<p>poetgrl, we assumed that college would be $50k/year by the time our kids got there and used that figure in determining how much life insurance to purchase back in 1990. Granted, we did NOT save anything resembling that amount!</p>
<p>However, saying that education educational inflation outstrips regular inflation, so how would we know how much to put away, doesn’t obviate the need to save in the first place. Even if you don’t have enough to saved to pay for the flagship, every dollar saved is one you don’t have to cut out of your budget when the kiddo goes to college.</p>
<p>If you know what the flagship costs, that’s a good benchmark for figuring out what a family can afford for a soon-to-be college student, even if it’s to say a) we can’t afford the flagship; b) we can afford the flagship but not a $50k private; c) apply where you want and we can make the numbers work (all all the permutations in between).</p>
<p>It’s the parents of HS students who don’t what the flagship costs that boggle my mind.</p>