<p>I will always believe that in terms of college, first generation status is at least as important as income. A family that doesn’t understand things like prerequisites or how to read a catalog or countless other things that families with generations of higher education already know is at a disadvantage, and those kids could use a little extra non-monetary support.</p>
<p>SteveMA, would you please share how you plan to provide four years of college to all three of your children for less than $100k total? This would be a huge help to those looking for ways to fund four years of college on a shoestring budget.</p>
<p>Eastcoascrazy: I agree completely. We were doing great as a family with two working spouse earning decent salaries, until my spouse was diagnosed with a terminal degenerative disease when the youngest was still in elementary school. Everything changed in a day, from spouse’s immediate loss of employment, loss of driving privileges, additional medical expenses, etc. Spouse went into a nursing home a few years ago (now on hospice), which wiped out our assets except to the extent excluded under Medicaid rules. I couldn’t have predicted this happening in my 40s, or being wiped out for nursing home expenses in my 50s. And I’m certainly not alone…as my kids went through high school, a few of their peers lost parents, or their parents lost jobs, or other unexpected things happened which showed us how financially vulnerable most families really are.</p>
<p>Ultimately, the question of who is or isn’t in the middle class doesn’t advance the discussion much IMO. I believe the true debate is over whether FAFSA should drive lifestyle choices and college planning. I ended up on the side of saving and trying to earn as much as possible for my family, and not worrying about being penalized by FAFSA. None of us think that our kids are getting enough money. Having a low score or low income doesn’t mean that a student is going to get lots of scholarships and grants. Qualifying for a lot of financial aid can mean that a student qualifies for a lot of subsidized and unsubsidized loans and work study, as others have pointed out. That’s not exactly a plus for folks deemed to be low-income or even middle class.</p>
<p>The top colleges recognize this in their admissions process. Income, or lack thereof, is not a factor taken into consideration on its own. With other challenges, it is. And first generation to go to college is “hook”. </p>
<p>THe problem is that this sort of boost is only given to those applying to the most selective schools which amounts to very few kids,and those are the kids who tend to already have a lot of support in the process. Everyone wants to help the kid who is Harvard Bound. Not so much the group of kids with midlevel stats. That is the group that can use the most help where it can make the most difference.</p>
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<p>Or divorce, which can be financially devastating and generally hits women harder than men.</p>
<p>Neonzeus, I am sorry. It is a tough go, I know. I just lost a dear friend, my youngest ones; godmother to ALS way before it should have been her time. The pain of these things is tremendous.</p>
<p>One thing about large families, like what I have is there is always the fear of someone having a crisis, and as the kids get older, the stakes get higher, and the fear worse as you realize so much is out of one’s control. </p>
<p>It’s an important reason for all who are looking at colleges for their kids to familiarize themselves with the local options, the affordable options rather than cherry picking the brand names, because sometimes when things don’t go as planned these little known acccessible gems can be ones best alternative.</p>
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The greater the number of people who understood that, the smaller the number of broken hearts.</p>
<p>I’m dizzy trying to follow this thread. :(</p>
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He has shared the strategy … low net cost is an overarching goal … the parents set their contribution level (which was very-very low) … the kids knew they needed to find big merit and/or live at home or some strategy where they (the kids) could pay the vast majority of their expenses.</p>
<p>For those of us that haven’t been able to save, but have children that can get accepted at selective schools, where did you find the best option for getting the money?</p>
<p>I am not going to tell my 4.0, 2170 sat son he has to go to a community college or lessor college just because he doesn’t want to start life in debt. To me that is crazy. </p>
<p>If you have a good state university that could be different, but her in PA the only state university worth a darn is Penn State. That is his fall back if he has to. I would much rather send him to a more selective school if he gets accepted into.</p>
<p>For those kids that don’t mind going into a bit of debt to cover the opportunity to graduate from a selective school, where did you get the money?</p>
<p>What scholarships did you apply for? What loans did you apply for? </p>
<p>Looking to find the best way to get up to 40,000 per year if needed.</p>
<p>As for loans my son is the one who will have to apply and get approved. The loans will not be in my name in anything other then co-signer if needed.</p>
<p>If you cosign the loans, you ARE responsible for them. Doesn’t matter if the loan check is not in your name. Your 17-18 yo kid can’t qualify for private/PLUS loans on his income/credit rating without a cosigner.</p>
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<p>Don’t dismiss Penn State:</p>
<p>[Forget</a> Harvard: Penn State, public schools outscore Ivies in jobs survey
by David Beard,
Boston Globe
September 13, 2010](<a href=“http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/09/forget_harvard.html]Forget”>http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2010/09/forget_harvard.html)
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<p>It’s up to you if you want to spend up to $40K a year on your kid’s college. Many people would say that is “crazy” (and for most of us $160,000 is not “a bit of debt.”) Your son himself can only borrow $5500 freshman year, working up to $7500 senior year.</p>
<p>It seems you are a new poster. Rather than ask general questions about scholarships and loans here, you might want to explore other threads that cover this topic.</p>
<p>“For those of us that haven’t been able to save, but have children that can get accepted at selective schools, where did you find the best option for getting the money?”</p>
<p>My son had slightly lower stats (30 ACT, 1930ish SAT, 3.8 GPA) and the most he got was $30K/year in merit from St. Lawrence, leaving us with about 25K or so. Lesser amounts as the schools went down in the USNWR rankings from SLU (27K-18K.) In total he got money from every school he applied to except our state U. </p>
<p>We hit the $40K/yr in institutional aid from a school in the Top 25 which is need only (no merit.) Total COA at his school is $58K+/yr. </p>
<p>Our income is greater than $100K but less than $150K. We choose to put our money into retirements accounts as we knew we could afford our state schools tuition out of regular income (because we live some what frugally, drive used cars, etc., etc., etc., ) and he was accepted at what is considered one of our NY State flagships. </p>
<p>He didn’t apply for any outside scholarships. I suppose he could have but, imo, I think it’s a lot of extra work for very little pay off. YMMV.</p>
<p>"It’s up to you if you want to spend up to $40K a year on your kid’s college. Many people would say that is “crazy.” </p>
<p>I think she is looking for a way to get FA worth $40K a year, not spending $40K/year.</p>
<p>fflmaster,Lots of good students in many different states end up at their state schools. Penn State and Pitt are very good schools and would get your son anywhere he needs to go. If your son can get good merit or need based aid elsewhere, that’s great. But if not, you certainly do have decent options in Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Penn State shouldn’t be discounted - nor should Pitt, especially for certain majors like Penn State’s school of engineering or Pitt’s premed programs. Sometimes it’s not only about a perceived level of prestige, but about the program of study that your student wants to pursue.</p>
<p>Fflmaster, cosigning with your son is being a coapplicant. Both of you are equally on the hook until you are both dead or until the loan is completely paid. On BOTH of your credit reports. Unless YOU, not him, since it will be your credit history and salary that will determine the terms of those private loans, can get some low interest rates by being a member of a great credit union or USAA, taking the Parent Direct loan (PLUS) would give you far more flexibility . The bottom line is that an 18 year old kid can rarely take out more in loans than what the federal government offers with Staffords and maybe Perkins. First year students get to borrow $5500 from Staffords, and Perkins amounts tend to be less and are only offered at certain schools. </p>
<p>Being in PA, you have some good state schools with PSU, Pitt and Temple. THis year PSU seems to be revving it up with some scholarships, but they are usually lean. Excellent honors college. Pitt’s honor college is also outstanding and they do have some very good merit awards. Temple, too, has an honors program and they have merit money. Some good choices there and with academics that go right up the highest difficult levels. No lack of challenge at those schools. </p>
<p>I know some families and kids who are in bad shape because of loans they can’t repay. You don’t want to put that monkey on his back.</p>
<p>I suggest you run a FAFSA sample EFC estimator and pick a school like UPenn and run a NPC to see what kind of aid you can expect on your financials. If you can’t afford what your family contributions are expected to be, your son needs to look at schools with merit money and those with lower sticker prices. No one is going to lend him $40K a year.</p>
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<p>S makes a very decent salary and has a working spouse in the same field. They don’t own a car, though they did get bikes. They ride them to work or take the free shuttle. They live in a very modest 1BR apartment (no A/C, no laundry, one closet, no granite countertops, no spa tub). Their rent is substantially more than our mortgage. What furniture they have is from IKEA. They wear jeans and t-shirts to work – same clothes they wore in college. Data phones are paid by their employer. No TV. They are currently saving for their wedding celebration, which will be a low-key DIY affair, but for which they are buying plane tickets/hotel accommodations so DIL’s family overseas can attend. They are also paying legal bills for DIL’s immigration attorney, paying expenses from emergency surgery, putting $$ in the 401(k) and saving for a down payment on a house, which in their area is a non-trivial task (and may well require them transferring to another part of the country in order to make happen). </p>
<p>They have talked to DH and I extensively about financial planning and long-term goals. They know that DH and I come from families that were constantly on the financial brink – and one dad was an Army officer, and the other a union electrician. We were both zero EFC, first gen college kids who have accomplished what we have without parental assistance. We didn’t buy our first house til we were 37 and the kids were in elem school because we had to pay $900/mo in student loans and $2000/mo in daycare, plus all the other expenses of a young family – in addition to saving for a down payment. </p>
<p>I am <em>thankful</em> my S thinks $261/mo is a substantial chunk of change, even on a good techie salary. DIL’s loans start in April and her payments are based on a % of her income. They’ll pay off faster, but it will be a much larger chunk of her income. S prefers to repay over ten years, as the value of his payments is more now than they will be later on, as the time value of $$ changes and he gets raises.</p>
<p>Before DIL started work, S1 found that things were tight on even one good salary. This was an excellent reality check for them going forward as they consider the financial impact of one parent staying home with small kids or going back for a PhD. They have spent a lot of time talking to us and asking for advice on budgeting and planning. They have their heads screwed on pretty straight about this stuff. Having witnessed my medical issues (lost income and lots of medical bills), they want to know how to avoid disaster should it strike. </p>
<p>If S2 lands something for $40k in our area after graduation, which is where the jobs in his field are: a) DH and I will be dancing in the streets; b) he’ll likely be living at home for a while. Between $250-275 in student loans, $1000/mo for a room in a shared townhouse, car insurance, utilities, groceries and a cheap car, he would be very strapped. A 1BR apt in this area (an hour’s commute from downtown) is $1200-1300/mo, and commuting by Metro is $15/day. Live close to work and drop the car, and the costs are about the same because rent will be much higher. Trying to pay off student loans within five years in this scenario is not feasible in a high COL area. </p>
<p>Neonzeus, I admire you for your love and devotion to your DH in the face of his illness. </p>
<p>We are all one or two steps from potential financial disaster. Medical bills can do it darned near overnight.</p>
<p>“I am not going to tell my 4.0, 2170 sat son he has to go to a community college or lessor college just because he doesn’t want to start life in debt. To me that is crazy.”</p>
<p>Not wanting to starting life in debt is is not crazy, it’s smart. Maybe not going into debt means going to a community college or “lessor” [sic] college, but that is hardly the end of the world. Those four years of college go by so fast, your head will spin. </p>
<p>I’m sure your son can get into a good college that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. This country has hundreds of choices when it comes to higher education, not just community college or expensive private college. And if he goes to community college for the first two years to save some money, he will not be the only smart kid there. I teach at a CC, and some of the students I have met over the years have been very impressive and have gone on to transfer to great universities and have great careers. The diploma on the wall is the same in the end, whether you go there for two years or four years.</p>
<p>And one more thing, they are humble.</p>