<p>Okay, so I know there are a million of these threads and I assure ya'll that I've read through them. However, I just wanted to try presenting my circumstances and see what comes of it. My mum and dad have been decidedly unhelpful with this bouncing off of ideas and I could use some help. ^_^ Thanks for you time.</p>
<p>Anyway, for anyone that's been somewhat following my posts, I've had a bit of a college rollercoaster. So far I've gotten into five of the six schools I applied to (Linfield, Lewis & Clark, Western Washington University, Central Washington University, and Reed) and am still waiting for the last (Whitman). I recieved a terrible aid package from L&C and had to knock it off the list. On the other hand, I recieved an incredibly generous aid package from Linfield. However, after my visit to Linfield I realized that it just wasn't what I was looking for in a school. I'm a very academically oriented person and have gone through heck in high school because of the academic apathy of my peers. At Linfield their major comment about academics was, "oh, the academics are okay but its kind of annoying because they make us read sometimes". I may have just had a bad visit, but this kind of attitude immediatly terrified me. </p>
<p>Anyway, I got into Reed and was cautiously ecstatic. I've heard that Reed often gives very small aid packages to freshman and absolutely no merit aid. Since my average aid package (without the merit aid) at other schools was about 3k in loans I was sure Reed would not be an option. However, in a surprising turn of events, Reed gave me a 2.5k subsidized loan and a 13k grant. However, this still leaves about 26k that needs to be covered. My family is definitely not rich and we're in a heckload of debt, so my dad is very very nervous about my attending a school that costs this much, however, I think that the investment is worth it looking at the kind of education and options a school like Reed provides. And, unlike some of the people I've seen on the forum, my other options are much lower ranked (for as much as rankings matter), have much lower rates of getting people into grad school, and have academics that are considered no where near Reed's (I'm not counting Whitman as an option until I hear from them regarding acceptance). </p>
<p>So, my question is, is going to a school like Reed worth the 26k difference versus a school like Linfield where it would be about 13k to attend?</p>
<p>Am I misunderstanding the $$ difference? Isn't there a $13K difference between Reed and Linfield? I don't know Linfield, but I would have to agree that there is great value in going to a school where the atmosphere is in respect of academics and the academics are sufficiently challenging. If you are sure that Linfield is lacking in that aspect, I wouldn't choose it. There ARE schools where academics are not the reason folks are there, and it seems that would be a very bad fit for you. I just don't know about Linfield, per se. $26K well spent is a better investment than $13K wasted, at a school which doesn't suit you, if it can at all be managed.</p>
<p>Jmmom: Thanks for your advice! Sorry for being unclear. Basically, after aid Linfield would cost about 13k a year and after aid Reed would be 26k a year. So, year, Reed costs about twice as much.</p>
<p>Have you tried asking L&C to reevaluate your aid package? Do they have any merit aid that you might qualify for? Do they know that you're considering Reed? Knowing that you got into Reed might cause them to give you more aid since I think that Reed is more highly regraded than is L&C.</p>
<p>I'll admit to a bias up front on this one. I'm a Reed grad (from a previous era). I agree with your assessment of Reed in comparison with the others strictly on academic grounds. Also, as a general point you can't get a better education anywhere else (though in some specialties you might prefer other schools), and if you do expect to go on to an advanced degree Reed is a great setup for that.</p>
<p>But what you're looking at here is $52,000 over four years, not just $13,000. And this doesn't take cost increases into account (assume roughly 5% per year), which would mean a total of about $56,000. Of course, your family's income could perhaps be expected to go up as well, but it's still helpful to think of the total sum, while realizing it's only an estimate.</p>
<p>To be honest with you, I don't think that's a huge number -- for your lifetime of earnings -- for the quality difference, but you have to figure out among other things whether you can even swing this deal in terms of cash needs. It's possible that Reed will be able to reduce the gap just a bit if you press them and make clear that you would definitely accept Reed if they could help a bit more.</p>
<p>When we were trying to figure out how to cover our own kids' college costs, we figured we had an ace in the hole -- home equity refinancing, which fortunately we didn't get into -- but every family has a different situation.</p>
<p>Northstarmom: I think she likes Reed. Whitney, from your post I gather that your parents are OK with 13 K.....can you split the difference with them? You take out 5k more in loan and they give you 18k.</p>
<p>Northstarmom: Oooh! Thanks! I hadn't thought about trying that. ^_^</p>
<p>Mackinaw: There's a really high probability I'll be going for an advanced degree, which is one of the things that intially attracted me to Reed (that and the atmosphere). I have no idea what direction I want to go and have a whole sleuth of possible interests, but I thought that an excellent school like Reed would really provide opprotunitiy no matter which direction I go.</p>
<p>One thing I forgot to mention about the money is that I have a rich uncle (like, he may be a multi-millionaire... no one knows XD) who's married to my aunt. My aunt has always acted as a second mother to me and I'm sort of her surrogate daughter (she never wanted kids). They REALLY want to help me get through college. My dad is still being totally blind to that offer, but I'd be willing to ask to borrow any difference between what my dad is willing to pay and the cost of the school. Basically, my aunt and uncle would be willing to foot the entire bill for the school if my dad wasn't in the way. :p I just need to convince my dad its worth it.</p>
<p>I'm sort of hesitant to ask Reed to close the gap any more since they've already given me an aid package far better than I really should have been given.</p>
<p>Simba's idea is great. $5k/year you can cover... even if you pay NOTHING towards that, it's about $20k in debt, which is the max that I would recommend. Do some work-study, budget your money, and you can probably come out $10k in debt (you can work summers and during the year and put $2,500 annually towards college). </p>
<p>I usually do NOT advocate going into debt for undergrad, esp. since you are probably considering grad school. However, if you HATE Linfield, you're not going to get anything out of it. </p>
<p>Ask Reed for more (or even work-study), ask your parents what the max they will give you is, and go from there. Assume that you can put about $3k/year towards tuition while in school (I would rather go conservative on this) and, at the end, if the debt remaining at the end of four years is in the $10k-$15k range, go for Reed. It will be money well spent.</p>
<p>IM (not at all humble) O, if you got that sense from Linfield, you won't like it. The gut can be pretty strong, and very accurate.</p>
<p>simba: I think I got my dad to say that 18k would be fine. (He's being really weird about this whole entire thing). Would 5k a year as a loan be too much, or would it be reasonable for someone to handle post-graduation?</p>
<p><em>is incredibly underinformed when it comes to this sort of thing</em></p>
<p>ariesathena: Thanks for the input. I've been trying to convince my dad how strong my gut feeling was after the overnight (I liked the school during the tour and when he was around) but he just seems to think I'm flip-flopping for arbitrary reasons. And, thanks for the advice. I'm definitely going to try and work as hard as I possibly can to cover as much of my part as I can. </p>
<p>I'm also still looking for some small community scholarships that I would qualify for. ^_^</p>
<p>I hope your Dad will get over his reluctance about this. All families have different situations. We also got help to pay for our kids' educations, namely from the grandparents, who actually volunteered the funds (about 25% of the total). There's no shame in that for anybody. College is just so darn expensive these days.</p>
<p>$5k/year is completely fine. Quick math (erring on conservative side):</p>
<p>Work-study is about 8 hours a week, and you'll get about $6/hour after taxes. -> $48/week
25 weeks during the school year -> $1,200/year</p>
<p>Summer employment: 12 weeks, and what you'll earn will vary, but I'll assume $10/hour (which is what temp work pays). $400/week, $4,800/summer, then taxes -> $3,500/summer</p>
<p>So you can reasonably earn, after taxes, about $4,500/year (I might have guessed too high on taxes, but this is all fairly conservative). You can put 1/2 that towards your education... which, as I said earlier, puts you in the $2,500/year range of debt, which then gives you $10k total when you graduate.</p>
<p>At 5% interest, that will cost about $13k to pay off. That's roughly $100/month for 10 years, which should be do-able.</p>
<p>Forgot - grad school - even if you go straight, $10k isn't that much to throw on top of grad school debt. one of my friends, between undergrad and masters, is already $50k in debt - and he has to put about $110k in law school debt on top of that. Not recommended!</p>
<p>when you say the investment's worth it, do you really mean good 'ol Mom and Dad need to pony up more for your benefit? Or do you mean that if you think it is worth it you will make up the difference, above and beyond what is comfortable for them?
Youngsters often think of college as nothing more than the next step of education- just like going from 5th to 6th grade, or 11th to 12th. They think M and D will pay for it, then they'll go. Some even try to paint the picture that it is an investment, and compare it to buying stocks. Not exactly true. If I(Dad) buy stocks, it is because I belive I can sell them for more later, that's an investment. If I buy stocks, but in someone else's name[paying for a childs education] that is not an investment- That's a gift!
I might do it, I might not, but as a gift. An investment is when the student puts his own money into his own education in expectation of his own higher earnings after school.
As you've grown up, have your parents promised you for years they would pay for any college you schose to attend? Or was it even discussed as you grew up? Perhaps it never entered you mind until you were a junior or senior, that for many money available to families has limitations.
If I sound hard on you, it is because I was one of those students years ago.
I just assumed I'd pick a school, get accepted, then Mommy and Daddy would pay. I was soundly disappointed. I am pleased that my wife and I have gently expressed to my son that our money for his education is a gift, but has its limits.</p>
<p>Ask Reed for more money. They might say no. They might say yes. Hey - it's only money. What have you got to lose? How do you know what you "really should have been given"? Don't ask, don't get.</p>
<p>5k a year in loans is doable (actually, close to average for financial aid students going to good LACs.) </p>
<p>ariesathena: Thank you for breaking all that down! It helps a lot!</p>
<p>younghoss: Thank you for your comments! They didn't seem hard at all and I"m glad to hear them. This may sound crazy, but my teachers have talked about how "college-fit" I am since like... early elementary school. I've talked with my parents about college for YEARS and my dad made it clear that I shouldn't make money a deciding factor. Then he said he'd definitely pay half, no matter where I end up. I think he just assumed nothing would be more expensive than Linfield and now he's come to me with a whole sleuth of values. </p>
<p>And, you're right on the wording. ^^ I meant that Reed would be a good investment for my 20k or whatever I borrow to go there. </p>
<p>mini: Thank you for your comments! I'm also rooting for Whitman. ^_^</p>