Florida LAC's vs public U's and the cost of a college ed

Parents Forum
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<p>First post on the board. Daughter is a sophomore--oldest of two. Just getting serious about looking at colleges. We have visited several LAC's in Florida this spring. She wants to stay in state--loves the climate--thinks she already lives in paradise!</p>

<p>I always thought that an LAC would somehow be attainable for my kids. I went to Rollins College with merit aid and the FL access grant and the rest loans and work study. And I waitressed every Christmas and Spirng break and all summer. I don't think my folks ever paid anything directly to Rollins. I racked up quite a bit in student loans, but went to USF med school where the tuition was so much less, and was in a position to get the loans paid off within 8-10 years of USF graduation. I was a product of middle class, parents didn't have the money to pay for college, and I was motivated to make it happen and worry about the debts later. Back then I just knew all along that I would be paying for college. Tuition then was nowhere near what it is now relative to future earnings, and it was not hard to get it figured out, even attending an LAC.</p>

<p>Now that D is looking at colleges I just assumed that Rollins or another LAC would be in the running. But I really never looked at current tuition rates until just recently. I just figured that somehow we would be able to afford it. I mean if I put myself through, surely I could now afford to send my own D.</p>

<p>But with HMO's and managed care and practicing primary care, the income I make now is about 30% less than it was 10 years ago. And mine is the only income (husband disabled), I am overwhelmed at the total costs of four years at Rollins. I am sure that my income is such that the "parent contribution" will not entitle my D to "financial aid." She is a solid B+ (3.5) student taking Honors and AP classes (this year all honors and two AP although next year's schedule may only hold one AP). She is interested in college as a stepping stone to grad school in Physical Therapy-either a 2 hr Masters or a 3 yr DPT degree. But she is not a straight A student and may be overlooked for merit aid. (D number two wants eventually to go to vet school).</p>

<p>Is an LAC really worth the cost and family sacrifice? Four years and $160,000 later? And that is not even grad school? Do I go out on a limb and incure such debt for her? No way could she incure that staggering a debt and expect to pay it off. And she doesn't have quite the motivation that I had to somehow make it happen. She has been raised in an environment where we always told her she would not have to worry about college--we would take care of that for her so she could focus on her studies. She is beginning to understand that the costs will be staggering. </p>

<p>I hear so much about 4 yr Florida public Universities---undergrad classes that are huge, teachers/professors not knowing you/your name. We hear that getting the courses needed to graduate in many majors takes 5 years and will not be accomplished in 4 due to scheduling conflicts, size of the student body etc. D could just get lost in the crowd.... I mean there are 40,000plus at UF and FSU and USF etc. We had always thought of LAC for undergrad and state univeristy for grad school. </p>

<p>We do have Florida Prepaid for 4 years of tuition, and she will certainly get Bright Futures at 75-100%. Public is looking so affordable. She would get that amount of contribution to Rollins, plus the Florida Access Grant. So I think that total costs at Rollins or a similar Florida LAC will come down by $10-11,000 per year. Put that still puts it at $120,000 for four years. And younger sister is two year behind her. </p>

<p>How does one decide whether the sacrifice is worth it? WIll that kind of debt ever really "pay off" one day? For many reasons we do not have "savings" (husbands medical bills, paying off both of our student loans, then leaving a large group to open up my own practice) altho being self employed I have always contributed to my retirement account. So it means a second mortgage to tap all the equity in the house, or taking on loans, or selling the house and downsizing quite a bit. Med school meant putting off a family, so I am 50+ and was hoping to retire at 65. </p>

<p>I never imagined that med school would not afford me the opportunity to send two kids to LAC's. </p>

<p>Tell me your thoughts, please.....</p>

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<p>I don't think it was med school that hampers the ability to send 2 kiddos to private LACs, rather what has been addressed on other threads by many other parents the rise in tuition not necessarily being in accordance with a rise in wages.</p>

<p>But I did note that you mentioned how having loans after college affected your decisions then and your familys' including your daughter's choices now. So incurring another $120,000 per child seems to be repeating the cycle. Either you or her or both of you would be borrowing against something in order for her to attend a FL LAC.</p>

<p>You also stated she is not as motivated as you were to cover all her own expenses and tuition and her grades/stats might not warrant a substantial merit award. She too has to be willing to take on such loans and indebtedness or what's the point?</p>

<p>Having 5 high-school and college-aged kiddos I have been through this process and the kiddos have ended up at all sorts of schools. And not what I would have necessarily picked. 2 are at large, very large state unis (1 in-state, 1 out-of-state) and are loving it. Both accessed the Honors programs at each respective institution and have received the same level of professor interaction, peer relationships and great social/EC activities. Another is at an LAC on a substantial merit scholarship and the other is going to a private out-of-state in the fall.</p>

<p>I am not of the mindset that you get what you pay for but rather what you put into a college experience is what you will get out of it. Regardless if you attend a large in-state uni or a small private LAC.</p>

<p>Kat</p>

<p>ps wanted to add that oldest specifically wanted the in-state uni as that she was/is pre-vet (a senior this year) because it was where the vet school was located...in-state vet school's have VERY specific requirements as far as prereqs and they must be satisfied before applying, not to mention many of the public vet schools give priority to residents, esp, true of our state and if I'm not mistaken FL as well</p>

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<p>"Is an LAC really worth the cost and family sacrifice? Four years and $160,000 later? And that is not even grad school?"</p>

<p>As you describe it, it isn't even close.</p>

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<p>As I've stated on some other threads, I went to McDaniel, at a time when my public HS near Baltimore, and several neighboring ones, sent 6-7 kids EACH there. </p>

<p>My son goes to one of these HS's today, and not ONE SINGLE kid has gone to McDaniel for the last couple of years. It's still a great college, but everyone here in public school seems to now gravitate towards the public colleges. If you're upper-middle class, and not going to get merit/financial aid, the price differential is amazingly different than it was in the 70s.</p>

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<p>Are there other FL LACs that might be more generous with merit aid? I don't have any direct knowledge of Florida Southern, but have heard that are good with FA for in-state students.</p>

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<p>I agree that it's not worth $160,000 for an LAC, but does it have to be Rollins? Surely there are good LAC's in Florida that cost less then $41,000 a year. Here are some other choices: <a href="http://www.flbog.org/univ_info/icufList.asp%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.flbog.org/univ_info/icufList.asp&lt;/a> </p>

<p>I admit that I know nothing about Florida Colleges - public or private but I wouldn't even look at a college that cost that much to begin with. However, my kids go to or will be attending LAC's that will cost us under $20,000 per year with our financial and merit aid packages and their sticker prices are $27,000 - $33,000. Some colleges have a bigger endowment then others and that makes a huge difference in how generous they can be. Perhaps some other Florida parents can tell you their experiences searching for colleges. Good luck!</p>

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<p>NY mom giving you advise- but did you look into Florida Gulf Coast U in Ft. Myers?? Public U- but not too big. Does have physical therapy (masters program) and a host of other majors. Husbands friend from college works there (she's from NY too) so that is how I heard of it- Also we looked into U of Tampa for my kid. Tuition not too bad for a private (around $19,000 but they are fairly generous with merit aid ) My d is also a B+ student and did not get any merit aid except for UTAMPA. We looked at OOS publics mostly as I was not going to spend $40,000/yr. I guess we lucked out, in the end my d decided to go to our Public U. In NY, we do have alot of mid size colleges in our system. We don't have any mega campuses of 30,000 + students.</p>

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<p>Just wanted to say that it <em>is</em> possible to get merit aid with those grades. If she can do really well on the SAT's, she can probably get some merit aid offers. I was similar and received offers from $10,000K to 15,000K with a 1350/2000 on the SATs from colleges that seem equivalent to Rollins. So be sure she studies and tries her best on that and it could definitely help with financial aid.</p>

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<p>Nlk - your daughter may have to make some tough choices about staying in-state, but she may well be eligible for merit aid at OOS LACs similar to Rollins. If she wants to stay in the warm weather, look at Loyola in NO, Hendrix, B'ham-Southern, Mercer, College of Charleston. I don't know about the specifics of merit aid at each of these, but I do know that good SATs and being willing to look OOS will improve her prospects.</p>

10

<p>New College!</p>

<p>Sounds like just what you want: small, challenging, in Florida, public and therefore inexpensive. </p>

<p>My niece is a freshman there and is delighted with the interesting work and with her personal relationships with professors.</p>