<p>Hindoo said
[quote]
College represents a potentially wonderful time in life, the last few years before stark realities over. I'd love for our girls to have the best possible experience, with few or no regrets.
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</p>
<p>If stark reality includes $80-100K in debt for either parents or child, it is better to face reality sooner rather than later, or you may yet have regrets.</p>
<p>i'm a soph and i'm worrying about this too...i really wanna go to UPenn...<em>sighs</em>.....but, rugters is MUCH cheaper but still offers a decent education (altho its no comparison to upenn). see my dad said maybe if i decide to go to grad school afterwards, then starting off w/an okay school like rutgers will be the best thing to do. but, uh, did i say upenn is my dream school?</p>
<p>^ yournamehere, my older sister is graduating from Rutgers (genetics/philosophy double major) this year and will be at Penn in the fall working on a PhD in neuroscience. Did I mention they're paying her a stipend, too?</p>
<p>I think you also need to take into account that most people don't dive into Grad School right from their undergrad degree. Work experience is necessary for many top grad programs (especially MBA programs, where five years is the minimum). Therefore, consider when you leave your undergrad school what you will be doing for those 3-5 years. Will you be happy and making the salary you want?</p>
<p>Here is the amortization table for an $80,000 loan paid off over 15 years: </p>
<p>As you will see, the payment are a whopping $719 per month for college debt alone! If you are making only $40,000 per year or less to start, this can be a major problem for your financial future. Also, be advised, that these payments are made with mostly AFTER-TAX money!</p>
<p>Calculation Results</p>
<p>Loan Amount: $80,000.00 ~ Term of the Loan: 15 years ~ Interest Rate: 7.000%</p>
<p>Monthly mortgage payments: $719.06 ~ Total interest paid over the life of the loan: $49,431.27</p>
<p>If your current rate on a 15-year fixed loan is 7.000%, would you like to see if you can get it lower?</p>
<p>Amortization Table</p>
<p>Year Loan Balance Yearly Interest Paid Yearly Principal Paid Total Interest
2007 77,939.12 3,691.62 2,060.88 3,691.62<br>
2008 74,662.30 5,351.93 3,276.82 9,043.56<br>
2009 71,148.60 5,115.05 3,513.70 14,158.61<br>
2010 67,380.90 4,861.04 3,767.71 19,019.65<br>
2011 63,340.82 4,588.68 4,040.07 23,608.33<br>
2012 59,008.69 4,296.62 4,332.13 27,904.95<br>
2013 54,363.39 3,983.45 4,645.30 31,888.40<br>
2014 49,382.28 3,647.64 4,981.11 35,536.04<br>
2015 44,041.08 3,287.56 5,341.20 38,823.59<br>
2016 38,313.77 2,901.44 5,727.31 41,725.03<br>
2017 32,172.43 2,487.41 6,141.34 44,212.45<br>
2018 25,587.13 2,043.45 6,585.30 46,255.90<br>
2019 18,525.79 1,567.40 7,061.35 47,823.30<br>
2020 10,953.97 1,056.94 7,571.81 48,880.24<br>
2021 2,834.79 509.57 8,119.18 49,389.81<br>
2022 0.00 41.46 2,834.79 49,431.27<br>
Year Loan Balance Yearly Interest Paid Yearly Principal Paid Total Interest </p>
<p>If you owe $60,000, you would pay $539 per month to amortize the loan over 15 years.</p>
<p>Bottom line: Before you accept that nice private school or LAC over your state university, consider what it's really costing you over your life time. You may be mortgaging most of your savings for the first 15 years of your life!</p>
<p>It's nice to know that there are others out there who are as shell-shocked as I am.</p>
<p>Was my thought that $100K would cover almost anyplace a fantasy?
What was recommended back in 1989-90 to expect to pay for college?</p>
<p>I finally realized something as I read this thread.</p>
<p>I am NOT upset that our family will not receive financial aid. I never expected to get it. That's why I saved so much.</p>
<p>I AM upset that the durned colleges are SO expensive, and that my saving, budgeting, and plans will not pay for as selective a private institution as my son would qualify for. And I AM upset that the costs have risen so quickly and unexpectedly, and for reasons that I do not understand.</p>
<p>I could see upping my price from $25K per year to $30-35K. But $45,000 per year? I just can't imagine it.</p>
<p>To add to Taxguys post:</p>
<p>If you invest just $2000 a year at age 22 for 6 years ($12,000 total) at 12% you will have $1,348,440 at age 65.</p>
<p>If you wait 6 years and then invest $2,000 a year for the next 37 years ($74,000 total) at 12% you will have $1,363,780 at age 65.</p>
<p>What if you're paying the 80k back to your parents, no interest?</p>
<p>Oh boy. I'm looking at 6 digits of debt after 4 years. Oh well.</p>
<p>If you plan to go to grad school, it is so not worth it going to the private. You do not want to be in grad school looking at $80,000 and then even more when you are done with grad school. You will be paying it off until you're 40. The way I see it is that in the next ten years, the trend will be toward going to public schools. Many of the state schools will become a great deal more selective because nobody but the rich and poor people getting aid will be able to pay $200,000 plus each year.</p>
<p>I'd merely like to clarify that in most cases, graduate school will not incur further debt, as most Ph.D. students are awarded full tuition remission as well as a small living stipend. And of course, payments on debt incurred while an undergraduate are deferred while students are working toward advanced degrees. </p>
<p>This does not apply, of course, to medical school, law school, and vocational graduate degrees (like an M.Ed. or an M.S.W.).</p>
<p>During their info sessions, several colleges said that 50% of the students get financial aid packages averaging $20,000/year. </p>
<p>Do the math: that's why it costs the rest of us $40,000/year.</p>
<p>Good question. If you figure out the answer, let me know!</p>
<p>Kuggy, I think you're right. Public colleges are already becoming more selective, and will become harder and harder to get into as tuition continues to soar. The private colleges are realistically out of reach for most people, unless they take out loans, or have been saving for years, or the student inherits money or is awarded a substantial scholarship.</p>
<p>Hopeful-</p>
<p>Many on this board have made a convincing case that it actually costs MORE than the 45K to attend, and that if I pay full-freight, I am not subsidizing financial aid for others. </p>
<p>I am not sure, however, if that applies after you go below the top 20 or so LAC's with their huge endowments.</p>
<p>I'm not sure which option I like better--a college whose expenses are astronomical, or a college who is redistributing current income.</p>
<p>50,000 University of Chicago vs 20,000 University of Madison</p>
<p>Chicago for me! 200,000 in assets is a kick in the pants when applying for aid.. and it is all the money I have to my name. I enrolled at Chicago before looking at the aid decision so I wouldn't accidentally enroll at Madison. =D</p>
<p>go to rutgers, if they gave you the scarlet scholarship that goes down to 14k a year right there.</p>
<p>I have one son graduating from Jax U and one son going into college.
When choosing schools for #1 son cost definitly was considered. Price over the prestige of Emory Riddle. He is a flight major so the cost of flight exceeded the college costs. He did his part in working hard and getting a 36K scholarship to the college. No scholarships for the flight portion. With graduation 4 weeks away he said to us the other day. I really appreciate you guys, all my fellow seniors who are graduating are now in a panic as they look at the loans they now have to start paying and I can just concentrate on building my future. That said, the 120k cost for #1 pretty much hacked #2 son's college fund, but we learned a lot on the first son. #2 son worked even harder. had the ability to get higher grades and lessons in importance of EC, building a resume and availability of University at HS courses put him in a better position. Again, we choose schools that could offer his choice of double Major (accounting and sports mgmt) at a reasonable price. Not schools just for the prestige/name. He will be attending College of St. Rose Accelerated Masters program on a full tuition scholarship and thanks to all those credits he earned through courses at his HS, local CC and CLEP he will easily finish the masters and quailfy to take the CPA exam in 4 yrs. The cost to us will be just R & B (less than a state School). All of the schools (St. John's, Seton Hall, Jax U, High Point U, York College of Pa.) he applied to with the exception of his first choice school (Western NE) offered him between 75-90% tuition scholarships. Needless to say his first choice school, that would have cost 24K out of pocket after their merit aid will not be getting him. Important point is, those who work hard through HS building exc. grades and resume's can do very well at private lesser known schools. Not facing those loans at graduation can be an unbelievalble relief.</p>
<p>well maybe i'm biased because i'm rich ( started my own business)... but honestly.. the key word here is dream. if its your dream school then GO... yeeeeeee there is no argument here just do it... you won't regret it. Money shouldn't be a factor.</p>
<p>Paying off debt for the next ten years of your life is a pretty quick way to squelch a dream...</p>
<p>I'll say this: it's a lot easier to change your preference towards a school than it is to make money.</p>