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<p>Nope…deep south. :)</p>
<p>Though I gather that’s not an unusual situation in other states. Have had several people PM me that they’ve seen the same in their state.</p>
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<p>Agree…son feels like he has the best of both worlds - small honor college classes within a large university. His choice was very deliberate in this regard.</p>
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[quote} Saved hard, borrowed a little. One S attended a private school, one public. Both have gotten excellent educations. They are different kids; neither would have been happy at the other’s school.
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<p>Ditto to this and Marian post #33. I am grateful for the wonderful, generous LAC that allowed D to attend there for less than the cost of the public. But, I would like to point out, that the percentage of my income devoted for either the public or LAC is probably greater than it is for the wealthier family and I would send the kids to the same schools even if I hadn’t qualified for financial aid.</p>
<p>I have one going tuition free in the honors program at a flagship state U, one recent graduate from one of the most selective LACs in the country, and one who is at a relatively selective CTCL school (I mention the CTCLness of the school only to situate it in the academic hierarchy; CTCL is nothing more than a publicity gimmick). Income level enough not to qualify for need-based aid for one tuition, but qualifies for significant aid for three. The choices reflected a complex family dynamic.</p>
<p>Bottom line: my kids’ experience has confirmed what I thought going in. A school with very great prestige adds some value because of the rich and powerful people that a kid meets there, but probably not enough to offset the cost. The CTCL school adds no value at all in comparison to the flagship state U.</p>
<p>Interesting observation about the CTCL. We visited one based upon my son’s private counselor recommendation and were woefully unimpressed. Saw nothing there that we didn’t see at any of our LACs in state.</p>
<p>And in case anyone is wondering what CTCL is:</p>
<p>[Colleges</a> That Change Lives | Changing Lives, One Student at a Time](<a href=“http://www.ctcl.org/]Colleges”>http://www.ctcl.org/)</p>
<p>Our older one was a Presidential Scholar type kid, got into every school, huge amount of merit offered. We did pony up and pay for Harvard. It was a weird feeling for us as DH and I are public school educated. It just felt worth it to give our kid the chance at a college that was universally recognized. He’s graduated now and on his way in life and all I can say is we would do it again for our younger one, a hs senior sending out applications.</p>
<p>We think going to a college where no one was average or even high average but everyone is just like you—very smart and very focused—was good for our kid. Also, his opportunities having gone to a very famous and prestigious school have been pretty ridiculous.</p>
<p>Now, worth it for LACs or expensive privates down the food chain? I think you have to think about it. We may be in that position shortly with second one. I do think the prestige and reputation matter a good deal and need to enter into the thinking. It is not just about the fit and the nurturing environment. That was an era that has passed. Go ask the occupiers.</p>
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<p>I thought this was important as well.</p>
<p>S just graduated from an expensive ($44k - $50k) private LAC. We had saved enough to cover the first 5 semesters, he got some FA his senior year (when his younger sister was enrolled in college) and we borrowed the rest on a HELOC. Then we realized that interest rates had dropped so low we could refinance our first mortgage to a lower rate, roll the HELOC balance into the first mortgage, only add 2 years to our remaining mortgage payments and only increase our monthly payment by $5. It feels like we got his last 3 semesters for free (although I know we didn’t, it’s there in that extra 2 years of mortgage payments - but we’re used to making that payment). This only worked because we have lived in our house for 18 years, and never did a “cash out” refinance or did any major additions/remodeling.</p>
<p>D chose a less expensive ($34k - $38k) private college. We have saved enough for 4 years of tuition and the first 2 years of room and board. We have been putting money in her 529 plan all along, for her last 2 years we will stop contributing to the 529 and send that amount to D instead to cover her off-campus rent and food. If she goes to grad school as she plans, we’ll go to the HELOC again.</p>
<p>I think it helped that spouse and I both had zero debt with our own education. Neither sets of our parents had college themselves nor could afford to pay for us to go, so we both went to state schools on scholarships, ROTC and work study, then onto fully funded grad school and we lived off the stipend and didn’t borrow. We chose PhDs in fields that offer great employment and pay stupidly well. So a combination of hard work, luck of good IQ genes perhaps, and a LOT of random luck in the choices we made (that can’t necessarily be replicated). </p>
<p>So with exception of mortgage, neither of us carried debt and we earn enough to pay for any private college for two kids in real time. But alas, we moved to Canada and feel undergrad is just fine here at $6k a year. As we see it, its only undergrad and hardly the last of their education, and we’d rather put that tuition money onto something more useful- such as for professional school if they went that route, a downpayment on a house, start up funds for a business, or a buffer if they need it getting settled in the world of work. Oh so many things. </p>
<p>We both did PhDs at top privates, and have taught at top privates and now at publics. Some private schools very worth it if it’s a special fit for your kid and it offers something quite distinctive for them that you can honestly identify (besides some kind of generality around name or USNWR number). Otherwise not. In our case, for our kids, doesn’t make sense and I think we are in a position to judge. </p>
<p>Of course, we are all excellent at rationalizing our decisions, especially when most of us don’t have a lot to compare our choices to.</p>
<p>Our D is a HS senior and we don’t know where she’s going yet, but our EFC estimate indicates that we will be full-pay. We have saved, live in a smaller house than we could have bought, and have economized in other ways since she was born.</p>
<p>We are willing to pay full fare for a really wonderful LAC or highly prestigious nationally ranked university. We are not willing to pay for an expensive OK private university as opposed to a state flagship. For example, we will not pay for Boston University, Syracuse, or George Washington University over a state flagship. We will not pay for American University over the College of New Jersey.</p>
<p>we are currently paying for two Ss in private college and only one of us work. Before S1 went to college we made sure we are debt free incl. mortgage and cars, etc. so that we can handle the college costs. S1 will be debt-free when he graduates, but will have enough debt if/when he goes to medschool. S2 will have about 15k debt after college, but his medschool will probably be cheaper (at least we hope). With good FA from both colleges, our cost is not that much different from state flagships COA and we will end up paying roughly half while they are in college.</p>
<p>A big factor in value of college selection depends on intended major. So it can be hard when students are undecided. Also kids often change majors. The analysis is indeed easier when student seems set on major so you can compare at a program level, rather than just general college comparison.</p>
<p>Fwiw,American is much better then TCNJ…</p>
<p>S2 had the common sense to realize that there were several well-known schools in his match category that would not have been worth the $$$. He felt the flagship would be a better deal academically and financially in that scenario.</p>
<p>Going back to the OP’s question, I guess if you save from the day your child is born (although 529 plans in Illinois took a beating in the last couple of years) or are not well-off, or your kids’ are in the top 1% academically, you can realistically consider a private college.</p>
<p>Another things that will make the private college affordable is if a parent is employed there.</p>
<p>If none of those things apply to you, you can unrealistically consider one for your child, which is what we are considering.</p>
<p>Actually, if the net price calculators have any validity at all, it appears my D (who is nowhere near the top 1%) has several private options that will be less than our state flagship.</p>
<p>We, too, were comparing a California UC with a small private school. UC was about 20,000 students while the private school was 3500. As my DD is somewhat introverted, the large UC scared her. </p>
<p>The CA state budget is in the toilet and the tuition at the UC is going up by leaps and bounds. The private is also going up, but at a much slower rate. We did a cost comparison using this year’s budgets for both schools and for assuming that she would be in a dorm her freshman year and an apartment the rest of the time. The UC 4 year grad rate is rather poor for her intended major and after talking with several other parents and students from the UC we determined that it isn’t from lack of effort of the students, but from class availability (and it is getting worse). Our experience with our son was similar at Cal Poly SLO where it took him 5 years to get his BS. The private school had a very good 4 year grad rate. They also gave DD a fair amount of merit aid where she didn’t get any from the UC. Well, it turned out that 4 years at private school was actually ever so slightly cheaper than 5 years at the UC, basicaly no difference. However, with the tuition increases it could well turn out that the private is actually cheaper.</p>
<p>She decided on the private school and we couldn’t be happier with it. Everyone’s situations will be different, but I would rule out the private schools out of hand.</p>
<p>NJ sue, what universities/lacs would you be willing to pay fullfare for then?</p>
<h1>57: I prefer to define my answer in negative terms because I don’t want to insult anyone’s school and I probably shouldn’t have mentioned specific institutions above. We won’t pay for:</h1>
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<li>Places where our D will get a state school experience at a private school cost. </li>
<li>Places where there is no appreciable advantage to grad school admissions and job placement over going public, and no greater program opportunities or more qualified faculty. </li>
<li>I won’t pay full fare at a private to have my D instructed for the first two years by adjunct professors and teaching assistants.</li>
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<p>Everybody’s definition of value is different. Ours may not conform to another family’s. There are places where, if D gets merit aid, we could pony up the difference. American falls into that category.</p>
<p>Publics are not the relative bargain they once were. My son goes to Chapel Hill and has gotten, so far, a great education. But, I see the legislature slashing the UNC budget and tuition prices continue to increase. The private my DD attends is by far the better bargain.</p>
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<p>What do you mean by “state school experience” in this context?</p>