Spin off Donut family post

[Anonymous]

Let's say you are full pay, have a HHI in the 300s, have 250K in your child's 529, and your child does not have specific pre-professional goals- what do you weigh, and what guidance do you give, in determining whether your kid should choose a top school vs in state / lower ranked school with merit? I grew up in that boat - we were full pay but not made of money- and I ended up at UVA oos - mostly because it was not as $$ as Wake Forest (my other top pick), but otherwise similar enough. I'm still getting a feel for the changed landscape, since my oldest child is only in 9th grade.

For example, adjusted for inflation, my 14,800 UVA tuition would be 26,000 today. Even Wake's tuition would only be 38,000. However, oos tuition at UVA is now 55,900. I feel like that changes the calculus a lot from when I was in high school (not to mention the more-competitive and less numbes-based seeming admissions landscape).

[Anonymous]

We were in that situation. Made a decision based on the particular top school, the kid’s career goals and personality. Ask me in about 30 years whether it was worth it.

[Anonymous]

We are in this situation, though with less in 529. My junior DS wants to do engineering. He won’t get into MIT, Harvey Mudd, etc. Maybe Purdue but no guarantee that he’ll get type of engineering he wants. On the advice of DCUM, we visited a safety first - Pitt. Turns out he loves it. Is there any point in looking at higher ranked schools- say Rochester? Esp when in state is Md? I just don’t see it. We’ll visit case bc it gives good aid but otherwise I’m struggling to understand why I’d spend $90k when DS job prospects will not be measurably different at a school top 10-15 vs top 20 vs top 40.

Huge believer in starting visits with likelies!!!!

[Anonymous]

I wish we had started visits with likelies. Mine has gotten into several with huge merit that we haven't visited and now we are crunching and waiting until April for the RD decisions. It's going to be a game time decision. So stressful!

[Anonymous]

Honestly unless your kid has the chops for IB, Finance or FAANG, I don’t think it matters that much. I might pay full price for Top 30 but only if the kid really fits with the school and if the school presents opportunities that might engage the kid or provide clarity on future goals. But I wouldn’t pay full price for Tulane over UDelaware with merit for an aimless child. No way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in this situation, though with less in 529. My junior DS wants to do engineering. He won’t get into MIT, Harvey Mudd, etc. Maybe Purdue but no guarantee that he’ll get type of engineering he wants. On the advice of DCUM, we visited a safety first - Pitt. Turns out he loves it. Is there any point in looking at higher ranked schools- say Rochester? Esp when in state is Md? I just don’t see it. We’ll visit case bc it gives good aid but otherwise I’m struggling to understand why I’d spend $90k when DS job prospects will not be measurably different at a school top 10-15 vs top 20 vs top 40.

Huge believer in starting visits with likelies!!!!

Pitt is not cheap at all if you are out of state. Nearly 60k all in. This doesn’t seem quite worth it. Merit aid is low and apparently shrinking there. Look for an actually cheap likely.

[Anonymous]

You can afford more. Offer up to $60K. Done.

[Anonymous]

You aren't a donut hole, you are wealthy and can afford to pay.

[Anonymous]

If the kid doesn’t know what they want to do, or major in, then in-state / cheaper option is a no brainer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in this situation, though with less in 529. My junior DS wants to do engineering. He won’t get into MIT, Harvey Mudd, etc. Maybe Purdue but no guarantee that he’ll get type of engineering he wants. On the advice of DCUM, we visited a safety first - Pitt. Turns out he loves it. Is there any point in looking at higher ranked schools- say Rochester? Esp when in state is Md? I just don’t see it. We’ll visit case bc it gives good aid but otherwise I’m struggling to understand why I’d spend $90k when DS job prospects will not be measurably different at a school top 10-15 vs top 20 vs top 40.

Huge believer in starting visits with likelies!!!!

College Park engineering is incredibly hard to get into. The reason to consider many schools is that in increases the likelihood he will get in somewhere and so you can compare aid.

[Anonymous]

Regardless of income, you should decide now what your budget is, share that with DC, and go from there. Rochester at full cost or over UMD engineering. Wouldn't give that a thought. As PP mentioned, out of state Pitt (or any flagship) isn't cheap, but hopefully you'll get some merit and it'll likely still be much cheaper than Rochester. In state tuition in MD for engineering or CS, you have one strong national (UMD) and one strong regional (UMBC). Visit UMBC. You and DS may like it more than you think. Great backup to UMD if you decide to target in-state tuition and don't get into UMD. Also, don't feel compelled to visit everywhere. In most cases you can determine a list through research and visiting several types (large sized state, medium state, private) of schools nearby. If DS gets in and it's a finalist, you can visit during admitted student day. That was our strategy for current senior.

[Anonymous]

Would echo the suggestion to share the budget. Also, I know it can be a controversial suggestion on DCUM but maybe for those schools above budget, they have to be willing to take out student loans and contribute towards tuition (that can add another 8 to 10K between both). You have to decide if beyond that if you might cash flow it or not - and maybe that’s a game time decision depending on the school and if there is any clarity regarding what they want to study.

We started from budget. My one kid that didn’t know what they wanted to study for sure, really wanted a liberal arts college of at least 2000 students. For financial reasons, we had to include state universities or SLACS where they could get enough merit. Part of the conversation was about where they wanted to work after graduating, could they get a job without a grad degree if it was university x versus university y, starting salaries, how open it was to change major/focus between their areas of interests (strength of programs, difficulty of declaring different majors, ability to still graduate on time when changing majors). I looked at it as costs vs value for my kid, rather than a strict ROI. I guided my kid thru thinking thru what would be worth it, and as long as it was within our budget and thought out (cost/value) reasons, we didn’t force them to pick the lowest cost if it wasn’t going to meet the things they were looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you are full pay, have a HHI in the 300s, have 250K in your child's 529, and your child does not have specific pre-professional goals- what do you weigh, and what guidance do you give, in determining whether your kid should choose a top school vs in state / lower ranked school with merit? I grew up in that boat - we were full pay but not made of money- and I ended up at UVA oos - mostly because it was not as $$ as Wake Forest (my other top pick), but otherwise similar enough. I'm still getting a feel for the changed landscape, since my oldest child is only in 9th grade.

For example, adjusted for inflation, my 14,800 UVA tuition would be 26,000 today. Even Wake's tuition would only be 38,000. However, oos tuition at UVA is now 55,900. I feel like that changes the calculus a lot from when I was in high school (not to mention the more-competitive and less numbes-based seeming admissions landscape).

It changes the calculus altogether.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you are full pay, have a HHI in the 300s, have 250K in your child's 529, and your child does not have specific pre-professional goals- what do you weigh, and what guidance do you give, in determining whether your kid should choose a top school vs in state / lower ranked school with merit? I grew up in that boat - we were full pay but not made of money- and I ended up at UVA oos - mostly because it was not as $$ as Wake Forest (my other top pick), but otherwise similar enough. I'm still getting a feel for the changed landscape, since my oldest child is only in 9th grade.

For example, adjusted for inflation, my 14,800 UVA tuition would be 26,000 today. Even Wake's tuition would only be 38,000. However, oos tuition at UVA is now 55,900. I feel like that changes the calculus a lot from when I was in high school (not to mention the more-competitive and less numbes-based seeming admissions landscape).

Nope, times have changed. OOS at UVA, depending on program, will be $76K to $80K. https://sfs.virginia.edu/financial-aid-new-applicants/financial-aid-basics/estimated-undergraduate-cost-attendance-2023-2024#:~:text=January%20Term%202024,out%2Dof%2Dstate%20students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Let's say you are full pay, have a HHI in the 300s, have 250K in your child's 529, and your child does not have specific pre-professional goals- what do you weigh, and what guidance do you give, in determining whether your kid should choose a top school vs in state / lower ranked school with merit? I grew up in that boat - we were full pay but not made of money- and I ended up at UVA oos - mostly because it was not as $$ as Wake Forest (my other top pick), but otherwise similar enough. I'm still getting a feel for the changed landscape, since my oldest child is only in 9th grade.

For example, adjusted for inflation, my 14,800 UVA tuition would be 26,000 today. Even Wake's tuition would only be 38,000. However, oos tuition at UVA is now 55,900. I feel like that changes the calculus a lot from when I was in high school (not to mention the more-competitive and less numbes-based seeming admissions landscape).

Nope, times have changed. OOS at UVA, depending on program, will be $76K to $80K. https://sfs.virginia.edu/financial-aid-new-applicants/financial-aid-basics/estimated-undergraduate-cost-attendance-2023-2024#:~:text=January%20Term%202024,out%2Dof%2Dstate%20students.

^ per year. Other OOS programs like UCLA and Berkeley are even more.