<p>I'm talking about middle class, finish-college-in-four-years people. How is it possible? </p>
<p>A lot of people say that state schools are the cheapest option- how? Even for my in-state public schools, I would be drowning in debt. The only way I can even pray to not be 30k+ in debt is to apply to small, prestigious LACs I probably can't even get into. </p>
<p>For example, 60% of University of Delaware's students come from out of state. Out of state tuition + board for Delaware is 40k, how can any middle class family afford that? Do most people just save up for 18 years?</p>
<p>People pay for college with past income(savings), current income and future income(loans) and they choose a school the family can afford. Most college students in this country commute to a local CC or 4-year U. Many work and attend part-time.</p>
<p>If money is an issue and a student can’t get into the schools with the best aid or get the big merit, then they commute to their local state school…or commute to a CC and then commute to a state school. </p>
<p>Most people can’t afford to “go away” to college.</p>
<p>Have a financial plan is the key. Saving for 18 years is a start. You can’t expect to pay for college out of current income.</p>
<p>Like I said, state school is still so expensive. Even commuting to my big state school would cost more than going away to a small LAC.</p>
<p>I don’t compare myself to others. I could care less how other people afforded a school. I worry about what I can afford. Now there are some people who go to their dream school they really can’t afford and take out parent plus loans or their parents take out private student loans.</p>
<p>But the average debt for students out of college is 21,000…that means they’re didn’t take out all the Stafford loans they could have.</p>
<p>I’ll be attending an OOS college next year.
My family has saved all my life, I am applying for a million and one scholarships, I’ve worked since I was 16 and saved everything, and we are applying for financial aid.
Keeping my grades up in hs and doing well on the ACT has been monumental in receiving merit scholarships.</p>
<p>We have been saving for our kids college since they were little. At that point we couldn’t save much but we always tried to put something aside. As the years went on we were able to up the amounts put into their accounts. By the time they enter college they will each have about $45k. And we will continue to contribute while they are in college. We can probably pay $20-25k per year. (If we try really hard, maybe $30k). Our plan is to limit the loans to the $27k per kid federal loan amount. One wants to go into engineering, the other into business (accounting maybe) so we are hoping they will be able to pay their loans off without too much trouble.</p>
<p>
Great job on savings!</p>
<p>Like I said, state school is still so expensive. Even commuting to my big state school would cost more than going away to a small LAC.</p>
<p>How do you know that? How do you know what aid you’d get at a small LAC? </p>
<p>What is your EFC? What LAC?</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids- I know that because for every college I look at, I use their net price calculator. I have the results from any college I’m interested in emailed back to me. I compare prices. The net price for me commuting to my local state is 12,000- every LAC on my list is by thousands cheaper than that.</p>
<p>If you’re getting LACs at under 12K, GO! I’d be happy dancing like crazy if d’14’s list colleges were that inexpensive. </p>
<p>I could afford to pay more than that, but sharing my strategies won’t help anyone else. They can’t go back in time and start saving. They may not be willing to look at schools with no brand recognition. They may not be willing to work at my salary to have a job that can come with tuition benefits.</p>
<p>What is your FAFSA EFC?</p>
<p>What LACs are those?</p>
<p>and what is your local state school?</p>
<p>But the average debt for students out of college is 21,000…that means they’re didn’t take out all the Stafford loans they could have.</p>
<p>This is just an average. Some people took out higher, some took out lower and who really knows what they are basing it on. </p>
<p>Let us know what your EFC is and schools you are looking at?</p>
<p>It definitely takes discipline/sacrifice. We actually even started saving before our first was born. We thought we were in great shape, until later we had triplets. Then the saving really became one of our priorities!</p>
<p>Well, I confess that I did not save a dime for my kids’ college. I was too busy feeding and clothing them. I blew it. I was really not prepared for the sticker shock. When I went to Cal State LB in the late 70’s, I paid for tuition and my room and board with a minimum wage job. Can’t do that today. So, my oldest kids went to community college, then transfered. I paid for their room and board out of current income and just adjusted my budget and my hubby and I took additional part time jobs to help pay for it. Oldest kids also worked for their spending $. My youngest two, thank goodness, both got full tuition honors scholarships- one to Cal Poly Pomona, the other to Pitt. As for their room and board- again, paid/paying with current income and cutting back at home. We don’t do vacations, we drive old cars, not many dinners out other than fast food, not many extras, etc. Price we pay for not having saved. Of course, we/they could take out loans, but chose not too. Would rather suffer now than later.</p>
<p>@mom2collegekids- …none of that information is actually any of your business. I didn’t start this thread asking people what schools I can afford to go to, I asked how they afforded it.</p>
<p>Calm down. Just trying to figure out how the LACs would cost so little, but it sounds like you’d get no aid commuting to a local public. That doesn’t sound right. If your EFC were so low that you’d get mega aid (grants, student loans, work study) at these other schools, it would seem like you’d get some aid from your local state school. </p>
<p>*Can I be done with tweaking my list yet- chances please?
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<p>Colby College
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*</p>