Is it me or

Parents Forum
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I’ve been watching this thread. I agree the focus needs to be on whatever the primary goal is- cost? Football? Structure/residing on campus? After the primary, other considerations become secondary. Nice, if possible.

There are cheap colleges out there, if cost is primary. Perfect? No. (Though I wouldn’t reject them, if cost IS the driving factor.)

But it gets confusing when all the variables are allowed to swirl.

Eg, the car considerations. If you’d end up getting him a car/insurance anyway, wherever he goes, then that cost can be viewed as a separate decision.

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143

My daughter has fairly strong stats, but not elite - 1440 SAT and 3.95 UW GPA. They gave her $38k scholarship. Puts COA just under $30k. I believe $38k is the max level they offer.

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@PizzaDad100 congrats! Where?

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He wont be getting a car/insurance regardless, I cant afford it.

Marginally cheaper than where he stands right now, factor in travel etc… you are looking at 20K plus regardless.

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Please stop saying this. I and others have demonstrated otherwise, for the affordability thresholds you have given previously.

It’s true that there aren’t a lot of affordable options, and there aren’t any affordable options from among the colleges that folks on CC usually talk about, but that’s something quite different.

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Susquehanna University

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Because it’s true.

18K flying half way across country is not more affordable than 19K here.

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Not to mention, where we are, a lot of people don’t have 18K OOP to spend either. That’s an extra 1500 per month in their budget.

Top stat low income kids can get good packages at many schools. They can get in. Average or above average, but not top, stat kids often can’t get into places that meet need leaving a gap (at least in our state - PA).

College is not affordable for many. It’s why our state ranks as high as it does with student loans.

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NJ same. The Free CC program only applies top 15 percent of class. 3.75 1160 SAT leaves you at 20-30K no matter what you do

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How much would live-at-home and commuting costs be to a nearby community college? To the nearest state university?

Looks like NJ CC is about $5-8k tuition and books, while NJ state universities are about $16-18k tuition and books. So average probably around $11-13k if 2 years CC and 2 year university. After adding live-at-home and commuting costs, could be less than $20k, but not by that much, unless you get financial aid or scholarships. It would still likely be a “stretch” budget.

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Commuting would involve a car that he doesnt have and around an additional 1500 on my policy.

There is no commutable State U with his major.

So 12K for CC for 2 years
8 for a car
3K in insurance

25K for Stockton for 2 years (residential)

73K plus gas and maintenance on the car and whatnot. Its not the huge savings one would think it is.

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Youngstown State isn’t difficult to figure out.
Here are the federal stats:
https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?q=youngstown+state&s=all&id=206695#expenses

Total OOS COA is a shade under $24k and includes $4k of “other” expenses.

I have never included “other” expenses in my figuring. The school costs of tuition, fees, room & board is all I figure. I know about renting textbooks, I provide the kid laundry pods, and I don’t give my kid some “allowance” of $200 a week or anything like that. So there is no “other.”

The only “other” that counts for me is transportation. A few tanks of gas are not something I consider an onerous extra.

There’s a merit chart here:

Provost * Merit awards between $4,000 and $6,000 per academic year

  • Up to $24,000 four years *
    Out-of-state resident (excludes Affordable Tuition Advantage area)
  • 3.0 GPA
  • ACT 19 or SAT 990†

They also have test-optional scholarships of up to $3k
YSU has a tuition guarantee program; costs won’t go up.
The middle-50 range of stats is 970-1180 for SAT. Your kid would shine there, especially with his GPA.
It’s literally right across the state line from PA - a six hour, eight hour drive.

I honestly think you should consider it if Susquehanna doesn’t work out. Good luck, though, with that school.

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Are there no public transportation options?

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Not really, if I enter it into google 1 hour 54 minutes taking 2 buses for something that is like a 25 minute drive. The bus system is all arranged north south from trenton to camden. So he would have to go from here south to camden to catch a bus that goes back north to Mt Laurel.

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Direct Cost Calculation (Costs Paid Directly to YSU)

Estimated Total Tuition $25,095.00
Est Tuition and Fees $15,395.00
Est Room and Board $9,700.00
Estimated Grants and Merit Aid $8,000.00
Estimated Direct Cost (before loans)

Student Loan Eligibility*
Parent Loan Eligibility*|$17,095.00

$5,500.00
$16,239.00|

Youngstown is still gapping him and I 22K with loans with an EFC below 10K LOL.

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What you posted from YSU says your cost would be $17,095

Your son could borrow $5500 leaving you with a $11,595 OOP.

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Apparently my kid fat fingered the data entering it into the spreadsheet we were using

Albright is like 40.5K he received 22.5K in merit and grants so it comes in at 18ish and really makes traveling very far to chase a thousand dollars or so not that attractive.

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159

The quote function doesn’t seem to be working, so editing to make this readable…

@Creekland wrote:

Not to mention, where we are, a lot of people don’t have 18K OOP to spend either. That’s an extra 1500 per month in their budget.

Top stat low income kids can get good packages at many schools. They can get in. Average or above average, but not top, stat kids often can’t get into places that meet need leaving a gap (at least in our state - PA).

College is not affordable for many. It’s why our state ranks as high as it does with student loans.

Oh, I totally agree. The OP set a desired affordability threshold of <$20k/year before loans, though, and there are clearly options available for that price.

Others on this thread have mentioned the community college to 4-year institution path, which brings the cost down by quite a bit—there’s a reason it’s so widely used!

I’ve offered the very specific-to-the-OP example of Delaware State University, but @Billb7581hasn’t reacted to it for whatever reason. There are similar possibilities for people in most geographies in the United States, with the exception of some people in very isolated locations.

Also: I’m faculty at a university where the majority of our students are part time, taking courses half time or even less while they work, often full time. As a result, our 6-year graduation rate is abysmal (one of the lowest in the nation, no exaggeration!), but our 8-year graduation rate is pretty good and our 10-year graduation rate is pretty phenomenal. So if your desire is a degree, it isn’t even like you have to shoehorn it into four years! Now, you’d have to weigh the opportunity cost versus what a baccalaureate degree will get you, and it’s admittedly tougher in a higher in-state tuition place like Jersey, and there’s the stress of balancing school with work and other parts of life, but that doesn’t make it either impossible or unaffordable.

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160

It’s really not if you need a car insurance etc.

RCBC is 12K for 2 years you would transfer into Stockton (the cheapest instate, with less/unknown merit) for at least 25 to live there 2 years from now.

Figure in a car, and 1500 dollar insurance premiums annually and the savings isn’t that great.

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@Billb7581, so what about other options, like Delaware State or—and I recognize this is non-optimal, but life finds a way if a degree is the goal—attending half-time while working?

Or mass transit? I don’t know where you are in Jersey, but when I was an undergrad in Maryland (where I did the community college to 4 year institution thing, BTW), i took mass transit all but my last year.

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