Paying for College tuition and expenses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

I dunno, most kids don’t and they seem to turn out fine. It’s not anything the kid has control over (that is, whether their parent has one or not). My kids are post-college btw.

-NP

most kids don't go to 70-80k/year schools either.

right. Community college or inexpensive state schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

I dunno, most kids don’t and they seem to turn out fine. It’s not anything the kid has control over (that is, whether their parent has one or not). My kids are post-college btw.

-NP

most kids don't go to 70-80k/year schools either.

right. Community college or inexpensive state schools.

OP hasn’t posted her child’s grade, stats, budget or anything that would allow this forum to be more helpful.

[Anonymous]

I'm not saying this is a good option, but can't students and parents take out loans to cover the cost? Or is $75-$80K more than what they could get loans for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

I dunno, most kids don’t and they seem to turn out fine. It’s not anything the kid has control over (that is, whether their parent has one or not). My kids are post-college btw.

-NP

most kids don't go to 70-80k/year schools either.

right. Community college or inexpensive state schools.

$70k-80k is a lot even for a college these days. I don’t think any Va or Md instate schools cost that much, nor do a lot of OOS publics or privates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

I dunno, most kids don’t and they seem to turn out fine. It’s not anything the kid has control over (that is, whether their parent has one or not). My kids are post-college btw.

-NP

most kids don't go to 70-80k/year schools either.

right. Community college or inexpensive state schools.

$70k-80k is a lot even for a college these days. I don’t think any Va or Md instate schools cost that much, nor do a lot of OOS publics or privates.

yea, only a tiny fraction of colleges cost that much. certainly not many out of state publics- I think less than 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not saying this is a good option, but can't students and parents take out loans to cover the cost? Or is $75-$80K more than what they could get loans for?

A dependent (aka OP’s kid for the sake of simplicity) student can take out loans at 3% interest for up to $27,000 total in stafford direct loans, spread over 4 years, for college. No co-signer required, just very basic academic eligibility and citizenship or perm residence.

Those are the “good” loans. Low monthly payments and lots of federal protections. Not bankruptable however.

OP CAN technically take out parent plus loans (up to the school COA!), private bank loans, home equity loans, or personal loans. You can also use a credit card to pay tuition, with fees of course. Don’t really recommend those except perhaps the credit card.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

We don’t know anything about OP’s debts or previous income.

[Anonymous]

I’d pay half out of w2 income and tell her she has to figure out the other half via loans.

She’s a case of play stupid games shin stupid prizes. 80k /yr for a CS degree? That is a pretty obsolete path.

[Anonymous]

You can't afford this college. Your DC needs to go to an in-state public or a private offering enough merit aid to bring your cost down to ~$40k.

[Anonymous]

Is it Stanford? If the answer is no, you tell her to go somewhere else. If it is Stanford, pay what you can and she takes out loans for the rest. No other OOS CS is going to be with it.

[Anonymous]

If I couldn't afford it, I would not allow my kid to go to an out of state school. I wouldn't have even let them apply if they weren't in a position to get a 4 year scholarship. Community college while living at home and working for two years, then transfer to in-state 4 year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

New poster. I don't have a 529. I was on welfare and food stamps for the majority of DD's younger years, then off it but out of work for something like 6 or 7 years (sometimes getting temp work during that period) and had a lot of debt. We're just ... poor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why don’t you have a 529? Sorry, but you had 18 years to plan for this- it shouldn’t be some surprise that you have to crowd source on DCUM.

New poster. I don't have a 529. I was on welfare and food stamps for the majority of DD's younger years, then off it but out of work for something like 6 or 7 years (sometimes getting temp work during that period) and had a lot of debt. We're just ... poor.

So your HHI isn't $250k like OP and you'll get need-based aid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it Stanford? If the answer is no, you tell her to go somewhere else. If it is Stanford, pay what you can and she takes out loans for the rest. No other OOS CS is going to be with it.

This. OP, this will impact you and your child for life. Please rethink this choice.

[Anonymous]

We make a little bit more than that and have managed to pay $75k per year for DS. We did use savings for some but other than our mortgage (3k) per month we don’t have a lot of expenses so it hasn’t really felt that painful.