How do middle class families in California, or in general really, afford private education costs?

Paying for College
41

@katerpillarca Long before we had our child, we were fully aware that raising a child from birth to high school graduate would cost more than $220K, a figure published at that time. So we decide to have only one child. We started to save about $200 per month for that child’s education when he was still a toddler, even though we could hardly afford many things (we kept our cars for >15 years until they were not cost effective to repair anymore). So by the time, he went to college, the saving would be enough to pay for the state college tuition (may not enough to include room and board though). That’s equal to affordable to $12K to 15K per year of college education cost without assistance. Have you asked your parents if they have saved anything for you and your brother’s education so far? You should count the marginal cost (or incremental cost) of attend the private vs the state school, not the $70K per year to measure the additional money you need to attend (unless your family has always expecting you guys to get a full ride).

@katerpillarca If your statement about your family’s income level is correct and no other current assets, except your parents’ home, you most likely would get at least $15K to $30K per year financial aid from some full need-based top tier school. You should try other EFC on other schools, other than just NYU, to see if you can get any financial aid. We know this because both my child and one of his friend are currently attending a full need-based top tier school with income level similar to your family.

With the combination of the college education saving and financial aid, we could afford to send him for the first two years of undergraduate. The third year, I would take out a personal loan from my own retirement plan; and I planned to make up the borrowing from retirement fund by staying on my job four to five more years than original planned. For the fourth year, we haven’t planned, but we could afford a $50K home equity credit if we need to.

Therefore, the 1/4 million dollar of private education cost is funding through about 1/3 of prior college saving, 1/3 of financial aid, and 1/3 of borrowing. Is it worth it? I don’t know. Having being an immigrant myself started with no English speaking ability in my early 20s, went to community college and then adult college, I found college education is at quite high level everywhere, not just the top universities. I would have no problem sending my child to a community college, a state flag ship university, or a private college. Maybe wanting to allow my kid to pick the expensive one was to allow my child to enjoy what life can afford him now instead of us worrying about too much financial constrain as most immigrants do. I see no reason to give him the 1/4 million now (as an education) than leave to him 25 years from now when we die (and that would probably spoil him and his offspring then).

42

I think you should make a list of the things about Barnard that make it your “dream” school. From that list see if you can find similar schools where your stats are in the top 20% and run the NPC for them. Find out what your parents can contribute and apply accordingly. Hopefully one of the CA schools will be a safety for you. There should be a number of schools throughout the country that can offer much of the fit that Barnard does and would be matches. All you need to do is determine, assuming you’re accepted, is if they offer you the kind of scholarships you need. Finally, go ahead and apply to Barnard. The worst that could happen is that you’re either not accepted or you find it unaffordable. If you’ve done your search well you will have similar and affordable options.

I feel that Columbia and Northwestern are definite reaches and know less about NYU and USC but I’m sure they are very competitive too. A school you might consider comparable to NU but less competitive would be CWRU. Try The University of Pittsburgh as opposed to Columbia. As for Barnard I don’t know anything about it other than its an LAC but Denison University might be one to look into. Good luck.

43

@camathmom This is NOT true of all of the Ivy League schools. Some DO take some portion of primary home equity into consideration in their need based financial aid calculations.

@BelknapPoint perhaps you can tell which Ivies do and don’t…and post that link about primary home equity.

To @katerpillarca here are some other factors which will affect need based aid…but also have the potential to make the net price calculators very unreliable.

  1. Are either of your parents self employed or do they own a business?
  2. Does your family own any real estate other than your primary residence?
  3. Are your parents divorced. And is either parent remarried? (It didn’t sound like it from your posts...but asking anyway).

Oh…and too bad about Vassar. Might be worth doing the net price calculator to see if need based aid is possible.

44

I think you’re looking for an answer that doesn’t exist.

Falling in love with schools you can’t afford is a recipe for heartbreak. And thousands of high school seniors do it every single year.

The reality is that if you can’t afford a school, and either they don’t offer or you don’t qualify for the necessary financial aid, then you can’t attend that school. It really is as cut and dried as that.

So, nope, my kids couldn’t even look at some of the schools that otherwise might have been a “perfect fit.”

Choosing to take on incredible debt means that you may not be able to choose to buy a house in which to raise your kids in 10 years. Not a choice I would reccomend.

45

People can try to justify all kinds of things, but you’re the one who would be repaying the ~$100k (+ interest). I wouldn’t take more than the ~$5500/year federal student loan. You have access to a lot of great colleges in CA so you’re very lucky.

How much are your parents willing/able to pay per year (without borrowing)? If you can give us a ballpark range people may be able to suggest some options for you. Do you know what you want to study?

46

Brown – assesses home equity at 100%
Columbia – assesses home equity up to 2.5x income
Cornell – assesses home equity up to 1.2x income
Dartmouth – assesses home equity up to 1.2x income
Harvard – does not assess home equity
Penn – assesses home equity at 1.5 to 2.5x income though part of consensus grp, cap at 1.2x
Princeton – does not assess home equity
Yale – assesses home equity at approximately 1.2x income, per test; Yale will not disclose

Stanford – assesses home equity up to 1.2x income

Data is approximately one year old and is from spreadsheet available here:

http://www.thecollegesolution.com/will-your-home-equity-hurt-financial-aid-chances/

47

Some colleges consider the value of family’s primary home, so if your parents have a lot of equity that can drive the EFC up at some schools. Columbia asks for the purchase price of the primary home, the current value, and the amount owed. I don’t know offhand what other schools do, but keep an eye out for that. Those schools are likely to be unaffordable if your parents have a lot of equity.

48

Ivies and equivalents have pretty accurate NPCs for non-complicated financial situations. Students don’t need to apply blind and hope for the FA they want. If the NPC gives numbers that are unaffordable, the FA package will most likely be unaffordable.

So many people say that Ivies are always affordable due to their great aid. Not true for families who cannot afford their expected contribution.

49

The only good thing about some of the Ivy League schools is that they do provide significant need based aid for families with higher incomes and typical assets.

BUT the rub is…these schools accept under 10% of applicants…and acceptance is sure not a slam dunk as 90% or more are not accepted who apply.

However, there are a LOT of nice, smaller LACs where this kiddo could get some merit aid…if she is willing to look at them.

I already suggested Denison and Rhodes as possibilities. There are hundreds of others. Perhaps other folks could chime in and at least give this student food for thought.

50

@katerpillarca Lots of families are in the OPs situation, with middle incomes and many don’t get set on a school like Barnard, in a very expensive city, an airplane ride away. What do you like about Barnard, and do you want a small LAC?

I agree with @thumper1, find LACs in the midwest or Tennessee etc. I would look at Cornell College in Iowa and Grinnell College in Iowa, maybe Knox College in Illinois. All of those, like Denison and Rhodes may offer you merit.
The schools in Iowa are very liberal, if thats what you are after.

The midwest offers amazing bargains and I think Barnard may be out of range given New York City living. Also Barnard is often a shock for west coast students. Its located in Harlem, and its edgy with a lot of homeless in the area, still even though its nicer than it used to be. One Colorado student I know who tried Columbia could not adjust to that area. To attend a Columbia football game, the stadium is up by Columbia Medical school on 168th street and its so dangerous to take a subway up there, that there are special busses ! Note that Barnard is next to Columbia at 116th street and Morningside drive. Not the part of NYC thats fun! Its way up north. The campus is on constant lockdown as well, since 9/11. In that sense it is safe, but do you want that environment, after growing up in a nice CA suburb?

Barnard is not anywhere near NYU, which is in an entirely better area of NYC. NYU is known to gouge middle class families, cross it off now, its too expensive ! . Barnard, maybe leave it on for the hopes of financial aid, but your record is not strong enough to get accepted.

Sorry for the harsh reality check, but make a sensible list, including U of California Campuses that you have a chance at, which are not the very top ones.

Another option might be a private roman catholic school like Loyola Marymount in LA or U of San Diego, that offers merit. They are more LAC like than the giant U of Cal campuses.

51

There are many excellent LAC’s in California that might be worth looking into but also run the Net Price Calculators.

The Claremont Consortium: Pomona, Claremont McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Scripps and Pitzer.
Also Occidental, St Marys of California, Santa Clara to name a few.

You do not have to go clear across country to feel like you are in a different environment. California is a huge state so if you are from Northern California, then Southern California may feel like a different world.

Please come back and update on your financial situation and what you want out of your college experience. You have been given many suggestions for some great schools to consider but affordability is a major factor. Without the $$$ amount you can pay, many of the suggestions may not work for you.

52

@katerillarca most families in your situation save some money for college, so if you family did not save, you may need a loan. What is your major, if you know? Some majors lend themselves to taking loans, (accounting, business, engineering). If you plan to make a good income, a loan may be OK, but think about it.

. As far as NPC, we found that if you don’t have a huge mortgage, that HURTS, so that may be why you don’t qualify for much aid, even with a total family income between $100K and $200K. We are in that category and qualified only
for the guaranteed loan at privates! Remember the first $5000 is a LOAN, not a grant for financial aid at most schools.

We have no debt and a small home/mortgage, so our kids went to schools in the midwest where they could win merit, and we got a gift from a relative for one kid to attend GaTech, a public option at a good full cost price. (Its $80,000 less over 4 years than privates ) But we did sock away money for over 15 years for each kid.

Can your grandparents contribute to your education fund? We also required our kids to work every summer and pay their own living expenses, but we covered a set amount.
Sit down and make a budget with your parents.
But meanwhile realize that if you don’t have very top GPA and scores, a lot of U of California campuses, will not work for you either.

You can get a good education in the midwest or at a regional private school in California. Focus on those, and
keep a few financial reaches on your list in case you drum up money from a relative.

Do not get set on a school like Barnard, that seems to be a reach academically and financially and may
not even suit you, if you are not ready for a gritty city experience, with edgy/sophisticated students.

53

Coloradomama, name one urban campus in the US that does NOT have homeless people near it.

Your comments about Harlem and the Upper West Side of NYC are about 15 years out of date-- and frankly, are bordering on racism as if invoking “Harlem” is going to scare all the law abiding white people away (a trope that was even out of date in the 1990’s).

This kid cannot afford Barnard, but your fear mongering is quite objectionable. Edgy? not sure what that is code for.

54

Middle income families typically do get financial aid at many colleges, unless they have certain situations like uncooperative parents (often due to divorce), huge assets, or unusual types of income where colleges tend to disallow deductions resulting in much higher income for financial aid purposes than actual net income.

Note that even expensive high income San Jose, CA has a median household income of $90,303 (versus $55,322 in the US overall), according to https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sanjosecitycalifornia,US/PST045217 . I.e. “middle income” is under $100,000.

55

Though one might think that the median income in San Jose is high-almost twice the US average-however, houses cost 5-10 times as much as almost anywhere in the country.
For most families, their mortgage is around half of their income.

56

OP can call her income whatever she wants. If she won’t qualify for need based aid, she has to target colleges that are affordable without it.

My children used to do camps at Columbia when they were in middle school. They never had a problem with the area. I’m sure OP could manage, but I don’t know if she can afford the schools.

57

You asked if anybody can justify borrowing 100k. I think a better question is “is it possible to repay 100K loan on a entry level salary and if so how?”. The answers will give you a feel fo what impact that would have on your life. Keep in mind, private loans do not have the same repayment flexability as federal loans.

You did not mention what your goals are for a profession or where you want to live which will greatly impact the ability to repay this loan.

I would be hard pressed to justify that type of loan. Maybe if there was no other choice (no local colleges, no communty colleges, no public schools) AND I was majoring in a high demand, high paying field.

58

I think Berkeley may be more grunge than Columbia/Barnard. I was recently there with D2 and the place was spotless, I didn’t see any homeless people on the street. There is Whole Foods there now…need I say more.

59

All Coloradomama said was the OP might not like an urban college, and I agree, city living isn’t for everyone.

This student has said she doesn’t want to go to any of the big California schools so it doesn’t seem out of line to suggest a school like Barnard might not actual be what she’s dreaming of. What doesn’t she like about Davis or Cal or UCLA? Maybe it is that they are too big, in cities, that they are too urban/edgy.

60

Wait a minute…the OP has Columbia, And NYU on her list too…both urban schools.

@katerpillarca run that net price calculator for Columbia again…with an income of $240,000 a year, it shows about $35,000 in need based aid. This does not account for assets…and if you have enough assets to make your family contribution the full cost of attendance…your family has a LOT of assets.

But really…you need to have a money talk about college with your parents. What can and will they be able to contribute annually to your college costs. That is a VERY important number for you to have.

You can cast a broad net…apply wherever…but you need to understand and accept the family budget, and be prepared to walk away from acceptances where the money is not forthcoming.

BTW, we think the area around columbia in NYC is pretty nice!