A friend’s child got into a combined Bachelor’s and PT program at a small, expensive college. Because the field is so competitive, this family is stretching to cover it. The dd is a hard worker
Not trying to pry into anyone’s private information, yet I am astonished how well off some of the parents are on this thread. I would like to think if one’s net worth is above $2 million, full pay is the only option (not counting merit scholarship). Am I wrong?
@85bearsfan the problem is that having a high net worth doesn’t always mean you have lots of disposable cash
And having a high net worth doesn’t always mean you aren’t chasing merit scholarship.
@85bears46 At 2 million in assets (not retirement), you won’t qualify for FA unless there are like 3 kids in college with 0 income at full needs met schools.
Having a high net worth doesn’t mean you want to pay 1/4 of it sending your two kids to school when you could only pay 100k each at a strong public school.
The government has some generous debt forgiveness programs PLANNED. Most haven’t been in place for 10 years yet, so we don’t know how well they will work. There are some teacher programs that forgive most of the loans after 5 years and my sister was able to use that program. There are some government/401(c)(3) workers who are now being told their positions don’t qualify for the forgiveness programs, and they are appealing.
@sybbie719
Not all schools are zoned. Far from it. There are several unzoned schools and still more that are charters. I live in a district with lousy zoned schools and my kids went to schools in other zones. NYC is one of the few places where it’s possible to do this. My kids went to school with students as far away as the Bronx. In one memorable case the father was a single working dad living in homeless shelter with his kids and he got his kids into a great elementary school in Manhattan partly because of the NCLB and partly because of the application process. NYC is attempting to get stricter about keeping kids in their zoned schools, but there is some choice at the elementary level. You have to be willing to commute to those unzoned schools, but they exist for the motivated.
@hipmama just to echo some of the replies you’ve received: your child is lucky to have you and with your chutzpah and forward thinking and planning, she will do well. I’d not be surprised if she doesn’t become a parent who can pay full for her kids through school. Your story is much like those here currently paying full for their kids. Me and my H were also poor poor poor growing up and scrimp to this day, and planned since before kids were born, to pay for their college at the schools of their choice. Good for you for having your act together and you and your daugher with this kind of planning moving forward will continue to thrive, with a little bit of luck thrown in.
As for what I teach my children, they have grown up with the stories of how Dad couldn’t afford mayonnaise for his canned tuna and mom couldn’t afford to buy a bagel and neither of us ever purchased a cup of coffee, like well into our marriage, and we did not own cars, but biked, and didn’t take vacations ever,and worked two jobs, and paid off all of our loans in a very short time, no help from parents. In fact, helping parents pay their electric bills. I’ve also told them to be very very aware of the kids who may be living this way, taking mayonnaise from the dining hall to subsidize the canned tuna they have scrimped to afford, or the kid who can’t just go out for a burger in the cute little town, and feels lucky to eat the dining hall food that everyone else is complaining about, because they grew up “food insecure”. I ask my kids to watch for those kids and to make them feel welcome and at home too.
@Dustyfeathers , you’re a good soul to teach your kids how to spot those who may need support. We don’t see what we don’t know to look for.
Schools that take inclusion seriously often will make all campus events free to students, allow some amount of the meal card to be used at local food establishments, etc. so that the divide is less gaping, but it is rough to have not in s world of haves.
Reading the OP back 16 pgs ago-- those are very personal questions that many, myself included, will not share. But we have scrimped and saved since before we had kids, lived below our means (and our earned income was comfortable but nothing exceptional) and had a balance of investments, 529s etc. Able to pay for college without touching any retirement money or refinancing anything. It can be done.
edited (agree with @jym626 that it’s too personal to post here)
“I ask my kids to watch for those kids and to make them feel welcome and at home too.” @Dustyfeathers What great advice.
@jpm626 Ditto.
Where did I say anything about all schools being zoned?
I specifically said that there is no zoned High schools in Manhattan. However, there are priority areas where students who live in those areas are given priority.
What I said that elementary and middle schools are zoned (which they are) I also followed up that kids can get a variance to attend a school outside of their school district. You will need a variance to attend an elementary school outside of your zoned area (I know this first hand as my own kid attended elementary, middle and high school in district 2 when I did not live in manhattan when she stated elementary school). I know you can receive a variance for work, and people who work for the DOE, will be given a professional courtesy to get their variance - the process is a little different and these request are usually submitted before the end of the school year.
However, it has been my personal experience (and the answer from the enrollment center when I made inquiries for others) that the school district will grandfather you in to the district for middle school if you attend elementary school there.
For High Schools there are unzoned schools in each borough, especially when it comes to schools that require tests for admissions/screened/auditioned programs.
I’m following this thread with interest. As my daughter is a junior now, I’m questioning if any school is worth nearly $300,000 by the time she gets out, even if it could be done without her going into any debt. Yes, we could potentially find a way to pay it but just because we could doesn’t mean we should. For me personally, if I take the prestigious name of school out of the equation then I rarely can find a reason to pay full price at a private school.
@newyorkmom2girl, As is usually the case with these discussions, there’s no way to double blind randomize these things. We are perfectly happy that we made a good “investment” with our full pay kids. The Yale junior shows every sign of being set up for a great launch. Would he have launched as well, less well, or better elsewhere? Who knows? My personal, subjective, confirmation biased opinion is that he would not have done as well. That opinion, plus a subway token, will get me uptown. The other kids are too early to tell.
PS I know they don’t have subway tokens any more, but . . .
@85bears46 I agree with you. Looking at this thread shows the huge amount of money that is out there available to colleges to access. No need to tow the line on cost with so much cash out there still. Supply and demand is still working well and has lots of legs left.
My co-workers spend money on fancy cars, high end kitchen appliances, ski trips to exotic places (St Moritz sounds nicer than driving up to a local mountain, no?) etc. I am happy for them. I am not interested in any of these things, but it’s none of my business how they spend their money. I don’t tell them that a Holiday Inn has clean sheets, a working shower, and a carpeted lobby- so why spend on a Four Seasons which is “exactly the same”.
Yet they can’t stop whining that they don’t have the cash to be full freight at college, why can’t Yale charge the same as Southern CT State, how the heck did I pay for my kids to go private, etc. and WHY did I pay full freight for private when everyone knows that U Mass Lowell is just as good as MIT.
I don’t engage. I don’t care how they spend their money, not sure why they care how I spent mine. A Maytag keeps my ice cold, I don’t need a sub-zero. I’m sure they can justify why the top of the line is worth it (to them). I just don’t care.
@blossom lol. Of course UMASS Lowell is as good as MIT. Everyone knows that. You are only paying for the name brand at MIT. It is the same education! 
^ This probably belongs on the “get it off your chest thread,” but if I hear one more time that “they teach the same facts at the less prestigious school,” I just might blow a gasket.
@IxnayBob It is all in good fun.
No doubt there is plenty of cash available for the colleges themselves (that is not to say families have enough money to pay for college – that’s a different discussion – and one that happens in numerous threads on this board daily). And that is particularly true for the vast majority of the colleges where the full pay is often discussed. As long as there are enough kids filling the seats at whatever prices the colleges deal necessary to continue running they way they want to run, I wouldn’t expect to see that change.
I suspect there is a point where that starts to break down. College costs rising at levels that outpace inflation cannot be sustained forever. Very top tier schools would likely be able to hang on longer though.