where do highly academic $ donut hole students go?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in DC area--$300k-450k is a donut hole family. 2 or more kids. SFHs run you $750k-2 million. COL is very high here.

LOL no. SFHs, investments, retirement savings, and OOS college tuitions are luxuries. You have to prioritize and choose, just like all the families who make less or way less.

Agree. A family making between 300-450k is not a donut hole family. We make in that range and we’ve saved money for our kids to go to college. One is in college now and the other will be next year. We won’t have quite enough from our 529 accounts, but we are able to cash flow the rest because we make enough money to do so.

Sure it is. We are in that range now (but were not always). We saved a lot but not enough to pay $65-80K/year. And while we CAN cash flow remaining, that will basically suck up every penny we have--quite literally-- if DC goes private and out of state (and we are also looking in state but acc to most of you on here we cannot and should not consider the Roanokes, Lynchburgs, etc.). And we do not live lavishly. Old cars that were cheap to begin with. No second home. Still in our starter home. Fly to vacation on miles accrued or stay driving distances.

After taxes and other necessities and being sucked dry for every little thing . . . . we are 1 medical emergency away from financial catastrophe. Something we came very near to actually incurring. So, yeah, I know some of you think this is living large at that salary. And maybe elsewhere it is. And it may be better than a lot and afford us a lot of comfort. But it's not rich and most certainly donut hole b/c we will get not once cent in aid. Anywhere.

You are literally in the Top 1-5% of people in the USA with 300-400K! If you were "not always" in that range, then you could have chosen to save as your salary increased.

Fact is, majority in the DCUM area live below 150K and would love to have your problem of "300-400K/year".

Very out of touch with reality

I don’t need your permission to know my actual financial situation. Nor do you know mine. That includes paying for my own schooling among other things that makes that salary not extend like you may think. I’m sorry you make less than I do but you have no right to tell me how to save and prioritize certain bills. We have saved for our DC. A lot. But it will not cover many many schools.

And don’t tell me I’m out of touch. I grew up just above the poverty line in the rust belt. I clawed my way out of that and had a late start saving for retirement, buying a home etc. so you can STFU about what you think you know about me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in DC area--$300k-450k is a donut hole family. 2 or more kids. SFHs run you $750k-2 million. COL is very high here.

LOL no. SFHs, investments, retirement savings, and OOS college tuitions are luxuries. You have to prioritize and choose, just like all the families who make less or way less.

Agree. A family making between 300-450k is not a donut hole family. We make in that range and we’ve saved money for our kids to go to college. One is in college now and the other will be next year. We won’t have quite enough from our 529 accounts, but we are able to cash flow the rest because we make enough money to do so.

Sure it is. We are in that range now (but were not always). We saved a lot but not enough to pay $65-80K/year. And while we CAN cash flow remaining, that will basically suck up every penny we have--quite literally-- if DC goes private and out of state (and we are also looking in state but acc to most of you on here we cannot and should not consider the Roanokes, Lynchburgs, etc.). And we do not live lavishly. Old cars that were cheap to begin with. No second home. Still in our starter home. Fly to vacation on miles accrued or stay driving distances.

After taxes and other necessities and being sucked dry for every little thing . . . . we are 1 medical emergency away from financial catastrophe. Something we came very near to actually incurring. So, yeah, I know some of you think this is living large at that salary. And maybe elsewhere it is. And it may be better than a lot and afford us a lot of comfort. But it's not rich and most certainly donut hole b/c we will get not once cent in aid. Anywhere.

This makes no sense. Where is all your money going. Why did you not save? You are rich.

+1, this doesn't add up. Maybe huge mortgage. If you have an HHI of 300-450k and a medical emergency would be "catastrophe" and you don't have at least 150-200k socked away for your ONE kid's college by the time they are 18, I have zero tears for you. What do you think people who have incomes of more like 100-150k a year do? They are not homeless. If they can make it work, you have no excuse. Your money is going somewhere. Are you in debt to the mob?

+1000

If you lived on $150-200K (before your salary increased), then why did you not save 75%+ of the new salary into 529 and retirement? Lifestyle creep is a real thing and isn't needed. Even if you have only been at that salary for 2-5 years, you could have saved enough for college for 1-2 kids and easily cashflow the rest. Once again, if you didn't allow lifestyle creep to happen.

And anyone who makes 300-400K+ and is "one emergency away from catastrophe" is not very bright with finances

I’m not answer this question multiple times. You can read it. Or not. I dgaf frankly. And you can stuff you ad hominem attacks where the sun doesn’t shine.

[Anonymous]

In-state flagships seem popular among this crowd, also have seen USC with merit. Seems like a lot could get merit at a school ranked in the 40s-50s, but at that point, it just makes sense to go to UMD or UVA. For DC kids, I’ve seen OOS flagships and schools that give merit like Case Western and Tulane.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in DC area--$300k-450k is a donut hole family. 2 or more kids. SFHs run you $750k-2 million. COL is very high here.

LOL no. SFHs, investments, retirement savings, and OOS college tuitions are luxuries. You have to prioritize and choose, just like all the families who make less or way less.

Agree. A family making between 300-450k is not a donut hole family. We make in that range and we’ve saved money for our kids to go to college. One is in college now and the other will be next year. We won’t have quite enough from our 529 accounts, but we are able to cash flow the rest because we make enough money to do so.

Sure it is. We are in that range now (but were not always). We saved a lot but not enough to pay $65-80K/year. And while we CAN cash flow remaining, that will basically suck up every penny we have--quite literally-- if DC goes private and out of state (and we are also looking in state but acc to most of you on here we cannot and should not consider the Roanokes, Lynchburgs, etc.). And we do not live lavishly. Old cars that were cheap to begin with. No second home. Still in our starter home. Fly to vacation on miles accrued or stay driving distances.

After taxes and other necessities and being sucked dry for every little thing . . . . we are 1 medical emergency away from financial catastrophe. Something we came very near to actually incurring. So, yeah, I know some of you think this is living large at that salary. And maybe elsewhere it is. And it may be better than a lot and afford us a lot of comfort. But it's not rich and most certainly donut hole b/c we will get not once cent in aid. Anywhere.

You are literally in the Top 1-5% of people in the USA with 300-400K! If you were "not always" in that range, then you could have chosen to save as your salary increased.

Fact is, majority in the DCUM area live below 150K and would love to have your problem of "300-400K/year".

Very out of touch with reality

I don’t need your permission to know my actual financial situation. Nor do you know mine. That includes paying for my own schooling among other things that makes that salary not extend like you may think. I’m sorry you make less than I do but you have no right to tell me how to save and prioritize certain bills. We have saved for our DC. A lot. But it will not cover many many schools.

And don’t tell me I’m out of touch. I grew up just above the poverty line in the rust belt. I clawed my way out of that and had a late start saving for retirement, buying a home etc. so you can STFU about what you think you know about me.

I'm not PP but know enough to say that you make way more money than true "donut hole" families.

[Anonymous]

If you go a step down, you can get lots of merit if your kid is high stats. So your choice is to either save and sacrifice for a really expensive school, go to an instate school, or get merit aid at an out of state or private school. We are in Maryland and don’t know about UMD yet, but my kid was already in at another state’s flagship (and accepted to the honors program) which would cost less than UMD. The other schools she is accepted to would be in the 40s. If you can’t afford a private or pricey OOS public, there will still be good options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those of you shocked by this, did your parents not go through the same thing?

I'm 49 and I clearly remember my super frugal parents (they shopped at thrift stores for everything) having to pay 100% for my university while my roommate who had every latest gadget and outfit was on 75% financial (not merit) aid. I went to her house and it was twice as big as mine and four times as nice.

Colleges have rewarded the non-savers, big spenders for 30+ years!! This is nothing new. You either join in (and start spending) or keep saving and sleep at night.

Sorry but that’s a frigging fluke. No full pay kids were coming over to me and other friends on FA and saying, “wow, your houses are twice as big and four times as nice.” No one was looking to trade places to live in our tiny houses and pay back our loans.

[Anonymous]

First, top students in Maryland and Virginia have no problems because the state flagships there are world-class universities. Donut hole families might not have $300,000 saved, but, if they can save $50,000 per kid, send the $12,000 or so they’re probably spending on their kid’s care, feeding and activities to the college, have the kid earn $5,000 per year, and scrape up an extra $10,000 per year from cash flow, they should be able to afford an in-state flagship for one student at a time with all bells and whistles pretty easily.

Plenty of private schools hold their true net cost for top kids to less than $45,000 per year, so, most donut hole families who can afford UMd. in-state without merit can probably stretch a little to pay for a private school that loves their kid. If a kid is paying more than $50,000 per year at private schools outside the top tier, that’s a sign the school is broke or doesn’t think the kid is that great.

In families with two or more kids, the kids will have to earn more and take out loans, but I think most donut hole families that really care about college figure out a way to make it happen.

One solution: a student can go to cheap state university like South Dakota State, which is probably comparable to UMBC in terms of quality and costs less than $25,000 all in, including the dorms. If the kid can earn and borrow $15,000 per year, the donut hole family probably can pay the rest of the bill simply by sending what it’s already spending on the kid to the university.

Another solution is to look for English-language bachelor’s degree programs in Europe.

UK and Irish schools are expensive for U.S. students, but Belgian schools can be less than $25,000 per year, including the cost of the parents and sibling hanging out in Belgium for a week. The cost could be less than $15,000 per year for careful budgeters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First, top students in Maryland and Virginia have no problems because the state flagships there are world-class universities. Donut hole families might not have $300,000 saved, but, if they can save $50,000 per kid, send the $12,000 or so they’re probably spending on their kid’s care, feeding and activities to the college, have the kid earn $5,000 per year, and scrape up an extra $10,000 per year from cash flow, they should be able to afford an in-state flagship for one student at a time with all bells and whistles pretty easily.

Plenty of private schools hold their true net cost for top kids to less than $45,000 per year, so, most donut hole families who can afford UMd. in-state without merit can probably stretch a little to pay for a private school that loves their kid. If a kid is paying more than $50,000 per year at private schools outside the top tier, that’s a sign the school is broke or doesn’t think the kid is that great.

In families with two or more kids, the kids will have to earn more and take out loans, but I think most donut hole families that really care about college figure out a way to make it happen.

One solution: a student can go to cheap state university like South Dakota State, which is probably comparable to UMBC in terms of quality and costs less than $25,000 all in, including the dorms. If the kid can earn and borrow $15,000 per year, the donut hole family probably can pay the rest of the bill simply by sending what it’s already spending on the kid to the university.

Another solution is to look for English-language bachelor’s degree programs in Europe.

UK and Irish schools are expensive for U.S. students, but Belgian schools can be less than $25,000 per year, including the cost of the parents and sibling hanging out in Belgium for a week. The cost could be less than $15,000 per year for careful budgeters.

Interesting angle!

How much does household spending drop when a kid leaves high school?

I figured that the bulk of the expense of a child is the "rent" which becomes dead weight loss when the kid moves out and their old room sits empty.

Alternatively, "college isn't shockingly expensive, because your kid will already be expensive in high school" doesn't make me feel more financially secure!


And college students spend more on cafeteria food than home eaters

[Anonymous]

I have two kids with the oldest student attending a SLAC, with merit we pay roughly $65K/year.

We have about $160K saved per kid and we are cashflowing the rest. Right now we are paying about $18K/year cashflow. We know that will need to go up and we have a plan for that.

Our income is around $450K.

Are we donut hole? We cannot cashflow $85/90K year for college but we could easily afford $40-50 with our savings and we chose to let our student apply wherever she wanted knowing it could be tight.

What kind of education are our children entitled to without debt? None of this is free to the college or government and much of what parents want for their children is in fact a luxury.

Everyone makes choices with their money. My kids went to public school but have had a lot of nice things and experiences that cost quite a bit of money. That is our family’s choice and I am glad I am able to make it and do not resent families that made different choices.

No parents should be surprised that society wants to assist low-income students more than the children of parents that have more choices.

There is an affordable school for everyone. It may not be their first choice. Thank goodness we have so many choices.

[Anonymous]

Donut hole here.

Kid 1: attending midwestern SLAC. He got merit $$ from Grinnell, Oberlin, Kenyon, Wooster, St. Olaf and Macalaster.

Kid2: attending WM in state.

[Anonymous]

Donut hole is a made up thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What kind of education are our children entitled to without debt?

Most state legislatures and Congress have determined that, after high school, the answer is "none."

If you have a problem with that, vote for lawmakers who will act otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:in DC area--$300k-450k is a donut hole family. 2 or more kids. SFHs run you $750k-2 million. COL is very high here.

LOL no. SFHs, investments, retirement savings, and OOS college tuitions are luxuries. You have to prioritize and choose, just like all the families who make less or way less.

Agree. A family making between 300-450k is not a donut hole family. We make in that range and we’ve saved money for our kids to go to college. One is in college now and the other will be next year. We won’t have quite enough from our 529 accounts, but we are able to cash flow the rest because we make enough money to do so.

Sure it is. We are in that range now (but were not always). We saved a lot but not enough to pay $65-80K/year. And while we CAN cash flow remaining, that will basically suck up every penny we have--quite literally-- if DC goes private and out of state (and we are also looking in state but acc to most of you on here we cannot and should not consider the Roanokes, Lynchburgs, etc.). And we do not live lavishly. Old cars that were cheap to begin with. No second home. Still in our starter home. Fly to vacation on miles accrued or stay driving distances.

After taxes and other necessities and being sucked dry for every little thing . . . . we are 1 medical emergency away from financial catastrophe. Something we came very near to actually incurring. So, yeah, I know some of you think this is living large at that salary. And maybe elsewhere it is. And it may be better than a lot and afford us a lot of comfort. But it's not rich and most certainly donut hole b/c we will get not once cent in aid. Anywhere.

You are literally in the Top 1-5% of people in the USA with 300-400K! If you were "not always" in that range, then you could have chosen to save as your salary increased.

Fact is, majority in the DCUM area live below 150K and would love to have your problem of "300-400K/year".

Very out of touch with reality

I don’t need your permission to know my actual financial situation. Nor do you know mine. That includes paying for my own schooling among other things that makes that salary not extend like you may think. I’m sorry you make less than I do but you have no right to tell me how to save and prioritize certain bills. We have saved for our DC. A lot. But it will not cover many many schools.

And don’t tell me I’m out of touch. I grew up just above the poverty line in the rust belt. I clawed my way out of that and had a late start saving for retirement, buying a home etc. so you can STFU about what you think you know about me.

I recognize you and your anger. You are the bitter poster whose daughter wants to go to Wellesley, right?

[Anonymous]

OOS public that ends up being the same or less than our in-state thanks to the WUE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OOS public that ends up being the same or less than our in-state thanks to the WUE.

That is a sweet setup

Some midwestern states have reciprocity agreements, as do some New England schools.

Midatlantic doesn’t have much like that.