<p>I currently have a 529 account that I have been funding for my S for the past few years. It doesn't have a lot in it but I send money with every paycheck. My question is unusual and maybe even unpopular. Does it make more sense to stop contributing to this fund to create or develop a BS fund? Can I live off the assumption that if my son get into a BS and does well, he should qualify for some sort of scholarship or grant for college and what isn't covered, let him take out loans for college? I was even thinking about taking out loans for BS if necessary, because I think it sets the foundation for the rest of his academic career. In SOME ways, it may be more important/influential than college. I only consider this option b/c I am a first generation college grad and I went to college on scholarship (parents had no money) and took out loans for my graduate degrees. Is that so bad? Would I be a bad parent if I stopped saving for my S college education and chose to invest it in his BS experience with hopes of him getting scholarships or grants for college? I already know our BS financial aid package would be limited.</p>
<p>bump.........</p>
<p>I am also considering loans for my S to attend BS. While we may qualify for FA it will not cover the full cost of the school and our portion will still be a hardship for the family. I also have 2 more children that may want to follow in the oldest S footsteps.</p>
<p>I am curious as well how much of an edge this education would give a child applying to college. I paid for most of my own college for many years and I guess I would expect some contribution from my student as well. I would also hope that his degree from this school may make it easier for him to qualify for scholarships, etc...</p>
<p>I can't wait to hear from parents that have already been through this process.</p>
<p>I didn't send kids to BS, just to expensive private day schools. I see a few problems here. First, the kind of colleges that many kids from good private schools want to attend do not offer merit scholarships. That includes the majority of top colleges--the ivies, Stanford and the top LACs only offer need based aid. </p>
<p>The second problem is that many schools that do offer merit aid base it heavily on GPA and do not look at how difficult it is to get a high GPA at your child's school. Given that it's tougher to get a high GPA at a good private high school, this could limit options.</p>
<p>In general, to get a good merit scholarship a student needs to attend a college they are way over qualified for. That's not the end of the world for some, but it is for others.</p>
<p>All that said, I believe a great high school is an important foundation and it would be a hard choice for me to choose between a great high school and a great college, but I'd probably save for college as elite future jobs and grad programs can depend on having gone to a top college.</p>
<p>I agree with hmom5. My D had only As when she began BS, but was finally challenged and got her first C! In her bs career, she was a solid B student, and as a result, was ineligible to even apply for merit aid at her college!</p>
<p>We got FA at BS for D and took out loans. For D's college we receive NO FA. At least now for my BS son, his BS gave us a very generous FA package. They consider the fact that we are full-pay for D's college when determining our FA. Colleges, on the other hand, do not care what you spend on private HS for anyone.</p>
<p>My H and I took out loans to pay for our own college and did not receive a dime from our parents. Now we do what we can for our kids. So we paid then and we pay now. We are thankful that we have resources/jobs to afford to give this gift to our kids.</p>
<p>It might be wise for the OP to submit financial info to the PFS processors even if your child is not applying this year. You will get a parent's report (make sure to indicate that on the form) and so will see how your financial situation plays out in the determination of the family contribution. What it states you can afford is not always what you can actually afford! Thus, loans! Good luck.</p>
<p>My parents sent me to an excellent local prep school as a day student, knowing that the funds spent on private school would impact the availability of funds for college. </p>
<p>Knowing what I know now about the dollars spent on prep school vs if I'd had the dollars available for college ... I would still vote for the prep school. There would not have been enough more money around to make the difference in being able to attend the college of my dreams. </p>
<p>Fast foward several decades -- I don't have to choose for my kids. The private school dollars <em>and</em> the college dollars are there. I am lucky to be able to choose to do both for my sons ... </p>
<p>I think there is a LOT of value in the prep school choice -- even if it means the student eventually must attend in-state honors college rather than the private elite college.</p>
<p>Depends on the kid's eventual goals -- YMMV!</p>
<p>We filed an estimasted 2008 & got back the results...</p>
<p>We fund $25/mo for each child to a 529. The average 529 current account balance for each child is approx $2500. The FA spit back for private school listed $300-$350 for each student to contribute towards 2009-2010 school year. </p>
<p>I will probably be ceasing contributions.</p>
<p>When do the schools announce tuition for 2009/2010?</p>
<p>With your acceptance letter :)</p>
<p>I personally know a man that graduated from one of the top "hades" schools and then went to harvard. I asked him, if he could only choose one, which would he choose? The Boarding school hands down was his answer.</p>
<p>Ditto - Extremely hard to get Merit Aid, internships or scholarships coming out of Prep School due to differnt GPA scale. These types of aid depend on GPA; Prep schools don't tend to allow grade inflation, so the Merit Aid, Internships and Scholarships go to the public school kids who get As by just showing up. </p>
<p>At D's prep school, a C is doing the work assigned correctly; a B is doing more then assigned or stretching in some way; As only go to those who stretch and go above and beyond on all assignments all year. There have been zero 4.0s in 3 years. So when the cut off for Merit Aid is 3.4, only the best of the best have a prayer. </p>
<p>Prep Schools don't generally rank either. And the GPAs are unweighted and don't begin to reflect the more demanding curriculum of the Prep school.</p>
<p>Ivy and selective LACs take this into account, but the rest of the world (scholarships etc) don't. </p>
<p>There is also the back-seat resentment towards kids who go to expensive Preps - sort of why give you merit aid when your parents can afford to pay full boat as evidenced by the HS you went to. </p>
<p>Don't count on Merit Aid, Scholarships or internships if you are coming out of Prep school. If they surface - that's nice - but don't count on it.</p>
<p>Re: Tuition
Most schools now know tuitions for next year or will w/in next week or so since they are beginning process of re-enrolling current students. If number not on website yet, you can call business office and find out.</p>
<p>Re: 529 Accounts and any other funds set aside for college. While I completely agree w/ all posters re what happens with BS kids and merit scholarships....prep schools are not going to give out FA while you are saving funds for college. If you have money to "save" the schools are going to want you to spend it on them...makes sense even if puts folks in difficulty</p>
<p>I've been having the same dilemmas in my mind. Son is at huge HS in DC suburbs with a tougher grading scale (94 = A etc...) although it has just been announced that it will be moving toward the traditonal scale (90 = A) next year. This will bump up his GPA. I guess for me it's the whole package: our area has great schools but we also have alot of serious drugs, congestion etc...Son has done ok and (thankfully) is not involved in drugs etc...but I think and he thinks that finishing HS in a smaller, more remote environment would be good (close to family as well). I'm not going to kid myself about drugs etc...in the BS environment as I'm sure it exists there as well but I am hoping that a school with 300 kids has a better handle on the individual student.</p>
<p>My input on the 529...we have had to stop contributing as H is losing his job:(. In retrospect, if parents start it when a child is born and it can be pretty fat by high school, it's a good thing. If not, maybe better to keep money out of kid's name. Just a thought...We got stuck with a few UGTM accounts (not huge) courtesy of family as that used to be the way to go. Hindsight is a beautiful thing:). Best to all!</p>