Middle class families..where would you pay full tuition without complaint?

[Anonymous]

^^Meant to add: nor will we allow our children to borrow this kind of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If a scholarship is involved, awesome. Go to the best you can afford without a loan. If your kid can get into an Ivy, MIT, Stanford or something impressive like that, a loan is a reasonable thing to do. If my kid got into one of those, I'd make it happen. Otherwise, in-state public for us.

Same here. No way would we pay $60,000 unless it was a top school. So it's going to be state all the way for us.

[Anonymous]

^^^^
Forgot to add that we probably wouldn't go the $60,000 route no matter how great the school. It just isn't worth it when you can get an equally excellent education at a top state school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our expected financial contribution, per FAFSA, will be about $43k, leaving us about $20k per year short for HYP.

Actually, even $43k is too rich for my blood. We will have enough saved to pay about $33k per year for DC1, currently a junior. That would mean we would have to borrow $120k to make HYP a reality for one child.

Since there is no way on god's green earth we are borrowing that kind of money to send one child to college, we have pretty much eliminated HYP and any private or public OOS college that offers only financial aid. Regardless of their grades/scores/record, our children will go in-state public or second-tier private with merit aid.

I'm missing something here. HYP are committed to meeting full need which means that your child would pay $43K a year there. You'd cover $33K, your kid could presumably earn some money in the summer or part time, let's say $5K, that leaves $20K in loans max. Where are you getting the other $100K from?

[Anonymous]

Rich grandparents : )

[Anonymous]

My parents never took out loans to pay for my college education, I did. I will help my kids as much as I can. Beyond that, they'll have to take out loans to pay for the rest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our expected financial contribution, per FAFSA, will be about $43k, leaving us about $20k per year short for HYP.

Actually, even $43k is too rich for my blood. We will have enough saved to pay about $33k per year for DC1, currently a junior. That would mean we would have to borrow $120k to make HYP a reality for one child.

Since there is no way on god's green earth we are borrowing that kind of money to send one child to college, we have pretty much eliminated HYP and any private or public OOS college that offers only financial aid. Regardless of their grades/scores/record, our children will go in-state public or second-tier private with merit aid.

I'm missing something here. HYP are committed to meeting full need which means that your child would pay $43K a year there. You'd cover $33K, your kid could presumably earn some money in the summer or part time, let's say $5K, that leaves $20K in loans max. Where are you getting the other $100K from?

You're right, I misspoke. We would need to borrow less per kid at a school that meets full need, but most schools that meet full need do so with a combo of grants, work study, and student loans. So if one of my DCs gets $20k in financial aid, it is likely to be, say, $5k in student loan, $2k in work study, and $13k in grant. We would still need to borrow $10k, for a combined $15k per year, $60k for 4 years, $120k for my two kids. Too rich for my blood.

List of schools that meet 100% need and whether they include loans in the financial aid package:

http://www.collegegreenlight.com/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

[Anonymous]

Know what you, as parents are willing to pay before your child has fallen in love with a certain school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our expected financial contribution, per FAFSA, will be about $43k, leaving us about $20k per year short for HYP.

Actually, even $43k is too rich for my blood. We will have enough saved to pay about $33k per year for DC1, currently a junior. That would mean we would have to borrow $120k to make HYP a reality for one child.

Since there is no way on god's green earth we are borrowing that kind of money to send one child to college, we have pretty much eliminated HYP and any private or public OOS college that offers only financial aid. Regardless of their grades/scores/record, our children will go in-state public or second-tier private with merit aid.

I'm missing something here. HYP are committed to meeting full need which means that your child would pay $43K a year there. You'd cover $33K, your kid could presumably earn some money in the summer or part time, let's say $5K, that leaves $20K in loans max. Where are you getting the other $100K from?

You're right, I misspoke. We would need to borrow less per kid at a school that meets full need, but most schools that meet full need do so with a combo of grants, work study, and student loans. So if one of my DCs gets $20k in financial aid, it is likely to be, say, $5k in student loan, $2k in work study, and $13k in grant. We would still need to borrow $10k, for a combined $15k per year, $60k for 4 years, $120k for my two kids. Too rich for my blood.

List of schools that meet 100% need and whether they include loans in the financial aid package:

http://www.collegegreenlight.com/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

But again the specific schools you listed are all meets needs/no loans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We can totally afford full tuition for any school. And we can afford the additional room and board and car as well. We have lived way under our means. Kids are in MCPS magnets and admissions to top schools can probably happen(based on GPA and SAT scores only). One wants to do engineering and another medicine.

For both of them - if they get scholarships based on merit - they can go to the Ivies or top schools. Otherwise, they will go for free to state school. The money we save will be invested for them. That will ensure a better standard of living in the future - rather than debt or the cost of education.

I am not seeing the value for money for MOST of these colleges and for most majors.

merit scholarships won't happen at MIT/HYPS..even Williams isn't offering any merit aid, according to their website. Need-based ONLY for these schools, hence my question

I graduated from an ivy ~5 years ago, and last I heard none of the ivies offer merit aid, but most offer pretty awesome financial aid packages. I'm sure many other top schools don't offer merit aid as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We can totally afford full tuition for any school. And we can afford the additional room and board and car as well. We have lived way under our means. Kids are in MCPS magnets and admissions to top schools can probably happen(based on GPA and SAT scores only). One wants to do engineering and another medicine.

For both of them - if they get scholarships based on merit - they can go to the Ivies or top schools. Otherwise, they will go for free to state school. The money we save will be invested for them. That will ensure a better standard of living in the future - rather than debt or the cost of education.

I am not seeing the value for money for MOST of these colleges and for most majors.

merit scholarships won't happen at MIT/HYPS..even Williams isn't offering any merit aid, according to their website. Need-based ONLY for these schools, hence my question

I graduated from an ivy ~5 years ago, and last I heard none of the ivies offer merit aid, but most offer pretty awesome financial aid packages. I'm sure many other top schools don't offer merit aid as well.

Correct. So in a round-about way I am saying that they will go to state school. Then to a med school or masters or MBA or what ever the appropriate next degree is ...and then start their professional life with no student debt (at the very least) and a nice financial portfolio (if they get scholarships and we have to pay nothing).

[Anonymous]

I did the state U route; save the rest for grad school bit. It was fine. I got to a top 25 law school, got jobs etc. Only had loans from law school. My DC will go to a HYP/S type school. This will put DC in a position of borrowing some for grad school, but I feel it will be worth it for the unique stimulating environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Know what you, as parents are willing to pay before your child has fallen in love with a certain school.

+1. I saw this in several families last year. One kid even got into a HYP and it wasn't until afterwards that the parents concluded they wouldn't qualify for FA either but couldn't pay out of pocket either. The kid was heartbroken. Don't do this to your kids!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our expected financial contribution, per FAFSA, will be about $43k, leaving us about $20k per year short for HYP.

Actually, even $43k is too rich for my blood. We will have enough saved to pay about $33k per year for DC1, currently a junior. That would mean we would have to borrow $120k to make HYP a reality for one child.

Since there is no way on god's green earth we are borrowing that kind of money to send one child to college, we have pretty much eliminated HYP and any private or public OOS college that offers only financial aid. Regardless of their grades/scores/record, our children will go in-state public or second-tier private with merit aid.

I'm missing something here. HYP are committed to meeting full need which means that your child would pay $43K a year there. You'd cover $33K, your kid could presumably earn some money in the summer or part time, let's say $5K, that leaves $20K in loans max. Where are you getting the other $100K from?

You're right, I misspoke. We would need to borrow less per kid at a school that meets full need, but most schools that meet full need do so with a combo of grants, work study, and student loans. So if one of my DCs gets $20k in financial aid, it is likely to be, say, $5k in student loan, $2k in work study, and $13k in grant. We would still need to borrow $10k, for a combined $15k per year, $60k for 4 years, $120k for my two kids. Too rich for my blood.

List of schools that meet 100% need and whether they include loans in the financial aid package:

http://www.collegegreenlight.com/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

But again the specific schools you listed are all meets needs/no loans.

I was using the HYP term loosely to include all the colleges of this ilk. I personally don't draw distinction between Harvard and, say, Penn or Brown when considering the "value" of an undergraduate education. YMMV, of course. As shown by the link above, the number of colleges that meet full need without loans is small indeed. But even so, my point simply was that even at Harvard, we would need to borrow $40k for one kid to go to college, on top of having worked pretty hard to save more than $130k for that kid to go to college. We have much younger kid for whom we are saving $150k+ (because we are assuming inflation) as well, and if I agree to borrow $40k for the first, I have to be willing to do the same for my second. That is more debt than I comfortable taking on, especially given my and DH's ages. To meet our retirement savings goals, maintain our primary investment (our home), and continue to save for college for our younger child, we can't (IMO) take on education debt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our expected financial contribution, per FAFSA, will be about $43k, leaving us about $20k per year short for HYP.

Actually, even $43k is too rich for my blood. We will have enough saved to pay about $33k per year for DC1, currently a junior. That would mean we would have to borrow $120k to make HYP a reality for one child.

Since there is no way on god's green earth we are borrowing that kind of money to send one child to college, we have pretty much eliminated HYP and any private or public OOS college that offers only financial aid. Regardless of their grades/scores/record, our children will go in-state public or second-tier private with merit aid.

I'm missing something here. HYP are committed to meeting full need which means that your child would pay $43K a year there. You'd cover $33K, your kid could presumably earn some money in the summer or part time, let's say $5K, that leaves $20K in loans max. Where are you getting the other $100K from?

You're right, I misspoke. We would need to borrow less per kid at a school that meets full need, but most schools that meet full need do so with a combo of grants, work study, and student loans. So if one of my DCs gets $20k in financial aid, it is likely to be, say, $5k in student loan, $2k in work study, and $13k in grant. We would still need to borrow $10k, for a combined $15k per year, $60k for 4 years, $120k for my two kids. Too rich for my blood.

List of schools that meet 100% need and whether they include loans in the financial aid package:

http://www.collegegreenlight.com/blog/colleges-that-meet-100-of-student-financial-need/

But again the specific schools you listed are all meets needs/no loans.

I was using the HYP term loosely to include all the colleges of this ilk. I personally don't draw distinction between Harvard and, say, Penn or Brown when considering the "value" of an undergraduate education. YMMV, of course. As shown by the link above, the number of colleges that meet full need without loans is small indeed. But even so, my point simply was that even at Harvard, we would need to borrow $40k for one kid to go to college, on top of having worked pretty hard to save more than $130k for that kid to go to college. We have much younger kid for whom we are saving $150k+ (because we are assuming inflation) as well, and if I agree to borrow $40k for the first, I have to be willing to do the same for my second. That is more debt than I comfortable taking on, especially given my and DH's ages. To meet our retirement savings goals, maintain our primary investment (our home), and continue to save for college for our younger child, we can't (IMO) take on education debt.

We are in the identical situation and I have the same views that you do.

Our HHI is about $200K and we have $250K (some of which will be taxed when we sell off mutual funds) saved towards college for our two kids, 16 and 13. We will not be able to pay full freight at the most expensive schools, and given our profile (HHI, home equity is high, good retirement savings) I don't think we will qualify for financial aid. So second-tier with merit aid, or state school are our realistic options.

I have a colleague who has saved very little and in recent years she remodeled her kitchen and a bathroom, then took her kids to Europe, in order to use some of the savings that would otherwise count against financial aid. I had to bite my tongue, listening to her talk about this strategy - we have scraped and saved in order to get our kids through. I guess no good deed goes unpunished.