Do most people pay for college out of pocket?

[Anonymous]

OP, DCUM skews wealthy. You know this.

I know people who are not as wealthy, and they got aid and cashflow the rest to public universities.

These days I know no one who is middle class with kids in expensive schools. The ones I know who do go to expensive schools have deep pockets, or they are so low income, they get a ton of FA.

Our HHI is about $300K. We have enough for in state public and a bit more for 2 kids. We could swing $200K total without it impacting our retirement too much. I will not do loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are millions of parents earning in the Top 3% and above. Millions. Executives, lawyers, SWE’s in the tech field, doctors, investment bankers.

or someone who may have been driving a beat up car just to save for ivy education for their kids

Like the rest of us are rolling around in 90k cars. Sticker price on my vehicle is less than one semester at ivy league.

lol... not everything is about you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Start a 529 when the kid is born. Make monthly contributions. 18 years later = >$500,000.

Our 529 barely grew 4% because we stupidly put it in a targeted fund. I have since moved part of it to an equity fund.

If you put in $1200 per year for 18 years it will not be anywhere near $500K, even at 10% rate.

Even at $12,000 per year, at 6%, it would be about $370K.

[Anonymous]

Many regular kids don’t go to college at all. Trade school, military, jobs….

[Anonymous]

I'm the "chump" poster. Kid got mountains of merit aid plus has a great in-state option, but wants the very selective private. We can afford it, it's fine. But it makes me feel like a chump that we are paying more because we have been saving since birth. I'm cool with it--don't count it in our net worth--have plenty of retirement savings. I've never paid before so didn't realize we can go semester by semester. That will help.

[Anonymous]

Most people don't pay the sticker price.

Research from College Board shows that the average tuition/fees sticker price at a private non-profit is $41,540 but the average net price (amount paid after grants/scholarships) is only $15,910.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/college-prices-arent-skyrocketing-but-theyre-still-too-high-for-some/
https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights

We pay sticker price at an affordable in-state school (about $26k this year with living off campus). And one kid is at a private where our actual cost is less than half of the sticker price.

[Anonymous]

^^And we pay for these out the 529 where we've saved to 15+ years. Plus grandparents paid for one year for each kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I realize many on DCUM are wealthy, but what about vast swaths of the US?
90k for college??! Who is paying this? It is daunting.

Sincerely,
A regular person

Yes there are certainly many wealthy people that have no issue dropping $90+k a year for the likes of Skidmore or Bard however working in the banking industry I am amazed by some of the financial standings of some 7 digit income earners: lousy credit, EXCESSIVE credit card debt and minimal savings. Money leaves as soon as it comes in.

[Anonymous]

We are DCUM poor, and have been saving what we can since kids were born. Accounts are nowhere near some of the numbers others have given, but between savings, merit money and cash flow, we will be able to send kids without incurring debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, DCUM skews wealthy. You know this.

I know people who are not as wealthy, and they got aid and cashflow the rest to public universities.

These days I know no one who is middle class with kids in expensive schools. The ones I know who do go to expensive schools have deep pockets, or they are so low income, they get a ton of FA.

Our HHI is about $300K. We have enough for in state public and a bit more for 2 kids. We could swing $200K total without it impacting our retirement too much. I will not do loans.

Has financial aid dried up dramatically since people my age (40s) were going to college? We were a middle class family when I went to college (an income equivalent to $140K in 2024 dollars), and we paid less than half the sticker price for my expensive private college.

This is a genuine question I don't have college age kids yet.

[Anonymous]

"DCUM poor"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, DCUM skews wealthy. You know this.

I know people who are not as wealthy, and they got aid and cashflow the rest to public universities.

These days I know no one who is middle class with kids in expensive schools. The ones I know who do go to expensive schools have deep pockets, or they are so low income, they get a ton of FA.

Our HHI is about $300K. We have enough for in state public and a bit more for 2 kids. We could swing $200K total without it impacting our retirement too much. I will not do loans.

Has financial aid dried up dramatically since people my age (40s) were going to college? We were a middle class family when I went to college (an income equivalent to $140K in 2024 dollars), and we paid less than half the sticker price for my expensive private college.

This is a genuine question I don't have college age kids yet.

There are a lot of "expensive" private colleges that give a lot of merit aid so you would pay less than half the sticker prices. Highly selective private colleges, however, have generally shifted to a need-aid-only model.

But even back in the late 80s when I went to school, private colleges with aid were not affordable to everyone -- I was accepted to several private schools and an OOS public I'd have liked to go to but my parents said no because they were so much more expensive than my in-state options. It was fine, I had a good experience and ultimately moved out of state to where I wanted to be. And it was a smart decision by my parents. My dad go laid off during my college years and never found a job at that level again. It would have been really stressful if they'd stretched to pay for my school.

[Anonymous]

We do pay out of pocket, but she is at an in state school. HHI $220

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I will feel markedly like a chump when I write the first check for $84k and change in the summer. Ugh. Full pay over here.

You pay one semester at a time. Generally, August and late December.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, DCUM skews wealthy. You know this.

I know people who are not as wealthy, and they got aid and cashflow the rest to public universities.

These days I know no one who is middle class with kids in expensive schools. The ones I know who do go to expensive schools have deep pockets, or they are so low income, they get a ton of FA.

Our HHI is about $300K. We have enough for in state public and a bit more for 2 kids. We could swing $200K total without it impacting our retirement too much. I will not do loans.

Has financial aid dried up dramatically since people my age (40s) were going to college? We were a middle class family when I went to college (an income equivalent to $140K in 2024 dollars), and we paid less than half the sticker price for my expensive private college.

This is a genuine question I don't have college age kids yet.

There are more kids going to college today than even 20 years ago, and college costs have gone up faster than wages or inflation. There is only so much aid to go around.

When I went to college, tuition was like $600. I lived at home. I worked a $4/hour job and got pell grants. By the time I graduated, tuition had doubled. This was 30 years ago.

My sister's HHI is $140K. They got some aid at an expensive private, but not enough to float all four years out of pocket without loans, so their child went in state. They graduated a few years ago, and said that this was the smartest decision they ever made because they are seeing their friends who went to an expensive oos/private with loans, and they are struggling to pay off the loans while my niece/nephew is able to save so much that they are looking to buy their first place. They all make about the same.