Go and start a new topic if you have a compelling need to jeer at families who have their kids in private schools. |
That’s not donut hole. That’s a comfortable family. The rest of our kids go to state schools. |
Yes. My cousin just received his Master’s at Hopkins (Baltimore campus) after GMU. It’s the last school he attended that employees care about. Landed a great job. |
The point is pointing to UVA and W&M as the only in stat options wile talking about the craziness of fighting over prestige |
That’s crazy too. |
This. If you have sticker shock, but the ability to pay you aren't really a donut hole. |
Ability to pay is often at the cost of liquidating retirement funds, home equity, life style and nursing home savings. |
Ability to pay when that ability means constant struggle, isn’t really comfortable. Families with more than one kid and $250-300k don’t get financial aid. Paying $180-200k/year for kids’ tuition isn’t easy. |
College costs makes a comfortable upper middle class family, uncomfortable and middle class. |
I'm a family with two kids at 130k. We haven't been offered squat. $5500 loan for each. |
Ugh! Sorry |
Whoa you must have some crazy assets. |
But not really. The whole reason people talk about a donut hole is that extraordinary kids from lower middle class families (up to $85k, which is 55th percentile HHI) go to elite private universities for free, and extraordinary kids from true middle class families (up to $150k, which is 80th percentile HHI) go for $15k or less. Those kids are not going to state schools. They’re going to elite private schools, because for them it’s cheaper than going to state schools. |
With two W2 incomes ($250k+) + small rental income + few thousand 1099 consulting gigs, we are still getting financial aid grant packages from few privates this year for my S24. Not much, but about $12k per year. At least it will make feel better than paying a full sticker price. |
I stupidly advised my kid to apply to my need aware undergraduate school and learned that the embarrassing way. 400k undergraduate schools are not for people like us, or so they told us. |