<p>I was looking at BU, NYU and Brown's web sites and it looks like a junior in high school is going to pay $200,000+ for a college degree if the student goes for the private education. A couple of years ago we were talking about $160,000 for the same thing. </p>
<p>I find that mind boggling.</p>
<p>I'm glad I don't have any 5 year-olds running around my house. :)</p>
<p>Right now 4 uears at George Washington is already over $200K. Crazy.</p>
<p>i am sorry, if u live in the state of michigan or california, and you can go to Michigan Ann Arbor or Berkleley or UCLA for less than 50-60,000, you would be an idiot to go to GW or BU.</p>
<p>BU is one of the most expensive schools around. It's really crazy.</p>
<p>bball87, my daughter goes to Mich out-of-state and we live in Cal. We are a little crazy. I wouldn't be on this site if we weren't. :)</p>
<p>Sigh. I remember when I used to think my fellow pre-meds were crazy when they paid $100K for 4 years of med school at Georgetown and GW. Pocket change, now, I guess.</p>
<p>"We are a little crazy. I wouldn't be on this site if we weren't."</p>
<p>I thought you wouldn't live in the Bay Area if you weren't a little crazy. :)</p>
<p>oh come on xiggi....don't forget that you are now in la la land too.</p>
<p>happy new year</p>
<p>More reason to look just below the top when considering schools. It's not a question of "is it worth it?" but more of "can I afford it?" For example, I do not ask whether a Rolls Royce is "worth the $200K" but "can I afford a Rolls Royce?" I can't.</p>
<p>But as long as there are people willing to pay it, it will continue to grow. I'm still thinking about the WSJ article that was posted here a week or so ago about endowments. That was eye-opening. The fact that they can charge so much given that the endowments could be used - without affecting principal - to enormously reduce the cost of an education at these schools is mind-boggling.</p>
<p>"oh come on xiggi....don't forget that you are now in la la land too."</p>
<p>Oh, I know! With a foot in Texas and the other in SoCal, my goose is cooked. The good news is that, on the political side, I now can blame the republicans or the democrats and ALWAYS have an audience. Come to think about it, blaming both sides is an endearing sport. </p>
<p>On the other hand, despite being in la la land, I am still rooting for the Longhorns tonight. </p>
<p>Hook 'em!</p>
<p>You can get a high quality PRIVATE school education at many, many schools in places like the midwest, south, and even some parts of the west for under $35,000 a year or less, even less if you factor in merit money potential. But people have fallen into a trap of only focusing on the Northeast, as if there are no colleges or universities worth considering west of the Hudson river. </p>
<p>The thing that bugs me about the northeast schools is even schools that are not "top tier" are very expensive there - you can get the same level of educational quality elsewhere for thousands less, but so many folks refuse to even consider going just west or south (sometimes just a few hundred miles) to take advantage of that. </p>
<p>Yes, I know folks will say that you have to factor in the cost of airfare, but with low fare carriers like Airtran and Southwest the cost of flights to and from say the midwest or south is really not much more than the cost of paying for gas to drive to Boston or NY. Of course, it's an individual choice, but I kind of agree with Digmedia on this one: you have to be willing to shop around to get a bargain, and if you don't at least look into schools outside the Northeast it is likely that in many cases you will be paying thousands more for pretty much the same education you could get elsewhere if you are open to considering all options.</p>
<p>dstark you are only talking about the 4 years undergrad. Many families will also have paid and will pay more than that. It is a hugh sum of money. I know that when I think of the K-8 and then add some prep for HS....it is double what you are quoting. As to the 5 year olds.......cannot comment on that.</p>
<p>Regarding the costs, the financial aid that might be available provides a great equalizer to a great number of families. Unless one has the misfortune -in the context of college costs- to have to pay the full price, the sticker is mostly irrelevant. For many families with income below $60,000, the cheapest school might be one with the most expensive "retail" price.</p>
<p>At least, when it comes to undergraduate schools, the presence of financial aid gives many options. The same cannot be said for K-12 where the cost related to the choice between a public and a private school falls entirely on the shoulders of the family. Well, at least, for the time being ... </p>
<p>Public schools + financial aided undergraduate is still a lot cheaper than a full private K-12. It seems that the most vociferous complaints come from the middle-class citizens who believe that education should both be public and ... free. Quite a chasm with the reality that public education is easily the MOST expensive in absolute numbers.</p>
<p>the sad part of finding the "cheapest cost" school is that many families don't really look at it as out of pocket cost. They maintain a mentality of tuition cost........I think this is fear driven, they don't want to be held to the cost so they don't ever look into it. They just don't look and inquire out of fear. I don't know exactly how students work with parents who of that mentality.</p>
<p>People actually pay 200k for BU? What...?</p>
<p>For parents with above average income public schools are the way to go. I just can't justify paying $30-40k/year when you can get a great education at the well thought of state school for $15k. That extra $80k out of my pocket or her pocket is going to either put a dent in my retirement age or a huge burden on her income after school.</p>
<p>No kidding fishing. My parents make good money but they think college costs out of state are outrageous and think that its a waste of money undergrad. We wont get anything at all from FAFSA, so basically my only chance to go out of state is through a merit award and pocket expenses. Merit is hard to get and I just dont think it makes sense to pay even 30 K a year out of your own pocket for an undergrad education.</p>
<p>Honors program at the State U is a good alternative - especially if you're thinking grad school.</p>
<p>You know this is why they make Ferrari and Chevy..........or butter and the other spread. You guys can all find reasons to justify your own preference and thus make your choices and be happy.</p>
<p>fishing thats what I want to do with my state school. The honors program is ridiculously competitive this year due to hope scholarship. The average SAT for the program was 1450 last year and the GPA was around a 4.12 with .5 weight only added to AP courses. I think many in my state are starting to go to the state U for financial reasons.</p>