The evidence says “NO”. It really shouldn’t be even a minor concern.
We can look at the academic credentials of incoming freshmen to verify these schools’ admitted students are among those with the highest GPAs, test scores, awards, etc.
We can look at the number of applicants these schools attract and the resulting minuscule acceptance rates as proof these schools are very popular with an incredible number of qualified students.
We can look at the number of families willing to go into life-crushing debt just to attend these schools, as proof. Some families send students to these school knowing they can only pay for one or two years. The mother who asked for advice at the top of this thread is willing to work every waking hour and abandon her husband who helped raise and care for her children, to send a student to one of these schools.
No, there’s no worry that “superior performers” will stop applying to these schools.
Hmm ok. I wonder if that is because many of these places play on their reputation which has been earned largely by their graduate research programs which are almost always 100% funded.
I think there was a study sometime back that if we keep quality of an applicant as a controlled variable then people graduating from ivys don’t fare much better than similarly talented people from other places. I wonder if that happens partly because of this.
But I am sure they are better business brains than I am so they have probably thought about this and as you say are not worried.
For some, it’s the same as having a strong desire to work for FAANG. It’s a feeling that getting the job or the admittance to a T20 college is a goal in and of itself. Not necessarily a good thing or bad thing. Just a thing that happens. And if that admittance or job offer is the goal, so be it. And if it truly makes someone else happy, so be it.
Some brilliant graduates will dream of going FAANG. Other brilliant graduates will dream of going to smaller companies, even unknown companies, or starting their own companies. Sometimes it’s the same difference that drives some high school students to be Ivy or bust, and others (who could be admitted to and afford T20) to be perfectly content at Random State University ranked in the 170s. Neither good nor bad. Just is.
Each will do as they see fit, or as they see personal reward awaiting. I once tried to understand all. As I get older, I become more Doris Day and say “que sera, sera.”
Yeah. It probably depends in a very large way to the geographic area one lives in. Also if take only the cross section of families where kids go to a 4 year college out of high school then this median may be higher?
But yes I was thinking more about income of people in big cities.
When I used to post more, I often said if you made between 150-250k you were in a donut hole. Too rich to get need based aids and too poor to afford full pay. I also thought kids from that SES tend to come from relatively stable family lives, and it was shame that those top tier school were missing out on that population of students.
Yeah it is weird though. Let’s say a family of 3-4 living in San Francisco and making 115K will probably not be able to afford even 20K per year of after tax money. Essentially college education is only for “rich” people looks like
This is all theoretical, because nobody here has any sense of the relationship and finances involved. That said…
I don’t think his role is that of ATM… but everyone else should appreciate he has put himself in exactly that role.
We can argue fair all day, but if he’s been married to this woman and paying her living expenses for 10 years, and she files for divorce… the dude is gonna become an actual ATM (let’s avoid the theoretical pre-nup).
My response to the “she couldn’t pay if it wasn’t for the SD” was merely to point out that the article that started all of this was premised on the mother not having to pay anything without this guy’s income. The “whisper down the lane” nature of these conversations is that the focus of her not having to pay for college has become this guy from keeping her homeless. Maybe if she wouldn’t have married the loser, she would have hit the lottery with someone richer who would cover these costs?
One fact not cited so far (from what I’ve read at least) …if she divorces the guy, and keeps her $60k job, her alimony would push her over that “$100k” free threshold. If that happened, she’d likely have to pay around $10k per year. As is, the NPC for the Ivy’s will throw off support for around $50% for a house of 4 with 2 in college making $210k.
The entire discussion is just mental gymnastics. Look what I thought of that you didn’t!
I don’t think so. The financial documents will show that he makes $150k and she makes $60k. The court will not parse what each spends the money on.
Not much alimony is awarded these days, especially to a spouse who has income. No child support as this couple doesn’t share children. (Community property states might be a little different, but alimony is not forever and will depend on how the other assets are split)
We are a solid donut family, the only FA we get is some subsidized loans with 3 in college at once. None of the kids applied to reach schools, no way to possibly pay for them. Kids have loans. Around 10 years ago, our household income was lower, my husbands salary was frozen for years. Even now his base salary isn’t that much higher but his bonuses are much higher (but of course that is not guaranteed). There are many students who will never attend a top school due to affordability.
To me these statistics just mean that people who go to college are probably mostly in the top 25% range or something like that or they end up creating crushing debts because of education.
No, not because of “education”. Because they made a conscious decision to attend a school that was beyond what they could afford. No different than the family who buys a $150K boat they cannot afford.
It’s very important to remember this is not something the families MUST do. This is something some families choose to do. It is a choice. No one is forced to pay $80K/yr for a college education. Other educational institutions exist.
The accountability is 100% on the families who choose to sign those loan documents.
But most of them will cost at least 20K+ per year. It is not a small amount if your post tax income is 100K with most of it is going for sustenance of the family and you have to pay for two kids 80K each for four years. Going to private schools without financial assistance is clearly financially unwise decision.
