GT- come May you will be surprised at how many of the kids who think they are gaming the system will end up enrolling in a State directional, commuting, etc. People like to talk but at the end of the day, the number of these low stats kids who actually get into one of the “lottery” type schools is pretty minimal (unless they have the talent of a Yo-Yo Ma). And the financial aid machinations that a lot of people go through to qualify end up biting them in the tush when it’s all said and done. I know plenty of parents who have done all the asset manipulation, bought annuities, transferred money to relatives so it doesn’t show up as theirs and the end result is usually the same- sacrifice financial stability long term for the sake of an extra 4K in financial aid today.
Never worth it. There are people who make six figure mistakes with their retirement funds so they can “grab” a few thousand dollars in extra aid. There are people who have mis-titled inherited assets (like a parent’s IRA) which will cost them thousands in taxes- which they legally should not have paid, but for the bad advice of a financial aid guru.
So stick to your plan. The big talkers in January seem to disappear by the time someone needs to write the tuition checks. And the sugar daddies/sugar mommies rarely stick around long enough to make them a viable long term option. Sure- mom has a rich boyfriend now. But is he paying for long term care when mom has a stroke in 30 years (god forbid). Is she the beneficiary of his pension? Probably not- that’s going to his kids from his first marriage- and likely their children as well.
@AboutTheSame really? 60+k is not enough to cover the real cost of college each year? Not sure how colleges managed to pay their bills 10-20 years ago when the sticker price was half of that.
As a society, we all have a vested interest in ensuring that access to college education isn’t restricted just to those whose parents can afford it. Along with “products” like medical care and food, education isn’t like “every other product and service”.
If you equate success in life with owning a Mercedes rather than a Honda, you are going to have to pay for the Mercedes (even if it means dipping into your savings).
@BelknapPoint we are very fortunate. but we are also benefitting from good decisions over many years.
Seems to me colleges want me to pay for other people’s crappy decisions over many years.
There really isn’t anything I’d rather spend my money on other than my kids, so I’m happy to pay for
their educations, I just don’t like getting ripped off .
We are a middle class household. our income level is comparable to these kinds of married couples:
a nurse and an electrician or a teacher and a policeman, I’m sure there are plenty of others. No one starts at middle income levels, but after 20-30 yrs in a career that’s where u end up. I know plenty of cops that make over 100k and high school level teachers in our area START in the 55-65k range.
If you went into the ford dealer and they told you if you want a new truck , you have to pay for a focus for
the guy next you, you’d walk out pretty quick.
I have never owned a Mercedes but Toyotas and Mazdas with over 100,000 miles. That is why we have savings to be dipped into. Also, what these schools are asking for isn’t dipping but depleting. 5% for 4 years, 2 kids no overlap - works out to 35%.
I have found that you don’t need the Mercedes education to be successful but choosing the right major helps. Older D is being considered by Google, IBM and others because she is a CE major vs her true love English Lit. at a good but not top tier university. She will be a success.
I don’t follow the original logic at all (and no, we don,t get need-based aid).
I’d disagree that no other business practice preferential pricing! I’d say many service-based industries do. If you have health insurance, the ins company negotiates a price, which is lower than sticker price. Last time I moved, the list price of my house determined the realtor’s commission, it wasn’t a set number for every transaction. Banks pay more interest on savings accounts with higher balances. Even (since for some reason, on this website, people love to compare education and automobiles), different car dealers might give you different “deals” on the same car!
Car pricing is not means-tested. A Mercedes dealer does not discount the sticker price because the buyer is poor. The dealer discounts the sticker price because the buyer is a good haggler-- so in that respect it’s more like merit money.
Examples of such colleges? (Also, what is defined as “middle”?)
Example: Harvard, with need-based aid only
43% no financial aid (probably top 2-3% family income/wealth, based on Harvard’s NPC)
37% financial aid, but not Pell grant (range from upper middle income to just below top 2-3%)
19% Pell grant (probably up to the middle income range, around $60,000 or so according to FAFSA4caster, which approximately coincides with Harvard’s “institutional EFC = $0” promise for families with income under $65,000)
Note: many of the colleges with good need-based aid have lower percentage of Pell grant students than Harvard, so their distributions have even fewer students from lower and middle income families.
I’m not smart enough to drink Voss water because I can never get the bottle open, on the rare occasions that I have it. =))
Seriously, I understand what you’re saying, but I also think there are multiple options and paths to a degree. You just have to be willing to break out of the “ego” driven decisions.
For some people the privates or elites make sense because they are in that “sweet spot” where they get significant aid, and the value of the education off-sets the actual cost to the family.
For us, we are determined to send our kid to school completely debt free. So that means a year’s worth of dual enrollment credits(that he got mostly for “free” - i.e., paid for by the county), and probably a state school with merit money (he’s already received) and/or Bright Futures (a Florida program).
We have had to resist some commentary on why we won’t “spring” for private school for undergrad. But I can definitely see why it works for some families.
@BelknapPoint I fail to see how the product is different, please explain.
if I don’t have $$$ for a Mercedes, I might buy a Toyota, which you could argue is a better value and a more reliable car. but I shouldn’t expect the other Mercedes buyers to subsidize my Mercedes purchase because its my “dream” car, or because I would be the 1st in my family to buy a Mercedes.
Please, could someone explain this thread to me. The way colleges charge, and the way they award aid or not…is the way it is. Period.
It’s like saying everyone should get a $5800 Pell Grant regardless of income. It’s just not how it’s set up.
No one is ever forced to pay more than they feel comfortable payout. Lots of inexpensive options, or the work and go to school at the same time option…which many students do.
Carrying on about $60,000 college costs is just that…carrying on.
"if the AVERAGE net price at a school is 30k, why should I pay 60k? "
-I have an opposite question, if the AVERAGE net price at a school is 30k, why should I pay 30k? I still can choose an option of paying $0, and my kid choose just that - we did not pay tuition for her college education at all, instead we choose to pay for her Medical school. There are better things the one can choose to pay for than the college education. But everybody has their own priority list, all I am saying that there are many who do not pay $30K at all, not even $10k, just because they choose a different option.
Your car insurance IS means tested to some degree since your pricing will depend in large measure on where you park at night. Dicey neighborhood with a lot of break-ins and thefts- you’ll pay more than in a gated community where you have a three car garage- assuming the same driving record. Your health insurance IS means related to some extent- if you are a corporate executive you are getting a gold-plated Cadillac plan vs. the “sort of kind of” self-insurance you are getting if you are hourly at Walmart.
OP- don’t send your kid to college at all if you don’t want to pay for it. Nobody is forcing you to. Have your kid learn how to code online and call it a day.