has gone up tremendously in the last three years since S applied. When he got his fin aid letter (finally mid-June, like that really helped with the May 1st decision...which by that time he'd already turned UIUC down officially), total costs were estimated at 17,000. They didn't even give us loans...it was..."pay it all out of your own pocket." So we did.....just not at UIUC, which wasn't his first choice because of program anyway.......</p>

<p>Something else to keep in mind....(because I was just like momof5 when I was writing about S here 3 years ago). Son was focused on one program....so much... He just KNEW what he wanted to do. He'd said the same thing since he was 7-years-old. That lasted all of about 1 semester when he got to college and was introduced to more options. As it turned out, it worked out fine, but...don't let their "focused" aspirations be the only guiding light when dealing with choices. Because those things being "focused" upon can change rapidly.</p>

<p>University of Washington full budget for 2006-2007 is $17,824 (in-state) . Out of this $ 7,125 is for room and board and about $ 6,000 for tuition and fees.
We got only loans from fin. aid, but S got a merit scholarship which made it affordable for us( with a small Stafford loan) . Compared to $ 22,000 out-of pocket for NYU or $ 25, 000 for UCB( OOS) , our FlagshipU ended up being the most attractive financially( not counting BU, but it was an "also ran" for S, so no go there) . I looked at in-state tuition rates of other flagships and would agree that some of them are becoming way too expensive( PSU being # 1 ) .</p>

<p>NC State University....for 2006-2007 in-state cost will be $14,454. This includes tuition, dorm room, meal plan ,various fees,books, personal spending money and estimated transportation costs. Whew...glad to live in NC!</p>

<p>Ha ha, kluge... UCSB IS a resort! At least it feels that way every time I visit. Those were the days! :)</p>

<p>momoffive:</p>

<p>since your concern is that the younger ones do not try as hard for grades as the oldest one does, I would put it in THEIR lap.... Tell them that they havet to get their grades up -- otherwise they will have to go to a CC for at least 2 years because you can't afford the Flagship U. If they are not getting the best grades that they COULD, then they should experience the consequences. </p>

<p>Let them know that now -- as they see you comparing your eldest's situation. </p>

<p>Years ago, my younger S also used to have the " a B is okay" attitude until he learned that he wouldn't get to go to the college of HIS choice that way (he's always wanted to be a doctor). He has gotten straight As since middle school; he's now a freshman.</p>

<p>Your younger kids may think that they can just "slack off" because you'll end paying whatever if takes at the Flagship U.</p>

<p>Speaking of the "B is OK" mentality.. .One of my friends had a son who got a C on his report card and told his parents that it was OK since C is average. So his parents decided that they would become "C parents"--dinner was late, they were late to pick him up after ball practice, his wash wasn't done in a timely manner. He got the message! Getting Cs isn't all right if you can do better.</p>

<p>we are another family where private school cost us less than the state school that was my daughter's number one choice among the 3 or 4 public schools that she applied to. I was very surprised.</p>

<p>Every cent you can earn momofffive can offset the amount you need to borrow for your kids' college education. Even if you only keep .40 on the dollar, that's .40 less you have to borrow times the number of dollars you can earn in a year. If you net $10K after taxes and all other expenses you can reduce your borrowing needs from $24K to $14K--a significant difference. Assuming your income goes up over time by the time your youngers are ready for college you and your husband could be in a position to afford in state public educations for all of them without taking on a crazy amount of debt.</p>

<p>I have less than no sympathy for parents who can't afford college costs and yet insist on one person at home full time. Staying at home with your kids is a luxury. It's fabulous if you can swing it, and worth all the sacrifices when they are little, but when they grow into teenagers it is a luxury very few families can afford. It's just not worth it to skimp on higher education in order to maintain a lifestyle choice. I understand the plight of families who just don't make that much money--but it's not right to expect grants and aid if you yourself are not willing to maximize your earning potential given your training, background and skills. Your husband is probably doing that and has done for years in order to give you and your kids the life you want--why is it OK for him to do that and not you?</p>

<p>I think the importance of a parent at home vs. the second full-time income is a value judgement. It may be impacted by the community you live in, the maturity of your particular kid, your neighbors and the availablity of extended family support. If you judge this, then you would also have to judge people who are working at jobs they enjoy but earn income below what they are capable of. And what about the debate over working moms leaving children at home (or where ever) alone to save the money of after school care? This is just an issue that is difficult to judge fairly, IMO.</p>

<p>PS - to ellemenope: I LOVE your idea of parents showing a "C" effort! It reminds me of that juice commercial that shows instances where 10% is not good enough! LOL!</p>

<p>I agree with lkf - there's no hard and fast rule to the balances you have to strike in raising your kids. It may very well be that having a parent at home is worth more than the burden of loans needed to graduate a kid from State U. Or not.</p>

<p>Just try not to whine or preach, okay? We all deal with these things as best we can. There's no "one size fits all." What has worked for me and my family could be a disaster for another family, and vice versa. What I do see (and what I take from the OP, by the way) is that there is an answer for everyone. It's just not the same answer for everyone, and it's not always the answer we thought it would be.</p>

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<p>I have to agree with kluge. Every family has to make that judgment call themselves. </p>

<p>Every choice comes with consequences. We make our choices and live with the consequences. If you stay home with your kids and don't bring in an income, then your kids may have a restricted choice when it comes to college. If you remodel your house, buy a boat, go on an expensive vacation to Europe or buy an expensive SUV every 3 years, then your kids may have restricted choice when it comes to college. </p>

<p>Life is all about making choices. . .
and living with consequences.</p>

<p>Unless you qualify for needbased aid AND are going to a college where a significant %age of your need will be met, you may NOT get more aid from that private school than your state U would cost. We are in that boat. We didn't qualify for need based aid of any significance (compared to the $42K plus cost of attendance), and our kiddo did not receive merit aid at the two private schools to which she was accepted (both said the SAT was not the be all end all...but for merit aid, it was). She did, however, receive an award from an OOS flagship that would reduce her tuition to instate, and give her an additional $2000 per year in merit aid. This brings the cost of attendance to MUCH below our state flagship U, even at instate rates. </p>

<p>If you receive merit aid and needbased aid, THAT is where you are likely to see the cost of the private school become significantly lower than a state U. </p>

<p>Could our child have gotten more merit offers? Probably. However, we (silly us) believed them when they said that they considered the applicants holistically for everything...both admittance and merit aid. Had we known that, we might (and I say might) have considered only schools where her stats were well above the 75%ile in both the CR and Math areas. Hers was above in math only. But, I don't want to hijack this thread with my feelings about how merit aid is awarded...I'm not whining about my kid not receiving the aid. I'm whining because the schools were not (in my opinion) wholy honest in how they viewed the SAT scores relative to making these awards.</p>

<p>My "silly me" moment-discovering universities can say they meet your need by offering you loans. I've read for years if you have more than one child in college then your EFC is divvied amongst the children. I naively assumed this meant grants. Now I am finding out that cannot be counted on. </p>

<p>This has been a learning experience for sure. I will start planning RIGHT NOW for the new reality (not assuming flagship state university or grants are the answer) for when the next child goes off to college in 3 years. :-)</p>

<p>momoffive</p>

<p>Re: the "more than one in college" issue. We WILL have two in college next year. The private schools that DD got accepted at are not schools that meet full need. DS also attends a school that does not meet full need. While the EFC for both kids sits at about $20000, DD got $6k from one school and $9600 from the other in grants. No work study...or anything else...with the remainder in a PLUS Loan (the remainder being the difference between those grants and $42K). DS will be a senior next year. We sent in the FAFSA and Profile (not needed to renew his merit aid which covers 1/2 of our EFC) but truthfully, what motivation would the university have to increase his finaid award? It's not like he's going to transfer OUT for his senior year. I think the best we can hope for with him is a subsidized Stafford instead of unsubsidized. So....just because you have two in college at the same time, don't expect a big finaid award, especially an increase for your already enrolled child...unless you are at a school that guarantees to meet full need. AND if your child doesn't get merit aid their freshman year, it is VERY unlikely that they will receive it in subsequent years. I'm beginning (too late, of course) to understand that merit aid is in place to lure the students the college would most like to see enroll...not the students who are necessarily most likely to attend.</p>

<p>Thank you for saying that ellemenope--life is full of choices, and for most middle income folks it's going to be nearly impossible to send four or five kids to a four year school on one income.</p>

<p>"I'm beginning (too late, of course) to understand that merit aid is in place to lure the students the college would most like to see enroll...not the students who are necessarily most likely to attend."</p>

<p>I think that works both ways. My son applied to a safety that offered nothing but loans. He was not offered financial aid grants, or any merit aid. His sat score was about 250 points higher than average (combined verbal and math). I just think that they did not believe that he would attend, and never tried to lure him with grants. It was really their loss b/c my son really liked this school too. He did better in with merit aid at 5 match schools, and received generous financial aid at one school that did not offer him merit aid (most of it was in the form of grant money). Frankly, only one private school matched the price of the oos school that my S chose to attend. All of the other private schools came in costing more.</p>

<p>Please don't flame me, but having four or five children is also a choice.</p>