It always surprises me how reluctant some parents are in the US to encourage their kid to consider a gap year. Kid chomping at the bit for college, knows what they want to study- great. But so many kids trudge off to get some ticket punched with no enthusiasm or sense of “why college why now”. Purple Titan- great point.
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Thanks, Blossom. I added to that, though. In some of our states, some kids do get denied the education they want because of lack of funds.
Granted, to counter myself, these days, there are some cheap online options (some from reputable unis), but they don’t tend to allow you to major in engineering or lab sciences). Though perhaps that simply means an opportunity for an innovative education provider.
Anyone with at least a lower middle-class income can save for college and a 529. They just make choices that don’t allow them to save. You can get less house, less expensive area, less cars, less vacations, less expensive clothes, less shopping, less stuff.
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Of course, on these forums, most of the complaining comes from top 5% income families who feel that they cannot save for their kids’ college due to the “high cost of living in an expensive area”.
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Median household income for a family with kids in the US is $78k/year. By lower-middle class, you mean about $50K/year for a family of 4? I can see how you could potentially save a little by scrimping if you live in a low COL area, but most people don’t have a full pension that can cover 100% of their retirement costs these days, and even a few thousand saved every year would barely give you anything for retirement, much less pay for college.
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No, not my parents who are wealthy but school mates of my kids. (Like you, I have the student loans and my kids do too). The parents (a brother and sister) sent their kids to the same catholic school, so 3 boys in the daughters’ class. We all benefited from the wealthy grandparents as the grandparents bought the entire computer lab for the school and then paid the tuition for all the grandchildren (these 3 boys and 3 other grandkids also at the school but in different grands than my kids) for PreK thru college. The families lived very very average lives in typical homes for our school families. The grandparents were VERY wealthy but all self made wealth.
It’s just a nice gift, the gift of education.
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Yes.
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True, it is probably not very possible for that family to save much in a 529. However, a family of 4 with a $50K/yr gross income likely will have a much lower AGI, most likely will qualify for the full (or near full) Pell Grant and in-state lower-income grant opportunities. That will usually amount to $6500 PG + $5500 DSL + $2K-$5K in-state low-income grant + $2K-$4K (minimal family contribution). That’s a range of $16K-$21K/yr. Additionally, many states have very reachable auto-merit scholarships for even average (actual average, not CC average) students. I recently mentioned those available in MO, but other states do the same. That might add another $2K-$6K/yr to the budget.
In most states, yes MOST states, that will be enough to possibly attend an in-state 4yr and live on campus. If not, it will certainly be enough to attend a CC for 2yrs and with a little planning/preparation (saving) possibly transfer and finish up at a 4yr by living off campus.
Yes, there are the few states (PA, NJ) that obviously could care less about their residents’ higher education needs being affordable/unaffordable. But the vast majority of states have affordable options that will accommodate families all along the income scale, except maybe those close to or under the poverty line.
For every state like PA that is a poor option for in-state families, there are 9 or 10 like New Mexico, or Missouri, or Florida, or CA, or TX, or many others that make it possible for families to afford higher education.
Some states even make it possible for OOS students to attend at prices comparable to in-state prices: New Mexico, NC, AL and a few others - no not every university in those states, but a few options are affordable for students who want that OOS experience. At Minnesota Mankato, OOS students with an ACT 25 or SAT 1100 can qualify for in-state tuition. That would total $19K/yr including books but excluding travel. Quite a bargain for families in states that might cost them $33K/yr in-state. There are many many opportunities like these out there.
Unfortunately, states can’t do much to overcome the sense of entitlement that causes some families to feel that a directional university is beneath their standards.
EDIT: There’s a difference between affordable/unaffordable and affordable but the family would rather spend the money on something else.
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PA is not as terrible as some make it out to be. They are usually referring to Penn State, Pitt, Temple when arguing that PA colleges are over $30k. The PASSHE schools are not as expensive. NJ does not seem to have any sub $30k options, however.
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Thanks for the clarification. From the number of people complaining about PA prices, it sounded like every college in PA was ove $30K so I didn’t even verify.
There is a pretty big sense of entitlement when it comes to college choices, as you noted. The PASSHE schools don’t get mentioned because many families think they are beneath them but many of them are fine schools.
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The last time I looked, many of the PASSHE schools have pretty limited majors.
Penn State campuses other than University Park are much more affordable and some, such as Erie/Behrend, offer a wide selection of majors and are primarily residential. In addition, you can do a 2/2 program where you start at a cheaper, smaller campus and then transfer to the main (more expensive) campus for your last 2 years.
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Yes, there are also many branch PSU’s (some with a decent number of majors; some that offer only 10 majors). A 2+2 would still mean an expensive last 2 years at PSU-UP. I suppose you could still consider it affordable, if by affordable, you mean debt amounts past the Federal guaranteed limit.
“Affordable” is a relative term. My OOS nephew’s price for Erie campus is $31k, without loans ($26k with $5500 Fed), which is affordable for them.
He can stay at Erie all 4 years or can transfer. Erie offers 38 undergrad majors, including Computer Engineering, Physics, Electrical Engineering, Finance, Marketing, etc. The classes are smaller and the campus is much more personal. They have buses to the main campus for football games and other events.
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That does not seem to be the case. There is something for everyone between all of the schools and a few have a very large number of majors. The ones with fewer are on par with LACs’ an other regional school offerings.
Have never quite understood why anyone cares where anybody else sends their kid to or what they pay for or how they pay for college. Everyone is just trying to do what they feel is best for their kid. Every situation is different (family circumstances and the kid).
Why don’t we all just worry about ourselves when it comes to paying for school? If you’re happy with your decisions, regardless of what they are, I’m happy for you.
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It becomes our business when they make unaffordable choices and then want a government bailout in one form or another. Otherwise I don’t care.
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This entire thread is ridiculous. A lower middle class family can’t save significant money for college what are you on. Poor people do not have to use every cent on necessary things!! Let poor people have/do some nice things. Also why should a family with less money have to send their kid to a cheaper school while others get to go wherever they want??? And it’s not a government bailout when your parents work so hard but still can’t afford it. Stop acting so entitled!! there are insanely smart kids who need government assistance to attend schools they deserve to be at.
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Aren’t families’ choices always constrained by income? If you make $30k/yr, you can’t buy a $500k house or a Tesla. Education is somewhat different in that it is subsidized for low income families at schools that have need-based aid (as it should be, imo). But there is nothing ridiculous about expecting families to make choices based on what they can reasonably afford. That’s just life.
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