<p>mini - The IRS disagrees with you up through 2009. I haven’t seen numbers for 2010.</p>
<p>See above.</p>
<p>"the average Harvard full-pay is likely well over $350k/year. "</p>
<p>Average doesn’t mean much, You can have a kid named Gates or Buffet to increase average by 1 million easily.
median income is much more meaningful.</p>
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<p>However, full tuition aid can still leave a higher cost than what the most generous private schools offer to the same students. Of course, few students (from households of any income level) get admitted to the most generous private schools.</p>
<p>UCLA and Berkeley do have the highest Pell Grant undergraduate percentage of what USNWR considers the “top 25” schools (37% and 36%). Harvard and Stanford each have 17% Pell Grant undergraduates.
[Economic</a> Diversity Among the Top 25 Ranked Schools | Rankings | Top National Universities | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools]Economic”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools)</p>
<p>Among LACs, Williams has 19% Pell Grant recipients:
[Economic</a> Diversity Among the Top 25 Ranked Schools | Rankings | Top National Liberal Arts Colleges | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools]Economic”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-arts-colleges/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools)</p>
<p>Some CSUs are in the “regional universities” listing, with CSULB having 38% and Cal Poly SLO having 18% Pell Grant undergraduates:
[Economic</a> Diversity Among the Top 25 Ranked Schools | Rankings | Top Regional Universities (West) | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools]Economic”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/economic-diversity-among-top-ranked-schools)</p>
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<p>lol, the Huffington Post. Sure, OK. How about this: [The</a> Tax Foundation - Summary of Latest Federal Individual Income Tax Data](<a href=“http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html]The”>http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html) </p>
<p>A warning: it’s going to be a tougher read than the Huffington Post article, it’s got some annoying charts and numbers and math and stuff. :)</p>
<p>It is possible for both to be correct – the gains described by the Huffington Post article refer to gains from 2009 to 2010 (the beginning of the (slow) recovery), but the Tax Foundation data goes to 2009 (the fall to the bottom).</p>
<p>The way we got here: I pointed out that roughly the top 5% would be full-pays at Harvard, not just the top 1%, and that their AGI cutoff is more in the $150-$160k level. It’s kind of a fundamental misconception. Those working professionals/couples in the top 2%-5% really hate being lumped in with the “wealthy, billionaires and millionaires.” It’s not the same demographic at all.</p>
<p>^ true.
Also 200k in CA, NY is similar to 120k in TX, GA, etc.</p>
<p>Room and board at the two UCs I pay for runs between $9 and 11,000 per year. If you aren’t paying tuition that’s much cheaper than the $17,000 quoted for the middle class kid to go to Harvard. And a lot of kids commute to UCs and save the room and board expense.</p>
<p>Let’s take HYP, et. al out of the equation and just say that for kids in the top 25% of their class or so there are private schools all across the country that will come in at or lower than most state schools. I found this to be true even back when I was in college and has been true for all of our kids as well as pretty much everyone we know. For the more 50% and lower kids in a graduating class, that will not be the case and most likely the smaller state schools will be their best options.</p>
<p>Why focus only on Harvard?
There must be at least 25 private schools where a “middle class” student may well pay less than the cost of an OOS public flagship, or even an in-state flagship, to attend a more selective, more geographically diverse school with smaller classes and possibly better facilities. Of course it depends on how you define middle class and the details of your circumstances, not to mention what state you’re in and what you’re really looking for. </p>
<p>If you’re a median income family in California, Wisconsin or Michigan, not so much. With a family income more like $75K in Pennsylvania, Vermont or Massachusetts, an excellent student probably could attend most top-40 LACs for less than the cost of the in-state flagship. Mean need-based aid at Trinity (Hartford) for such a family would be about $45K. With that, you’d net out at a few thousand less than the cost to attend UConn after average need-based aid. Match up Dartmouth v. New Hampshire, Haverford v. Penn State, or Oberlin v. Miami U., and you may be looking at even bigger bargains favoring the private schools for that income level. Not that the average Penn State student could get into Haverford, or would even prefer it.</p>
<p>[And I see SteveMA already made much the same point as I was writing this]</p>
<p>But is a mid-level private like a Loyola or Seattle U really better than going to UW Seattle or UIUC for even a bit more??</p>
<p>Yes, in many cases the private schools are better. Even if they are on the same level, why not if it costs less? Personally, there are very few state schools around here that out perform most of the private schools. One state school is at the same level the rest are far below the private schools. There are certain programs at some of the state schools that are really good though.</p>
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<p>Massachusetts and the northeast region are not known for great public schools, but have a relatively large number of good and great private schools. It is understandable that a top student may feel kind of a letdown to have to attend a public school there, although they can be good for certain subjects.</p>
<p>Some other parts of the country (including California and Great Lakes area) have great public schools that would not necessarily feel like a letdown for a top student to attend.</p>
<p>But for the B+ student for whom the most selective schools are academically out of reach, more states have good suitable public schools, while the chance of big merit at the private schools (or admission to the private schools that are most generous with need-based aid) is less.</p>