No matter what you do, if you are middle class with no extenuating circumstances college costs 20-30K?
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We are in the northeast, so more like $30,000 - $35,000. That’s in state, but my kids have managed to get OOS or private down to $33,000 or so with merit. Once we received the financials for one school we know it will be the same for all (similarly ranked schools, no reaches).
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I am in Northeast also, high cost of living area. Going by the 2 packages we have received. I am going to need to get another job.
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Depends on what “middle class” means, what colleges and their financial aid and scholarship policies, your state of residency, and whether there are suitable colleges in commute range and you are willing to have the student continue to live at home, and the student’s credentials as they relate to college admission and scholarships.
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D20 was accepted to a meets full demonstrated need, highly selective SLAC and because of their extraordinary generosity, she is attending for less than the cost of the nearest state school. I define us as “middle class”, living on one income and owning a home, but the school must consider us “lower income” since she is also the beneficiary of their no-loan initiative for families making under a certain amount. I guess that’s what happens when 25% of the students come from the top 1% in terms of wealth. We are very lucky and know this is a highly unusual outcome but it is possible to pay less, it’s gaining admission that is the challenge.
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I think COL is a factor. A family of 4 making under $68,000 a year is considered low income in my state.
Merit can bring that down significantly- and not just for top students, just maybe not at top colleges. Both of my kids received offers of full tuition merit scholarships, which would have brought costs down (before financial aid) to just room and board. Both girls’ offers were at schools where that would have been around $15,000 before any FA. My older daughter had higher test scores and more accolades, but my younger daughter got offers like that too and she has low test scores.
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There are FB groups like DIY College Rankings and Paying for College 101 that basically say your benchmark is your state flagship. That’s where most private colleges (not reach) will put you post merit. This is the rule of thumb; there are always exceptions. We live in PA so closer to that $30-35K range cited by @Mjkacmom.
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At least. If you are a solid middle to upper middle class family, it’s really a financial hit.
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Other parts of the country may be cheaper…and at some you can get in-state rates based on merit but then you have travel cost from the NE.
We’re in the Midwest and DD’19 is going to a directional public in which she is at the top of automatic merit chart and gets in-state rates. That puts her at $16-18K per year COA. Moving off campus sophomore year saved about $5K so we’re now running at about $12K. She works, uses savings, gets scholarships, and I chip in too and get $2500 back on taxes.
LOL 33 percent of your gross income isn’t a “real hit”?
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When our youngest applied to private LAC’s and we lived in NJ, the FA quotes left us needing to pay $30-37,000 . Rutgers would have cost $31,000 if I recall correctly, making it no more attractive.
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What do you mean my middle class? College tuition is free in New York if you make under $125,000 hhi with the Excelsior Scholarship, but room and board isn’t included. You need to graduate in 4 years and live in NYS for a period of time after you graduate, however. Still, it’s a pretty good deal. There are CUNY and SUNY students who pay very little to go to school, particularly if they can live at home.
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College costs after FA are all over the map for middle class. Without considering merit scholarships, cost could be near $0 to parents or it could be a sticker price of >$50k. For example, comparing NPCs for Harvard and SF Art Institute, with a $100k income and $200k in non-home/retirement assets, the reported net cost to parents (tuition + room + board + fees) is:
Harvard – $5k cost to parents
SF Art Institute – $69k cost to parents
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Yup. Mine got some very large scholarships and some not so large. Doesn’t matter. Cost comes out the same! She got $120k yesterday and when I looked at the school the tuition was $60k a year!
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If you have a high stats students, there is merit to chase at the lower ranked schools. My D got a full tuition scholarship plus a housing stipend at one of her safeties. It would have brought the cost down to $9K/year and she was eligible to apply for more scholarships to bring it down even further.
Many of her friends went to regional safeties with full rides or very close to it.
For the T100 schools more often spoken of here on CC, we found it difficult to get pure merit down below 40K/year.
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High stats would be an extenuating circumstance, no?
Son is 3.75 not top of his class scored 1160 Junior year unable to take again, lots of clubs NHS football etc, doesn’t matter my out of pocket for college is going to be 33 percent of my gross income last year.
I wouldn’t call high stats an extenuating circumstance but I see your point.
Also in PA and this is typical of what I’ve seen, esp without high stats or sports or whatever “hook.” It’s very difficult for some students to afford college without significant loans (beyond what the feds offer).
I am just saying, it’s not the norm.
My high achieving daughter went in state for practically free. That program has dried up since the virus. (Stockton used to basically tell you what your stats/test scores would get you on a president, dean or provost scholarship. 18k/10k/8k or something like that.