<p>SUNY Geneseo is a public LAC - not at all the same thing as UIUC. There are reasonably priced publics in Illinois, such as your public LAC, Illinois-Springfield at roughly $10K tuition.</p>
<p>But even at those rates, you are certainly correct that it’s not generally possible to work your way through school now, whereas you could a generation ago.</p>
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<p>So starting off at a community college and then transferring to a recognizable “dream school” will be detrimental in finding a job after graduation??? While I’m still an undergraduate I have two friends both have just completed PhD’s, and both started off at community college. One is working for Oxford, the other currently teaches at two local community colleges. Debt aside both make pretty good money and are working in fields they love. My friend who now teaches at Oxford attended University of California, Irvine after community college. So really I think it comes down to how hard you’re willing to work! Community college is a great place to start, granted if you plan on becoming the next president of the United States it might be detrimental to career aspirations.</p>
<p>As a new member and a parent who is sending their kid to college for the first time these threads really hits a special place in my heart. I also was quite shocked at how financial aid works and also even more surprised at how much college tuition has risen in just 20 years! My wife and I have worked very hard and to be honest could only save about $16,000 for our kid towards college. We started the first year he was born and gave up many extra’s in our life to save that. We make just over 50k a year and have a younger daughter who is 6 years behind our son. After getting our sons financial aid package in the mail from Hamilton, we were of Course sticker shocked, but to be truthful very happy at the aid they did give us. The funds we saved will be gone in a year but we are going to do what we need to so he can finish. My point being, I see threads of people who make 150k plus a year and are mad that they are not getting a lot of aid; WOW people!! perhaps it’s time to cut back on the luxuries. We live in New York where nothing is cheap, have never received free lunch or financial assistance of any type and often go without to provide for our kids futures. All I can say is either change your spending and lifestyle if you make a lot of money or simply send your kids to a CC and then transfer them. A free ride to college or one nearly paid in full teaches this generation of kids nothing of responsibility and gives them no drive to work hard in college. Anything free or nearly free is taken for granted in most cases and those who thrive under these circumstances are rare indeed (look it up on-line). So please, if your making 150k a year there’s no need to gripe about your aid package. If we can save $16k for college for our son on 50k a year then someone making three times that should have no problem. Cut back, plan ahead and be thankful for what you get because honestly they can just not give out any free grants at all!!. </p>
<p>quote: “Those who feel entitled often tend to walk a very lonely and disappointing life”</p>
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Awwkk! You dig yourself in deeper with every post. Hopefully whichever elitist school you choose will divest you of your elitist attitude. </p>
<p>Hmm… I don’t think that happens. :(</p>
<p>Sadparent20,</p>
<p>“My point being, I see threads of people who make 150k plus a year and are mad that they are not getting a lot of aid; WOW people!! perhaps it’s time to cut back on the luxuries.” </p>
<p>Near full payers are not asking for <em>free</em> financial aid. Near full payers are asking for schools to stop distorting tuition upwards artificially to a point that it becomes punitive. </p>
<p>If you don’t understand that, I have to say: WOW people!!</p>
<p>Well i think college should be free if you meet certain criteria, like a clearly defined goal, you can’t self pay ($150k/yr is not can’t), likelihood of graduating, basically being a solid return on investment for society. In that, the idea is no different from K-12. This isn’t always easy to determine with 17-year-olds, but if you’ve been slacking to the point of Cs-Ds in <em>high school</em> then I don’t think you should even be given loans from the govt, and the savings passed on to real students. </p>
<p>Too many stand a great chance of not finishing the degree, defaulting, and even depressed wages for the long term. They are going to college with no business of doing so. That’s the way it’s been for decades, but the costs are just out of control now to be sending mediocre middle-class students to $20-$50k/yr college. Complaining about finaid, the bubble is going to burst and this is what happens. If it’s not worth the cost, don’t go and be grateful you aren’t taking on debt.</p>
<p>Tipa, stop feeling guilty and just go to school and do well.</p>
<p>It’s not your problem.</p>
<p>The parents of the middle class kids are smart enough to know that as long as they keep writing the checks and taking out the loans, the price is going to keep going up.</p>
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<p>Successful lawyers who attended CC with me: I know several, including my own brother and at least one judge.</p>
<p>Successful doctors who attended CC with me: My cousin (on staff at major medical school), a guy I dated (a general surgeon), a guy who was a buddy of mine ( works at Mayo clinic),several others.</p>
<p>CPA’s (me and others), presidents of large companies (my other brother), PhD’s (several),dentists (a least 2 that I went to school with), optomotrists (I can’t spell it but 2 guys I knew).</p>
<p>If you pm me I will be happy to tell you the name of the cc.</p>
<p>While a sense of entitlement is never a good thing, it’s also worth considering the astronomical price of education in the US when thinking about an issue like this. Consider the price of education in other countries and compare it to the $50,000/year price tag of many US universities, and suddenly feeling angry doesn’t seem so unjustified.
I don’t think it’s so much “entitlement” as shock and disappointment…after spending 4 years being told that hard work=good college, it’s heartbreaking to see that dream die because you can’t afford it. Also, getting a college education is pretty much necessary for most fields of work these days, and without aid the only option is to take on a lot of debt before you have any job prospects or way of paying it off.
I’m not advocating entitlement among teenagers, that’s obviously awful. But keep in mind that this is the first real expense most of us have ever incurred, and it’s an astronomical number. Some shock and disappointment is not entirely out of place.</p>
<p>You can’t compare the university systems in other countries to those in the United States. In the other countries, kids are tracked by a relatively early age as to whether or not they can attend college. It’s not the same.</p>
<p>There are reasons the internationals apply to go to college here. Because they can go to college here.</p>
<p>At any rate, the same percentage of the population now graduates college as graduated high school back around World War II. @ or around 30% ish. A lot start… but how many finish?</p>
<p>I’m not surprised by the sticker price shock these kids get. All the colleges like to stand around college fairs and say, “Oh, don’t worry about the price. We’ll figure it out if you get in. There’s lots of money out there.”</p>
<p>No problem for them. Just put a bunch of loans in the package and call that “aid.”</p>
<p>The borrowing is “aid” for the schools, not the kids. Go to an affordable university. If you do not have one? Go to CC, to start, or take a gap year, research prices and find some affordable options. They exist for everyone, just maybe out of state.</p>
<p>Another interesting point… since the 1960’s Americans have spent $15 TRILLION dollars on the “war of poverty.” These taxpayer dollars have funded welfare, food stamps, pell grants and other programs to help the poor. The result? The rate of poverty has not changed in the last 50 years despite the massive amount of funding that has been provided to help these families. Just makes me wonder if we are approaching things the right way.</p>
<p>I grew up very poor. My dad refused to help me pay for college so I took a gap year. Didn’t end up going back until much later in life, but I worked hard to get to the middle class getting little to no help along the way. My reward? People telling me that I should “plan better” and that I should give up more of my income to help others. I’ve been on both sides of the fence and understand what it is like to be both on sides and the challenges that come with each. I am just amazed at the number of people who judge others and how they spend their money…</p>
<p>It is really disheartening to read many of these posts judging both sides of the issue. What, you make $150 a year and your kid needs aid? You should have saved more - you irresponsible, selfish parents! Or, I am not paying full tuition to subsidize the poor kid’s education! Blah blah blah. Until you walk in another’s shoes, save your judgments! Receiving financial aid offers is often very disappointing for middle and low class alike. And as for those parents that let their kids apply to schools that they can’t afford - if they have the grades and the stats, why not?? Shoot for the stars! They may be disappointed when they don’t receive the scholarships they need to attend (after all, nobody is entitled), but heck, it is worth a shot. Truth of the matter is, we are all caught up in this rat race they call financial aid.</p>
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Do you mean $150,000?</p>
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<p>Umm actually @tipa891,</p>
<p>My uncle went to a noname city college that has no reputation and was practically a community college (except it was a 4 year school) and is now THE chief of surgery at NYU Hospital… Those ivy-leaguers he works with answer TO HIM. So to answer your question, its not unheard of to make it big out of a community college- equivalent. </p>
<p>This was ofcourse around 45 years ago so times were A LOT different back then and I am not sure if you could do that in todays time but its not something to dismiss so easily</p>
<p>I agree that it is unfair that Kid 1 had to work his tail off to pay for things that Kid 2 gets paid for by his parents. And that includes college. It is unfair that some kids have parents that give more in terms of any and everything than others. Yes, they get an unfair advantage and get more things that way. Totally unfair. Unfair some kids are born into extreme wealth, healthy loving family environments and others into abusive ones.</p>
<p>I’m tired of seeing smug posts about how we should do the research and have already figured out what we can afford. The entire system is too confusing! Applying to lots of schools drives up their rating ( so don’t do that), but you have to apply to lots of schools to compare aid packages (because they can vary greatly). Go to cc for two years then transfer, we’ll there isn’t much aid out there for transfers (didn’t you know that?). The research is hidden behind layer, behind curtain, behind brick wall. I was so hopeful that the gov’ts new online tools would help clarify the system, but nothing is obvious. There are a few threads on CC about full rides, but most people don’t post their FA options from different schools. How are we supposed to do research with any sort of confidence? Is there some site out there that everyone knows about except me?</p>
<p>I’m with you, omedog! It is very confusing - and to make it worse, different colleges have their own (sometimes very numerous) PROFILE questions, and many colleges require their set of financial documents be submitted in a special way. Some documents can be uploaded, some can be e-mailed, some are only accepted via iDOC, and some HAVE to be snail-mailed. </p>
<p>I get it. Especially for the privates, they have the right to do it the way they want, require whatever they want, and award the money however they want. That doesn’t mean it’s not confusing and frustrating and something people sometimes feel the need to rant about. In my mind, the rants don’t equate to believing they are OWED anything in particular, and I’ve read VERY few posts where people truly come across as thinking that way. I’ve noticed that quite a few people tend to take comments and interpret them in the worst possible light. </p>
<p>And it’s not just that some CCers are whining and complaining about how the entire costing and FA system works. It’s a conversation taking place across the country on many different levels. There are huge concerns about the costs of higher education, how the costs are increasing at a rate higher than the rate of inflation, how confusing it is for consumers, and the detrimental effects it’s having on many students and their families. I am yet to be aware of anyone in the world of higher ed proclaim simply that <em>any</em> FA a student gets is a gift they should be thankful for, simple as that. As evidenced by the number of response posts, it’s so much more complicated.</p>
<p>Yeah! We’re just beginning this process so I don’t have much to offer, but I would pay $ to see a thread where people listed their income and the financial aid offers they received. Instead of reading " he had many substantial offers from great schools on the east coast". Specifics would be great. I bet publicizing that info could really help people!</p>
<p>It could be the way kids do those chance me or accepted/rejected/deferred threads where they list all of their stats for everyone to compare. Is a real conversation about $ so taboo on an anonymous website?</p>
<p>There is no end to the amount of research you can do and still find yourself surprised. Not all school reps are forthcoming with exact details. And some are even dishonest. Not all school use the same rules (there’s an understatement!). Each state is different and many students do apply to schools in different states. The list is endless. </p>
<p>Yes, the entire issue is fraught with frustrations. And we are supposed to be grateful at the end that a school accepted our child - meanwhile we can look forward to several years of serious budgeting. And so it goes.</p>
<p>I did that already but in case you don’t want to go searching</p>
<p>We make 116k no complicated tax situations we live in a very high tax area and take home is much less but that’s our gross.</p>
<p>Chicago gave my son 43,500 grant, work study, small Perkins loan. We won’t take the loan.
The cost to us about 18K</p>
<p>Norwestern 30ish grant, work study, a couple small loans which we wouldn’t take so cost to us about 30K</p>
<p>Tufts same as above ish…cost to us about 23k</p>
<p>Fordham Full Tution NMF scholarship cost to us about 19k</p>
<p>None of this was a surprise to us…close to the NPC and about what we expected. Maybe a little better for Tufts and Chicago</p>
<p>Except for Fordham no merit money (he will get a one time 2500 NMF scholarship) but he is high stats with lots of APs etc but nothing spectacular.</p>