<p>In my older d’s field, it doesn’t make sense to go to graduate school unless the graduate school is paying for it. Virtually all of the top graduate schools in her highly competitive field offer 4-6-year full tuition and stipend fellowships. But her income-earning potential is relatively low, which is why it was important to ensure that she minimize her debt.</p>
<p>Had she been thinking of med or law school, this would have been even more critical. We’d help as we can (and will do so until they are at least 50, if needed!) but the “can” doesn’t amount to an awful lot. </p>
<p>The education of our younger d. is costing roughly four times that of the older one, but for what she is getting, is worth every penny (and she is going to be rich and take care of us in our old age. ;))</p>
<p>I can’t begin to fathom how someone with a seven figure income can be so leveraged. If I were making seven figures (net of tax) then I’d be paying cash for everything.</p>
<p>I do really admire you for providing your children with open-ended funding for education.
They are very fortunate.</p>
<p>We also live well beneath our means, drive very old cars, have no credit card debt and a small mortgage. We have a small loan yet to pay toward son’s undergrad and will help him with room and board for grad school.</p>
<p>Wish we could do more but his needs are balanced against the needs of the rest of our family and more is not possible. </p>
<p>Totally agree with you that debt can enslave you at any income level.
Dave Ramsey is my new thing to DVR…</p>
<p>I remember the time when Harvard counted parents’ assets in calculating financial aid for graduate students. I knew one man who’d decided to take a second Ph.D. in his fifties (he had one in a totally different field). He was asked about parental income. He replied that his parent’s income (only mother still alive) was what he gave her, not the other way around!</p>
<p>As for grad school, one of the possibilities for my S is divinity school. We all agree that it would be best for him to get through school with no debt so that he can be free to serve where he is called. He is also considering teaching, becoming a professor and so on. In otherwords, at least so far, no big bucks careers are on the horizon. </p>
<p>Also, we had him when we were very young and he is our only child. The way our financial puzzle is coming together means that his grad school years are going to be better years for us to be contributing to his tuition than the first four years. </p>
<p>I suppose what I am trying to say is that, I it really varies by not only the student but by the parents.</p>
<p>“I can’t begin to fathom how someone with a seven figure income can be so leveraged.”</p>
<p>I have a friend that approves loans for high-income individuals and he’s provided me with several stories about CEOs with high-maintenance wives, mistresses, houses they can’t afford, etc. The character issues related to debt and spending span classes - it’s just that the wealthy may be able to hide their problems more effectively.</p>
<p>We are with you poetgrl. Any education our kid’s want, as long as they fulfill their potential grade/achievement wise, will be our gift to them. We have told them don’t expect any inheritance though!</p>
<p>We saved enough to pay for four years at any of our state schools. We told them if they wanted anything different, they would have to make it happen.<br>
Both happily chose state u’s. S1 on full scholarship. The money in his college acct. will be his upon graduation (next week!!!). If he chooses to attend grad. school, his employer will pay for it. S2 is full pay. He will have no money left over after grad. but will not be in debt either, a gift in itself. He has no desire for grad. sch.</p>
<p>I wound up going to undergrad for cheaper than my parents expected. They said they’d let me put the money towards graduate school since I wasn’t using it in undergrad. Here I am in grad school on a full fellowship with no need for the money from them! Maybe that’s why they started talking about buying a house down by the beach in Maryland after I had started grad school…</p>
<p>There is a pretty good chance my kids will already <em>have</em> my assets when they are 50. That is what happens when you wait until you are almost 40 to have kids.</p>
<p>Gee, I’ve been fantasizing about getting another PhD, this one in the field I was originally going to go to grad school in before I changed fields. If my husband reads this, he will have a heart attack and my kids will be closer to getting their hands on the assets.</p>
<p>Grad school is where you determine the kind of veterinarian, researcher, lawyer, chemist, etc. you will be. Undergrad has more to do with helping you determine the kind of adult you’re going to be. I recommend going for the richest, fullest undergraduate experience you can afford and not undermining it for the sake of future plans that may be subject to change.</p>
<p>Most grad schools (not professional schools) will provide their students with some support. I know of no one who paid full price for grad school (though there probably are some). Often, top PhD programs pay for everything and provide a stipend, often as much as $20,000 per year. All of S1’s friends who are going to grad school this fall received full tuition, health care, and from $15,000 - $20,000 in stipends guaranteed for 5 years without reference to “need.”</p>
<p>While it is true that most PhD programs are fully funded, not all are, and stipends don’t always cover the COL. In psych, many programs are funded (leaving out professional schools, which will take a appendage or two) but all students may not be funded every year or may be funded without a tuition waiver, still creating a need to take out some loans. Also, most Masters programs in most fields are unfunded.</p>
<p>^^^^Which brings up another advantage of APs and other ways of acceleration. When you start at a higher level in college, you graduate at a higher level and many times you’ll be taking classes that are requisites for your Master as an undergraduate. If you have to pay for your Master, it’ll definitely take less time and cost you less. So when you are putting in the extra effort in those classes, you are actually saving for Grad School.</p>
<p>I was referring to PhD programs, but am aware that there is often support for Master degree work as well. My wife and I received a tuition waivers way back in the dark ages for our MAs. Another source of MA/MS funding is often employers. I know of several young folks who are going to grad school part-time paid for by their employer. One attends Columbia.</p>
<p>That’s an idea I see a lot with business degrees. My niece got her accounting masters paid by her employer, with a stipulation she stays 3 more years.
My son is going for Psych and “if” he had to get a job first, we have a hospital near us that pays for some, but you have to be there a certain amount of time. With these hard times in employment, I don’t know how many options will be open to some students. I noticed a lot of local business’s wanting full time temps and “per diem” work so they don’t have to give any perks.</p>
<p>Another take on getting grad school paid: get a job with university you’d like to attend. Friend of ours got an Ivy Engineering MS while working there (and got paid for his day job there, too). Sweet deal.</p>