<p>I'd like to hear from any parents whose kids chose bigger name schools over scholarships or state schools on how much the choice is affecting them. I was accepted to a fairly prestigious school but am also being offered Regents + Alumni scholarships at certain UCs. My dad says that the money is there and not to worry about it, but my family lives pretty frugally. My mom drives a car that is about as old as me and we also support my aunt, uncle, and cousins who live with us. When I go grocery shopping, we very rarely buy anything that is not on sale and we certainly don't buy any designer/name brand clothing/purses like a lot of my classmates do.</p>
<p>My parents saved money for my college tuition and that is probably why we are not getting much in the way of fin aid, but I would like to hear from parents how the money being spent on college has affected them personally. Especially in matters such as retirement savings and other venues the money could have gone toward. Do you still feel secure for retirement having spent the money on college tuition? Any info would be appreciated as I'm fairly sure my parents wouldn't let me know if the money being spent on college would substantially affect their retirement or savings. My concern basically is that I know the money could go elsewhere, so I wonder if it's worth it. Thanks for any help!</p>
<p>Luckyducky, when I read your post, I saw a lot of intelligence coming through. $200,000 is a lot of money. It sounds like $200,000 would make a big difference in your family. If you would be happy at a UC, I would save your family the money. </p>
<p>The UCs are pretty prestigious in Calif. (A couple are pretty prestigious worldwide). You do get perks with the Regents scholarships. When I read your post, I thought, this person will do well wherever he/she goes to college.</p>
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<p>My dad says that the money is there and not to worry about it<<</p>
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<p>I would take your Dad at his word and decide on the schools based on where you really want to go and not on the sticker price. However, if you like the expensive school only slightly more than the UCs, choose a UC. But if the fit gap is big, well be thankful you have a dad who has prepared for your education and made the choice possible.</p>
<p>Your situation sounds much like ours (I'm the dad in this case), and we saved, invested, and lived frugally for the sake of my daughters' education. It sounds like your dad has done the same. Would $200K come in handy? Sure, how could it not? But your dad had made his own choice about where to put the money.</p>
<p>I would second coureur's feeling. We decided on an expensive school over full rides at second tier school.</p>
<p>Is it woth it? Interms of dollars and cents - no. Will it make our child $200 K better than others? - no. But, we decided to give him the best opportunity without expecting too much in return for the $.</p>
<p>Take your dad's word. you and he won't regret the choice.</p>
<p>lucky, the Dale and Krueger study has confirmed that where you will be attending will likely have little impact on your post-grad success in life. I commend you for considering the implications this decision will have on your family and I commend them for sacrificing so much for your education.</p>
<p>My own experience is only anecdotal as will be any other story, however here goes. I attended Ohio State where I had a wonderful time and received a wonderful education. I then went directly to Cornell for graduate school in engineering and have been in academe for many years. Years later I have a closer bond to OSU than I do for Cornell. My family did not have the financial means to afford a private college and we were not as saavy to realize that there may have been need based aid offered by many of these colleges. So I attended a university they could reasonably afford, took out college loans totalling about $1200/yr(this was in the mid-late 60's) and was enormously greatful to be attending a university which offered me so many new opportunities.</p>
<p>I am convinced that my happiness was positively impacted by OSU and that my successes would not have been any greater if I had attended a more selective college or university. I now recognize that happiness, academic success and achievement does not depend on the college itself but one's attitude.</p>
<p>I cannot tell you what choice to make. However I can assure you that if you go off to college with optimism, high personal expectations and an attitude of gratitude for the opportunities you will encounter there, you will almost certainly have a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>When it became obvious that my daughter was a competitive candidate at top schools, it was important TO ME that my daughter make her college choice without regard to finances. There isn't anything else I'd rather spend the money on. Your parents probably feel the same way.</p>
<p>You should remember that with the luck of good health you'll have the next 30 or 40 years to pay back your parents -- I'm not talking about money.</p>
<p>If they have saved for your college, it's because it was more important to them than driving a Lexus. Take your father's statement at face value.</p>
<p>I agree with audiophile - we saved so that our S could go to the any college, no matter the cost. He is picking his dream college in lieu of the state school - didn't even apply to any of the free ride NMF schools. All of our research indicates that his choice is an excellent fit for his personality and educational objectives. That's worth every penny. My husband is semi-retired and we are in the process of planning our joint retirement down the road with the college expenses in mind. Every family has different priorities on where money should be spent - housing, vacations, etc. Your family apparently puts education high on the list and that's great. Don't feel guilty and believe your parents! You're only 18 - if they tell you not to worry then believe them. Also keep in mind that as your parents spend down their college savings your EFC will drop - maybe putting you in range of financial aid in a year or two. That's our hope, anyway!</p>
<p>Yes, Dale Krueger showed little difference. It is worth noting, however, that higher ed has changed since the days when their study cohort entered college. How? It is much more stratified, both economically and by ability. Although a few flagship state universities, like Berkeley, Michigan and U. VA still draw top students, most see far fewer top students than they did when we parents went to college a generation ago. (although one should note the impact of selective recruitment of top students at schools like Georgia and Florida?)</p>
<p>My point is that a very strong student has a real risk of social and academic isolation at a large state U. Whether this matters is a personal decision. It was the reason my own D passed up a full ride at a well known state U two years ago. She emphatically did not want to be one of the top students at the school. </p>
<p>luckyducky, I just want to point out that just because your parents live in a frugal style does not necessarily mean that they are not financially secure. Living frugally may be in their nature, and may have helped them to get to the point where they are today! </p>
<p>To ask whether or not it's worth it is a relative question. To a few people who pay full ticket price, college tuition is like spending spare change while to others it represents a lifetime of sacrifices. Certainly there is a level of security that no family should give up and one can't always predict the future, either. But with a caring and concerned child such as yourself, your folks are already ahead of the game!</p>
<p>If you didn't use the money for undergrad school, would your parents let you use it for grad school. I am asking because many parents save for undergrad but then the kid has to take out loans for grad school.</p>
<p>I am hesitant because even tho parents are encouraging this, I am concerned that they haven't thought about grad school. They may be unaware how necessary grad school has become. If the 200K is spent now, where will the money for grad school come from. Many parents just say, after paying for the B.S., you are on your own.</p>
<p>This kid needs to talk to his parent about grad school and how that will be paid for. Again, many parents do NOT know that grad school has become "expected" in many professions.</p>
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the Dale and Krueger study has confirmed that where you will be attending will likely have little impact on your post-grad success in life.
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<p>Actually, the Dale and Krueger study, which needs to be replicated a few more times before I will believe its most cited conclusion, said that the undergraduate school DOES make an economic difference for students from low-income backgrounds. Yes, rich kids can go on to being rich adults wherever they go to school, but for poor kids an elite school can be a big boost to future opportunities. That's what the study said, and that is a very plausible result. If the original person who posted ("OP") comes from a low-income family, the OP is just the sort of student who can most benefit from going to a more elite school.</p>
<p>Well, there are two possibilities: either your parents need the $200k for retirement, or they don't. Either way, unless they are extremely rich (and you seem to indicate they are not), I would use the same line of reasoning.</p>
<p>If they have the $200k to give you, ask what you are buying with that $200k if you choose the "fairly prestigious" school over the one at which you are not spending $200k. What exactly are your purchasing? If you had an extra $200k in your pocket, would you spend it on the "quality differential" between the two schools, or on 3 trips to Europe plus two years living free learning to paint in Italy or on an archaelogical dig in Greece, a downpayment on a fairly big house, a entire medical school education paid for, a used Bentley? </p>
<p>If, on the other hand, the money is not "free to give", $200k in educational loans at 8% interest, if you could get it (you can't), comes to $2,430 a month, every month, for the next 10 years (and yes, you have to start paying as a freshman - if you wait until after you graduate, you've got to add roughly $70k in interest on top of that - so it's closer to $2,900 a month.) It's a lot of money - do you know precisely what it is you are buying?</p>
<p>This is not a difficult exercise - it's just the numbers are big - far larger than any 18-year-old can be expected to make good sense out of. But it is rather like going to the grocery story to buy dinner: you can get catfish fillets or the lobster. If you take the lobster, there may be no money left for vegetables, bread, or wine. But you might decide that the experience of lobster is worth it.</p>
<p>What? We parents have to worry about our kid's graduate school? </p>
<p>We'll foot the whole enchilada for undergrad, but graduate school is something they can work out on their own. Giving them the leg up by ensuring that they will have a BS without any debt is plenty of head start, I figure (not to mention, we have a younger sib who is 5 years behind the older sib).</p>