because they are expensive? and because there isnt much money to offset that at Rutgers? because Rutgers is a gigantic campus in which the the main campus spans multiple towns? because certain programs are only offered at offshoots, which are essentially located in third world countries? because Rutgers is more competitive than you’d think—its not a given for every student? and lets just say that some of the non-rutgers options arent overly spectacular either–each comes with their own set of problems too. sometimes, there are much better options to cross the state lines, and for a kid that will go anywhere, well, its almost a no brainer to leave jersey.
and thats just for starters 
The two most salient features of her article are not the astronomical cost of higher education or the refusal of the U of Wisconsin to provide financial aid; rather, what her article exhibits most clearly are her and her husband’s remarkable ignorance of both basic college funding realities and the very high quality of their own state flagship.
Speaking of ships I was once in their boat. I had to forego an ivy dream college because my parents had three children in college at the same time. Although they were well-off, their money was tied up in illiquid assets, and frankly, only the very rich and the very poor can afford three in college simultaneously. I attended Rutgers, I and my parents avoided debt, and the savings were partially applied to our graduate educations, which in my case included Columbia Law School.
In previous generations an elite college education was the golden ticket to the good life. However, as we progress further into a globalized economy based upon what one knows, it should be apparent that it is the brand name of one’s graduate school that has become the more significant determining factor in one’s future opportunities. And by the way, in my two fields of study at Rutgers, history and English literature, Rutgers departments have attained “top twenty” rankings. Before law school, my Rutgers undergraduate education helped my land a spot in the Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley. I have nothing but praise and gratitude to Rutgers. My advice, if one plans to attend a graduate or professional school after college, is to take a close look at some of the less expensive but still educationally outstanding flagships in our home states.
At least she isn’t as dumb or feels as entitled as Gabler.
I don’t understand how anyone in this day and age doesn’t think to figure out what a college is going to cost. You can’t pick up a paper or turn on the news without hearing about it.
^ Yes. People should look at the quality of the major, not the rah rah media crap or what other uninformed neighbors think… DH is also a grad and his program was excellent. He did go on to a PhD at another top program.
I thought of R for D1, same academic interests. Like many flagships, you can’t just go on the lowest common denominator, on one hand, and some general media ranking, on the other. I think the smart folks dig beneath the surface.
This reminds me of a parent whose daughter got accepted into a prestigious OOS public university and lied about getting all kinds of financial aid package from the school (enough to cost her the net expense equal to sending the daughter to an in-state university) just to save the face from her ultra competitive clique of friends. I wonder how many parents, such as this case, are in denial? Another parent in this same clique also lied about the “real cost” of sending her daughter to an OOS university.
@TiggerDad I’m confused… you mean they lied and said they were getting aid when they weren’t? Or the other way? Like it’s more prestigious to go to OOS public, but only if it doesn’t cost more than in-state? Or (flip side) like OOS public is like private?
@Prof99 - This statement: “Although they were well-off, their money was tied up in illiquid assets, and frankly, only the very rich and the very poor can afford three in college simultaneously.” Just wondering… it costs the same to send 3 to college whether they are at the same time or staggered, and if they are at the same time it might actually be cheaper since you’d be more likely to get financial aid. (I guess the statement is assuming that the college costs come out of current income and not savings). But if you’ve saved up ahead, I think it would be cheaper to have them all in college at the same time.
@washugrad – Sorry for the confusion. I meant the lie about getting the aid from the OOS university that they didn’t.
In the good old days, there wasn’t as much need based aid for having multiple kids in college at the same time. People didn’t have 529 plans and tax credits and big merit scholarships. My family was very ignorant of the financial aid system so we kids just went to state schools and worked. My sister became independent of my parents at age 19 so she could get some wid, but that left 2 in the family in colegs at the same time. Today, that wouldn’t be possible and we’D all have gotten a little more aid.
I guess I’m still confused, @TiggerDad . What would be the purpose of lying about that? You mention saving face but how does that relate to getting aid from an OOS school?
My two sons entered college in the mid 1990’s. At the time our state flagship, UMass Amherst, was known as ZooMass. Few kids in the Boston area at the time attended UMass Amherst unless they were planning on majoring in partying. We were full pay. My older son chose McGill University in Montreal with a merit scholarship that covered all but about $1000 of the international tuition. My younger son chose Boston University with a half tuition merit scholarship. They both graduated debt free. We live in an upscale suburb of Boston and neither I nor my wife gave a hoot what our neighbors thought.
How would you know they lied, tiggerdad?
I thought the article said the dad was also a journalist. They seem to be doing pretty well if that’s the case. I didn’t think most journalists earned much.
@austinmshauri Yes, that is what the article stated. However, I find that a bit disingenuous on the author’s part given that her husband’s bio states:
'…a former news executive, anchor, reporter, and award-winning multi-media producer, having worked for the likes of CNBC in global business and financial news. He has written and edited thousands of business stories for the wealthiest and best-educated audiences around the globe."
So he’s not exactly what you or I might consider to be a typical “journalist”. It seems as if she is trying to paint a different picture of her family’s circumstances to gain sympathy to her son’s plight.
I like this part:
“He has written and edited thousands of business stories for the wealthiest and best-educated audiences around the globe.”
How did he know that he wrote for best-educated audiences? He used many SAT words?
This article shows that these journalists are financially illiterate even if they have written thousands of business stories.
She also says in her bio that she has focused on finance, wealth , high net worth and the economy. She has had associations with Money, CNBC, and Fortune… So she and her husband ,of all people, should have been on top of this. I don’t think I’d be taking any financial advice from either of these two .
I didn’t mind this article. She expresses much the same sentiment as Gabler did (in his keeping up with the Joneses kids comment) about wanting her son to have the best:
“What to do? I recognize that sending my sons to out-of-state universities is a luxury, not a given. But it doesn’t feel like a luxury to my kids, who have grown up in an affluent community among competitive kids.”
But then they made the practical choice to avoid debt. Yes, it’s a bit of a let down. Our kids had to choose based on what we could afford too, and that meant appealing options were off the table. One school even came off the table very late in the decision process for our D, but not due to lack of research about cost. It was disappointing. I get that.
The big problem is that the angst could have been avoided or lessened by researching more up front, setting financial parameters ahead of time, and making the painful realizations and cutting schools at application time rather than decision time when it’s harder and there’s less time to adjust to reality. No need to blame the school for being unaffordable at this stage.
(and the bit about the short skirt? Does that only happen at Rutgers and not Wisconsin??)
@mom2collegekids, what do you mean by “soon-to-be-UMich?”
The comment about the short skirt was just rude on her part. I mean really, do coeds really dress that differently from each other? I guess she hasn’t been to a club in a long time. Heck, I’ve seen those ‘barely covers you know what’ dresses at bar mitzvahs here in NJ. Surely she has seen these dresses before that visit.
As a NJ resident and a Rutgers alum ( well, Douglass College actually. Yes, I am that old!) I was left pretty speechless by the article. All that entitlement and magical thinking all in one short essay. Egads!!!
I think the article is clickbait… wonder if it’s even true.