<p>Our daughter J was just accepted at ND for Fall 2011. I've never seen her as happy as when she opened up the ND acceptance letter. We visited the campus this past summer. She loved it! ND became her dream school and first choice, although she's very undecided about a major. Shes also been accepted to the honors programs at the U of Minnesota, UW-Madison, and Marquette). She says she'd be relatively happy at these other schools, but says they don't compare to ND. Says she'd be sad, but would understand, if we couldn't afford it.</p>
<p>We got our financial package from ND yesterday: we are responsible for 41K of the 55K for tuition, room and board, etc. In the short term, the numbers tell me that its a no brainer: At 15-20K less a year, she can also probably graduate in three years from the U of M or UW-Madison (PSEO and AP credit), while at ND, shed graduate in 4 years. We potentially could do some heavy budgeting revisions involving some loans and contributing much less to retirement plans, but is it worth it? At the same time daughter #2 coming up the ranks three years from now. THAT BEING SAID, Ive heard that the ND experience is quite extraordinary, the ND network of alumni is very strong in helping find future employment, and that there are those who swear by the experience and feel its worth the investment. </p>
<p>Would anyone comment on the value of the ND education? Is there anyone who would justify ND's cost to us of approximately 41K per year x 4 years versus solid states schools (honors programs) U of Minnesota or Wisconsin-Madison at approximately 3 years x 25K? </p>
<p>We have a couple more weeks to make a decision. Appreciate your thoughts!</p>
<p>If your multi-child family is unable to reasonably afford the ~$90,000 difference, then it would be unreasonable to go into that kind of debt.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is an excellent school that provides an excellent education; however, no school is worth that much debt, nor is it worth ruining your retirement or screwing things up with your other daughter.</p>
<p>The other choices are also very good schools (especially with honors programs), and would be more reasonable financial choices. It is unfortunate when the system makes people turn down their dream schools over money, but sadly that’s a reality, and ridiculous sums of money owed are not the right way to go about it.</p>
<p>Perhaps you should take your daughter to each of the other schools. I have a feeling that, once she’s been a student at one of them for a bit, she’ll start to love it.</p>
<p>If you have to ask this question, then the answer is probably “no,” FOR YOUR FAMILY. Some families can take a “break” from retirement plan funding because they have already put aside a tidy sum, or because they are young and years away from retiring, or because they have a lot of home equity that can be tapped for retirement living expenses, or because they have only one child to put through college. But that doesn’t seem to be your situation. And if there is any chance of your daughter attending law/medical/business school, you will both want to conserve your resources for the necessary loans for those programs. Try running your daughter’s expected debt load on one of the online calculators to see what her monthly payments would be upon graduation, if you need some further information to help you decide.</p>
<p>Having said that, I have to ask why you’re just figuring out NOW, after the acceptances are in and your daughter has fallen in love with ND, that you have a very high EFC and ND might not be affordable for your family. Was there a difference between the EFC you estimated and what ND’s financial aid office came up with?</p>
<p>Thanks Clairemarie. We’ve actually been putting away for retirement at a pretty good rate for the past several years, so we are planning to shift some of the funding for college anyway. We also have about a semester’s worth of Notre Dame tuition/room and board put away in her 529 plan, which equals a year’s worth at Wisconsin or Minnesota. So it’s not so much that we couldn’t make this happen, but rather is the 90K difference worth it for a ND undergraduate education. </p>
<p>When we started visiting colleges this past summer, ND was one of seven that we chose to all give us a better idea of the different options out there. This is our first of two daughters, so we really didn’t get into the EFC calculations until after our visits and after some of the applications were submitted. I appreciate your comments.</p>
<p>The first question you have to ask is “Would DD flourish at the other schools?” If the answer to that is yes, then you have great options.</p>
<p>The Honors Programs at those state schools have fine reputations. If she works hard and takes advantage of the opportunities, I think her resume would compare well with a ND graduate. I would be particularly impressed with someone that was able to finish early, or perhaps expanded the breadth of her education.</p>
<p>I feel ND is special, but not necessarily for an advantage in the job market. Corporate recruiters are very happy with the talent from established state schools. There is a recent WSJ article that put Penn St., Texas &M and Purdue (top 3?) at the top of the list. The Ivies started appearing in the twenties. </p>
<p>My DS is a junior and will be pursuing an admission to ND next year. I understand the emotions that are at play. Good luck in your decision.</p>
<p>I think a significant factor in the decision would be her major, but you mentioned she was undecided.</p>
<p>Only your family can decide whether it is manageable, but that being said, she could also work and take out some loans to make the tuition more manageable. There are jobs on campus that would not only help her after graduation but also help with the tuition costs. Often when kids work for part of their tuition it makes them appreciate the education even more. If her heart is set on ND I doubt the other programs, though fine, would ever compare in her mind. There has been a study, too, that showed a Notre Dame education gives an excellent return on investment.
Also, when your other daughter gets ready for college, you might get more financial aid from ND, since they understand your obligations increase. You also might call the financial aid office and see if they could sweeten the deal a little now.
Good luck with your decision.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is ranked 10th nationally for best return on investment- that is, average earnings of graduates over 30 years after graduation compared to the cost of attendance. So over the next several years it may take a good chunk of out-of-pocket money but in the long-run evidence suggests it will be more than worth it.</p>
<p>Another factor to consider, while your daughter could graduate in 3 years at a state school, if she takes 4 years at ND her 4th year will be half cost when your 2nd daughter is starting school. Having two kids in school simultaneously means your EFC is divided by two for both, so actually her last year at ND and your 2nd daughter’s first year at wherever will be cut to 1/2 your EFC.</p>
<p>"Having two kids in school simultaneously means your EFC is divided by two for both, so actually her last year at ND and your 2nd daughter’s first year at wherever will be cut to 1/2 your EFC. "</p>
<p>CJester,
Not entirely accurate. EFC for my son when he alone was at ND the past 2 years was around $30,000. Now that my D will be attending next year the EFC in each aid package was $20,000. So $30K for one and $40K for two.</p>
<p>Juldad - I am in the exact boat that you are. My daughter fell in love with ND last summer at a leadership conference she attended. I visited with her a couple of months ago and saw why she loves it. She also has several full rides at good private schools as well as state schools. However, she really wants ND but I am worried about the financial side. We did not get anything except a small loan and work study. We also have a younger daughter who will be going to college in 6 years. We are older so our years for saving for retirement are getting shorter and paying for tuition will not allow us to save. This is so frustrating but my heart tells me to send her to ND. We will probably make a significant sacrifice and send her there. I am curious to know what you are going to do.</p>
<p>Nafmom - I can totally relate to what you’re going through. After a couple weeks of emotion and contemplation at our household, I was able to present to my wife how we could make this work financially. It won’t make the most short term financial sense for us, but it’s really our daughter’s first choice by far and ND is where we think she will fit in best. I’ve continued to talk to other parents, who sent their kids to ND and were in similar situations as us. Those we’ve spoken to did not regret the decision. I’ve also read about a lot of the students’ experiences on this website and got a lot of helpful replies. Seems like the great majority of those attending ND really have had special experiences.</p>
<p>Up to this point, we think we have been pretty responsible in regards to our finances, so we told ourselves that our daughter has really worked hard through high school, and that if we believe she will appreciate her studies at ND and make the most of it, we will make it happen for her. We told her that she will have to help in this endeavor by doing some work-study, working during the summer, and applying for private scholarships. We think we can do this without lessening our planned support for our second daughter, and still saving some for retirement, but certainly not as much as before. So unless something unexpected happens, our daughter will be confirming her acceptance in the next couple of days. So I guess, “Go Irish!”</p>
<p>Good luck to you and your family’s decision-making. I know there are a lot of factors that go into this and it’s not easy. (I started taking a bag lunch to work to make myself feel better.)</p>
<p>Thanks Juldad - we have stll not made up our minds but are leaning towards sending her to ND. I am just scared because of the current state of the economy and bleak outlook for improvement. We did not get any aid at all so we need to foot the entire COA. It will definitely make a huge dent on our savings. We are thinking of looking into some loans, paying a portion from savings, and the balance paid over the 10 month installment plan. Any ideas you may have please share them. Did your package include loans?</p>
<p>nafmom,
just a heads up if you didn’t already know. The 10 month payment plan STARTS on May 1st.
ND’s actual bill comes out in July so you need to establish your payment and it can be adjusted if you pick up any additional scholarships etc. between now and the start of school.
FA office quoted me $52,805.00</p>
<p>Ksqdomer- wow I did not know the payments started on May 1! Since we have not made a final decision, we have not sent the deposit yet. I am still stressing over the price tag and are working with finaid still. Don’t know what to do.</p>
<p>Nafmom- by any chance did your daughter attend the Global Issues Seminar @ Notre Dame? If she did attend this seminar, did she like it? Our child will be attending the program this summer. I would love hear feedback from any parents who have children that attended the seminar.
Good luck with your decision over the next two weeks.</p>
<p>ND offers a “late” monthly plan that starts in August (which is when I assumed the payments would start) but you must make the payments over 7 months not 10.</p>
<p>Nearandfar - no she attended the Latino community leadership seminar and loved it! She fell in love with ND. Your child will love it too! Good luck.</p>
<p>I am in a similar position and am electing to go to the University of Minnesota. Even though I would probably prefer to go to a school like Boston College or Carnegie Mellon, the University of Minnesota just made the most sense cost and time wise. Minnesota is highly ranked for what I am interested in (Business) and PSEO and AP credits will allow me to graduate in 3-4 years.</p>
<p>I think she would be able to have a great career coming out of Minnesota and Wisconsin as long as she does well in school (which she most likely will if she has been placed in honors). You cannot go wrong with Notre Dame either, but I am not so sure that it is worth that much of an extra cost.</p>