Jeff Selingo on people skipping "target schools"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

and as we've been telling you: a resounding yes for us

Many people here have said: we don’t agree. But you do you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:taking 18 years of savings (per kid!) and spending it all on 4 years of undergrad is crazy unless you have many millions in the bank OR if you had your kids at 20. you just don't have another 18 years to save to help these same kids in the years after they graduate from college.

80% of bonuses over two decades!! oy

just to have these same kids turn around and save 80% of THEIR bonuses for two decades. oy!

this is how you take generational wealth and hand it over to Haverford. oy!

Middle class indentured servitude to SLACs… what a deal!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

If you have fully saved for retirement, are not living life on credit, and pay all your bills, that determination is up to each person. Some of us value education and view it as our parental responsibility to help our kids graduate debt free. So we make it a priority since they were little.

And for most of us who have saved that much when we only make $200-250K/year, the answers is "yes" we believe it is a good use of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think fit is a weird thing. Some kids take a 90 minute tour and it feels right. some kids don't like the color of the uniforms. this is not really logical.

A lot of kids can be happy in a lot of schools. Plenty of lower ranked schools have a lot more opportunities for intellectually curious kids (good luck writing for the Princeton paper if you were editor of your HS paper). If you have a kid who wants to try new things instead of doing more of the same thing they've done before, look widely is my advice.

And if you had a kid who liked HS, they'll love college. If you had a kid who hated HS, I think it can be trickier.

yep, kids are different. DD said she needed a school with sunshine and happy people - and we believed her. I absolutely think she could have fallen into depression and/or worse in a cut throat and cold (literally and figuratively) climate. Our other kid says he would be fine at state flagship or pricey private (but hates hot weather).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

and as we've been telling you: a resounding yes for us

Many people here have said: we don’t agree. But you do you.

it's not the best use of your money for you but it's funny how you insist that it's not the best use of money for anyone else either

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is something so wrong about basing a college decision on that.

On price? Why? My parents made me do the same thing back in the late 80s -- I wanted an OOS school that was too expensive for them, even before factoring travel costs. So I went to my 2nd choice, in-state public, and ended up very happy there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

If you have fully saved for retirement, are not living life on credit, and pay all your bills, that determination is up to each person. Some of us value education and view it as our parental responsibility to help our kids graduate debt free. So we make it a priority since they were little.

And for most of us who have saved that much when we only make $200-250K/year, the answers is "yes" we believe it is a good use of money.

Thanks for the condescension 🙄 but I value education and nevertheless do not believe the only place one can obtain it is a $350k private school.

I “only” make $225k and I have enough saved to pay for a private but there is certainly a good case for paying less for undergrad and doing something else with the unspent savings (grad school, down payment on a house, pass it on to grandchildren, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the 1990s, my father told me you get into an Ivy or you go to state u. Motivated me to get into an Ivy, which I did. Of course, that was when you really just needed excellent grades and high scores.

It sort of doesn't make sense to pay Cadillac prices for a Chevy when you've got a perfectly good Toyota at half the cost.

Some of us do not consider schools ranked 30-50 “Chevy” caliber. We view them as top notch and worth the cost to us, especially if it’s the right fit for our kid

Ok, they’re not charging Cadillac prices for a Chevy, they’re charging Maserati prices for a Lexus. You got a great car… but you paid too much for it.

Your analogy just doesn't work for everyone. Use it against your own kids to force them to go to a state flagship. But you're mistaken if you think it's the same answer for every other family. You don't know their situations and their decision-making process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

and as we've been telling you: a resounding yes for us

Many people here have said: we don’t agree. But you do you.

it's not the best use of your money for you but it's funny how you insist that it's not the best use of money for anyone else either

Um, I don’t insist that. You can do whatever you want with your money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:taking 18 years of savings (per kid!) and spending it all on 4 years of undergrad is crazy unless you have many millions in the bank OR if you had your kids at 20. you just don't have another 18 years to save to help these same kids in the years after they graduate from college.

80% of bonuses over two decades!! oy

just to have these same kids turn around and save 80% of THEIR bonuses for two decades. oy!

this is how you take generational wealth and hand it over to Haverford. oy!

This is DCUM, so the thinking that $10k per year is put into a 529 didn't assume that is 100% of what someone has to save. That seemed like a very reasonable sum after fully funding 401ks, IRAs, taxable accounts, etc. Maybe I am missing something...but it doesn't seem like an insurmountable thing to do.

Of course, you don't have to save $10k per year. Save $5k per year, and you might have $202k available after 18 years. That's plenty for in-state.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

If you have fully saved for retirement, are not living life on credit, and pay all your bills, that determination is up to each person. Some of us value education and view it as our parental responsibility to help our kids graduate debt free. So we make it a priority since they were little.

And for most of us who have saved that much when we only make $200-250K/year, the answers is "yes" we believe it is a good use of money.

Thanks for the condescension 🙄 but I value education and nevertheless do not believe the only place one can obtain it is a $350k private school.

I “only” make $225k and I have enough saved to pay for a private but there is certainly a good case for paying less for undergrad and doing something else with the unspent savings (grad school, down payment on a house, pass it on to grandchildren, etc).

Then make that case to your kids. But don't judge us about the decisions we make for ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

and as we've been telling you: a resounding yes for us

Many people here have said: we don’t agree. But you do you.

it's not the best use of your money for you but it's funny how you insist that it's not the best use of money for anyone else either

Um, I don’t insist that. You can do whatever you want with your money.

aww, thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In the 1990s, my father told me you get into an Ivy or you go to state u. Motivated me to get into an Ivy, which I did. Of course, that was when you really just needed excellent grades and high scores.

It sort of doesn't make sense to pay Cadillac prices for a Chevy when you've got a perfectly good Toyota at half the cost.

Some of us do not consider schools ranked 30-50 “Chevy” caliber. We view them as top notch and worth the cost to us, especially if it’s the right fit for our kid

Ok, they’re not charging Cadillac prices for a Chevy, they’re charging Maserati prices for a Lexus. You got a great car… but you paid too much for it.

Your analogy just doesn't work for everyone. Use it against your own kids to force them to go to a state flagship. But you're mistaken if you think it's the same answer for every other family. You don't know their situations and their decision-making process.

I’m not going to “use it against my kid”. He’s smart enough to understand bang for the buck and to understand that the 529 is ALL the money there is for both undergrad and grad. I am confident he will choose wisely.

If other people choose to pay a Maserati price for a Lexus 🤷 I don’t need to understand their decision process to know they overpaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

If you have fully saved for retirement, are not living life on credit, and pay all your bills, that determination is up to each person. Some of us value education and view it as our parental responsibility to help our kids graduate debt free. So we make it a priority since they were little.

And for most of us who have saved that much when we only make $200-250K/year, the answers is "yes" we believe it is a good use of money.

Thanks for the condescension 🙄 but I value education and nevertheless do not believe the only place one can obtain it is a $350k private school.

I “only” make $225k and I have enough saved to pay for a private but there is certainly a good case for paying less for undergrad and doing something else with the unspent savings (grad school, down payment on a house, pass it on to grandchildren, etc).

Then make that case to your kids. But don't judge us about the decisions we make for ours.

The whole point of the original column is that more parents are deciding not to spend top dollar for mid-tier schools. You evidently are not part of that shift in public opinion. That’s not a judgment, that’s just a fact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Truthfully, as a slightly higher than donut hole range family---it's hard to justify $85k-90k year at even the top 10 schools. It's gotten way out of hand!

If you haven’t saved for it, yes. But if you’ve been saving you would have 300k+ in a 529 and then you realize, this is exactly why we saved and let your kid attend if it’s their first choice

It’s great to have the money so you have the choice. But you still have to ask, regarding a $350k private school vs a state flagship, “is this the best use of the money?”

If you have fully saved for retirement, are not living life on credit, and pay all your bills, that determination is up to each person. Some of us value education and view it as our parental responsibility to help our kids graduate debt free. So we make it a priority since they were little.

And for most of us who have saved that much when we only make $200-250K/year, the answers is "yes" we believe it is a good use of money.

Thanks for the condescension 🙄 but I value education and nevertheless do not believe the only place one can obtain it is a $350k private school.

I “only” make $225k and I have enough saved to pay for a private but there is certainly a good case for paying less for undergrad and doing something else with the unspent savings (grad school, down payment on a house, pass it on to grandchildren, etc).

Then make that case to your kids. But don't judge us about the decisions we make for ours.

If you come in here proclaiming that your decision was a good one, then you must accept the risk that other people will tell you it was stupid.